RoH FAQ · 3:00am May 17th, 2014
One of the FAQ pages for my stories. This one is dedicated to Rebirth of Harmony. The content below will be updated every two weeks after a new chapter is published until the end of the story. More immediate changes are found here. This page and the previous link are both found on the story's front page as well. New questions will be added as they arise.
Everything you wanted to know about Rebirth of Harmony (RoH) but were too afraid to ask (and several that Tibbles asked for you…)
WARNING: This is written from the viewpoint of the end of the story so some answers may contain spoilers and HFCS. (Scientifically, the spoilers are the only one that won't kill you. HFCS is nasty shit. *sips a soda*)
Basic questions: (For a new readers)
This story lists The Wandering Physicist Adventures as a parent story. Do I have to read that first?
NO!
This story is nicely self-contained. Any important references to TWP or its sister stories will be noted in the Author’s Notes at the end of the chapters or as links in the chapter itself. If you want to read TWP, go right ahead.
I found a factual/grammatical/spellign/etc error!
Good for you! Kindly note it in an inoffensive manner either by an innocuous comment or PM, and I’ll thank you.
What is this story’s connection to TWP?
It is set in an alternate universe approximately 20 years after the end of TWP. Throughout the story, TWP and Starlight Chronicles (SCS), the connection between the two universes is explored.
Who were your favorite characters to write for?
Alba! Razzly had some moments too. Shaun is great for a foil. Helios is wonderful buttmonkey. Just wish I did more Corona since Sunset Shimmer is my #2 after Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow can be a blast if I am in the right mood.
Advanced Chapter-based Questions: (For readers with more than a few chapters under their belt.)
This seems truncated. Were there more chapters?
A lot more were planned. The Elements were supposed to travel to Dragon lands and spend a chapter palling around with Spike and Crackle (best dragon). They were supposed to visit Zebras and Sea Ponies. The fight against Discord was originally planned to be two chapters, but I didn’t have enough material to stretch it to two chapters. There were more encounters with Shaun before his reveal too. So many ideas dropped because I felt the story was getting too long.
Can you explain this whole Origins thing?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: It is complicated, and I barely get it myself. Settle in.
During James and Twilight’s wedding in the RoH universe, Daleks invaded and destroyed Ponyville. (Skipping to the last TWP chapter: This was averted by the Eleventh Doctor as a wedding present for the couple, as opposed to the RoH Tenth Doctor failing.) During the attack, they killed all the Elements of Harmony except Pinkie Pie. When Twilight was killed, James rushed out to her body and was killed as well. He regenerated to become the Discord of his universe and ripped the universe a new one by wiping the Daleks out in a massive genocide. (Skipping to SCS: It is revealed that this universe-new-one-ripping sent an imprint of RoH Discord’s mind through a rift and imposed itself on our Discord, giving him memories of his life as RoH TWP. This confusion has stayed with our Discord ever since.) The RoH Discord used the last of his regeneration energies to transfer the James part of his mind to Twilight’s body causing him to become James Sparkle (hint hint). The RoH Doctor then took Discord to the past and put him in his place in history.
Our Discord’s history is covered in TWP and even more in SCS.
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From here down, the questions are handled chapter by chapter.
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There were interm Elements between the Mane6 and the current Elements?
Yes, and there were other Elements before the Mane6. In this universe, the Elements were not always used to signify a destined group of friends. Sometimes, they were sent to destined few to give hope to the world. The Elements didn’t necessarily need to like each other, just as long as they get along. (Not like that is an analogy for this current group…)
Isn’t it really nepotism to make all the Elements children of King James?
I didn’t want to use canon characters as the Elements. That has been done a lot. Plus, I killed off most of them in the prologue. I needed a reason for the characters to be close to each other, so I just went with ones that I had established in Rei’s backstory in TWP.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Children of Celestia? Go through that slowly.
Celestia got pregnant before the battle with Discord (or before Nightmare Moon in the canon universe…) and had a son. (The comics hinted that she had a relationship with an alternate universe King Sombra…) The son was lost war (disappeared from the limelight with his family in RoH, dead in TWP). The son’s family continued on, forgotten, until they were attacked several centuries down the line. And yes, one of Celestia’s granddaughters is a certain amber unicorn mare with a crimson and yellow mane…
What was that underwater scene about?
That was the griffins attacking the cave where Luna and James hid Discord. They used an old model NLR sub to trick the sea ponies and get in the cave. The chaos they caused released Discord and got them all killed for their trouble. All of them.
Why was Discord so upset about Fluttershy?
Well, as we all know the canon reason… (DiscoShy vs Snowflake x Fluttershy after season 4. So hard to choose!) The RoH reason... Let’s put it this way: In TWP, James was going to marry Twilight, and Applejack was pregnant with Satsuma. In this universe, James was going to marry Twilight, but Fluttershy was carrying a daughter named Relm (keeping with SCS where Fluttershy’s kids are named after Final Fantasy characters). Kill a defenceless mare and your unborn child with her… That’s a legit reason to be batshit insane.
Dude, where’s my Cadance?
Seriously. Where is she?
According to one of the books (which are marginal canon at best with me), Cadance ended up in the same "late afternoon/near sunset" zone that another future princess did when she discovered new magic. (Weird thing is that Cadance was a pegasus raised by earth ponies… Ripping off Rei’s backstory much? ... Or Pound Cake. Whatever.) Cadance likely returned there or did some other ploy to run away from a dying universe where her beloved husband is dead.
Fine. But is that really..?
Yes. That is my favorite title out of all of them that I have ever come up with. Maybe. Very likely.
Advanced Character-based Questions: (For readers with more than a few chapters under their belt.)
How about a list of original characters and their appearance?
Ugh. Hold on.
What is with the sci-fi author names?
I thought it would be something funny. At first it seemed like a Pinkie thing to do, but then it started making sense given that their father is a huge nerd deep down. (And it is especially nice since Asimov and her name’s source are so awesome!)
Why are all of King James’ kids colored the way they are?
Each of his kids in this story was meant to represent the new generation of Mane6, the princesses and other canon characters. Apple and Rainbow Pie are both meant to carry on for Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Technis is the new Vinyl Scratch. Full Moon (Rei) and Helios are supposed to represent Celestia and Luna. Alba is the new Twilight. Each were brought about by the subconscious desire of one of their parents to be reunited with the pony they represent.
Rei and Helios are Celestia and Luna? How?
The joke with them is that Rei has Celestia’s colors with Luna’s cutie mark and name. Helios has his mother’s colors, but his aunt’s cutie mark and name. It was meant to be a bit of a misdirection and having fun with names and appearances.
Is Alba psychotic?
She really seems that way, doesn’t she? She is not scared of a giant alligator. (Sure, it doesn’t have any teeth, but still…). She doesn’t flinch when held hostage. Fighting Discord is more of an annoyance than an epic showdown. She is calm when surrounded by changelings. She’s willing to head straight into a warzone and face a changeling queen in epic combat. She also barely blinks when there is a gun pointed at her head! But… Knowing who her father is and seeing how she is based on Twilight Sparkle, is it any surprise that she is a little crazy?
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From here down, the questions are handled chapter by chapter.
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Holy crow! Is Apple Pie an Earthbender?
Yep. I thought it would be a nice touch to spread some of King James’ magical abilities to his children. Earthbending seemed a good fit for an earth pony.
Trixie has a son?!
No, no, no. As will be slightly explained later, he is the son of Trixie’s husband. Trixie hasn’t had a child in this universe and probably never will…
Does Stor- Strawberry know about his family like in TWP?
He does. He just chooses to stay in Fillydelphia, where he was born and raised. Strawberry and Razzly are on great terms with Blackberry and Lemon.
Is Shaun really psychic?
A psychic griffin? Nope. Never heard of such a thing. That would never possibly happen. Honest.
What is with Rainbow’s changing cutie mark?
That is some of the magic she got from her father. When in the heat of competition or when devoting herself to making somepony smile, her cutie mark changes to fit the situation. … No, there isn’t one for churros.
Why all the Arthurian legend names with the Griffins?
In a TWP chapter, I introduced royals from around the world, each with a theme. The Griffin Empire got an Arthurian theme. Makes for appropriately named backstory in this story too ^_^
A griffin Element of Harmony. Say what?
That was always the plan. The annoying, arrogant liar who the Elements kept running into was always going to be the Element of Honesty. It was part of my plan to show that the pony world was bigger and more inclusive than what we see in the show.
Another one! With Octavia even?! Seriously! How many kids does he have!
King James: Apple Pie, Rainbow Pie, Technis Symphonico aka Synth Tech, Full Moon/Tsukiyo Rei, Helios Lunae, Alba Sparkle
James Sparkle (as of current SCS): Starlight Sparkle, Satsuma Apple, Del Wanderer, Presea Pie, Juliet Pie.
Not too many…
I thought Helios liked changelings.
He tolerates them. Loving comes later.
Delta’s backstory is… interesting.
And it is Del’s too.
Wait! Chrysalis slept with Helios. How old is he?
Apple Pie - 18, Rainbow Pie - 17, Technis - 16, Helios - 14, Shaun - 13, Alba - 12, Razzly - 12.
He is old enough and mature enough to realize the responsibility of that act that some place an obscene about of importance upon. It is not like he fathered a child or anything…
your origins explanation makes perfect sense. The only "problem" i can find with it, is that i got all that from reading the stories. i still think there is something big coming since these are two artistically licenced alternate universes, thus they must have had something important for a split. since this basically confirms this is not discord and the regicide/discord gong back in time, or anything i have picked up on my readings of the chapters in question, i reckon there must be a plot twist coming.
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/500x/49929827.jpg
fun fact, that was the first time i made a meme. i have brought dishonor among my family.
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2118956 all im saying is that, and maybe i should have asked, the FAQ does not specify for clarity's sake where TWP main timeline and RoH split. im pretty sure that has to be somewhere in the future, unless it really is just not important.
this was what i garbled in the previous comment. I think it may be important though.
i hope i was clear that it was a pretty good explanation you put for origins though.
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I know what you said and meant, but I didn't reply because that is something that will be addressed in the future. These FAQs are being set up to mainly answer things that are/will be unanswered in the stories (Cadance's disappearance), are confusing (the two timelines), or background for new readers (addressing everything from the end of TWP to the start of SCS in the SCS FAQ). If it is not in one of the FAQs, I believe it is/will be clearly stated in an upcoming chapter. (Spoiler: By the time RoH truly ends, you should know almost everything that happened for the split.)
If Technis is Octy's and Twp's son, why does he look like Vinyl? (Not that I'm complaining)
Sorry if I did't ask the question for the Faq, but it literally just poped into my head.
-Sphinx
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Oh! That is a good one to add. I completely forgot that about Apple, Rainbow, Technis, Rei, Helios and Alba. Thanks for reminding me.
Short answer for now: I wanted each of of King James' kids to represent a new generation of the Mane6, the princesses and other canon characters. As James Sparkle says in SCS 'Time Lords work in mysterious ways.' when he explains why Juliet has similar colors to Twilight. Apple and Rainbow are obvious who they represent. Technis is from Tavi's feelings for Vinyl. Rei is a sorta Celestia. Helios is Luna. (More on a joke about their names, appearances and marks later.) Alba is Twilight.
That is a wonderful question to add. Check the GDoc in a few hours and I should have added a fuller version of this answer and the one about Rei and Helios.