Question time: First law · 3:06am Sep 14th, 2017
Hey hey, readers, welcome to the first and probably only episode of question time with Jest, this week we are asking the question, What questions do you want to be answered in the First Law of magic?
What are some things you hope you see more of?
Some things that you hope to see explained?
Things you want a more detailed back story on?
Characters you hope to see?
And generally, just questions that have arisen from your read of the story so far! Let me know below so I know what to include in future chapters! I have an explanation for most of the stuff, by the way, I am just curious as to what you fine folks want to see explained, etc as I don't want to miss anything!
P.S I have outlined the next 10-12 chapters and I am just finishing up writing the outline for the rest of the story all the way to the end and I was curious about what you want to see! So if you're wondering why I'm taking so long on the next chapter it is partly because I almost always finish the last chapter before I start the first and I didn't want to keep going until I completed the outline in its entirety and a few other old projects I was hoping to wrap up.
So without further ado let me know whats on your mind (about the aforementioned story) in the comments below!
Ciao!
hmm well i would love to know at least a bit on how luna is going to play out in this. but thats likely spoliers
hmmm oh how about how is the apple clan in this one since apple jack is likely still in ponyvill also the whole being a lich/necromancer deal but likey also spoliers
Love the wyrm part too funny, what other creatures/races are you gonna have?
Celestia is terrified of, and rather vigilant in destroying any traces of Necromancy, be they knowledge, practitioners, or beings who had no control in how they came to be. Pretty sure she had all the doctors who examined Twilight when she was young, killed, because they had gained "forbidden knowledge" by examining her.
Do any countries apart from Equestria have any Necromantic knowledge etc?
If so, has Celestia had foreign nationals and assets killed/destroyed? Has she committed acts of war in her goal of destroying everything necromantic? Just how far has she carried this vendetta?
4667935You know, thinking about his further I considered the fact that Luna herself could be a Lich or a necromancer. I mean, she does spend 1000 years on the moon, right?
As for the Authors questions, I had at first chuckled about it but now I'm genuinely curious. What is Ditzy?
4667918
" hmm well i would love to know at least a bit on how luna is going to play out in this. but thats likely spoliers
hmmm oh how about how is the apple clan in this one since apple jack is likely still in ponyvill also the whole being a lich/necromancer deal but likey also spoliers"
Luna is in there, later though, much later. Applejack is coming up near the end of the first arc and some people have guessed what her and the appleclan are, they are close but not quite on the nose though. Thats all ill say about that.
4667930
" Love the wyrm part too funny, what other creatures/races are you gonna have? "
Plenty, Canterlot has the three tribes but Ponyville has Archne, Lunar Pegasi, Wyverns, Dragons, unde- oops, ive said too much.
(but seriously they are going to be numerous. What races would you like to see?)
4667935
"Celestia is terrified of, and rather vigilant in destroying any traces of Necromancy, be they knowledge, practitioners, or beings who had no control in how they came to be. Pretty sure she had all the doctors who examined Twilight when she was young, killed, because they had gained "forbidden knowledge" by examining her.
Do any countries apart from Equestria have any Necromantic knowledge etc?
If so, has Celestia had foreign nationals and assets killed/destroyed? Has she committed acts of war in her goal of destroying everything necromantic? Just how far has she carried this vendetta? "
okay, so since this answer wont contain spoilers and the fact that this will only really be referanced and wont be super important I will answer this in its entirety.
They wont have all been killed but some may have suffered a fate worse then death.
Other countries have only minor knowledge and the myths and rumours spread by Celestia about necromancy simply not working and not being a thing usually are enough as Celestia is honest and trust worthy about everything else it only makes sense shed speak the truth about this right? Really only the plague jungles and those that inhabit them know anything real about necromancy though they are nomadic, tribalistic and zenophobic, meaning their knowledge does not leave their lands and if it does its treated as little more then voodoo nonesense. The dragons know but they guard the knowledge tightly, knowing its value. Gryphons dont know and dont care, treating it as it would be near impossible for them to use even if they didnt veiw the use of nearly any magic as abhorrent. She has killed select ancient dragons in her quest to keep it silent and sundered the fledgling nation of zebrica, reducing them to little more then warring tribes in her quest to keep the truth of necromancy out of the public. That should explain the rest of your questions.
4667962
"You know, thinking about his further I considered the fact that Luna herself could be a Lich or a necromancer. I mean, she does spend 1000 years on the moon, right?
As for the Authors questions, I had at first chuckled about it but now I'm genuinely curious. What is Ditzy? "
In this story its not expressly stated that she was banished, only that she was destroyed, and dealt with. What that means exactly will be revealed in due time. As for ditzy she is a lunar pegasus that spent too long staring at the moon and is considered 'touched' she receives visions of great truth both past and future, its too bad nobody believes her.
Hmmm... can't think of any question i have, that wouldn't be story spoilers to have answered... so, i got nothing.
The story thus far has been excellent, in my opinion. I love how Twilight is still in deep denial, like she's desperately holding onto what few perceived shreds of normality she has left; i look forward to reading her reaction, once she is confronted with the truth, that she is in fact, quite dead.
4667968
What i would like to see? A Pukwudgie, Chamrosh, kappa, or an enfield (the creature). anyone of these would be interesting to see
4667968
I wouldn't mind seeing a few Changelings in the mix; but that's mostly cause i have a soft spot for them, i'm not sure offhand how they would actually fit into this alternate version of Ponyville.
4667997
What i would like to see? A Pukwudgie, Chamrosh, kappa, or an enfield (the creature). anyone of these would be interesting to see
Pukwudgie are interesting but very tied to human mythos, chamrosh would be interesting but they basically seem like slightly different gryphons that would be hard to make meaningfully different with such a small change. Kappas are weird and sort of uninteresting and Enfields are neat but I dont forsee much that makes them truly different and unique without being just another race. Though I do like their potential.
4668000
Changelings are interesting and I have an idea how to include them but it wouldnt be easy and I dont want to distract too much from the main story, that being said I might make an arc that includes them or at the very least they make for an interesting possible sequel.
May be I am just a bit slow. So I need to ask how violent the world is? I see that Sunset is a homicidal maniac, Celestia is a paranoid, are these because of the inherent darkness of the world or just a niche of the story?
I would like to see Rarity as an Arachnid-pony. Those extra limbs/arms would be provide extra dexterity for working on dresses, in my opinion, since I doubt she would have magic, or at least not as great control over it as in the show.
4668000
Only if the changelings are, in fact, horribly sociopathic to "prey species." I tend to imagine them having the same temperment towards other races as elves, only more pronounced do to their feeding method.
4668020
pretty darn violent, we are in a bit of a lul right now.
4668027
Soon.jpg
4668041
That could be interesting.
4667968
This actually raises an interesting question; I don't see how the other nations could not be aware that Celestia effectively obliterated another nation, seemingly for no good reason. That must be having an impact on Equstria's diplomatic relations.
Also, for the sake of her Ponies, Celestia has unleashed such suffering upon the Zebras; really makes one wonder, who is the real monster here?
I would like moral gray area. Plot twists are welcome as well. My favorite kind of stories are those that makes me question my beliefs and make me consider new situations. Like for example, what can soul magic do? Does it make a unicorn a walking WMD? Are Celestia's actions justifiable? Necessary even? what would be the alternative? Where is the line of life and death? What consequences does this have for society? We can go on about agency, civilization, the meaning and value of life, co-existence and a lot of other questions that I would rather not have be clear good vs bad answer to.
Making both Twilight and Celestia understandable and sympathetic while both are doing questionable or downright condemnable things is also something I like.
In short: I do not want good vs bad.
Wait a second... Were is Spike?
4668344
This is multipronged, if you bring down a nation and make it look like a civil war there are going to be questions yes but if you muddy the waters enough that any concrete proof is imposible then even if a rival nation 'knows' it was her, what can they really do about it? Beyond that they might not even know for sure, the most they might know is that pony agents were there during the fall and most other nations dont have the intellegence agency that Celestia has, sure they might have something akin to it but nothing on Celestia's scale or experience.
Tldr the waters are super mudy, what they do know is subject at best and most nations dont have the agency the likes of which Celestia has.
4668410
"I would like moral gray area. Plot twists are welcome as well. My favorite kind of stories are those that makes me question my beliefs and make me consider new situations. Like for example, what can soul magic do? Does it make a unicorn a walking WMD? Are Celestia's actions justifiable? Necessary even? what would be the alternative? Where is the line of life and death? What consequences does this have for society? We can go on about agency, civilization, the meaning and value of life, co-existence and a lot of other questions that I would rather not have be clear good vs bad answer to.
Making both Twilight and Celestia understandable and sympathetic while both are doing questionable or downright condemnable things is also something I like.
In short: I do not want good vs bad.
Wait a second... Were is Spike? "
Stories that are not just simple one shots should never have a clear good and evil, if they do its either lazy writing or making a mockery of good and evil or something like that early on things will seem like good and bad but that is because we are seeing them through the lense of Twilight who despite her smarts has hardly experienced everything, as she learns and grows things will... change.
Spike exists but how he exists and what that means for the story are things you will find out eventually, all ill say is that its going to be a curveball I hope you dont see coming.
Fluttershy said that she was born in Cliffsdale, same as Rainbow Dash. If Cliffsdale is this world's equivalent to Cloudsdale, are all the inhabitants lunar pegasi? And are wild souls like Fluttershy normally bat ponies or are they constantly swapping between animal bodies?
4668678
Celestia had better hope that those tribes don't ever figure it out; and that they don't trace any of it back to Equestria. Hatred of a common enemy is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to unify groups that don't like each other very much.
4668933
Indeed, if I ever do write a sequel to First Law, i intend on exploring this but either way thats a long way out.
4668863
Neigh, Cliffsdale has all manner of creature though its almost exclusively made up by those who can fly just due to the fact that its on the side of a cliff though there is also a number of creatures that live within the caves. I am hoping to squeeze in a side story that explores Cliffsdale though im not sure if I can fit it into the main story or whether it will be a splinter story unique to itself.
4668961
I look forward to reading that someday.
4668961
You could make side stories for each of the main characters, going into a bit of their origins. I know that more than likely we will be getting those explanations later, but it would be cool to see just one-shots of defining moments in the characters' lives, such as what led to Fluttershy to becoming a wild spirit, from the character's perspective. I know I would be interested in seeing the war against Luna/Nightmare through Celestia's eyes.
Unrelated, can I just say the idea of Pinkie being a Chimera has refused to leave my head? Each with a different personality? One being serious and mature, one with less inhibitions, and one with the personality we all know and love/fear?(Bonus points if you can figure out which Pinkie-centric story on this sight gave me the idea for the personality!)
4668012
taking a creative spin onthem to make slight changes or new creature entirely would be fun, no?
Eddit: mushroom ponys?
4669210
Mushroom ponies! Now that could be fun. After I look over the story once more maybe I will add something like that in. Right now I'm worried about cluttering up the story too much.
isn't living armor or golems always classic monster-ghost stuff?
4724785
Usually.
4724954
What would biological living armor even be though?
a parasite that feasts upon dead soldiers then somehow takes their shape and keeps armor as some form of exoskeleton?
urgh
I have a question, how are first law and born in the light sister stories? I havent been able to find out why you say that. Is one a prequel? Which should I read first?
5326775
They were just born of the same premise. And if you read them both you will notice some strange similiataries.