Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[joltius]

Is that "Apex" mentioned in the Epilogue a thing from original FoE or some other FoE sidefiction? I don't recognise that name... Should I, though?

Нет, она не из Ккатовского ФоЕ. Я бы сказал, что это отсылка к Звёздному Свету и Радиант Стар, которую как раз и считали новым воплощением Твайлайт Спаркл.

[SilentCarto]

No, no giant ponybots, out of respect for Hinds.  There would however be enough explosions to satisfy M. Hay.

Did robot testicles really figure into PH that much though?  I didn't remember...

Well, there was Deus... and Silver... and that's already more than one would expect.

Though giant quadrupedal robots... might make more sense than bipedal ones?  Maybe?  Magic would help, at least.  But still...  Eh.

EMERGENCY ZEBRA ACQUISITION DIRECTIVE: IMMEDIATE SELF DESTRUCT. BETTER WIPED... THAN STRIPED!

Also, I want to show my appreciation for the music choice during the Legate fight scene in 77 there. Feuer Frei was the track, correct?

I'm curious about this too.

[DotRook]

Now that it's over. I need to apologize for getting Glory's hair wrong all those years ago the first time I drew her, causing her hair to be drawn wrong in almost all fan art ever since.

[WavemasterRyx]

Something a friend of mine mentioned, that I don't think I saw posted...  There's a video of a discussion with Somber about 77 and the end of PH that some of you might be interested in.

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlOIjwcCDDk

No, no giant ponybots, out of respect for Hinds.

Sorry.  (Though thanks, too.  :))
Though giant quadrupedal robots... might make more sense than bipedal ones?  Maybe?  Magic would help, at least.  But still...  Eh.

*smiles back*  You're welcome, sir.  Magic definitely would make anime-style giant robots a little more reasonable, yeah, I just don't see them as something that would really benefit PH as much as other stories.

Well, there was Deus... and Silver... and that's already more than one would expect.

Well... Silver was a mare, and Deus was still au natural... before 16.  Right?  It's not really a part that cybernetic augmentation would really benefit...

Now that it's over. I need to apologize for getting Glory's hair wrong all those years ago the first time I drew her, causing her hair to be drawn wrong in almost all fan art ever since.

Heh.  It's only "wrong" if you don't get people to go along with it.  They both look adorable.

[O. Hinds]

EMERGENCY ZEBRA ACQUISITION DIRECTIVE: IMMEDIATE SELF DESTRUCT. BETTER WIPED... THAN STRIPED!

...Ooookay...

@DotRook:
Hah! :D
And, of course, Somber ended up remember your picture instead of his own words on that, too, and we had to work out if we could actually have her hair like that. :)

Something a friend of mine mentioned, that I don't think I saw posted... There's a video of a discussion with Somber about 77 and the end of PH that some of you might be interested in.

Ah, I've not seen that! Tha--
[sees length]
...Aaaand I don't know when I'm going to see it. Looks interesting, though, and I'm glad you mentioned it in case a good time does come up soon. Thanks. :)

*smiles back* You're welcome, sir. Magic definitely would make anime-style giant robots a little more reasonable, yeah, I just don't see them as something that would really benefit PH as much as other stories.

Yeah. I mean, even with magic to make them work, while they might make nice art pieces or novelties... how are they more practical than the alternatives for actual combat use? One can come up with justifications (which is, as I said, probably easier with quadrupeds than with bipeds), but it still seems to me that they're probably a significantly suboptimal design in most cases.

[DotRook]

Started catching up on the show proper today.

I just saw Maud Pie eat a solid crystal. "Crunchy".
She doesn't even HAVE augmentations!

[Scootayay]

Aaaaand it's gone again. Just checked because I wanted to upvote it.

Well, it's back now, it looks like.  :)

Well, looks like Fimfiction is borked for me. Up in the stories tab in Somber's profile it says there are 4 stories, but I can only see Broken Accords, Rarity's Rodeo and Simply Rarity, but no PH. The stories view also only says "Viewing 1 - 3 of 3 stories". I can see Project Horizons in the story views chart on the stats page however. (Some cool graphs there, by the way)
http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Somber/stats

Could someone maybe post a link to the story on Fimfiction?

Edit: Nevermind. Apparently Fimfiction somehow discarded my "show mature stories" setting.

[Evilgidgit]

One thing I noticed in Luna's dream was that Pinkie Pie was absent from the signing and was replaced by a different mare. Was she dead in the dream, in rehab, or imprisoned for war crimes? She had the major overdose before the Last Day, so was she dead in Luna's AU?

[decumos]

One thing I noticed in Luna's dream was that Pinkie Pie was absent from the signing and was replaced by a different mare. Was she dead in the dream, in rehab, or imprisoned for war crimes? She had the major overdose before the Last Day, so was she dead in Luna's AU?

“Pinkie?” I asked the mares quietly.
“Still in rehab,” Twilight answered me.

[DotRook]

One thing I noticed in Luna's dream was that Pinkie Pie was absent from the signing and was replaced by a different mare. Was she dead in the dream, in rehab, or imprisoned for war crimes? She had the major overdose before the Last Day, so was she dead in Luna's AU?

I like to imagine that Pinkie was too fourth wall breaking, dangerous and powerful to use in a mind fuck illusion. The Eater wouldn't dare let her get anywhere near Black Jack. She can already transcend time and space.

"Silly head Luna Jack! You know it's all a dream by that meanie eater right!? Now let's PARTY!" - party cannon to the face, snapping Black Jack out of it.

[Scootayay]

One thing I noticed in Luna's dream was that Pinkie Pie was absent from the signing and was replaced by a different mare. Was she dead in the dream, in rehab, or imprisoned for war crimes? She had the major overdose before the Last Day, so was she dead in Luna's AU?

<snip>
Got ninja'd while I was doing something else for a minute.

Although looking up that specific scene made me notice something else.

I could hear Pinkie’s music, and from the fancy wagons arriving outside the palace, all the nobles would be there.
(...)
Seated at it were five of the six Ministry Mares.  Only Pinkie Pie was absent

How can it be Pinkie's music when she's not there?

[Evilgidgit]

Perhaps there was a Spritebot around and Pinkie was keeping an eye on them from afar.

[Elden Andel]

Hello long time reader and lurker, just posting to say to Somber, thank you. Thank you so much for writing this story.

I started reading this around when chapter 36 was first posted on EQD (about 3 years ago I think?) and noting that a lot of people seemed to like it I dove right in. Since that day I had never laughed so hard, cried so readily, or felt so emotionally charged by another piece of fiction. This story has changed my life, and that isn't an understatement. It gave me the drive to not only get into my school of choice, but keep me there through some very rough times. It was your story that got me into this wacky and crazy group of individuals who watch a show about candy colored equines. It has inspired me to push myself in all parts of my life, and to do better in all things.

So thank you Somber, while I am saddened that I don't have any more PH to look forward to, I can't wait to see your next project, and I wish you the best of luck in all things.

[atikin]

Well, guys, I still got some questions that I would like to be answered (if you don't mind, that is... ):

1. Blackjack's cyborg body had her mind, and Luna's soul, while her blank body had her own soul. When she died, Luna's soul left to the everafter, but how exactly did her mind get back to her blank body?

2. What is the headcannon for what happened to Scotch and the zebras after they left?

Thank you.

[Scootayay]

Well, guys, I still got some questions that I would like to be answered (if you don't mind, that is... ):

1. Blackjack's cyborg body had her mind, and Luna's soul, while her blank body had her own soul. When she died, Luna's soul left to the everafter, but how exactly did her mind get back to her blank body?

A soul is the essence of a being. Without it, the being does not exist. Bodies are just vessels for souls. While a being can only have one soul, a body can be inhabited by multiple souls. (This is what happened to Cognitum [and later on with Blackjack when she got her body back] with Luna's soul.)
When Blackjack died, her soul somehow found its way back to the (soulless) blank body, while Luna's soul went to the everafter (or wherever souls go after the body dies).
The thing about souls is, they don't really have a memory. The memories of a being are bound to the physical body (i.e., the brain) and are not retained by the soul when it leaves that body. However, souls do have some mannerisms/quirks which are inherent to that soul, not the body it is in. That's how Luna's soul affected Cognitum and Blackjack while they were sharing the same body. (Rampage is the prime example of this, although she's a little more complicated.)
How Blackjack was able to retain the memories of her cyborg body is uncertain (and was speculated about in the previous pages). Under normal circumstances, she should only have the memories of the blank body (which ended on the moon).

[atikin]

BJ's soul was in her blank body all this time. It didn't need to find a way back, because it remained there since Cognitum took her body and moved BJ's soul and mind to the blank. And when BJ took her cyborg body back, she transferred only her mind back, but her soul remained in the blank because there were no necromancer to move her soul. So the question is still open. How did she manage to get her mind back to her blank body?

[SilentCarto]

Well... Silver was a mare...

Maybe I got the name wrong. Who was the stallion who kept complaining about losing his junk when he got cyberized?
Anyway, it was just a joke, poking fun at Transformers 2.

EMERGENCY ZEBRA ACQUISITION DIRECTIVE: IMMEDIATE SELF DESTRUCT. BETTER WIPED... THAN STRIPED!

...Ooookay...

Liberty Prime?

Although looking up that specific scene made me notice something else.

I could hear Pinkie’s music, and from the fancy wagons arriving outside the palace, all the nobles would be there.
(...)
Seated at it were five of the six Ministry Mares.  Only Pinkie Pie was absent

How can it be Pinkie's music when she's not there?

I assumed it was something like her Welcome Wagon.

Blackjack's cyborg body had her mind, and Luna's soul, while her blank body had her own soul. When she died, Luna's soul left to the everafter, but how exactly did her mind get back to her blank body?

Maaaaagic.

What is the headcannon for what happened to Scotch and the zebras after they left?

I think that's one of those "story hooks" for Somber (or others?) to use if they want to write that story. Same as the references to Apex or the griffon armada or the radwyrm war.

[DotRook]

Blackjack's cyborg body had her mind, and Luna's soul, while her blank body had her own soul. When she died, Luna's soul left to the everafter, but how exactly did her mind get back to her blank body?

Maaaaagic.

[Scootayay]

BJ's soul was in her blank body all this time. It didn't need to find a way back, because it remained there since Cognitum took her body and moved BJ's soul and mind to the blank. And when BJ took her cyborg body back, she transferred only her mind back, but her soul remained in the blank because there were no necromancer to move her soul.

Hmmm, right. I had to read up because I didn't remember exactly.

[O. Hinds]

@atikin:
I'm afraid that I don't recall just what Somber said about how the memories got back. I do remember that it was partially that and partially growing a new mind in the body, not a full mind transfer. And I think that the mechanism might have had something to do with the moonstone-Perceptitron-link thing? Sorry.

Liberty Prime?

Oh, was that a reference? Sorry, still never played Fo3.

@DotRook:
Ah, yes, good point! Given those deals Pythia made, the stars might also have been involved in the memories getting back.

[JadedPony]

Just now reading last chapter.

Typo: "but we didn’t detail." should be "but we didn't derail"

[Scootayay]

Also, there is a section where they are talking and BJ refers to "the driver" but it's unclear who that is exactly, you might want to put a name in the following sentence: “No!” I shouted at her.  “We need you to control the car!  Besides, remember what happened last time?” instead of playing the pronoun game.

Pretty sure that's intentional to keep you guessing who it was that managed to almost bury them alive.

[atikin]

Blackjack's cyborg body had her mind, and Luna's soul, while her blank body had her own soul. When she died, Luna's soul left to the everafter, but how exactly did her mind get back to her blank body?

Maaaaagic.

=)
Sorry to say that, but suck deus-ex-machina moments made the story a bit worse every time. Of course, I still love it, but unfortunately there were way too many deus-ex-machina's in the story. Almost every time BJ succeeded in something there was some "magical" factor that brought her good luck.

[Evilgidgit]

I may or may not have found a grammar error in Chapter 43, Page 6.

“Since you’ve arrived here, you’ve proven to be the most hostile patient in Happyhorn Gardens’s history."

I don't believe "Gardens'" should have a second "S" after the apostrophe. Or I might be wrong.

[Scootayay]

I may or may not have found a grammar error in Chapter 43, Page 6.

“Since you’ve arrived here, you’ve proven to be the most hostile patient in Happyhorn Gardens’s history."

I don't believe "Gardens'" should have a second "S" after the apostrophe. Or I might be wrong.

No, you're right. It should be spelled Gardens'.

[JadedPony]

Ok, well, I read the ending and the epilogue..
Yep.
Those were defiantly words in the structure of sentences. 

So... yeah...

[SilentCarto]

I may or may not have found a grammar error in Chapter 43, Page 6.

“Since you’ve arrived here, you’ve proven to be the most hostile patient in Happyhorn Gardens’s history."

I don't believe "Gardens'" should have a second "S" after the apostrophe. Or I might be wrong.

It depends. You'd be right if you were talking about an object belonging to several gardens -- "The gardens' sprinkler system".
However, according to the Chicago Manual of Style, "the possessive of a title or name is formed by adding 's" under all circumstances. So even though "Gardens" happens to be plural, an object belonging to the single entity of Happyhorn Gardens is Happyhorn Gardens's.

[Scienza]

Ok, well, I read the ending and the epilogue..
Yep.
Those were defiantly words in the structure of sentences. 

So... yeah...

*snip*

If you didn't like it, you could at least be constructive instead of obnoxiously passive-aggressive.

[O. Hinds]

Typo: "but we didn’t detail." should be "but we didn't derail"

Ah, thank you.

I don't believe "Gardens'" should have a second "S" after the apostrophe. Or I might be wrong.

No, you're right. It should be spelled Gardens'.

Well now, that's a bit of a tricky one.  The word "gardens" is plural, of course, and so ought to have the possessive form "gardens'" (at least in this style).  "Heppyhorn Gardens", however, is singular.  I think that the current version is the correct one, though I'm not sure.  Icy Shake, your thoughts?
Ah, or SilentCarto!  Thanks!  I was not in fact previously familiar with that particular rule.

[JadedPony]

Ok, well, I read the ending and the epilogue..
Yep.
Those were defiantly words in the structure of sentences. 

So... yeah...

*snip*

If you didn't like it, you could at least be constructive instead of obnoxiously passive-aggressive.

I had posted on Reddit in the 77 thread so that it wouldn't cause a ruckus but, since you asked so nicely:

Unleash The Hounds!:

The ending was much as I predicted, a Super-Powered-Marry-Sue-Alicorn-Princess saving the world all on her own completely ignoring every single thing that the story has tried to teach her the ENTIRE length of the story about friendship. In the end, Blackjack was sure that ONLY SHE could save the world which was the same mistake that every other person who devastated the planet by making stupid mistakes thought. Luna, Goldenblood, Twilight, Trixie, Fluttershy, Celestia, they all tried to do it by themselves and they only managed to make everything worse yet Blackjack made the same damn mistake over and over and over.

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