Fudge Nut

[Elric J. Cornelius 7]

Fudge Nut

 

 

 

Fudge Nut’s father, Lightning Tumble, was a member of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Lightning Tumble’s ambitious desires, unfortunately, fell victim to his love of Canterlot’s decadent cuisine. Rather than train, Lightning Tumble spent time in the kitchens, eating and learning the chefponies’ secrets. Whatever guilt Lightning Tumble felt about his shortcomings as a Royal Guard would be assuaged by the delectable treats and intriguing recipes of the Royal Chefponies, only to come crashing down on Lightning Tumble when he returned to the home he shared with his wife, Mint Medley and the young Fudge Nut. The tiniest comment on Mind Medley’s behalf would send Lightning Tumble on a journey through a world where the ponies of Canterlot would provide for them when the Royal Guard billeted their home for new members of the Royal Guard. Often times, Lighting Tumble would take his anger out on Mint Medley.

Mint Medley would take Fudge Nut to Celestia’s palace and chat with the other Guardswives.

 

Often times she would give Fudge Nut fresh fudge from the kitchens while Mint Medley visited with her friends. Fudge Nut often saw his mothermare struggling to tell her friends about the domestic problems she had with Lightning Tumble. Fudge Nut would also see the proud, majestic members of the Royal Guard—paragons of friendship, honesty and charity—who were everything Lightning Tumble was not, and wish that he was one of them. He often came close to telling them about his father’s abusiveness. Fear of Lightning Tumble kept Fudge Nut quiet, however.

 

Lightning Tumble eventually passed away. Mint Medley and Fudge Nut were allowed to stay at a different residence in Canterlot while their old house was given to up and coming members of the Royal Guard. Fudge Nut’s love of Canterlot fudge continued; anytime he had a bad day, he’d go for the fudge. Eventually his love for fudge rendered him unable to pass the fitness challenge to become a Royal Guard. Therefore he became a wandering earth pony during the years that Discord was active in Equestria, shortly before he was sealed away in stone. Fudge Nut left his mother in Canterlot, feeling as if he had failed to return her love and acts of kindness, seeking a way to overcome the long shadow cast by Lightning Tumble, even after his death by old age.

 

Equestria was in a state of benign turmoil: Discord’s activities had yet to become extravagant. Discord’s mischief was isolated, but always devastating to those who experienced it. As a wandering pony, Fudge Nut saw the aftermath of Discord’s doings: young ponies who were tricked into inadvertently ruining their parents’ trades (or jobs: carpentry, baking etc.) by acting foolish with the tools of the trade. Pony settlements whose more senile ponies were tricked into believing their delusions would become a reality, and thus acting to prevent those things the senile ponies considered undesirable.

Fudge Nut didn’t want those young ponies to experience the feelings of guilt at seeing their parents and older relatives turning on one another at Discord’s behest. Nor did Fudge Nut want to see those young ponies turning on one another. Thus he set out to inspire hope in the pony nations of Equestria, believing this to be the way to silencing looming specter of Lightning Tumble. Fudge Nut recalled his mother’s tales of the Princesses Celestia and Luna. Fudge Nut brought those tales to the beleaguered ponies of Equestria who had the misfortune of becoming Discord’s playthings.

 

Fudge Nut’s desire to heal the broken families and friendships led him to stretch the truth about the Princesses. Eventually his slight exaggerations became fullblown lies. Unbeknownst to Fudge Nut, the conflicting stories he told often collided when ponies from different towns would meet and talk about the Roaming Earth Pony’s wondrous tales. Thus Fudge Nut inadvertently sowed further conflict, undoing what good he had initially accomplished.

 

Fudge Nut soon learned the truth when he reached what would eventually become Manehattan. He was confronted by other ponies with whom he’d shared the hopeful stories of the Princesses. Before Fudge Nut could correct himself, conflict broke out. The fighting and arguing sent Fudge Nut into flashbacks of Lightning Tumble. He fled Manehattan; at an inn in the country he questioned himself and was uncertain of his mission to spread hope and friendship.

 

Word came to the inn of Mint Medley’s passing; Fudge Nut returned to Canterlot. Along the way he came across more of the conflicts he had inadvertently created. After Mint Medley’s funeral, Fudge Nut felt as if he had failed in his mission. Thus Fudge Nut continued to turn to fudge and other sweets in the face of crisis and dispute. The futility of his mission led him to revise his goals; instead Fudge Nut travelled throughout Equestira encouraging the ponies to live in the moment, for at this time Discord’s power was growing. If he couldn’t spread friendship while Discord was weak, it would be a useless thing to attempt with Discord coming to full power.  Secretly, Fudge Nut grew to understand his new mission would only benefit Discord. To Fudge Nut, that was wonderful; it meant the ponies would be able to live to their heart’s content before their end, without fear of arrest by the Royal Guard.