Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Vergil]

I'd like to thank Cai for making me giggle like a child while sitting at a bar.

[O. Hinds]

Hooray for somber getting a SPEHSHUL SAMPAHNY. :3

:)


As a bit of news, however, right now, Somber is getting something else: rain.  Which Las Vegas, despite its famous storm sewer system, is not especially well-equipped to cope with.  Rain can therefore contribute to things such as, say, transformers audibly exploding.  Which in turn tends to be rather bad for the electricity supplies of the areas said transformers serve. Or rather, served.  So...  It's unfortunately looking rather unlikely that we'll have the chapter out this weekend.

[Somber]

The rain didn't kill the transformer.  Whatever didn't make a turn on the slippery road and rammed the transformer box did.  Drove by getting lunch and it was just smashed.

Sorry for ever more delays.  I'm deeply ashamed it's taken so long.

[O. Hinds]

Sorry, Somber.

[Veradon Chimera]

Funny Irishmen:

Not my true sentiment, but this image is too good not to use. Might give folks a laugh

[decumos]

Sorry for ever more delays.  I'm deeply ashamed it's taken so long.

Oh, don't worry about it, Somber, you write relatively fast. For example, it's been EIGHT MONTHS since Murky Number Seven got a new chapter.

[ILM126]

Funny Irishmen:

Not my true sentiment, but this image is too good not to use. Might give folks a laugh

Heh, that gave me a giggle and a smile...

Sorry for ever more delays. I'm deeply ashamed it's taken so long.

It's fine, I know you write very fast and the editing team helps make the process even faster

"Everything comes to those who wait" With the quality of the chapters that you and the editing team produces, I know it would be worth while waiting

[O. Hinds]

Oh, don't worry about it, Somber, you write relatively fast. For example, it's been EIGHT MONTHS since Murky Number Seven got a new chapter.

Well, that does make us look rather good; thanks. :)


Also, Icy Shake, did you get the email I sent you?

[Icy Shake]

Oh, don't worry about it, Somber, you write relatively fast. For example, it's been EIGHT MONTHS since Murky Number Seven got a new chapter.

Well, that does make us look rather good; thanks.  :)

It's the downside of having started so rapidly. Even pretty rapid publishing by longfic standards looks slow compared to multiple chapters a month, even if many of the chapters put out at that rate early on were only a half or a third the length of current ones.

Also, Icy Shake, did you get the email I sent you?

Yes I did, thank you. I've responded and am hoping to hear back. I guess in retrospect a Reply All or CC to you wouldn't have hurt. Sorry for the silence on my end.

[atikin]

Hello, dear Somber, the editing team, and all the fans of this amazing piece of art called Project Horizons! 
I'm new here and this is actually my first serious interaction with a brony community beyond my few brony friends in real life. Let me introduce myself a bit. My name is Nikita, and I've been a brony since 2012. Wow, that sounds like an introduction on some kind of addiction meeting. =) 
First of all, I want to say thanks a lot to Somber and all the editing crew! Guys, I really think your work is priceless, and I enjoy every moment reading this masterpiece you create! Keep going! 
It have been almost a year since I started reading Project Horizons, and today, finally, I've finished the last chapter released and joined all the fans who wait passionately for the next chapters. Somber, don't be sorry for all the delays. I'm sure all of us understand you have a real life going on (in the background)  =) and you can't always release chapters in time. If it was for me, I think I wouldn't be able to finish even one chapter at all... 
The last chapter almost left me in tears. Why almost, you ask? Because most of fanfics I've read so far were grimdark or somewhat dramatic, so I've kinda got used to all the sad scenes in the stories I read... Unfortunately, actually... 
Anyway, after some discussion with my friend (who didn't read the book by the way), I've got a few questions I wanna ask you guys. 
- How is it possible that Snips got to Cognitum as a soul jar, if after BJ died the second time she met him as a soul in the afterworld? It was clear he died and his soul was out of his body, but then it somehow came back into his bones that were a soul jar (that actually can't let the soul go out)? My friend said it's "deus ex machina", but I thought maybe there's a logical explanation to that. 
- Another example of "deus ex machina" - when there was a megaspell going off at Shadowbolt tower, how is it possible that it sucked in junk and parts of the buildins from the Core far below, but didn't suck in BJ and Boo who were in midair? 

And a few simple questions:
- How did you came up with zebra names and language? Does it have some meaning or is it just gibberish? I speak four languages and there's almost no similarity to none of them. 
- Where did all the stars mythology came from? Does it have a basis in real life or something? 

Thanks!

[O. Hinds]

It's the downside of having started so rapidly. Even pretty rapid publishing by longfic standards looks slow compared to multiple chapters a month, even if many of the chapters put out at that rate early on were only a half or a third the length of current ones.

The earlier chapters also had less continuity to worry about keeping track of.

Yes I did, thank you. I've responded and am hoping to hear back. I guess in retrospect a Reply All or CC to you wouldn't have hurt. Sorry for the silence on my end.

No problem.


@atikin:
Welcome to the forum, and thank you for your thanks and compliments. :)

- How is it possible that Snips got to Cognitum as a soul jar, if after BJ died the second time she met him as a soul in the afterworld? It was clear he died and his soul was out of his body, but then it somehow came back into his bones that were a soul jar (that actually can't let the soul go out)? My friend said it's "deus ex machina", but I thought maybe there's a logical explanation to that.

Snips's soul got split into multiple pieces; Blackjack met some of it after death, but other parts of it were still bound to his bones.

Then Discord turned his attention to Snips. “This one isn’t even finished yet! Let me see.” And he snapped his claws. From the storm, a cloud of tiny motes swept through the side of the jar and into the skull. “There we go. Really, you need to be careful with that dark magical stuff, old sport.” He snapped his claws again, and the jar vanished in another flash.

- Another example of "deus ex machina" - when there was a megaspell going off at Shadowbolt tower, how is it possible that it sucked in junk and parts of the buildins from the Core far below, but didn't suck in BJ and Boo who were in midair?

Well, firstly, it's not pulling buildings up; it pulls Shadowbolt Tower up, but it already had a hold on the Tower. The structure had to give somewhere, and it happened that the connection to the ground was weaker than the internal connections.
As for how Blackjack and Boo avoided it, Blackjack, to whom Boo was hanging on, put a great deal of effort into flying away.

- How did you came up with zebra names and language? Does it have some meaning or is it just gibberish? I speak four languages and there's almost no similarity to none of them.

Huh, really? It's basically, at least mostly, Latin.

- Where did all the stars mythology came from? Does it have a basis in real life or something?

That one I think you might need to wait for Somber to address; sorry.


Also, did anyone else not realize that the Society had underground orchards at Elysium? I do not recall even suspecting that they had such things, nor do I particularly find the bits of text Somber said said that (the ones I've found, at least) saying that to me even now.

[Icy Shake]

It's the downside of having started so rapidly. Even pretty rapid publishing by longfic standards looks slow compared to multiple chapters a month, even if many of the chapters put out at that rate early on were only a half or a third the length of current ones.

The earlier chapters also had less continuity to worry about keeping track of.

Certainly.

- Another example of "deus ex machina" - when there was a megaspell going off at Shadowbolt tower, how is it possible that it sucked in junk and parts of the buildins from the Core far below, but didn't suck in BJ and Boo who were in midair?

Well, firstly, it's not pulling buildings up; it pulls Shadowbolt Tower up, but it already had a hold on the Tower.  The structure had to give somewhere, and it happened that the connection to the ground was weaker than the internal connections.
As for how Blackjack and Boo avoided it, Blackjack, to whom Boo was hanging on, put a great deal of effort into flying away.

The key point is that Blackjack was still under powered flight, but it was pulling up bits of buildings.

With painful slowness, I pulled us down to the rooftops of the highest of the black skyscrapers... but, given how pieces of them were now flying up towards that maelstrom above, I didn’t stop there.  I started moving down between two of the obsidian-sided buildings--

- How did you came up with zebra names and language? Does it have some meaning or is it just gibberish? I speak four languages and there's almost no similarity to none of them.

Huh, really?  It's basically, at least mostly, Latin.

Some had seemed more Greek to me, especially among the Starkatteri, though that's always complicated by the ties between Greek and Latin mythologies. Sekashi and Majina, I think, were Swahili, or meant to sound Swahili-esque. "Amadi" is apparently derived from both Latin and Arabic, but I wouldn't have guessed the former until being told that "Amadeus" is a variant.

Also, did anyone else not realize that the Society had underground orchards at Elysium?  I do not recall even suspecting that they had such things, nor do I particularly find the bits of text Somber said said that (the ones I've found, at least) saying that to me even now.

I do not remember ever having that impression. The closest to underground I remember there was the Roseluck Agrifarms building, which I thought was more of a warehouse or factory, maybe with lab areas.

[SilentCarto]

- Where did all the stars mythology came from? Does it have a basis in real life or something?

Welcome! At least half of the "evil stars" mythology was present in FoE, but much more vague. Somber has... greatly expanded upon it, and in a direction I appreciate -- that only some stars are evil, and not all who favor destroying Equestria do so out of spite.

I do know that the four stars the Starkatteri priestesses called on mostly used the names of Mesopotamian deities (Ashur, Dagon, Namtar). "Nibiru" is sort of the odd one out -- it's an astronomical term from Babylon that refers to the highest point in the sky the sun reaches at noon on the Summer solstice, which was considered the throne of the god Marduk. In modern times it was reused as the name of an imaginary tenth planet by an author that I don't hesitate to classify as a complete whackjob.

By the way, Hinds, in Chapter 71, BJ mistakenly calls Ashur "Ashtur" and the Eater of Souls "Eater of Stars".

Also, did anyone else not realize that the Society had underground orchards at Elysium?  I do not recall even suspecting that they had such things, nor do I particularly find the bits of text Somber said said that (the ones I've found, at least) saying that to me even now.

I recall them mentioning it, but it was never much of an issue. Just sort of explained how they could grow stuff when nobody else could.

Lemme see if I can find the reference... ah, here it is. We heard about their plantations and greenhouses early on, when we were introduced to the faction, but there were no details offered. We got more when BJ got the Roseluck Agrifarms quest.

“That’s his requirement.  The Collegiate has a separate request,” Triage said with a smile.  “Fact is, the Collegiate is dying for a steady food source.  The Society has been gouging us for years for basic staples.  We got their plantations running, and then they kicked us out.  But there’s one plantation close to us that never got running due to extreme Enervation, stronger than almost anywhere else.  Somehow, you’re immune to Enervation now.  Maybe it’s a cyberpony thing.  In any case, we want you to go in and see if you can clean it out for us.”  My immunity seemed to annoy the blue mare; I supposed she didn’t like mysteries any more than I did.
“Why isn’t there any Enervation in the other plantations?” I asked.
“No idea.  They were a Stable-Tec testbed for stable orchards and gardens.  This plantation was leased to some other company.  Roseluck Agrifarms.  We sent in some robots, but there were turrets and they couldn’t get any deeper.”

Then she gets to visit them in Chapter 56.

I’d spent an hour inspecting the plantations below.  The Stable-Tec testbeds were amazing; I can only imagine what stables had been rich and extravagant enough to have entire orchards growing underground in perfectly secure environments.

[O. Hinds]

The key point is that Blackjack was still under powered flight, but it was pulling up bits of buildings.

Bits of them, yes, but not entire buildings ripped out of the ground or disintegrated.

I do not remember ever having that impression. The closest to underground I remember there was the Roseluck Agrifarms building, which I thought was more of a warehouse or factory, maybe with lab areas.

Okay, good, so it's not just me.

By the way, Hinds, in Chapter 71, BJ mistakenly calls Ashur "Ashtur" and the Eater of Souls "Eater of Stars".

...How did that get through? Thanks.

Lemme see if I can find the reference... ah, here it is.

No mention of them being underground, though. I've looked at that and other instances, and there are a few details that fit with them being underground... if you're already assuming that they're underground. I've not found anything that requires them to be underground or, at least to me, suggests it. By contrast, I've found multiple explicit mentions of surface agriculture. Yes, the plantations are referred to as Stable-Tec testbeds... but if you're designing a closed ecological system for an environment that doesn't support life on its own, the majority of your testbeds are not going to be in the final environment; under the circumstances, I don't think that it was reasonable to assume that these were underground.

[O. Hinds]

Oh, you edited your post.

[SilentCarto]

No mention of them being underground, though.  I've looked at that and other instances, and there are a few details that fit with them being underground... if you're already assuming that they're underground.  I've not found anything that requires them to be underground or, at least to me, suggests it.  By contrast, I've found multiple explicit mentions of surface agriculture.  Yes, the plantations are referred to as Stable-Tec testbeds... but if you're designing a closed ecological system for an environment that doesn't support life on its own, the majority of your testbeds are not going to be in the final environment; under the circumstances, I don't think that it was reasonable to assume that these were underground.

Even without the Ch. 56 mention, they're implied to be identical to Roseluck, which is underground.

[Icy Shake]

By the way, Hinds, in Chapter 71, BJ mistakenly calls Ashur "Ashtur" and the Eater of Souls "Eater of Stars".

...How did that get through?  Thanks.

It's in the middle of a Doctor Who reference? (And one spoken by a potential/the Maiden of Stars, at that.)

[O. Hinds]

Then she gets to visit them in Chapter 56.

Aye. There are multiple things I can point out here. First, she refers to these as plantations but to the Stable orchards as, well, orchards; obviously, there are some differences in the design. Second, that the Stables would have their agricultural facilities underground does not, as I said in my other post, mean that the test facilities were underground. Third, while we can now see that "below" was meant to mean "subsurface", I assumed that it meant "on the surface but at a lower elevation than the country club, which is explicitly on a hill".

Now that I'm going back and looking, it does seem odd that Blackjack is not explicitly mentioned as seeing large-scale farms on the surface; the text certainly isn't incompatible with underground farming. At the same time, it's odd that something as remarkable as an underground farm complex was not explicitly mentioned as being such; the text is not incompatible with surface farms, either, and that is what I assumed.

Even without the Ch. 56 mention, they're implied to be identical to Roseluck, which is underground.

Implied to be identical to the Roseluck facility, yes, but where does it say that Roseluck Agrifarms had an underground agricultural facility? I've just looked back again through the chapter where Blackjack visits, and I saw no sign of that.

It's in the middle of a Doctor Who reference? (And one spoken by a potential/the Maiden of Stars, at that.)

I'm not sure why that would cause us to miss it, though; sorry.

[SilentCarto]

Aye.  There are multiple things I can point out here.  First, she refers to these as plantations but to the Stable orchards as, well, orchards; obviously, there are some differences in the design.

She really uses them interchangeably. Practically every occurrance of "orchard" had an accompanying use of the word "plantation". To my mind, a plantation is where you plant; an orchard is one of the things you can plant there. At least, I'm assuming the Society doesn't just grow tree fruits.

At the same time, it's odd that something as remarkable as an underground farm complex was not explicitly mentioned as being such;

Ah, well, she did comment on it... when she saw the designs for the Stable 2-type orchards in StableTec R&D. I guess by the time she actually saw them in person, she'd heard enough about them to not be surprised.

[Icy Shake]

Just making a best guess. And Dr. Who goes much more naturally with stars than souls, so I could see that (especially combined with "of [the] Stars" coming up on the very next line) causing people to elide the almost-right title.

[SilentCarto]

Even without the Ch. 56 mention, they're implied to be identical to Roseluck, which is underground.

Implied to be identical to the Roseluck facility, yes, but where does it say that Roseluck Agrifarms had an underground agricultural facility?  I've just looked back again through the chapter where Blackjack visits, and I saw no sign of that.

Well, clearing it of Enervation so the Collegiate could grow food there was the whole point of the expedition. So it obviously has a plantation, even though it appears to be a "large factory-style building". So... gotta be down there somewhere...

[O. Hinds]

She really uses them interchangeably. Practically every occurrance of "orchard" had an accompanying use of the word "plantation".

I'm only getting five results searching for "orchard". One is Scootaloo talking about 99 not having one, one is referring to what the Society's facilities were intended to be testbeds for, two refer to the orchards of Stables that have them, and the last is describing a GPE cloud farm; none refer to what the Society actually has.

I get thirteen results for "plantation", and all of them refer either to the Society's or to the one at Roseluck Agrifarms.

...I think that either you're misremembering or I"m drastically misinterpreting here, sorry.

To my mind, a plantation is where you plant; an orchard is what you plant there. At least, I'm assuming the Society doesn't just grow tree fruits.

That seems fair, though. And I thought that they mostly didn't grow tree fruits.

Ah, well, she did comment on it... when she saw the designs for the Stable 2-type orchards in StableTec R&D. I guess by the time she actually saw them in person, she'd heard enough about them to not be surprised.

I mean that she didn't comment on the Society having them.

Just making a best guess. And Dr. Who goes much more naturally with stars than souls, so I could see that (especially combined with "of [the] Stars" coming up on the very next line) causing people to elide the almost-right title.

Hm, perhaps. I don't remember getting the reference, but I do miss things at times.

Well, clearing it of Enervation so the Collegiate could grow food there was the whole point of the expedition. So it obviously has a plantation, even though it appears to be a "large factory-style building". So... gotta be down there somewhere...

Yes, it must have one, but Blackjack never saw it, nor do I recall anything that would have precluded it from simply being behind the building.

[SilentCarto]

Ah, well, she did comment on it... when she saw the designs for the Stable 2-type orchards in StableTec R&D. I guess by the time she actually saw them in person, she'd heard enough about them to not be surprised.

I mean that she didn't comment on the Society having them.

...I usually don't comment on things people have told me about in advance, either.

I guess I don't understand what you're getting at. Are you actually proposing that these are above-ground structures? Or are you just trying to defend your confusion? I can totally see why you might not catch them being underground; the testbeds could just as easily have been surface-level enclosures, so long as they kept any natural sun off. I think the first time Roseluck was mentioned, I pictured a long, low, shed-like structure full of grow-lights, but it seems clear in review that they are in fact buried.

[O. Hinds]

...I usually don't comment on things people have told me about in advance, either.

...Um, yes.  But she had to first learn about them at some point, and I'm surprised she didn't comment on them then.  "A whole complex of Stable-style underground farms, but providing for the Wasteland?  Wow!"

Or are you just trying to defend your confusion?

That, and also trying to ascertain whether the percentage of readers that didn't pick up on the hints is large enough to warrant going back and clarifying.  I do think I've a bit of a preference for them being on the surface, but it's a small enough one that it might well just be because that's what I've been picturing this whole time.  And even if I keep that, it wouldn't be applied in PH; I don't see anything actually wrong with the plantations being underground, and that's what Somber wants.  I personally, though, don't think that the story sufficiently clearly conveys that rather significant characteristic at the moment, and I'm concerned that it's not just me (and, at least until I pointed this out, Icy Shake).

Still, so far it's me and Icy Shake not picking up on it vs. you and the rest of the writing team, so that's at least an approximately 71% success rate in the known cases.

[atikin]

- How did you came up with zebra names and language? Does it have some meaning or is it just gibberish? I speak four languages and there's almost no similarity to none of them.

Huh, really?  It's basically, at least mostly, Latin.

Well, the only Latin language I speak is English. That's why I said there're ALMOST no similarities. 
Thanks for the answers. 

About the stars - I know there were reference to the stars in the original FoE too, but just as you guys said, Somber expanded it a lot. I wanna know where did it came from? Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no such mythology in the series, right? I would also ask Kkat, but he doesn't always answers, and even if he does, it takes him months. 

I liked how Somber predicted the future when Cognitum took Blackjack's cutie mark. It wasn't possible in the series until season 5. However, I understand that the cutie mark not always connected to the talent, as Blackjack continues to succeed even without it. Or maybe winning isn't her special talent? What kind of talent is that anyway? She can't always win, that's just impossible...

[O. Hinds]

Well, the only Latin language I speak is English. That's why I said there're ALMOST no similarities.

English is primarily a germanic language, actually.

Thanks for the answers.

[/quote]
You're welcome. :)

Oh, and I forgot to compliment you for knowing four languages! Sorry about that. :)

I wanna know where did it came from? Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no such mythology in the series, right?

In the actual show? No, and I assume not in materials like the comics either, though there I can't be sure.

I would also ask Kkat, but he doesn't always answers, and even if he does, it takes him months.

Kkat's female, just so you know.

as Blackjack continues to succeed even without it. Or maybe winning isn't her special talent? What kind of talent is that anyway? She can't always win, that's just impossible...

That is rather interesting, yes. I don't know the answer (well, if I did, I probably couldn't talk about it), but I hypothesize that, if Cognitum was right about that being her talent in the first place, Cognitum might not have gotten the benefit of it. After all, there were two people in that body, in two different ways, and their definitions of a win were not quite aligned.

[atikin]

English is primarily a germanic language, actually.

Yeah, sure, but it has Latin roots too, so anyway it's the closest to the Latin from the languages I know. 
 

Oh, and I forgot to compliment you for knowing four languages!  Sorry about that.  :)

Well, thank you. =) The life threw me in different places in the world, so I had no choice, but to study new languages. By the way, English isn't my native language.

 
That is rather interesting, yes.  I don't know the answer (well, if I did, I probably couldn't talk about it), but I hypothesize that, if Cognitum was right about that being her talent in the first place, Cognitum might not have gotten the benefit of it.  After all, there were two people in that body, in two different ways, and their definitions of a win were not quite aligned.

I suppose cutie mark isn't directly connected to your special talent. Actually, it's the effect, and the talent is the cause, because cutie mark appears after you find your talent out. It only indicates the talent, but it's not the talent itself. That's why, I presume, Cognitum didn't succeed. She took the icon, maybe, but the talent stayed with BJ.

[Luminous Lead]

Then she gets to visit them in Chapter 56.

I’d spent an hour inspecting the plantations below.  The Stable-Tec testbeds were amazing; I can only imagine what stables had been rich and extravagant enough to have entire orchards growing underground in perfectly secure environments.

Heh, isn't that a reference to Lil'Pip's vault, give history of Applejack and all the tree-planting?  Blackjack, in comparison, got to eat poop chips. It's like her talent is to accumulate huge amounts of karma from having been stuck in terrible situations, and to focus that accrued luck-imbalance on surviving said situations.

Another example of "deus ex machina" - when there was a megaspell going off at Shadowbolt tower, how is it possible that it sucked in junk and parts of the buildins from the Core far below, but didn't suck in BJ and Boo who were in midair? 

Personally, I'm chalking it up to:
1. Blackjack having the latest in high-speed flying technology, and being much more aerodynamic than random junk.
2. Blackjack having a "Trump" cutie mark that bends the laws of reality based on how much abuse/bad karma she's suffered lately (or as Cognitium puts it, the "Victory" mark).
3. Blackjack having the Kissed By Discord quest feat, likely granting her some resistance to magic (certainly helped a bit vs enervation)
4. Boo housing a powerful, disruptive luck/chaos spirit (a literal deus-ex machina).

About the stars - I know there were reference to the stars in the original FoE too, but just as you guys said, Somber expanded it a lot. I wanna know where did it came from? Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no such mythology in the series, right? I would also ask Kkat, but he doesn't always answers, and even if he does, it takes him months. 

As far as the original series, the prophecy from "The Mare in the Moon" talks about how "The stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night", and then during Twilight's welcoming party we see four stars coalesce on the sealed moon and the seal is vanishes. Shortly after that, Nightmare moon shows up.  I'm pretty sure that's where the majority of the "the stars are evil and are conspiring against the good of pony-kind" theories come from.  Also, Trixie's cronies bait a giant bear made of stars into attacking Ponyville that one time, so there's a precedent for large starbeasts.

The names of the stars, and the means by which they manifest, are reminiscent of the works of H.P. Lovecraft, a thriller-horror writer best known for popularizing C'thu'lu.  "The Esoteric Order of Dagon", for instance, shows up in his work "The Shadow Over Innsmouth".  Beyond that, any specifics are a quite lost on me.

[atikin]

As far as the original series, the prophecy from "The Mare in the Moon" talks about how "The stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night", and then during Twilight's welcoming party we see four stars coalesce on the sealed moon and the seal is vanishes. Shortly after that, Nightmare moon shows up.  I'm pretty sure that's where the majority of the "the stars are evil and are conspiring against the good of pony-kind" theories come from.  Also, Trixie's cronies bait a giant bear made of stars into attacking Ponyville that one time, so there's a precedent for large starbeasts.

Yeah, I kinda skipped that part. 
But anyway, I'm interested if the idea of stars being some kind of spirits who rule the world and sing their songs with all the other living souls, is Somber's oc or does it come from some kind of real mythology? I really liked the idea of souls living their eternal life in the universe and singing the song of life...

[Icy Shake]

As far as the original series, the prophecy from "The Mare in the Moon" talks about how "The stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night", and then during Twilight's welcoming party we see four stars coalesce on the sealed moon and the seal is vanishes. Shortly after that, Nightmare moon shows up.  I'm pretty sure that's where the majority of the "the stars are evil and are conspiring against the good of pony-kind" theories come from.  Also, Trixie's cronies bait a giant bear made of stars into attacking Ponyville that one time, so there's a precedent for large starbeasts.

Yeah, I kinda skipped that part. 
But anyway, I'm interested if the idea of stars being some kind of spirits who rule the world and sing their songs with all the other living souls, is Somber's oc or does it come from some kind of real mythology? I really liked the idea of souls living their eternal life in the universe and singing the song of life...

I've long thought that the star song from chapter 34 had some similarities and parallels to Ainulindal, the Music of the Ainur from Tolkien's Silmarilion.

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