A Dog and a Pony Show

Funny thought about this episode…
 
The moral was, that even though Rarity seemed like a helpless damsel, she could handle herself, right?…
 
…Against the weakest-willed, most benign, stupid, and harmless ponynappers ever.
 
Honestly, I hate to invoke semi-grimdark, but darn, had they actually been realistic* with this episode, poor Rarity would’ve been lucky to be rescued without having any bones broken… And… Other things, that most kidnappers IRL are after >.>
 
Though that does kind of make me wonder; if this is just Rarity being manipulative, then how would she respond if she were legitimately in dire distress?
 

 
Well, that, and what are your thoughts on: “what if we took away ‘TV-Y’ restrictions and made this episode ‘realistic’?”
 
I think canon Rarity would’ve definitely needed to be rescued, then. Though that does make me think of; “What if we made her even more manipulative to the point where she could handle some realistic kidnappers”? That would be interesting to watch.
 

“Kidnapper releases boy after he won’t stop singing for 3 hours”
 
No-one likes an uncooperative hostage.

As far as ‘weak-willed’ goes, the Dogs did spend half the ep tunnel-trolling Twiley & Company’s initial rescue foray. They’ve got rudimentary guerrilla skillz, if not Hannibal Lector cunning or 4 REALSIES HARDK0RENEZZ. Plus, that nifty gem-locating spell wouldn’t do them a lick of good if the caster’s too maimed/traumatized to focus.
 
@Vree  
Plus, canine sound sensitivity. Take the highest-pitched America’s Funniest Home Videos kid-shriek you’ve ever been subjected to, and square dem decibels.

The canine sound sensitivity was hinted at with them grabbing their ears and announcing it hurt.
 
And when real danger arises Rarity tends to be a lot braver (SoME, DQ, 2 parters)

@Whatevs  
Right, there’s a switch between everyday theatrics & Shit Going Down(R) mode. And giving your immediate captors the slip doesn’t help much when you’re still stuck in a tunnel network with no heading for the exit.

Ah, this describes it rather well:  
 
>>764575

Meh, ponies seem used to draft work now & again. Actively gagging ’em, on the other hand, seems like plenty of incentive for Squiggletail to further minimize her cooperation with this bling-hunting scheme (“Oopsie, just a sliver of crystal here.” “URRRRGH!”). And if the opportunity arises to sock somepuppy & make a break for fresh air, I doubt D-Dogs are much (if any) tougher than Changelings.

@gorkspewdium  
Well they were able to overpower her and kidnap her, so…

@Cirrus Light  
So…they had surprise, numbers, and tunneling skills on their side. Even earthpones don’t handle steep subsurface inclines as well as specialized burrowers with handy-dandy, well, hands & claws.

This topic might be 10 months ago but I dont see any diamond dog topics going around and I really do feel the urge to post something.
 
I think that the diamond dog race as a whole are not really that intelligent in the thinking department, they tend to follow orders from the largest or most intelligent dog of the party(and if the most intelligent of the party is just a bit smarter than an average dog then… this may alude too because they are dogs after all and dogs do have a pack mentality) but they are knowledgeable on many practical skills and technique’s on creating just about anything that does not need magic. It is quite evident, from those large but forgotten DD mines/fortresses that the mane 6 have travelled in the comics to the evident blacksmithing/clothes making/weaponsmith/jeweller/miners in the show, it shows that DD’s are more than the stupid, slow witted brutes that they are mostly presented in the show.
 
I think that the current dog generation in current Equestria lacks a good cunning/intelligent leader to guide them. Most dogs are goofy in the show because if you ask me they are modelled(by Lauren most likely) after real dogs in behavior and cunning, passive, subservient yet loyal and a bit on the stereotypical dumb/slow side compared to other house pets.
 
As for the question if Rarity has to handle a semi-realistic, cunning diamond dogs when she was pony napped(with the danger of being hurt, kept in captivity… or worse yet being used) I think Rarity will obey and not risk/push her luck. She knows that they need her to get the gems and she will most likely tell them she needs to be healthy and focused if they want their gems mined easier(though I think she will protest on the digging part and if these are semi-realistic cunning dogs, then they will agree, not to mention that they are faster diggers than rarara).  
After that, Rarity do know her friends wont abandon her and just need to hold on until they arrive and hope they dont take special interest on her. Once the cavalry(pfft) arrives then magic will(or the elements) will trump against them dogs mane.