Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

by Evilgidgit Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:13 pm

I found a couple of spelling errors in Chapter 28.

When Professor Zodiac is talking about the agony of Deus' augmentation (the sentence in question starts with "Ah. Yes."), Deus' is spelt as Deus's. Names that end with s usually don't need a second one after an apostrophe. At least that's what I was told.

The second is two pages down - "In 99, my choice was 'dD what I am told'..."

Rage

by Caoimhe Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:15 pm

Okay, this FoE radioplay going on now (http://www.ponyvillelive.com) pretty much solves a bunch of problems I had with the intro of FoE alone. This is bitchin

by SilentCarto Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:21 pm

Caoimhe wrote:Okay, this FoE radioplay going on now (http://www.ponyvillelive.com) pretty much solves a bunch of problems I had with the intro of FoE alone.

Well, since we missed it... how so?

by Caoimhe Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:22 pm

It's going on live now on that Fillydephia radio thing. It just started! (And will be available for download later)

E: Sorry, multitasking. Basically instead of opening with "here's how a pipbuck works" it uses various prewar audio samples and opens in medias res, then the "war never changes" speech. It was nifty.

by Scienza Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:33 pm

Caoimhe wrote:Okay, this FoE radioplay going on now (http://www.ponyvillelive.com) pretty much solves a bunch of problems I had with the intro of FoE alone. This is bitchin

Holy shit, is that the one Scorch has been working on?

I CAN HAVE HIS BEAUTIFUL VOICE ONCE AGAIN!

by Stringtheory Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:59 pm

Evilgidgit wrote:When Professor Zodiac is talking about the agony of Deus' augmentation (the sentence in question starts with "Ah. Yes."), Deus' is spelt as Deus's. Names that end with s usually don't need a second one after an apostrophe. At least that's what I was told.

I'm channeling my english teacher here in saying that, technically yes you do need to put 's after non-plural words-ending-with-s (ex. Jesus's, not Jesus', there are not multiple Jesuses) Though it's a moot point really...

by O. Hinds Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:45 pm

Evilgidgit wrote:I found a couple of spelling errors in Chapter 28.

When Professor Zodiac is talking about the agony of Deus' augmentation (the sentence in question starts with "Ah. Yes."), Deus' is spelt as Deus's. Names that end with s usually don't need a second one after an apostrophe. At least that's what I was told.

The second is two pages down - "In 99, my choice was 'dD what I am told'..."

Ah, thank you. The first one, however, is apparently something that varies depending on where in the anglosphere one is. Bronode would agree with you, for instance, while Somber and I were both taught that "s'" is only used instead of "s's" when the first s is there due to pluralization. We had one of those "Huh, really?" moments when we finally discovered that we'd been assuming contrary things.

Caoimhe wrote:Okay, this FoE radioplay going on now (http://www.ponyvillelive.com) pretty much solves a bunch of problems I had with the intro of FoE alone. This is bitchin

Hm, I might look into that.

stringtheory wrote:
Evilgidgit wrote:When Professor Zodiac is talking about the agony of Deus' augmentation (the sentence in question starts with "Ah. Yes."), Deus' is spelt as Deus's. Names that end with s usually don't need a second one after an apostrophe. At least that's what I was told.
I'm channeling my english teacher here in saying that, technically yes you do need to put 's after non-plural words-ending-with-s (ex. Jesus's, not Jesus', there are not multiple Jesuses) Though it's a moot point really...

Right, that's what Somber and I were taught and what we've been using. And for quite some time, Bronode was diligently correcting us, since he was taught the same thing as Evilgidgit. Neither party even suspected that the other might do it differently.

by Rayndalf Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:34 pm

SilentCarto wrote:
Rayndalf wrote:
Project Horizons Chapter 61 wrote:"...I opened fire with twelve-millimeter armor piercing rounds."
Shouldn't this be 12.7-millimeter armor piercing rounds?
Nah. It's within tolerances.

Okay, good to know

Out of curiosity, what precisely do you mean by 'tolerances' are there specific guidelines?

by WavemasterRyx Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:34 pm

O. Hinds wrote:Ah, thank you. The first one, however, is apparently something that varies depending on where in the anglosphere one is. Bronode would agree with you, for instance, while Somber and I were both taught that "s'" is only used instead of "s's" when the first s is there due to pluralization. We had one of those "Huh, really?" moments when we finally discovered that we'd been assuming contrary things.

Oh, English... heh. I was always taught that you didn't need the second s too.

Somewhere in the past few years I started doing it for characters whose names ended in a z as well, but I know that one's just a really bad habit, heh.

by SilentCarto Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:58 pm

Rayndalf wrote:Out of curiosity, what precisely do you mean by 'tolerances' are there specific guidelines?

No, there's no specific guidelines. This is a bit like saying "he's six feet tall" instead of "he's six feet, three inches tall." (Or, for you metric folks, "He's two meters tall" instead of "207 centimeters.") It's being used informally, so truncating the fraction isn't unusual.

by Icy Shake Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:16 am

O. Hinds wrote:
Evilgidgit wrote:I found a couple of spelling errors in Chapter 28.

When Professor Zodiac is talking about the agony of Deus' augmentation (the sentence in question starts with "Ah. Yes."), Deus' is spelt as Deus's. Names that end with s usually don't need a second one after an apostrophe. At least that's what I was told.

The second is two pages down - "In 99, my choice was 'dD what I am told'..."

Ah, thank you. The first one, however, is apparently something that varies depending on where in the anglosphere one is. Bronode would agree with you, for instance, while Somber and I were both taught that "s'" is only used instead of "s's" when the first s is there due to pluralization. We had one of those "Huh, really?" moments when we finally discovered that we'd been assuming contrary things.

I thought I recognized that second one . . . Applebloom

O. Hinds wrote:
Caoimhe wrote:Okay, this FoE radioplay going on now (http://www.ponyvillelive.com) pretty much solves a bunch of problems I had with the intro of FoE alone. This is bitchin
Hm, I might look into that.

Checked it out a bit myself, but since it was already a way in, decided to let the rest wait. So far what I'll say is that I'm not a fan of Littlepip's voice, but it may grow on me, and that the way she leaves the stable kind of makes you wonder just how much the Wasteland really did change her. I may have more to say after I listen to the whole thing, but I'll have the finale of "Turnabout Storm" to go through first.

Anyway, this week I thought I'd read through Somber's stories that I hadn't looked at yet. Spoilered for spoilers, I guess, but also because while I think it's closely related enough to live on this thread, it's not exactly the core purpose either. Oh, and some of this will come off as pretty harsh, but based on his writing advice, I don't think Somber would want me to elide where I see problems, and I trust everyone here knows this is all coming from a genuine fan of his writing, and is not meant as an attack, personal or otherwise.

Spoiler:

Okay, starting with "Second Impressions." I think that this one's major problem was that Fluttershy was making the exact same mistakes, and I think using the same methods, as at the Gala. "Learned nothing and forgotten nothing" isn't exactly a compliment. Anyway, it might have worked better for me if it had instead been a deeper look into what she did at the Gala, with the gardener offering all the advice along the way, fading out with "You're going to love me!" and cutting back in with him showing up at her cottage a few days (or whatever) later and offering her a second chance directly. I don't know.

I didn't read "Simply Rarity" this weekend, having done so before, but from what I recall it was pretty good, but both benefited and suffered from its format. The diary format let Somber focus on backstory/world building and character, directly, which are probably his core strengths, while minimizing dialog, which was I think a weak point of his for a while. The downside is that it's simply a hard format to do well. As for the content, I liked it very much, and thought it gave an interesting look into an alternate past for Rarity, even if there were details that contradicted season one continuity.

"Thicker than Water" was tough, as it was so heavily built around "awkward" without much else holding it up. I also felt like there was some unearned emotional manipulation going on there.

"Blood, Sweat, and Tears" was where I started seeing a positive turn. The characters seemed well-realized and authentic, though the bankers were a far cry from the interesting, relatable, sympathetic antagonists we're now used to from Somber. The title was dropped a couple times too many, but the moral and the feelings from this story were genuine and good.

"Rarity's Rodeo" is hard to talk about. At a basic level, the writing is continuing to show improvement. However, I may just be a poor person to describe or relate this story. I can't think of a (straight) sports story I've really liked that doesn't have "Rocky" in the title, and I don't think RariJack has ever seemed a natural ship to me. But I'll give it a go.
The first thing to note is that this really isn't a shipping story. There's some buildup on AJ's side, but not much, and it's never close to being the focus. Rarity running with it comes largely out of nowhere and right at the end. Honestly, I'm not sure Somber really had his heart in selling this as a romantically oriented story. It could just be that it's not my Rarity ship, but I think this would have worked more naturally as a "friendshipping" story, especially given what Rarity says at the end.
On the sports side, I just simply don't buy Rarity basically winning a rodeo after training for a week. Or a month, or a year, for that matter. So everything that relies on that foundation cracks, for me. If the end result was that she put in her effort and finished respectably in a couple events, I think it would have been less immersion-breaking for me, but that wouldn't have worked with the plot. Honestly, I was kind of on her side when she said that she wasn't going to train, since she didn't care about the rodeo and was only being roped into it based on a dare, which, by the way, is a reminder that Applejack never expected Rarity to care about, enjoy, or be invested in the rodeo in the first place (that was the point) (also, I might have hoped that Twilight would have had the insight by this point, since I think it happened after the Gala, but am not sure, to have not brought up the mean spirited dares each had made at the slumber party).
Diamondback is the first interesting, sympathetic antagonist in Somber's works on EQD. She's mean, she's overly determined, and her motives don't exactly stand up as admirable, but you can see where she's coming from and her ethics regarding the rodeo (undermined by her friends, of course) show she's at least genuine.
Since I didn't take much in terms of notes for this one, I'll just include them here:

And that was why pigs would never take over the world.
Is this an oblique Animal Farm reference? (This one may have been from an earlier story.)

I like the idea of Rarity being able to imitate accents easily.

Use of "buck" for male ponies outside FOE is weird.

I can't believe you just pulled a Babe.
It's not that it doesn't fit with the setting: it does, and that's actually part of the problem. This was the first time you really set up a relatable antagonist with a sympathetic reason for her actions. And this scene critically undermines that by highlighting that her idea of the rodeo and the hard, tough life it represented, when men were men etc. (paraphrasing), either never existed or (big parts of it) existed for no real reason.

I'm going to go out of order now, with "What's Eating Rainbow Dash?" because I have so much to say about the last story. Based on the star rating, I think this one was unfairly maligned because of its touchy subject matter. I think it was well-executed, with believably presented characters, and really hit at some of the problems of "Mare do Well." What's more, the story seems to make some real sense out of Rainbow's role, why she seems to show such promise yet be in a small town (that she isn't even from, though I guess that wasn't really explicit until later) doing weather work she doesn't really care that much about. I'll just say I bet it was at least as cathartic to write as it was for me to read.

On to the big one: "Perils of the Past." Oddly, since I believe it was the last story Somber wrote before starting Project Horizons, I think this is the one that's most flawed in execution (at least for the first 5-7 chapters). Maybe it's the transition to long-form writing. I don't know. I won't go over every point, but here are some of the major issues I had. fundamentally, this is primarily a story about the Nightmares and the Princesses. The early chapters had way too much focus on things that didn't really have anything to do with what the story was about: the stuff with Fluttershy and especially Applejack as Fury's victims was way too extended. Likewise, it didn't help that two of the core characters didn't show up until chapter six or seven (much more so because why weren't they there? Did they have something better to do than deal with the Nightmare that's escaped from a thousand year imprisonment and is threatening Ponyville? If so, what?). Also, Fluttershy as emotionally abused child (I'm not sure if the Mayor of Cloudsdale as her father was overtelegraphed or not, but it sure didn't work as a twist; or maybe that sort of thing was just less ingrained in the Brony consciousness at the time, and harder to foresee.). The biggest problem, though, was that almost every single character was utterly, ludicrously stupid for the first several chapters. Fluttershy could have asked for help. Applejack was in character, what with protecting Apple Acres and all, but Big Mac and Twilight (among others, I'm sure) weren't, because they call her on her stubborn, prideful bullshit in the show, and wouldn't put up with her trying to sacrifice her entire extended family (except Applebloom--but get this, though apparently the Apples would be too distracted by the thought that Applebloom could be injured or killed to put up a good fight, it doesn't occur to them that being (double) orphaned wouldn't be smiles and lollipops, either) in a meaningless gesture against an overwhelming opponent. Oh, and the concern over Applebloom? Not enough to pay enough goddamn attention to the CMC (after they started this whole thing by going into the Everfree!), letting them just go back into the Everfree Forest, and not noticing that they are gone until hours later! Both Mayors, the Captain, etc. Also, what's with Twilight, after Princess Celestia tells her to help with the evacuation going "Nope! What I really need to do is fight this thing head on!"? I don't know. When I think of immediate post season one Twilight, I think of someone who, when told by her Princess to jump, jumps and asks if she did it well enough.
Now, Nightmare Fury can in certain ways be seen as something of a proto-Blackjack. There's the guilt complex and the attempted suicide-by-cop (Blackjack's isn't quite the same, since even during that phase I believe she was trying to win and survive each individual battle she got into: she was just being self-destructive on a longer scale.), and the intense loyalty to her friends. So there's a lot to like about her, I think. However, her actions seem to be in contradiction with her stated goals. Not just early on, when she said it was about getting revenge on Celestia, but even later when is was revealed she mostly wanted punishment, and of course the whole thing about not wanting innocent casualties. See, if she didn't want innocent collateral damage, all she needed to do was tone down the fire as much as possible and walk to Canterlot, bust into the throne room (after maybe knocking down some palace guards and such) and call Celestia out directly. But even worse is the fact that she at least fronted as determined to draw Celestia out with collateral damage (that was the point, after all), but every time she met someone she might have to hurt, she couldn't really follow through. I guess what I'm saying is that I find it contemptable that she was fine huring people (Zecora, Fluttershy (before talking to her)) in the abstract, but not after meeting them. I guess I just find that the implicit morality behind it is kind of disgusting, without even the consistency of straight-up villainy.
Also, I don't think I can stress enough how hard it is to get invested in a fight scene where one side is clearly trying to lose. It may work in some cases, if you are on the side that's trying to lose and hoping that they get their head and heart back in the game, but it's not easy to pull off. (I'm looking at you, Murky Number Seven, and your thing in the Arena.) It really doesn't help when the motivation behind throwing the fight is based on kind of stupid motivations. Look, I get the suicide by cop thing, but I think that a crucial part of it was that it be Celestia or one of her representatives to do it: it needed to be someone who she believed had the moral authority to punish her for her crimes, and frankly, Applejack doesn't fit that. What's more, the whole thing (okay, when AJ tries to stop her from going to Ponyville, it's another story, but still) could have been avoided by saying "I don't give a shit about your fucking farm. Just let me walk through, and I'll keep the heat to a minimum and it will cause less damage than you've already done in fortifying the place."
Now, all this said? Starting around chapter seven, and in chapter eight through ten especially, this story got good. The memories started to be incorporated better (I forgot to mention them before, but whatever. Suffice to say that memories of the past are a draw here.) and the stupidity quotient drops off a cliff. In the last three chapters, I can only think of a few cases, and they were mostly justified: Rainbow Dash going headlong into a fight with Nightmare Screamer (justified because Rainbow Dash); Trixie being seduced by the dark side (justified because of her history and the temptation of power; also, it helps that she actually sees through it fairly quickly and takes action to save herself from its inevitable betrayal); and Pinkie Pie believing that if she got possessed, it would be more manageable than if Applejack were (The fuck? Sure, AJ's strong, but she doesn't have a bunck of wildcard powers).
Luna was pretty good: kind of moe but not nearly as much as many pre-season two depictions. Fleshing out the reasons for her becoming Nightmare Moon was done very well, too, and seeing her little successes and group of friends makes the fall all that much harder to bear.
Celestia, on the other hand, was shown practically as a petty tyrant, at least before the fall. I'm sure that's partly just perspective, but in a way I find it hard to justify since it seemed to me that the point of Canterlot was that the ones who went there wanted out of the racial- and other animosity that preceeded its foundation. So why all the faction and strife after the death of the original prince and princess? But I can just go with it, in the end.
The fight scenes also got better, both in direct execution and in the fact that they had real weight, the potential for actual consequences, behind them.
The backstory, the characters, the mystery, all are real draws by the end.

Elements of Discord running thoughts:

Okay, so that was kind of a mixed bag. I know he doesn't believe he's a good writer, but I hope Somber will believe me when I say that at the very least he's shown some incredible growth as a writer in general from June 2011 to now (heck, from then until what, chapter four of PH is the first that's largely in its original form?), and as a long-form fiction writer from chapter one to chapter seven or eight of Elements of Discord, and yet more from then to Project Horizons. For all that I see a number of problems in his earlier works, I really enjoyed "Simply Rarity," "Blood, Sweat, and Tears," and "What's Eating Rainbow Dash." Heck, though early on Elements of Discord was a real slog, by the end I was pretty strongly invested, and I'm genuinely sad that it likely won't ever be finished. I would love to see what happens to the other Nightmares, Trixie, the Princessess, and the main cast. To see more of the past that forged the Elements of Discord, and find out just who and what the earlier ones are. To hear some more about Celestia's friends from back then. And you know what, even just to see some more of Somber's pre-season two aesthetic. Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, but in certain ways (Luna's . . . overly consistent "Woona" treatment notwithstanding) the wide-open world of the first season spawned some of the most interesting fan works (especially after controlling for volume of output), even if general standards were lower at the time. That said, I can see why it will likely never truly be concluded: things have just changed so much since then, it's simply been quite a long time (I wouldn't be amazed if Somber's forgotten many of the details of his plans for the rest), and I can see how it could end up being very much like "The Return of Harmony," which I believe was the reason Somber gave for stopping, along with spending his time on Project Horizons.

[Edit]Oh, and I'd like to thank The Lovely Penguin for the work put into Elements of Discord, as well as Somber, of course, for his past and continuing efforts, which have brought a great deal of happiness to my life (and the current editing team and Snipehamster, too).

by O. Hinds Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:42 am

Icy Shake wrote:I thought I recognized that second one . . .

Um, yeah, sorry… It's a bit embarrassing when one makes a typo while engaged in correcting a typo.

by Somber Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:27 am

Thanks Icy. One of the very best things MLP is giving me is practice. I went off of a 10 year dry spell where I'd basically given up writing. The most I'd ever managed was ten or eleven pages. Now I look at all the stories I've written and I'm just amazed. Sure, I still fuck stuff up. Alot. Badly. But while I know I am not a good writer yet, but the same token I don't believe I am a horrible writer either. Mostly. On my good days.

Discord was going to be a corrupted tree of life. Unfortunately, then season 2 came out and... yeah... sigh...

by Caoimhe Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:53 am

Curious, what were the topics of some of your non-pony writing?

by Derpmind Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:59 am

Somber wrote:Thanks Icy. One of the very best things MLP is giving me is practice. I went off of a 10 year dry spell where I'd basically given up writing. The most I'd ever managed was ten or eleven pages. Now I look at all the stories I've written and I'm just amazed. Sure, I still fuck stuff up. Alot. Badly. But while I know I am not a good writer yet, but the same token I don't believe I am a horrible writer either. Mostly. On my good days.

Discord was going to be a corrupted tree of life. Unfortunately, then season 2 came out and... yeah... sigh...

I don't get it. Is your definition of a good writer someone who doesn't make mistakes? Because everything I've heard about writing are things like "the first draft is always a pile of shit, and feels like you're making a pile of shit, but you have to start there" and "rewrite it, and rewrite it, and rewrite it, and then take a break and go reread it, realize it's actually terrible and rewrite it again" and "you only learn from making mistakes". (Those aren't actual quotes, just a mishmash of stuff I remember reading.) Or maybe you're actually a transdimensional traveler from an advanced alien civilization where the ancient and venerated wordsmiths forge 10 million words long fanfictions of fanfictions to the 20th recursion.

As far as silver linings go on Season 2, ch.39 (Wages of Sin) is still one of my favorite chapters.

Also, thanks for doing more retrospective analysis Icy Shake.

by FeatherDust Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:43 pm

SilentCarto wrote:
Scienza wrote:If Glory's pregnant, is it with Rainbow Dash's child? ...when she was Joked, she was genetically identical to Rainbow.
I guess it depends on whether the joke counted as affecting the child, too. Do all Glory's parts -- including the clipped hair sample -- revert at once, or only what's currently attached to her? And does the child count as part of her right now, or as its own indivudal that is unaffected by the curse?

Goliath's example seems to suggest that a child is considered part of the mother's body, rather than a separate individual in physical contact with her. My best guess is that they will both revert to Glory's original genetic code.

I don't recall any evidence that Goliath was joked in the womb. Jokeblue explicitly was, but Goliath's mother just said he "tangled with" killing joke, which sounds like later in life. And since Jokeblue was apparently the target of that joke (Pip theorized that it did something to make her mother die in childbirth), she isn't really evidence either way.

Also Jokeblue's mother was affected while pregnant, while Glory's potential child was conceived while she was under the transformation, so that may make a difference.

I think the real question is, which one would the joke think is funnier?

by Scienza Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:47 pm

FeatherDust wrote:
SilentCarto wrote:
Scienza wrote:If Glory's pregnant, is it with Rainbow Dash's child? ...when she was Joked, she was genetically identical to Rainbow.
I guess it depends on whether the joke counted as affecting the child, too. Do all Glory's parts -- including the clipped hair sample -- revert at once, or only what's currently attached to her? And does the child count as part of her right now, or as its own indivudal that is unaffected by the curse?

Goliath's example seems to suggest that a child is considered part of the mother's body, rather than a separate individual in physical contact with her. My best guess is that they will both revert to Glory's original genetic code.
I don't recall any evidence that Goliath was joked in the womb. Jokeblue explicitly was, but Goliath's mother just said he "tangled with" killing joke, which sounds like later in life. And since Jokeblue was apparently the target of that joke (Pip theorized that it did something to make her mother die in childbirth), she isn't really evidence either way.

I think the real question is, which one would the joke think is funnier?

This isn't even getting into all the defects and issues that a child would have if their genetic code was suddenly and radically changed during development.

by FeatherDust Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:53 pm

Well, you know, magic, ain't gotta explain etc.
If we accept an entire adult getting instantly genetically rewritten, I don't think a baby has any greater claim to improbability.

by cb5 Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:20 pm

FeatherDust wrote:Well, you know, magic, ain't gotta explain etc.
If we accept an entire adult getting instantly genetically rewritten, I don't think a baby has any greater claim to improbability.

Eh, my money is on it not being genetic so much as screwing with how glory actually looks. It's probably more along the lines of a metamorphoses than anything. If it was a permanent genetic change then there would be no cure for it cause it would be impossible to revert the being's genetic code after a while. . Oh and it would probably have given glory cancer, and xenith would never again been able to heal after injuries due to having been given a genetic defect. She would have just for the rest of her life had live inside a hospital.

If it was genetic then only gene therapy and a copy of the pony's original dna could reverse the effects.

Tl:dr; If it was genetic it would just kill everyone instead.

by Scienza Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:07 pm

cb5 wrote:
FeatherDust wrote:Well, you know, magic, ain't gotta explain etc.
If we accept an entire adult getting instantly genetically rewritten, I don't think a baby has any greater claim to improbability.
Eh, my money is on it not being genetic so much as screwing with how glory actually looks. It's probably more along the lines of a metamorphoses than anything. If it was a permanent genetic change then there would be no cure for it cause it would be impossible to revert the being's genetic code after a while. . Oh and it would probably have given glory cancer, and xenith would never again been able to heal after injuries due to having been given a genetic defect. She would have just for the rest of her life had live inside a hospital.

If it was genetic then only gene therapy and a copy of the pony's original dna could reverse the effects.

Tl:dr; If it was genetic it would just kill everyone instead.

But it is genetic. It's magical genetic, but genetic nonetheless.

Ch. 51 wrote:
Stratus gave a dismissive snort first and the one eyed buck shook his head. “So somepony decided to dye their mane. We get rebellious youths who do that all over the Enclave,” Sky Striker said with a wave of his wing. “Eventually they either grow up or take the brand.”

“This isn’t dyed. In fact, chemical analysis shows that somepony probably used dye to conceal these colors. They’re a 99.9% match to Dash,” General Chaser said grimly.

“You were able to breach the field?” Councilor Stargazer finally said in alarm, with hints of fear on her face. Her tone seemed to make High General Harbinger smile even more.

“Not completely. Some sort of interference. But with the pony these came from...” Harbinger trailed off, looking at the scowling director.

Most likely, the Joke literally turned her into Rainbow Dash (genes and all), albeit, with a compatible version of Glory's brain. As for the cancer thing, well, it's too soon to say that rapidly changing her genetic makeup hasn't had severe effects on her long-term health. With your argument that gene therapy could have reverted it, that actually supports the genetic argument, since she wouldn't have been able to achieve anything approaching genetic work in the crazily unhygienic environment of the wasteland. It's not that the Killing Joke's jokes operate via genetics, they work via magic, but that the effect it had on Glory was on a genetic level.

by cb5 Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:41 pm

Scienza wrote:
cb5 wrote:
FeatherDust wrote:Well, you know, magic, ain't gotta explain etc.
If we accept an entire adult getting instantly genetically rewritten, I don't think a baby has any greater claim to improbability.
Eh, my money is on it not being genetic so much as screwing with how glory actually looks. It's probably more along the lines of a metamorphoses than anything. If it was a permanent genetic change then there would be no cure for it cause it would be impossible to revert the being's genetic code after a while. . Oh and it would probably have given glory cancer, and xenith would never again been able to heal after injuries due to having been given a genetic defect. She would have just for the rest of her life had live inside a hospital.

If it was genetic then only gene therapy and a copy of the pony's original dna could reverse the effects.

Tl:dr; If it was genetic it would just kill everyone instead.
But it is genetic. It's magical genetic, but genetic nonetheless.

Ch. 51 wrote:
Stratus gave a dismissive snort first and the one eyed buck shook his head. “So somepony decided to dye their mane. We get rebellious youths who do that all over the Enclave,” Sky Striker said with a wave of his wing. “Eventually they either grow up or take the brand.”

“This isn’t dyed. In fact, chemical analysis shows that somepony probably used dye to conceal these colors. They’re a 99.9% match to Dash,” General Chaser said grimly.

“You were able to breach the field?” Councilor Stargazer finally said in alarm, with hints of fear on her face. Her tone seemed to make High General Harbinger smile even more.

“Not completely. Some sort of interference. But with the pony these came from...” Harbinger trailed off, looking at the scowling director.
Most likely, the Joke literally turned her into Rainbow Dash (genes and all), albeit, with a compatible version of Glory's brain. As for the cancer thing, well, it's too soon to say that rapidly changing her genetic makeup hasn't had severe effects on her long-term health. With your argument that gene therapy could have reverted it, that actually supports the genetic argument, since she wouldn't have been able to achieve anything approaching genetic work in the crazily unhygienic environment of the wasteland. It's not that the Killing Joke's jokes operate via genetics, they work via magic, but that the effect it had on Glory was on a genetic level.

It could work in the long run IF it works by infecting the pony's immune system. The initial change probably is a metamorphoses, but in order for it to as well change a pony's genes. If it is genetic then it could work two fold, introduce a infection into the being's body with it's metabolism cranked up to ten. However that part I would have to agree with it being magic, cause if such a infection were that fast in real life the amount of heat it would generate would burst your clothes into fire.

Basically what I mean by that is that in that case it could be a two fold infection. The poison joke basically pukes it's cells into your body, the cells then rapidly go through it's life cycle and release a virus to then infect your t-cells to make the change permanent.

It would explain why when blackjack got hit everything she touched exploded. Rather than changing her genes just have the cells that normally spread a infection near the top of the skin and turn off whatever it is keeping heat from being produced, and then KABOOM! Or why nothing stopped scotch's lungs from producing chlorine gas, the cells were infecting her lungs.

Tl:dr; it could work like that if when it hits someone it just pukes it's cells into the pony and the cells have their metabolism insanely high then release a virus. Imagine getting a rapid fungal infection that also dumps a virus into your body. The magic part is probably to prevent the rapid infection from just burning a pony alive. Like a mini freezing spell.

Tl:dr; of Tl;dr; it could work like that if it's a fungal infection that dumps a virus into the pony's body while using magic to keep the cells from overheating.

by Derpmind Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:14 pm

Project Horizons Ch. 59 wrote:And thus the One tribe was named Starkatteri, ‘star branded’, and shunned.”

“What tribe is the Legate?” I asked, curious.

Lancer opened his mouth, then closed it again, frowning. “He is one of the last Achu.”

“He is not,” Rampage said below, her voice becoming oddly accented. “He does not fight like an Achu.”

“He claims he is Achu! Who are you to deny that, Proditori?” Lancer snapped.

“Does that mean you are Achu as well?” P-21 asked. All this talk made me want to say ‘bless you’.

Again, the question made him grimace. “No… blood passes from mother to child, not father to child. I am Zencori.” I thought of telling him that his mother was alive, but decided against it for now. Still, storytelling was a big improvement over killing people. “My tribe were wanderers and storytellers. We sought the lore of the world. Many came and settled in Equestria long before the war.”

Apparently indents aren't allowed by this forum software. Meh. Anyways, found the answer to one of your questions Swicked. I'm still not clear myself on why she had those other zebra with her though.

by Rayndalf Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:00 pm

SilentCarto wrote:
Rayndalf wrote:Out of curiosity, what precisely do you mean by 'tolerances' are there specific guidelines?
No, there's no specific guidelines. This is a bit like saying "he's six feet tall" instead of "he's six feet, three inches tall." (Or, for you metric folks, "He's two meters tall" instead of "207 centimeters.") It's being used informally, so truncating the fraction isn't unusual.

That actually makes a lot of sense...

Thank you for enlightening me

by Scienza Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:13 pm

Rayndalf wrote:
SilentCarto wrote:
Rayndalf wrote:Out of curiosity, what precisely do you mean by 'tolerances' are there specific guidelines?
No, there's no specific guidelines. This is a bit like saying "he's six feet tall" instead of "he's six feet, three inches tall." (Or, for you metric folks, "He's two meters tall" instead of "207 centimeters.") It's being used informally, so truncating the fraction isn't unusual.
That actually makes a lot of sense...

Thank you for enlightening me

It's always something of a fine line between being technical to add flavor and being excessively technical. Can you imagine if it was like:

"The raider aimed his IF-73 Applegasm, the thirty-round clip loaded with 10mm full metal jacket rounds. The bullet punched through my amygdala at over 1200 feet per second. Unfazed, I leveled my IF-2000 Overkill, the pistol loaded with .50 BMG hollow points in a twenty-round magazine. Giving a throaty laugh from deep within my esophagus, I reduced his spleen to soup at a distance of ten yards."

by Rayndalf Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:19 pm

Scienza wrote:
Rayndalf wrote:
SilentCarto wrote:
Rayndalf wrote:Out of curiosity, what precisely do you mean by 'tolerances' are there specific guidelines?
No, there's no specific guidelines. This is a bit like saying "he's six feet tall" instead of "he's six feet, three inches tall." (Or, for you metric folks, "He's two meters tall" instead of "207 centimeters.") It's being used informally, so truncating the fraction isn't unusual.
That actually makes a lot of sense...

Thank you for enlightening me
It's always something of a fine line between being technical to add flavor and being excessively technical. Can you imagine if it was like:

"The raider aimed his IF-73 Applegasm, the thirty-round clip loaded with 10mm full metal jacket rounds. The bullet punched through my amygdala at over 1200 feet per second. Unfazed, I leveled my IF-2000 Overkill, the pistol loaded with .50 BMG hollow points in a twenty-round magazine. Giving a throaty laugh from deep within my esophagus, I reduced his spleen to soup at a distance of ten yards."

A shame it wasn't a IF-88 Ironpony...

Honestly why hasn't Blackjack found one yet... not even a prototype?

by Stringtheory Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:28 pm

Rayndalf wrote:A shame it wasn't a IF-88 Ironpony...

Honestly why hasn't Blackjack found one yet... not even a prototype?

Probably because its so awesome it'll only show up in time for the final battle and even then be destroyed. Because its that awesome.

by Scienza Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:30 pm

Rayndalf wrote:A shame it wasn't a IF-88 Ironpony...

Honestly why hasn't Blackjack found one yet... not even a prototype?

My guess is that she'll find it immediately after defeating the end boss, smile to herself, then close the locker.

Or she'll be in need of support in the final battle against Cognitum, and suddenly find a crate with an IF-88, twenty gallons of whiskey, and more fingers than you can shake a stick at.

by SilentCarto Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:33 pm

Somber wrote:I don't recall any evidence that Goliath was joked in the womb. Jokeblue explicitly was, but Goliath's mother just said he "tangled with" killing joke, which sounds like later in life.

Uh... no, Goliath's mom has a huge, messy scar on her stomach. Implication being that the "joke" was to make Goliath grow huge in utero.

Rayndalf wrote:A shame it wasn't a IF-88 Ironpony...
Honestly why hasn't Blackjack found one yet... not even a prototype?

There's nothing but prototypes. Or, more likely, "a prototype".

“The Ironpony? Sorry, kid. Never put in production.” He shook his head. “It’d be worth its weight in... well, I’m not even sure what if you found one.”

Actually, I'm kinda worried that Cog will have access to it, or the plans, and her top-tier Seekers will be armed with copies from the automated forges under the Core.

by Derpmind Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:35 pm

Scienza wrote:"The raider aimed his IF-73 Applegasm, the thirty-round clip loaded with 10mm full metal jacket rounds. The bullet punched through my amygdala at over 1200 feet per second. Unfazed, I leveled my IF-2000 Overkill, the pistol loaded with .50 BMG hollow points in a twenty-round magazine. Giving a throaty laugh from deep within my esophagus, I reduced his spleen to soup at a distance of ten yards."

Looks like somepony took a lesson or two in technobabble from Twilight.:

Scienza wrote:Or she'll be in need of support in the final battle against Cognitum, and suddenly find a crate with an IF-88, twenty gallons of whiskey, and more fingers than you can shake a stick at.

Pinkie Pie emergency demon-slayer shotgun and party package. Queen Pinkie Pie

by SilentCarto Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:37 pm

Derpmind wrote:
Scienza wrote:Or she'll be in need of support in the final battle against Cognitum, and suddenly find a crate with an IF-88, twenty gallons of whiskey, and more fingers than you can shake a stick at.
Pinkie Pie emergency demon-slayer shotgun and party package.

It terrifies me that this is completely plausible. How

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