1,000 Likes! Q & A · 12:55am May 4th, 2021
I’m running out of words to properly convey how surprised and happy I am. Seriously, I’m completely dumbfounded.
Over 900 people, strangers I may never meet, enjoyed my work and read it. Over 1,000 comments, 200,000 words, 8,000 views. It’s amazing. So, as a thank you, I thought I’d hold a little Q and A and tackle a few questions and theories I’ve already seen. If you have a question and don’t see it being addressed here, leave it in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Spoiler warning.
Q: How can Equestria not have steel.
A: I’ve seen a lot of people say something along the lines of, “How can Equestria have plastic and not steel?” or “How could Equestria not advance to steel?” The answer is that it’s a fan fiction, and I stole the idea of inventing steel from another fan fiction because they didn’t do anything with it and I figured it’d be fine to just borrow that idea and expand on it to make it more important to the plot.
I did it because I firstly needed to solve the monetary issue in the Crystal Empire and then I gave Equestria a reason to need it as well by having Chrysalis have more than one goal for the invasion of Canterlot.
After reading a few comments, I thought of just saying, “They do have it outside the Empire, it’s just not called steel,” but that sounded like a terrible idea and it was an easy way to toss aside something important to the story. So, here’s my canon answer for why Equestria and the other many races never advanced to steel.
Due to the growing greed of dragons who wanted to take rare enchanted metals that were exported out of Equestria, Equestria was forced to suddenly move to a system of golden enchanted armor and abandon the practice of using enchanted iron armor.
Because gold was an easily attained commodity in Equestria, the value of gold in the eyes of Dragons decreased to the point that they didn’t even bother going out of their way to steal golden Equestrian armor and instead focused on the other kingdoms. The other creatures of the planet began to experiment with materials that weren’t metal for fear of their own armor and building materials being taken by dragons.
Because of this, countries like Cattlevania were able to look into materials outside of metal and began development on a “flexible glass” that was actually plastic. Soon, other countries followed their example with the Abyssian Kingdom experimenting with different fabrics that lead to fabric based armor. Equestria saw the benefit of these inventions and began making trading deals with the two kingdoms. Because of this, Equestria essentially skipped over an important age of advancement and reaped the benefits of other countries, offering their own services of weather manipulation to allow Cattlevania and the Abyssian Aisle to expand their own countries by moving to areas that were once uninhabitable due to the severe storms in those areas.
Later, Equestria would adopt the practice of fabric armor, but still wear golden plated armor for ceremonial purposes.
With a large amount of golden enchanted armor that was suddenly impractical compared to the lighter and more easily worn fabric armor (which also had enchantments to make it even better than what the Abyssians were able to provide), most of the iron and gold armor of Equestria was later melted down and used as a way to decorate the graves of notable soldiers and ponies who accomplished great feats, with the noble class often buying their own impressive graves to make themselves look more impressive even in death. During this time, the nobility of Equestria began to dip their own hooves into the sudden influx of scrap gold and used it to create the jewel city known as Canterlot, which later became the new Capital of Equestria. Then some other stuff happened, Fluttershy is a thestral, and now Skeletor invented steel.
There’s my, as of now, canonical answer.
Also, if anyones still wondering how Manehatten has Sky Scrapers, then the answer is that they use clouds and a series of spells to support tall buildings and make them tall enough to reach cloud towns above cities like Manehatten.
Q: Will Skeletor be king again?
Probably not. I’m planing on shoving him in a dutchery as a duke since that’s, from what I can understand, one of highest titles a noble can receive. How long he remains “Duke” Skeletor is up in the air currently, and I have a few doors left open to have him suddenly shoved into a higher position or gently lead to so that he could stumble into them. I did see one comment about making Skeletor Chancellor of The Empire, which actually sounds interesting to me. If I can find out what a chancellor actually does then I might have that be the next step from Duke.
Q: Why do you have Eris in the story and not Discord?
A: Oh boy, the big one. From here, it’s straight up spoiler town, so enter at your own risk. The first answer is why I initially made her Eris and the second is the canon answer. They’re both very different.
You want the real answer? Alright. It’s because I wanted Discord with tits, and I thought that having her in the story could open up a different romantic route. When the story began, I thought of having Skeletor build a relationship with several characters, (Not at the same time I didn’t want a Harem, ((surprising I know)) ). At first, the role of Romantic Interest was filled by Emerald, then dropped, then filled by Best Princess, dropped, and now Eris holds that spot, for now at least. When a commentator assumed that I must have had a better reason than, “I wanted Discord but with tits,” I needed to reassess myself. I did want that, and I realized that just wanting that wasn’t really a good reason to change the whole gender of another character to suit my ow interests, so I began to think of a good reason to have Eris and not Discord. Below is a major spoiler for the story that I was planing to keep close to my chest, but with the pacing of the story I’m not sure when this twist could or if it even can be revealed.
This is the in-universe canon answer, read at your own risk if you really want the canon answer. When I started writing the story, ideas like themes and that were the last thing one my mind. I just wanted Sombra’s brain to paint the walls, I wrote that, and then I needed to continue. I thought, “How would I react in this situation?” And I decided, “I’d freak out and be terrified of this army of small aliens”. So, that spawned the series of misunderstandings that spiraled to the point that it affected history. Now that I’m looking back on it, I’d say that a theme for the story that I’m continuing with is the concept of freedom and how it can be enforced or denied. The crystal ponies were stripped of their freedom for years. They repay their liberator by unknowingly changing him with a large responsibility that essentially makes him their unwilling servant. There are other characters who we’re unknowingly stripped of their freedom, like Colonel Kernel who was forced to ignore his destiny as a farmer to pursue a life in the guard, Avid Value was denied his freedom to choose his own personal feelings, and there are a few other characters who have also been stripped of their freedom that haven’t been revealed yet. One of these characters is Eris.
A lot of people (outside of SMoTE) have theorized that Discord is the creation of Grogar, and that he was likely created to help with Grogar’s plans, whatever they may be. I began to think about his chaotic nature and an idle thought drifted into my mind; The Butterfly Effect. Imagine, if you would, that Discord who is a being of total chaos, learned that his chaotic plans and that his life was predetermined. His creation wasn’t chaotic, it was always meant to happen, and he was destined to become Discord, a false spirit of chaos that was really following the plans of the universe. Discord is a servant to reality, a slave to the hands of time that would guide him onto a pre-set stage with a script and a plan. So, an idea begins to form in his mind and he decides to make a change that effects history and himself. He became Eris as a way to create change, an extra letter to each history book, an extra second of reading about her, three letters lost for her name to shorten and extend pages, and the changes begin to grow. Even within her stone prison, history would begin to slowly change as she confidently waited in her statue. Little changes each day lead to more, causing ponies who were never destined to meet fighting over the love of their life, creating towns in settlements that were never supposed to be made, and causing births and deaths that were never part of the original timeline. I showed a hint of this in Discorded Skeletor, where Discord took a different path to cause chaos and eventually ended up regretting his decision when the many spiraling changes inadvertently caused Luna and several of the Elements to be killed by Tirek. Eris’ choice to change herself caused ripples in history that grew into waves, causing ancestors and their descendants to change and inadvertently preventing a certain bearded stallion from ever making progress with his spell to banish things to other worlds. Changes on top of changes, creating a world where she could feel free to be herself, no longer shackled to the role and title of Discord, she was free to be Eris.
Q: Romance/herd/harem.
A: When it comes to romance in the story I had a few ideas. First and foremost was Emerald Secret since she was was the only female in the cast at the time, but then I remembered, “Oh shit, I wrote a pony whom I’ve alluded to having a non-consensual sexual relationship with a tyrant, and throwing her into a relationship right off the bat with a demonic looking creature might not be the best thing for her.”
Next up on the bachelorette was Luna… For about a week until I came to a similar conclusion. “Hey, this girl has been tortured physically and mentally by a demon on the moon for a thousand years. While she has gotten a bit better thanks to her friends and family in the two years since returning, throwing her in a relationship with a monster may be kinda absolutely stupid.” Bachelorettes one and two are gone. Will Bachelorette number three step out? Ah, yes, Eris No Middle Name or Last Name, Eris… Yeah, that one probably won’t work at all. Next up is…. Cadence? Yeah, no, fuck that.
I saw a comment or two that speculated that they’d either have a three-way or something would happen to Shining to free up some cuddle time with Cadence. No, no that’s not happening in a hundred or thousand years. Killing off Shining Armor, just to open up the possibility of a relationship with Cadence, is something quite a few stories have tried and, arguably, failed to do time and time again. I’m not writing a self-insert story where Skeletor can steal Shining Armor’s girl, I’m writing a story of a character whom I think is a bit better than myself gradually turning into a monster and going through an emo phase because of it. For now, Eris is the best candidate for a relationship, but it’s going to be hard to accurately portray that because I’m a 21 year old loser who hasn’t even held hands with another girl. I think you can understand why I’m unqualified to handle a romantic relationship in fiction well.
I like Erie x skeletor
Dude I love the breakdown of your story. Im going to go read it again.
Why is it that no matter how many times I explain it, people will still use the metal scrubber on meat scraps and the cloth scrubber on grease, ruining both with a single use when, with thorough rinsing after use, they could have been used for the next two weeks my way?
Works for me.
5513159
Because one is always closer than the other when you need the other. It'd be too much work to dig inn the cupboard for the right one.
5513176
Oh god. You're one of them.
For some reason I didn't get alerted to this blog's existence until today, and I've actually been checking my feed lately.
5513180
Weird.
5513212
Oh yeah. What was that bit about Discorded Skeletor?
5513257
Whoops, forgot to remove that part. Originally, I intended a little story to go up that was non canonical that would explore Starlight's "What if" worlds, when I wrote this early Q&A but I never posted it. The short stories didn't feel like they would fit a random blog post, so I kept them in my pocket.
Discord Skeletor is another fan created name for the infamous Disco Skeletor action figure, which was created for the 20X He-Man series on Cartoon Network back in early 2000. The Disco Skeletor has non-official bio or story behind the orange skull, so I used a fan created bio as inspiration for where the story should go. Discorded Skeletor's story is here.
Armageddon should have never been so quiet.
It was almost as if the world had silently held its breath. The usual sounds of guards trotting through the halls, the wingbeats of maids flying above them, and the gentle chime of unicorns infighting their horns had faded away as a serenade of distant screams rang out in Canterlot.
Princess Celestia, the only princess in all of Eequestria, sat on her throne waiting patiently for what she could only describe as the inevitable. Her heart wept as the cries of her ponies died out, filling the world with more silent misery as they became twisted monsters. She had given up hope for freeing them of their curse, and could only pray that whatever remained of Equestria could heal from this tragedy.
The magic of the sun and harmony itself flowed through her horn as she wove the spell into reality, creating a monolith of enchantments that would banish their enemy to another world. It was a spell that Starswirl had tried and failed to create, a spell that was often used as a forbidden realm of magic. Ever since the collapse of the Crystal Empire, the spell she and her sister perfected was sealed within the depths of their minds where she thought it would always remain.
However, fate screamed out in terror at their decision as a monster walked to the steps of the Canterlot Castle.
More than three years ago, Princess Celestia laid her eyes on the demon that suddenly appeared in Canterlot. A dead stallion laid at his side as the demon dared to desperately beg for freedom, only to be met with a swift sentencing to the depths of Tartarus. Almost a year later, Celestia had lost her sister to the tyrannical demon known as Tirek, who was then forced back to his cell in Tartarus some time later. As Celestia took her time to lament the loss of her sister and hundreds of subjects, the pathetic demon she banished grew in power.
Whispers escaped Tartarus, of a monster that devoured the centaur, raving about betrayal and broken trust as he tore into the tyrant’s throat. Celestia paid those words no heed at the time, and actually found herself smiling at the thought of Tirek becoming a corpse. She did not dare to find the truth behind these rumors, to raise her hopes only for them to fall, and so, she chose to believe them and not pursue any further. Unfortunately, this would only be the beginning of many mistakes.
What came out of Tartarus two years later only vaguely resembled the demon that murdered an innocent guard. After it escaped Tartarus, Celestia decided to have Discord, who had become strongly obedient after Luna’s death, take care of the demon and banish him back to Tartarus. But, her plan only empowered the monster even more.
Families were torn to shreds in moments, warped into hideous abominations that shared the demon’s traits. Every monster created by their self-proclaimed lord would chant their praises to him, finally putting a name to the skull that hid under his hood: Skeletor.
With a heavy heart, Celestia sacrificed her own ponies to act as a shield as she created a spell to rid the world of Skeletor, so that the other kingdoms and countries could be spared of his curse. There was a time where she would have worried for the creatures in the other world, for the innocent lives she would ruin by sending him there. But, after losing so much, Celestia became indifferent to the possible plights of the other world.
She didn’t count the seconds that passed, or cry for the ponies that fell with each passing moment. Instead, she remained firmly planted on a hollow throne as she gave the spell new life.
The silence that filled the castle was shattered by the sound of the throne room doors opening, revealing the mutated demon that had ruined Equestria. His once yellow skull had been dyed a dark shade of orange, and most of his still exposed skin had been bathed in a thick tar-like substance that covered the many festering wounds and rotting sores that decorated his arms and legs, with the exception of his hands and feet. His old armor had turned into gold, allowing parts of his armor to glisten against the light of the sun that trickled into the room. Skeletor’s cloak was dyed the same shade of black as his arms and carried the scent of a demon’s blood. Finally, his chest was colored a deep purple that clashed against the orange crest on his harness, and the staff that he once clung to had been completely abandoned.
His voice was more controlled than the one she heard three years ago. Skeletor’s skull wasn’t marred by tears and his voice carried with a powerful authority that demanded her attention.
“You’re hurt,” Skeletor observed as he looked at Celestia’s missing appendage. While Celestia had managed to push Tirek back and send him to the depths of Tartarus once more, it hadn’t been without a great deal of sacrifice on her part. Just like this moment, where she would need to sacrifice her country and ponies to protect the world.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Celestia unleashed the full fury of the spell, wrapping the demon in a series of arcane writings that promised to send him away from their realm. As the spell began to compress around the demon, Celestia’s hope began to wain as she finally noticed that the spell started to crumble inside his maw. His gluttonous appetite for magic overwhelmed the spell, and was torn to ribbons as he devoured it with a ravenous and animalistic hunger.
Celestia felt the magic in her horn fly into his hungry jaws as he fed on her power, just as he had done with Tirek and Discord, savoring the magic that filled his mouth. The last princess of Equestria soon fell to the floor of her throne as Skeletor violently severed her ties to her magic. For the first time in centuries, she felt her connections to the sun and moon snap as he bite into thee lay lines that connected them to her.
Once his feast was over, Skeletor stood, both unharmed and unaffected by the spell that she had cast.
“You’re hurt,” Skeletor stated once more as he strode over to Celestia.
Celestia watched helplessly as he slowly marched forward, studying her chest rise and fall with a great deal of interest. She could only beg, and plea just as he did three years before.
“Please, please stop hurting them. Whatever you want, we can give it to you,” she begged.
In truth, she knew that they had nothing to offer the demon that had everything in and outside the realm of possibility on the edges of his fingers.
“… You’re wrong… You shouldn’t look like that,” Skeletor stated with a disturbingly calm voice.
The glowing flames in his sockets studied her body, trailing across every strand of hair that made up her fur coat, counting every feather on her wings, until he finally stared deeply into her eyes.
The monster kneeled down to come closer to her face, causing the Solar Monarch to shy away in a rare case of fear as he continued to meet her gaze. There wasn’t a hint or malice or glee in his sockets as he looked at her, instead he looked at her with a pitiful gaze, as if he was looking at a beloved friend on their deathbed.
The pity in his gaze scared her more than any monster she had ever faced before.
“Don’t worry, Teela. I’ll fix you. I’ll fix everything,” he solemnly promised, as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers to create another twisted monster on the canvas of an immortal.