Random Question, Regarding Original Pony Fiction.

If I tell you I have several different races of magical talking horse, and they are named:

-Mistblood
-Nightblood
-Starblood
-Mountainblood
-Meadowblood
-Murkblood

What would you think they are and why? Is it obvious what the naming convention is and the connotations for them or not?

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

I have a sense of their likely habitats, but not their abilities.

[Wise Cracker]

4436773
Okay, good to know.

(Edit: sorry if that comes across as overly curt or anything, I'm trying to test the waters atm, see which ideas work and which do not. Can't get a good read on everything if I don't control what information is given to the reader.)

[Themaskedferret]

-Mistblood
Makes me think they're perhaps a very ethereal seeming type, perhaps almost translucent or literally made of mist akin to windigoes.

-Nightblood
Vampires of some sort most likely, or bats

-Starblood
sparkly bats?

-Mountainblood
makes me think they'd be very shaggy and almost goat-like

-Meadowblood
typical equine

-Murkblood
very dark and perhaps poisonous.

4436773 You just need your imagination.

[FanOfMostEverything]

4436865
The problem is that at the moment, I see too many possibilities, especially since I don't know anything else about the setting. Mountainbloods, for example, could be goatlike, rocklike, bizarre mole-horses, etc. I'm not sure where to draw the line.

[Wise Cracker]

4436865
I like how your mind works. You got some completely correct answers there in the mix. Thanks for that, now I know it could work

[Themaskedferret]

4436871 Yeah, that's fair. i just went with the most common tropes.

4436874 Don't ignore what FoME said too though, I just went with the most likely tropes, but he's got a point that those tropes won't necessarily be the same for everyone.

[Wise Cracker]

4436871
4436877
Oh, I'm taking notes, don't worry. In the actual story, it's made clear from the onset what they all are. My goal was to see if the names could be iconic/obvious enough to carry the load. Mainly because while I am pretty proud of 'fomoth' and 'foamy,' it sounds too much like 'shoggoth' and 'pony', respectively. Either of that would be fine, but 'shoggoth' is too far from what it's describing and 'pony' would leave readers thinking too much of MLP.

It relates to ancestry, btw, that's the common theme. Because in horses, you have cold-blooded and hot-blooded breeds, the suffix -blood made sense to use there. Nightblood is currently what I'm looking to use for bat ponies, mistblood for pegasi, starblood for unicorns, meadowblood for regular horses. Mountain and murk, eh, maybe dwarven equivalents along with aquatic swampdwellers. But I'm leaving that open for now, just as an option.

It still needs a lot of work, unfortunately. Another full rewrite, at least, and then see if any short stories can come of it before I publish, make sure it stays consistent throughout. So thanks again, it does help.

[terrycloth]

I'd think they're all different kinds of vampires? With different magical spells to use with their blood magic.

[ponygrad]

-Mistblood
druidish
-Nightblood
ninja
-Starblood
magic
-Mountainblood
earth ponies
-Meadowblood
The race that dies immidiatley to show how evil something is
-Murkblood
Zecora.

[Twilight_the_spy]

--note that this is all just stuff I feel like making up. You can steal ideas if you so choose, I really don't care :)

---

-Mistblood
Lives near the water usually rivers or underneath/around waterfalls. Mist bloods, whether they are a Unicorn, Pegasus, or Earth Pony can all manipulate liquids easily.
Unicorns: can basically do anything with water; summon it, remove vast areas of it, boil/freeze it instantly, you get the picture.
Pegasi: can manipulate steam/mist/clouds better than regular Pegasi, as they seem to have a stronger connection. Can condense clouds to form rock hard barriers that can stop a bullet, or shoot condensed clouds as projectiles.
Earth ponies: can 'liquidate' anything (basically if there is water nearby they can 'control' the water and force it into whatever they want to). Able to cause huge water spouts from the ground.

General traits for all Mistbloods: can breathe underwater, regeneration is multiplied by drinking water. They will die if they have not had water for over 10-12 hours.

---

-Nightblood
Lives in caves, or under dense forests where it's especially dark.

Unicorns: Can use shadow magic to create invisible barriers, unseeable to all but other Nightbloods and Starbloods. Also seen as the healers, as their shadow magic is able to heal almost any Nightblood or Starblood's wound.
Pegasi: can float through shadows, even if it's a space smaller than the pegasus itself, it can flow through it like a river.
Earth ponies: can weave shadows into powerful swords and armor, but only Nightbloods can wield them (The items created may also vanish if they are not 'charmed' by a Nightblood unicorn).

General traits for all Nightbloods: Nocturnal. Have a hard time seeing during the day, and especially bright light sources will harm them over time (a full day in sunlight can cause 1st-3rd degree burns) -- note that light won't kill them though. Able to blend in with shadows, becoming almost completely invisible; however, due to close relations, Starbloods can easily detect a blended in Nightblood.
Starbloods are ancient descendants of Nightbloods. Nightbloods and Starbloods are typically found living together, but some have the ideal that their race is better and have formed smaller, separate tribes.

---

-Starblood
Lives in caves, or under dense forests where it's especially dark.

Unicorns: The attackers of the group, can call upon the power of the moon and the stars to reign hell down on an enemy (However, doing so causes a heavy amount of fatigue and can kill the Unicorn in question due to a magical overload if not used carefully).
Pegasi:

General traits of all Starbloods: powers increased during a full moon, and decreased on cloudy nights when moon/stars are hidden. Can tolerate light a bit more than Nightbloods, and will not burn as badly. Can see slightly during the day.
Are descendants of Nightbloods.

---

-Mountainblood
-Meadowblood
-Murkblood

Gah it's really late and I'm starting to have a hard time thinking. Will favourite this post and get the rest done tomorrow :)