And Then It Exploded, Twice! · 11:47pm Feb 5th, 2023
Sometimes it's a bit hard to pin down what FIM's world is like, technologically.
Oh, there's a few gaps that are consistent. No television, no phones, no computers, no automobiles. But otherwise it can vary based on what an episode needs to serve the plot, or the joke. And of course, magic throws a wrench into all of that, since the underlying question is often this: How much is what I'm seeing technological, and how much is magical? Sometimes it's easy to tell, like Tank's copter having an obvious magical glow, but sometimes we're left wondering, say, what those ovens in Sugarcube Corner are running on.
When deciding what ponies may have access to technologically, I like to look at what the earliest form of a given tech was. I feel like, in a world with magic, early tech is more likely to be kept and refined magically to make it work more effectively rather than discarded entirely. That's why I settled on them using presstoff; being made of paper pulp makes for a lot of drawbacks as a faux leather, but some magical waterproofing treatments would go a long way to making it more practical.
However, in The Long Eventide, there was a recent line I wrote:
"Was more of an illusion, really. 'Cept for the teeth. We lent her some plastic vampony teeth."
Now, that's true to the episode it's referencing. Princess Luna, after shedding her Nightmare Moon disguise, clearly has fake teeth on like you'd find around Halloween. It's recognizable to the audience and therefore funny.
But as soon as I invoke the word "plastic," in comes the question of what sort of plastic they have. A quick bit of Internet research later, and I have parkesine in my head. It's made from plant materials and was intended to replace ivory for making objects like buttons, fountain pens, and billiard balls. A harder, more brittle stuff than the soft, flexible plastic we're accustomed to seeing in false vampire fangs and other such things, but it confirmed that plant-based plastics are an old tech, one that this world be more likely to utilize and keep innovating on than they would have done anything yet with crude oil.
So those vampony teeth are most likely a form of bioplastic. Great! Problem solved.
Then I found out that one of the problems with parkesine is that it's flammable. To wit, when it breaks down, it can self-ignite. It can also potentially explode in response to impacts. Suddenly using it for billiard balls seems very unwise.
Now, again, this is a world of magic, and in A Moonlit Storm I establish that fireproofing magic exists. It's likely been figured out by now that if you're going to use this stuff, you want to treat it with some kind potion or enchantment to keep it from bursting into flame at inconvenient times. But magic has its own ways that things can go wrong, and I sincerely doubt the average person who buys an item knows the nuances of the tech or magic behind its creation, let alone how the two combine.
There's been at least one careless or unlucky individual who's had a household item made of this pretty false ivory spontaneously burst into flames and not have the slightest clue why.
There might be an amusing short story in that.
And then there's the goats with wireless mic headsets...
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Ah yes, that one. A perfect example of "tech for the joke" as well as the "how much of that is tech or are those powered by magic" question. With a dash of sapience confusion on said goats for good measure. But worldbuilding wouldn't be so much fun if it were easy
Hmn... maybe if you laced the parkesine with asbestos fibers, that would... cause a whole new set of problems!