My Little Pony XXXV: The Thread Everypony Should Know

[Forum Explorer]

And, as I can tell you from personal experience, shields are best used with other people in a shield wall. In my youth I did LARPing for a year or two, and my Dad made me a Roman Legionary-sized shield. Not only is it a bugger to cart around (even made of plywood with a (heavily) padded rim), I found it all too easy to get outflanked in the general melee. (Everyone else had "shields", if the had them at all, hat I'd barely qualify as bucklers! They, however, called mine a "table" because it was so big. In fact, it was a little bit undersized, because I wasn't quite full-grown...) Like everything else, shields are not all that easy as you'd think to use, and clearly take a bit of skill or practise to master!

I disagree with that. When I was in a sort of faux medieval fighting club having a shield was very useful even in one on one (or 3 on one) situations. Now granted I was using what I believe to be a kite shield so that changes lots. But I found that the shield allowed me to cover one side of my body as well as my front providing lots of protection from thrown weapons as well as attacks. Would it have been better with a shield wall? Yeah probably. But since we didn't all have identical equipment we couldn't form a proper one and using a shield with a one handed weapon was much easier then duel-wielding, using a two handed weapon, or multiple spears.



As for pony evolution I think their vision is due to a lack of predators. Since they didn't need to watch out for predators selection favored eyes that were closer together for the benefits that depth perception gave them.

As for dragons we've clearly seen that they are at least partially fueled by emotions. Greed can cause a massive growth spurt, so I imagine their flight is fueled by another emotion. Dragons in fact do not need to eat at all (as evidenced by their long naps) and can exist on a purely emotional/magical diet. However gemstones (and other foods) are tasty as well as providing the usual benefits we would expect (increased energy and nutrition) As for the long naps these are generally caused when a dragon becomes more apathetic and use more energy. As they grow bigger they naturally use more energy which causes naps. Similarly apathy means they are taking in less energy and thus need to sleep more as they gather more energy.

[SiuiS]

[FFRP]

Spoiler

Show

"What the heck are you two even arguing about? Seems to me like you're just trying to pick a fight, friend! And besides, half-measures suffice for most things."

*The hunched 'old' bloke pauses for a moment, and then stands tall - impossibly tall - blazing from within with viridian rainbows and silver fire*

This I refute! Half measures are acceptable for No Thing!

*he extends his arm, pointing to Candles' very core* You, pony! You! You are a brilliant, blazing effulgent star! Pregnant with possibility^A, and to say anything else - to settle for mediocrity for the sake of comfort - is a TRAVESTY. You have infinite potential, you have life and limb! Vim and vigor!

*the fires and light fade, perhaps, they never were. Here now is a simple youth, face crumpled with earnest concern. He grabs Candles by the sides of the jaw, pushin back the hat Starry had given him, and looks hard into the colt's face*

You are a beautiful work of the mind and soul, Candles. You are the universe. What separates us is that I know this, and you think these words are just that; hollow, sound, text. You are on a journey of learning, my little pony, of becoming! Infinite becoming, again and again, transcending yourself each time.

I will not beleaguer you about your pace, because each must dance as their rhythm dictates. But to stop, to cease, to say "I have come far enough, I will stay here" is a crime I cannot allow. To give in to this is what the awakened call The Lie; and it is just that, Candles, I promise you. A Lie. Good enough is NEVER good enough, just like there is no lesser evil, there is no greater good. There is being who you are, becoming what you are meant to be, fulfillment! And there is rationalization.

You have come so very far, Candles. You have come from a confused and frightened busybody, shaken a powerful malignancy, won the hearts of the ponychat, and now, when the ball is finally rolling, when momentum is on yor side, now, NOW of all times, you want to take your ball and go? Fold and leave while you're in the black? Every hand is a winner, friend, and every hand is a loser, it's all in how you play.

And at the end of the day, Candles, wounds heal, bones knit and problems sort themselves out. But regret does nothing but eat you alive, and make you waste even more of that precious vitality on frittering your moments in despair.

Half measures are never enough for a full pony. You are so much more than that... Please, if only for yourself, don't let that go out of complacency.

*his momentum having wound down, the Mage curls again with his age, before turning his head, elsewise still as the grave*

Jayden: "We were arguing about two Arcanum spheres, Forces - the mastery of heat, light, sound, gravity, electricity, velocity, ecetera - and Prime - the 'magic of magic', which does countermagic and mana manipulation and so on.

"That's what we were doing. Following this, my gracious opponent cast a spell to dress me in this ridiculous getup and fled the area. So we've moved beyond the realm of civilised debate and into the realm of electric megadeath beam cannons. Like I said before," Jayden said, producing a flashlight with an ominous amount of scorch marks around the bulb, "uncivilised would be much more interesting."

Oh, yes. That.

Come now, Jayden. If you meet every light-hearted prank with electric death salvos, how will you see make any friends?

Oh, well, just... don't murder each other, then?"

*the wizard and the griffon eye each other dramatically at a downward angle, wind blowing through the grass. Is magically between them as in every anime samurai battle ever. There is an audible swallow*
Don't worry, Candles. its amazing what one can live through.

"Don't worry, I don't believe in Death,"

*Control Light+Scrying+Transform Energy - launches telefrag deathray at SiuiS*

[b]EEEEYARRGH I WAS JOKING ABOU THE ELECTRIC DEATH SALVO Gah my face!

Fine! FINE! You know what? You're not that pretty after all!

*SiuiS flings his hand out dramatically, sending transparent violet knives of psychic scorn spiraling towards Jayden's sense of self esteem*

-

Mark II, now with errata!*

ATTENTION EVERYPONY;
OPERATION FAUST
IS NOW IN ITS PLANNING STAGES

Sadly, for those of you not in North America¹ this is irrelevant, and maybe even depressing for some of you. So, spoilers.

Spoiler

Show

1. The Basics
BroNYCon is in approximately five months. It will be a two-day event. It will most likely be on a weekend.
Lauren Faust herself will be there, which means most of the globe will be there. It's a con for Pony, so most of the people will be cool, and those that aren't can be loved, tolerated, both, or just ignored. And we want as much of ponythread there as is humanly, equinely, gryphynly and playgrounderly possible.

And for anyone watching at home; lurkers count. if you are in this thread long enough to wonder if this applies to you, IT DOES.

2. The Operation
The plan is to spend that time coordinating everypony who can and will go, and get them there. If we can ignore the time crunch, it will be fiscally and emotionally better to drive.

Starting approximately 5 days before the conventions starts, Brazen Shield and Starry Notions will rent a van or two and make the 4,000+ mile trip along the 3,503 mile route. On the way, we will pick up as many ponies² as possible, and shuttle them with us. We will then reverse routes, head home, and drop said ponies off. The more ponies we have, the better this trip will be; pick ups will help us foot some of the cost, while also having a cheaper alternative to flight or driving their own way or bussing.

3. Potential Issues
Obviously, this endeavor could fall through big time. If nine out of ten ponies are in southern States, and one is in Canada, we won't be able to swing by for our Canadian friend. If the number of ponies gets to the magical middle ground, we won't be able to fit them in one van, but also won't be able to rent a second van. If a pony backs out at the last second, we may not have enough buffer money to cover the loss (we got lucky, with four jobs providing christmas overtime- not happening until next christmas). If an emergency comes up for me or Braz, we have to drop out and that could mess up EVERYPONY'S plans though one of our goals is redundancy to eliminate this issue.

4. What We Need
Primarily, information. I've been a laypony group organizer for a long time, and the one thing -The. One. Thing! - that is guaranteed to send me into a neurotic fit and tirade, amateur Bleakbane style (possible with more sailor's lingo, to boot) is when EVERYONE responds to "when are you available" with "I dunno, it depends. When is everyone else available?"³

We need to know who wants to come. Who can legally drive in the US. Who handle a bajillion people in their vehicle, all chatting. Who can afford their own trip. Who can afford to be nice and help another pony with their trip, seeing as my previously stated goal was to develop a pool so everypony could go within reason.

This is still conceptual, but the more detail we get the more we can supply. We WILL develop concrete as it happens, so please, feedback! I'll update this regularly, either as a repost or with links to his post as needed (votes on which is preferable are appreciated).

5. REQUIREMENTS
All caps for a reason.

• are you willing AND legal to be a primary or back-up driver?
• money to attend the Con; RSVP with the convention may be a requirement⁴, see footnote.
• money for gas/snacks.
• legal majority OR Guardian Permission - a big one or I'd have forced enticed Vbob to go last time.
• Location: I don't need an address (yet!) and wouldn't have you post it publicly in any case. But I need a rather good general idea so I can start planning routes IMMEDIATELY.
• idea on comfort zones: if being shoved between two burly hairy bronies is a problem, I need to know before I schedule you for Hairy Man Car 2.*
• PJs, blankets, pillows, comfort objects: think camping. No only might we have to rotate-crash in the vehicles, but odds of having mattress rather than floor space at a con are teensy.

6. The Story So Far
We have ~8 ponyfolk willing to come along. We have 11 ponyfolk who need floor space (though I will endeavor to get mattress under everypony). The route, as of now, looks to be a pick-up in the San Francisco area, swooping down into Texas to grab a fellow, then have brunch with Raz Fox⁵, and head through the lower states to New York. Using no landmarks other than San Francisco, Ca; San Antonio, Tx; and New York, NY it looks like a 3,560 mile trip. Three days transit, rounded to four, plus two days in the middle for the convention itself, we will be gone about a week.*

ERRATA: first, RSVP Is Now Required according to the official meetup board for Bronies NYC. So there will be no getting in at the door, though tag-team con tags (where you get a badge from someone who doesn't want to hang around anymore) is still possible.

Second, I somehow derp'd and dropped a digit. 400 miles would get me to Arizona. It's looking more like four thousand. Makes you really appreciate super sonic speeds...




¹: Am I supposed to Capitalize North America? I mean, it's technically a proper noun, but...
²: Humans can come too. No saddle comments though, that's just awkward in mixed company.
³: Seriously. The level of rage this instilled in me is only trumped by the group's confusion at why nopony knew what was going on. Luna's Lightning, but did it not occur to you that I need bricks before I can build a masterpiece out of Lego? I can't conjure matter from Jack, people! I'm not a Moros!
⁴: conventions are funny things; all the ponyfolk and merchandise and music and stuff was awesome, but the really cool part? Walking to breakfast, 24 strong, and all eating. Singing random pony snippets. Hanging out. So if push comes to shove, we could rotate badges or something, but I'd prefer we all get together and ignore the con, rather than leave some folks out. So RSVP is nice, but we shall see.

[Tiki Snakes]

A breif observation on the Dragon Gem eating angle;
There is a potentially unsafe assumption here, that the Gemstones so prevalent across equestria don't have any calorific or nutritional content. I don't think we can bank on that, all things considered.

Though judging by Spike's enjoying the 'Baked Bads' I think it's safe to say Equestrian Dragons very much have a D&D style invincible stomach and are similarly ultra-omnivorous.

Sheilds are useful. Heavy sheilds are unwieldy, sure and there's plenty of technique to master I've no doubt. That doesn't mean that they aren't inherantly better than not having a sheild, or anything. Certainly, Halo-Jackal style Energy Sheilds seem incredibly useful even in a futuristic enviroment and are a decent part of what can make that particular faction challenging to fight (especially when pared with fast moving sniper types)
The mobile-barricade style incredibly-heavy metal sheilds in Gears of War can often be life-savers (provided you can find a side-arm worth pulling the trigger of).

And the direction of fire is only really going to be a major problem in an ambush situation, surely? Otherwise you have a decent idea what direction you'll need to be pointing the thing in.

[Thanqol]

In which it is on.

Spoiler

Show

[FFRP]

*The hunched 'old' bloke pauses for a moment, and then stands tall - impossibly tall - blazing from within with viridian rainbows and silver fire*

This I refute! Half measures are acceptable for No Thing!

*he extends his arm, pointing to Candles' very core* You, pony! You! You are a brilliant, blazing effulgent star! Pregnant with possibility^A, and to say anything else - to settle for mediocrity for the sake of comfort - is a TRAVESTY. You have infinite potential, you have life and limb! Vim and vigor!

*the fires and light fade, perhaps, they never were. Here now is a simple youth, face crumpled with earnest concern. He grabs Candles by the sides of the jaw, pushin back the hat Starry had given him, and looks hard into the colt's face*

You are a beautiful work of the mind and soul, Candles. You are the universe. What separates us is that I know this, and you think these words are just that; hollow, sound, text. You are on a journey of learning, my little pony, of becoming! Infinite becoming, again and again, transcending yourself each time.

I will not beleaguer you about your pace, because each must dance as their rhythm dictates. But to stop, to cease, to say "I have come far enough, I will stay here" is a crime I cannot allow. To give in to this is what the awakened call The Lie; and it is just that, Candles, I promise you. A Lie. Good enough is NEVER good enough, just like there is no lesser evil, there is no greater good. There is being who you are, becoming what you are meant to be, fulfillment! And there is rationalization.

You have come so very far, Candles. You have come from a confused and frightened busybody, shaken a powerful malignancy, won the hearts of the ponychat, and now, when the ball is finally rolling, when momentum is on yor side, now, NOW of all times, you want to take your ball and go? Fold and leave while you're in the black? Every hand is a winner, friend, and every hand is a loser, it's all in how you play.

And at the end of the day, Candles, wounds heal, bones knit and problems sort themselves out. But regret does nothing but eat you alive, and make you waste even more of that precious vitality on frittering your moments in despair.

Half measures are never enough for a full pony. You are so much more than that... Please, if only for yourself, don't let that go out of complacency.

*his momentum having wound down, the Mage curls again with his age, before turning his head, elsewise still as the grave*

In the few moments after the Electric Death Salvo was launched and before it hit, Jayden briefly wonders if she made a mistake, because she agreed fairly comprehensively with that.

Oh, yes. That.

Come now, Jayden. If you meet every light-hearted prank with electric death salvos, how will you see make any friends?

"In retrospect you might be on to something."

*the wizard and the griffon eye each other dramatically at a downward angle, wind blowing through the grass. Is magically between them as in every anime samurai battle ever. There is an audible swallow*
Don't worry, Candles. its amazing what one can live through.

[b]EEEEYARRGH I WAS JOKING ABOU THE ELECTRIC DEATH SALVO Gah my face!

Fine! FINE! You know what? You're not that pretty after all!

*SiuiS flings his hand out dramatically, sending transparent violet knives of psychic scorn spiraling towards Jayden's sense of self esteem*

Jayden, remarkably, is actually trained really well in psychic self-defence. In response to the attack on her mind, her mind breaks into two - one of which immediately starts wallowing in insecure self-pity and the other remains dedicated and focused on the job at hand.

"You think I don't know that?" she chokes out the sob, even as untrembling talons go through the workings of the next spell, "You think I didn't once get that impression growing up? With my mom being who she is?" the voice changes instantly to calm and reasonable, "To the moon."

Jayden releases the torch, and the spell activates - magnetism. The torch flies from her claws and attaches itself to SiuiS' leg.

Then the spells already on it kick in. The amplify light creates a ray of light brighter than the sun, the Transform Energy coverts it into fire - and the end result is a rocket thruster attached unbreakably to SiuiS' leg and aimed at the moon.

Blast off commencing.

-

[SaintRidley]

Bronycon? Possible. I'm in southern Minnesota, so I suppose it would largely depend on whether the route comes up this way in the end.

Also tentative in terms of money.

Mark a maybe? (Maybe for 2, even, if the fiancee is up for coming and we are able).

[Soras Teva Gee]

And the direction of fire is only really going to be a major problem in an ambush situation, surely? Otherwise you have a decent idea what direction you'll need to be pointing the thing in.

Or when you are flanked, or any time the enemy is attacking divided into two or more groups to provide multiple angles of fire. Combatting this puts you into a tight formation which has its disadvantages too depending on what else is in play and how mobile you need to be

Also talking of future/modernish settings no shield is completely safe even if stopping bullets because of ricochets. And the sort of formations you need to stop multiple angles of fire are begging for someone to put a heavy weapon into them.

[Dirtbag]

...after all what highschool bully could ever be converted to the joy and bliss that is FiM.

Ooh~ Me! :3

[Tiki Snakes]

Or when you are flanked, or any time the enemy is attacking divided into two or more groups to provide multiple angles of fire. Combatting this puts you into a tight formation which has its disadvantages too depending on what else is in play and how mobile you need to be

Also talking of future/modernish settings no shield is completely safe even if stopping bullets because of ricochets. And the sort of formations you need to stop multiple angles of fire are begging for someone to put a heavy weapon into them.

If you're being attacked from multiple directions, then it's pretty much over anyway. If it's not that bad yet, I don't see how a sheild would do anything other than help.
But yeah, explosives are a good way of dealing with the sheild using Jackals, too.

[SiuiS]

Ach. Random glitch ate my post. sorry Thanqoloo, but Siui Belle doesn't have the energy for another go right now. You'll have to check with Razzle Bloom.

-

RebelHero;

Been meaning to write this up proper for a while. Again, time slips by. So you're stuck with this slipshod variant until I get time to buckle down and ART.

[Meta] [FFRP] [stretch]

Spoiler

Show

SiuiS



Really, really, really old wizard. Self incarnating entity. Big dang Mary Sue and unashamed of it, though polite. His character has endured so long he has become somewhat plain. Enjoys study, passionate endeavor and challenges. Tries really hard to overcome challenges via cleverness rather than the more obvious brute-force approach. Doesn't always succeed, but has a good enough sense of humor to roll with it when this makes him look silly.

Started as fighter, then paladin, then wizard; enjoyed the metamage kit until 3e kicked in. advanced through Archmage, had some mix ups and is currently a DvR1(technically) bard, of all things.

Starry Notions


Pony analogue, with a similar yet different backstory. At the lowest level, goes by the name Stars, and exists entirely in-universe. At top level, Starry Notions is just as meta-inclined as SiuiS, though much more focused, having only Equestria to worry about. As Stars, he travels gypsy-style, occasionally meeting up with folks in Ponyville that he's met over time.

There is some confusion as to whether Stars and Starry are actually different. Ponies or not. Their response is usually a grin, and "I am contractually obligated to give you a misleading response."

Starry



Starry is an odd duck. Ostensibly she is an essential echo; a perfect simulacra used for multitasking. In reality she is a sliver of thought that ran away and became a discrete personage of her own, via [REDACTED]. And now we're stuck with her.

Starry is enthusiastic and youngly naive. If something is goin down, she will be there with bells on - literally, the bells on a rig on her horn being designed to chime at the right frequency to disable her in case she decided to do anything that would make the rest of us look bad. The sensitivity is a touch high, however, and occasionally hearing stories from other ponies about doing bad things is enough to activate the charm.

Starry is remarkably chipper, unless you bring up the whole "brain shuts down under certain stimulus" thing. Then she gets irate.

And for reference, I'm SiuiS.
I'm stars, and I tend to be quiet because I resemble SiuiS and he has a loud mouth.
And I'm starry! Hi~!

And that should clear up just about nothing.

[Kindablue]

Second, I somehow derp'd and dropped a digit. 400 miles would get me to Arizona. It's looking more like four thousand. Makes you really appreciate super sonic speeds...

... how did I miss that?

[Thanqol]

And that should clear up just about nothing.

I feel like I know less than when I started. Like you have stolen knowledge from me.

EDIT

d.notive is amazing.


We all know that you know that you can't let it go
It's a pony that you want but the universe says no
it's a brony that you are but not a brony that you'll be
if you ever go so far as to ever love a pony.

[Rebelhero]

RebelHero;

Been meaning to write this up proper for a while. Again, time slips by. So you're stuck with this slipshod variant until I get time to buckle down and ART.

-SNIP-
And for reference, I'm SiuiS.
I'm stars, and I tend to be quiet because I resemble SiuiS and he has a loud mouth.
And I'm starry! Hi~!

And that should clear up just about nothing.

Oh ok! no color difference between SiuiS and Stars then.
Have to keep an Eye on that.

Starry is remarkably chipper, unless you bring up the whole "brain shuts down under certain stimulus" thing. Then she gets irate.

*Grins madly*
Oh dear... oh no.. sky.. dont do it...sky! NO! DONT!
*Wields a Harem outfit* whatttttttt?! i saved one from the those magical traps a while back! Shes locked down, we can do what ever we want to her!
How in celestia's name did i ever get any sleep near you? *backs away from them*

EDIT

d.notive is amazing.

...This...this is TOO GOOD. All the faves. I dont have enough thumbs.

[Noctemwolf]

Man, it took some hunting to find this..... 0-0******

Ahh, this is a complicated question. I'll try to explain how I do it.

*Snipped due to length. Awesome length.*

Thanquol? Can I just say YOU ARE A GENIUS?!?!

Your ideas on how to flesh out a personality really inspired me. I think I may finally have built a true, living character for
my stories. It even prompted me to go further and flesh out his life, his work, his job... everything.

I just wanted to thank you for that. You, sir, are genius.
You need to take those ideas and put it into a book. You'd make millions.

anyways...
Your idea also helped get me out of this strange funk I was in by really getting me to think about why it was I writing in the first place. I've been in this weird state of worry and panic, and whenever I would sit down to write or compose, I would freeze up. My mind shut down, and I would just sit there and constantly worry and go "I can't do this. What will they think? I'll never be as good as (Insert artist here). I've got to do this now, before the whole thing ends." I finally realized; I'm not writing for anyone but myself. This isn't about whether I'm better than the guy next to me,This isn't about pleasing everyone else... It's about enjoying pushing yourself to do better the next time, to know what you can do, and just enjoy writing for the sake of it, and not because you feel forced to by someone else. I've also been feeling I need to get everything done now, but I know I have such a long life ahead of me, I think I will Have time to work on it. =)
So... once more, have a gracious shower of thanks from me.

Also, Love the song. Thanks for sharing! =D

[Dexam]

I feel like I know less than when I started. Like you have stolen knowledge from me.

EDIT

d.notive is amazing.


We all know that you know that you can't let it go
It's a pony that you want but the universe says no
it's a brony that you are but not a brony that you'll be
if you ever go so far as to ever love a pony.

Mmmm, funky... but I prefer After Hours with Rarity and his Becoming Popular (1987 House Remix) is a guilty nostalgic pleasure.

[Aotrs Commander]

Ugh. Facehoof indeed.
What wasn't that your idea?!

*cough* I don't know what you're talking about. I most certainly did not weld a hundred cattle prods to a capital starship missile!

It was two hundred, wasn't it?

...

...

...no...?

*sigh*

[color="darkgreen"]That's the thing. I'm not saying make them carry around cumbersome but useless riot shields; I'm asking if, given technological advances and the full understanding of their Telekinesis, could they carry around bunker walls? Mobile cover? A lot of the encumbrance issue is mitigated because they could not only transport but also wield the device. And it wouldn't be used like a shield, to parry bullets - it would be planted, maybe extra anchored with some TK, and fired around without having to expose the soldier. Metallurgically it is feasible, if expensive. The callibur of weapon that would breach it would be enough that they wouldn't try to hide behind said cover from it anyway.

Your responses make me lean towards no, and I'm only beating this issue because I'm not sure I'm coming across clearly, is all. I say 'shield' and I mean 'as effective as a five foot thick earthen rampart'.

Nah, they're not strong enough. Their TK is about as strong as four human limbs, and considerably stronger when combined (more than the sum of the parts) - however that's "in comparison to humans¹," and is probably not much more than five or six arm-equivalent's combined. (Granted, in concert with their physical strength, they've got a lot of carrying capacity strength, way more humans, but that's not the issue). They aren't superhero strength (not even Spider-Man's level), and carrying something that's sturdy enough to do the job is not practical. Their engineering teams might, but then they won't be fighting, and engineering teams are a whole different story.

(I mean, in terms of brute strength, the Strayvians are much stronger. Strayvians are seven-foot tall and almost literally built like the proverbial s...outhouse as they appear to be made of armour-plated lava. (They actually aren't but Strayvian biology is a story for another time...) Strayvians are actually climbers, meaning despite their size, they are very agile, and for another, their fingers and toes have a clamp-lock mechanism that when snaps shut, can literaly crush rock (and it's one of those automatic-lock jobs, which means it's near impossible to break their grip, even if you kill the bugger.) On top of that, the buggers are one of those "Smarter Than You" races - part of their biology is silicone based, meaning they quite literally have organic-computer brains in terms of processing speed. They also have a nervous system that's based on heat transfer, not electricity, so you can't EMP 'em - exept at VERY high levels enough to penetrate the braincase, which is usually fatal - and it means they are also very fast in reaction. About the only good thing about 'em from our perspective is that they are especially vulnerable to cold-based weapons. And if you're wondering, if these guys are all that - and remembering the fact their one of the top tech-level guys too - why they don't rule the galaxy, it's worth remembering they DID. The Strayvian Empire lasted for centuries, and was larger than pretty much all the current major powers combined. Too big, in fact, and eventually collapsed to due corruption and the fact there were too many Strayvians spread too thin and going all Mad Scientist Evil Villain.)

What were that I said about ramblin'?

That was also in the back of my mind. Could these small, mobile walls be technologically reinforced? We are dealing with Yes, because tech limits are obvious and minimal. I am ignoring whether it's cost effective, and trying to see whether it would be likely to protect a soldier rather than get him killed faster.

It might be feasible at the engineering level (though are often better you slapping a full shield generator down), but the Jalyrkieon can't build shields that small, they just don't have the appropriate technology. Shields are harder to build the smaller the volume to surface area is. It's actually much easier to shield a big ship than a smaller one (to a certain threshold, where the power-output technology to total magnitude of energy required becomes important). Infantry level shields are not very common. We have 'em (on WarDroids and Powered Armour), and the Herosines have 'em (we bought our first WarDroids off the Herosines - they might be a bit lower tech in the starship department, but their ground-force technology is extremely good.)

Rambling is fun~

Yes. Yes it is.

[color="darkgreen"]Magic can be looked at in this regard based on understanding. I know that electricity is the flow of electrons from teeny tiny particles. And that this current acts like electricity. I know electricity can cause movement in physical objects, I can even from how. I know that adding a bunch of on/off gates to a circuit board allows for complicated circuitry, but at this level I start to lose cohesion. Between "electricity make copper open or close" and "this is the Internet" I am baffled.Magic that is done at the level of "I don't know how it works, but it does" is just the result of over-achieving "Magus Colleges" removing the footwork. And I'm sure you've seen people come up with perfectly reasonable, logical, even functional rationales for why their computer behaves the way it does, even though with basic computer knowledge you know they are dead wrong.

Magic that's just magic means someone doesn't know why it works, just that it does. This ignorance doesn't make their art any less scientific, it just makes it more heuristic as such mages are likely to experiment and find things out, but not using due scientific process. And saying this isn't magic or isn't science is bunk, because computers are basically science AND magic; how by fire does a moving electron abstract upwards into an Xbox game? Magic is the best answer I can give you.

Interesing link to an article brought up on another thread on a similar subject.

Short version, this chap (a fantasy author, apparently, though not one I've heard of, thought that means nothing) reckons that the more "magic is not understandable/mysterious" you get, the less you're allowed to rely on it to solve the story problems (he points out Lord of the Rings is a bit like that - we never really know how it works, but at the same time, Gandalf can't just use Teleport and Fly to trivialise the trip to Mordor.) It's an interesting idea, I think.

I disagree with that. When I was in a sort of faux medieval fighting club having a shield was very useful even in one on one (or 3 on one) situations. Now granted I was using what I believe to be a kite shield so that changes lots. But I found that the shield allowed me to cover one side of my body as well as my front providing lots of protection from thrown weapons as well as attacks. Would it have been better with a shield wall? Yeah probably. But since we didn't all have identical equipment we couldn't form a proper one and using a shield with a one handed weapon was much easier then duel-wielding, using a two handed weapon, or multiple spears.

The mob were fantasy LARPers, and didn't use much thrown weaponry (don't think we were allowed, actually). You probably get a lot more out of a shield when dealing with situations that are more appropriate.

And I was using a wall shield (it's wasn't quite a scutum, because it wasn't curved, but it was the same frontage size as one.)

And the direction of fire is only really going to be a major problem in an ambush situation, surely? Otherwise you have a decent idea what direction you'll need to be pointing the thing in.

No, no, so much no. Not in the real world, where you have so much less idea where the bad guys are; heck, half of the battle is usually finding them².) The real world is so very much bigger than even in computer games, and so much more full of crap, junk and miscellanous stuff ig your way. You need so little to hide a dude. A pavement curb is deep enough to provide some cover for a lying down-human, from certain angles of attack or at a good long distance. Not to mention urban fighting, assaults and so on...

Something worth doing it, when you're next out and about, look around you and think: okay, I'm going to move down this street? Where are the positions the bad guys could shoot me from? Because I doubt even many computer games have hundreds of houses, which you can find in any mid-sized village. Or while out in the countryside, look around you and see how far you can actually see, and you'll quickly realise it's actually not nearly so much as Hollywood would have you believe! (Of course, if you happen to live in the desert or a very flat place, like parts of Germany or Norfolk or something, congratulations - you are probably in one of the few places that bears a resemblence to many wargames tables...!)

This is one of those areas popular media tends to ignore or even gloss over a fair bit, even in a lot of FPS (some of the more modern ones might be a bit better, I don't know, but they still are very different to the real world.) Most of the time, you will barely see the guys you're shooting at.

If you're being attacked from multiple directions, then it's pretty much over anyway. If it's not that bad yet, I don't see how a sheild would do anything other than help.
But yeah, explosives are a good way of dealing with the sheild using Jackals, too.

Squads covering each other is and setting up multiple avenues of fire is absolutely the basic modern infantry tactics. You set up so wherever the guy goes, you can hit him from several places. Real-world tactics are nothing like say 40K. You don't set up to attack the guy's front, you set up to attack the guy in both sides. They stopped doing frontal attacks (apart from really dozy generals who didn't give a frag about their men's lives) after World War I, when they realised charging into automatic weapons really kinda doesn't work. Getting concentration of fire onto the enemy is one of the basic tennents of warfare (see Sun Tsu). Assuming you're so good that the enemy will never outflank you or surprise you is a very quick way to be really killed dead. (See 18th-19th century Colonial British Army...)

Besides, if you're in one spot long enough, you dig in and entrench, because that's a much better way to ensure the enemy can only get at you from one direction. And there's masking terrain as well (I.e. parking your tank so that there's Stuff - like close copse of trees or a rock, or an undualtion in the ground - hiding one of your sides from both sight and shot.



¹When I say things like "considerably" I tned to mean "like within 10-50%, maybe up to 100% at the outside", not an order of magnitude. I mean, you could argue an average Orc in D&D (after racial bonus and modal stat-allocation bias e.g. to Warrior/Fighter) is "considerably stronger" than an average human, but it's about 15-20% stronger (i.e. a +3 to +4 bonus difference (not stat, bonus, the business end) which in the real world, is still a heck of a lot.

²Scanners don't actually help quite as much as popular opinion would have you believe.

[Thanqol]

Thanquol? Can I just say YOU ARE A GENIUS?!?!

I seem to be getting that a lot lately. Really, thank you, it means so much to me that I'm able to help people in any way I can.

Your ideas on how to flesh out a personality really inspired me. I think I may finally have built a true, living character for
my stories. It even prompted me to go further and flesh out his life, his work, his job... everything.

I think that's the beauty of that method. Once you start from the core, everything else writes itself. The only thing that limits you is the number and type of questions you ask.

I just wanted to thank you for that. You, sir, are genius.
You need to take those ideas and put it into a book. You'd make millions.

I've been told that a few times. I've been sketching the outline of Thanqol's Guide To Everything in the back of my head for a while now.

anyways...
Your idea also helped get me out of this strange funk I was in by really getting me to think about why it was I writing in the first place. I've been in this weird state of worry and panic, and whenever I would sit down to write or compose, I would freeze up. My mind shut down, and I would just sit there and constantly worry and go "I can't do this. What will they think? I'll never be as good as (Insert artist here). I've got to do this now, before the whole thing ends." I finally realized; I'm not writing for anyone but myself. This isn't about whether I'm better than the guy next to me,This isn't about pleasing everyone else... It's about enjoying pushing yourself to do better the next time, to know what you can do, and just enjoy writing for the sake of it, and not because you feel forced to by someone else. I've also been feeling I need to get everything done now, but I know I have such a long life ahead of me, I think I will Have time to work on it. =)
So... once more, have a gracious shower of thanks from me.

Also, Love the song. Thanks for sharing! =D

Yes! Yes! This! By writing for yourself and against yourself, you're going to find your own voice, your own balance, your own path to self improvement. Be self reliant. Don't need the external world; don't measure yourself in comparison to it. The external world is flawed; it will let you down, and if you need it, then that will devastate you.

The only thing that is perfect is your own mind. Be content within that and you'll be content no matter what the world throws at you. This isn't to say reject external things; no, embrace them, embrace those people and all they have to offer. But the only approval you should ever need is your own.

Mmmm, funky... but I prefer After Hours with Rarity and his Becoming Popular (1987 House Remix) is a guilty nostalgic pleasure.

Honestly, d.notive is making a serious bid for best active pony musician.

[Lix Lorn]

Harem pants made Jayden angry. This makes her blush.

Victory. ^^
...wait, jayden has feelings beside anger?

Mask: "Then what did I just steal?" *Looks; it's a Guild of Chains newsletter starring her* "Lix!"

It was Raz' idea!
...
Wait...
...
He still has a bounty on you.
If I take you to him I get a hug.
Counter-offer, my dear?

'I'm only happy when it rains.'

My only comfort is the night gone black.

Lixie: I may also know how to purr, but it's entirely reflexive. Aeolus be much better if I could do it on command...

I can purr on command.

Don't worry, if things get too crazy, I've got the new and improved sanityinator ready to restore order!

Wasn't the Sanityinator a cattleprod duct-taped to a Snake warhead?

Yes, but that was the prototype. The horribly, painfully unsucessful prototype. The Mark II is purpose built!

Hff! Yeah, right! What did you do, weld a hundred cattle prods to a capital starship missile?

...

...

...No...?

*facepalm*

You are my very favourite magical space lich. xD

(Which is why you guys spell colour and armour wrong¹.)

(British brohoof)
(Is actually starting to drop the u due to spending too much time on the net ._.)

[Thanqol]

Victory. ^^
...wait, jayden has feelings beside anger?

Oh, yes. She just knows 'Transmute Lame Emotions Into Anger' as a rote. It hasn't exactly done wonders for her life, because the moment she stops doing that seven years of guilt, loneliness and pain will come crashing back all at once.

This just happened in the tabletop she's in. Still waiting to see where that depression's going to take her.

It was Raz' idea!
...
Wait...
...
He still has a bounty on you.
If I take you to him I get a hug.
Counter-offer, my dear?

Mask: *grumble* "I wish I could say being blackmailed into shipping was a new one. Fine. Counter-offer is your pick of a tango or a waltz."

(British brohoof)
(Is actually starting to drop the u due to spending too much time on the net ._.)

Urgh, I caught myself doing that too. This is how it starts. Fortunately, I've trained Spellcheck to flag 'color' as incorrect.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

(British brohoof)
(Is actually starting to drop the u due to spending too much time on the net ._.)

Urgh, I caught myself doing that too. This is how it starts. Fortunately, I've trained Spellcheck to flag 'color' as incorrect.

It the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING.

And I do it too. Makes me feel a like a filthy, filthy traitor every time. When I catch myself I do penance by drinking scalding tea and saying the word 'trousers' over and over.

I can purr on command.

I can do it on command, but I usually do it reflexively. I've recieved some weird looks, let me tell you

[Lix Lorn]

Oh, yes. She just knows 'Transmute Lame Emotions Into Anger' as a rote. It hasn't exactly done wonders for her life, because the moment she stops doing that seven years of guilt, loneliness and pain will come crashing back all at once.

This just happened in the tabletop she's in. Still waiting to see where that depression's going to take her.

Huh.
I think I need to hug her now.

Mask: *grumble* "I wish I could say being blackmailed into shipping was a new one. Fine. Counter-offer is your pick of a tango or a waltz."

Oooh, tango. ^_^

Urgh, I caught myself doing that too. This is how it starts. Fortunately, I've trained Spellcheck to flag 'color' as incorrect.

Ha. xD It mostly happens to me when homebrewing for d&d or exalted, cause they use armor a lot and it's easier to try and be consistent.

[Kyouhen]

Nah, you just can't really explain big flying creatures away without some sort of magic, they're just too big and too far away in shape from actual flying physics.

I can!

Spoiler

Show

So I'll put you down as needing space for sleep, but not travel. *Question; what part of Canada do you live in, and if we get other Canadian bronies on line, would you be willing to be picked up with them? I mean, of it's a situation where I'll be nearby anyway, would you change your mind, or is it a matter of bein able to leave when you need to, not when the group does?

Southern Ontario, Greater Toronto Area. Public transit is easy to reach here and can get me to a good number of cities beyond the GTA, so in terms of people driving out 'near' here I have a pretty good reach. If someone has access to a vehicle and plans on doing some driving I'll happily join them, otherwise I'll just take the bus again. I'll take whatever solution results in maximum pony time.

[TheAmishPirate]

Hey Amish Pirate

posted this a bit ago but i dont think you saw it since it was a bottom of page post...or i missed your comment on it if you did

Spoiler

Show

*the Pip has been glomped*

I've seen this before, but daggum if Pip isn't best pony.

[the_druid_droid]

Speaking of variant spellings, I spend so much time reading and chatting with Brits/Aussies that I've got to resist the temptation to add the u in...and for a very long time I've been switching terminal r and e.

[Aotrs Commander]

I can!

Spoiler

Show

Touché, Kyouhen, Touché.

[TheAmishPirate]

I feel like this is only tangentially relevant to the British variant spelling topic.

[Aotrs Commander]

I feel like this is only tangentially relevant to the British variant spelling topic.

I say, tally-ho! Jolly good show, that stallion! Spiffing!

[PhantomFox]

I have a hankering for rewatching some episodes, but I don't have anyone on my Trillian who's available right now. What says I set up a synchtube room and get some ponies together and watch a few?

Now... should I just make the room and post it here, or would that be frowned upon by the powers that be?

[Kyouhen]

Touché, Kyouhen, Touché.

I have to ask though. Why is Pinkie Pie wearing Starry's hat in that picture?

[Vorpalbob]

ATTENTION EVERYPONY;
OPERATION FAUST
IS NOW IN ITS PLANNING STAGES

Sadly, for those of you not in North America¹ this is irrelevant, and maybe even depressing for some of you. So, spoilers.

Spoiler

Show

1. The Basics
BroNYCon is in approximately five months. It will be a two-day event. It will most likely be on a weekend.
Lauren Faust herself will be there, which means most of the globe will be there. It's a con for Pony, so most of the people will be cool, and those that aren't can be loved, tolerated, both, or just ignored. And we want as much of ponythread there as is humanly, equinely, gryphynly and playgrounderly possible.

And for anyone watching at home; lurkers count. if you are in this thread long enough to wonder if this applies to you, IT DOES.

2. The Operation
The plan is to spend that time coordinating everypony who can and will go, and get them there. If we can ignore the time crunch, it will be fiscally and emotionally better to drive.

Starting approximately 5 days before the conventions starts, Brazen Shield and Starry Notions will rent a van or two and make the 4,000+ mile trip along the 3,503 mile route. On the way, we will pick up as many ponies² as possible, and shuttle them with us. We will then reverse routes, head home, and drop said ponies off. The more ponies we have, the better this trip will be; pick ups will help us foot some of the cost, while also having a cheaper alternative to flight or driving their own way or bussing.

3. Potential Issues
Obviously, this endeavor could fall through big time. If nine out of ten ponies are in southern States, and one is in Canada, we won't be able to swing by for our Canadian friend. If the number of ponies gets to the magical middle ground, we won't be able to fit them in one van, but also won't be able to rent a second van. If a pony backs out at the last second, we may not have enough buffer money to cover the loss (we got lucky, with four jobs providing christmas overtime- not happening until next christmas). If an emergency comes up for me or Braz, we have to drop out and that could mess up EVERYPONY'S plans though one of our goals is redundancy to eliminate this issue.

4. What We Need
Primarily, information. I've been a laypony group organizer for a long time, and the one thing -The. One. Thing! - that is guaranteed to send me into a neurotic fit and tirade, amateur Bleakbane style (possible with more sailor's lingo, to boot) is when EVERYONE responds to "when are you available" with "I dunno, it depends. When is everyone else available?"³

We need to know who wants to come. Who can legally drive in the US. Who handle a bajillion people in their vehicle, all chatting. Who can afford their own trip. Who can afford to be nice and help another pony with their trip, seeing as my previously stated goal was to develop a pool so everypony could go within reason.

This is still conceptual, but the more detail we get the more we can supply. We WILL develop concrete as it happens, so please, feedback! I'll update this regularly, either as a repost or with links to his post as needed (votes on which is preferable are appreciated).

5. REQUIREMENTS
All caps for a reason.

• are you willing AND legal to be a primary or back-up driver?
• money to attend the Con; RSVP with the convention may be a requirement⁴, see footnote.
• money for gas/snacks.
• legal majority OR Guardian Permission - a big one or I'd have forced enticed Vbob to go last time.
• Location: I don't need an address (yet!) and wouldn't have you post it publicly in any case. But I need a rather good general idea so I can start planning routes IMMEDIATELY.
• idea on comfort zones: if being shoved between two burly hairy bronies is a problem, I need to know before I schedule you for Hairy Man Car 2.*
• PJs, blankets, pillows, comfort objects: think camping. No only might we have to rotate-crash in the vehicles, but odds of having mattress rather than floor space at a con are teensy.

6. The Story So Far
We have ~8 ponyfolk willing to come along. We have 11 ponyfolk who need floor space (though I will endeavor to get mattress under everypony). The route, as of now, looks to be a pick-up in the San Francisco area, swooping down into Texas to grab a fellow, then have brunch with Raz Fox⁵, and head through the lower states to New York. Using no landmarks other than San Francisco, Ca; San Antonio, Tx; and New York, NY it looks like a 3,560 mile trip. Three days transit, rounded to four, plus two days in the middle for the convention itself, we will be gone about a week.*

ERRATA: first, RSVP Is Now Required according to the official meetup board for Bronies NYC. So there will be no getting in at the door, though tag-team con tags (where you get a badge from someone who doesn't want to hang around anymore) is still possible.

Second, I somehow derp'd and dropped a digit. 400 miles would get me to Arizona. It's looking more like four thousand. Makes you really appreciate super sonic speeds...




¹: Am I supposed to Capitalize North America? I mean, it's technically a proper noun, but...
²: Humans can come too. No saddle comments though, that's just awkward in mixed company.
³: Seriously. The level of rage this instilled in me is only trumped by the group's confusion at why nopony knew what was going on. Luna's Lightning, but did it not occur to you that I need bricks before I can build a masterpiece out of Lego? I can't conjure matter from Jack, people! I'm not a Moros!
⁴: conventions are funny things; all the ponyfolk and merchandise and music and stuff was awesome, but the really cool part? Walking to breakfast, 24 strong, and all eating. Singing random pony snippets. Hanging out. So if push comes to shove, we could rotate badges or something, but I'd prefer we all get together and ignore the con, rather than leave some folks out. So RSVP is nice, but we shall see.

...
...
...
By that time, I'll be 18. Legally an adult in Canada. And also working. Therefore having money. As much as I'd like to join you guys for the road trip (because road trips are awesome and need to happen more), such a plan might not be feasible considering my geographical location. *points North*

Here's my deal: Even if I'm not working, scraping together the money for a return flight to New York won't be too much of a hassle, especially if my bro Waffles and I start busking here in town. Also, being 18, crossing the border won't be an issue. The clincher is lodgings.

I'm not opposed to floor space, if somepony is willing to provide, it's just my mothe-
*looks at text above*

*Specifically text regarding age*

Legal adult and paying my own way?

She can do nothing.
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

But seriously, if I can get myself a job and/or start busking regularly, this is definitely looking to be a thing that can happen!
~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, yesterday I held a brony meetup at my house! It was a sort of jam session, with everypony who played an instrument bringing one. At final count, we had two guitarists, three bassists, two drummers, and a dude banging on the cowbells.

We did a very, very sad punkish rendition of Hush Now Quiet Now before we decided to lay the instruments aside and go watch the new episode.

Now, you see, my local brony community has some... personalities. There's the guy who brings his camera to every meetup and films the goings-on (who sadly could not make it), the guy who put vodka-infused whipped cream on his pizza that one time (he was there), the guy who stuck a cupcake in his eye... The list goes on.

But there's this one girl. She's cosplayed as Pinkie at every meetup I've been to so far. Thing is? She's REALLY GOOD AT IT. Like, creepily good. Also, her character occassionally slips into a more Pinkamina-esque personality.

Particularly when she's holding sharp objects.

Spoiler

Show

What you see is my musical saw. You hit it with a mallet, or bow it, and it makes a cool noise. It is also, apparently, quite cuddly.

...

In case you haven't already figured it out, we Vancouver bronies are a bit odd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One final thing before I return you to your regularly scheduled poni.

My play, which I have been working on for several months now, is premiering tomorrow!

I was originally the director, until my cast asked me to take on a small role, which kept growing in size until it was a lead. And keep in mind, I didn't want to act this year! I wanted to focus on directing! My cast just gave me the role!

So tomorrow, in front of all of my peers, I shall take the stage...

As The Great and Powerful Trixie.

Click "See More" and look at the name of the first show.

Don't worry, I'll get somepony to record it. It will make it's way to the internet. I wouldn't let you folks down like that.

[Lix Lorn]

I have to ask though. Why is Pinkie Pie wearing Starry's hat in that picture?

Aotrs turned Starry into a Pinkie.

But seriously, if I can get myself a job and/or start busking regularly, this is definitely looking to be a thing that can happen!

You keep saying busking.
I keep reading bucking.

Maybe Applejack could use another pair of hooves?