The Ponies Answer: Part Three · 1:18am Jun 10th, 2013
Hey, guys! More answers, coming at ya'! You'll be hearing a lot from Twilight today. Of course, if you get bored, you can skip to the bottom and ask somepony awesome a question.
Just sayin'.
Dear anypony,
What is the proper etiquette for washing one's hooves? In human culture, it's before eating and after using the rest room, but I imagine there's a higher frequency in a quadrupedal society.
Actually, you might be surprised.
Ponies can, and sometimes do, eat grass off the ground. Our stomachs are designed to eat a certain amount of dirt, and the things that go with it, without making us sick. Obviously if our hooves are particularly dirty we want to wash them before we eat, but nopony sees anything wrong with having a sandwich without washing their hooves.
And, um, I’m not sure why you’d need to wash your hooves after using the restroom. Our hooves aren’t really involved in that, usually.
Anyway, that’s for day-to-day manners. If you’re at a formal occasion, it’s polite to wear shoes. While shoes are going to get a little dirty on the walk to the location, you at least haven’t been tracking through mud or anything else.
Dear Rarity,
When on route to a formal occasion, I have occasionally found myself in the regrettable situation of physical confrontation with some variety of ruffian. What is the best way to go about this with some peace of mind that one's attire will remain at least marginally presentable, and how does one explain the bloodstains and other signs of struggle when being served hors d'oeuvres? -Dangerous Path Outside Canterlot
Well, the obvious answer is that you may wish to take a safer route to your engagements.
Barring that, since I see that you are located in Canterlot, one could consider removing one’s clothing at the first sign of trouble. If there’s no place suitable to hang it, the garment may become wrinkled, but it should avoid the problem of bloodstains.
I understand this is considered rather more difficult for our human readers, and of course if one is set upon suddenly one may not have time to remove one’s garments. In this case, one must fight while keeping in mind the following priorities, in this order: One’s safety, one’s physical appearance, and one’s garments.
Looking fabulous is of no use if one’s plans change from attending the Gala to a visit to to the hospital, so safety always comes first. Beyond that, one’s appearance, including coiffure, hooves, and coat also outweigh even the most stunning outfit.
If one arrives at a party, and one is physically safe, one should mention to the host that one had a bit of trouble along the way, and ask to powder one’s nose. In the bathroom, repair anything possible. Keeping a small sewing kit may help with small tears, and cold water and salt may get stains out of even delicate fabrics.
Finally, when one is as recovered as possible, we come to the most delicate part of the situation. Nopony in polite society will comment on a pony’s rough state, but one may certainly be the subject of conversations and stares. To this end, it’s helpful to bring up the situation oneself, under the guise of making conversation. Discussing the safety of the neighborhood, or how useful one has found the self-defense classes one has been taking, should allow one to mention the reason for the state of one’s attire without bringing undue attention to it.
Dear Princess Twilight,
How do I go about choosing a favorite book when I love them all so much? -Whitinsville, MA
Choosing a favorite book is an impossible task! There’s simply no way to do it. Believe me, I’ve tried every ranking system I can think of, assigning values to usefulness, primary enjoyment, enjoyment on consecutive reads, quality of writing, even how easy it is to fit in a saddle bag! No matter what you use, there will always be a book that you like just as much that didn’t come out on top.
I’ve settled for having a favorite-book shelf. Selecting favorites in different categories is much easier than trying to weigh your favorite book on classical spell theory against your favorite adventure novel. It’s also useful to have a collection of favorite books, because when other ponies or people ask about it, it’s usually to start a conversation. So you can pick which of your favorite books they’re most likely to want to talk about with you, which makes it more likely that you’ll get to talk about books!
There is a downside- the rest of your library will be missing those books! Also, your favorite-book shelf is likely to be a jumble of subjects, probably even fiction and non-fiction!
Don’t panic. You just need a few blocks of wood. Write the names of your favorite books on the side, and a note that they can be found on your favorite-book shelf. You can even paint the edge to look like the spine of the book! Then, of course, you can use the same kind of blocks to separate your favorite-book shelf into the proper sections. Or fiction from non-fiction at the very least.
So, that’s how to choose a favorite book.
Dear anypony,
I'm falling. What do? - 50,000 feet
Well, if you got wings, start flappin’. If there’s somepony around with wings, yell real loud.
Otherwise, try an’ aim for somethin’ soft. Good luck!
Dear Anypony,
People are always telling me how smart and full of potential I am, because of the way I present myself. My vocabulary is above average for my peer group and I've always been good at thinking creatively to figure things out, and it feels nice to be acknowledged for that skill.
But it also hurts a lot. I'm nowhere near as intelligent as people think I am, I just speak and behave by a different set of standards based on a set of social morals. I don't really even remember when I started being who I am, and I often find myself depressed by the realization that I don't really know who I am. if I were a pony, I think I'd have a cutie mark in my best skill; constructive imagery through words. But the same way as a scene set in words can describe a painting, it still lacks the color and vibrance of the real thing, despite anyone's impressions from the short time they spend with it.
I feel empty and colorless. My skills just don't seem to fit well with how I'm expected to live my life, and I can't decide if it would be better to consider myself a mockery of a person or a human equivalent to a blank flank.
I know that time and experience are the best solution to aches of the soul, but I guess I'm just curious as to the types of advice you guys would give. It may be a silly notion on my part, but I look up to Equestrians as an example of acceptance and learning, and most importantly- moving on despite hardships. Thank you for all of your inspiration, and the chance to change my outlook on what's considered acceptable for a person to believe. - A charming small town in rural Minnesota
Well... first of all, all humans are blank flanks. But, that’s really kind of neat. That means for your whole life, you never know what you might do next! I’ve read about lots of humans who did one amazing thing, then learned to do another. It’s kind of a gift, when you think of it like that.
So, keeping that in mind, no human knows what they’re going to do next. Just because you have one special talent doesn’t mean that you don’t have others. Just because some people see you as one type of human doesn’t mean that you can’t act like another. You can’t control how other people think of you, or what they expect, but you can decide how you want to think of yourself or what you expect from yourself. And if you don’t like it, you can change your mind.
Even if you have found a special talent, you may still be searching for how to express it. There are many directions I might have taken with my own talents, fashion is a large industry, and working with gemstones on objects of beauty could have lead me into other arts. If you have a talent for writing, there might be different ways of using that you could explore.
And, darling, never let the life you are expected to lead get in the way of the life you feel right leading. One may be raised in a small country town, but one’s personal space, appearance, and behavior can reflect a different world.
Or lots of worlds! You can be a new pony every day until you find a way of acting that feels right.
Pinkie’s right, sometimes you gotta try bein’ who ya’ ain’t to figure out who ya’ are. It could be right in front of ya’, but you never thought that was it before. Or it could be somethin’ brand new you never tried.
And, remember, even if you figure out where you want to be, or who you want to be, that doesn’t mean you’ll get there right away. Don’t give up on it because it’s a lot of work, or seems really far away. Sometimes there’s a lot of working and waiting for your chance. And sometimes it feels like a waste of time, but it totally isn’t, because what happens along the way can be really cool too, and you’ll learn things that will make you the best human you can be.
We’re all rooting for you, so don’t give up, no matter how long it takes to get there.
Hey! Who found my filly pictures!
I, um, thought it might help to make your point... Besides, you were so cute with your Wonderbolt doll! I’m sure it will cheer our friend up.
It’s an action figure.
Princess Twilight,
Does Luna control the moon, or the night sky as a whole? If Luna is in charge of the stars, does she keep them consistent or is she creative with them? Does this present any difficulties to astronomers? -Sol III
Princess Luna does control the whole night sky. Luckily for ponies who are interested in astronomy, Princess Luna is pretty conservative! Apparently, before she went away the stars were pretty important to ponies trying to figure out directions and where they were in the world. Even though ponies have maps and compasses now, Princess Luna doesn’t want to change anything.
Dear Princess Twilight,
What is it like, learning how to use limbs that you've never had before? How do you do it? - Earth
It was much easier than expected! Well, using the wings was, at least. It was like they’d always been there, I knew how to work them just like my legs.
Learning to fly was a little more complicated. I got the basics; gliding isn’t hard, or flying around inside a building. But flying in different driections outside you have to know how to feel air currents, and what little adjustments make and when to make them. Rainbow Dash makes it look so easy!
Dear Rarity,
Why are you so wonderful? -South Carolina
Oh, if only I knew, I would love to share-
Hold up. I think Rarity sent this one. That’s not allowed!
I certainly did not! It’s from South Carolina. I don’t even know where that is.
See? You don’t know where it is because you totally made it up.
She didn’t make it up, it’s a real place on Earth.
Sure it is. The capital is “Rarityburg.”
The capital is Columbia.
Whatever. Fine, I’m sure everypony wants to know why Rarity is so wonderful. I sure do.
I’m not really that fabulous, darling. Sometimes it’s easy to look good by comparison.
Dear anypony,
If you were not the bearer of your Element who would be? Out of you six. -Canterlot
I think Dashie would be Laughter. She’s really funny sometimes, and she loves pranks, and she doesn’t take things too seriously, except when it’s things that are really, really important. Oh! Applejack could do it too. She’s really good at cheering ponies up, even if she gets kind of work-y and no fun sometimes.
If I had to name another pony to be Honesty, I’d go with Twilight. She know the truth is important, but she’s smart enough to know there’s a right way and wrong way to tell the truth. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t make a bad choice, neither. Sometimes she’s bad at how to say somethin’, but it’s always the truth.
Pick a pony as loyal as I am? No such thing…Okay, probably Applejack. She’s already really loyal to her family, and to Ponyville, and her friends. She could be Loyalty. But I look better doing it. I guess Pinkie could do it too, but she doesn’t quite know the difference between “loyal” and “I decided to sleep under your bed in case you get lonely in the middle of the night.”
Um... Pinkie would be good at being Kindness. Probably better than me, really. Rarity is also very kind... or, she means to be. But I’m very glad that my friends think I do a good job.
I’ve always thought that Fluttershy can be the picture of generosity. She offers her animals the very roof over her head, and countless hours of her time. Fluttershy will do anything for any pony, how can one argue with that?
Oh, this is an interesting one. It would be easy to say that Rarity would be, because she’s a unicorn, but really I think the one of us with the most interesting talent for magic, besides myself, is Pinkie Pie. I’m not sure where her magic comes from, or how she can do what she does, but it has to be some kind of magic, so I don’t see a reason she couldn’t control the magic of friendship.
Oh, um, I'm supposed to say something? Well, thank you for reading, everyone. We have more answers coming up, and we're still accepting questions. The form is here: Ask a Pony!
Thank you again!
My question was answered! Hooray!
All three of my questions have been answered now
Filly pictures! So awesome!
I'm really enjoying this! The questions are interesting, and the answers are extremely well-thought-out.
Gotta say, I'm really enjoying these! I need to think of a good question...
Glad that they knew the roles were meant for each other.
I asked the Element bearer question I can't believe you actually used it
My question got answered too... and it turned out to be very helpful. I did as instructed... and things have started working out a lot better. So... uh... Thanks girls!
Hope for a Giant squid?
Lol!
Also, I'm liking these blogs!
"but she doesn’t quite know the difference between “loyal” and “I decided to sleep under your bed in case you get lonely in the middle of the night.”
I could totally see her doing that