Question of the Week #69 · 2:35am Aug 30th, 2022
Hello everyone and welcome to our 69th Question of the Week... 
While I would love to have a question revolving around this number... Tragically, I can't think of any. So instead we'll just go onto the other question I have.
So, I've been doing some writing for my Neo Somnambula story/setting and as I've been doing that, something came up and it raised a question.
When it come to non-unicorn ponies running around with guns, do you prefer them holding the firearms using their mouths (like FO:E) or with their hooves.
Here are some examples:
Hooves: 
Mouth:
I know that Fallout: Equestria used the mouth grip, but I know not everyone's up for that, so I figured I'd just check and see with you all.
Thank you all for reading this blog. I hope you all enjoyed it and that you all have a great day. 
I’m not much for ponies with weapons, but I think using two of four hooves to fire is hard, and if it’s in the mouth, it’s just going to blast their head backwards with every shot. Maybe they’re strong enough.
I did think about crossbows, though. It could be on the outside of the foreleg (so only needing one) and the trigger is a mouth ring kinda like a bicycle brake pedal so you can pull it and fire from any position.
Using hooves as humans use hands is lazy writing. I'm looking at you, Hasbro.
What if they mounted the weapons on their sides. Like the barding of old.
I think that they'll use no1 but with modifications to the guns so that they can be used with hooves.
Other than that they could use guns that are mounted on their backs and controlled by brain implants(microchips being used to track you lol) or something similar.
No one's jaw is strong enough to survive firing anything above a pistol.
Having guns in their mouths means that having your characters talk is problematic. Also, if ponies can pick things up with hooves, they should be able to adapt some sort of trigger mechanism.
I'd prefer hooves. I'll give you a few examples on how it could be done.
If you look at how old timey crossbows worked, they didn't so much have a trigger as they had a lever so that you fired it by basically squeezing the back end of the weapon (that's the best way I can think of describing it). That is something that could still be workable with hooves.
Handheld cannons, the really early precursors to guns, worked similarly. You braced it against yourself and pointed the business end at your target with one hand and touched it off with your other hand (or possibly mouth in a pony's case).
I've read some stories where ponies could fire, or otherwise handle guns as if they had fingers. One story explained that away as magical fields around a pony's hooves that let them manipulate things in close proximity (this would also explain why things seem to stick to their hooves in the show). This seems somewhat lazy if used in a story that only has ponies in it (or lacks anything that could conceivably use a conventional gun, like griffons or minotaurs). However, all of the stories that have used that explanation have involved humans somehow (such as Halo crossovers).
Regardless of what method you choose in the end, I'm interested to see where this goes.
5682905 Agreed.
5682882
5682869
That is definitely something that I'm considering, that maybe most of the heavy weapons are attached to saddles/barding, while lighter weapons like pistols and some SMGs can be held in the hoof... The problem is figuring out the hoof handling.
But yeah, I could definitely see they weapons syncing up to some sort of microchip/magical device on the pony, that allows them to fire it.
5682927
5682799
I think my main issue is figuring out how somepony can hold the smaller firearms, but that it can also be something where a pony can be disarmed and drop the weapon in the case of a hoof fight.
5682810 I will agree that there at least needs to be some sort of explanation for it (otherwise it is a bit lazy).
5683092 Just thinking up an excuse for something doesn't make it automatically okay.
What you're suggesting is equivalent to smashing your smartphone by accident and then picking up a brick, saying, "It's okay, I can still use all the functions, just that I'll use a brick instead of the smartphone."
But that's not how it works. If this were the story then the whole point would be to see the person trying to survive without a smartphone. That's what would make it interesting. But if you actually compensate for all the features of a smartphone with a brick, you ruin it. Even if you explain that the person has a great imagination and can project things on the brick, you didn't make it alright. It's still just a brick...
5683109 What I mean is that a pony using a gun that is meant to be used with fingers... But with their hooves, might be a little lazy, but if you have a weapon that is designed for a pony's hoof and the story explains how it works/is used, then it shouldn't be that big an issue.
If anything that's doing your homework.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's what you're getting at.
5683152 Not quite.
Just look at the show. What did Applejack do when she wanted to have a ranged attack? Did she pack a gun? No! She packed apples that she kicked at the opponent because she's good at kicking (and not firing a gun).
You're not solving a problem, you're creating a problem.
5683155 The setting I'm creating uses guns (it is a cyberpunk setting after all), so I don't agree with you about creating a problem. You have to remember two things about the show:
Now could I have a weapon(s) that ponies can buck at their enemies? Yes, and I just might, but seeing as this is a mixture of setting genres, one of which uses firearms, then you have to acknowledge that it should have some sort of presence, along magic (which could be just as deadly) and other such weaponry.
5683187 Do you know why Starcraft is so popular? It's not because all sides equal, but because they are different.
Equestria has plenty of deadly things to offer and all of them would only increase the immersion.
I have a feeling that you're attempting a shortcut, but you fail to realize that this shortcut has a price to pay.
Sure, you can introduce guns for ponies in your story. It can be done. But is it really the best of all possible solutions? I fear that you're building on shaky foundations but don't want to even examine said foundations.
5683194 Well, if you have any alternative suggestions for firearms I am willing to listen (or read rather).
I just currently feel like firearms aren't that big a problem, after all the party cannon is a thing, but that's just my perspective.
Now after reading about Applejack bucking the apples, I did have an idea for a weapon that is a metal ball (maybe with retractable spikes) that is connected by an energy leash to an anklet on the pony's hoof, that can be used to pull back the sphere to the owner safely after they have bucked it at high speeds at an enemy. However, I feel that this woukd be a more exotic weapon used by street kids and athletes.
5683237 I can sort of imagine a cannon being operated by ponies. But were specifically created for the human hand.
But there's more to my irk than just this. People come here for ponies. And the thing is, ponies aren't humans. If you write ponies like humans, the whole point of ponies goes away.
Part of the reason why Equestria is interesting is that everything functions without hands.
You're not the only one who's trying to write ponies like humans. Even the creators of the show are guilty of it.
external-preview.redd.it/Abll1ve6vComfG0-jQ-Kam_EywOnszm1H_wxOd7j__E.gif?width=640&crop=smart&format=png8&s=3f3e7c4633f1494619a54247f3b6b567d71b60db
In G5 they're even more guilty of that.
But that doesn't automatically give you the license to write bad stories. If Superman takes a dump in the middle of the street, it doesn't mean that that's suddenly okay. It just means that Superman did a bad thing. No reason for you to do bad as well.
5683242
crawls out of his grave
So your point is that weapons made for a hand should not be used by someone with hooves, right?
5683347 Yes, that's my whole point.
I mean, sure, you can turn the world upside down and twist reality and find excuses and brute force it into the story. It can be done, but that won't make it intuitive and immersive.
5683358 Then what is wrong with creating a weapon that functions like a gun, but is clearly designed for hooves?
Like a brace that can shoot bullets and on the underside has a quick release button that can be hit to remove it.
5683417 You're a writer, why not be creative? Use pony shape as an advantage.
Humans are vertical. That's a bad position for a gun to be in. They keep having to compensate by leaning snipers to support structures.
Ponies, however, are horizontal. They wouldn't need any leaning on anything. Their aim could be really fast if it was placed on their bodies. Limbs shake, but bodies don't.
So imagine a big gun that a pony 'rides' like a broom. Now you have a gun worthy of a pony.
If you write pony, don't think like a human. Think like a pony.
5683428
That was something that I said in first reply, was that they bigger weapons like: rifles, shotguns, snipers, cannons, foak cannons, etc... Could be attached to the backs or sides (depending upon the weapon, one position might be more advantageous over the others) of specially designed saddles/barding.
Obviously melee weapons won't have as strong a kickback and could be wielded using either their hooves or mouth, with the Bucksphere (the weapon that I mentioned in one of my previous posts) and the Tail-whip (think an energy whip that the pony flicks using their tail) being more exotic melee(ish) weapons (with pegasi maybe have access the wing blades).
What I've been talking about is smaller firearms and that's why I had mentioned the idea of the hoof blaster (would like a name that is at least 20% cooler) in my previous post:
Something like these images except it's build to encircle the pony's hoof:
i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ojoAAOSw4Mdf6nwd/s-l300.jpg
5.cdn.ekm.net/ekmps/shops/167c1c/images/nerf-star-wars-the-mandalorian-rocket-gauntlet-[3]-793-p.jpg?w=650&h=423&v=1
And obviously unicorns can use magic, so they don't necessarily need a ranged weapon, but if they did they could just hold it with their magic.
So, I don't know what else you want. I feel like I have actually taken your advice and found some cool unique ways that would stand out, fit with ponies and also match the setting I'm going for.
5683495 I guess you are making an effort.
Writing is about creativity and originality, yet some authors lack both. I'm glad to hear you're not among them.
5683526 Yay.
Of course, if you have any suggestions, feel free to offer them. I'm always open to discussing/exploring new ideas.