The One That Got Away
is a fanfic in the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic 'verse The Weedverse by Kudzuhaiku.
Sumac and his friends are gathered and enjoying the hot summer, with the notable exception of Olive, drawn away by her ambition to join the guard, she's regularly travelling up to Canterlot and back. Still, she does arrive at the waterhole eventually, and informs them all that her helmet, the helmet of the Immortal Solars, has arrived, and she's leaving tomorrow.
She won't be back, at least not to stay. The Solars are loyal to one thing, and one thing only. For all they have shared, she cannot stay with her friends. She cannot marry Sumac, Pebble and Silver. All her connections will be burned away beneath the arch of fire. She has only a few more hours with her friends.
This short story contains examples of:
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Defied, Sumac specifically requests his parents not embarrass him at the station, so they don't accompany him (and thus do not appear in the story).
- Badass Pacifist: Twilight goes out of her way to praise those who join the Corps of Gringineers, an army of these, specifically to counter the accusations of cowardice that may be thrown at them.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Moondancer threatening the electrical gremlins comes across as ineffective, due to her soft voice, but Pebble knows that following her torturous imprisonmentnote , Moondancer regained her confidence by learning the arts of magical destruction from Dim Dark himself. Lampshaded by name in Pebble's narration.
- Big Damn Kiss: A bittersweet example. Pebble and Olive's goodbye kiss fits the bill, but it's the last one they'll share.
- Bittersweet Ending: The whole story is bittersweet, being about the loss of a good friend, but she's gone on to do better things, and those left behind are stronger for having dealt with the loss.
- Bizarre Alien Reproduction: Inverted, Boomer complains about how mammalian reproduction is strange and sickening. At least Silver Lining lays eggs.
- Chew-Out Fake-Out: Deliberately done In-Universe, Twilight jokingly yells at Olive for not finishing school during her speech, but it quickly shifts to saying just how proud she is of what Olive accomplished. Of couse, she still can't give her a diploma yet.
- Chubby Chaser: Sumac finds Silver Lining's jiggling rather enticing.
- Coming of Age Story: The story is about the breaking up of foalhood friendships as the duties of adulthood take over, and how the maturing ponies deal with the transition.
- Comfort Food: The story ends with Pebble suggesting they all go pig out on ice cream.
- Continuity Nod: Olive inflicting the serious injury to Sumac during her bullying days is referenced as nearly spoiling her chance to join the Solars.
- Erotic Eating: Sumac attempts this after Olive's arrival. It doesn't work. Later on, he accidentally (and very briefly) distracts Pebble while slurping on an iced coffee.
- Expospeak Gag: The name of Boomer's comic book, Conquest of the Planet of the Naked Hairless Simians.
- Embarrassingly Painful Sunburn: Pebble avoids this (she's very sensitive to the sun) by submerging herself, often for hours at a time. Megara joins her, although sunburn isn't her problem, she just has very thick fur.
- Girl on Girl Is Hot: Pebble and Olive reminisce about giving Sumac a show for his birthday.
- Initiation Ceremony: We get some brief descriptions of parts of the Solar's ceremonies, including standing guard until you can stand no longeer.
- Interspecies Romance: Discussed. When Boomer begins complaining about pony reproduction being icky, Sumac suggests she could end up falling in love with a pony. She does not think much of this idea.
- Inopportune Voice Cracking: Sumac's singing suffers somewhat for his adolescence. He doesn't care overmuch.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Olive tells Pebble to give Sumac all the love she cannot.
- Lame Pun Reaction: Sumac gets summarily informed that he is the worst of ponies following a particularly dreadful pun.
- Married to the Job: Expected and enforced for those that join the Solars. Forever.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Starlight subduing Sumac after his surge occurs offscreen, as the precise events are unimportant to the narrative, simply that it was done in time for Sumac to see Olive offnote .
- Power Incontinence: Chapter 1 ends with Sumac becoming overwhelmed with the power of the Ink and vanishing.
- Praetorian Guard: Olive is offered a post with Celestia's Immortal Solars. Later stories show she accepts, not that it's ever really in doubt.
- Resignations Not Accepted: A post with the Solars is a post for life.
- So Proud of You: Starlight Glimmer is very proud of what her apprentice has accomplished.
- Sore Loser: Pebble's narration reminds us of this trait she has, despite her efforts, she's still infuriated that Megara is better than her at skee-ball. She also struggles with the though that she's somehow lost because Olive has chosen to go into service rather than stay with her.
- Switching P.O.V.: After Sumac (temporarily) Surges his way out of the story, the narration (permanently) switches to Pebble's perspective.
- Wartime Wedding: There's been an uptick in young weddings in Ponyville due to the ongoing crisis.
