lopoddity
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It's a Miserable Life
🕑 Added 2021-02-23 01:11:05 +0000 UTCsorry for all the monty spam y'all, just trying to ride out this sudden inspo wave. will get back to comic making soon
So originally I had Daring Do and Dr. Cabelleron straight up kidnap ("rescue") baby Montezuma from Ahuizotl, but I'm wondering now if that was just a little too evil. Daring and Cabelleron do renounce stealing in their final episode, after all.
I'm thinking now that Ahuizotl let them take Monty. Daring and Cabelleron, his good, good friends, did an excellent job convincing Ahuizotl that a jungle was no place to raise a baby- Ahuizotl is a temple guardian, and danger comes with the territory. From dangerous animals to quicksand to poachers, how could Ahuizotl hope to keep his son safe on top of protecting the treasures of the ancient temples? If Montezuma was taken by Daring and her husband, they could give him a luxurious education, a normal life- if Monty was allowed to grow up among ponies, he'd fit in just fine among them, make friends, be seen as just a regular person, not a fearsome monster like Ahuizotl....
Ahuizotl is at first furiously against the idea, but his resolve wavers as they pick at his insecurity over being a new father. Can he really do a better job raising Montezuma than ponies could? Is he, out of his own petty selfishness, going to doom his son to the same lonely, thankless existence he himself leads....?
So regrettably, painfully, Ahuizotl gives his son up. For what he believes will be a better life. Monty screams and cries for days, but Daring and Cabelleron are convinced he'll adjust to a happy new life with them in no time.
Daring likely did believe she was doing the right thing. She tried to give Monty a good life, full of everything a pony foal gets. While not the kindest or most patient mother, she treated him decently (so long as he behaved). More importantly, adopting Montezuma got the public spotlight back on her again after she'd had to stop her temple-robbing adventures. Daring was praised as brave, kind, and noble by many ponies, and wrote tirelessly about the challenges of raising such an abnormal child, with her new books and articles raking in cash. Daring recommended every pony consider adopting a non-pony child and raise them up the same as any pony.
Cabelleron, meanwhile, enjoyed touring his family across Equestria, offering up Montezuma to museums, zoologists, and wealthy ponies curious about the strange little spawn of Ahuizotl. Creatures across the world were indeed willing to pay top dollar to see Monty, and Cabelleron was blessed with more profit than stealing trinkets ever could net him.
Happy little family~
Montezuma does indeed have toys and books and games....but friends? The family never stays in one place long enough for him to make any, and Daring and Cabelleron keep him isolated besides, fearing him hurting somepony on accident. Montezuma's questions about his background are met with dismissal, his parents tell him that they adopted him when his real father, the monstrous Ahuizotl- tried to feed him to his jungle cats. His parents, meanwhile, keep up correspondence with Ahuizotl, making out like Monty is having such an idyllic childhood that it'd be a shame to drag him to the jungle to meet his father.
The older Montezuma gets, the more bitter and sullen he becomes. Everything comes to a boiling point when one day, poked and prodded at by a pack of rich foals, teenage Montezuma bites a pony, and they nearly die from his venom. Daring and Cabelleron, furious about the bad press, lock Monty away "until he can remember how to behave"....but Montezuma breaks out of his enclosure and runs away. Lost and alone, he decides on a single goal- to find the father that dared to discard him.....and kill him.
Of course, when he finally does find Ahuizotl, the truth is revealed. Ahuizotl, crushed at learning how Monty was really raised, vows to lever let his son go again, and Monty finally discovers what it's like to have a loving parent.
That isn't to say his need for revenge is quieted. Now that he's learned from Ahuizotl who he is, what culture they come from, how ponies like Daring Do have exploited it- Montezuma vows to undo the injustice committed by his adoptive parents.....and teach ponies to respect his name.
Comments
feathermaws
Did they always have the intention of parading him around for attention? Or at least touring the world to show him of or whatever? Cause I personally think that if they stole him with the intention of raising him well and the attention just came with it is less evil than them talking his papa into giving him up just to turn around and use him Both are horrible ofc, but this version just makes me 10x more angry at them if I’m interpreting it right.
Lopoddity
Monty is VERY conflicted about his parents. On one hand, he HATES them for what they put him through, how he was made to suffer all to feed their egos. On the other.....well, they were his parents. There were good times. They played games of pretend, enjoyed ice cream cones together, carted him around on their shoulders, read him stories, were affectionate with him. A part of him still wants to be a good boy for them and make them proud.....and he's so, so furious and ashamed of that, because he knows he shouldn't feel that way, but he does. A part of him will always miss Daring and Cabelleron, or at least the ponies he thought they were.
Coraline T
poor monte... he doesn't deserve this. how would rainbow dash feel about her hero doing this- and most of all what does ahuiztol feel about what happened to his poor son, and what would his feelings on daring and cabs be after this?
cactus bastrop
ouch :( does monty have any residual affection left for his adoptive parents? it would be super understandable if he straight up hates em lol, but i could also see him having conflicting feelings about it, as many kids from not-great home lives do. might make for an interesting confrontation were daring or caballeron to ever run into him again, saying they always loved him and just wanted the best, we're your PARENTS monty please :((((( etc etc more excuses etc. either way i am LIVING for him
I’m not sure if you said it before. But do they have foals? And if they did do the foals hate Monty for “stealing” their parents attention?
Amber
Did anyone like Pandora or princess twilight notice what daring do and her husband were doing?
D
Yeesh, the bit about “adopting a non-pony and raising them as any other pony”. Fuck. That one hits hard. Love the themes in your stories
D
“Sorry for the spam” haha yeah like all your posts don’t curb stomp me with Sarah Tonin
MyLittleVerse
Don’t apologize for spamming us with Monte. He’s my new favourite character and I love that you’re exploring him so thoroughly!
Lopoddity
I'm really not sure. When confronted with the idea that our well-intentioned efforts might've actually been harmful and ignorant, the typical human response is to double down on our beliefs. I see this behavior everywhere, in everyday folks and celebrities and politicians, and even I have to pause and reflect before I have a kneejerk reaction to being criticized. I drew inspo for this story from a troubling incident last year, where a Youtube couple returned their recently adopted child to his home country, with all evidence suggesting they'd only adopted him to exploit him for viewership and sponsor deals, then abandoned him when his disabilities became more than they were willing to handle. This couple was naturally met with immense outrage and disgust, but have refused to admit wrongdoing. I'm certain they truly do believe they've the victims. It's human nature to view yourself as the protagonist of the story, the "good guy". Cabelleron and Daring would absolutely refuse to admit wrongdoing at first. The only way for them to see how they hurt Montezuma would be 1.) to first view Monty as a person, not a thing in need of saving or a walking mealticket and 2.) to be willing to listen to Monty. Neither of these things would be especially achievable, especially as Montezuma kinda hates them and isn't willing to gently explain his feelings to them. He's far more likely to rob them blind and light their house on fire, which would feed into their perception that Monte really is a monster and they're being punished for doing the right thing. It's a vicious cycle
Emma Breslauer
Do you think either Daring or Cabelleron would ever come to realize how terrible their actions were or would they just burrow down deeper into self-righteous defensiveness?
Vicky H
Don’t apologize 💙💙💙 we all love your art and ideas 🥰 Also FUCK THEM get your revenge baby
MusicallyArtisticJen
I did not sign up for this feels trip, yo
Lopoddity
Good point! Now u see how Daring and Cabelleron convinced Ahuizotl. ;) Ahuizotl’s temple is populated by a number of indigenous pony tribes, who likely would’ve provided medicine and schooling. However, Daring and Cabs convinced Ahuizotl that shiny modern Equestrian schools and hospitals were the best way to go
Lopoddity
No worries feeling defensive, I hadn’t even realized he’s literally the ONLY prominent Latino coded character in the show til you brought it up. That’s funny, I could’ve sworn there were at least one or two more. And the only one is a villain....that’s just lovely then. To answer your question, Cabelleron and Daring have a shared history, similar interests, and some decent chemistry, even if they’re just rivals in the show. I figured it’d be kind of natural if they got together after they both denounced their old ways, I genuinely think they’re a fun ship. I put them together here because they share a common lust for glory and treasure. Sure they vow not to nick anymore of Ahuizotl’s stuff, but could either of them really be satisfied by returning to mundane pony life? Ethnocentric (ponycentric?) attitudes are also not undone with one friendship lesson, I’m certain Daring and Cabelleron could exploit Monty while genuinely believing that their actions are harmless, or even positive. Cabelleron, especially, I feel would be eager, because in the show he stole for the sake of greed, as opposed to Daring, who at least believed she was “protecting” the artifacts.
Vio_dacreator
Thats it! I couldn't quite put my finger on it when Loppodity was describing her but you hit the nail on the head!
MEllegoo
While Daring do and Cabelleron were awful parents to poor Monte, wouldn’t him being raised in the jungle not be a very good environment either? Everyone deserves the right to an education and ready access to medical care, both which seem far out of reach in the wild wild jungle.
owlcoholik
I’ve been wondering where the choice to throw Caballeron into the mix came from with this, he’s always been enemies with Daring Do in the show and it just feels weird that he does all this? How did they come to be on the same team? Maybe I’m just overly defensive of one of the only latino coded characters in the show, I know he’s a villain but I would figure if we’re making Daring Do the villain why not make him less the villain? Obvs you don’t have to go anywhere with this, it’s just always perplexed me why you decided to throw them together. Do they have a common goal or something?
SmilesPerHour
Don't be sorry, Lop! I love your art and stories, no matter the subject! And I think this is a nice 'reimagining' of Montezuma's upbringing that kind of lessons the blow without losing any of the important elements of his backstory. He was still mistreated and poorly raised, and he still has good reason to swear revenge against ponykind. My poor heart shattered at the sight of little Monty crying for his papa. When will ponies learn to mind their own business when it comes to other cultures? Just because someone is different from you, it doesn't make them savages or monsters or beasts to be tamed and put on display. People and creatures should be allowed to be in charge of their own lives.
Lycanrosie
NEVER APOLOGIZE 🥺 all of your content is gold❤️ Omg baby Monte crying breaks my heart. And that whole second pic hit me right in the feels 😭😭
Calvin Sewell
Please keep it coming, this is great stuff!! =D
Stef
You have absolutely nothing to apologise for! This is honestly a bloody gift for us. Inspiration is awesome and you’re doing amazing things with it; I’m more than happy to wait a bit longer on the comic if it means you’re doing what you feel like doing rather than what you “should” be doing. Everything you share is gold!
SketchyBug
Daring, here's a handkerchief. You got a little white savior complex on your cheek there.
Sorceringingarts
I *love* this deep dive into a character we havent really seen much of yet!!
