Oct
15th
2014
Second Live Character Q&A · 10:05pm Oct 15th, 2014
Welcome one and all to the second Live Character Q&A for The Unity Pact and The Unity Pact 2: Shaking Foundations! Please take a seat and read the Instructions very carefully:
1. Please ask only a single question per post.
2. You must specify to whom you are asking the question.
3. Please use proper spelling and grammar (as much as possible, leeway will be given to those for whom American English is not their first language).
4. Please remember that the author will be posting responses from his phone just like last time, so give him time to respond.
5. Some VERY LIMITED spoilers MAY be present during the Q&A session, so please adjust brains accordingly.
6. Post as frequently as you like.
7. Have fun!
I'm going to start us all off with a hello. I honestly love the story and am a big fan. My comprehension of the story is pretty down pat so I don't have any questions. Plus I don't want any spoilers.
But every one feel free to ask away. I won't complain. I just won't ask any questions right now as I can't find any to ask in the first place.
Given the soul-searching pronouncements Luna gave to Celestia recently, it seems that Luna and Chris have had some really interesting conversations. Since interactions between opposites is fun to read (straight-laced, outdated Luna and wise-cracking, irreverent Chris) it would be nice to see the process that led to Luna's decision. Maybe a side-fic?
Let's rock this! I think I'm going to begin this Q&A a little bit early. So bring your questions one and all.
2537471 Maybe... *Troll grin*
You are in an enclosed auditorium. In front of you is a stage with a bright red curtain and just to the side of that stage is the author standing behind a podium,
"Hello and welcome to the second Live Character Q&A for The Unity Pact and The Unity Pact 2: Shaking Foundations! Our entire cast is behind the curtain waiting with bated breath to answer your questions! Soooooooo who is going to ask the very first question?"
Question Time!
Question is for Eduardo (sorry if I'm spelling yer name wrong)
Who taught you to fight with a blade?
2541705 Eduardo steps out from behind the red curtain,
"That would be mi abuelo, my grandfather. He was Phillipino and he knew their way of fighting. I started learning from him when I was just a nino and he kept teaching me until he passed away two years ago when I was seventeen."
Ah, Kali stick fighting. Nasty martial art. Very ambidextrous. (but then this is me assuming things) Anyway, on to the next question.
In the first Unity Pact, Bold Move spoke of 'the need', 'to start a family', I believe he said. Will Artix be afflicted with this, seeing as he is now 90% Kavim?
2541839 Author,
"Good reference! I wasn't sure anybody remembered that. The answer is yes, in fact he's starting to feel it already. That is one of the other things about him that has changed. There are still others, but those are for a different time."
2541864 Should be an interesting conversation for him to have to have with a predominantly female race, that he was just recently biologically bonded to.
Next question.
Ludwig's past was kind of full of holes. Wanted some clarification. He has a son. He was homeless for a while. What happened to his son's mother? (or did I read it -and- forgot it) If its too much of a spoiler, that's cool.
2541888 Alex Ludwig steps out from behind the curtain,
"My wife passed away, she was hit by a car. My grandmother is taking care of my son. She's getting up there in years but she loves Jeremy with all her heart and she'll take care of him."
2541970 Apologies!
Next question.
Eyep, Nope, Does or will Big Mac have a herd?
2541985 Big Macintosh steps out from behind the red curtain,
"Eyup. Ah come from a traditional family and Ah'll keep that there tradition alive."
Question for the author.
If Dan and a mare make babies, will the offspring be full pony, or part human?
2542143 You have attained All my interest yet again.
Next question.
Chris, Discord, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash; 'the Prank War 20XX', it shall be of the Epic scale, yes?
2542153 Author,
"The offspring will be full Kavim. Artex' reproductive DNA is an exact match for Kavim."
Author again
What happens if a pony gets a blood transfusion from a human?
2542160 Author,
"Chris has yet to really meet any of them on a particularly personal level. God help the universe if they did meet." *shudder*
2542173 Author,
"AHA! Somebody finally asks the million dollar question! Good on you for thinking in that direction!" author pauses for dramatic effect, "And the answer is... the reverse of what happened to Artex. The Kavim DNA would alter to match that of a Human. The Kavim would not be very happy probably, unless it was their intent to become reproductively compatible with a Human. You might just see that very thing at some point."
2542175 YES, shudder, indeed. Shudder in anticipation.
Next question.
Guns?
Feel free to keep asking questions for about another two and a half hours since you are the only two interested in asking ANY questions. This is really sad. I was hoping for a much larger turnout.
2542182 Author,
"What about guns? Aren't our Humans working on that problem already?"
Another for the author.
Is the blood/DNA thing reversible?
2542197 Author,
"Negative. An individual's DNA may only be altered once."
Grumpy unicorn volunteer Backlash.
You seem stressed. Are you aware that human forelimbs give the best cuddles?
Seeing how this is still going on, A question for author/changelings, Mostly curious as to how they feed in your story, as in does it drain just emotions, Or other energies like magic. And or are there side effects to being fed on and if so how much
2542187 Sorry, keep forgetting just how humble this story is.
Next question.
I seem to remember that Razor was really happy about one of her magic nouns (I think) 'leveling up'. Is this going to be possible for the Humans, for the nouns and verbs they have available?
2542216 Backlash trots out from behind the red curtain,
"I... am not. Nor am I in the habit of, as you said, 'cuddling'. I am not stressed, I merely have business to take care of and I have no time for silliness. Life is a serious business and I plan to treat it as such."
2542217 Alana steps out from behind the curtain nervously,
"We do not so much... feed on emotions as we do draw strength from them. Regular food will sustain us, but the emotions help keep us strong. There are absolutely no ill effects to a host from us drawing strength from emotions. It powers our magic, aids us in flight, and brings strength to our limbs. It does help us to eat less food though. Think of it as a way that we can partially sustain ourselves."
2542253 Author,
"Yes absolutely. There is a small factor though. For a Noun or Verb to increase in potency, the magic user must use it many many many times. Think of it as a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes."
2542282 So if Tina's son lives long enough, he could become an alicorn in human form?
Catalyst
Power crystals in kavim homes, have been mentioned. Human technology tends to run on electricity. Could kavim mass produce portable power crystals that provide electrical energy? In other words, can humans get magic batteries, if they need them?
2542307 Author,
"It's EXTREMELY UNLIKELY, but technically it is possible. He would have to live for thousands and thousands of years though."
2542315 Catalyst trots out from behind the red curtain,
"I hadn't given it any real thought, but I suppose it's possible. The science of Magitech is in dire need of significant leap."
Jason Campbell
If you're going with solid cellulose based propellants, for the firearms project, have you looked at using an electrical ignition system, or magitech equivalent? Would save you the trouble of reinventing primers, and get the number of moving parts way down, by eliminating the need for a hammer/striker mechanism.
2542331 Well that's mildly disappointing, but immortal humans all too often turn evil at some point. Even if they try to go good, all the trouble they cause while on the dark side gives them a terrible rep.
Next question.
After the bio questions, if a human were to get a blood transfusion from a Pegasus, wings, yes or no?
2542342 Jason walks out from behind the red curtain,
"I've given it more than a bit of thought. It's a really tricky business to begin with. First off, we have a way to set off the cellulose via small, hot flame, but that is effectively just a musket with a flint ignition. Old stuff. The ignition isn't really a problem so much as cycling. We tried to make a prototype that had multiple barrels, similar to a pepperbox, that ended badly when our ignition source affected all six rounds we had and resulted in a 'cook off' and all the cartridges discharged at the same time. It made for a nice, almost recoil-free shotgun type blast but that wasn't something we could use. As I said, our single biggest issue is proper cycling. We wanted a semi-auto or full auto weapon, but unless we fix the cycling issue and find a suitable method of ignition that doesn't require powder or flame... it's going to take time. We were thinking of using specially made crystals for the ignition using some sort of Fire magic, but the Unicorns are leery of giving is anything Fire based until we have our basic magic training out of the way."
2542366 Author,
"No. Artex' DNA is a nearly perfect match for a Unicorn, but he doesn't have a horn."
Luna
There's this tradition, in the human version of Hearth's Warming Eve, involving a horse, wearing bells, pulling a sleigh.
You'll be a sport, and help out, won't you?
2542444 Near perfect for unicorn, but he got his transfusion from Big Mac. Still saddened. Think it would have been cool for there to be angelic humans, but then there would have been that whole can of worms, so nevermind.
Next question.
Out of curiousity, I was wondering what Beacon's noun and verb levels were?
2542470 Luna trots out from behind the curtain and her face is a thunderhead,
"We are NOT amused."
2542472 Beacon steps out from behind the red curtain,
"My Nouns and Verbs are a 2 in everything but with a 3 in Control and Air."
Celestia
If I brought an attack dog into your castle, and let it loose, and it bit somepony, who would you blame? Me or the dog?
Next question.
Catalyst, unicorns are not naturally blind to any noun or verb, but they can be less that level one, or am I just reading too far out of text.
2542511 Celestia pokes her head out from behind the red curtain,
"You, and I would punish you by telling Twilight then turning her lose on you."
Celestia again.
When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Your guards seem to be trained in only a single method of conflict resolution: look menacing, and expect immediate compliance. After you herded the humans to the old town, you could have sent the guards to protect all the nearby kavim towns.
What made you think that sending them to the humans would deescalate the situation?
2542521 Catalyst shakes her head,
"Yes, some Unicorns are born Blind to a Noun or Verb. It is considered a severe handicap because in those cases any spell which incorporates the Noun or Verb that the Unicorn is Blind to has double the effect on them and can easily do them great harm. A spell to stun can stop a heart, a spell to keep warm may permanently deaden nerve endings. That is why any Unicorn that is Blind to a Noun or Verb is considered handicapped."
2542537 Celestia walks out from behind the red curtain looking somewhat ashamed,
"At the time it wouldn't have made sense to me. Why spread the Guard thin and wide when the apparent danger, imagined or not, was already in a single location. Besides it's a good thing I didn't. Imagine what would have happened if there had been regular Guards in Flankfurt instead of the punished Guards and Beacon. It turned out for the best and as my dear sister recently pounded into my occasionally thick head, 'live and learn'."
Celestia again.
After 2 disasters between your guards, and the humans, why did you act surprised, after the battle with the diamond dogs, when sending a guard to fetch a human resulted in a third altercation?