My Little Pony XXXV: The Thread Everypony Should Know

[Mando Knight]

New episode on pony genetics:

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(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

[Beacon of Chaos]

New Episode:

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That is all. :3

XD Fantastic.


Anyway, Commodore. I needed something to draw today, so I had a look at the description of your... Jalry... Jaklyieo... Your alien pony things. Submitted for your approval:

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Did I hit the nail on the head, or am I totally off the mark? I think I probably could have done them taller looking, but I'm pretty used to pony proportions by now.

[SiuiS]

It actually is (inch or so below my chin height when it's loose, in fact), Bleakbane was just rather restricted with what female heads he had for those figures.

Yeah, there was like, one. Also, turns out, as I was putting those away, I found I did actually have one in normal armour (though with a rifle, which Hopereaver doesn't tend to use), which had blue hair, which is even slightly closer to Hopereaver's actual colour.



Aha. I see Thanqol's mind has finally snapped like a brittle twig.



So ponythread.

I have been giving some though to what the race of my kunai fleet should be, and after a very long wrestle with my conscionence, have decided to go with a pony-inspired concept.

I thus present the current, first pass, write up on: the Jalyrkieon.

Anyone willing to brave the depths of my lengthy insanity is encouraged to comment, (and after the spoiler there are one or two things that merit discussion that relate to unicorns and don't require the reading of it for those with less time or inclination!)

Note: it sometimes takes me a couple of passes to pick up some of my mistakes, clarifications and so on (usually one from a cold reading at a later date), so bear that in mind, though I have at least spell-checked it this time! Once I sent something to one of Dad's work collegues, and he wasn't impressed, and nor was I when I went back through it! I'd made a pretty terrible mess of spelling and words (though to be fair, I'd been in a rush to get done, I'm normally not bad!)

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The Jalyrkieons are an unusual race of quadrupeds with an innate telekinetic talent. They are located quite close to the Vivrathk Aggression, and the two races have a long history of conflict.

A Jalyrkieon has a body shape roughly comparable to a terrestrial equine. They stand about four feet tall at the withers , and weigh around 550-600lbs, being quite stockily built. They are not covered by a covering of hair, like a horse, but a thick skin, more like a hippopotamus. Hair is present in a ruff from the forehead down to the withers, and again in the tail, which, like an equines, is mostly vestigial made and composed of little else.

They can be varied in colour, from deep purple through to an ocean blue, with some ethnicities tending to green or turquoise. Eye and hair colour tends to be much more varied, though the former tends more towards “warm” shades and the latter to “cold.” Extremes like black or white hair are biologically impossible – the lack pigmentation due to age or the equivalent of albinism tends to be towards a muted blue-grey. (Though hair dye for those colours is not unheard of, but is as unusual as a human dyeing their hair blue or green.)

The most immediate obvious difference from a terrestrial equine is in the head, however. A Jalyrkieon’s head is more foreshortened than a typical equine, and with a much larger forehead, which situates both the much larger brain and eyes. These are set in a spectroscopic formation slightly above the nose, which has a more distinctively “pinched” look.

The head is tipped with a set of four short horns. Two project slightly forward, over the eyes, leaning slightly to either side of the vertical plane, and two others point backward, just over the ears. The horns are sturdy and sharp enough to be defensive weapons in their own right. However, their primary purpose is to direct and control the Jalyrkieon’s natural telekinesis.

Another large difference becomes obvious when a Jalyrkieon opens their mouth. Unlike a terrestrial equine, a Jalyrkieon has a mouth of sharp, ripping and slashing teeth. The ancestors of the Jalyrkieon were carnivores.

The Jalyrkieon homeworld, Plenadi, is notable for being one of the most dangerous natural environments to be populated by a sentient species, full of highly dangerous predators and equally well-armed herbivores and even the plant-life tends to be hazardous and poisonous (and sometimes even predatory itself). The Jalyrkieon stock evolved from an early ungulate-type of creature on the planet’s copious planes. Limited telekinesis is a trait of the entire zoological order that the Jalyrkieon belong to, though only their family have developed to a significant level. The protoJalyrkieon stock developed increased brain-power as this telekinesis became more powerful, and in concert with the groups that they lived in, not unlike how terrestrial primates brain-size increases with social groups. One big difference is that in the split analogous to “monkeys” and “apes”, the Jalyrkieon line became predators. They evolved to exploit the vacuum left by the extinction of a larger group of animals (not unlike how Mesonychids evolved to become predators after the extinction of the dinosaurs).

As the climate changed during the Plenadi’s prehistory, an a period of glacial and interglacial periods began, the protoJalyrkieons were driven ever further towards the equatorial regions, where intelligence became a survival trait in the extremely dangerous jungles and tropical floodplain-swamps.

While it is true that Jalyrkieons are carnivores, it is true in the same sense that canids are carnivores. Meat is an important part of their diet, but they are by no means exclusively carnivorous. (Their closest living relatives are scavenging specialists, best characterised as behaving like something between a chimpanzee and a hyena.)

Jalyrkieon physiology is robust. When removed from the numerous cumulative poisons, diseases and stresses of the natural world, they have an astonishing constitution, and a natural healing that is close to actual regeneration. It is estimated that their rate of recuperation is perhaps five times that of a typical hominoid. They do not sleep in long period, but in short bursts through the day cycle, with periodic intervals of actual REM sleep of a few hours per week. Their physical strength is very good for their size (even though the more physically inclined tend to rely on their telekinesis), and their endurance is prestigious. Their digestive system is able to handle a wide variety of foodstuffs, allowing them to eat a wider range of alien foods, though meat remains their favoured dietary component. This intestinal fortitude is the legacy of life in the vicious natural world of Plenadi, as meals come infrequently, and often at risk (even for herbivores), so a hearty digestive system is a must.

Their five senses are quite sharp – another necessity of life – though their vision and hearing is not quite as acute as a Elf’s, their sense of smell and taste makes up for it. Their sense of touch is somewhat below average, aside from the tactile portion of their telekinesis (which is considerably higher.)

Viviparous reproduction is almost a must on Plenadi, as staying still long enough to lay eggs is a recipe for disaster unless the creature is especially well adapted. In this harsh environment, the Jalyrkieon family group develops mobility and size very fast – like terrestrial horses, a Jalyrkieon foal is capable of walking within hours of birth – though their mental and sexual development is much slower, the latter pronouncedly so. This may seem contrary to expectations, in light of the dangerous environment, but the Jalyrkieon order’s breeding strategy is more heavily biased towards parental investment, and indeed, this was one of the other driving factors in the Jalyrkieon’s intellectual evolution. This allowed more young to reach sexual maturity, as opposed to simply relying on minimal parental investment after birth as many of the “lower” orders of Plenadi do, and one of the reasons that the Jalyrkieon’s order currently dominates.

Jalyrkieons demonstrate some sexual dimorphism – the males tend to be slightly larger – but otherwise, the difference between the two sexes is not readily apparent. They reach adult size in what is the equivalent of only three or four years, though it takes around eighteen years to reach mental maturity and sexual maturity another four or five years. Juvenile Jalyrkieons are still distinguishable by their more muted colour-scheme (reaching sexual maturity is often referred to as the “flush” referring to the sharpening or even change in the skin-colour.)

This slow maturity rate, particularly of sexuality, is one of the reasons that the Vivrathk and the Jalyrkieons are particularly at odds. Even more than humans do (who the Jalyrkieons have had only anecdotal contact with), the Jalyrkieons find the Vivrathk positively pedarastic, given the latter’s very early sexual maturity and corresponding relaxed standards of societal sexual behaviour.

Jalyrkieons thus have a very strong parental urge, and when their young are endangered, they have been known to go quite berserk, with a notable considerable boost in their telekinetic powers.



Jalyrkieon telekinesis is extremely powerful. It is not well understood, even by the Jalyrkieon themselves, but has both psionic and magical components, and resistant to anti-supernatural fields; while their range and power is reduced, it is very difficult to negate completely. The effect is mostly non-luminescent, though considerable effort from highly skilled individuals can cause the horns and target to dimly glow. (The colour of this glow varies, but is usually white or very pale blue.)

In effect, each of the four horns controls a telekinetic “limb” (though this is greatly oversimplifying), allowing them as much and more manipulatory ability than most creatures with hands and fingers. Their strength is difficult to measure precisely, but can be roughly estimated as being slightly above human average with each “limb” and considerable strength when combined.

The range of this ability is essentially divided into two parts.
They can “feel” with their telekinetic powers with greatest precision close to the horn, where their fine control is greatest. Beyond about half a meter or so, this fine control drops sharply, and they are only capable of more general motions. As an analogue, the difference between the “control radius”, as it is termed, and the extent of their range (“reach radius”) is akin to the difference between hands and arms. Both radius vary by natural talent, and training – such as Jalyrkieon military forces undergo – can significantly improve both.

The “limb” analogy is not a very clear indicator, however, since Jalyrkieon telekinesis is somewhat more flexible than a corporeal limb. Each horn is capable of accomplishing very fine manipulation within the control radius somewhat finer than to what a human might manage with their fingers only in a small diameter, somewhere between six and twelve inches, depending on skill and training. They can manage to manipulate objects in greater numbers over a wider area, though not to the same extent. They could certainly hold a large number of books and flip the pages, but cannot operate more than four devices with small buttons at once. The more area they are forced to spread their telekinesis over, the less strength they can apply (meaning a Jalyrkieon lifting a heavy object will usually lift from one to four places, must as a hominoid with limbs would do.)

Jalyrkieons have very large brains in comparison to their body size, significantly more than most hominoids. Their brains are divided into four lobes, rather than two, each one having control over one horn, as hominoids have left and right hemispheres. Most of this extra brain-matter is dedicated to processing their telekinetic abilities. They are capable of multitasking to a significant degree, and essentially their “telekinetic limbs” can each be doing independent tasks, or working coherently. This ability is somewhat limited by the fact they still have some limits on their ability to process data. They could, say, with some effort and practise, assemble four kits from components simultaneously, though they couldn’t operate something that requires non-tactile input (be it visual, cognitive or auditory) with each horn separately, i.e. they cannot use four separate scanners at once.

Jalyrkieons are able to use their telekinesis very effectively as weapons. While they are not especially adept at hurling large cumbersome objects (like creatures) around, their ability to throw small blades or manipulate simple weapons is extremely high, and the simplicity of such actions means they can often use several with frightening proficiency.

Modern Jalyrkieon soldiers are noted for being very heavily armed for infantry, many carrying the equivalent of two or three rifles or four pistols, which they can use simultaneously (skilled individuals – the sort that would use twin pistols in a hominoid race – can use even more. This makes the amount of fire put out from a Jalyrkieon infantry squad vastly better than a typical hominoid one. (This is somewhat countered, however, by their higher and less easily concealed target profile, however.) With their greater ability to carry munitions as well, due to their body shape lending itself well to portaging, they can also carry a consummate supply of power cells or ammunition. Consequently, anti-armour weapons are also seen in greater numbers in infantry units.

They also have a series of martial arts, which extend beyond the physical to applications of telekinesis. In particular, a trained Jalyrkieon can deliver a telekinetic thrust of enormous strength, and many of these strikes are designed to concentrate as much force as possible in one area, and are thus closing to piercing strikes than bludgeoning ones. (Indeed, a master of the art can inflict wounds akin to ballistic firearms at short ranges).

More subtle and dangerous are the one which extend the control radius of the Jalyrkieon to be able to force an attack inside the body of an opponent (something that normally requires impracticable amounts of effort, concentration and time to do) and literally crush their organs or close off vital blood vessels, leading to incapacitation of death. Some of these arts use physical blows to direct the telekinesis attacks, while the highest forms are unnoticeable and purely mental.

The fight for survival in their prehistory has – not unlike the Vivrathk, as irony would have it – made the Jalyrkieons very aggressive. Their expansionist goals are characterised with a certain cold ruthlessness with regard to other races that distinguishes them from their closest neighbours. This attitude in modern Jalyrkieons was not helped along by their period as a vassal of the Strayvian Empire, until it’s collapse and their abrupt seizure of independence.

The Jalyrkieons were defeated quite badly in their last war against the Vivrathk, and have been undergoing a lengthy period of refitting and rearming in the last couple of decades. This period is coming to a close as it is likely not long before a new war breaks out between the two.

At some point I might try drawing one, maybe, though if anyone else wants to take a crack at it, I think pretty much any of you could do a better job than me...!



So, all that brought up an interesting question. If you use telekinesis as your primary manipulative apparatus - as unicorns and Jalyrkieons do - what would a gun designed for you, look like?

Specifically, what would you do for a trigger? The design constriants would be entirely different to those of monkey-fingers, so what would you use? (And unlike the show, we're assuming it doesn't have to be recognisable by young audience.) A button? A lever? And where would you put it, considering you'll be holding it with TK? (Or rather, where would it be best to put it?) I must admit, for once I am at something of a loss and would definately like some suggestions.



Also, what should be the title of their race We've already got Empires and Kingdoms, Federations and Confederations, Dominions and Aggressions (and they sorta are in the bad guy file) - so, what do you reckon, ponythread? Something different and unusual would be cool.



I have also come to a conclusion, that when it comes to the Jalyrkieon - specifically for naming vehicles, ships and ship classes, that ponythread is going to have the entirely dubious honour of unwittingly helping me.

When I normally do things in alien languages, I cobble up something that uses a subset of letters or sounds that seem consistent. This is actually quite hard work (especially by the time you're onto the, what, fifth or sixth race, not including the fantasy languages on your campaign world) it gets quite hard. Thus I am intending to use, as my source of syllable clusters, the collection of your screen-names of ponythread.
(Unless anyone has an extremely violent need not to have nothing more than three coterminous letters of their screen name (if that) to be randomly stuck with other people's (assuming you could be sure it even came from yours), though why anyone might would be a mystery...)
Indeed, I have already done so, using the names of the Mane and some supporting cast for both the world and race name of the Jalyrkieons (no-prizes for anyone untangling which ones..!)

Which I will probably start tomorrow, since doing all the thinking for the Jalyrkieons has been fragging mentally exhausting!

Forgot that this was time sensitive.

Pokonic's piston thing is pretty close to what I figured.
How do their weapons work? Mechanical firing mechanisms use levers, so a position would work or a ring to pull an internal lever. More advanced weapons, with energy cores and such, could work on a different but similar principle, where a circuit is physically completed by telekinetic movement.

Telekinetic capacity is a HUGE advantage. Thy can utilize any enemy weapon which doesn't require an organic circuit to verify user, and also use weapons which otherwise could not be used by enemies.

The weapons should have an internal "handle", with a specialized texture so it can be easily identified tactilely, with the trigger mechanism being relatively close. The TK could work it's way through specialized vents to the handle, which would probably be balanced so the weapon remains stable despite not having a body to brace against.

Specialized weapons could also be used, along such otherwise-absurd lines as a U-shaped gun with a handle in the central crook, allowing the two barrels, if fired in rhythm, to counter the weapon's own recoil. Or something equally ridiculous that passes around to WHY ARE THEY ABLE TO SHOOT AT ME SO FAST CELESTIA WHY!? Levels of awesome.

Think that was all I had to say. I'll ruminate.

[Newman]

This episode.

IT WAS A SCREAM!

And yeah, being the Resident Clown isn't always easy. Some level of humiliation and indignity sort of comes with the job...

[Weimann]

S2E13

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Episode is best episode. No really. This is the best one, on at least the same level as Lesson Zero and Luna Eclipsed, not to mention the classics from S1.

Pinkie is funny, the jokes keep on coming but most of all, the kids are adorable. The setup is normally not a favourite but Pound and Pumpkin just steals the show entirely. Pinkie is one of my favourite ponies but she gets completely out-staged. Adding to this, I like the morale at the end.

Complete success. I'm out.

[Beacon of Chaos]

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who loved it.

Anyway.... this:

Discuss?

[Thanqol]

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Well, there's one of my fanon pieces disproved (unicorns can't levitate themselves with magic)

Exorcist segment was good. The rest of the episode was surprisingly good for a baby episode. Given the source material and premise, this was probably as good as that episode was ever going to turn out. And accurate, too - I as a man who spent two hours feigning surprise every time a toddler turned a light on and off can tell you this.

Buuuuuut overall I didn't find it hugely enjoyable. What can I say? Babies are predictable and immune to consequences.

Bugger, thought that would work. Electricity always got rid of the other ones. Oh well, looks like I'm blasting off AGAAAAAAIiiiiiinnnnnnnnn... *Ding*

Really, when it comes down to it, the best way to fight Jayden is to walk slowly towards her and smother her with a pillow. The louder you come the more she'll kick your ass.

You foals! It's a trap! He wants a Pinkie Party!

Shhhhh!

Thanks for taking the time to review this. So, finally, my own thoughts and response (spoilers, obviously).

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I totally agree with your final assessment of the story. It's something that has really made it hard for me to write this story, because I made two terrible mistakes from the start. First, I didn't plan the story, I just went right ahead and began writing.

This is why I say so often and so loudly that most stories succeed or fail during character creation.

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A lot of the problems with the characterizations come from that same mistake; I didn't plan out anything. But I made another mistake. I tried to juggle way too many characters. I've learned that it's a LOT harder to handle more than two, maybe three characters. I think Fillystata had a huge advantage because I had only Trixie and Luna, occasionally Twilight, as main characters. Mare in the Mirror has a lot, and giving them all their share of the stage is HARD.

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Large groups are hard to appropriately showcase. Part of the reason I've recently become infatuated with small groups as a concept. It's still doable, but you've just got to make sure that every character adds to the core concept rather than the other way around.

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I became really sorry that I took the animals with me, I constantly struggled to give them a part in the story and they just felt like dead weight. However, I hasten to say that I didn't simply drown them to get rid of them. I'd like to remind you of what every villain should know: Don't trust that someone is dead until you see the body, and even then you should be skeptical.

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Oh sure, as a narrativist this is something I'm well aware of. But that's not my problem with their role in the story. The ponies react as though they're dead and suffer accordingly which dilutes the suffering of the 'important' ponies. The only thing that changes if they're alive is an additional happy moment later.

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You've given me a lot of good ideas and perspectives. Your thoughts in NMM and the griffons were interesting and not something I'd considered before. My problem is that I know what's going on and all, so I've never had a problem not thinking of canon NMM (who I'll agree is anything but scary).

I also agree that the exposition, especially by Manna, could have been done way better. Again, a problem in part of poor planning.

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One of the major things Mage: The Awakening has done for my storytelling is getting me to always consider the metaphors and mystical associations behind each image. These symbols have a lot of power that carries through with them, and we've got to be aware of these associations so that we can manage them.

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Anyway, I'm really glad for the thoughtful review. It's really given me some nice ideas and hopefully will help me a lot with the final part, which I do think will completely outshine the first twelve chapters.

Glad to help! Good luck, and I'm looking forwards to what you do with the final part

I think I need to hug Mask now.
(hugs Mask)

Mask: *Is hugged*
*Reflexively steals Lix's wallet*

So, first day of drawing something everyday, with more than three hours to spare until midnight. Victory.

My delivery on the subject matter however is of course several hours past fashionably late, and I fear that this might become a trend. This is the your faithful prince, a mile behind the bandwagon. Hi Aotrs!

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Hopefully it'll be successfully uploaded. Enjoy the Dazzling Splendour of my Artistic Genius!

Oh, huh, this is surprisingly good! The humans are generally well proportioned, except for top-right ninja's knee. The ponies would look a lot more lifelike if you added the highlights to their eyes - without them they never look right; also, head shape can use some practise. And I'm just not sure about the black-pencil backgrounding method ever.

The explosions are good, and you've got a good handle on shading and basic shapes; a lot better than my Day 1, for sure. Go kick up a thread in Arts&Crafts and let's see this through!

[Deadly]

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who loved it.

Anyway.... this:

Discuss?

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Obviously a pony planking, so... Lyra. That, or a crude teddy bear

[Anarion]

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who loved it.

Anyway.... this:

Discuss?

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Kids. They come up with the most amazing imaginary characters.

[SiuiS]

Mask: Being hit with pies shows me that you are capable of harming me, not that Pinkie is in any way capable of *buried under mountain of pastry*

No! Mask, you can do it! Your face is clear, eat your way free!

[Jayden is the Griffon/Forces Mage. Charger is the Earth Pony Martial Artist. Mask is a coward, Agent S can't figure out how to take off the darn mask]

Corrected.

Mask: Flawless *nom* victory.

Yay~!

Agraffajag I just got back from the Brony Meetup (San Fransisco Edition) and apparently PEOPLE FROM THE FORUM WERE THERE

(I was the person who had a grey hoodie and took off his shoes and sat in the cold cold sand for a while.)

Meetup was pretty awesome. We had a bonfire going for a while, and then the fire died after we threw glowsticks and other random stuff into it.
also people burned christmas trees nearby a lot

And now I shall either retreat into lurking or ACTUALLY STAY AND POST

Ooh! Ooh! STAY AND POST, STAY AND POOOOOOOOST!

*facehoof* all i did was start a food fight. *sulks*
We COULD rain baked Alaskas on them...
What good would that do?
Baked Alaskas are on fire.
.....Do it.
FIRE! *giggles*

Ponyard. Ponyard.

You need to, like, marry this filly.
You must.

And Filly!Pierce doesn't seem to be around to cause a ruckus. So you've got no excuse.

Sup guys, new to the forum, heard about it form the meetup. i was the dude in the beenie

So many meet-up ponies. Too bad I had to work, but Braz was able to go!

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We're called "pony thread" for a reason, right?

Huh. You know what that looks like?

Oh heavens. Hey, Jayden! I'm just tonna borrow these dots of Forces for a second... Ok, let's see, use this here time magic... Borrow the force o all these future face-palms.... Magnify by the force of indignant outrage... Aaaaand, ready.

Like an inv--
BUCK TO THE MOON!

Have some awesome pony noir:

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Source, for massive download.

Dat mane!
This settles it. I am now officially colt!Rarity.

-

Thanqol, I considered joinin in on the war effort, I only to see what I could do in a fight against jayden that wasn't "here, have some ammo.", but then I kep rememberi she was a griffon. And so the entirety of the fight would be

*throws fireball*
*dodges lightningbolt*

... Yer pretty.

[Thanqol]

Thanqol, I considered joinin in on the war effort, I only to see what I could do in a fight against jayden that wasn't "here, have some ammo.", but then I kep rememberi she was a griffon. And so the entirety of the fight would be

*throws fireball*
*dodges lightningbolt*

... Yer pretty.

Jayden: Well, it's good to know that today you successfully avoided having to give me a compliment

[Pokonic]

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who loved it.

Anyway.... this:

Discuss?

.....Ursa? I mean, there are teddy bears around the place, so it makes some sence.

[Deadly]

This is why I say so often and so loudly that most stories succeed or fail during character creation.

Indeed. At least the next story I have in line is planned from start to finish, all written down looooong ago.

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Large groups are hard to appropriately showcase. Part of the reason I've recently become infatuated with small groups as a concept. It's still doable, but you've just got to make sure that every character adds to the core concept rather than the other way around.

I've come to realize that, for written stories at least, I much prefer focusing on one or two main characters. Some writers can do big groups well, I don't think I'm one of them.

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Oh sure, as a narrativist this is something I'm well aware of. But that's not my problem with their role in the story. The ponies react as though they're dead and suffer accordingly which dilutes the suffering of the 'important' ponies. The only thing that changes if they're alive is an additional happy moment later.

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I see your point. Ideally up until this point I'd have liked to avoid any deaths or dismemberments except Luna's fake one (which did get a fairly strong reaction from many). Poor planning forced me to deal with the pets somehow. Leaving Fluttershy's wounded leg to have no impact at all seemed weak too, but ideally maybe there should have been no wound in the first place.

Ah well, hindsight. Time to move on, do better.

[ScionoftheVoid]

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Wow. I only looked through the most recent page, but there are comments about Poundcake flying long before Scootaloo. That's nothing. Pumpkincake was using magic at a higher level than Filly Twilight. Not even baby Twilight, but "already studying hard on magic and being put forward to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns" Twilight. Wat. I'm overusing italics, wheee!

Ahem.

Several minutes of crying children and Pinkie not being as entertaining as she normally seems to be lets it down a bit, but overall a nice episode. Not one of the best this season, but I didn't have to pause the episode to groan at any point either (as I have more and more recently), so there's that.

[Pokonic]

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Wait a bloody moment, Pinkie handled clouds!

What a surprise, eh?

[PrinceAquilaDei]

Oh, huh, this is surprisingly good! The humans are generally well proportioned, except for top-right ninja's knee. The ponies would look a lot more lifelike if you added the highlights to their eyes - without them they never look right; also, head shape can use some practise. And I'm just not sure about the black-pencil backgrounding method ever.

The explosions are good, and you've got a good handle on shading and basic shapes; a lot better than my Day 1, for sure. Go kick up a thread in Arts&Crafts and let's see this through!

In order then:

#:squint: The top right ninja's left or right knee?

#Forgetting the eyehighlights is just shameful.

#Pony heads are haaaaaard.

#Yeah me neither upon retrospect.

#Thanks and thanks and thanks.

#I will, tomorrow.

[Mando Knight]

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Pumpkincake was using magic at a higher level than Filly Twilight. Not even baby Twilight, but "already studying hard on magic and being put forward to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns" Twilight. Wat.

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Twilight and Rarity foreshadowed this in the opening sequence. Baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go.

[Jahkaivah]

OH GOD THAT EPISODE WAS SO PINKING CUTE

Hehe piggy pie.

[Nameless]

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Obviously a pony planking, so... Lyra. That, or a crude teddy bear

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That's no teddy bear...

[Deadly]

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That's no teddy bear...

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Sure it is... an ear-less teddy bear

[Zevox]

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That's no teddy bear...

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...it's a space station!

Wait, that was a Star Wars reference you were making, right?

Zevox

[Soras Teva Gee]

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who loved it.

Anyway.... this:

Discuss?

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You can't Explain That!

[Aotrs Commander]

XD Fantastic.


Anyway, Commodore. I needed something to draw today, so I had a look at the description of your... Jalry... Jaklyieo... Your alien pony things. Submitted for your approval:

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Did I hit the nail on the head, or am I totally off the mark? I think I probably could have done them taller looking, but I'm pretty used to pony proportions by now.

Pretty close, actually. I think that the eyes there are a bit low. You've put them sorta where a pony's would be, except as they're so much smaller than cartoon pony eyes, it looks odd. I think they'd be better if they were moved back and up a bit, with the horns to match (I saw the two pairs being much closer together)...

Okay, I had a quick scribble myself (not that I can post anything without nicking the upstairs scanner!). If we go from MLP pony proportions (which is sorta half-implied), the eyes want to be about half the size (area) of a pony's, and nearer the top of the head, and eye horns are too far away from where a unicorn's horn is (looking at Twilight verses my scribble), with the back pair more-or-less a horn's width behind them.

Ah. I think I figured it out. Your jawline is parallel to the ground, and most creature's jaw line slopes down a bit (horses in particular, and the muzzle of the ponies is downward, too). That's put your mouth at the wrong angle, (which has made the eyes a bit low) and that's why it looks a bit off to me, being the natural history buff that I am! (In fact, if the mouth itself was at an angle, the jawline would probably look okay, as it would look like a deep jaw for a powerful bite.)

(My scribble had a slanted jawline which I did automatically, which is why it took me a moment to twig. Aside from drawing starships in my youth, I did draw a lot of dinosaurs and animals and stuff (and yes, I still have a few of those pictures squirreled away as well!))

I might well have to have a proper go myself sometime tomorrow.

(And then everyone, especially Thanqol, can have a good laugh at my ineptitude...!)

Forgot that this was time sensitive.

It isn't, actually. I'm in no immediate rush. The most important thing was to figure out who the Jalyrkieons were, so I could start IDing the starships properly once I've painted them. The Jalyrkieons themselves aren't going to see any action soon (secret project will be on the table top and in the gaming sessions before they get there.)

More advanced weapons, with energy cores and such, could work on a different but similar principle, where a circuit is physically completed by telekinetic movement.

Isn't that basically a button...?

Telekinetic capacity is a HUGE advantage. Thy can utilize any enemy weapon which doesn't require an organic circuit to verify user, and also use weapons which otherwise could not be used by enemies.

Again, from a not-an-adventurer perspective, being able to use other race's guns is really not all that useful on a military level - especially since only really Strayvian and Grey Watcher in the Mire weapons aren't easily handleable by most hominoids in the first place (and the former are just a bit cumbersome, 'cos Strayvians are seven foot tall and have big hands.) You still won't be as familiar as with your own weapons, and there's usually a bit more to most modern weapons - especially energy weapons - than just point and pull trigger (settings and so forth).

Not that TK isn't a big advantage, but that said, they're hardly the only race out there with significantly above human/Elf/Orc/Vivrathk abilities (us, for a kick off! Or the Raarg'Ssth, who are basically mostly-erect raptor-like creatures, all of whom have slashing claws and a proportion of whom can spit poison.)

The weapons should have an internal "handle", with a specialized texture so it can be easily identified tactilely, with the trigger mechanism being relatively close. The TK could work it's way through specialized vents to the handle, which would probably be balanced so the weapon remains stable despite not having a body to brace against.

That's an interesting idea, having the handle internal (or more practically, recessed into the underside). That would make more sense than just holding the base, actually, as it would give you a grip right next to the centre of gravity. And then putting the trigger (which I think could either be a lever or Rebel Hero's slide) next to it would be common sense.

Specialized weapons could also be used, along such otherwise-absurd lines as a U-shaped gun with a handle in the central crook, allowing the two barrels, if fired in rhythm, to counter the weapon's own recoil. Or something equally ridiculous that passes around to WHY ARE THEY ABLE TO SHOOT AT ME SO FAST CELESTIA WHY!? Levels of awesome.

Think that was all I had to say. I'll ruminate.

If I want to shoot fast, I can just hold the trigger down on my Coldbeam pistol and it will emit a continuous beam - you can't shoot much faster than that! That's not an uncommon ability of energy weapons, and one is which is somewhat more effective (not miles more, but somewhat) than a burst of autofire, though you can't do for extended period without draining the power pack. Being able to shoot fast doesn't help you past a certain point, aside from making it easy to lay suppressing fire.

(And, generally, you can only kill a guy once. If one blast kills him, seven more isn't going to make him any more dead - and, rarer infantry shields aside, one accurate shot can't hurt him because of armour or something, twenty isn't likely to make much difference (though it might make some). And infantry squads don't sually tend to stand next to each other to be scythed down like in the movies (and if they do, they either don't last very long or they are very heavily protected and you need to be concerned about it.) On the whole, though, one is best assuming one will be spending most of one's time fighting lesser mortals, like Vivrathk or humans or Jalyrkeions, who generally helpfully die when you hit them with most weapons...!)

[TheAmishPirate]

Episode thoughts:

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On reflection, the ending was kind of abrupt, and the random superpowers should be irking me more than they are. The fact that I'm not really bothered by these and am instead smiling and d'awwing like a madpony tells me this episode did something right. After reading the thread, I say the ending is more symbolic, like we missed a good deal of stuff after that point. The main point of the scene was showing that Pinkie had finally gotten through to them that she wasn't starting up more playtime. That, and giving us all severe organ failure.

As for the foals and their powers, I say hands-down it's Pinkie's imagination. We've seen her give life to rocks and bucket of turnips for Celestia's sake, imagining the foals as a thousand times worse than they actually were is...



...child's play.

[SiuiS]

EDIT: confound it! I second-guessed the initial pronunciation, and assumed I was being dyslexic. Since I can't find/paste, assume every instance of Jaklyr is Jaelyrk, and every instance of Jak is me being dumb and coming up with a pet name...

Again, I think designing a weapon with the critetion "the enemy can't nick this" over "how best I can use this" is the wrong way to go about things. On top of that, Jalyrkeion technology is fairly middle of the road (especially groundside), so a good question would be, why would anyone want to steal their guns?

I see a discrepancy here, and it's based on language conventions. See, while we are all saying "it would be cool because Nopony else could use them" the real core of the concept is this; after the basic "this end go boom" folks worked on getting the boom end stable. We have butt stocks, weighted barrels, tripods and bipods, magazines and feed which work best with human hands, and ergonomic designs that specifically work with the human distribution of weight in a gun and human hands on a handle. And a lot of this stems from a tradition so deep that "gun" is a universal cultural symbol. Anywhere in the world except deep Australia, you hold out a finger and raise your thumb, and you're 'shooting' at someone. Raise two hands, supine at hip height and slide them together, you've just cocked an invisible shotgun. The L shape is part of how humans conceive of 'gun'.

The unicorn folks whose name I can't pronounce would have one similarity in their guns to ours. A tube shape to funnel the pressure. They could not develop the L shape because they couldn't brace the gun the same. Part of the firing mechanism would have to be on the back of the handle, unless extra 'arms' were dedicated to stabilization (I assume the Jaklyr require what is colloquially known as Line of Effect, up to the point of contact when te mental 'fingers' can slide around walls?). Heavy weapons would probably be a T shape, as two points of stabilization in addition to levitating would be best, giving you a cannon held on either side, with lift coming from the center underneath. Or a bazooka style weapon.

TK tactile feedback is normally very basic - am I holding something, and how hard - but the Jaklyr have functional TK sonar, like Starry. Finding your way into a hole in the outer casing too big for living hands, gripping the area specially tactilely marked for "trigger" (because it is entirely touch based, not visual) and squeezing. This has the benefit of putting load distribution closest to the center, even what others would consider "within" the gun even if the concept is closer to a basket hilt. With ballistic weapons, free floating, and no attached arm the kick is going to be dispersed into the air unless braced, so a heavy weapon will fire slower for a Jaklyr than for a humanoid, unless they are content to allow the weapon to fire without resetting to the ready position. Not sure how to counter that quite well, except...

As weapon kick went up, and need to fire went up, folks started using bursts. A free-floating gun with a burst is going to have a HUGE bloom, because there is no brace; humanoid will lose some accuracy to the sides while riding high, where a Jaklyr is going to send their gun into a death spiral. Having an 'internal' handle apparatus (which works akin to a monkey sticking its fist into a tree and grabbing a bean, really) and then backing the gun into a bracing emplacement attached to the Jak or to a nearby cover thingy, gives them the ability to turn their heavy rifles into shielded turrets, especially since the minor disconnect between Jak and gun gives more ablative safety room.

The trigger would probably be designed in a way that the entire handle has to be squeezed at once instead of a lever, for the simple fact that Jak TK doesn't have the benefit of a human hand; when firing small arms you're supposed to push forward with the hand and pull back on the trigger. A Jak would use the same TK node to both hold the handle and pull the trigger, fighting itself without bracing, and slow down trigger speed while also throwing off aim. There are similar examples I could cite from human tech, and recreation. With boffed creation, you want nothing between your hand and the core, especially not something squishy. Adding foam to the handle is a rookie mistake because it DOES noticeably affect performance, even at the non-lethal noodlebat level. Today, I am wearing thicker, woolen socks, and they have a noticeable difference in my ability to accelerate and brake while driving, because thy change how much force needs to be exerted to mechanically alter the pedal position. It's slight, it's subtle, and it's the difference between life and death.

One common scifi method of dealing with recoil, especially in single shot weapons like shotguns, is to have a second gun whose recoil counters it. You're even more of an engineer than I, so I'll leave how effective t is to your discretion, but having a V which fires from one arm then another in rhythm would make up for the fact that unlike a humanoid, a TK gun is going to flail much more wildly. Mini guns would require so much additional bracing because of this (if free floating) that it entirely negates the advantage of being an eight-limbed quadruped. A belt-fed 'regular' power automatic would work because the entire Jak body could hold spools, while the arms and some extended bars brace the guns on the side, but doing so with actual miniguns would introduce new hazards we humanshapes jus. Don't have to deal with.

So I see the ideal weapon evolution being a stress-ball trigger in a recessed knot hole in the gun. Other folks not being able to use them is a symptom not a cause, but it is so very obvious very pony has even saying it.

I also think ignoring the lack of actual, physical hands in coupling with the nonspecific exertion of force - that is, that a Jaklyr's TK limbis like an amoebic tentacle, not a hand, and so (thus far) cannot lever against itself as stabilely as a human can leaves you with an unseen bias; EVERYTHING about a Jaklyr in war is going to be different, from the somatopsychic specs, body mechanics, weapon positioning, ideal sight system, etc is akin to admonishing us for designing a gun for a GI joe toy, while yourself missing something as big as the weapon user not being corporeal.

I'm not sure how this interacts with autofire, and I definitely know zilch about beam weapons, so maybe the Jaklyr themselves are still overcoming their image cultural bias in the development of beam weapons? They are sure to have festival design flaws that are no longer necessary.

isnt that a button?

Yep! But phlebitis, thrombosis, and such are all just different anatomically-oriented 'clots moving around breakin' stuff', so I figure if the circuitry is internal enough, calling it a 'button' seemed wrong, as it is one degree closer to "connect these two open wires" than a button is.
Is it a good idea? No. It was different for the sake of difference to illustrate a possibility, since we knew Jaklyr TK is less than the force (no turning on lightsabers with a mental flick) but more than human manual dexterity (able to go places a human would be awkwardly and unergonomically sticking a finger).

I hope that illustrates my point! And that I didn't mangle the language to bad. Keep it Simple is like, the maxim for warfare. But remember how 'innovative' turnin the trigger into a lever plate so the Russians could fire with mittens on was? That should have been obvious sooner. That it wasn't is a sign of the cultural bias I speak of, and that you may be operating under yourself. I struggle to shirk this bias; if in doing do I come up with some silly, possibly inane things, can you blame me?

[Kindablue]

And, generally, you can only kill a guy once.

Yeah, unless he's magic. Or a coward. Or a magic coward.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

So ponythread.

I have been giving some though to what the race of my kunai fleet should be, and after a very long wrestle with my conscionence, have decided to go with a pony-inspired concept.

I thus present the current, first pass, write up on: the Jalyrkieon.

Anyone willing to brave the depths of my lengthy insanity is encouraged to comment, (and after the spoiler there are one or two things that merit discussion that relate to unicorns and don't require the reading of it for those with less time or inclination!)

Note: it sometimes takes me a couple of passes to pick up some of my mistakes, clarifications and so on (usually one from a cold reading at a later date), so bear that in mind, though I have at least spell-checked it this time! Once I sent something to one of Dad's work collegues, and he wasn't impressed, and nor was I when I went back through it! I'd made a pretty terrible mess of spelling and words (though to be fair, I'd been in a rush to get done, I'm normally not bad!)

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The Jalyrkieons are an unusual race of quadrupeds with an innate telekinetic talent. They are located quite close to the Vivrathk Aggression, and the two races have a long history of conflict.

A Jalyrkieon has a body shape roughly comparable to a terrestrial equine. They stand about four feet tall at the withers , and weigh around 550-600lbs, being quite stockily built. They are not covered by a covering of hair, like a horse, but a thick skin, more like a hippopotamus. Hair is present in a ruff from the forehead down to the withers, and again in the tail, which, like an equines, is mostly vestigial made and composed of little else.

They can be varied in colour, from deep purple through to an ocean blue, with some ethnicities tending to green or turquoise. Eye and hair colour tends to be much more varied, though the former tends more towards “warm” shades and the latter to “cold.” Extremes like black or white hair are biologically impossible – the lack pigmentation due to age or the equivalent of albinism tends to be towards a muted blue-grey. (Though hair dye for those colours is not unheard of, but is as unusual as a human dyeing their hair blue or green.)

The most immediate obvious difference from a terrestrial equine is in the head, however. A Jalyrkieon’s head is more foreshortened than a typical equine, and with a much larger forehead, which situates both the much larger brain and eyes. These are set in a spectroscopic formation slightly above the nose, which has a more distinctively “pinched” look.

The head is tipped with a set of four short horns. Two project slightly forward, over the eyes, leaning slightly to either side of the vertical plane, and two others point backward, just over the ears. The horns are sturdy and sharp enough to be defensive weapons in their own right. However, their primary purpose is to direct and control the Jalyrkieon’s natural telekinesis.

Another large difference becomes obvious when a Jalyrkieon opens their mouth. Unlike a terrestrial equine, a Jalyrkieon has a mouth of sharp, ripping and slashing teeth. The ancestors of the Jalyrkieon were carnivores.

The Jalyrkieon homeworld, Plenadi, is notable for being one of the most dangerous natural environments to be populated by a sentient species, full of highly dangerous predators and equally well-armed herbivores and even the plant-life tends to be hazardous and poisonous (and sometimes even predatory itself). The Jalyrkieon stock evolved from an early ungulate-type of creature on the planet’s copious planes. Limited telekinesis is a trait of the entire zoological order that the Jalyrkieon belong to, though only their family have developed to a significant level. The protoJalyrkieon stock developed increased brain-power as this telekinesis became more powerful, and in concert with the groups that they lived in, not unlike how terrestrial primates brain-size increases with social groups. One big difference is that in the split analogous to “monkeys” and “apes”, the Jalyrkieon line became predators. They evolved to exploit the vacuum left by the extinction of a larger group of animals (not unlike how Mesonychids evolved to become predators after the extinction of the dinosaurs).

As the climate changed during the Plenadi’s prehistory, an a period of glacial and interglacial periods began, the protoJalyrkieons were driven ever further towards the equatorial regions, where intelligence became a survival trait in the extremely dangerous jungles and tropical floodplain-swamps.

While it is true that Jalyrkieons are carnivores, it is true in the same sense that canids are carnivores. Meat is an important part of their diet, but they are by no means exclusively carnivorous. (Their closest living relatives are scavenging specialists, best characterised as behaving like something between a chimpanzee and a hyena.)

Jalyrkieon physiology is robust. When removed from the numerous cumulative poisons, diseases and stresses of the natural world, they have an astonishing constitution, and a natural healing that is close to actual regeneration. It is estimated that their rate of recuperation is perhaps five times that of a typical hominoid. They do not sleep in long period, but in short bursts through the day cycle, with periodic intervals of actual REM sleep of a few hours per week. Their physical strength is very good for their size (even though the more physically inclined tend to rely on their telekinesis), and their endurance is prestigious. Their digestive system is able to handle a wide variety of foodstuffs, allowing them to eat a wider range of alien foods, though meat remains their favoured dietary component. This intestinal fortitude is the legacy of life in the vicious natural world of Plenadi, as meals come infrequently, and often at risk (even for herbivores), so a hearty digestive system is a must.

Their five senses are quite sharp – another necessity of life – though their vision and hearing is not quite as acute as a Elf’s, their sense of smell and taste makes up for it. Their sense of touch is somewhat below average, aside from the tactile portion of their telekinesis (which is considerably higher.)

Viviparous reproduction is almost a must on Plenadi, as staying still long enough to lay eggs is a recipe for disaster unless the creature is especially well adapted. In this harsh environment, the Jalyrkieon family group develops mobility and size very fast – like terrestrial horses, a Jalyrkieon foal is capable of walking within hours of birth – though their mental and sexual development is much slower, the latter pronouncedly so. This may seem contrary to expectations, in light of the dangerous environment, but the Jalyrkieon order’s breeding strategy is more heavily biased towards parental investment, and indeed, this was one of the other driving factors in the Jalyrkieon’s intellectual evolution. This allowed more young to reach sexual maturity, as opposed to simply relying on minimal parental investment after birth as many of the “lower” orders of Plenadi do, and one of the reasons that the Jalyrkieon’s order currently dominates.

Jalyrkieons demonstrate some sexual dimorphism – the males tend to be slightly larger – but otherwise, the difference between the two sexes is not readily apparent. They reach adult size in what is the equivalent of only three or four years, though it takes around eighteen years to reach mental maturity and sexual maturity another four or five years. Juvenile Jalyrkieons are still distinguishable by their more muted colour-scheme (reaching sexual maturity is often referred to as the “flush” referring to the sharpening or even change in the skin-colour.)

This slow maturity rate, particularly of sexuality, is one of the reasons that the Vivrathk and the Jalyrkieons are particularly at odds. Even more than humans do (who the Jalyrkieons have had only anecdotal contact with), the Jalyrkieons find the Vivrathk positively pedarastic, given the latter’s very early sexual maturity and corresponding relaxed standards of societal sexual behaviour.

Jalyrkieons thus have a very strong parental urge, and when their young are endangered, they have been known to go quite berserk, with a notable considerable boost in their telekinetic powers.



Jalyrkieon telekinesis is extremely powerful. It is not well understood, even by the Jalyrkieon themselves, but has both psionic and magical components, and resistant to anti-supernatural fields; while their range and power is reduced, it is very difficult to negate completely. The effect is mostly non-luminescent, though considerable effort from highly skilled individuals can cause the horns and target to dimly glow. (The colour of this glow varies, but is usually white or very pale blue.)

In effect, each of the four horns controls a telekinetic “limb” (though this is greatly oversimplifying), allowing them as much and more manipulatory ability than most creatures with hands and fingers. Their strength is difficult to measure precisely, but can be roughly estimated as being slightly above human average with each “limb” and considerable strength when combined.

The range of this ability is essentially divided into two parts.
They can “feel” with their telekinetic powers with greatest precision close to the horn, where their fine control is greatest. Beyond about half a meter or so, this fine control drops sharply, and they are only capable of more general motions. As an analogue, the difference between the “control radius”, as it is termed, and the extent of their range (“reach radius”) is akin to the difference between hands and arms. Both radius vary by natural talent, and training – such as Jalyrkieon military forces undergo – can significantly improve both.

The “limb” analogy is not a very clear indicator, however, since Jalyrkieon telekinesis is somewhat more flexible than a corporeal limb. Each horn is capable of accomplishing very fine manipulation within the control radius somewhat finer than to what a human might manage with their fingers only in a small diameter, somewhere between six and twelve inches, depending on skill and training. They can manage to manipulate objects in greater numbers over a wider area, though not to the same extent. They could certainly hold a large number of books and flip the pages, but cannot operate more than four devices with small buttons at once. The more area they are forced to spread their telekinesis over, the less strength they can apply (meaning a Jalyrkieon lifting a heavy object will usually lift from one to four places, must as a hominoid with limbs would do.)

Jalyrkieons have very large brains in comparison to their body size, significantly more than most hominoids. Their brains are divided into four lobes, rather than two, each one having control over one horn, as hominoids have left and right hemispheres. Most of this extra brain-matter is dedicated to processing their telekinetic abilities. They are capable of multitasking to a significant degree, and essentially their “telekinetic limbs” can each be doing independent tasks, or working coherently. This ability is somewhat limited by the fact they still have some limits on their ability to process data. They could, say, with some effort and practise, assemble four kits from components simultaneously, though they couldn’t operate something that requires non-tactile input (be it visual, cognitive or auditory) with each horn separately, i.e. they cannot use four separate scanners at once.

Jalyrkieons are able to use their telekinesis very effectively as weapons. While they are not especially adept at hurling large cumbersome objects (like creatures) around, their ability to throw small blades or manipulate simple weapons is extremely high, and the simplicity of such actions means they can often use several with frightening proficiency.

Modern Jalyrkieon soldiers are noted for being very heavily armed for infantry, many carrying the equivalent of two or three rifles or four pistols, which they can use simultaneously (skilled individuals – the sort that would use twin pistols in a hominoid race – can use even more. This makes the amount of fire put out from a Jalyrkieon infantry squad vastly better than a typical hominoid one. (This is somewhat countered, however, by their higher and less easily concealed target profile, however.) With their greater ability to carry munitions as well, due to their body shape lending itself well to portaging, they can also carry a consummate supply of power cells or ammunition. Consequently, anti-armour weapons are also seen in greater numbers in infantry units.

They also have a series of martial arts, which extend beyond the physical to applications of telekinesis. In particular, a trained Jalyrkieon can deliver a telekinetic thrust of enormous strength, and many of these strikes are designed to concentrate as much force as possible in one area, and are thus closing to piercing strikes than bludgeoning ones. (Indeed, a master of the art can inflict wounds akin to ballistic firearms at short ranges).

More subtle and dangerous are the one which extend the control radius of the Jalyrkieon to be able to force an attack inside the body of an opponent (something that normally requires impracticable amounts of effort, concentration and time to do) and literally crush their organs or close off vital blood vessels, leading to incapacitation of death. Some of these arts use physical blows to direct the telekinesis attacks, while the highest forms are unnoticeable and purely mental.

The fight for survival in their prehistory has – not unlike the Vivrathk, as irony would have it – made the Jalyrkieons very aggressive. Their expansionist goals are characterised with a certain cold ruthlessness with regard to other races that distinguishes them from their closest neighbours. This attitude in modern Jalyrkieons was not helped along by their period as a vassal of the Strayvian Empire, until it’s collapse and their abrupt seizure of independence.

The Jalyrkieons were defeated quite badly in their last war against the Vivrathk, and have been undergoing a lengthy period of refitting and rearming in the last couple of decades. This period is coming to a close as it is likely not long before a new war breaks out between the two.

Holy wacamole! That's real fine fluff, Commander.

At some point I might try drawing one, maybe, though if anyone else wants to take a crack at it, I think pretty much any of you could do a better job than me...!

My crack at it. Mostly based off what you said about Diego's work:

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Also, what should be the title of their race We've already got Empires and Kingdoms, Federations and Confederations, Dominions and Aggressions (and they sorta are in the bad guy file) - so, what do you reckon, ponythread? Something different and unusual would be cool.

Hegemonies and Heirarchies don't get used nearly enough.

I have also come to a conclusion, that when it comes to the Jalyrkieon - specifically for naming vehicles, ships and ship classes, that ponythread is going to have the entirely dubious honour of unwittingly helping me.

I'm OK with this.

<Gun stuff>

Bracing is an interesting problem. Unless they use maser/laser weaponry recoil could be problem. I can easily see T-shaped weapons, yes.

[Kyouhen]

Psst, hey Thanqol! Day 1's done!
EDIT:
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[Thanqol]

Indeed. At least the next story I have in line is planned from start to finish, all written down looooong ago.

I've come to realize that, for written stories at least, I much prefer focusing on one or two main characters. Some writers can do big groups well, I don't think I'm one of them.

Pone says you're wrong.

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I see your point. Ideally up until this point I'd have liked to avoid any deaths or dismemberments except Luna's fake one (which did get a fairly strong reaction from many). Poor planning forced me to deal with the pets somehow. Leaving Fluttershy's wounded leg to have no impact at all seemed weak too, but ideally maybe there should have been no wound in the first place.

Ah well, hindsight. Time to move on, do better.

Oh, and one more thing,

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Luna grabbing her own severed horn in her mouth and using it to stab Trixie in the neck was the most badass thing ever.

In order then:

#:squint: The top right ninja's left or right knee?

#Forgetting the eyehighlights is just shameful.

#Pony heads are haaaaaard.

#Yeah me neither upon retrospect.

#Thanks and thanks and thanks.

#I will, tomorrow.

Left knee; that leg looks a little short overall.

Otherwise, looking forwards to it

Psst, hey Thanqol! Day 1's done!

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She's happier than a Pinkie in... a pig with chocolate rain... a Pinkie piggie chocolate pie... pink pig.... wont get fooled again.

[Tiki Snakes]

New Ep;

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Baby Power Mysteries -
Plenty of people have picked up on the 'Random Magic Surge' lines. But right before that, Rainbow says "Aah yeah. Just you wait; once little Pound Cake gets his wings going he'll be AAALLL over the place!"

Apparently it very much is a phase.

Also, you guys don't half tend to get rowdy in here lately. Clearly all this Con-visiting is over stimulating you folks cause suddenly it's wall to wall roughousing whenever I turn my back.