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Insubordination

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Made with deviantART muro

"Not ready, no way, no how, not ever! There is nothing that could ever get me to leave!" Private Thistle Whistle protested, crossing her forelegs.

Removing one of her front metal boots, Lieutenant Star Catcher delivered a swift slap across the insubordinate's cheek. There were no further mishaps after that, as the soldiers continued on their voyage. Something in the back of the other subordinates' minds said the Lieutenant would be hard-pressed to give any of them any ice cream now.

--

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

LOOK AT THAT SKY!

I MADE THAT SHIT! I DID! ME! I FEEL SO AWESOME!!! LEARNIIIIIIIING!

The ponies look a little too superimposed, BUT I DON'T CARE THAT SKY OH MY GOD!!!

--

So if you're not all too generation-savvy when it comes to MLP, this probably needs some explaining.

From left, to top, to right, are g3 ponies: Thistle Whistle, Star Catcher, and Coconut Grove. They were all pegasus ponies who starred in the direct-to-video g3 cartoon, "Friends Are Never Far Away."

In FANFA, the pegasi are isolated on an island, and have only recently learned the existence of and come into contact with the Earth ponies in Ponyville (yes, in g3 all the races were seperated). In order to bring the two different kinds of ponies together, the Earth ponies have busted their flanks to prepare a bigass party to invite all the pegasi to. Star Catcher, a pegasus who seems to the be the pegasi's unspoken leader, however explains that pegasus ponies are "very shy" (*looks at g4 Fluttershy...*) and may be reluctant to go. Despite this, Star Catcher convinces most of them to give them a chance.

Cue Thistle Whistle.

Thistle Whistle, a greyish-blue pegasus who's known for whistling in her speech, fervently protests any of them going at all, and basically undermines Star Catcher's "authority" throughout the whole thing. When Star Catcher (or Coconut Grove) is trying to convince the others that everything is alright, Thistle Whistle keeps blurting out that they've, "Never ever left the island, never! Did I say ever?" and the likes, causing the three to have a tug-of-war over the collective pegasi's desicion on whether or not to go to the party. Riveting, yes? Eventually Coconut Grove reassures the pegasi that they'll all be going together, and when Thistle still protests to go herself, she is also persuaded by being told that there will be ice cream at the party.

Despite the fact that this is g3 and this "conflict" (if you can call it that) was done without an ounce of intended maliciousness on anypony's part, it always bugged me as a kid how Thisle Whistle kept screwing things up by stirring the pot of the pegasi's anxieties. I kept waiting for Star Catcher, who struck me as the clear authority figure in the situation, to tell Thistle Whistle to shut the hell up and grow a set, or remind her who the boss is. Even as a child, I recognized how annoying and disrespectful it was to be someone in charge trying to make a point or call to action only to have someone else lower than you keep butting in and wrecking everything. I saw it as akin to protesting a teacher's lesson plan, or continuously scaring your siblings while your parents were trying to convince them to go to the dentist.

So then I wondered, how would the g4 pegasi culture have handled this situation? Obviously the two renditions of the race as a group are very different. In g3, the isolated pegasi are peaceful tropical islander-dwellers who are shy but have an affinity for butterflies, ice cream, and get this, FLYING--I know, what a twist! (Seriously, Star Catcher flat-out says, "Yes, yes! And pegasus ponies love to fly." as if she's sharing some new fact. I mean, I like Star Catcher and all, but come on, you point out that they like to fly? You don't fucking say! I never would have guessed. Who would have thought a creature capable of suspended flight would actually enjoy doing it? Not me! Never before have I heard of such a thing!)
The g4 isolated pegasi are, on the other hand, pony-expies of the militaristic ancient Greeks who the other isolated tribes describes as "mean," "brutes," and "ruffians." Their leader, Commander Hurricane, describes the race as, "a mighty tribe of warriors [who] should not be crossed" before accidentally striking a Private soldier down a flight of stairs in a fit of anger. The same commander is also quick to suggest war against the other tribes over the newly discovered Equestria, and threatens to court-martial Private Pansy (the same Private they struck) for insubordination for daring to agree with the other tribes' members call for compromise. It was also suggested that the tribe had no issue with blatant conqest.
I mean they stopped being like that some time after the pony races united under one banner, but y'know.

So yeah, I think I'm safe to assume that in g4, Thistle Whistle's bullshit wouldn't have flown. In ancient Sparta, I highly doubt that the response to an underling's soldiers defiance of orders would be to hold hands and promise them ice cream. If anything, you'd be miraculously lucky beyond all reason and logic to just get away with a slap in the face. I have a feeling that even in the g4 pegasus tribe, Star Catcher would be something of a softie.
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CameronKobe's avatar
Rather fabulous use of muro! :clap: