34 Midwinter December 27
(I guess I ought to get used to writing human-style dates.)
Ugh, we had another long day of presentations about the foreign exchange program today. Me and the other three girls who got selected to go. If I'd have known it would be so boring to get ready I never would have signed up. Nah, scratch that. I've got a mind-set of already being there. I can see it in my head, and it just feels more and more real with each new picture we see, or the short films they sometimes let us watch.
But it's only a couple more days!!!!!!
After the lecture, Miss Chestnut took me aside and told me how lucky I was, that there weren't very many pegasuses in the program, because of the reciprocity. I nodded, even though I wasn't sure what that meant—I had to look it up. I guess it's 'cause humans can't live in cloudhouses, even though they build tall skyscratchers (I think that's what they call them).
I never thought that living in a groundhome would work out to my favor.
Mom and my sister are planning a going-away party for tomorrow night. They think it's a surprise, but I found out about it when Juniper Berry asked me about it in history class. I didn't tell them that I know, 'cause that wouldn't be nice. I know they're stressed out about this, too. Mom had to go to a bunch of meetings after work, plus Juniper Berry said that when I'm away at lectures, they have some as well, about how to act with humans. She says that those are interesting and I think so too.
Sometimes I think they're making too much of it. We all want to be friends, right? That's the whole reason we have this student exchange program, to learn about each other's culture and language and stuff. Practically every presentation talks about that. So how do we learn if we're always walking on thorns around each other?
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Mmmm, juniper berries.
Skyscratchers...
Have my like early.
Cute and intriguing start. By the way, I know you're going for informality and such, but as a pegasus herself, wouldn't it be odd for Silver Glow to say "pegasuses" instead of the correct term "pegasi?"
Minor nitpick to an otherwise strong and endearing start.
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6975349
Well, technically pegasuses is the correct term, in English anyways.
It just felt like how she'd say it.
6975629 Well, if you really prefer it, I'd say go ahead and keep using it. But the show uses "pegasi" (or "pegasus ponies"). Here's the wiki entry for reference.
I won't harp on it after this, though. Just offering some feedback. Looking forward to the next chapter!
6975629 I'm not entirely sure about that. Though, this is supposed to be a journal, so I can't really nitpick.
6974448 I swear, whenever I see "juniper berries", I can still hear Ralof saying, "I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in?"
6975966
"It's funny... as a child, Imperial walls used to make me feel so safe..."
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6975739
Short version: Pegasus is Greek, not Latin, therefore it's pluralized by adding -es (in English) or by using the correct Greek ending (which I have no idea what that is). It's further complicated by the fact that Pegasus is the name of one specific winged horse, so there may not be a specific rule for it any more than there is for making a plural of Elvis.
A good example of this is octopus--the two proper plurals of it are octopodes or octopuses. Octopi is not correct (also a Greek word).
All that having been said, 'pegasus' has been adopted into modern culture to refer to any winged horse, and in the show, a group of them absolutely is referred to as 'pegasi' (or pegasus ponies). Nor is the show alone in that; I haven't done a comprehensive study of fantasy RPGs or fantasy literature, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that in most of it from the 70s on, pegasi is given as the plural of pegasus.
So in that sense, 'pegasi' is correct by default, even if the rules of English technically say that it isn't.
Anyhow, the tl:dr version is that either is acceptable (if for no other reason than they use it in show canon); only the most pedantic English major would insist 'pegasuses' to be used.
For some reason, in my head, this story takes place in the same universe, but years earlier, as Horse Wife. Wonder if that'll change as I read...
6977127
> there may not be a specific rule for it any more than there is for making a plural of Elvis.
I'm pretty sure that if you start cloning him, you'd have to refer to the result as "Elvises". Because "Elvipodes" just sounds silly.
I couldn't think of anything better,
~~Leonzilla
6977127 In case anyone cares, I took a look at the Greek wictionary page for pegasus. Seems like the plural of pegasus is Πήγασοι (pegas-oy). And considering how English pronunciation tends to work, I'd say "pegasi" is probably the most accurate plural.
7088188 I was planning on saying that, but you seem to have beaten me to it! Yep, the plural of Πήγασος is Πήγασοι. However, since the English spelling "pegasus" came from Greek by way of Latin, then just as Greek goes from "ος" in nominative singular to "οι" in the nominative plural, then "pegasus" becomes "pegasi".
One more thing:
6982799 The "-podes" ending is (AFAIK) strictly for the plural of octopus; it is not the general Greek plural ending. "Octopodes" is a plural of octopus because the word octopus is made up of two Greek parts: "οκτω-" (octo-), meaning eight, and "πους" (pous), meaning foot. One gets "octopodes" because the word pous is pluralized podes (different Greek words pluralize differently).
Didn't notice this before, but you have Silver Glow referring to her 'dad' here--I thought Silver Glow didn't know him?
7207928
If your mom hung out with the same stallion for as long as you'd been alive, wouldn't you call him dad?
And then when she got old enough to tell you about the birds and bees, you'd probably still call him dad.
7207941
No?
I suppose I get what you're saying but it seems that the society you constructed probably wouldn't put much or any empathize on having a father: ponies who do know their fathers have 'something extra' above what they probably consider normal, so I'm not sure somepony like Silver Glow would adopt somepony as her 'dad'.
I think this is the first long Admiral Biscuit story I have looked at and after the first chapter I can tell it is going to be good.
but I think the best chapter Admiral ever posted is the shortest on the site now that is some super good righting.
Pegasi, not Pegasuses.
7226337 You'd think a Pegasus would know that, wouldn't you?
Five exclamation points, the surest sign of an insane mind. - Pratchett
This is good. I was wondering when will you be updating onto the pony planet. Please don't cancel it it's like my favorite mlp fimfiction right now.
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Is there a word, besides 'step-dad' in any language you know of, to refer to a father-figure who isn't actually your father? I feel that there probably is.
Anyway, that's one limitation of my writing, I suppose. If I was better at languages, I'd make up a word that fit.
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but I think the best chapter Admiral ever posted is the shortest on the site
You should read Canonical Mute Vinyl Scratch Breaks Up With Fanon Mutavia. At zero words, it's well worth a read. Also I can't publish a shorter chapter than that.
7226337
Silver Glow is applying the rules of English pluralization to the word.
7242838
I assume four and six are good, though?
7378061
Fear not; as you've seen there's been an update.
7458403
No there isn't: i suppose I wold imagine that Silver would just refer to this stallion by his name. I feel like the concept of having a 'father figure' might be a strange on to Silver and the other ponies in her society, especially if the father sticking around is an unusualy occurence: ponies are raised by their mothers, and expected to be raised by their mothers, so the Equestrian 'nuclear family' is a mom and her foals.
In truth, the idea of a male sticking around and raising the kids might seem weird to Sillver in general.
Unrelated to the story, but it immediately catches my eye that the ponies have a different calendar.
Do you have a name for each month?
...does this come up in the story?
God, I'm gonna cringe so much, but in a good way. Also, this is KreeperGamer, not Circuit. I live on Earth, but we talk now and again. His "stargate" certainly helps.
7458688
Yeah, that's probably the best way to do it. Although I think that in their language, if that was common, there would probably be a name for the stallion who hangs around with mom and sometimes foalsits. i remember coming across a similarly weird type of relationship in the Bible that there's a Hebrew word for (because it was common back then, I guess). Can't remember what it was, though.
And to the seaponies, the idea of a female sticking around is odd.
7468743
Yes, they do. It would be an even, perpetual calendar, since they can control the sun, and therefore can make each year however long they want (which I figure they do with lunar cycles).
No to both. I think that most of their months would have fairly utilitarian names, though--I can't see them having named them for gods, for example (and September through December are just counting names, so it's not that weird an idea). Things like 'Springmonth' and 'Harvestmonth,' that kind of name.
7469069
I hope there's not too much cringing
7473344
I suppose it just feels like it isn't common.
Why does this stallion hang around with her mother anyway? does he have children with her? Does he have other children? IDK.
I started reading this and at first I was like "oh what a charming little story, can't wait to see where it goes"
I took a peek into the comments and know it's more "where the hell is all the backstory people are arguing about?"
Now that I'm re-reading this I've always wanted to ask how old Silver is.
7473460
He hangs out with her 'cause he's getting you-know-what from her. So I guess if anything he's her mom's stallionfriend.
7505343
Well, some of it is in other stories of mine (more setting rather than specifics), and other parts are just pure speculation. Or philosophy or poetry or politics or whatever . . . the comments really cover a broad range of topics, to be honest.
7641397
However old your headcanon says that Twilight was when she moved to Ponyville, give or take a few years.
I think that ponies generally begin their apprenticeships/secondary education within a year or two of getting their cutie marks, which would make her in her late teens; however, some people have trouble imagining a character that young actually having any life experience at all, so I simply don't say in the story. I actually almost never give a character's age unless it's as a punchline to a joke.
7644635
Well, based on your writing, I'm assuming... Sunflower seeds?
Joking aside, what I meant is what exactly is tying him to her? Presumably she isn't the only mare willing to sleep with him, and he's been with her say, 15 or so years; but presumably he's free to sleep with other ponies just as (one assumes based on how Silver behaves) she's free to do the same. If they're actually in love, why not make the relationship official on some level, if it's just
sunflower seedssex, why are they still together?WTR (want to read) story about Silver's home life.
7645813
Wouldn't that be an interesting twist? Pegasi just hook up with each other in exchange for sunflower seeds. (That would put a rather different spin on Hoopy's story.)
Doesn't the fact that they're staying together make it official? Why do they need a piece of paper at all, or a unicorn's blessing, or whatever? I mean, IRL, does a marriage certificate make a couple less likely to cheat or more likely to stay together? Heck, maybe pegasi have more stable relationships than unicorns just because they don't worry about marriage certificates or who the father is or any of those other pesky details.
But to use a real-life example, my boss has been dating this woman for over fifteen years. They live together, they have a daughter together, and neither of them seem to have any particular interest in actually getting married . . . whereas some of my other friends have been married and divorced in less time. Heck, one of my friends from high school was married just before I went to college and divorced by the time I came home for winter break.
Perhaps when I get done with the journal . . .
7698311
In our society there's a number of protections and rights that are granted to one's spouse, and that alone makes marriage worth it if it happens to be the case that you're in a committed relationship. This isn't necessarily the case with ponies, but marriage, in part, is a declaration of love and commitment and a testament to just how serious the relationship is.
This isn't to say you can't have a serious, committed relationship without marriage, yet at the same time I have difficulty understanding why someone wouldn't get married if they're functioning on a married level to begin with. I mean, even polyamorous people go out and do this sort of public declaration of love. I would imagine it would be similar for ponies, including pegasi, even if they don't necessarily describe the ceremony/declaration/etc in the same terms as marriage.
But all this is getting a bit afar afield from the actual question; You've depicted Silver Glow's mother has conceiving her elsewhere, and I find myself wondering to a degree what exactly a relationship is supposed to mean in this situation, what ties this stallion to Silver Glow's mother, exactly? I mean, presumably when Silver was conceived, her mother wasn't doing it because she was in love with this stallion she bonked, it doesn't even sound like they were really friends--since apparently SilverMom doesn't know who Silver's father actually is or have a prior relationship with. Which means, essentially, that SilverMom met this stallion over a three day weekend, and decided to sleep with him, and became pregnant. Generally a relationship implies a certain amount of sexual exclusivity--not necessarily, but certainly in a general sense--and if Silver's known this stallion as her 'dad' for her whole life, it seems implied that SilverMom and Dad were in a relationship around the time Silver was conceived. If this is the norm, and it strongly seems implied to be so, I have to assume that SilverDad probably is a "dad" to a number of other foals and has had recent sexual encounters with a number of mares within Silver's lifetime (Aside: is Silver's sister his?).
I suppose what I'm getting at here is that, if there's no sexual exclusivity, and there's no child rearing exclusivity, and so forth, what's the point in there being anything more than short term relationships to begin with?
I have seen this one in the feed for a while, and I'm glad that I'm finally giving it a chance. Plus I doubt that I'll catch up to the latest chapter within three days.
....Let's do this
Now I'm all curious about the pony calendar, lol
Close enough
Beware the random hugs! You guys are adorable, whether you like it or not!
: I do random hugs too!
Good point, Pinkie.
Remarks and Corrections:
> there weren't very many pegasuses in the program
pegasi?
7840554
I have seen this one in the feed for a while, and I'm glad that I'm finally giving it a chance. Plus I doubt that I'll catch up to the latest chapter within three days.
That would be an insane marathon. Probably doable, but insane. Best to read this one or two days at a time.
7866274
How I'm gonna feel when I finally start in on Skirts' magnum opus. One of these days. . . .
7929794
Well, I'd assume it's lunar, for starts. They use 'moon' a lot in canon as a period of time, and if you can control the sun and the moon, than you can make a good synodic calendar, 'cause you can make sure that a year is an even number of lunations.
Although I think it's fair to say that there aren't too many ponies who would be upset with random hugs. Maybe Rainbow Dash, but that's about it.
She consistently says 'pegasuses'. Technically, that's a proper plural, since pegasus isn't Latin.
Me too.
Alright. I finished The Chase in 2 months so let's see how long this takes.
8004321
I do personally recommend not trying a crazy binge . . . the story was meant to be read one chapter a day, proceeding at a real-life pace. But of course you're more than welcome to read it at whatever pace you choose.
8017562
Lé gasp!
That explains so much! No human being could be so polite and tolerable!
8017573
I did not know that.
... interesting.
Our weird thing is that almost everyone has a thing or place named after Nelson Mandela. Also, every town has either a Kerk Straat (afrikaans) or a Church Street (english), or both. Usually they're right through the middle, and one or the other has at least one Anglican Church on them.
(I'm posting this on the first chapter because apparently replies don't work from the story itself)
This sounds promising. It's really great to you did this in like diary form.
8109131
'pegasuses' was on purpose, wasn't it?
8113135
Yes, it was.
All right here goes. Admiral, how much benefit do you think comes from reading the comments because there are a lot of comments here that seem to be about very random things and also seem to imply you have a lot of world building built up from other books before this.
8190326
I guess the comments are very much a YMMV type of thing. There is all sorts of commentary on the story and real life, and overall the comments may be just as long as the story, to be honest.
Most of the worldbuilding is in line with what I usually do in stories when it comes to pony tech/civilization level, but there's really nothing that you'd have to read before this to get it, I don't think. Silver Glow's Journal isn't a sequel to anything else.
8113135
Pegasus was the name of Bellerophon's flying horse. As a unique individual, technically there *IS* no plural
Some bronies use pegasuses, some use pegasi. Spell check hates them both equally.
9289343
My own thought on that is that pegasi is the general fanon rule and I believe it’s been used in canon, too. Pegasuses probably isn’t completely proper; but, it’s grammatically correct and really as good as anything else.
Sort of how the proper plural of octopus should be either octopuses or octopodes, but many people just say octopi--enough to make it legit vernacular.