In an attempt to increase activity in this group, I am giving members the opportunity to ask me questions about generally anything in The Lost Element or other related stories. From the lore, to the inspirations behind chapters, gear used by the characters, plot, characters, anything is fair game.

4531509 Hmm. I'll bite. what's the inspiration behind the gear used by the Mane 6 during the recent chapter where they ended the Mortal Chaos arc?

What was the inspiration for sending discord to the grave. Granted I thought it was a grand idea, a mortal man tricking a godlike being into "mortal kombat" essentially. But as to sending that poor man though absolute hell was journey in of itself, and seemed alittle out there for a calm and laid back man like James to go full on God of War on discord.

4531918 Discord's behavior and background in this story is what I initially thought explained his obsession with chaos and disdain for friendship back before that pandering reformation occurred in Season 3. There is still one more chapter to write for Volume 3's main storyline that will tie up loose ends, so keep an eye out for the next chapter.

As for James doing what he did to Discord... Did you know that the way Discord died was exactly what I vividly imagined myself doing to him after discovering what he did to Fluttershy in Return of Harmony?

Rule of thumb is that you do not antagonize the quiet ones and I can definitely say my mind can go dark places. Besides, one must never rob a man of what he holds most dear.

"What is the best way to test a man's spiritual strength? Take away what gives his life meaning and wait to see how long it takes for him to break."

4531738 The arc still has one more chapter to go, so it's not done yet.

As for the Mane Six, it was essentially a means to equalize them to hold their own alongside the armor James wore. As for inspiration, I basically went for something that would compliment each of them. With Twilight, her magic output was increased vastly, I had Rarity's abilities revolve around her masterful display of synchronized levitation along with her affinity for diamonds (BTW, that will not be the last time she wields multiple weapons at once), Applejack's massive boost in physical strength was inspired by her longstanding position as the Mane Six's designated bruiser and threw in her lasso for good measure, and Rainbow Dash was fairly straightforward with her speed being amped up further while obviously being able to pull off the normally impossible Buccaneer Blaze. I am still convinced that is literally a move she can only do in her dreams.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were a bit trickier. With Pinkie, I originally planned to have her utilize only 4th wall breaking gags to her advantage. But after remembering so many times where her body stretched unnaturally (the part at the start of Too Many Pinkie Pies where she wrapped herself up in her stretchy arms was the moment that really got me thinking), I was inspired to also add the ability of having her body be stretchable and elastic ala Mr. Fantastic. As for Fluttershy, I could never imagine her being a direct fighter. I was inspired by other fighter character types, particularly beast master types, who summon creatures to fight for them. Considering Fluttershy's frequent affiliation with potentially dangerous animals like bears, I felt this would work well for her.

In one of the earlier chapters, during the Nightmare Moon arc, what inspired the armor James wore? In both solid and liquid form? I thought the pool was genius, and I imagined a colony of T-1000 nano machines pulling themselves up his arm and locking into place and then taking color and shape. I thought it was utterly brilliant, I've never heard of such a thing in any story outside of the T-1000 in "Terminator 2", and that's marginally similar. What brought this idea together?
And then there's his armor in question.
While not a design I would have picked (I'm not in control, of course) it is certainly unforgettable as I haven't seen a design similar to it.
And while we are on that topic, can the armor preference change over time, or at all? Should a change be possible in any way, and how does the pool decide what armor he gets?
Care to explain?

Any ideas for the new characters once you're finish with The Lost Elements? Withhold the names, no spoilers, but more to the point of their personalities and characteristics. Will the Mane Six experience some new behaviour elements, that James has seen or interacted with before on Earth? Or would that compromise the entire plot?

Will the Cakes ever attempt to use James's recipes in a baking contest?

Will Rarity ever try putting her casual works up for others to purchase?

Will the Princesses ever decide to say..wall in Sunny Town? Can they even get close to said place without being attacked? (Supposedly even THEY knew of the Princesses marks...but I am getting that feeling of eenope)

4532658 There shouldn't be too many new characters in the sequel. Aside fro Sombra making a brief return with the Crystal Empire, my friend Kendra will be arriving as a new protagonist and will be writing her own journal entries. And while I do not have any interest in the comic book series, Nightmare Rarity will show up as a villain.

Lastly, there will be a new truly vile villain later on in the story who will be sticking around for quite some time. A villain who we will get a glimpse of midway through the fifth volume of The Lost Element.

4532921 Not sure, though it's possible.

Chances are she makes more casual clothing for Ponyville residents quite frequently, so it is likely.

We have not seen the last of the Sunny Town ponies. They will appear once more in the final story arc.

4532650 Well, the armor came to mind in compensating a human's physical shortcomings when compared to the ponies of Equestria. Earth pony strength in just the legs, pegasus flight, and unicorn magic. As for the liquid state it is in when not in use, that came about as a result of wondering how the armor would get repaired if ever damaged. And the first way came to mind in the form of the most effective, yet costly, way available. Melt it down. Thus the liquid state it takes when not in use came to be. It also helped when considering that putting on plate armor is a cumbersome and tedious process that requires additional assistance for the wearer. You cannot put on a full suit of plate armor by yourself.

And no, not really. The form the armor takes depends upon the wearer's preferences, mindset, etc. As James/myself am a more defensive person who leans towards a balanced approach, the armor becomes one of sturdy design suited for defense without weighing the wearer down. It certainly does look stalwart. Although I have decided the moon and sun symbols on the pauldrons will be removed in the near future as they were basically training wheels to help the wearer remember which arm houses which polarity of magic.

4531509 Check your inbox for my idea!

4533301 Nightmare Rarity.... Oh God Lordy help us. I'm not sure I wanna know how that came to be. I mean, we all know about her feelings towards James, I just hope she doesn't kill anyone she's gonna regret later.

4531509 OK, here are my questions:
Like 'Story of the Blanks', do you plan to share the plot of your story with another story from the fandom?
Also, do you plan to go back to the previous chapters and add links to BGMs that suit the point in the story (I really enjoy those)?

4535640 Well, I didn't really ask permission to include it in my story. I was just inspired to by some fan art. If others want to crossover into my story, I won't stop them.

And yes, as I get around to proofreading them. Although not all chapters will have them.

This may be too much to ask, but who is the villain in Sins of Humanity?

5950897 The creator of the Element of Humanity.

5950990 Oh, the Forgotten Emperor! Well, It'll be interesting to see how that all goes down.

You said once that the Ruin arc in "Return of Humanity" will see the death of one of the heroes. This may be too much to ask, but who is this hero/heroine that meets his/her end? If you cannot answer such a spoiler-inducing question, that's okay with me. After all...I'm almost scared to find out!

5960444 I cannot mention that name yet. All I can tell is by this point in the story, he does not yet exist.

5960523 Sounds good to me. I was honestly afraid that it was going to be one of the Mane Six!