123. The Dustup
“Are you sure you know the way out of here?” Starlight Glimmer asked Radish as she trailed behind him through a cave tunnel.
“Yes. I’ve been all over these caves, mapping them. Smell that fresh air ahead of us?”
“No.”
“Well, there’s an opening to the surface right… there,” he said, pointing to the ceiling of the cave. Sunlight was streaming through a hole the size of a dinner plate.
Starlight peered at it. “You expect us to squeeze through that tiny little hole?”
“It’s easier than it looks.”
“How about I make it easier?”
Starlight aimed her horn at the opening and fired a blue beam. The ceiling collapsed, leaving a much bigger opening. Radish grunted and averted his eyes from the sunlight now flooding the cave.
He winced. “Was that necessary?”
“No, but it was fun.”
Starlight lit up her horn and enveloped herself in her own light blue aura. Her body levitated and ascended up through the hole. Radish raised an eyebrow.
“You can fly without wings? That’s another rare power.”
“What can I say? I’m full of them.”
She put her aura around Radish and yanked him up out of the cave, setting him down on the surface. He looked around. They were on a grassland plain. He looked at Starlight. Now in the daylight, he could see she was changed. Her equal sign cutie mark was gone, replaced by a star under a pair of flowing stripes.
“So, that’s your original cutie mark, huh?”
She looked at it and frowned. “Yes. Don’t make fun. I know it’s generic to the point of meaningless.”
“I wasn’t going to make fun. I’d have loved to get a generic cutie mark.”
She smiled and nudged him. “How about an equal sign? Will that do?”
“Yeah, I think it will.”
He pulled out the map and his compass and charted a course north. “Okay, if we’re where I think we are, we’ve got quite a ways to go.”
They headed off together.
“You know, the last time I took this route, I was all alone,” said Starlight. “It’s nice to have an ally with me this time.”
“Ally? What about a friend?”
“Yes, of course. Come on, friend.”
Artin, now officially renamed “Our Town”, was celebrating. The town’s main and only thoroughfare was hosting its first neighborhood block party. The villagers were exercising their special talents for the first time in weeks- decorating, entertaining, and catering.
Rainbow Dash piled her plate high with cupcakes and cookies and joined the rest of her friends at a picnic table.
“So, Twilight,” she said, sitting down, “what are you going to tell Radish about this whole thing?”
Twilight, about to bite into a peach tart, stopped and put it down. “What do you mean?”
Dash cocked her head. “Uh, you don’t think he’d have something to say about a unicorn that can remove a pony’s cutie marks? Or about how we chased her out of town and lost her?”
“Rainbow Dash! Radish would never buy into what Starlight Glimmer was selling! He’ll agree that we did the right thing.”
“Then, how are you going to tell him?”
“Well… why do I have to be the one to tell him? Why don’t you do it?”
“Now, now,” said Applejack, talking with her mouth full, “Radish is a level-headed feller. He ain’t a-gonna be mad or nothin’.”
“Then, are you volunteering to tell him, dear?” asked Rarity, wiping crumbs off her face with a napkin.
“Uh… maybe it would sound best comin’ from Fluttershy.” Applejack said. She looked around. “Wait, where’s Fluttershy gone off to?”
Radish trekked over dry terrain. Starlight trudged after him.
“Ugh, this is taking forever,” she complained.
“It’s a nice walk, though,” said Radish. He looked up at the overcast sky. “Lots of cloud cover. Did your village maintain the weather in these parts?”
“Not really. Weather just sort of leaks over from the griffons’ side of the border.”
“That’s rather sloppy of them.”
“Well, the griffons aren’t particularly organized. They haven’t even really had a functioning government in centuries.”
Radish cocked an eyebrow. “What? I’ve never heard that. Palace intel says their civilization rivals Equestria in size and strength. Some of the scenarios we train for are griffon invasions.”
Starlight chuckled. “Well, I’m sure your superiors know more about it than I do. It’s not like I’ve actually been there and seen it with my own two eyes.”
“You seem rather well-traveled.”
“Oh, I’ve been all over the world, seeking answers inside and outside of Equestria. And you know what I discovered?”
“What?”
“Ponies are the only species on the planet that equate their place in the world to a picture on their butt. By global norms, we’re the weird ones.”
“So that must make me double weird, huh?”
“Not for much longer, Radish. You help me, I’ll help you, and we’ll both help ponykind together.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Pinkie Pie found Fluttershy in front of one of the town’s houses, surrounded by a flock of black-winged swallows. One of them was perched on her hoof and twittering at her.
“Uh huh? And then what? Oh, really? Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked it. It tweeted in the affirmative.
“Hey, Fluttershy!” said Pinkie Pie bouncing up to them. “What’cha doin’?”
“Oh, I was just talking to Belinda here. Her flock passed over this region today, so I was asking her if any of them saw a pony matching Starlight Glimmer’s description. And they did!”
“Whoa! Really?”
“Yes. They say she was heading north.”
“Ooh, I wonder where she's going?”
“Wherever she’s going, she can’t be allowed to steal any more cutie marks,” said Twilight, walking up to them. “Let’s go, girls.”
Radish and Starlight stood at the boundary between an expansive grassland and an even more expansive forest. Radish peered into the woods with his binoculars. He couldn’t make out any movement.
“Okay, this is the bugbear forest you said you could teleport us past,” he said.
“Yep! You’ll have to be patient, though. A long-range teleport spell like this will require a bit of time to prepare.”
“That’s fine. Take as much…” Radish’s attention turned to a flock of birds passing overhead. He got his binoculars on them. “Hmm. Weird.”
“What?”
“That flock of black-winged swallows passed over us hours ago. Why would they double back into an airspace where they’ve already fed?”
“How could you possibly know it’s the same flock?”
“Earth ponies are good with critters. My mom’s especially good with birds, and she taught me.”
Starlight squinted at some movement across the landscape. “Wait… who’s that?”
Starlight put her aura on Radish’s binoculars and pulled them up to her eyes. Radish gagged as the strap yanked on his neck.
Starlight gasped. “We need to move,” she muttered.
“Huh?” Radish snatched his binoculars back. He focused them.
In the distance, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Rarity were galloping towards their position. Pinkie Pie was bouncing alongside them. Rainbow Dash was soaring above the others, flying in a grid search pattern. Fluttershy was hovering in the rear, conferring with several of the birds as they flew circles around her.
Radish chewed the inside of his cheek. “Let me guess. Those are your raiders?”
“Don’t be fooled by appearances! They’re not as harmless as they look.”
“I know. You could have mentioned that the ponies who ran you out of town were a princess and her friends.”
Starlight narrowed her eyes at Radish. “And if I did, whose side would you have taken?”
Radish looked at her. He kept silent. Starlight frowned, then leaned close to him.
“If anything happens to me, you’ll be stuck with your cutie marks for the rest of your life.”
Radish paused for a beat. He looked at Starlight, then at the girls, then at Starlight again. He let out a heavy sigh. “Then get down.”
Radish grabbed Starlight and pushed her down into the grassland, obscuring her amongst the towering prairie grasses and flowers. “And stay down. I’ll get rid of them. You work on that teleport spell.”
The air filled with chirps and the whirring of wings. The swallow flock swirled over Radish’s head. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy set down on the ground in front of him. Twilight and the rest appeared by them in a burst of teleportation magic.
“Aha! We’ve got you now… Radish?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, reeling back.
“Radish?” the others gasped in wonderment.
“Whoa! Twilight? Girls? Is that really you?” asked Radish, waving his hooves in feigned shock.
“Radish! So good to see you!” cheered Twilight. She rushed up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back.
“Hi, Twilight.”
“Uh, Radish? I thought you were sposed’ta be fixing up some ol’ fort,” said Applejack, rubbing the back of her head in confusion. “What are ya doin’ all the way out here?”
“I was sent to check up on a nearby Ranger who went dark. What are you gals doing way out here?”
“Radish, you won’t believe it!” Twilight said excitedly as she let go of him. “When we all sat down on our thrones together, a map of Equestria appeared between them! It directed us to a town near here!”
“Why?”
“The town was being menaced by this looney unicorn named Starlight Glimmer,” said Rainbow Dash. “We whupped her tail, but she ran away like a scared little filly. Fluttershy’s bird friends said they saw her skulking around out here.”
Radish glanced down at the grasses obscuring Starlight Glimmer. He thought he could feel anger radiating from them.
“Hmm. You know, I thought I saw somepony heading that way,” Radish said, pointing to a lake on the eastern horizon. “Looked sort of pinkish-purple, I'd say. Seemed to be in a hurry.”
“That’s her! Come on! You can help us bring her to justice!” cheered Twilight.
“Why? What did she do?”
The girls shifted on their hooves uncomfortably, avoiding his eyes and looking among themselves. Fluttershy frowned. Rarity winced. Applejack bit her lower lip.
“Uh, well…” started Pinkie Pie. “She was kinda… see, she was sorta…”
“She’s guilty of assault, battery, and kidnapping!” Twilight said firmly.
“Anything else?” Radish asked slowly.
“Well… isn’t that enough?” asked Twilight, guardedly.
“You’re right. That is quite a rap sheet,” said Radish. “I don’t want you girls going after a villain like that, especially through a wilderness like this. I think it would be best if you six got back west and reported her to the proper authorities.”
“But aren’t you a proper authority?” asked Fluttershy.
“Good point!” said Radish. “Consider her reported. Now, you call all go home, rest assured that the Royal Guard is on the case.”
“Radish, it’s imperative we pursue her before she has a chance to regroup,” said Twilight. “Your skills could be invaluable in tracking her down.”
“Look, I’m technically still in the middle of my community service,” Radish said, gesticulating for emphasis. “If I deviate from my very strict orders, I’d be in legal trouble all over again.”
“C’mon, Radish, this is right up your alley,” said Rainbow Dash. “Starlight Glimmer is a dangerous villain! You love stopping those!”
“That’s right, we simply must find her!” said Fluttershy. “She’s a cruel, cold-hearted bully!”
“Totally nutso! A real basket case! ¡Loca en la cabeza!” added Pinkie Pie.
“Indeed! She’s a ruffian with no manners, decency, or sense of interior design,” said Rarity.
“Jus’ plumb rotten to the core!” affirmed Applejack.
Radish glanced at the grasses again. He could swear they seemed enraged now.
“Now, now, girls. She simply hasn’t had all the advantages that we’ve had,” lectured Twilight. “If it weren’t for the Magic of Friendship, I could have ended up just as misguided and alone as Starlight Glimmer.”
“SHUT UP!” howled Starlight Glimmer.
She sprang out of the grassland and blasted a crackling beam wide enough to hit all six of the girls. It bounced off a shield projected by Twilight. Twilight gave her a stern look while the other girls recovered from their shock and formed up behind her.
“Starlight! Listen to me!” insisted Twilight. “We can help you!”
“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR HELP, PRINCESS!”
She fired off another beam, this one aimed at the ground in front of the girls. The earth erupted in an explosion of rocks and dirt, scattering the six.
“That's it!” hollered Rainbow Dash. She blasted into the sky, flew a tight loop, and swooped at Starlight at lightning speed. Starlight dodged, but the rushing gale of Dash’s wake blew her sideways, bouncing her off the ground and into the trunk of a tree. Its bark cracked and rained down onto Starlight as she slumped to the ground, groaning.
Radish rushed over to Starlight Glimmer. She sat up, clutching her left hind leg. It was bruised and swollen. His eyes met hers.
“Cuff her, Radish!” called Twilight with a smile.
Radish turned his back to Starlight and faced the girls.
“Uh, that’s her, right there behind you, buddy,” pointed out Pinkie Pie.
“Radish… what are you…” Twilight started. Her heart skipped a beat as a realization struck her. “You… you… you knew she was here, didn’t you?”
“I want you girls to leave Starlight Glimmer alone,” he said plainly.
The girls collectively gasped.
“I mean it,” he continued. “Everything she did, she did in territory outside of Equestria’s jurisdiction. You don’t have any legal reason to apprehend her.”
Starlight looked up at Radish with surprise, then grinned smugly at Twilight.
Twilight shook her head. “Radish, a princess’s body is considered part of Equestria, no matter where she goes. Starlight attacked me and imprisoned me. That’s enough to take her into custody.”
Radish sighed. He had been hoping all the excitement would make Twilight forget that particular constitutional subsection.
Starlight chuckled. “Notice what she’s conveniently omitting, Radish? Not one of them has mentioned that I can remove your cutie marks! Now, why is that?”
The six girls grimaced. Radish looked Twilight in the eye.
“Yes, Twilight… why is that?” he asked softly.
Twilight’s ears drooped. “I… I was going to! At the right time!”
“When, Twilight? After you’ve had me throw her in prison where she can no longer help me?”
Twilight reeled back. “You can’t seriously want her to remove your cutie marks! I… I thought you were past that now!”
“Past his own body!? What a joke!” scoffed Starlight. “Look at yourselves! Apples? Balloons? Butterflies!? Not one of you could understand the pain Radish has suffered! While you’ve been sitting on your thrones, he’s been shunned, abused, and persecuted for his cutie marks!”
Twilight took a cautious step towards Radish. “Listen to me, Radish. You don’t want her help. Losing your cutie marks her way would mean losing everything that makes you special.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
Twilight looked crestfallen. “Please. I’m asking you, as your friend, to help us stop Starlight.”
“I can’t do that, Twilight.”
“You’d side with a criminal over your friends? With a villain over a princess? With her… over me?”
Radish crossed his hooves. “Just walk away. All of you, just go back to Ponyville.”
Twilight felt her eyes well up and her hooves tremble. The other girls closed in.
“Have you done flipped yer flapjacks, Radish?” Applejack demanded.
“Think about what you’re doing!” implored Rarity. “You’ll be stuck with dismal gray equal signs on your flanks!”
“If this is a joke, it’s not funny!” said Pinkie Pie.
“No… not again,” whimpered Fluttershy to herself.
“She’s got you hypnotized or something, Radish!” yelled Rainbow Dash, flying up to them. “Fight it!”
“Get away from him!” bellowed Starlight. She projected a blue bubble of force from her horn, knocking the girls off their hooves and pushing them back.
“Oh, it’s on!” howled Dash. She flew high again, sharply banked around a cloud and dove at Starlight, far faster than before. Starlight tried to spark up her horn again, but it sputtered out, drained from overexertion.
Radish watched Rainbow Dash fly. He waited. He mechanically reached into his pocket and pulled out his compass.
“Rainbow Dash: blind her during high-speed dives,” he muttered to himself.
He opened his compass and used its mirror to reflect the sun into Rainbow Dash’s eyes.
“Hey! What the-!” she yelled, and twisted her head. She angled off-course, spun out of control, and slammed into the earth. She lay sprawled in her own crater, moaning.
“Whoa!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “Not cool!”
She popped up behind Radish and grabbed his tail in her teeth, trying to tug him away from Starlight.
“Pinkie Pie: exploit her impulses,” sighed Radish.
He tossed a trio of jalapeño chews into the air. Pinkie Pie instinctively snapped at them and gobbled them down. She paused. Her lips pursed and sweat poured down her face. Flames burst out of her mouth while steam whistled out of her ears. She bolted for the lake on the horizon.
“Now, what in tarnation do ya think yer doin’?” demanded Applejack, angrily stomping forward.
“Leaving here with Starlight,” answered Radish. “Getting rid of my cutie marks once and for all.”
“Oh, no, ya ain’t!” called Applejack. "Yer gonna sit tight so we can talk some sense into ya!"
She pulled her lasso out from under her hat, twirled it in her teeth and threw it at him.
“Applejack: use her strength against her,” said Radish.
Radish held up a foreleg and bent it. He slipped off the lasso’s loop before it could tighten, then put the lasso around a large rock at his feet just as Applejack yanked back on it. The rock sailed toward Applejack’s head. Her eyes went wide a split-second before it struck her, knocking her over. She lay under it, seeing stars.
Radish felt his boots being held in place. He looked to see a light blue aura gripping them. He looked at Rarity, whose horn was aglow.
“Now, see here, major! You’re the last pony I’d have expected such barbarous behavior from! I cannot allow you-”
“Rarity: put maggots in her hair.”
“What did you say!? You wouldn’t dare.”
Radish looked at her mane. He peered at its curl.
“You didn’t!” she said. “I know you didn’t. When would-”
She looked up at her mane. She shuddered.
“You did! I can feel them! Oh, Radish, how could you?”
She pulled out a mirror and frantically searched her mane. Her aura redirected to holding the mirror as she ran her hooves through her mane, shaking it in a whimpering panic.
Radish helped Starlight off the ground. He started for the bugbear forest, letting her hold onto him to take the weight off her injured hoof.
Fluttershy landed in their path. She bent low to the ground. "I thought you were our friend!”
Radish shielded his eyes from hers. “Fluttershy: endanger an animal.”
“I know you, Radish. You would never do that.”
Radish tossed the rest of his jalapeño chews into the grassland. A young prairie dog poked its head out of a burrow and sniffed at them.
“No! Don’t eat those, little guy! They’re much too spicy!” cried Fluttershy. She flew to it, trying to shoo it away while gathering the scattered candies.
“Radish Root, you are awful!” she called at Radish as he carried Starlight away.
Twilight Sparkle stood between them and the treeline.
“And I suppose you have some tactic for dealing with me?” she asked, anger filling her eyes.
“Twilight Sparkle: break her heart.”
“You certainly have. Just go,” she said, stepping aside, barely able to choke back tears. “And we are no longer friends, Radish Root.”
Radish walked past Twilight, leading Starlight into the forest. Soon they were alone.
“You… you really saved me from them…” she said.
“We had a deal, remember? I help you, you help me.”
“Thank you, friend.”
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A Dark Path Radish is following right now. And I do not blame him. Ever since he got his Cutie Mark, Others including Celestia herself ridiculed him, mocked and made his life a living hell. No wonder he would help Starlight Glimmer. But to remove his Cutie Mark will come at a greater cost to Equestria soon to come.
No twilight. You might think starlight is evil and wrong but you know that radish wanted to be rid of his marks and you stood in his way. Your and your freinds actions show you have not fully grasped both what it means to radish to be rid of his marks and what they are to him. You do not get to be the disapointed person here its radish who should be disapointed in you and your freinds. A good freinds would have handeld this situation better by perhaps deciding to go along with them to make sure radish is ok after and to keep him safe if he is not.
I hope twilight and the others have a moment where it hits them just how important it is to radish to be rid of his mark. he went against his job as a guard and his ranger instincts and fought off his freinds. Heck he even could be interpeted as going directly against his own mark here. hope radish at least gets a some time without his mark to figure himself out properly as harmony as been less then helpfull for him
Radish pulling a Batman is awesome, if it weren't for the context. Just a big oof this chapter. Man is he going to regret the hell out of this little venture.
Hm. IIRC Pinkie drinks hot sauce like it’s water…
11892598
This is what Starlight did, to Twilight. And Radish, a dear friend she held in extremely high regard, sided with the one that hurt her and the others. That is betrayal, pure and simple. She has every reason to feel that way. What harm they may have unintentionally or ignorantly inflicted on Radish is in no way comparable to the willful and knowledgeable harm Radish inflicted on them by betraying them, nor justify it.
Looks like that trial was the last straw for Radish and he's finally reached his breaking point. Can't really blame him, honestly. Considering everything that he's gone through I'm surprised that it hasn't happened sooner.
11892646
yea radish is absolutly in the wrong both legaly and emotionaly. I do hope he gets some good things come from this as while he might have made a real bad choice by fighting against twilight and the others he as had repressed trauma torn into by both flim and flam aswell as starlight. At this point i dont think its supprising that he has broken like this.
Side note. celestia is being effected by the unmarking due to a link between them right? i wonder if a fun little alternate to what happens when he gets his mark removed would be for his mark to get removed and celestias to go to him insted
11892672
Legally probably, emotionally...it's a gray area. Radish literally cannot exist in public unclothed without being arrested. He's constantly being harassed and, for lack of a better word, bullied for something he has zero control over. He was part of a very public trial. He's one of the very few ponies ever shown with a "bad" cutie mark, and his isn't even a talent that can be repurposed. Hell, he doesn't know what his talent is — besides maybe "having sex with Celestia" — something he can't even do. It's like of a pony had a baking talent but could never bake, but infinitely worse due to the lewd nature of the mark.
... I gotta admit, I'm kinda hating these last few chapters. It's not just that Radish seems to be holding tightly to an idiot ball, but also that he's just throwing out all of his character development and principles to do so.
I get that hope can be alluring, but I gotta ask: what happened to the guy who had so much character growth? Because this guy doesn't seem to have an ounce of guile, doubt or suspicion in him, even when confronted by his friends. He's even hurting them, and to me it's just reading as forced for the sake of DRAMA! because you didn't have the time to fully engineer a situation that would believably lead to him betraying his friends and ideals to get his cutie mark removed.
I'd kinda feel better about it if he hadn't been part of the Our Town nonsense at all and instead did the fort defence thing for real, but then found out about it afterwards on his own after almost everyone refused to tell him about it, and got angry about it. At least then he'd have more than just the hope of getting his cutie marks removed to fuel betraying his friends and values.
This hurts a lot, but we all know this ship would never happen, which is also sad
It's treason, then.
Change never comes without pain. In the end, it all comes down to how much you're willing to sacrifice to get what you want.
11892704
He never asked for this.
Honestly, I'm conflicted about this chapter. To me it makes absolute sense that Radish is tired of being discriminated against because of his marks. It feels justified, especially with how Starlight framed it earlier, going through all of the misfortune he's had as a result. If I recall correctly, every mare here turned him down as well, despite knowing him pretty well by this point. Do they think he's made of stone? Do they assume he has no feelings? From his point of view they're harassing the first pony who has actively tried to help him, possibly ever.
On the flip side, I can sort of see where Twilight is coming from. Radish betrayed her and likely committed treason. For reasons that, while understandable, are not justifiable. She's well within her rights as princess to declare him a traitor and break their friendship.
Frankly, it doesn't look like there are any good sides here.
I predict this is going to end up with Radish de-marked, then arrested while Starlight escapes. Somehow becoming more hated now than he was before. Celestia's health will decline as a result of Radish forsaking his destiny. Then while he's in prison, Celestia will have a word with him, and he finally gets to tell her about how his marks more or less ruined his life. Then nothing will change.
11892723
I can't believe that made me laugh after all this time. And it fits far too well :P
Radish is either doing a long con to find out what Starlight has hidden away, or he is in a dire mental state. As much as he's grown, I think the trial mixed with Starlight's little "soul searching" episode would deal a mighty one-two to most in his place.
Ah, so he did know. He just hadn't accepted it yet.
I believe in you Radish Root
11892690
Treason!?
⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️⬇️
Wait, not invented yet.
11892682
I’m not sure that’s entirely true. You say he’s throwing out his character development, but you have to take into consideration his situation. His girlfriend, someone who loves him despite his cutie marks, left town and never came back, supposedly while knowing he had planned to propose. Then, the justice system he swore to uphold and defend, legally ruled it a crime to show his cutie marks in public.
Yes, it seems that he was learning to accept his cutie marks. But these two heart-wrenching moments occurring one after the other has emotionally brought him to his lowest point.
Then you have the Our Town situation. Yes, seeing him betray Twilight and her friends seems out of character for him. But look at it from his perspective. The girls purposely avoided telling him about Starlight’s ability to remove cutie marks. This could be seen as a sort of betrayal to him, especially since they know what he’s been going through.
Not only that, but after all he has been through, you could say that the girls are kind of being hypocrites. They “say” Radish’s cutie mark represents what makes him special and that there is nothing wrong with them. Yet, they are quick to prevent Spike, the Crusaders, or any other child from seeing them.
And honestly, you can’t really fault them for their behavior. Usually, cutie marks are something to be cherished and admired in pony society. Radish is an anomaly that hasn’t been seen since the Three Pony Tribes era. The girls can’t really help or understand him because they don’t know what it’s like to be him. Every moment, every second that they can walk around in public, proudly displaying their cutie marks, they’re doing something he can’t. And now that he finally has a means to have that same peace of mind, those same friends want to take it away.
I don’t like this development either, but I don’t think this can be seen as a simple betrayal. Radish has tried doing things their way, and the world keeps telling him that it’s not good enough. This isn’t fair to him, and it’s not fair to them, but life isn’t fair. And sometimes…friendship alone isn’t enough to fix every problem, no matter how much we wish it were.
11892737
I’m also conflicted. That said, there is one more thing to consider. Light Fantastic. She was trying to find Our Town to help with Radish’s situation, and she left over a week prior to Radish’s mission. Yet, there seems to be no sign of her appearing, either before Radish or Twilight and the girls. So, where is she? What happened to her? And how will she feel when she finds about Radish’s trial and subsequent betrayal?
If he'd at least acknowledge that she was bad business for the most part but he *still wanted his marks gone*, this would be way more sympathetic. Instead he seems to be making excuses for her.
11892768
Well said!
11892772
I hadn't considered Light, but if the pattern of things getting worse for Radish holds as it has for most of this story, they're probably not getting engaged. Probably due to the treason.
11892772
Iirc she headed back
She did kinda refuse to trust him with that information. She knew how important itd be to him, and kept it from him. She most definitely knows how scarily far the trial went, she's not dumb. She kinda betrayed him first here by not telling him to be honest, not that it's a contest.
I hate this entire arc of Radish going 'Oh no, I'm wildly successful, have a girlfriend, have a job, have great talent, and have repeatedly shown myself to understand these facts, but oh no! The least convincing unicorn on this side of the planet! Guess I gotta throw away the mission I was sent here to do and go tear off my cutie marks since I dropped my capability of being an individual because I have less than zero faith in my girlfriend and the state of our relationship in spite of everything we've been through together!'
What a joke.
This is probably the most spiciest chapter yet! i'm hyped for the next one to come.
Yeah... I'm out. I'd stay tracking just to see if this was one long ruse, but at this point I've lost faith. This story has done its damndest to get me to have all my nope buttons pushed, and uh, it's finally succeeded, I suppose.
Just not for me, at the end of the day, after all the nonstop nonsense.
I know this chapters pretty divisive, but honestly, I'm with Radish on this one.
Because I feel like he could basically have gone either way.
If ANY of the Elements had come clean here, I think he would have arrested Starlight.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the feeling I'm getting from him here. He knows Starlight is bad news, but she's been honest with him, or so it seems.
But then his "friends" show up, and proceed to give him every valid reason to arrest her, except the RIGHT one.
After he's been through hell, with his superiors throwing him to the wolves at the trial so they can send him on a covert mission, Light disappearing right as he's about to propose, and all the shit he's gone through over his marks.
Honestly, Anakin had less reason to go Dark Side than Radish does right now.
This is not nice. Not nice at all
Whoa! Huge development.
Absolutely fantastic chapter. I definitely wonder how (or if) Radish and the others will make up after this is all over.
Terrible as his actions are here, I really can't blame him.
Im siding with Radish on this one. They said if he gets them taken away it will remove what made him special. Being special for Radish means everything from Celestia making fun of him being born/developing wrong which is completely out of his control in front of a crowd of others humiliating him to having his right to fair trial/justice stripped from him during that nonsense trial.
Taking a Page out of Professor X and Batmans Books of Ideas eh?
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I think he’s not suspicious because the staff literally showed his memories that Starlight couldn’t have possibly known about which led some credence to the staff being or tapping into a cosmic force like cutie marks themselves. He also just got another good look at all the things that have gone wrong in his life. Because of his mark his parents thought he was an abomination and don’t live him until the literal most important person in history had to tell them they were wrong to do so, that same person later went on to publicly humiliate and ridicule him because of that same thing which he had no control over while also downplaying everything he’s worked hard for. He was part of a BS trial that showed because he’s a freak the general public will still look at him with disdain because of how he was born/developed and decide he doesn’t have a right to justice. Radish was basically accused of showing porn to children. If he didn’t work so hard to become an amazing person and Celestia’s friend, he probably would be considered a pedophile and have his life ruined over forgetting his coat. Even after the Sun Goddess herself vouched for him and told the court how disappointed she was over their abortion of justice, they still found him guilty anyways and only reduced his sentence. I don’t think this is Radish going back on his character growth, I think it’s him realizing his marks do make his life unnecessarily harder with no tangible benefit and he would be better off without them. This whole scenario feels like someone having a disability and learning to live with before coming across something that can remove it from their life entirely but their friends thinking them having that disability removed is a bad thing because they don’t understand.
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He's REALLY magically tied to Celestia though, as it turns out. Him finally losing it is believable to me. Same with Light, whatever she's up to. I don't really root for Light to win this because of her sterilizing herself bombshell.
I believe Twilight and friends have to take the blame here; they weren't exactly on point with honesty.
Not mentioning Starlight's capabilities is one thing, but not admitting to their mistakes? This cost them their friendship way before Twilight declared they aren't friends anymore.
If they did, maybe they could have talked Raddish down and got a compromise. Like Starlight getting the season finale treatment or maybe even Starlight under arrest while Twilight learns to perform what Starlight did.
So much for "honesty is best policy".
I really can't fault Radish for going with Starlight's offer. There's only so many times you can kick a dog before it turns mean. And Radish, he's been getting kicked his entire life for something he didn't do.
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We've actually seen real-world analogs to that before.
As much as I'm enjoying what's happening with Root... what about Light? Where is she!?
Radish definitely isn't in the right here but Twi and the gang are also pretty solidly in the wrong in my book. Their dishonesty about what Starlight can do is pretty telling about how they think about him for one, and all but Twi resorting to force(to varying degrees to be fair) rather quickly also isn't a great look.
The real offender to me though is Twilight. She doesn't even try to empathize with Radish when Starlight tells them how they can't understand his position, in her mind she's resolutely in the right and can't see past that in the moment. Then she's the one that made it personal by trying to leverage their friendship to get him to stand down, and when that doesn't work only focuses on how that makes her feel. The fact he's apparently ready and willing to sacrifice their friendship for this should be a hint to her at just how much this means to him.
And finally when Twilight declares they aren't friends anymore I view that as a failure on her and her title. Completely disregarding everything I said above or who's at fault for what the fact of the matter is Twilight Sparkle the Princess of Friendship gave up on a friend.
This is very exciting, feels like we're pretty solidly off the rails now, who knows where the carts headed.
On top of being put on trial for existing and Light vanishing, he also knows that his trial was at least partially a setup, that his superior was perfectly willing to abuse his loyalties when he was put in jail, and that not even the Princesses can shield him from being attacked this way. And likely a little voice in his head wondering if they just didn't bother to try hard enough.
I mean.... I can't exactly blame Radish. Even if he accepted that cutie mark as a part of himself it's caused him so much trouble. He can't even wear it in public because a kid might see it. They really can't understand how he feels in this situation.
But this story has been following canon up until this point, and I assume will continue to do so, so....what next?
Mane 6 out of the picture
celly is knocked out
Its daytime so Luna is asleep
Light is MIA
This has got to be the darkest chapter.
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Twilight: “taking away your brand is taking away what makes you special.” From what we know, his special talent at root is sex, and without that what he is, I don't know, I think that besides sex, the only thing he has left is to be an incredible fighter, an exemplary soldier, a strategist, a pony who discovers weaknesses and manages to cover them with a look, keeping the princess of the night completely safe during an enemy invasion, an incredible pony, to talk to and relate to, yes you are right if he takes his mark he will really lose a lot .
I think it’s easy to judge Radish harshly since we as the readers also know now that removing his mark may well have a serious negative impact on Celestia herself, at least if the apparent side effects of the first attempt are anything to go by. But despite that being probably the best reason anyone could give Radish to stop and reconsider right this instant, neither he nor the Mane 6 actually have the slightest clue of that development so far.
(Heck, unless we’re going with Starlight being a pure unrepentant villain just in it for the evulz here, she would probably think twice if she knew. If nothing else, even if she personally didn’t care about Celestia’s well-being one bit, getting all of Equestria up in arms against her for attacking their Princess via some weird cutie mark voodoo would likely not be very conducive to her goals.)
Well, after giving it a couple of days thought, this chapter was a long time coming. This isn't the first time Radish snapped and removed his mark, but last time this happened with Halycon, he got lectured and complemented backhandedly the same way he did here and everyone involved promised not to do it again.
Which ended up being a blatant lie. Most of his friends have shown they completely distrust him due to his mark, Shining Armor still refuses to acknowledge Light exists and treats Radish as an object. He couldn't even be asked to show up at the trial.
The love of his life is now AWOL and, from his point of view, it's because of his mark.
And most importantly, Celestia, despite spending the last arc desperately trying to save face from her repeated abuse of Radish through the story, refused to intervene in the farce of a trial. Even if she somehow has no power on a civilian trial (which makes no sense), this was a military one and she's commander in chief.
Not to mention the fact that the whole reason he's here is because the Plains Rangers seem to be in complete panic mode to save their reputation from the public ridicule Celestia gave them when she brutally attacked Radish on Hearts & Hooves day. Which also all comes down to the damn mark.
I don't blame Radish for snapping again, and I'm also happy to see the guy taking matters in his own hooves for the first time in ages rather then sit there and take constant abuse for an entire arc. This is the kind of characterization I expected at the trial before it was inexplicably cut short. I anxiously await where this goes!
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We are agents of chaos, if it weren't for Celestia's health I would say to Radish, go for it
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Pretty much nailed it with the 'nothing will change' part. Probably the most frustrating thing about this story.
I really cant wait to see how this plays out. Fantastic chapter!