No more posting in this thread! There seems to be a 200 post limit. Additional posts are possible, but they don't show up! I deleted some of my irrelevant comments so that they can be seen, but this thread is officially closed!

Here's a list of ideas off the top of my head for Lunaverse stories, to get the creative juices flowing. Feel free to add! Most of the following ideas are oriented around the idea of short, 10K-20K word fics.

1. Raindrops' anger issues come to the fore after a particularly trying day at work.
2. Two of the Luna-6 get into a fight around Lyra and want her to help resolve it. She can't decide.
3. A pair of travelling salesponies nonpareil have a sweet deal to help Carrot Top's farm.
4. Cheerilee tries to get back into the dating scene, with...mixed results
5. Ditzy Doo. Doctor Whooves. These things write themselves.
6. Winter wrap up!
7. Parasprites!
8. Dragons!
9. Raindrops, for whatever reason, needs a dress, taking her to the Carousel Boutique. Joy....
10. Carrot Top and Applejack squaring off over something or other.
11. Lyra finds Pinkie Pie to be trying at the best of times, but then notices that the party pony is a really good singer.
12. Ditzy Doo is determined to get Fluttershy more out into the world.
13. Cheerilee's first major teaching hurdle comes up: Scootaloo might need to be held back if she won't stop goofing off.
14. Somepony in Ponyville is not who they appear to be...
15. 1d3 displacer beasts are encountered (EL 6)
16. Thieves steal the crown jewels and hide in Ponyville (no one called them smart)
17. Rainbow Dash shows up to work on time, works hard, and isn't a jerk. This has been going on for a week. Clearly something is amiss.
18. Ponies just dealing with the immediate aftermath of Corona's return.
19. While Luna has mostly forgiven Trixie for her antics on the Longest Night, she still expects her to make things up with Applejack and Rarity.
20. A day in the life of mayor Ivory Scroll and all the antics she has to put up with in her town (see #1 thru #19)

Note that few of these ideas necessarily involve Trixie; both "Boast Busted" and "Longest Night, Longest Day" have her as main character, and I think she's fairly well developed at this point. The others, though, are farily blank slates.

I like the idea of the 1d3 displacer beasts, it would be a good chance to show off Trixie illusion magic to fend them off. Though I wonder if it might be a bit to grimdark to send in 1d3 (I rolled a 2) "savage and stealthy carnivore" that "will eat anything they can catch" and "regard all other creatures as prey and tend to attack anything they meet."

I... rather like the parasprite idea, especially since once Pinkie starts going off about musical instruments, Raindrops methinks would stop her in her tracks and get to the bottom of it. Cue the entire Luna-Six following the pink party pony playing instruments...

I also like number 1; you could even combined it with number 9.

We could always have the typical "Lyra wants to pop the question to Bon Bon, but doesn't know how to do it properly (She wants it to be something special) cue advice from the rest of the Luna six. hilarity ensues.

That, and the Sleepover idea could always be done here...Heck, maybe Raindrops goes to the Boutique for a dress, and due to crazy circumstances, ends having to spend the night there.....I feel sorry for Raindrops.

Last idea: Ditzy has the week off, and is absolutely BORED, what with Dinky being at school during the day. So she ends up bugging her friends all week.

298856 Of course its a joke... its just I had my monster manual in front of me and I simply could not resist

17 intrigues me. Lunaverse seems to be the perfect place to insert changelings who aren't actually evil. Dichotomy and all.

That epileptic tree theory of Bonbon being a changeling the entire time could actually work as a fairly dramatic episode, now that Lyra's a mane character.

298870
personally, i would rather there be one bonbon (who is, in fact, bonbon) and a number of changelings lurking in ponyville leeching off lyra's love for her

*gets a D20 and rolls*

I got a 3.

That could be interesting :D

Here's some ideas I've thought of. Some of them may be a bit on the serious side.

The local dragon, a one Razorfang, is understandably upset that somepony stole all of his gems. Unfortunately for Ponyville they've already been encrusted into dresses and sold all over Equestria…

A Very Special Episode with Lyra and Bon Bon! In addition to the protesters, Lyra has to deal with Bridezilla and an insane wedding planner.

Somepony's been dumping toxic waste into Diamond Dog warrens. The Luna-6 think it's a simple clean-up job, unaware of what the goop does to the otherwise harmless natives…

A violent comic series, Wasteland Heroine, is under attack by ponies saying it's corrupting the children! Admittedly, some of Dinky's classmates have been using some…colorful vocabulary.

Ditzy Doo is working more than usual, becoming sleep deprived and…well…derpy.

Cheerilee leads a protest against Bargain Barn's treatment of its employees. Meanwhile, Neigh Orleans gets hit by a hurricane…

What about a thing involving Trixie and the Night Court? Could offer a good chance to develop that a bit and give some info on the nations around Equestria (if ambassadors are involved).

Or maybe this one: Trixie wakes up one morning craving a certain obscure culinary monstrosity, and sets out to sate her desire.

Idea: One day, Ditzy discovers that much of the town has been calling her "Derpy" behind her back, and she and Raindrops try to figure out who started it all.

298861
Hee, I like the "pop-the-question" one. For some reason I imagine Trixie telling to to set up this increasingly, needlessly complex scheme; Cheerilee and Carrot Top both being romantics but getting into an argument over the fine details; Raindrops saying "just go up to her and ask" with no sense of romance; and Ditzy Doo having a fairly romantic idea that starts to go down the drain as she drifts from "proposal" to "engagement and turns out she's awful, and then you end up pregnant, and she leaves you, and you've got to raise the foal all by yourself on twelve bits an hour, and than your foal is born and it's the best thing ever but you've got to go back to work almost immediately, and you end up missing your foal's first birthday, and everypony says that she won't even remember but it doesn't matter beause you remember, and all because of that bastard!"

"...we're talking about somepony else, aren't we?"

"...yes. He is a bastard, though."

298909
Except for the Very Special Epsiode, these sound good. I was trying to think up a way to include the Diamond Dogs, but couldn't. Where did the toxic waste come from, though...?

VSP is less so 'cause I really can't imagine Equestria as a place where anypony cares if somepony is gay or lesbian or bi. It's just a complete non-issue.

298919
Hee, that sounds funny. Completely out of character for all involved parties, but funny. Building up a large stable of non-canon Lunaverse stories is just as good as adding to the canon, though.

298922
That one is planned, actually (the Night Court one).

298919 Sadly no 'Princes of the Universe', but all I could find on short notice.

You know, I think I'm gonna try the parasprite idea, simply because the idea of Raindrops telling Pinkie Pie to tell everyone what the buck she needs those instruments for, or Cheerilee asking how she knows their names and the problem being taken care of is too delicious for me to resist.

Working title? 'Ill Communication'.

298933

Two things:

1. The fact you like my idea hasmade my day.

2. Here's a way to include the Diamond Dogs: Apparently, the Diamond Dogs found an area with a HUGE gen supply, so they naturally start digging. Unfortunately, this area is right under Carrot Tops farm. Or maybe the Apple's farm. Or maybe both.

Totally (okay, fine, just mostly) off-topic question: Am I correct in guessing that you got the idea of calling the mayor Ivory Scroll from Pen Stroke? As far as I know he's the only person who calls her that, unless there's some other source which I just missed, lol.

Part of me wants to do a short one-shot type character analysis of Spike, but as it's still a bit vague just how much or little he supports Corona (though his arguing with Zecora seems to imply he does have some qualms) I'm not sure I'd get it right.

Alternatively, something to do with Story Of The Blanks.

With Dinky still a blank flank, someone gonna do a Lunaverse CMC with Dinky, Scootaloo (who needs some development...maybe cousin to Raindrop?) and some other random Earth pony? Or maybe in the Lunaverse the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' is the name of some sort of girl scout type group where they try all sorts of activities and generally do good things for the community? Then they have to sell cookies and a war break out with Applebloom and her troop :p

Ideas thought of at work:

1. The Grand Galloping Gala. Sure, the Luna six wouldn't get their hopes up, since Trixie would tell them what to expect, but still, should be fun.

2. It was mentioned that, as a Representative, Trixie could serve as a Tiebreaker vote on the City Council. Let's say that happens. On a big issue. And everyone in town knows that she will effectively decide the fate of this vote. I predict everything from death threats to promises of riches. Gotta love politics.

3, A masked hero shows up intoenand starts deliveribg vigilante justice. Mare Do Well as an Anti-Hero, emphasis on Anti.

I was thinking a Lesson Zero-esque one and maybe a Mare-Do-Well one as well. I'll have to see.

298919 "Wanna say too soon on a hurricane, but it has been a while, hasn't it?"

Shame, I'd like to see the Luna-6 fight stalking gators and flotillas of army ants. Also, having Bargain Barn save the day may seem too much like a contrarian rant when it was meant as a simple parallel. Say, I have a better idea...

Being the headquarters of Bargain Barn, entrepreneurs from all over Equestria visit Ponyville once a year to promote their wares. How would Trixie deal with an influx of desperate merchants?

298933 "Where did the toxic waste come from, though...?"

Fallout Equestria. Obviously, this idea won't be nearly as violent.

"I really can't imagine Equestria as a place where anypony cares if somepony is gay or lesbian or bi."

Makes sense, though having Lyra deal with BonBon and Pinkieshould still be viable.

299096
Kinda', yeah.

299036
In G3/G3.5, Scootaloo was Cheerilee's sister (but then again, was also an earth pony, if I recall correctly). I've always wondered whether or not that's the case in G4.

Anyway, next planned story from me is, as mentioned, Dinky-centric, so we'll probably get some insight there (which is the point).

298973
Yes. I don't like her just being "mayor mare," and Ivory Scroll is actually a fairly fitting name.

I liked Past Sins...and specifically my favorite part is actually the reign of Queen Nyx (most people's least favorite). I found it an interesting character study.

Though, it's worth noting that I've never read the original, just the most recent version, which I'm given to understand fixed a *lot* of problems with it.

299036

There's a thought. What if Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara are friends in the Lunaverse? Filthy Rich's speech at Family Appreciation Day sounded just like the sort of thing that Lunaverse!Applejack does. Filthy Rich and Applejack are probably solid business partners, so their kids would get on just fine. Meanwhile, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle don't get to form the Crusaders with Apple Bloom, and have no reason to be friends with her otherwise since Rarity and Applejack certainly won't get along, and probably nor will Applejack and Rainbow Dash (unless Applejack is friends with Fluttershy). Maybe Dinky could form the Crusaders with them instead, with Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara as their nemeses (and maybe Silver Spoon, who knows).

There's also the regular Crusaders interpreted as bullies - after all, their primary role models aren't great ponies in this world.

299174
I'm...wary of turning the mane crusaders into bullies, especially given the reaction some people have had to the more-negative/and/or-seen-through-a-different-lense versions of the Mane-6. But also just because it seems a bit obvious.

Applebloom comes across as mean in "Longest Night, Longest Day" due to Trixie having gotten into a fight with Applejack: she's standing up for her family and her big sister. And the few lines in "Boast Busted" don't make her appear any worse than she did in, for example, "Call of the Cutie," wherein she browbeat Doctor Whooves and tried to mane Bon Bon look like she was stealing.

I can see the mechanics of interaction in the school changing, though. Applejack and the Apples as a whole are more obvious about being a major enterprise, so it's socially acceptable for them to bump shoulders with Filthy Rich and his family. If Applebloom doesn't form the Crusaders with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, I think the two would still basically be friends in school; LNLD did both tease them as being in Bon Bon's candy shop. But Applebloom is the one who really pushes the cutie mark crusading, so it's possible that the two wouldn't themselves be crusading.

Dinky Doo I don't think would start a cutie mark crusade. The crusaders are basically rushing to become adults as quickly as possible. Due to Ditzy Doo's financial state and being a single mom, Dinky Doo is probably already more mature and independent than her age would suggest - she's in no hurry to grow up even faster than the circumstances are forcing.

299191 Without 'Call of the Cutie' though Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wouldn't have met Applebloom, so I think they wouldn't know each other. I can see Applebloom hanging out with Diamond Tiara and then maybe even making Tiara less mean in general even if Applebloom is quick to lash out.

Though my idea of a cookie selling competition could go somewhere, I just don't know if I got what it takes to pull it through myself

A concept that might aid making Lunaverse fics unique: focusing on the characters. That way we avoid "You may as well have applied this story idea somewhere else."

No, this isn't a covert dig at anyone, I've just been thinking my ideas may be too in-group or meta.

You could do something with Gilda, because Rainbow Dash doesn't have the mane 6 with her Gilda might not have been driven off. Then with Gilda around her and Rainbow Dash become the Bulk and Skull of the Lunaverse.

I'm gonna write one with a somewhat different characterization of Changelings. Zecora changed, so I can change Changelings. They aren't gonna feed off love, but something else instead. Time to get to work!

We also need to come up with stories where the Luna 6 go crazy Friendship is Magic is also about ponies going CRAAAZY!

How do we get Raindrops to crack?

I just thought of quick little one shot, which I'm totally gonna write. At the end og Longest Night Longest Day, Trixie finds that she needs a place to stay while her house is getting fixed. And she finds that Ponyville does not, in fact, have a hotel.

One question: Does Raindrops live in a cloudhouse or a regular house?

299412
she mentioned her brother was a unicorn, so i really doubt she has a cloud house
in fact, i think rainbow dash might be the only pegasus with the sheer arrogance to build herself a cloud citadel like that

299191

You're right, it is a bit obvious. Apple Bloom's behaviour hasn't really changed, but because we're seeing it from Trixie's or Carrot Top's perspective rather than Apple Bloom's or Applejack's, it seems a lot less justified.

That's kind of a sad point about Dinky. So she's pretty content with not having her cutie mark yet, I guess?

299441
Pretty much. Besides which, there's plenty of possible stories to tell about just a bunch of kids doing kid-type things without having to put puberty overtones over the whole thing. It's not that Dinky's avoiding her cutie mark, she just isn't in a rush to find it.

299440 We certainly never see any other around Ponyville. Too bad Raindrop doesn't have a unicorn SISTER, we could work in Dewdrop Dazzle.

299466
well, all she said was "When my brother was born a unicorn my parents and I moved to Ponyville." she could have a sister or sisters, they'd just have to be younger than her brother.

I’ve been excited about this project group since it was first announced, but I promised myself I wouldn’t join up until I thought I had at least one decent idea to contribute. Well now I think I’ve got two, so here goes. First up is a story I wouldn’t trust myself to write, but which I feel could have a great deal of powerful potential with the right author.

Basic Premise:
After having helped to save all of Equestria from Corona, Ditzy Doo is now a somewhat famous hero, but she’s still stuck in the same dead end job. Then one day the last thing she ever expected happens. Dinky’s deadbeat dad shows up on her doorstep.

Possible Plot Points:
The dad is surely only trying to find a way to take advantage of what he thinks is Ditzy’s new status and connections, but how will Ditzy respond? Will she see through him right away and reject his approaches, or will she desperately try to recapture the past while ignoring all the obvious signs? If the former, what lengths will he go to try and convince her otherwise? If the latter, how much will it take convince Ditzy that he’s still no good?

Also, what of little Dinky? Will she eagerly try to connect with the father she has never known or does she resent him too much for the pain he’s caused her mother? If the former, will Ditzy fear losing her daughter and might he try to use the filly’s affection to convince a reluctant Ditzy to welcome him back? If the latter, then will it be Dinky that sees through him while her mother is stuck in the past and can the filly really bring herself to stand in the way of that, might Ditzy herself raise a harsh tone to Dinky if filly tries?

As for the stallion, is he really a total scum bag, or was he just young and stupid/scared when he left Ditzy? Is he really only coming back now because he sees an opportunity for self-advancement, or is he at some level genuinely repentant? Even if some of his intentions are all for the best, can he really be trusted to own up to the mistakes of his past or will he all too quickly fall into old routines, possibly becoming abusive as he realizes Ditzy isn’t the fast path to fame and fortune he’d hoped for?

Alternate Perspective:
After Cheerilee’s latest lesson on genealogy, Dinky finds herself the subject of renewed teasing from her classmates over her broken family. As a response perhaps it is Dinky herself that initiates the events that bring her father back into their lives, or if he still shows up purely of his own accord the earlier teasing may serve to cause Dinky to desperately try to make her hesitant mother give him a second chance. If this perspective is used the story should probably contain stylistic parallels to Call of the Cutie, with the idea of a filly trying too hard to control events and circumstances that are beyond her.

All of the above is fully open to anyone who thinks they can handle it. The second story idea I have is something I think I might try and tackle myself. It’s something of Lunaverse equivalent to Griffin the Brush Off, featuring Raindrops contending with the antics of Gilda and a Rainbow Dash who never had Pinkie Pie to teach her that a good prank should always make the ‘victim’ laugh just as much.

299490

I seem to have a habit of coming up with ideas that get shot down by your canon cannon. Though the fact that you approved so greatly of the idea anyway fills me with some sense of pride. Anyway, just read your blog post as well and am eagerly anticipating the new strory going live.

299457
Wait, getting one's cutie mark is a metaphor for puberty? How did I not notice this before? Yeah, it's basically been done more than enough in canon, and we're trying to do something different here.

Something I came up with on the way home from work:

"Sonic Raindrops"

Rainbow Dash is gearing up for the Best Young Fliers' Competition, and naturally shirking her weather duties in the process. Raindrops has had enough of this, and puts her hoof down, scheduling her own leave (the first she's taken in months) for the day of the contest. If Rainbow Dash ditches work for the contest, the Mayor is going to fire her sorry rump, talent or no talent. Raindrops claims that she's trying to teach Rainbow a lesson and get her to take her responsibilities seriously, for her own good and the good of the weather team, but is she really just taking petty vengeance against a pegasus who annoys her? Does she resent Rainbow's talent?

299707
For some reason I can't get this bit of potential dialogue out of my head.

"Raindrops," Cheerilee asked, "is this really supposed to be for Rainbow Dash's own good, or are you just trying to get some kind of petty revenge?"

"It can be both things," Raindrops objected, "why shouldn't it be?"

I think what strikes me most about the Lunaverse-6 is how comparitively normal they are when measured up against their Mane-6 counterparts. With the Mane-6, you've got a farmer who has way more pull than she lets on or realizes; a super-mage; a physics-defying, 4th-wall breaking, possibly immortal thing; a successful fashion designer who's bumped hooves with some of Canterlot's highest circles; a flying prodigy who's also essentially a freakin' superhero; and a nature-loving pegasus with what amounts to mind control powers and the ability to talk to animals. The Luna-6 don't really have anything to compare to that. Trixie isn't much of a spellcaster, she's just creative with what she has; Raindrops may be strong by pegasus standards but she's hardly Herakles overall; Lyra...well, okay, Lyra is admittedly pretty amazing. But none of the rest are really extraordinary.

Mostly this occured to me when I was trying to give them all D&D stats, admittedly. With the Mane-6, it's easy to slot them into heroic classes. But with the Luna-6, I figure Trixie's a beguiler, Raindrops is a monk, Lyra is a bard; but then I really couldn't see Cheerilee as anything but an expert, and Ditzy Doo and Carrot Top are both commoners.

I REALLY want a crack at #5. The Lunaverse gives a great opportunity for change.

Ditzy pushed the muffin in front of the unconscious stallion. He hadn’t moved from the couch since the strange column had crashed in her backyard.

“Well,” she wondered aloud, “maybe some rest and fresh air will help.”

His eyes cracked open. “Air.”

The pony jumped off of the couch and grabbed Ditzy by her shoulders. “You have air here? Like, quite a bit of it? Not just a crate full?”

Ditzy back out of the manic stallion’s hooves. “The last time I checked we’re positively walking through the stuff."

Delight sparkled in his eyes. “Excellent! The Time Council doesn’t usually leave atmospheres around uncontrolled sapient worlds. This is wonderful! Do you have oceans? Tree? Candy? Blackxkvym?”

Ditzy dropped own on her haunches. “I have no idea what a ‘blackxkvym’ is.”

He shrugged in response. “Can’t have everything, I’m afraid.” He gave a small start. “Wait. This is a world. Nice world. Spins and everything.” Anxiety welled up in his eyes. “This is a world and I’m here!”

Ditzy looked at him curiously as he ran to the pillar in the backyard crater. She shook her head and followed.

“Excuse me, sir? I thought you liked being here.”

He spun on Ditzy with a joyful gleam in his eyes. “I love it here. You have thoughts, and feelings, and that’s a duck over there! I love ducks.” Gingerly, he steeped closer. “But if I’m here, he may have followed me.”
Ditzy cocked her head. “Who?”

The strange stallion smiled. “The Time Council’s cleaner. The one who cures the universe of independent races who may become a threat to the Time Council. The Time Charger who cooked the sky of the Machine Philosophers of Skaro. I was there the day he “cured” the Peace Monks of Sontar. I was almost able to stop him.”

He looked at the sky with wide eyes and scratched his goatee with an unsteady hoof. “The Doctor is coming. We have to get ready.”

299743 The sad part is... it really doesn't take much-if any-change in the tenth Doc at least for that to be almost canon for him.

299764
That's why the Doctor has companions: to stop him. Otherwise we get "The Waters of Mars" and the Time Lord Triumphant scenarios.

But having said that, I really can't imagine a Doctor that got along with the Time Lords. The Time Lords are pretty much the epitome of Lawful Neutral in their ideal state, whereas all the Doctor is is varying degrees of chaos. There's a reason why the Daleks call him "the Oncoming Storm" and not "The Oncomming Planck's Constant."

Also and on the flip side, I really can't envision a good guy version of the Master.

Mind, what I could see is the Master and the Doctor both shifting a little so that they're both constantly at odds with the Time Lords without either of them necessarily being good or evil. Basically a Vorlons VS Shadows thing, a la Babylon 5 (with the Doctor being the Shadows and the Master being the Vorlons).

299922

I used to play a gnome Beguiler back in my 3.5 D&D days. They are basically a Sorcerer that specializes in illusions and other deceptive arts. Seems a fairly apt comparison to Trixie, at least as she is presented here in the Lunaverse. The only flaw is that it's dominantly an INT class were as Trixie seems more of a maxed CHA type of character, but no one ever accused her of having a particularly optimized build, and she'd probably need a fair amount of INT anyway to come up with and manages those needlessly complex schemes she seems prone too.

Of course now I'm can't stop my mind from contemplating the idea some kind of Lunaverse equivalent to the Ponies Play D&D series. They them selves might not be as extraordinary** as the M6, but what kinds of character might each would play in a game. Trixie would probably play as some kind of avatar of herself or rather her idealized self, which might be a Sorcerer. How about Raindrops, could she even be talked into playing?

What about the DM? Trixie might well want to, but such a game would probably be little more than a pretense to show off her own DMPC. I could maybe see Cheerilee as a pretty good DM though.

On a more serious note, a game night story for the Luna-6 could have some potential. Not with anything so complex as D&D, or where the game itself is of any importance to the story, but just the idea of all of them gathered round a table engaging in some kind of group activity while possibly sharing tidbits of their personally exploits of the day.

**(or are they? seems Rarity could be built as an Expert and might Applejack be little more than a higher level variant of the same type of Commoner as Carrot Top)

299981
Diplomacy.

Trixie should have somehow talked them in to playing Diplomacy.

This is a thing that someone needs to do at some point.

299989

I concur. I would very much want to see this.

299989

oh, gods. not again....
if this must happen, i expect somepony to enact plan:fuckall as soon as they realize what the game really is.

299989

Wow! That could work.

Heck, I really could see a variant of that game existing in the Lunaverse. Given the highly political nature of what we've heard of Luna's Night Court, it would probably be considered among the Canterlot nobility a rather valuable teaching aid for their children. Less so though in a hick town like Ponyville, so none of the others would probably have any clue what they were getting themselves into, except Cheerilee I think.

Watching the Element of Laughter as the schemiest wheeler and dealer in the room could be a hoot. Poor Carrot Top though, I can't help but imagine that she'd end up getting the worst of it from turn 1. I'd be worried about Ditzy as well, but her 'strategies' would probably be oddball enough to keep her holdings in an unusually stable flux.

Then of course there would be Trixie, who'd probably fancy herself the obvious victor, but as we've all seen she's not nearly cut out for this kind of game as she'd like to think she is. Oh and then there's Lyra, almost forgot that she's spent a good deal of time in Canterlot too, though having been on a music scholarship she still might not have had much exposure to the game other than hearing about it. As for Raindrops, oh my, this won't end well will it.

300032
Placing 'em now. I'm seeing Equestrian Diplomacy based off of what the world was like prior to Equestria's founding, so...

- Trixie: Russia/Tartaros. Trixie knows that Tartaros is the most likely to win.
- Lyra: England/Arcania (unicorn land): Lyra just likes the idea of starting with more ships than armies.
- Carrot Top: Austria/Griffin Kingdoms: The only thing that prevents Carrot Top from being steamrolled in the early game is the fact that even Trixie doesn't want to eliminate a player that fast. She survives and ends up having considerably more board sway than she (or Cheerilee or Trixie) is comfortable with.
- Ditzy Doo: Turkey/Sylvania (deer land) : Trixie made the suggestion prior to the game beginning with the intention of getting someone she thinks she knows she can trust next to the Black Sea*.
- Cheerilee: France/Terra (earth pony land): Cheerilee, having played this game before, knows that Terra has the best starting position right out of the gate and knows what Trixie is trying to pull.
- Raindrops: Germany/Skyland (pegasus land): Not out of any tactical decision, but because I think the personality fits; as is right and proper for Skyland and the Griffin Kingdoms, she and Carrot Top end up working together.

Italy/Cania (diamond dogs) are, of course, cut, since this is a 6-player game...which actually plays immensely to Ditzy Doo's favor because it means that she doesn't have Cania locking her into the eastern part of the Mediterranean and only has to deal with the Griffin Kingdoms for the lower Balkans; plus she and Terra are in a great position to ally in order to chew apart the non-playing Cania, which will get Ditzy Doo that many more armies and navies for her inevitable stab.

Oh, wait, that's right, country choices are supposed to be random...well, regardless, this is how I think they should end up.

----
*Trixie stared, wide-eyed, as the turn orders for the Winter of 406 were revealed. Her ears flickered as Ditzy Doo read her moves outloud.

"Fleet Black Sea convoys for Army Stagholm. Army Stagholm is convoyed from Stagholm to to Dispater across the Black Sea - "

"I TRUSTED YOU!" was all Trixie could exclaim.

"Why?" Ditzy Doo asked, as she turned back to her move orders. "Army Cavallia moves into Asmodai, Army Pferdreich supports Army Cavallia's move..."