“You're right,” Bellesmith murmured.
Nightshade exhaled, the tension melting from her shoulders as she lowered her taser.
Leaning against the wall, Belle shuddered. With a bow of her head, she said, “This world is dying. You don't need sequencing to realize this. You don't even need a piece of the machine realm's flame.” She gnashed her teeth, then continued speaking. “The Ancients knew about this. Axan and her sisters... they had foreseen the end coming. Something older than time, older than dragons is draining the lustre from this world. Sooner than we'd imagine it, maybe in this lifetime, maybe in the next, all flame shall be extinguished. There'll be nothing left to rekindle the Spark of this place. We'll be a adrift like ants clinging to a cold gravestone, floating through infinite chaos.” She looked up with sad eyes. “This world needs a solution, and it needs it now.”
With a nod, Nightshade trotted forward and said. “I am glad that we are for once in agreement over—”
Belle spun and bucked her upside the chin. The Madame and her taser went flying in opposite directions. After smacking against an instrument panel, Nightshade stood up, winced, and glared in the mare's direction.
With two heavy hooves, Belle snapped the taser down the middle. Her face growled into the blue aura of the exposed manafield. “But that solution will never come to pass by the hooves of a demented cretin such as you! Rainbow Dash is the only cure for this world! You?! You're just another sick pony, like Shell, like Queen Ledo! Clouded by your own fever!”
Struggling, Nightshade eventually rolled up to her hooves. She leaned against a door behind her, seething at Belle. “You know, for a doctor, you're not very smart.”
“And for a mare you're not very pretty.”
“You're putting all of your faith in an unpredictable winged pony who's done nothing but bring you unpredictability and unrest!” Nightshade exclaimed, shouting finally. “Do you even know the sheer weight of that faith?! All of the dangers that you are overlooking?! All of the precious things you are giving up?!”
“You are obviously a very gifted pony, Madame,” Belle said. “It's a shame that you had to channel that through your personal sorrow. You'll never understand loyalty like Rainbow Dash; you're still stuck in remorse.”
“How dare you!” Nightshade stomped her hooves. Veins showed in her temple as she howled, “I love my brother! If I could give up everything to undo what has been done to him, I would! In a heartbeat! What has your precious Austraeoh given up that makes her that much more righteous?!”
With a swishing sound, the door to the lit room beyond the glass slid open. Nightshade spun around, and almost immediately the rage in her face left. Catching her breath, she slicked her mane back and murmured, “My foals. You've arrived just in time.”
Twelve Xonan fillies and colts stood in the doorway, peering into the tight metal room. They looked at the unconscious stallions, then at Bellesmith, then at Nightshade.
“You were yelling, Madame Nightshade...”
“This intruder, Bellesmith, almost got control of me,” Nightshade said. “But everything is all right. Now that you are here, I need you to help me keep her from running off—”
“You are as ugly outside of the spheres as you are within,” spoke the oldest colt, his mouth hanging open in utter shock. “You are... so angry...” His eyes narrowed around his tattooed face. “And yet weak...”
Nightshade blinked, leaning back as if blown by a random wind.
Frantically, Belle spoke up. “She's used you! All this time, children, she's used you to get the information that she wants! She's powerless, don't you see that?!” Belle twitched, then blurted, “Didn't you see what I... wh-what Rainbow Dash was capable of doing to her?”
“You...” A filly trotted up, gazing across the way at Belle. “You are indeed Eljunbyro.”
“Even incomplete, you are still important,” added another.
“The Austraeoh knows you,” said a colt. “You are her friend, her ally.” He looked up at Nightshade. “”And you would hurt her?”
Nightshade frowned. Dragging her hoof in a threatening manner, she pointed with the other one towards the room behind the youths. “Get back into the sequencing chamber! I want all of you meditating within the spheres! Do I make myself clear?!”
“You... are threatening Eljunbyro...” The oldest colt marched forward. The other foals joined him in an icy trot. “You are threatening the world.” He snarled, his face patterns adding to the menace of his ire. “You are threatening us!”
Nightshade trotted backwards, her face bouncing between shock and anger “What are you doing?! Stay back! I mean it!” She growled. “I will not tolerate this insubordination! Do you understand?! I found you. I gave you a home. I gave you a life—”
“We never asked to be found!” a filly's voice cracked.
“You took our parents away!” sobbed another.
“We hate you!”
“Why did you do this?!”
“You're a bad, bad mare!”
“Give us our families back!”
“Give us back our horns!”
“We want to go home!”
It happened swifter than an avalance; all twelve foals converged on the mare, tripping her to the metal floor and kicking, punching, and bucking her from all sides. Nightshade shrieked and curled up into a fetal position, covering her head with a pair of forelimbs as she shouted in vain to drown out their angry cries.
All the while, Bellesmith stood stock still. Panting, she watched as the foals converged on their mother-turned-oppressor. She winced several times, turning her face to eye the open door that now loomed across the way. Turning her back to Nightshade, she made a path for the table covered in Luna's satchel and Rainbow Dash's various belongings.
She froze, however, her limbs twitching with each distressed cry that came from Nightshade's throat. After a few seconds, Belle sighed heavily, turned around, and galloped deep into the thick melee.
“Foals! Foals! Stop it! Stop it this instant!” She managed to peel the angry children off of Nightshade. Already, the mare had a few whelts on her face, and she was coughing up blood. Nevertheless, Belle stood above her, facing the bewildered Xonans with a fierce frown. “I know you're angry! And it's okay to be angry! This pony has done horrible, terrible things to you and your family! But you mustn't tear her limb from limb!”
“Why not?!” a filly shouted, pointing at her forehead. “She tore enough from us, hasn't she?!”
”Yeah!” several of them chanted at once.
Belle said, “Countless ponies in the Confederacy have done horrible things to me, including having ripped off my horn. And you know what? In the end, I only want to save them, just like I want to save this entire world.”
“But why?!” the oldest colt grumbled. “This isn't even our world!”
“Because I know Austraeoh, and she only hurts other ponies when she needs to protect her friends! She knows she's going to die, she knows she's outmatched by her enemies, and she knows this world isn't hers. But that doesn't stop her from going out of her way to make something better out of it all!”
“She said it was our duty to shed light on Austraeoh,” a filly said. She pointed at Nightshade. “She said that we'd all meet her someday!”
“The most important thing about Rainbow Dash is learning to be like her,” Belle said. “And that means being courageous, being strong, and being selfless. Once you know in your heart that you've embodied all of these things, then you can count yourself as righteous, but you won't have to, because you'll be too busy doing what is right!” She pointed at Nightshade's bruises as the mare sputtered and wheezed. “Tell me, what's right about treating her like a sack of meat?! Do you endeavor to be like Austraeoh? Or would you want to become like Nightshade?”
The foals doubled back on that. They exchanged glances for a few seconds before collectively hanging their heads.
“Please...” Bellesmith leaned forward, placing her hoof on the shoulder of the nearest child. “I need to get out of here. I need to find freedom. But I need more than that too; I need to free you as well. You don't belong here, with all of the violence, with all of the suffering.”
A colt walked up and tugged on Belle's forelimb. “You'll really do that? For us?”
Belle blinked, then smiled gently. “Yes. I will get you all out of here. I promise.”
“But, you are Eljunbyro... the ally to Austraeoh,” the oldest colt said. “You're not supposed to know us.”
“I don't care,” Belle grunted. “I'm getting you out. Is that understood?”
The foals exchanged glances. A few of them collectively smiled as a filly said, “You really do have a piece of her spirit inside you...”
Belle leaned back, smiling briefly. “She is rather infectious. Now, we must find a way out of...” She made a face, glancing around. “Where are we, anyway?”
“You're going to bring your friend too, right?”
Belle flashed the children a look. “Buh?”
They pointed towards the sealed door on the other side of the room. “The one they brought you here with when you were unconscious.”
A spasm ran through the mare's eyes. Slowly, she swiveled around, stepped over Nightshade's body, and trotted towards the door. Then that trot turned into a canter and finally a gallop as she reached the panel and slapped her hoof over the button beside it.
With a loud buzz, the door slid up, revealing a pale filly with dense green hair and an even denser frown. “Finally! Took you friggin' forever, Belle!” Kera grunted. “It smells like manadust and legsweat in here!”
“You... You...” Belle stammered, her chestnut eyes flicking between the child and the tiny closet she had been stuck in. “You're alive?!”
“Pffft! Of course I am!” Kera grumbled. “Would it have killed ya to have woken up earlier?! I almost had a good mind to break out and kick flank myself!”
“You mean...” Belle leaned over, her mouth agape. “Y-you're not afraid... or scared in anyway?”
“Hell no! What's gotten all that rot in your plot, girl?! I think you've been sequencing too long—Whoah!”
Belle had scooped Kera up into a hug, a very tight, deep, nuzzling sort of hug. She buried her grinning face into the filly's fuzzy chest as her words dripped out as copiously as her tears. “Oh, Kera. I love you. I love you so much.”
“Unnnnnnnngh... Belllllllle...”
“I don't care if it's sappy!” Belle sniffled and parted the hug only to nuzzle the filly's cheek and say, “You're alive. You're alive and... and...” She choked on a sob, her smile widening even more. “It's okay. Everything is g-going to be okay. I'm going to get us out of here, you hear me? You and all the rest of these children. There's nothing that can stop us anymore.”
“Yeah, uh, good luck with that, Belle.”
“'Ding Dong.'”
“Huh?”
Belle could only giggle like a mare possessed.
“Can you stop hugging me now?” Kera looked over her shoulder. “Whoah! Look at the beaten bodies!” she gasped. “Cool!”
Double quotations. That needs to be fixed.
I would've thought the same thing.
Belle's awesomeness grows ever stronger. She should consider a job in public affairs. The way she's touting Dashie, it makes her sound like pony Jesus!
We need to start working the lower body. Twenty lunges, ):(. Knock 'em out!
I am not pleased with this chapter. Nightshade still had the potential to be proven ultimately good, and is just beaten up as a villain regardless. Way to hear out the opposition Belle, not like rejecting everyone who does things differently from you isn't a trait in a certain few confirmed villains that you hate. Just saying.
Kera, darlin, I love you. I hope to have children someday with as much spunk as you, may the Spark kill me for saying that.
Nightshade got what was coming to her.
2919989
the spark wont, but your kids will.
Kera is ok!
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
That's Kera, alright. Thank goodness.
Wow, Belle actually referred to herself as "Ding Dong"...
Dash is really infecting her personality
Oh look, another major villain gets not dead. This has always proven to be a sound strategy that never backfires at all.
Belle, we get that Dash doesn't hurt ponies unnecessarily. If you don't start putting bad guys down for good, though, you're gonna have eight nations' worth of antagonists chasing you down.
I have to admit, I'm as relieved as Belle that Kera is alright even though I knew she was okay. I Do disagree with Belle about not punishing Nightshade though. There's a possibility that she will try to wreak revenge on Belle and make things VERY difficult OR that she will have a turn of heart based on what Belle said and did there...but it's a 50/50 chance I don't know if I'd want to take.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Nightshade had the opportunity to do good with her knowledge. Had.
Kera's alive!!
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I like the mixed reactions here. Some people thought Belle was too hard on Nightshade, others thought she went too easy on her. Either way, methinks we haven't seen the last of Nightshade. We still have 47 chapters for her to do the whole villainous-hand-rising-from-the-rubble thing.
It's good to have you back, Kera. It's good to have you back.
Woot! Kera is back! And I knew Kera wasn't that much of a coward. Now, we just need to find Phoenix and Pilate.
Rainbow Dash is now Space Horse Jesus
Yes! Another point goes to Belle! Everything turned out quite well in this chapter, I'm suprised. And Kera's ok!
all in favor of referring to Rainbow Dash as Pony Jesus say I.
its also great to have kera back, story wouldn't be the same without her
really liked this chapter..
Yay Keras alive! Its a long shot, but its still a chance!
God, it'd pay to be a dentist in the Austraeoh-verse. The amount of dental damage that is dished out by Dash and co. is staggering. Maybe a career option for Imre after this whole shindig is finished? I think her attitude would fit in perfectly.
Well, I'm glad that the whole Belle/Nightshade thing is close to wrapping up. In my opinion, they've been some of the best and worst chapters of the entire series. Last chapter? Appalling. The initial dream sequence? Astounding.
Getting back to the bigger picture and the reunion of the Church of Rainbows? Awesome.
Damnit Belle, carry on talking about her like that and you'll end up starting a religion.
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I
I had been wondering throughout the entire last chapter: why go for a candle when you can have the sun? Why back up Nightshade's studies of the flame when it's either them or the Spark itself?
Well, there isn't much left of the shamanistic wisdom of Xona now, is there? From a spiritual union in trance to an angry lynch mob in ten seconds flat. I can sort of see this happening here, I don't know why:
2919965 The only thing good about Nightshade are her motifs. Even if we should consider her a good person, her unquestionably bad actions must be stopped.
These next few chapters are going to kick ass.
“And for a mare you're not very pretty.”
You tell her belle!
What does manadust smell like? Mountain dew?
Couldn't think of anything, Belle?
Oh, and...
Hah! That takes me back.
2923068
I'll agree something must be done about her actions, and a punishment when this is all over is heavily due, but it the motifs are good, it might make sense to let her achieve them now. But it doesn't really matter, I mean, she's not even going to get a chance to fully explain herself, so might as well move on and just "pretend" that she was way beyond being able to do any good.
2923816 Keep also in mind that people have motifs behind their motifs. Nightshade's direct motif is to develop a weapon to eradicate Xona and to gain the power of the flame for herself. A bad motif. Her deeper motif is to bring back life to the world and end the war. A good motif. The thing is: everyone's deeper motif at any given time is good. The ends may justify ones means, but the ends themselves are never considered bad. Saying: if Nightshade isn't evil, no one is.
Is fucking everything not enough?
2924090
I'll give it to you there, that's a good point. Under this light, yeah, she's a really evil daughter of a mare. Still gotta say I kind of like her though.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. True evil does things that are bad but calls them good, and those involved even think that they are actually doing things for the right reasons: Shell for instance.
How far gone down that path is Nightshade? Beyond redemption? Beyond the option of change?
Roarke did bad things but I think underneath it she was actually doing good; like saving Imre.
I agree with Belle though, you have to take the higher path. You can't just kill Nightshade for the sake of revenge or payback. IF it were a fight and it happened during the struggle then so be it, but otherwise, people should be left alive to pay justice.
Kera's alive!Whooppeee!!!
She liiiiiives!
Gogo Kera!
Now to find Phoenix!
2925104
Not to shock you, but Kera is the exact opposite colours of your avatar image.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Again, we have a great chapter. The bad guy is defeated, and even though the good guys get their revenge, they aren't completely heartless. And Kera's alive too! Yeah! These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Yay! I don't have to call Shell bad names anymore - well, not for that reason anywho.
Belle is so much a mother role here, aaand I forgot what else I was going to say.
she's alive!!!!!!
Nightshade's actions are most understandable than Belle would lead us to believe. To any normal observer, trusting that much in Rainbow Dash would indeed be an irresponsible mood. It takes a special kind of soul, one the walks hand in hand with destiny, to bet so much on our Austraeoh.
But yeah, I'd believe in Rainbow... having read what I've read, mind. She's kind of unstoppable.
I know these events have, like, no relation whatsoever, but when all the little foals (they can be angry little buggers as a group) swarmed over Nightshade, I immediately thought of Umbridge being carted off by Centaurs. Unfortunately for Umbridge there was no Belle to give a lecture on morality while imploring all of her attackers to join the Church of Dash (Forget prayer - go be awesome instead!).
As for Nightshade's punishment - I think getting curb-stomped by a bunch of prepubescent ponies is a good start, but a dozen simultaneous mana-blasts from a certain squirrel might be nice, too.
2967015
I think the only time to do something really awful to someone would be while their being really awful, maybe when [insert antagonist] is giving their monologue on how [protagonist] wouldn't hurt them because "they haven't the guts"- or something like with saving the world, she's the bad one, we should all get [protagonist]. I really do feel that Nightshade shouldn't die in that particular moment, but I wouldn't have any obligations if a particular squirrel obliterated her in that dream... sequence... life... thing.
Oh gosh, 37 weeks! I wonder if Imploding's still writing...
2920071
Well, there's no arguing with that logic. *upvotes*
2921708
The square root of -1
Nightshade got what was coming to her. Now, it's time to save these foals!
Also, Kera is alive!!!!!!
-Spirit
God dammit, Kera, I love you, too.
KERA!
But...How is Kera alive??? Not that im complaining...but i watched her die...we all did...Was that part of the nightmare?
I... don't like this chapter. At all. In fact, I think it's by far the worst chapter of this series. I had previously written a long, emotional response to it, but I didn't post it. So instead, I'll now write a much calmer, more clinical, and probably even longer response. It's something I have to do, I feel the need to explain why I am so very disappointed.
First of all, the moral. I read this as "you are not allowed to hurt others for the greater good, you need to do things the clean way". This is a moral that I utterly reject, I think it is wrong, childish, naive, stupid, harmful, and seeing it here made me very, very sad. I would have loved the opposite moral, and I was hoping for it after the last chapter. This is made far worse by just how often I am reading this moral in one way or another. I don't think it's part of another SS&E story, but I've read it countless times from other writers. This kind of message, whilst being wrong and misguided in the first place, gets even worse, the stronger the moral background of the supposed villain is, and here, I am entirely convinced that Nightshade is doing the right thing. She is making mistakes, but her ideals are right, and the sacrifices she is making stand in no relation to the good she can cause. Even if she just ends up being a small help for Dash, it is worth it.
Second, the execution. SS&E has stated that he doesn't read a lot before, so maybe that's coincidence. Even still...
“This world needs a solution, and it needs it now.”
With a nod, Nightshade trotted forward and said. “I am glad that we are for once in agreement over—”
Belle spun and bucked her upside the chin. The Madame and her taser went flying in opposite directions. After smacking against an instrument panel, Nightshade stood up, winced, and glared in the mare's direction.
With two heavy hooves, Belle snapped the taser down the middle. Her face growled into the blue aura of the exposed manafield. “But that solution will never come to pass by the hooves of a demented cretin such as you! Rainbow Dash is the only cure for this world! You?! You're just another sick pony, like Shell, like Queen Ledo! Clouded by your own fever!”
Summary: Villain-who-is-not-actually-a-villain offers the protagonist-who-is-being-a-fool a peace offer, protagonist says okay, villain believes him for some reason, protagonist makes a surprise attack, overwhelms the villain against all odds, and eventually succeeds to do the thing that has to be done the clean way. Sadly, this exact summary could be applied to about half a dozen parts in stories I have read previously. As soon as Belle said "okay", I knew exactly what was going to happen, and it happened. There is no redeeming element here, it's just plain, predictable, and wrong.
Third, the foals. I expect a lot of opposing opinions here, but I think that them turning on Nightshade is almost unthinkable. Abstract thinking and consideration of context is something that people learn when they grow up. A child does not think logically, much less feel so. It relishes affection, has a short memory, and it is extremely reliant towards any kind of motherly (or fatherly) figure. What I'm getting at is, I don't see the foals hating Nightshade because she cut their horns of. I think they would consider her a mother, simply because she is the only thing close to a mother that they have, and because she is treating them well (which I assume she does, based on the one time we saw them interact). Sure she lets them sequence, but I don't think that it's painful for them. And, for all we know, she might have even saved/improved their lives by keeping them there. And I really, really don't think they understand the importance/value of freedom. So, them turning on Nightshade felt like a huge contrivance. But even if I could believe that they hate her, believing that she is unaware of that fact until this chapter might be an even bigger stretch. Kids are not good at hiding their feelings, and Nightshade is not stupid enough to be fooled by them.
Fourth, the lost potential. There could have been another way to write this chapter: Belle listens to Nightshade, sees that she got good points, and they talk things through, get around their differences, and proceed to work together. It doesn't take long for Nightshade to admit the flaws she has made. It is hard for me to describe how much I would have appreciated this chapter, had it done this instead. Aside from breaking out of predictableness and stereotypes, this would have symbolized many different things.
-> the world is not black and white, and in fact more complex than almost everyone thinks
-> morals that focus on motivation and ignore facts and results are trash
-> admitting that you're wrong is a sign of true greatness
-> many things that you think are wrong or false are in fact valid, and you should always seek to broaden your horizons.
-> likewise, many people you think are evil probably are not.
This has massive relevance in the real world, and this chapter could have been a glorious example of these kinds of strong ethical messages. Seeing it all go to crap is not a good feeling. The single worst thing for me is that this likely means that you believe the kind of moral on display here, and we'll therefore never see the opposite moral represented in one of your stories, even though you did touch on several of the points above in different ways.
Overall, this could have been one of my favorite chapters in this series. Instead, it was a huge personal disappointment. It's not going to stop me from reading and enjoying the Austraeoh series, but it hurt it a lot. Even though the conflicts aren't similar, I had to think about the chapter Bridge from BGP, and how they just don't seem like they're written by the same person.
Okay, I think I made my point. What else is there? Kera is alive. That's something I like, and it makes perfect sense. Their interaction was very cute, and I would have enjoyed it a lot if I hadn't been busy being horribly depressed. And Phoenix will likely be rescued too... mh.
5028448 I don't think most of the stuff that happened after Phoenix got captured in terms of the Belle/Kera arc actually happened.
5258062 Just because one is naïve, doesn't make one wrong. Children sometimes see deeper truths and meanings than the most worldly of adults.
I can agree that that is a naïve moral, but again just because one is naïve doesn't make one wrong, furthermore you are the one who decided to read it in such a way. I'm not saying you're wrong for it, but perhaps the reason why you read it this way is because, as you've stated, you support the current antagonist. I saw the moral as, 'there is a right and wrong way to go about things, and the path you've chosen isn't right'.
Also, claiming a moral is 'stupid' is hardly a good reason.
Does this not go against why she would be in the right? 'The sacrifices she is making stand in no relation to the good she can cause. If anything, this means she is acting maliciously for no purpose at all, which, simply put, is evil. A sacrifice for no purpose is just a fancy way of saying you're throwing something away. Also:
Is this not exactly what you said in the last chapter that you didn't want to see? The ends justify the means? Because that is exactly what you have typed here, just in different words. She is using child-slave labor. Just because the foals don't know that they are actually prisoners, does not mean that it is not slave labor.
What odds? The villain quite literally only had one advantage: her taser. Other than that, Belle won with surprise, which admittedly, in a real world situation, wouldn't have happened as no one in their right mind would lower their guard in front of their enemy so swiftly. Regardless, she took Nightshade by surprise which was Belle's advantage. All in all, there were 1:1 odds, which is perfectly fair. Also, what is wrong with doing things the clean way? Seeing as every time you mentioned it, you were against it.
In case you didn't notice, these 'children' have been learning about the history of not only their world, but the other twelve as well. Not only that, but they have been meticulously studying and learning many thinks. It could be argued that they are mentally capable of abstract thinking and thinking logically.
While children often have the tendencies mentioned above, in this particular case, I would have to disagree. These children have likely been constantly pressured to remember what they learn, a fact supported by their constant studying and Nightshade's own heavy reliance upon them.
Again, I have to disagree, as was heavily implied in the chapter that Phoenix got his horn cut off, cutting off one's horn is an extremely traumatizing and at the absolute least, an agonizing experience. Even a child would remember that type of trauma, and if they somehow didn't remember, it is likely that they repressed that memory, as a mind may do when traumatized.
It's not very likely that they would consider Nightshade their mother, as they seem to clearly know that Nightshade stole them from their homes and families, it's even mentioned in this very chapter. Great mother figure material there. Also, in the chapter 'The Little Picture' Nightshade is purposefully intimidating them and I quote:
and also in the chapter 'Wind to Wings' the foal mentions:
Fear is not supposed to be borne of respect, nor is respect supposed to be earned through fear, and in the minds of children, what typically gets the greatest response from them? Fear. They fear being taken away from the chance to sequence in that world.
From the chapter, A False Spark':
The ages of these foals are mentioned in an earlier chapter In Orderly Fashion
So the oldest colt/filly is potentially nine, while the youngest, (and this is a guess) is probably between the ages of 5 and 6. I only guess those ages as anypony younger would likely be unable to sequence and follow orders efficiently. They would easily be able to remember any family that they had.
This has absolutely no relevance to anything, because we will never know.
I don't know about 'hate her', but easily they could dislike her to the point of revolt as is the case in this chapter. While Nightshade may not be stupid, she is arrogant and could easily mistake their constant compliance to fear as them simply obeying her with no real thoughts/feelings on the matter.
There is always another way. Should've, could've, would've. This is how Imploding decided to write it, therefore this is how it is.
That much has been made clear, Nightshade has her reasons, and while those reasons aren't bad, it doesn't mean that she is right.
And morals that drive you to harm your fellow beings aren't morals. What fact(s) does Nightshade have? The world is dying? We knew that. That the symbols are important? We knew that too. What results has Nightshade received? She learned the symbols are important and that the world is dying...but at the cost of pain and suffering for the foals and their families and pain and suffering of her self. Other than that, what results has she gained?
It is when you learn from your mistakes and grow rather than continuing to doing the same wrong things.
and vice-versa.
and again, what exactly is wrong about believing in a naïve moral? Just because you believe in a naïve moral does not mean that you, yourself are naïve.
I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I disagree with some of what you said.
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