Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Icy Shake]

@IcyShake: I just noticed you had a character sheet. This is very helpful. Though, I noticed some empty spaces:

Jetstream was implied to be sent to the zebra capital Roam by Garnet to "rescue" Big Mac and Stonewing, but her teleportation device is actually a megaspell bomb.

Colonel Cupcake's corpse was found in his office by Blackjack and Glory at Miramare.

Stonewing/Gorgon's debut is in Chapter 9.

Thanks! Edited to reflect your input.
I'm not surprised you've only recently noticed. I think I've mentioned it a couple times before, but just added the link to my signature recently.

(Sorry for the really, really super late reply, here...)

But wasn't it always not a straight shot? Isn't that something that the Legate and his Starkatteri super orbital calculation talent should have told him? Or did he not think about the actual location of the lunar base?

Well, remember that Horizons was GB's response after finding out about the Eater. The concept may have played into Amadi's hooves, but that doesn't mean he knew all the details.

Point, though it's frustrating that this is stuff he didn't bother discussing with Cognitum, given that this is pretty much everything he's been working towards for years or decades. Also, it now occurs to me that, since he started implementing the "get ponies in the Core" plan much earlier, why didn't he pull the trigger on that in this stage, before it turned out to be the skimming pass? It's not like it could be used again afterward, if Tom did hit. So was it always just an extra, tacked on to everything that ended up being used, or did things actually change enough that it did end up being necessary with the new trajectory, where previously it wasn't, and he just got lucky?

“I’m not going to kill somepony just because I can.  We can lock him up somewhere!” Velvet protested.

1. OH MY GOD HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION YOU DUMB BITCH
2. FUCK YOU YOU GODDAMNED HYPOCRITE

I know, I know, I know... Well, she hasn't been party to most of Amadi's actions, so she probably thinks of him as a high-level general with a few weird zebra tricks, not an immortal chessmaster personally responsible for millions of deaths. Still, she definitely didn't come off well in this scenario. Which is, I suppose, as it should be. I never object to Velvet looking foolish.

But she's heard this stuff, possibly more than once. It was all covered in the war council, at the very least. Sure, "details about Horizons and the Eater of Souls" were omitted, but I'm not sure that would include leaving out the part about the Legate being an immortal with super strength, even if it followed the earlier explanation with Littlepip's team and the Zodiacs in not covering "who the Legate really was." But I guess it's possible even that part was left out, which would put her in a somewhat better light. Still though, just the things she knows about are, I'm pretty sure, worse than typical raiders. (Oh but wait, he never did anything to Fluttershy, at least that Velvet knows about, and that's what's really important.) Ah, should also add that, quite true to form, Velvet was very easily steered into doing whatever the people who didn't share her (oh so consistent) "values" wanted her to.

That heart didn’t regenerate him.  It restored him.  Kept his body locked in one state.  Time was effectively stopped for his body,” the Starkatteri filly said, grinning wickedly.  “Now it’s not.  Now it’s catching up on him.  A thousand years of growth and injury and all the pains of the flesh, at once.  Plus all the nastiness that comes with having a cursed lump of rock in your chest for a couple millennia."

Ooh, that doesn't sound good for Rampage.

Rampage is an entirely different method to reach a similar result. Notice that Amadi's blasted-off bits pull back together, while Rampage regenerates new flesh and leaves the old behind. Amadi is apparently using a stasis spell of some description, while Rampage's souls are powering a healing talisman.

Good point.

As I recall, the second song was an original composition.

Yeah, Heartshine and Somber made it up together.
It still bothers me that it doesn't even rhyme.

She offered to sing it to me at the con, but I declined. I mean, it was presented in a written medium and nothing was presented on chapter release (or now, even) to supplement the experience. So... that's that.
I don't hear it and I'm not inclined to.

It's seemed to me that the original songs have tended to be fairly loose on the musical side. Notably, I believe that when someone performed "At the End of the Trail," some of the words were changed/rearranged/omitted to get it to fit a musical structure. But it's certainly a different and difficult set of challenges. I remember just getting a basic rhythm and flow in Zecora's cameo being one of the most time-consuming parts of working with Broken Accords, so it's not hard to see where saying "no, it works if you know what the music is" could be the correct way to go about things. Well, that and I didn't even find the middle section of the original song to sound that great (the part from the background singers coming in a bit to "the day").

[Icy Shake]

Thanks. I guess I may not have been putting that quite right, but while it's true she doesn't really have a consistent meter or anything, it's seemed to me that there's a bit more to her speech than just rhyming couplets.

[SilentCarto]

Point, though it's frustrating that this is stuff he didn't bother discussing with Cognitum, given that this is pretty much everything he's been working towards for years or decades. Also, it now occurs to me that, since he started implementing the "get ponies in the Core" plan much earlier, why didn't he pull the trigger on that in this stage, before it turned out to be the skimming pass? It's not like it could be used again afterward, if Tom did hit. So was it always just an extra, tacked on to everything that ended up being used, or did things actually change enough that it did end up being necessary with the new trajectory, where previously it wasn't, and he just got lucky?

Why do you think Cogs would have known any better?

That aside, I think I understand what you're asking -- if it was a straight shot, and he needed to absorb a blast from Celestia One to power up the FADE shields, shouldn't he have provoked the C-1 shot in time to catch the aforementioned straight shot? ...I don't have an answer for that.

But she's heard this stuff, possibly more than once. It was all covered in the war council, at the very least. Sure, "details about Horizons and the Eater of Souls" were omitted, but I'm not sure that would include leaving out the part about the Legate being an immortal with super strength, even if it followed the earlier explanation with Littlepip's team and the Zodiacs in not covering "who the Legate really was." But I guess it's possible even that part was left out, which would put her in a somewhat better light. Still though, just the things she knows about are, I'm pretty sure, worse than typical raiders. (Oh but wait, he never did anything to Fluttershy, at least that Velvet knows about, and that's what's really important.) Ah, should also add that, quite true to form, Velvet was very easily steered into doing whatever the people who didn't share her (oh so consistent) "values" wanted her to.

It's not so inconsistent as all that. I mean, let's take you and bring you into a locked room. There sits a man chained to a chair. I explain that this is the leader of one of the most violent terrorist groups in the world, who has the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands and will kill thousands more if released. Then I hand you a gun and tell you to kill him. Do you do it? (Of course, I don't know your personality. If you'd be willing to do that, then let's put your mother in the same situation instead.) I mean, the guy's clearly been neutralized, so surely we can just toss him in jail, right? And if I want him dead so badly, why don't I shoot him? Keep in mind that Velvet doesn't come from the violent environment that most wastelanders do. She grew up in something approximating urban America, and even if she's been out in the world for a while at this point, she's not personally prepared to kill... under most circumstances. (I want to note that the time she did snap and start murdering people does not make her inconsistent. It just makes her a person. People are masses of different beliefs that sometimes conflict, and they have to decide which belief wins.)

[SilentCarto]

Hers is a story about someone who had every reason to be irrevocably screwed up somehow fixing herself. I think Psychoshy is really strong in that way.
Her story also reminds me a bit about another mare who was pretty much isolated all of her young life but, when forced out of that space she had grown comfortable in, was able to make connections with others. Grow inexplicable friendships despite herself. Bonds strong-enough nothing could break them, no matter how new she was at the whole "friendship" thing. Then use the incredible inborn power she had at her disposal to help destroy one of the biggest bads around.

For most of this paragraph, I wasn't sure whether you were talking about Littlepip or Blackjack. *facehoof* Until I got to "incredible inborn power", anyway.

[Icy Shake]

Point, though it's frustrating that this is stuff he didn't bother discussing with Cognitum, given that this is pretty much everything he's been working towards for years or decades. Also, it now occurs to me that, since he started implementing the "get ponies in the Core" plan much earlier, why didn't he pull the trigger on that in this stage, before it turned out to be the skimming pass? It's not like it could be used again afterward, if Tom did hit. So was it always just an extra, tacked on to everything that ended up being used, or did things actually change enough that it did end up being necessary with the new trajectory, where previously it wasn't, and he just got lucky?

Why do you think Cogs would have known any better?

Because I figured she'd need to know (or Echo, or someone else with her) just how the orbits would work given that her requirement was the vertical descent, and she needed specific timing in order for that to happen. Otherwise, she didn't even need to go to the moon and could have just waited for Goldenblood's timer to activate it.

That aside, I think I understand what you're asking -- if it was a straight shot, and he needed to absorb a blast from Celestia One to power up the FADE shields, shouldn't he have provoked the C-1 shot in time to catch the aforementioned straight shot? ...I don't have an answer for that.

Yeah, that was my question. Don't know why it didn't occur to me until now.

But she's heard this stuff, possibly more than once. It was all covered in the war council, at the very least. Sure, "details about Horizons and the Eater of Souls" were omitted, but I'm not sure that would include leaving out the part about the Legate being an immortal with super strength, even if it followed the earlier explanation with Littlepip's team and the Zodiacs in not covering "who the Legate really was." But I guess it's possible even that part was left out, which would put her in a somewhat better light. Still though, just the things she knows about are, I'm pretty sure, worse than typical raiders. (Oh but wait, he never did anything to Fluttershy, at least that Velvet knows about, and that's what's really important.) Ah, should also add that, quite true to form, Velvet was very easily steered into doing whatever the people who didn't share her (oh so consistent) "values" wanted her to.

It's not so inconsistent as all that. I mean, let's take you and bring you into a locked room. There sits a man chained to a chair. I explain that this is the leader of one of the most violent terrorist groups in the world, who has the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands and will kill thousands more if released. Then I hand you a gun and tell you to kill him. Do you do it? (Of course, I don't know your personality. If you'd be willing to do that, then let's put your mother in the same situation instead.) I mean, the guy's clearly been neutralized, so surely we can just toss him in jail, right? And if I want him dead so badly, why don't I shoot him? Keep in mind that Velvet doesn't come from the violent environment that most wastelanders do. She grew up in something approximating urban America, and even if she's been out in the world for a while at this point, she's not personally prepared to kill... under most circumstances. (I want to note that the time she did snap and start murdering people does not make her inconsistent. It just makes her a person. People are masses of different beliefs that sometimes conflict, and they have to decide which belief wins.)

I think it's not quite so stark as that, given the credibility Blackjack and the rest (by association) have built up with her regarding unbelievable things, and the fact that it was during a battle with him, and saw what it was taking to keep him even momentarily restrained. This was not an Autumn Leaf incident, not by a long shot.
All that said, you're right that it's not necessarily inconsistent. However, I certainly can hold the circumstances that caused her to snap, in comparison to the ones that didn't, as suggestive of unflattering, even appalling, traits and priorities.

[SilentCarto]

Why do you think Cogs would have known any better?

Because I figured she'd need to know (or Echo, or someone else with her) just how the orbits would work given that her requirement was the vertical descent, and she needed specific timing in order for that to happen. Otherwise, she didn't even need to go to the moon and could have just waited for Goldenblood's timer to activate it.

Well, now, she apparently had an idea of the planned trajectory, but in chapter 65, she said,

“If Horizons goes off a few hours too early or too late, as it likely will....” this time the red dotted line came in at a shallower angle and pierced the ground along the river. The whole image disappeared in an explosion and a little skull and crossbones made of smoke.

Emphasis mine. She apparently didn't have a precise timetable, which is why she needed EC-1101's control over the firing mechanism. Of course, the Goldenblood AI got in the way of that, so she had to go to the moon in person to make the adjustments. But, apparently, this was all predicated on a direct descent rather than Trottenheimer's looping path. So go figure.

By the way, Hinds, as "this time the red dotted line..." is not a speaker tag, "this" should be capitalized.

However, I certainly can hold the circumstances that caused her to snap, in comparison to the ones that didn't, as suggestive of unflattering, even appalling, traits and priorities.

No argument there.

[SilentCarto]

Nah, what I'm saying is that I headcanon Psychoshy as the future Element of Magic/Friendship, partially just because it'd be funny.
It's not just her excessive pegasus magic, but her ability to harmonize ponies in the middle of a battlefield. Twice.
If LittlePip hadn't already declared herself to specifically be the spark I feel like Psychoshy could fill that void. She can channel pure harmony even without the elements... or really ANY external magical influence. She could initiate a harmony blast.

So yeah, while I've always felt LittlePip made sense as the element of magic, I'm backing Psychoshy in her absence.
You might think Blackjack would be good for it, too, but I really don't think so. Kinda hard to explain why.

Yeah, I figured out you were talking about Twilight eventually. Heh.

I kinda don't like either Littlepip or Blackjack for the role as Bearer of Magic, honestly. I'm not sure why... maybe because it feels like the magical macguffins aren't as, well, "important" in Fallout. They're the endgame, but there's so much room for heroes who aren't Bearers that it would seem... I don't know, too tidy, perhaps. Twilight didn't team up with her five best friends to save the world; it was five total strangers, and her just learning the ropes of interpersonal relationships. I guess I feel that Bearer of Magic is a job all its own, not a crown to be grabbed as the highlight of a heroic career. Psychoshy would be an interesting choice, granted, and I wouldn't actually be upset if that was a thing that happened.

On the other hoof, it has to be someone who can tolerate Velvet. I weep for the world.

(Anyway, we all know that the Bearer of Magic is Boo!)

[O. Hinds]

By the way, Hinds, as "this time the red dotted line..." is not a speaker tag, "this" should be capitalized.

Thanks.

[Icy Shake]

I've long been skeptical of Homage as Honesty because regardless of the reasons for the behaviors, I don't think it should be represented by someone leading a double life, who also happens to be a member of a secret society. Then there are the direct lies/material misrepresentations and omissions, like "toaster repair pony" and the whole Steelhooves thing, and of course "sometimes being honest means knowing when not to be." And contra Calamity, where he needs to be judged by the laxer standards of Loyalty and Dash, I think that Homage should pass a higher bar than Applejack because she is a journalist, and the premier news source for most of the wasteland at that. It doesn't help that I just don't like her much either, of course. (Some of these things also apply to Applejack in Estee's mostly very good Triptych, and I've dealt with it by applying the headcanon that Twilight got her and Dash mixed up.)

So, between us we've got reservations about two of the three true-OC bearers. Anyone have issues with Calamity or Ditzy as Loyalty and Laughter to round it out?

[decumos]

Anyone have issues with Calamity or Ditzy as Loyalty and Laughter to round it out?

Ditzy: she can't even tell a joke. No giggles for Ditzy. Nope.
On a more serious note: well, yeah, none of them are paragons of their virtues. And neither are FiM characters: AJ lies, RD runs away, Pinkie Pie makes Fluttershy cry, Fluttershy makes RD cry, Rarity... I can't think of any Rarity's ungenerous behavior when she wasn't under some kind of spell, but I'm sure there was something.
But I guess that is not necessary. Bearers of element just need to act MOSTLY according to their element and befriend other five bearers, and that's it, they can shoot magic beams and stuff.

[Icy Shake]

I've long been skeptical of Homage as Honesty because regardless of the reasons for the behaviors, I don't think it should be represented by someone leading a double life, who also happens to be a member of a secret society. Then there are the direct lies/material misrepresentations and omissions, like "toaster repair pony" and the whole Steelhooves thing, and of course "sometimes being honest means knowing when not to be." And contra Calamity, where he needs to be judged by the laxer standards of Loyalty and Dash, I think that Homage should pass a higher bar than Applejack because she is a journalist, and the premier news source for most of the wasteland at that. It doesn't help that I just don't like her much either, of course. (Some of these things also apply to Applejack in Estee's mostly very good Triptych, and I've dealt with it by applying the headcanon that Twilight got her and Dash mixed up.)

So, between us we've got reservations about two of the three true-OC bearers. Anyone have issues with Calamity or Ditzy as Loyalty and Laughter to round it out?

Eh, Homage holds Honesty in high regard. She isn't controlled by it. Velvet Remedy is a "Kindness" fangirl, by comparison, styling her decisions after what she thinks Fluttershy would do except when she loses control of herself, after which she makes up excuses to render herself blameless.
I think Ditzy works well as laughter as someone that just wants to make people happy.
Calamity... he's really no more loyal to anyone or anything than anyone else in the group is. I think he'd of been a decent Honesty, too, given he tries to be forthright and reliable with everyone, not unlike Applejack. But I've always felt Rainbow Dash was Loyalty was because she was dishonest, mean, selfish, cruel, and an awful friend. Even if she's regularly disloyal she would fit any other element even worse, so she has to be Loyalty.

I'm relatively amenable to this line of reasoning, and although I don't personally find it convincing, it's the sort of thing that helps me understand why others don't have the same degree of distaste for Homage/Honesty that I do. In contrast . . .

The Velvet/Fluttershy/Kindness connection seems to be acting for you kind of like how my Homage/sole-journalist-editor-publisher-owner-of-the-New-York-Times does. It's raising the standards for reasons not directly related to the Element itself.

I actually agree with you on Calamity and Honesty, not just because of that, but especially because of the specific line “Ponies like that need t’ die, an’ Ah aim t’ kill ‘em.  It’s muh policy.”

One of the contrasts between FiM and FoE, related to the RD issue, is that they did need her to be an Element to support the ongoing series. It wasn't actually necessary for any of the specific ponies in FoE to bear them, given that, other than as speculation, it only ever came up in the ten-years-later afterward.

Anyone have issues with Calamity or Ditzy as Loyalty and Laughter to round it out?

Ditzy: she can't even tell a joke. No giggles for Ditzy. Nope.
On a more serious note: well, yeah, none of them are paragons of their virtues. And neither are FiM characters: AJ lies, RD runs away, Pinkie Pie makes Fluttershy cry, Fluttershy makes RD cry, Rarity... I can't think of any Rarity's ungenerous behavior when she wasn't under some kind of spell, but I'm sure there was something.
But I guess that is not necessary. Bearers of element just need to act MOSTLY according to their element and befriend other five bearers, and that's it, they can shoot magic beams and stuff.

. . . I'm not saying Homage needs to be a perfect pony paragon of honesty. But her life is built on a foundation of lies and material omissions. That's just too much for me.

[SilentCarto]

I've long been skeptical of Homage as Honesty because regardless of the reasons for the behaviors, I don't think it should be represented by someone leading a double life, who also happens to be a member of a secret society. Then there are the direct lies/material misrepresentations and omissions, like "toaster repair pony" and the whole Steelhooves thing, and of course "sometimes being honest means knowing when not to be." And contra Calamity, where he needs to be judged by the laxer standards of Loyalty and Dash, I think that Homage should pass a higher bar than Applejack because she is a journalist, and the premier news source for most of the wasteland at that. It doesn't help that I just don't like her much either, of course. (Some of these things also apply to Applejack in Estee's mostly very good Triptych, and I've dealt with it by applying the headcanon that Twilight got her and Dash mixed up.)

So, between us we've got reservations about two of the three true-OC bearers. Anyone have issues with Calamity or Ditzy as Loyalty and Laughter to round it out?

Try not to get hung up on the literal definitions of the words, here. The Elements aren't just one thing. Honesty isn't just about telling the truth; Celestia herself redefined it as 'integrity' in Magical Mystery Cure. (I let out an audible "Ooh!" when she did that, because I've always thought the Elements were broader than the strict meanings of their names.) Sometimes maintaining your integrity means concealing the strict, absolute truth -- for example, to preserve a secret you've been entrusted with. Likewise charity, compassion, devotion, optimism, and leadership. Derpy may not often laugh or bring laugher, but she's an endless wellspring of hope.

This, by the way, is a big part of why RD isn't Honesty. She may speak her mind frequently, but she's also underhanded and (self-)deceptive, and the approbation of others is more important to her than her own opinions.

In fact, from that perspective, Velvet makes a lot more sense. Compassion for the oppressed can easily drive someone to fight their opressor.

[SilentCarto]

I can't think of any Rarity's ungenerous behavior when she wasn't under some kind of spell, but I'm sure there was something.

Really? Rarity seems the most conflicted to me. While she's often altruistic and giving, she definitely has flashes of greed and regularly exploits her looks and charm to take advantage of people -- not just Spike (especially in the incident with his fire ruby) but also the Diamond Dogs, the stallions she roped into pulling the carriage in The Best Night Ever, and the nerdy guy in Putting Your Hoof Down come to mind.

[decumos]

Well, that makes her manipulative, but does that make her greedy? To be honest, I forgot why she needed that ruby from Spike, but in other cases you mentioned she didn't act that way out of greed. At least, I think she did not.

[FeatherDust]

Being like that... no.  That was a living death.  That was sadistic!

Still, Glory probably isn't experiencing it the same way as a fully conscious mind receiving the same sensations. The distant sense of people talking in the same room suggests she's only barely aware, if that.

Ah... I don't think so, Carto.  In every other case of Blackjack's weird mind-link trick, she's experiencing the events precisely as the person is, including being privy to the inner thoughts of that person.  Glory is precisely as aware as Blackjack is during this scene.

“Why?  I’m nopony...  He doesn’t care about Fluttershy... he has my father... why come and kill me?”  She closed her eyes, but the image of her father saying that word over and over again rose inside her.
Sing.

So... pony battle bards are a thing? And the Legate knows it?

As they sang, ponies who were running for their lives stopped and stiffened as if an invisible wind blew through them.

Aaand I guess they are!

But maybe more important even than just being inspiring.  Song is an aspect of Harmony, and so anathema to the Eater.  I kind of think a shared musical number is the common pony's small way of tapping into the power of the Elements.

In fact, speaking of which, there was a weird moment when Whisper fell after being shot.  She was surrounded by Brood, and:
"Shhh," the Brood said as one... except for a few who wore strange, confused frowns as they watched the scene.

The Brood are a lot of things, but confused is not one of them.  It's almost like the song was screwing with their control signals or something!

“Long story short, because I’m not a tool,” the filly answered.

Double entendre?

Definitely an intentional double meaning, yes.

[Borsuq]

I actually agree with you on Calamity and Honesty, not just because of that, but especially because of the specific line “Ponies like that need t’ die, an’ Ah aim t’ kill ‘em.  It’s muh policy.” 

Yeah, that's his policy. As long as it's not his family. Then not only he doesn't want to kill them (which is understandable, even in such circumstances), but also doesn't want others do to that. "He was under the impression that Littlepip killed his brother", as Velvet had put it; then Calamity should have been thanking her. His brother ordered a genocide of everything that lived on the ground and used hellhounds. Calamity should have asked her if she had killed Autumn Leaf, then thank her for doing that, otherwise he might have had to end up doing that.

Calamity ended up not sticking to his policy; Homage stack to it to tightly (if my loved one, who I knew, would be accused of murdering of a whole town of innocent ponies - which basically goes against her nature - and later get a confirmation of the group who was at best questionable, I'm pretty sure I would leave out the part about my loved one being there and just report that there had been shooting in the town and then there was silence); Velvet is the only one of Littlepip's companions who stuck to her ideals and policy in the right way, modifying them when situation arouse, but staying true to their core.

[Somber]

Back at home.  Caught a bug somewhere along the line, but I'm starting to make progress on 76.  What are folks talking about?  ::Peeks up at the thread curiously.::

[Downloaded Skill]

Hey welcome back Somber. I heard you were on a few panels at a convention. How did it go? What was your experience like at the convention?

[atikin]

Welcome back, Somber! 
Yeah, I would like to hear about your experiences at the convention as well! Too bad I couldn't attend it...

[CD]

Yeah, tell us a funny story! I know several people who went and none have shared anything about panels that involved Project Horizon.

[O. Hinds]

Ah, sorry about the bug, Somber; get well soon.

[Somber]

There wasn't much of a story to tell.  I went on an FoE panel with Heartshine and we talked at length about FoE.  The room was packed!  They actually had to turn people away.  I was scared to death, but it went okay.  And once Heartshine cracked a joke and they laughed, she relaxed too.

There was a little wrinkle.  Some 4chan folk thought that I was going to turn the panel into a Somber is the greatest pony and Horizons is the best fic ever panel and so they split off to make a second panel for FoE side stories.  I didn't get to make it.  I was in a private meeting with Jay Thessiens and Jim Miller, directors of MLP, and there was a schedual conflict.  I stopped in later, and one of the people there told me they really wished I'd been there.  Two of the panelists couldn't make it, and none of them had lots of experience public speaking, so there were lots of 'ums...' and 'ahs...' and dead air.  I don't know if that's true or not, but it's unfortunate.

There was someone who filmed about 90% of the panel I was on, but he wasn't with the con.  I wish I knew who he was and if he uploaded the video anywhere.

Oh!  The meeting with the directors was very instructive.  It's clear I need to publish original material.  Fanfiction is awesome, and the donations are wonderful, but if I ever plan to make real money I can live on with my writing, it can only be through original material.  I don't plan on quitting publishing fics entirely.  In fact, I'll probably put them out the same way I do Horizons.  Free to read until finished, then uploaded for purchase for like 5 bucks or something.  I dunno.

Anyway, those were the highlights.  If anyone knows of video of either panel, I'd love to hear impressions.  Hope I didn't muck it up too badly.

[Somber]

Or a very good one...

Edit: also, I don't know Dan's fic's title, but the main character is Aria.

[atikin]

Thank you guys for the story! I hope that guy with a camera you talked about will upload his video. 
Sometimes I really wish there would be an official Fallout Equestria series for adults. Our non official, but well made. It would be so great! But I doubt there will be some group of enthusiasts wishing to spend their time on that...

[atikin]

By the way, Somber, why don't you publish your work on the FIMFiction page?

[Twilightrose42]

Is the fic A Guardian's Tale? The main character in that one is named Aria.

[Somber]

I think that's it.  There's a lot of time travelling involved, or so I've been told.

Also, I won't upload to FimFic till its finished.  Once it's uploaded, its set in stone for good.  Then I'll move on to other things.

[atikin]

What other things do you have in mind, if I might ask?

[Derpmind]

Jeez, I'm surprised noone linked to Somber's blogpost about Everfree. From a week ago. (I guess that was my job? Eh.)

The ending chapters of FO:E seemed to have more, well, iffy things (mistakes) than the rest of the story. Really, one of the biggest IMO is showing who some of the Bearers of the Elements are in the epilogues. Considering the stupidly-huge fanfic community that sprung up around FO:E way before it ended, it's a big barrel of wasted potential to not just leave whoever becomes the Bearers up in the air for various writers to tackle. As is, I've never seen a story even try, especially since unless you want to go against cannon *DramaFaint*, you have to make your characters become friends with characters from the original fic.

Oh, and I thought this was funny earlier in the thread:

As for FO:E, yeah, that wasn't great either. That's one of the places where I wish Kkat had diverged from the source material more, but hey, the past is in the past. PH's approach was better in that it didn't abandon the ideological basis from vanilla FO:E but it made the conflict considerably more political (so that things ended up being more Manehattan v. Hoofington v. Phillydelphia v. Trottingham v. Horse-Pun City).

Horse-Pun City is a real city that formed from a village of retired entertainer ponies.

[JadedPony]

Fanfiction is awesome, and the donations are wonderful, but if I ever plan to make real money I can live on with my writing, it can only be through original material.

You need to set up a Patreon account. Even if 20% of your readers gave you 1$ every time you published a chapter you would be able to pay at least some of your bills because you have so many followers. Offer people the opportunity to sign up to give 1, 5, 10 or 20 dollars a chapter. You're releasing about 1 chapter a month I think so people with more money could donate the larger amounts.

One time donations are great, but getting smaller, regular donations from many people in micropayment like transactions is much less stressful for you and the donors.

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