If want to know where I believe the banal-evil portions of human nature come from, I believe that it starts with this:

Everybody feeds the fat boy.
(both literally, and also metaphorically for other concepts that are not obesity, such as wealth, love, etc...)

Sometimes it is done with good intentions because the kid obviously looks like he loves to eat, so it must be what makes him happy, right?

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You know what I don't see enough of anymore? Micro-fics. Short stories. I like to call them "snack fics" because it's the literary equivalent of eating a mini bag of potato chips. I understand it is probably much harder to do it at a high level of quality because it's smaller. Even so, nobody seems to bother even trying to make snack fics anymore. And it makes me a sad panda.

We know that Griffonstone has no government anymore and is using the Equestrian currency standard. We can also conclude that the Government / Princesses of Equestria will be informed of this as soon as RD and PP return from their trip.

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Every once in a while, I find myself deliberately seeking out and attempting to read a story that deals in basic themes which I know ahead of time that I find unpleasant. It feels a bit like an entertaining game of chicken in which I try to see how long I can observe abysses before I have to bail out.

"I'm trying to see if I can find the mythical story in which good authorship can overcome a disliked subject matter!" crows the snooty part of my psyche.

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