Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Sindri]

In the second game, including DLC, you ran after his distractions and
slightly inconvenienced him, losing good soldiers, powerful allies, and
expensive resources at every step. He lost... an incidental side-plot
and a minor shortcut. You feel good about your petty victories and lose
sight of what you've lost and how little you're really accomplished.

The question is, was this intentional? Was the story of ME2 *supposed* to be about Shepard only managing to achieve a little insignificant victory against Harbinger, or was it actually supposed to be a story of a great achievement and is only insignificant now, when we look back at it and think: "what the hell was I doing that entire game?"?

I think that ME2 was supposed to be about building, on both sides, in preparation for the final war in 3. Shepard was manipulated by Harbinger and by Cerberus, and lost a lot, but s/he also built up a team of the best in the galaxy and forged connections between them, gained influence with several major players and factions on the galactic stage, built up the personal power through cybernetic augmentation, training, equipment, and ship upgrades to do what needed to be done in the final war, and made a lot of parts of the galaxy a lot better places along the way. Meanwhile Harbinger set the stage for the invasion, and Shepard was too limited and too distracted to stop more than part of his preparations. If you just charged through the required main quest for 2, you lost hands down; you sacrificed too much and accomplished too little. But if you went out into the universe and did all you could to help it and its people, every engagement that doesn't directly involve Harbinger's machinations puts you and the galaxy on better ground for the future.

That's why the parts of ME3 that rely on your actions in previous games feel so huge and significant: Jack as a teacher defending her kids because you were the one who pulled her out of that ball of violence and rage... Wrex leading his people toward a brighter future, and Mordin's sacrifice ensuring it will happen... the Quarians and Geth coming together after hundreds of years of hatred not only to help each other but to defend a galaxy which rejected them both...

It's also why people were so pissed off when the ending came and literally nothing you'd done through all the games mattered anymore.

I have to ask : Am I the only one that was left... jaded (?) by the death of the yellow filly in Chapel ?

It was tragic, really. But I read the scene and all I think is... Darwin Award...

[CamoBadger]

@pain discussion: Is everyone else here a tough-as-nails badass who went through hell and can take down any mugger in four seconds? Am I the only one in this thread who's never been in a fight and hasn't felt anything worse than a hairline bone crack? o_0

I've been relatively lucky in my life that I've received almost no 'serious' injury. However, I get hurt about once a day through stupid stuff like spilling boiling water on my arm, burning myself on the oven, tripping over a rock and gashing my knee. Overall, very clumsy.
I got most of my serious injury out of the way when I was younger (like 3 or less): Head crushed under a bookshelf, teeth knocked out by falling onto a table ledge, nearly drowning twice, and nearly suffocating once.

And I sure as hell can take down a mugger in 4 seconds: Kick them in the groin and knee them in the face on the way down. Alternatively: shoot them in the chest. So I don't really know 'how to fight', I just go for the soft spots.

[Cptadder]

I have to ask : Am I the only one that was left... jaded (?) by the death of the yellow filly in Chapel ? I mean, personally, I didn't feel emotionally impacted, contrary to Blackjack who was already in full guilt-trip mode by the time the situation registered in her mind. The way I felt is... I felt nothing. Maybe it's because I wasn't reading it properly, in the right state of mind ? So I ask, how did you react to the whole scene ? Did it impact you ?

Nope the Filly was a statistic, I feel nothing for statistics. There was no one to weep for her, no hole she left. She appeared, she died and that was all. I feel more for the filly flasher Two Bit that Blackjack killed all the way back in Chapter 1. She had a name, she had lines and she was killing a bunch of stable ponies because Deus called Filly Flashers in and you don't piss of Deus. It's bad enough to be raider scum or a slaver or one of the tribals like the Filly Flashers and being forced to work for a monster like most of the Reapers. It's even worse if you a Filly Flasher being forced to work for DEUS of all the Reapers. At least Gorgon would only turn you to stone if you pissed him off.

[Sindri]

I have to ask : Am I the only one that was left... jaded (?) by the death of the yellow filly in Chapel ? I mean, personally, I didn't feel emotionally impacted, contrary to Blackjack who was already in full guilt-trip mode by the time the situation registered in her mind. The way I felt is... I felt nothing. Maybe it's because I wasn't reading it properly, in the right state of mind ? So I ask, how did you react to the whole scene ? Did it impact you ?

Nope the Filly was a statistic, I feel nothing for statistics. There was no one to weep for her, no hole she left. She appeared, she died and that was all. I feel more for the filly flasher Two Bit that Blackjack killed all the way back in Chapter 1. She had a name, she had lines and she was killing a bunch of stable ponies because Deus called Filly Flashers in and you don't piss of Deus. It's bad enough to be raider scum or a slaver or one of the tribals like the Filly Flashers and being forced to work for a monster like most of the Reapers. It's even worse if you a Filly Flasher being forced to work for DEUS of all the Reapers. At least Gorgon would only turn you to stone if you pissed him off.

IIRC the filly wasn't a one-off. She appeared in earlier visits to Chapel, joining in the night of music at the Star House and such. That puts her somewhere between background pony and minor character, but definitely above extra or statistic. But we really didn't know her beyond a talent and passion for music, and she was killed by the idiotic construction she participated in, so...

[Guest]

I have to ask : Am I the only one that was left... jaded (?) by the death of the yellow filly in Chapel ? I mean, personally, I didn't feel emotionally impacted, contrary to Blackjack who was already in full guilt-trip mode by the time the situation registered in her mind. The way I felt is... I felt nothing. Maybe it's because I wasn't reading it properly, in the right state of mind ? So I ask, how did you react to the whole scene ? Did it impact you ?

You aren't, I didn't feel the least bit sad when that the filly died. They had fair warning that their structures weren't built right, and that something like that would happen. The crusaders decided to ignore the advice because Scotch just so happened to have her dad there when the others didn't. So, it took someone dying and a couple collapsed buildings before it finally sunk in. Oh, well at least now they know what not to do and hopefully prevent further instances like that from happening again.

[Cptadder]

IIRC the filly wasn't a one-off. She appeared in earlier visits to Chapel, joining in the night of music at the Star House and such. That puts her somewhere between background pony and minor character, but definitely above extra or statistic. But we really didn't know her beyond a talent and passion for music, and she was killed by the idiotic construction she participated in, so...

Was she ever named? Without a name she's an extra at best "filly number nine who drowns".

Man my Mondays last for fucking ever, 0815 to 2100 plus half an hour of travel time both ways.

[Sindri]

Was she ever named?

Medley.

[Cptadder]

Was she ever named?

Medley.

I take everything back, poor Medley... you were named... and you almost had lines. I name you the Boba Fett of Project Horizon, you died far to young.

She had a jet pack right?

[Sindri]

Was she ever named?

Medley.

I take everything back, poor Medley... you were named... and you almost had lines. I name you the Boba Fett of Project Horizon, you died far to young.

She had a jet pack right?

Yeah sure why not.

[CamoBadger]

Medley? Isn't she one of the Crusaders BJ rescued from the angry farmers before killing the dragon nest?

[222222]

@pain: I broke my collar bone once, which was bad. But what was worse was when my coach taped an ice bag to it and told me to walk it off. That was a painful hour of my life. He of course didn't know it was broken but still, it hurt. That's probably the worst I've ever felt.
@Filly death: I really didn't register any emotion at it, it felt shallow and empty, but I think that was on purpose. To remind us that not every pony that dies will seem tragic to us, but it will to Blackjack. We can sympathize with her on Boing, Snips, probably Graves, and all the others we know, so we don't see much of a problem with her moping and depression, her self loathing is justifiable. But with this filly, we see more of the obsession side of Blackjacks problem, we can look at this and say there, that is her problem. She had nothing to do with this filly or her death yet she was willing to sacrifice her life in a futile attempt to save her, essentially opting for suicide rather than face failure. It seems to me like this is meant to portray Blackjack in a way to show that this is in fact a serious mental issue she has developed.

[RoboRed]

I have to ask : Am I the only one that was left... jaded (?) by the death of the yellow filly in Chapel ? I mean, personally, I didn't feel emotionally impacted, contrary to Blackjack who was already in full guilt-trip mode by the time the situation registered in her mind. The way I felt is... I felt nothing. Maybe it's because I wasn't reading it properly, in the right state of mind ? So I ask, how did you react to the whole scene ? Did it impact you ?

I would say, though, that considering the reactions of almost everyone else present to the death of the filly (or more accurately, the lack of visible reaction thereof), I suppose that the effect was intended ? Like a reminder of how life in Wasteland suck, and how dulled to the other's pain its inhabitant are through their constant misery ? That the circumstances force them to shut their own empathy ?

Or am I reading too much into my own inability to feel something here ?

I felt a little pain for her loss. Regardless of the daily horrors of the Wasteland, it's still a tragedy to lose the life of a filly. Especially since it was Medley. Sure, she was a pretty minor character, but she'd been around since way back in the beginning of PH, and it seems like one by one, the group of fillies that Blackjack met up with is tragically dwindling.

However, I felt far more for Blackjack than I did for Medley. I would've tried anything to save her as well. And like some of the others said, she was participating in that dangerous and poorly thought out construction job. Soo...*shrug*

[Scootayay]

A new chapter just came out and the discussion about it is, lets say... limited(or it was until quite recently). What's up with that?

50 is up! Good grief, has it really been fourteen hours? No wonder I'm so tired.

Fourteen hours? Wow. I don't think I can thank you enough for such dedication. A big thank you to the whole edit team!

According to Somber, Ch. 50 should begin brushing
tomorrow. Also she called it terrible, and in my experience when Somber
says the new chapter is terrible, it turns out especially
awesome.

Oh boy, that it did. Now we only have to get Somber to write more terrible chapters(but that's already standard isn't it?)

Hey.... question did Blackjack ever tell Watcher that she let Discord run free? More and more I wonder about that. About who knows he's free and what he's up to.

She didn't tell anyone and I'm not even sure if the others who were with her know about him know. I'm kind of interested now if the goddess found out about Discord, that would be interesting to say the least. The "goddess" vs the god of chaos.

And I must be a masochist because I'm rereading Horizons before it's even done.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call rereading PH masochist.

Thank you. And thank you every pony for your feedback. It really means a ton to me. Even more than donations in the tip jar... knowing this story matters to you makes it matter to me.

I hope I'll find the time to put something together by tomorrow. I promise.

On two other notes:
A)Do you think that my avatar is okay? Apparently zebra hair is stiffer than pony hair (and the tail configuration is different, but the limitations of the pony creator mean that there's not much that I can do about that). Xanthe would have the same problem, but we could always just say that she's actually part zony.

B)I thought that I'd share this with you. Previously I was aware that the US Chamber of Commerce was unsavory, but reading the reasons being voted on there makes me consider that perhaps voting it out of existence would be less appropriate than giving it a generous donation of tungsten telephone poles shipped direct from orbit.

A)I don't see any problem with it. Looks fine to me.
B)Now that's all kinds of fucked up. Not even our "politicians"/lobbyists are that stupid.

Yeah, Blackjack will probably make any attempt on Glory's part to hide futile. Unless, she didn't know it was Dawn, though it would be hard to forget what your mother looks like. How old, approximately of course, was Glory at the time?

I doubt that Glory wouldn't recognize her mom(Even if she forgot how she looked[which is actually not all that unlikely], she introduced herself as Dawn) As to when Glory's last seen her mom. No idea. When DID she last see her?

I bet Blackjack yells "Look over there!," grabs everyone in magic and runs out. Knowing her, I almost expect it.

I'll go you one better, Blackjack shots "Look a distraction!" and grabs Glory's bedsheets to throw over Glory's mom and them makes with the dramatic escape only for no one to follower her and Glory's mom to slowly remove the bedsheets to see a familiar looking pony at the table.

Haha, that would be all kinds of hilarious. And why could I totally see Blackjack doing just that?

Eh, uh, BTW *Yawn* wordcount's at 994,257 right now according to this. So the 1 million work mark will be next chapter.

Huh? According to my own calculations it's at 1,011,119 words atm. I checked again and I can't find any mistakes in my count, but I could be wrong. I'm using LibreOffice and the downloaded chapters for my calcuation. No idea how correct that is.
Here's my spreadsheet: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16465859/PH_Wordcount.ods

I have to ask : Am I the only one that was left... jaded (?) by the death of the yellow filly in Chapel ?

I felt a little bit sad for her, but only a litte. Normally this would be a tragedy, in the wasteland it's just stupidity.



Actually I wanted to do add my thoughts about the chapter here, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm too tired to brain right now.

[Scootayay]

I'm pretty sure Rampage is Twist/Shujaa's adopted daughter.

What a Tweeest!(Sorry couldn't help myself) I'm not sure if I agree with you on that though.

[222222]

@canitnerd: well it stands to reason that rampage is someone that Twist knew, because as far as I can remember Twist was the last known stop of the Talisman, so who would she pass it on to? Someone special if it was voluntary, but I see it as more than likely that Twist either didn't know about it and it was removed by some one in the know, or she wanted nothing to do with it and just got rid of it as quickly as possible. But I think the idea that Rampage is their daughter is more than likely. My personal theory is that the Talisman just filled up with souls and generated a body based on no one, with a blank mind which Rampage filled out with her life. That way she isn't a real pony in the way she currently thinks, but hopefully will come to realize its just a matter of semantics and accept she is just as real as anyone else. Just my two cents on the matter

[FeatherDust]

ARG ARG ARG
I lost my "thoughts on chapter 50" post for the second time. I'll... do it later when I'm not about to kill something.

[FeatherDust]

And sorry for messing with your head. Goddess is not nice. She took out all her nice. Now nasty is all that's left...

This hits on a point I was going to make: This chapter's Goddess manipulation was important, from a narrative perspective, as a Kick The Dog to remind us how evil she is. We've had a few glimpses inside the Unity that gave us some sympathy for the Goddess, but now as Nuke Day approaches, it's good to be reminded that Trixie is irredeemable (by her own act, at that -- she removed all the bits that would have made her redeemable).

Does that mean that there's a version of Lacunae out there that is the happiest pony of Happytown? I keep having this image of Alicorns that embody the very essence of various unhelpful (to the goddess) emotions. Like one that's filled rage, or another that's lust (Probably looks like Princess Molestia). One for each of the deadly sins perhaps (collect the whole set!)?

Not at all. She didn't take out all the "happy" or all the "lustful" -- rather, she removed all the bits of her memory that make her feel uncomfortable, helpless, or unhappy with herself. In other words, all the parts that make you want to change who you are, empathize with others, and try to Do Better. The thing that's left is essentially the same as an all-powerful princess who has never had any reason to consider anyone else's needs as anything but a roadblock to her desires.

[tylertoon2]

That chapter was exactly what we (Characters included) needed. A planning and rest period. There are still so many issues the party has and it would be fool hearty of them to charge along without addressing them.

BJ and Glory's fight is the center point of the chapter and you handled it remarkably believably. Everything seemed very in character and was handled excellently.

Even though there wasn't much physical action in the chapter, there are many very powerful moments. The Moment with Twist at the end was absolutely brilliant and incredibly powerful. One small criticism though is that the entire section feels a bit rushed and could have used some fleshing out.

I cannot wait to see what will happen with Dawn.


Had a Great time on Tf2 with all of you guys. Our Battle Cries of CUUUNT! Echoed as loud as our guns as we battled the robot hoards.

Spoiler:

[IncoherentOrange]

Damn, I missed that, trying to meet up with a friend on DayZ, only to find that the game didn't even work for him. Aw...

[Ketchup]

Yeah, Blackjack will probably make any attempt on Glory's part to hide futile. Unless, she didn't know it was Dawn, though it would be hard to forget what your mother looks like. How old, approximately of course, was Glory at the time?

I doubt that Glory wouldn't recognize her mom(Even if she forgot how she looked[which is actually not all that unlikely], she introduced herself as Dawn) As to when Glory's last seen her mom. No idea. When DID she last see her?

I thought of the possibility that she hadn't introduced herself before Blackjack showed up, maybe because somepony told her that Security was trustworthy, but said nothing of her comrades, so she'd introduce herself to Blackjack only. She's a Dashite, certain parties don't like them, so she ought to be cautious. The petrification of Glory is a clue pointing the other way, though.

[Caoimhe]

After the dust settles I really want BJ to vomit out that Dawn is a milf to Glory.

I didn't comment in my spoiler summary of impressions before but is this the first time we've had confirmation that Pinks was a full blown psycho killer? qu'est que c'est

[Sindri]

After the dust settles I really want BJ to vomit out that Dawn is a milf to Glory.

I didn't comment in my spoiler summary of impressions before but is this the first time we've had confirmation that Pinks was a full blown psycho killer? qu'est que c'est

No confirmation of a kill, and in fact Marigold is known to be alive later on (she failed to get into the Stable, but got Tarot inside as Card Trick's claimed daughter). So it's likely that Pinkie just grabbed her and took her in for memory modification. After all, if the astromare guest of honor suddenly died under mysterious circumstances, it would just draw suspicion to the Ministry Mares' meeting.

[Caoimhe]

Oh, freaking duh. Okay, from now on I'm just going to do what some of you do read a new chapter multiple times before commenting. Pfff.

[Ironmonger]

Different parts about the last part of the chapter didn't make sense to me. Why would every soldier turn and glare at just one? Why should they care about what she says? And why would that one mare start gunning down her own kind?

Took me most of today to read that chapter alone as I have a flawed attention span.

[Caoimhe]

She felt Twist to be a traitor because of her relationship with a zebra, the mission being to give aid to the "enemy" (even though they were surrendering) and probably felt her position as lead NCO as well as being the last of the Marauders (which they felt was mostly only notable because of Big Mac) was unworthy.

[Ironmonger]

She felt Twist to be a traitor because of her relationship with a zebra, the mission being to give aid to the "enemy" (even though they were surrendering) and probably felt her position as lead NCO as well as being the last of the Marauders (which they felt was mostly only notable because of Big Mac) was unworthy.

Thanks. Some of this aint easy to piece together.

[Vergil]

[Cptadder]

@Vergil
Her horn looks a little long but that looks like a little Go Fish

[Vergil]

@Vergil
Her horn looks a little long but that looks like a little Go Fish

I'm assuming she grew up and her horn never did. Either way I almost died when I saw that image.

[Caoimhe]

Now it's time to guess what she's looking at.

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