Are they Silicon-Based Organisms? That would explain the name...

6612583
That would explain the name, but create far more issues explaining their biology. Furthermore, how come other (carbon-based) characters could be “crystalized”, if only temporarily then? Interesting idea though.

6612583 No.

6612588 Magic.

6612588
Perhaps they weren't changed into Crystal Ponies and were simply made to look like Crystal Ponies, if you look at some earlier clips from the Season 3 beginning, you'll notice that Crystal Ponies looked slightly different from regular ponies even before the Heart's magic shined them.

Um, I wouldn't go all the way to silicon based life. Just go as far as to say their coats are more magically atuned, and when charged, they put on the 'living gemstone' look for a much longer time than regular ponies.

Or they simply secrete some kind of amber-like oil, shiny and viscous, that gives them this appearance. Perhaps as a form of insulation from the cold or something.

If you want to make them into a silicon based life form for your fic, then do that. The trolls of Discworld might be a good source for inspiration then.

You could decide that the chrystallification magic is local to the empire and not in its inhabitants and that they are all just the same kind of ponies as the rest of Equestria.

Anything goes in your own story.

My own headcanon is that they are a fifth race of pony with their own kind of magic, atuned to rocks and minerals. The Pie family are descended from Chrystal ponies that left the empire before it disappeared.

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6616036
Just imagine how strange their diet would be to the average pony, they'd eat Silicon Dioxide with a topping of Phosphorus and drink Liquid Ammonia with some Boron Nitrides mixed in for protein.

6621461
Remind me again what the Pie family normally eats.

6621610
Basically the same minus the ammonia part.

6621610
Although... I hope Crystal Ponies avoid nitric acid, because the more I research what a silicon-based organism would eat, the more I realize how explosive their chemical composition is... One wrong taste and they'd become living nitroglycerin.

6621615
There you go, they are part chrystal ponies.

6621627
Well, I always wanted to get the crystal into Fallout Equestria somehow. If they are basically walking thinking bombs, then that would make for some interesting enemies. Suicide bombing crystal ponies, take them out from a distance because if you get into melee with them you are dead.

6621774
Well, Crystal Ponies would be explosive if they injected a ton of nitric acid, which would mix with the ammonia to create nitroglycerin, (and adding phosphorus make this even more dangerous, with certain types of phosphorus being highly combustible... Essentially making them walking incendiary bombs) But I don't know under what situation they'd eat such a thing, especially if they're aware that it could happen.

6621823
It's the Wasteland.

Either they are forced to do so by slavers or they are suicidal fanatics. Not to hard to fit another cult in the wasteland.

Could also have them be a bit like the fiends from New Vegas but with a nasty extra. They are just a bunch of druggies sitting around injecting themselves with anything that makes the pain go away and raids everything around for drugs. The toxic mix of chemicals in their system makes them unstable. Though they don't do it intentionally they consider the risk worth it for that sweet high. Plus it gives them an intimidating reputation.