It's time for Reading Day With Rainbow Dash, item #22 on Twilight's big checklist. Spike's never really thought much of these afternoon meetings with the Pegasus; or at least, he hadn't until today. Something's troubling the ace flyer, something she's only really comfortable talking with the baby dragon about. But what can Spike do to help a pony he barely ever talks to?
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Why do I always seem to get a single dislike? Did I piss somebody off and they keep a grudge?
1789818 No, I think it's because it's a bit difficult to read this story when
there's a crossout line covering the entire story and author's note.1790436 oh. Fail.
1790436 funnily enough, it only looked like the first paragraph was struck through from my perspective. Anyway, hope it's all fixed.
Any well-written story about bonding between Spike and Rainbow Dash is gold in my eyes (yes, even shipping). And we even get some extra Twilight & Spike bonding. You're one of the few authors I've seen who understands Spike and Twilight have a sibling bond, not a mother-son bond, and for that I tip my fedora to you.
The only things I take issue with are when Twilight says, "Your friends" and when Dash points out Spike's actions during Winter Wrap-Up. Twilight should have said, "Our friends." Otherwise, she suggests that the Elements of Harmony aren't his closest friends. And Spike wasn't really a jerk during Winter Wrap-Up. He needed sleep and his teasing was harmless. When Twilight ran away crying, he realized the seriousness of her distress and shoved naps to the back of his mind to help her get involved, then continued working through the night. I would say he was quite admirable during that episode (still bothers me that the mane six laughed at him and did nothing to prevent him from falling unconscious into a freezing cold lake, and didn't even care that he got sick; they were absolutely horrible in that episode).
Also, Spike already is getting more screen time. Not only in Crystal Empire, but in Too Many Pinkie Pies and Magic Duel is he being treated like the main character he is, with just as much importance, maturity, and involvement as the ponies.
1792066 Keep in mind Dash's argument was supposed to be weak there. You know how Rainbow gets when she's defensive
. As far as the sibling bond goes, I'm personally happy to see any relation between the two short of SpiLight, but I thank ye right kindly for the words of encouragement. By "you friends" I actually meant the ponies his age, like Snips, Snails and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If you think I should be more referring to the Element Bearers in that sentence, I can make the change, but Dash's clumsy, flailing accusations I'm going to remain adamant on. I will say I think Spike's treatment in Winter Wrap Up was karmic, as regardless of how he meant it he still was pretty darn mean to poor old Twilight, but seeing as Spike's your favourite character by all appearances I can see where you're coming from.
1793577 Karmic?? He could have drowned! Should he seriously be punished for harmless sibling teasing? Emphasis on harmless. It's a part of their relationship that probably takes place every day. If karma was that merciless, he'd be in a body cast by now, and Twilight wouldn't be in very good shape either.
As for the other ponies Spike's age, the most interaction he's had with them was dancing with Sweetie Belle, trying to take Scootaloo's scooter, being present while Apple Bloom's ailment was being researched, getting bowled into by Snips and Snails before he tried to explain a very simple concept to them ... eh, I'm not gonna pick out everything; it's clear enough that his interaction with them has been is meager in comparison with that of the Element bearers. I can't picture him sinking to their level of maturity when he interacts so much more easily with the older ponies. So yeah, I think you should edit, but only if you think so too.
1793747 You honestly believe Twilight would have let Spike drown? Give best pony a bit of credit man!
As for karma, I don't know if you have a young brother, but I do, and I know several friends who are likewise. Teasing my younger brother when he wants to play COD and we're live streaming Pink Floyd from New York on the computer is fair game, but teasing him about losing his girlfriend because we moved to Ontario sure isn't. There are certain lines you don't cross when jostling your family, and Spike deserved a little cold for that, methinks. If I ever made my brother feel the way Spike did to Twilight that episode, I'd probably deserve a dunk in a thawing river too.
As for the other thing, I'm fixing it as we speak.
1793819
1792066
I personally don't believe Spike got dunked at Winter Wrap-Up, unless it was from someone trying to rescue him from the ice and accidentally knocking him off; however, snoozing on bare ice isn't going to do wonders for a pseudoreptile's health. In my mind, they had a good laugh, then went to rescue him, only to find that he'd begun to get hypothermic.
Then again, Twilight's speed at dispensing justice to foals who enrage Ursas and dispatching excess Pinkies does make one wonder about her level of empathy and her position under the laws of Equestria.
1874855 The painful justice of moustaches? Destroying creatures that were obviously set up to be non-sentient? I don't think you convince me on Twilight's empathy with such weak evidence.
1875383
The first Pinkie clone wept when she was asked to make the same decision Pinkie herself had faced: which fun thing do I do next? She used language in a more meaningful manner than a nonsentient "chatbot"-style fake mind, in my opinion. A full-grown mare in body, a child in mind, worthy of the law's protection. Ponyslaughter.
1879162 The first Pinkie clone showed a reduced emotional spectrum from Pinkie herself, but was still more intelligible than the others. By the time Pinkie was done cloning, that clone along with all the others was completely mindless beyond the objective to have as much fun with friends as possible. That was how it was intended to be interpreted, or do you really think the writers intended to have the mane character and a role model to children everywhere unknowingly murder an innocent pony because she was getting on the town's nerves?
1899140
Is it any less disturbing if Clone One unknowingly split her mind to a level that could be considered suicide? And if this were true, wouldn't reducing the number of clones return some capacity to those remaining? And if any of this were the case, wouldn't any test of intelligence be sufficient to find the real Pinkie when thirty-nine clones existed?
The only "safe" ways out of this are to assume that each Pinkie clone was in some way not "real" (which I believe to be the writers' intended interpretation) or to assume that they still each exist in the mirror pool somehow. Perhaps all reflection clones come from the same essence, maintained by the mirror pool like heads of a hydra. Perhaps they're sterile, and only by attempting to impregnate each could one biologically ascertain which Pinkie was Pinkie all along. Perhaps, like a holodeck character, they fade at a certain distance from the pool.
Twilight's explanation could have included a bit of dialogue to make this go away:
: It says here that "the reflections will last a year and a day, and then fade away."
: But Ponyville won't last a week!
1899876 It should be noted the Pinkie clone willing did this to herself. Does it count as suicide to reduce yourself to a series of basal intellects? Consider that as all the clones of Pinkie Pie got happier, she got sadder. My "safe" interpretation is that all the clones were merely an aspect of Pinkie Pie: specifically, the desire to have fun with her friends. Notice Pinkie Pie became abruptly and extremely depressed shortly after the clones took shape and began experiencing fun for her. When Twilight banished them to the mirror pool (which is in and of itself open to interpretation), I assume they reintegrated into Pinkie, who noticeably brightened to her old self at the end of the episode. Additionally, the "watching paint dry" test seems to have been a perfectly effective intelligence test. But feel free to interpret the episode as is; I merely point out that it cannot be used as an effective argument for Twilight lacking empathy given how vague the scenario is.
Read through this... didn't like it. Can't find a reason other than it's just my opinion. Can't say it was bad, so that's worth something.
4558614 Not a very helpful comment, but I can understand not liking it. I wrote it in two hours and published it as much as an experiment as anything else, so if it feels rushed or incomplete, it's because it kinda is. If you can think of anything constructive to add, do tell, and thank you for taking the time to comment.
4558638
When I wake up and have a more clear thought process... I do my best to make the time to do so. As of right now, I am at high risk of saying something completely offensive and rude... or more importantly... Inaccurate. So once I get through the cool down of... some other matters... you'll have a more in depth reviewish like comment.
I found it rather sweet, and completely agree that Spike needs more screen-time. Season Four really gave him the short end of the stick (he only seemed to be there to screw up). Anyway, I enjoyed this.
5011491 Cheers. I wrote this about two years ago and in the span of two hours, so it's hardly up to par. But I do like it and it did okay, all told.
5011499
You're welcome.
"-you can go to any FIMfic you want!" She replied again, literally.
"What's a," He shook his head, "no, nevermind."
He thought about a different conversational topic.
Then, he got an idea.