[GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

IncoherentOrange wrote:Reminds me of how poor I pulled off killing in one of my fics. Those being killed happen not to be humans or ponies, and they only do it a few times. I'll go and count it--there are twelve instances of killing by the actions of the characters, all by the human protagonist and Twilight Sparkle, working together. I justified it with a 'needs of the many...' speech coming from said protagonist. Twilight agrees, stating that Princess Celestia had taught her to be able to do what is necessary to preserve the lives of many, even if it means ending the lives of a few. And then it's hardly mentioned again, for the next 40000 words that make up the rest of the story. Unlike LP, my protagonist never becomes badass; he doesn't have the style.

But of course, that's a different, lower-quality story that many of you would most definitely not enjoy. Possibly what happens when you give a fourteen-year-old a keyboard and spare time.

However poorly you think you handled violence, I have done it worse. Well, almost certainly. In middle school, I wrote a hundred-odd pages of what was, if memory serves, practically torture porn. Not continuously violent, but... yeah. I've tried to cut back on the "mo' gory mo' bettah" mindset since then. =P (Aside: how is it that I have mellowed out since then?)

This is the goriest bit I've ever written:

Spoiler:

It's a short passage, as giving more of the scene would contain spoilers to the story. It actually describes a Great Unclean One. It's really not that bad, considering what gets passed off as normal in FoE. Still feels icky, knowing I wrote it, though. And that is one of the many reasons I shall never, ever write clop, or even pretty much any shipping. That it feels icky. I was once requested to write TwiDash and refused. Oh, and I just realized that I haven't written anything of significant size in two months.

Caoimhe wrote:

nebulous wrote:

Camiohe wrote:I still don't really like how so shortly after she becomes a remorseless killing machine in Ponyville, but whatever.

They were torturing people for the lulz and she had a gun. Her reaction seemed perfectly realistic to me.

See, I'm not really so sure here. Her stable didn't have the ingrained concept of death other than by natural causes unlike 99. As a result I wouldn't expect a response from LP other than natural self defense and a lot of fucking fear. Recall that the narration is supposed to be her thoughts at the moment, and there isn't much fear or remorse in her narrative voice. She just sort of "becomes" badass which seems slightly off putting for somepony who has no experience dealing with murderers and threat to her own life and others.

I largely agree with you on the substance, but my understanding is that the narration is rather her recollection of her thoughts and feelings at the time. So it could just be a facet of our unreliable narrator that she has trouble talking about the phase change that occurred in her just after she left the stable. She may be so different at this point that she actually can't remember very well what she felt like, how her mind worked, before she became a walking death machine. (The first line here comes to mind.)

isn't the story told in present tense? if told in present then it cannot be recollection, unlike the Mother Story, why? it was past tense and Littlepip writing her autobiography... and then tehre was sexytimes...



also curse you all for this, I read and am hooked on murky number seven I am in the middle of chapter eight right now and working my way up.... good he has finally gianed freedom, however i think he will be recaptured soon and all that simply so he knows what freedom is so he can actually yearn from it, mind you I have not yet really read the whole story up to its full update point but I will get there only a couple of fim fic stories updated so ia m going to be reading some og those and i am in the middle of eight so eh I will vatch up andn when i do I will be sure to mix the lore up really well with heros, ph and the clasic alsong with pink wyws.. also forgive my typios I was doing this with my wyes closed and i found it wasier to concentrate as i was not distracted and the admiral was out to sea at the time.,,,

clear skies

Admiral Stoic Rum wrote:isn't the story told in present tense? if told in present then it cannot be recollection, unlike the Mother Story, why? it was past tense and Littlepip writing her autobiography... and then tehre was sexytimes...



also curse you all for this, I read and am hooked on murky number seven I am in the middle of chapter eight right now and working my way up.... good he has finally gianed freedom, however i think he will be recaptured soon and all that simply so he knows what freedom is so he can actually yearn from it, mind you I have not yet really read the whole story up to its full update point but I will get there only a couple of fim fic stories updated so ia m going to be reading some og those and i am in the middle of eight so eh I will vatch up andn when i do I will be sure to mix the lore up really well with heros, ph and the clasic alsong with pink wyws.. also forgive my typios I was doing this with my wyes closed and i found it wasier to concentrate as i was not distracted and the admiral was out to sea at the time.,,,

clear skies

oh you are talking about FOE, it is told in past tense because littlepip is recollecting it just before going into the SPP stasis chamber. that is why the first and last lines are thesame....

I just realised that with my mother and stepfather divorcing, and they are selling their house i fell as though i don't have a home, mind you I've moved out into my own place for several years now, 6 in fact, but i have not really made a home out of those places. and it hurts. It was an essential epiphany. No wonder I feel so [emotion i cannot really recognize]

IncoherentOrange wrote:'Med-X.' Now I see why you might capitalize this; it's a name of a substance in fiction. Med-X is morphine. Would've been in-game too, if the Australians hadn't complained about it. So I'd write it as 'med-X', myself. I could be wrong, of course; my actual training can be determined by looking at the statistics shown on my information panel to be that of a ninth-grader, which would be correct.

I see where you're coming from, but all chem names are treated as brand names in Fallout, and are thus capitalized.
Thanks for the edits!

Sindri wrote:Well, my thinking is that the Mane Six are in the early twenties during the show, so a decade later would make them ~30 at the start of it, ~40 when they opened the Ministries, and ~50 on the day of the apocalypse. Which seems to match up with your writing.

That's my headcanon too. I don't see how Dash could be older than that and still be on active duty, nor AJ thinking about having kids.

IncoherentOrange wrote:I actually find Littlepip's fillyfoolery and crush on VR to be a tad forced; it's not really explained (at least, not early on) and is largely the reason why she left the Stable, which kind of leaves her motive a tad weak. So I can't really bring myself to get behind Littlepip's original motive.

I think it has more to do with vague dreams of being Velvet's knight in shining armor -- Velvet goes out in the wasteland, Littlepip swoops in to save her from whatever dangers are out there, Velvet falls for her. They go back to the Stable, Velvet admits she was wrong to ever leave, and they live happily ever after.

nebulous wrote:

WovenTales wrote:I myself have worked out a set of traditions not obviously dependent on anything of ours for Hearts and Hooves Day, solely based on the name.

Post them please?

I have one for Hearth's Warming Eve. It's sort of a cross between a yule log and the Olympic torch relay: in preparation for HWE, each community sets up a bonfire in the middle of town. Then, at midday on the solstice, Celestia lights a fire using the focused rays of the sun. That flame is used to start Canterlot's bonfire, which is relayed to light every other town's bonfire in turn. A member of each household lights their own torch from the bonfire in their town and uses it to light their hearth. Thus every home in Equestria is warmed by the Sun's fire even in the dead of winter.

SilentCarto wrote:[
That's my headcanon too. I don't see how Dash could be older than that and still be on active duty, nor AJ thinking about having kids.

I don't agree with the first point because Dash was a officer of anywhere from Commander to General rank which lets you be as old as you like and still on active duty.
But...
The second point about AJ having kids is a good point unless ponies are fertile into the fifties that argues for 40s at most.

RANDOM MOMENT OF UNRELATEDNESS:

IncoherentOrange wrote:This is the goriest bit I've ever written:

Spoiler:

It's a short passage, as giving more of the scene would contain spoilers to the story. It actually describes a Great Unclean One. It's really not that bad, considering what gets passed off as normal in FoE. Still feels icky, knowing I wrote it, though. And that is one of the many reasons I shall never, ever write clop, or even pretty much any shipping. That it feels icky. I was once requested to write TwiDash and refused. Oh, and I just realized that I haven't written anything of significant size in two months.

I'm going to be an absolute asshole here... I coulda done it better.
Which reminds me, I still need to complete my rewrite of chapter eight of my story.

Icy Shake wrote:

Caoimhe wrote:

nebulous wrote:

Camiohe wrote:I still don't really like how so shortly after she becomes a remorseless killing machine in Ponyville, but whatever.

They were torturing people for the lulz and she had a gun. Her reaction seemed perfectly realistic to me.

See, I'm not really so sure here. Her stable didn't have the ingrained concept of death other than by natural causes unlike 99. As a result I wouldn't expect a response from LP other than natural self defense and a lot of fucking fear. Recall that the narration is supposed to be her thoughts at the moment, and there isn't much fear or remorse in her narrative voice. She just sort of "becomes" badass which seems slightly off putting for somepony who has no experience dealing with murderers and threat to her own life and others.

I largely agree with you on the substance, but my understanding is that the narration is rather her recollection of her thoughts and feelings at the time. So it could just be a facet of our unreliable narrator that she has trouble talking about the phase change that occurred in her just after she left the stable. She may be so different at this point that she actually can't remember very well what she felt like, how her mind worked, before she became a walking death machine. (The first line here comes to mind.)

Ack, I have to keep reminding myself of this. Due to the last chapter, pretty much EVERYTHING in FoE is up for speculation. For this reason we also can't hold it to a structured timeline.

Edit: I think that was a good trick to do for plot and other reasons like enabling other in universe fics to place stories around the same time but not have to have a 2 month or so deadline before everything goes kaput.

SilentCarto wrote:

IncoherentOrange wrote:'Med-X.' Now I see why you might capitalize this; it's a name of a substance in fiction. Med-X is morphine. Would've been in-game too, if the Australians hadn't complained about it. So I'd write it as 'med-X', myself. I could be wrong, of course; my actual training can be determined by looking at the statistics shown on my information panel to be that of a ninth-grader, which would be correct.

I see where you're coming from, but all chem names are treated as brand names in Fallout, and are thus capitalized.
Thanks for the edits!

No problem at all.

Admiral Stoic Rum wrote:I just realised that with my mother and stepfather divorcing, and they are selling their house i fell as though i don't have a home, mind you I've moved out into my own place for several years now, 6 in fact, but i have not really made a home out of those places. and it hurts. It was an essential epiphany. No wonder I feel so [emotion i cannot really recognize]

Sometimes you don't realize you've lost something--even if it isn't part of your life at that moment--until it's gone. I understand the feeling.

@Kippershy Well, I never said I was any good at it. And besides, that sequence isn't more detailed so I wouldn't have to put a mature filter on it. Perhaps I should re-write all of my stuff to bring it up to my current ability. Hmm, that'd take a really long time.

Sindri wrote:Well, my thinking is that the Mane Six are in the early twenties during the show, so a decade later would make them ~30 at the start of it, ~40 when they opened the Ministries, and ~50 on the day of the apocalypse. Which seems to match up with your writing.

That's also my headcanon. I don't see how Twilight's mother could have still been alive when the bombs fell if Twilight was ~70 years old

SilentCarto wrote:
I have one for Hearth's Warming Eve. It's sort of a cross between a yule log and the Olympic torch relay: in preparation for HWE, each community sets up a bonfire in the middle of town. Then, at midday on the solstice, Celestia lights a fire using the focused rays of the sun. That flame is used to start Canterlot's bonfire, which is relayed to light every other town's bonfire in turn. A member of each household lights their own torch from the bonfire in their town and uses it to light their hearth. Thus every home in Equestria is warmed by the Sun's fire even in the dead of winter.

This is amazing

Admiral Stoic Rum wrote:
oh you are talking about FOE, it is told in past tense because littlepip is recollecting it just before going into the SPP stasis chamber. that is why the first and last lines are thesame....

I just realised that with my mother and stepfather divorcing, and they are selling their house i fell as though i don't have a home, mind you I've moved out into my own place for several years now, 6 in fact, but i have not really made a home out of those places. and it hurts. It was an essential epiphany. No wonder I feel so [emotion i cannot really recognize]

Ouch, I know how that feels. Except I was living in the home. Still sucks no less. I wish you a swift emotional recovery.

RoboRed wrote:RANDOM MOMENT OF UNRELATEDNESS:

EPIC PHOTO SNIP.

Dear lord, we might just need to create the fifth wall to make sure the universe can sustain itself.

How are ya'll today?

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

Good and getting better.

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

Pretty well. I had some contrary political comments here before I deleted them, but on the whole I've been having a nice time, I think.

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

Fine I suppose. Just sorta letting the time pass.

IncoherentOrange wrote:

Admiral Stoic Rum wrote:I just realised that with my mother and stepfather divorcing, and they are selling their house i fell as though i don't have a home, mind you I've moved out into my own place for several years now, 6 in fact, but i have not really made a home out of those places. and it hurts. It was an essential epiphany. No wonder I feel so [emotion i cannot really recognize]

Sometimes you don't realize you've lost something--even if it isn't part of your life at that moment--until it's gone. I understand the feeling.

@Kippershy Well, I never said I was any good at it. And besides, that sequence isn't more detailed so I wouldn't have to put a mature filter on it. Perhaps I should re-write all of my stuff to bring it up to my current ability. Hmm, that'd take a really long time.

It was me being an asshole with my humour, don't take me seriously. I know, I know.

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

(Video, not a picture.)

@Mel Naw, man, that's a picture.

Started playing Fallout 2 again, decided to go Big Guns. Made two levels between Arroyo and The Den, then went south to San Francisco to leech encounter loot (mercenaries vs. Hubologists) and buy a Flamer from Red 888 Guns. I don't think you can miss with it; I haven't yet and my skill is only 100%. Rinsing and repeating for more cash until I have a Vindicator and power armor. Perfect plan!

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

Pretty good. I'm enjoying the last few days before classes start, but after moving to my new apartment, decompressing.

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

Still have about a week and a half of summer vacation. Been playing Stronghold Crusader again. The AI is dumb and fairly rigid, but the ones that have good(read:annoying) preset strategies are very hard to defeat.
Usually it involves a few hundred(400~) archers to take out defensive archers and heavy weapons, most of which die, maybe catapults for wall busting if pitch ditches are present and macemen to break open a tower and get in the walls if catapults aren't present and to take out the enemy lord. If they have lots of resources, I light the whole castle on fire so they can't make more troops.

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

Fine. Classes are done for the day. Hoping to get something resembling progress done today before I head to work.

Ch49 music's up. I'm sorry, but I haven't been able to give it much attention this round. I'll try to do better next time.

Ranger wrote:How are ya'll today?

...
I should be coding the next Friendship is Magma version. Or at least writing the fanfic. I'm doing jack f[!!APPLES!!]ing s[!!APPLES!!]t.

I did absolutely nothing productive today. Also, I have a cold.

...Also, have you tried Brutal DOOM? It's amazingly... brutal. Oh yes. Add in DoomMetal.wad and it becomes even more awesome.
Also it's harder than usual (I died several times on E1M7 on UV).

IncoherentOrange wrote:@Mel Naw, man, that's a picture.

Started playing Fallout 2 again, decided to go Big Guns. Made two levels between Arroyo and The Den, then went south to San Francisco to leech encounter loot (mercenaries vs. Hubologists) and buy a Flamer from Red 888 Guns. I don't think you can miss with it; I haven't yet and my skill is only 100%. Rinsing and repeating for more cash until I have a Vindicator and power armor. Perfect plan!

Interesting. Out of curiosity, why not just do the Navarro Run (I've never used it myself, but it seems like it might be not too bad a fit for your play style)?

You got a point there, but it's harder to get near Navarro than it is to get near San Fran, and you can do it without talking to anyone except the guy in the temple you have to fight that makes the beginning of the game frustrating. Of course, Save Scumming is the only way to get to either, so it's kind of moot. I've already got a minigun and power armor and am mopping up the Khans in Vault 15 with it and the flamer with fuel mk. II, so I think it's working okay.

Sorry I took a while to reply, but I've finally caught up with MN7. That last chapter was...a bit heavy. On another note, Murky should go into acting.

swicked wrote:Considering the absurdity of nightmare night, ninjas and clowns and etc. with lots of candy, I headcanoned it was originally a holiday about what it was like under Discord's first reign of chaos, then got warped following Luna's betrayal.

That makes sense. If you look like a pony, Nightmare Moon will eat you, but if you put on a costume—even one inspired by a pony—she won't acknowledge your presence? That works for keeping a tradition alive for the foals, but offers no clues to how the tradition started (or if it does, even if we don't take it literally, she was a lot worse during the betrayal than we imagined). Saying that it was a day originally commemorating Discord's downfall explains both the costumes and quite possibly the date. After all, who but the scholars remember when Discord ruled, whereas we have this much more recent threat that twisted one of the beloved princesses. What better way to reassure ponies than by making her almost comically terrible?

nebulous wrote:

WovenTales wrote:I myself have worked out a set of traditions not obviously dependent on anything of ours for Hearts and Hooves Day, solely based on the name.

Post them please?

Modeled on the Equestrian ideal of teamwork, in a Hearts and Hooves-style date (especially popular around the day with the same name, for some reason), each pony has a role. The "heart" plans the events, whether a meal, stargazing, or anything that the two may enjoy together. However, the "hooves" pick the location. The theoretical model is for the two to fit together seamlessly without actually stating either plan beforehand, but in practice most couples give a vague hint (if the hooves had chosen a particular hill they liked, they might say they were planning on visiting the forest) or otherwise ensure that their plans were compatible. Because of the format, dates in the style tend to be smaller but more personal; while a trip to a concert might work traditionally for Vinyl and Octavia—if they could find a genre they both liked—on Hearts and Hooves Day one would more likely play something herself, though nothing would stop the other joining in. There is no particular pattern for who takes what role, but many ponies prefer to ask the other in the form of naming the heart ("May I/Will you be your/my heart?"). While taking that role yourself is considered courteous, directly naming yourself as either suggests, subconsciously or not, that you have something amazing planned.

SilentCarto wrote:I have one for Hearth's Warming Eve. It's sort of a cross between a yule log and the Olympic torch relay: in preparation for HWE, each community sets up a bonfire in the middle of town. Then, at midday on the solstice, Celestia lights a fire using the focused rays of the sun. That flame is used to start Canterlot's bonfire, which is relayed to light every other town's bonfire in turn. A member of each household lights their own torch from the bonfire in their town and uses it to light their hearth. Thus every home in Equestria is warmed by the Sun's fire even in the dead of winter.

Depending on how large Equestria is, that may take a while to reach the edges. But that might make it more special; I can see a town awake in the middle of the night, celebrating their friendship until someone spots a light approaching from the direction of Canterlot, whereupon they all head to the center to welcome in the runner. The bonfire goes up, the torchbearer is offered a place to stay for the night, and one pony starts down the path to the next town on the line. As the pinprick of light disappears behind the last hill, the town separates to head for their own homes and light the smaller hearths. I like it.

nebulous wrote:

tylertoon2 wrote:Is it weird that every-time I go out on a clear night, I send up a complement to Luna?

No weirder than my asking Celestia to send my sickness to the moon. Anthropomorphizing natural forces has a certain appeal.

I actually hold small conversations with Luna if I'm walking somewhere after dark, though they tend to be somewhat one-sided. And I'm not sure how much she'd appreciate being the receptacle for your diseases.