Re: [Fallout Equestria] Setting discussions

[Harmony Ltd.]

And it wouldn't necessary need to be someone who wants to turn the wholepeninsula into a radioactive hellhole.

After all, dark & soul-magic is an integral part of the FoE setting, and who knows what kind of power you could acquire if you somehow managed to snuff the life and capture the souls of a whole continent all at once?

The hardest part would be to convince the Elements of Harmony to cooperate, but if somehow the original gardens got destroyed and a new megaspell exchange had turned the whole peninsula into anotver Wasteland...


[grimdark intensifies]


Goldenblood got nothing on that asshole.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Basically, Equestria Genesis Evangelion



The Pan-Instrumentality Project

[O. Hinds]

Who would fund it? The primary purpose of the Gardens is done, and the original still remains in an isolated cave guarded by a dragon. Certainly it would be worth the resources, but the resources required would be immense. What faction would possibly care enough to help construct or hide this thing when the same manpower or dosh could go to some agricultural or military application that benefits themselves directly? Anyone who actually cares enough about the world at large never seems to have enough at their disposal to help. Least that's how it so often is in Fallout.

Good point.

Oh, or a Unity cult. If anyone still cared to carry out the Goddess' insane plan of irradiating everything, it would be easier to be a vital part of construction of a new Garden than infiltrating Spike's cave. Even if they had to pretend to be nice for a while.

Interesting idea...

hey. hehehe. Hehe muhahaha!

Yes. And who are mostly inhabiting the state of Everfree? Childrens of the Cathedral, who makes immenses amounts of cash reselling the natural riches of the Everfree to the rest of the NCR and the world at large.

The same Childrens who still believe that Red Eye is alive, sleeping under the Cathedral and awaiting his time to descend again among the world of the Mortals.

Oh, I didn't know that they had that belief. I assume that it's left alone because more of less everyone influential thinks it's mad?
(Rose Eye probably doesn't believe it either, by the way, partly due to knowing some of the details of his plan and partly due to the belief that, were he alive, he would have contacted her.)

As for the motivation to build the thing, it probably wouldn't be a current plan, but in 20-40 years, the situation might have evolved enough for the NCR to want to ensure it would still be able to survive a megaspell exchange and thus defeat CARE/MAD. The project could be sold to the NCR as an hidden ace up its sleeves for the Strategic Arsenal.

Sold by whom?

And it wouldn't necessary need to be someone who wants to turn the wholepeninsula into a radioactive hellhole.

After all, dark & soul-magic is an integral part of the FoE setting, and who knows what kind of power you could acquire if you somehow managed to snuff the life and capture the souls of a whole continent all at once?

The hardest part would be to convince the Elements of Harmony to cooperate, but if somehow the original gardens got destroyed and a new megaspell exchange had turned the whole peninsula into anotver Wasteland...


[grimdark intensifies]


Goldenblood got nothing on that asshole.

…Hm… Yes, interesting idea...

Basically, Equestria Genesis Evangelion



The Pan-Instrumentality Project

…I recognize that that is an anime reference! :)

[Harmony Ltd.]

Just finished chapter 63. Holee sheet there's a lot to take inas far as this thread is concerned. So onward to the most notable things:

- "Official" implosion of the Enclave three months post-SR. 1 Thunderhead and 12 other ships stolen by a group of ponies led by Ironfeather. Allegiance of the hijacker unknown. Cauterizers?
- Massive influx of skilled workforce in the Hoof.
- The Hoof seems to be somewhat uniting. I insist on somewhat, as the place is still probably going to stay kind of fractured along the lines of the various local factions in the foreseeable future.
- The Hoof has a trading relationship with the rest of the Wasteland.
- People from all around the wasteland come to the Hoof, and people from the Hoof travel to the rest of the wasteland.
- The Children of the Cathedral are among the most prominent food suppliers of the Wasteland in the immediate post-SR era.
- Red Eye's forces confirmed for having imploded upon themselves.
- Rainbow Dash still secretly alive at this point in meta-time.



So at this point in meta-time, Hoofington is probably a power you need to count on in 30 SR. I, for now, reserve my judgment as to how exactly, as long as the story will not have advanced further.

[O. Hinds]

Yeah. Like I said, a lot in there that's of interest to us.

- "Official" implosion of the Enclave three months post-SR. 1 Thunderhead and 12 other ships stolen by a group of ponies led by [what's his name again?]. Allegiance of the hijacker unknown. Cauterizers?

Ironfeather. And they certainly weren't Volunteers.

- The Children of the Cathedral are among the most prominent food suppliers of the Wasteland in the immediate post-SR era.

It makes sense. Red Eye was planning to have the Everfree be his empire's breadbasket, and, while a lot of the preparations probably went down with the Cathedral, "some" is still more than "none at all". Of course, the NCR, once it forms, will catch up and surpass the Children pretty quickly, but the CotC have a good initial advantage.

So at this point in meta-time, Hoofington is probably a power you need to count on in 30 SR. I, for now, reserve my judgment as to how exactly, as long as the story will not have advanced further.

I can't say anything about that at this time, unfortunately.


Oh, and thoughts on alien technology? I'm still in favor of saying that the Star Blasters were just made by the GPE, personally.

[Harmony Ltd.]

I stay on my idea that Friedrichorsen probably got settled by the Enclave Remnants almost as soon as the Gardens cleared the place of radiations (it was otherwise roughly as nastily radioactive as the Glow from Fallout 1), as it was the most important shipyard for Raptors and Thunderheads in Equestria; and it also happen that the shipyards themselves are probably the only things that haven't been razed to the ground by balefire bombs. They are in fact surprisingly well preserved.


It also happen that the place is just next to a great lake, source of freshwater that can be used to make clouds, the place itself is easily defensible, and noone else was occupying it.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Re star blaster:

data insufficient to say if it's Equestrian-made, or if comes from beyond. Doesn't exclude one theory or the other. In doubt, both are equally as valid as long as the origin of Star Batteries themselves isn't known.

I'm more interested in knowing just how frequent these... foreign incursions... Sky Stryker refers to are, and their exact nature, to be honest.


*cue main theme from the Men In Black movies*

[O. Hinds]

Well, I'm at present choosing to exclude "foreign incursions" in their entirety from what we (or at least I) draw from PH. That may change, I suppose, but I don't like the idea of pony-level aliens being involved (I don't even particularly like the star beings being involved in the conflict).

[Harmony Ltd.]

Re the Enclave Remnants and the isolationnists:

It dawned on me from thinking back on what was said in PH ch.63 that, at least at first, if a numbers of Enclave settlements stayed isolated it wasn't so much a conscious choice on their part than being forced to it by the Surface refusing to do business with them.

There's a number of things to be said on how this would influence the later Enclave Remnants' policies toward the surface, but right now I need to go to bed really bad.

[O. Hinds]

Sounds like a plausible idea. It might not be until the NCR really starts forming and says "Hey, um, we're actually kind of pushing every pegasus on the peninsula to go away, and pegasi are useful" that things start turning around.

I was pleased by the mention of Las Pegasus in the chapter, by the way; I'm pretty sure that the relation to our work here was a complete accident on Somber's part (we were a bit pressed for time when that part of the chapter came up, so I didn't ask), but it's a happy complete accident.

Goodnight!

[Harmony Ltd.]

Question:

In FoE and PH, does the Enclave armor completely cover the wings, feathers comprised, or only the "bone" part at the front?

I was under the impression it was the later, but I may be mistaken.

[O. Hinds]

IIRC, standard Enclave armor covers the leading edges and upper surfaces of the wings.

[Harmony Ltd.]

I ask because of this set of sketches that I quite like:

http://mech-station.tumblr.com/post/62195643330/enclave-concept-sketches

[Meleagridis]

As I understood it, their wings are exposed. Pretty sure it was even an important detail in one of the PH/FOE fights.

Now! While there was a lot of stuff in the last chapter, there was one thing that made me think a little. And... probably not one of the things that was supposed to. Adama named her spear Pokey (Pft). She's not the only one. Several of the weapons are named, from Vigilance to Duty and Sacrifice to Persuasion. And, as swicked brought up once, the weapons in Blackjack's possession are never named, they come pre-named. The only weapon that became so important that names were starting to get considered was the starmetal sword until it got lost. This is all because of the unique weapons (and other items) in Fallout, those special versions of standard weapons that you only ever found somewhere. They all had a name from the practical to poetic and each one differed from standard weapons of their kind in small but crucial ways. Extraordinary limb damage. Ignoring armour. Skill boosts. Inexplicable luck.

Now it hasn't been outright stated, but the majority of the named weapons with a story in FOEverse seem to have their own subtle improvements. Often the implication is that they have been made special or modified in some way. And sometimes they're just better.

So here's my thing.

Love is an actual force in MLP. It literally powers things. It has the potential to be so in FOE too. Changelings have earlier been defined as ghouls that adapted to grow off of love in the absence of radiation in this thread. So... what if love could change stuff? Stuff like weapons and vault suits and whatnot? The Equestria universe seems to treat emotions as a kind of magic unto itself. If it can blast away armies and sustain a creature's life, couldn't it possibly alter objects? Enchant them, even unknowingly? A subtle effect that only shines through in the most heated of passion.

As explained by a non-expert in-universe:

Oh dear that was longer than I thought it was.

[O. Hinds]

@Harmony:
Ah, well, that's not too different from what I thought.

@Meleagridis:
:D
[applauds]

So where and when was that set?

Oh, and the idea is neat, too. :)

[Harmony Ltd.]

I approve of the idea, Mel.

And Hinds, my best guess is that the zebra might be descended from Majina. So probably past 30 SR. Most poblably later than that. As for the where, probably a little settlement on the frontier or outside of the NCR, if they still need guards against raider attacks - raiders as we know them are "extinct" in the NCR, and guard duty is reserved to conscripts and the police forces.

[O. Hinds]

...Right! A zebra. Because Kujificha sure is just an average zebra, yup, nothing to see here. :)

[Harmony Ltd.]

...

[noise of rusty gears grinding in the distance]

Oh. Oooooh...

Ah yeah, I forgot Mel' was our local "expert" on them.

[Harmony Ltd.]

I honestly thought for a second that Zebra could do that kind of things with the right powders and stuff.

Clever girl...

[Meleagridis]

Heh.  

Yeh, it's roughly a generation past SR, though I couldn't think of a proper 'where,' so I could only think generic wasteland town. Frontier is all the better for the lack of concern regarding internal security.

And I don't suppose anybody knows what the actual Swahili words for 'Red Racer' would be?

[Harmony Ltd.]

Actually, thinking about it, the entire Peninsula ought to be somewhat -influenced- by the NCR, to diverse degrees:

The Northern Territories are seeing themselves being not so subtly colonized by the NCR and its settlers, and the only reason the Moojave hasn't been absorbed yet is that apart from its strategic location the terrain itself isn't very attractive (plus the fact the NCR doesn't have quite the manpower yet to extend in that direction);

The Noble Republic of Geneighva and the Enclave Remnants, while independants, are in the sphere of influence of the NCR;

and the eastern part of the Peninsula see the NCR's armed forces regularly intervening against raiders and protecting trading caravans.


So it becomes even more understandable that the people in New Canterlot get into their head that the NCR has a manifest destiny to re-unite the peninsula under a single banner...

[O. Hinds]

Wow, she even managed to fool someone in a different universe. :D

Yeh, it's roughly a generation past SR, though I couldn't think of a proper 'where,' so I could only think generic wasteland town. Frontier is all the better for the lack of concern regarding internal security.

Only that much?
...I've got a bad feeling about how Mr. Sleepytime ended up in a little shop in a frontier town somewhere instead of with Majina or her friends/relatives. Probably an interesting story, though!

And I don't suppose anybody knows what the actual Swahili words for 'Red Racer' would be?

No idea, sorry, and Gtrans isn't helping. Maybe use RZ instead of a regional language? That would be "Celes Rubrum", as far as I can tell. Why do you want to know?

[O. Hinds]

Actually, thinking about it, the entire Peninsula ought to be somewhat -influenced- by the NCR, to diverse degrees:

The Northern Territories are seeing themselves being not so subtly colonized by the NCR and its settlers, and the only reason the Moojave hasn't been absorbed yet is that apart from its strategic location the terrain itself isn't very attractive (plus the fact the NCR doesn't have quite the manpower yet to extend in that direction);

The Noble Republic of Geneighva and the Enclave Remnants, while independants, are in the sphere of influence of the NCR;

and the eastern part of the Peninsula see the NCR's armed forces regularly intervening against raiders and protecting trading caravans.


So it becomes even more understandable that the people in New Canterlot get into their head that the NCR has a manifest destiny to re-unite the peninsula under a single banner...

:D
With, while a public, a hasty "Except for the territory rightfully claimed by our good and heavily-armed friends the Miliozi" of course added on. Privately, "And once we've got everything else, we can see to those damned alley stripes!" among the more... patriotic, let's say, members of the NCR. :)

Several other potential problems I can see, though, besides the obvious ones in the Moojave:
-Hoofington: If it's a smoking crater, no problem for the NCR, but if it isn't, well, then it's probably tough enough to require diplomacy instead of just moving colonists in and putting the pressure on.
-the unnamed potential Remnant nation in the east resulting from ATR: Really, I'm just adding this because we have so little idea what ATR will do.
-the Highlands: There's a chance that the Highlands might end up in the sphere of Hoofington, if such a thing exists, but I think that it's extremely likely that they'll just be independent. And, well, the Highlanders found Equestria and the PR simultaneously and cheered when the bombs fell; I don't see them being reluctant to fight off the NCR too.

So, yeah, the NCR's route to claiming most of the peninsula seems pretty clear (assuming that Hoofington isn't just not a smoking crater but actually a rival power building its own sphere): just send in the troops and/or colonists until the locals realize that you're in charge. The Northern Confederacy (or whatever they're called, sorry) might be a bit difficult, but they can be reasoned with, don't dislike the NCR, and would have a lot to gain from joining; it'll just be a bit trickier. Most possibilities for the eastern Remnant nation wouldn't be much of a problem, either. Once they're got all the easy bits, though...

[Meleagridis]

 Probably an interesting story, though!

Certainly a funny one.

No idea, sorry, and Gtrans isn't helping.  Maybe use RZ instead of a regional language?  That would be "Celes Rubrum", as far as I can tell.  Why do you want to know?

I always jump to Swahili as zebra dialect. Maybe not strictly correct, but it's a thing I do. So when I need a zebra name, or a name for a zebra thing, I translate something to Swahili. But I was having trouble with Red Racer, as you found out yourself!

So it becomes even more understandable that the people in New Canterlot get into their head that the NCR has a manifest destiny to re-unite the peninsula under a single banner...

That'll end well.
I wonder if having a conscious body in control of all weather deters anyone from really starting something. I know she says she doesn't wanna use it like that, but if everyone believed that they'd probably be using Littlepip more than Lightbringer.

[Meleagridis]

ADD: The Horizons thread got me to thinking about the possible prevalence of mouth gloves. Given the Moojave's serious problem with BSE/bovine raiderism, the Guai would need to employ some serious sanitation standards. And I'm kind of wondering what the options are if you pick everything up with your mouth.

[O. Hinds]

...I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything about bovine raiderism in the Moojave. Refresh my memory, please?

[Meleagridis]

...I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything about bovine raiderism in the Moojave.  Refresh my memory, please?

I didn't go into much detail, other than people call mad cows Guai (which is pretty much propaganda). But there's no time like the present!
BSE for the sapient bovine. After we got to Yellow River in PH, it seemed not too far out there to suggest it's actually the exact same disease that affected zebra, the original raider virus. If I'm being completely honest, my knowledge of virology is limited and I'm not sure how ridiculous it is to suggest that the disease is transmissible between brahmin and zebra. That's where it sits now, though. It's similar to the raider disease in the Hoof, but since it's the original, unmodified strain the ponies have little to fear from the disease itself and more from what it does to the brahmin it infects. The zebra version didn't transfer to ponies initially, right?

Mad cows are a constant and ancient problem, one that drives the two Cow gangs in different directions. The Great Cows seek a cure, the pursuit of which is secondary only to the brahmin intelligence problem. They attempt to take victims alive when possible, which is easier said than done. In the past, the Cows have been responsible for a disastrous outbreak. Since the incident the Cow Guai have been applying their cauterization to any Great Cows trying to bring in mad bovines alive, killing the captive and often the recovery team. The Guai are the main reason that the Moojave has not been overrun with frothing, cannibalistic bulls. Their military strength is almost entirely devoted to the containment and euthanasia of mad cows with as little risk to the Guai involved as possible. They have saved pony settlements from complete destruction by wiping out mad herds in the nick of time. They've also wiped out settlements that have fended off mad cow attacks- if a single brahmin citizen has been infected, the outbreak could be a catastrophe. In matters regarding mad cows, brahmin under Papa Guai are given extreme leniency and agency to act without his permission if they do so to stop the disease from spreading. The creative interpretation of this tends to harm interracial tension more than help.

I've been wondering just how nutty it makes people.

It's a shame we don't have a bigger sample size. Or, I guess it's not a shame? I dunno.

As for the Overmare, I'd argue that it's more a case that the Raider version and the 'sane' version are nigh indistinguishable. She probably just got less patience with a spongy brain. Daisy's the one that confuses me. She was pretty much all the way there, she seemed even more patient than before. It was weird. She skipped out on a bloody mess for the opportunity to talk to Blackjack. At this particular point in time, it almost seems like a fluke. She was practically unique among the victims.

What are the odds we'll see other very evil characters get hit with the disease? I'd love to get another example to compare these to, but the raider virus is kind of flying under the radar since we hit the cyber-ceiling.

[O. Hinds]

The zebra version didn't transfer to ponies initially, right?

Correct, IIRC.

How would this disease be spread? Just by eating contaminated food?

They've also wiped out settlements that have fended off mad cow attacks- if a single brahmin citizen has been infected, the outbreak could be a catastrophe. In matters regarding mad cows, brahmin under Papa Guai are given extreme leniency and agency to act without his permission if they do so to stop the disease from spreading. The creative interpretation of this tends to harm interracial tension more than help.

The Banner will probably try to exploit that. "Hey, we'll help you fight them off too, but we won't kill you afterwards!"

The Banner/Guai relationship is an interesting one. They're definitely hostile, the Banner being, after all, a slaver faction and the Guai being a hazard to the Moojave locals, but it's less cut and dry than in most cases. The Banner may be slavers, but they treat give brahmin in any position no worse treatment than they'd give ponies in the same position. The Guai may be a threat to the Moojave, but they also defend it. The could be lots of potential for compromise… except that both factions are led by and filled with, shall we say, dedicated individuals. The only deal I can see is Rose Eye offering to make the Banner anti-slavery in exchange for an alliance with the Guai against the NCR (and for generally greater unity in the Moojave), and, as you said, that would be a really difficult decision for Papa Guai.

[O. Hinds]

Biological viruses? I thought that we decided that it was a prion disease?

[O. Hinds]

Ah.

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