1046565

In Helping hands, didn't she copy Lyra's instrument teleportation spell no problem? I admit to not having read that story in a whiler, but isn't that what happened?

Then again, the instrument was right there, so I guess that'd make things easier...but you also just said,

" Maybe very basic line-of-sight teleportation, but it should always leave her dizzy and disoriented,"

,and I don't particularly remember that happening either.

1046651
Oh yeah, that too. I forgot about that.

1046659 what about the Hippoi Anthanatoi?

The immortal greek horses? The ones that breath fire? Could be really in place for Corona's army

1046659 does Luna have a personal coat of arms? Because if she doesn't, could it be like a wolf or another animal linked to the moon?

1065217
I'm gonna assume she does, but I haven't given it much thought.

I think her motto would be ex nihilo nihil fit, though. Nothing comes from nothing.

1065217>>1065281
Considering who/what she is i'd have imagined it would be based of her Cutie Mark. Just my thoughts.

1065281 Well what about this for Corona?

Si non me tunc qui?

Meaning, If not I, then who?

Quick question regarding the new story I'm writing:
Okay, so in ancient Japan (work with me here...) one of the ways that the shogun limited the power of the feudal daimyos (lords) was by forcing them to waste their money. This prevented them from using their resources to build up an army to usurp him. One of the ways he did that was by forcing the nobles to spend every other year or so living in Edo Castle. This way, the nobles didn't just have to pay for the upkeep of their estates at home, but also estates in Edo, doubling household expenses. They also had to pay to travel between the two frequently, and so of course had to travel in style because they're nobles and it would be crass to do otherwise. It added up.

Anyway, thinking of this made me realize -- we never clarified how often the nobles on the Court are actually at Canterlot Castle, and how often they are in their home provinces. Is there a requirement for how often they have to be in Court?

Second, when they aren't in Court, I guessed they would have someone there to represent them and vote for their interests/beliefs (similarly, they presumably have a pony at home to manage things while at Court). Do these positions have official names yet? (Regent? Secretary? Proxy?) Or do they just not get votes when they aren't at Court?

1070485
Hmm.. Trying to think of historical examples, but depends on what kind of legislative body they are most like. Based on Byzantium, right? Or more European nobles, or even American senators? Guess it also depends on level of transportation/average distance to their province... Japanese example is (as always) a good middle ground in a way.

1070485
Hmm...I'd say they certainly spend the entire Winter in Canterlot. "Snowed in," as it were (they're not really, but they'll refer to it like that). During this time they're required to stay in Canterlot.

So say twelve weeks over winter during which time they have to be there. Then let's add nine weeks on either side of winter, during which time they're usually there but can send proxies if they have to be in their home provinces. So this gives us a total sit time of 30 weeks, which is how long the Parliament of the UK sits (though they occasionally go on longer). So let's call that basically from September through March, 212 days (the UK Parliament sits for 210).

For the rest of the year, governmental work is done by proxy (whatever you want to call the position) unless something important is happening.

This past year - what with Corona's return and all - probably saw the Night Court sitting longer, as well as ruling to have an extraordinary meeting in the middle of summer.

1070892 well what if a noble withdraws from the council? Like a self-imposed exile or something, or an heir just not wanting to participate in politics?

Would it still be done by a steward or something?

1071834: I'd think in that case there'd be a replacement, either by heir or Luna appointing a new noble.

However, I could see a long-term regent if the noble is seriously ill (but will recover eventually)/otherwise incapacitated/inherits very young/etc.

1071957 I ask that because one of the characters in my Shadow Bolt story is a minor noble (baronet: above knight but below baron) that chooses to act as a freelance agent, even though he knows he could go to Canterlot and take his late grandfathers spot in the Court, but, although I haven't said anything about it in-story, he does have his great-uncle (grandfather's brother) acting as his steward.

But the main antagonist has more or less withdrawn from all Equestrian politics, refusing to participate in the council and instead just staying in his home province, running his estates and properties from there.

1071990: Not all nobles have Court seats, as I recall, so I imagine it would be possible for a noble to give theirs up and just run the province full time, and then another noble who wanted a say in national affiars could get the seat. Probably best to check with RDD to confirm, though.

1072061
Correct. Feudalism is a complicated thing.

1072184
Mostly because if the common people ponies could ever figure it out they'd revolt

So are we going with a more modern House of Lords-ish model for the structure or something more classical/historic? I know that it won't be a 100% comparison, but just for curiosity's sake.

1046789

Hippoi Anthanatoi

Fun fact: the original Greek aristocratic class called themselves the kalloi kagithoi(sic) which basically translates into "The good and the beautiful" because they were the ones in charge of naming social groups, everyone else falling into "the base" (and not the sports of political kind, but the lowly, "base urges" feral, uncultured kind). Not sure how that's helpful/useful in any way...maybe the Hippoi Anathanatoi were what the Day Court called themselves? Seems rather silly, because "anath-" seems a similar root to "anathema," though that kinda fits in a way as well...

1046565
This makes her a very lucky technician as opposed to a beyond-strong theoretician who's suffered a few setbacks owing to being Pony Pretending To Be Sheldon.

Has anything been said about how the Lunaverse names days and months?

I don't recall anypony in cannon saying see you on Tuesday or anything like that or the mention of any months, although I think there had been some mention of a weekend.

For that matter we don't know how long the week / month / year is. Given the weather and even the sun and moon are manually controlled the rate the planet goes around the sun (even assuming it does) would have nothing to do with the length of the year.

1106679

For convenience sake, It'd be best to just use our day/month/year length and names. Changing them adds pretty much nothing.

1107210

Maybe although it might be interesting to have Equestria's founders have days or months names after them, Puddinday, Platinumary, Cookieday, Pansyary, Hurricaneday, Cleverary.

Maybe not.

So how about a list of names and noteworthy places in Ponyville?

1046565

Enchantment: While this is very much up Trixie's ally, it's also kinda' line-crossing, so she probably shouldn't learn them.

What do you mean by line-crossing?

Illusion: Trixie's already pretty much a master of this. She should be shown to be able to construct larger and more complex illusions over time. She should never get the "illusions so lifelike that they're actually partially real!", though, 'cause I hate those.

Aww... you mean she won't be taking levels in shadowmancer? Cause then her shadow illusions get to be even more real when people realize they aren't really there. Yay for shadows that are more than 100% real!
(Yes, that is a thing... No, I am not saying Trixie should be able to do that. What's the point of an illusion that acts exactly like an evocation?)

1152100
Sounds good! Thanks for volunteering!

1152451

What do you mean by line-crossing?

It might be difficult to claim Trixie as being a hero if she can literally control people with her mind and make them do what she wants, or otherwise magically manipulate their brains.

Mind, I've got no problem with her learning a sleep-type spell, I'm just saying something like charm person or emotion or dominate person should be out.

1153509
Ah. When I think enchantment I always think more about the enchanting of items to provide buffs/curses/whatever to the user. I always forget the sentient creature spells are part of that school too.

1046565
"She should never get the "illusions so lifelike that they're actually partially real!", though, 'cause I hate those."
...like when she made money that looked, sounded and felt like real money, back in episode 3?
How real is real, exactly?

1203494
As much as the money she made looked, sounded, and felt real, it was still just figmented sensations. It wasn't actually there. It had no true mass or energy, basically.

A shadow, in the D&D sense, is really there, at least partially, usually expressed in terms of something like "50% real." There's actual mass and energy involved.

Basically, a figmented fireball would feel, sound, smell, etc., like a real fireball, but it couldn't actually burn anything, no matter how hot it felt. A shadow fireball, meanwhile, actually can burn something, gives off real heat, etc - just not as much as it would appear to.

1204417
Hah, kay, I've never played D&D, but in DC comics they'd have "hard light" projections. I think, if you were to try and translate that back into magic instead of sci fi, it'd be a sort of illusory enchantment of an abjuration spell (if I'm understanding the school of magic right based on your one example of a spell from that school). If she's limited to making a shell, using it to make a small sphere and then giving it all the sensory properties of a marble, for example.

...I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but kay, in any case. It's just weird that an illusion could ever be partially real, at least from the perspective of someone with very limited knowledge of D&D.

1205469
I find it weird, too - hence why I don't want Trixie to do it.

1115911>>1205579>>1205469 Am I the only one wondering who the Hell Miyagi is and why Big Mac is swearing by him?!

1205579
Really it's not so much the concept of so-called shadow magic that is weird. It makes sense in the context that it summons up a quantity of pseudo-substance from the plane of shadows. The questionable part is why such spells are categorized as an illusion instead of conjurations. Of course there are quite a few other equally arbitrary designations. Both shield and mage armor allow a wizard to create personal defenses out of raw force, but the former an abjuration while the latter is a conjuration.

Really, shadow magic should probably fall under the mechanics of the later introduced concept of dual-school magic. That is it is both conjuration and illusion. The former due to the actually tangible pseudo-substances involved, and the latter for the magic that makes it seem indistinguishable from the real thing.

Seriously, who the hell is Miyagi and what makes him important enough to reference by mane?!

Been awhile since I posted in this thread...anyway, I updated the bible with stuff on the deer sent to me by vazak, though I am also awaiting input/commentary/suggestions from Fizzy Orange.

I kind of trimmed down what I was sent by a lot, though; it was 6 pages worth of stuff, which would have been about equal to the information pegasi, earth ponies, and alicorns combined.

1714806
Any way you could post the cut /edited info somewhere else?

1716635
I could send you the info I sent RDD if that helps. Though I think that anything not contained within the post is probably slightly less valid. If that makes sense.

1718067
If you could send me the info, I would appreciate it.

1718201
Sure thing, I hope you like it or find it useful. If anyone else wants the info on the Elk I sent RDD, just ask.

Okay... let's try this, in alphabetical order:

Locations of Interest in Ponyville

Blossomforth’s Aroma Garden

Blossomforth’s shop of perfume, soap, scented candles and other aromatic product. She makes the fancy shampoo used by Carrot Top.
(Yes I decided on a name for her shop)

Bon Bon’s Confectionarium

Also nicknamed "Bonbon's bonbons", it is Bon Bon’s confectionaries shop and place of dwelling. Like most shop keeper and artisans in town, Bon Bon lives in an apartment above her store. Lyra moved in with her when coming back from Canterlot.

Carousel Boutique

Rarity’s house and clothes shop where she makes and sell her creations.

Cloud Silo

Adjacent the weather patrol station, it is a structure that holds a reserve of clouds.

Daisy’s Flower Shop

The shop run by the so called ‘Flower Sisters’. It sells mostly decorative flowers with a few edible classics.

Firehouse

The Ponyville firehouse is essentially a small hangar that holds an old fashion pumping cart and a wagon full of ladders and buckets. It is adjacent to Chief Red Splasher’s home.

Fluttershy’s Cottage

Way on the outskirt of town, right by the edge of the Everfree Forest, is where the shy and reclusive Fluttershy lives. This thatched roof building is surrounded by housing for all of Fluttershy’s little animals.

Golden Harvest Farm

Carrot Top’s farm she inherited from her grand mother. It is a modest carrot farm not far from Sweet Apple Acres and it is bordered by small patches of wood. Carrot Top’s property includes her small house, a carrot storage shed and a tool shed. It has a new irrigation system.

Golden Oaks Library

Ponyville’s public library is built into a living tree. It is at the center of a circular plaza in a calm corner of town. It has a telescope on a balcony accessible to the public as well as private living quarters including a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Twilight Sparkle is serving her community service and house arrest sentence by working and living in the library.

The Hay Bale

A hay-themed restaurant where most of the furniture, the roof, and the totality of the food (and drinks) are made of hay. It is a tremendous fire hazard.

Official Residency of the Representative of the Night Court of Luna

House and workplace of Trixie. This modest two-story house includes office space and basement storage. It has a large yard surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Attempts to get ponies used to a shorter name have failed to stick with the general population who use its full cumbersome name most of the time. The front window looking out from the office has been shattered in multiple occasions.

Ponyville Day Spa

Run by the twin sisters Lotus and Aloe. Carrot Top and Trixie go there every week, and so does Rarity. Fluttershy has recently joined them once a month. A very recent building, it doesn’t have the apartment on top configuration of older commercial construction.

Ponyville Elementary

The local schoolhouse, where Cheerilee teaches to the foals of Ponyville. It is a small school with only one class.

Ponyville Post Office

Not far from the center of town it is the central hub of communication for Ponyville and a busy place most of the day. Like all the commercial buildings in town it has an apartment above it. This one is rented out to Ditzy Doo and her daughter. The post office is run by Postmaster Silver Script. It has recently been equipped with a telegraph machine.

Ponyville Town Hall

Located in the center of Ponyville this tall building is the seat of power in Ponyville. It is also the community center as it includes a large auditorium on its ground floor and smaller reunion rooms up for rent. Sleeping quarters are available for visiting members of the government and a pony is available at the front desk to deal with emergency 24/7. Carrot Top has often used this temporary job to round out her budget. The building holds Mayor Mare Ivory Scroll’s office and possibly the office of other town official. It has a bell to call volunteer fireponies to action.

Ponyville Weather Patrol Station

The talest building in Ponyville is not far from town hall. It is a tall spire but it is mostly hollow, since all the weather ponies are pegasi there is no need for floors and stairs and charts, maps and forecasts are plastered all over the inner wall. The top floors include offices for the captain (Rainbow Dash), the second in command (Cloud Kicker), the coordinating officer in charge of making sure neighboring weather districts don’t throw schedules out of whack (Dewdrops, Raindrops’ father), and a very small office where data from the Everfree Forest is analysed to prepare mostly improvised forecasts.

The Punch Bowl

Also known as ‘Berry’s’, this establishment is the only bar in Ponyville. During the day it is a family soda parlor where patrons can enjoy various mixes of carbonate flavors as well as some uncomplicated food. After 9 pm the liquor locker is unlocked and the Punch Bowl becomes a proper bar. It is owned and run by Berry Punch and her two bartenders, Fizzy Orange and Shaker, as well as potentially more employees, support her. It also has a small stage where musicians can play.

Quills and Sofa

The store run by Davenport, one of Lyra’s father. Possibly where her fathers live.

Sugar Cube Corner

A local bakery shop, it is decorated to resemble a life sized gingerbread house. Whether the building is actually edible has yet to be ascertained. It is run by Carrot Cake and Cup Cake who also live in the building. They rent a room to their employee, Pinkie Pie, in what is essentially the building’s attic. It is a popular place to rent for parties.

Sweet Apple Acre

The local branch of the Apple Trust, and one of its most potent secret weapons. It is the site of the fabled Zap Apples, an exclusive product not found anywhere else. It is a large successful farm and employs many farm hooves to keep it running.

Train Station

Ponyville’s main link with the outside world. Ponyville is the first stop on the line running south out of Canterlot.

Tada!

1714806 Not bad, but you could have included stuff on Sleippnir though.

1719100
Sweeeeet. When I get home in a few hours I'll add those in to the setting bible.

1719100
BonBon's candy shop is the "Confectionarium", as inspired by this pic (link). It's now only nicknamed "BonBon's BonBons", due to the way the signs are layed out.

1719192 Okay, I wasn't sure which name we went with.

1719210
As with "Berry's Punchbowl" we more or less went with both (one as official and the other as a nickname), which is always a good compromise I think.

1719234 Indeed!

Greetings all. I've been a longtime lurker of the Lunaverse, but it's way past time that I cast off that mantle of shadows and show my full support for all the writers here.

The main reason of this post though, is to ask where (or who) I can get a bit more information on Carrot Top from. I've given it a lot of thought, and I think I'd like to try to write a short story with her as the main character set in the fall of season two. (I'm not under the assumption that my story is already cannon. This is just explaining when it's intended to be in the timeline.)

2116751
Hmm, if you've read all the stories, there probably isn't much of a location or mroe info on her, her character bio in the L!verse bible has yet to be completed. As for people, i'd probably suggest speaking with the authors of CT related fics, or even just asking here on on the BR thread.

There is some info about her only in discussion which is another reason to check there; so far we have her cousin Noi, who's going through a rebellious faze, and I believe her parents own a store of some description.

Sorry, i'm not incredibly well versed on her background as I should be.

Look forward to seeing your story, best of luck!

I notice that many stories on the sites of Bronies and PegaSisters have widely different sizes of MLP:FIM-Ponies. This has not comeup in this group, but it might. I have suggestions for the average size of average ponies:

Before we begin, we should define what a pony is:

A pony is an horse equal to or less than 14 hands. An hand is an old unit equal to 1/3 of an old foot. It is equal to approximately 10 cm. An pony cannot be taller than 1.4 meters tall.

These are little ponies.

Along these lines, I put together this:

Mares have medium build, are 6 hands tall (.6 m), 50 kg (100 pounds in the old units).

Stallions are 7 hands tall (.7 m) and, because they are heavily built, they have a mass of 100 kg.

The Royal Alicorn-Sisters are 14 hands high (1.4 meters). Any taller and they would be horses —— ¡Not ponies! Despite their height, they are so lightly built that their mass is only 200 kg.

Please chime into the conversation.

2147956
Interesting post, there's two areas I don't really agree with though, the stallions and mares difference, excluding SH (military training) BC (given his name he seems unique) Sombra (what ever he was) and BB (who I believe has peck implants) we've never seen the average (everyday) BG stallions as being larger or more heavily built than mares. My personal take has always been that there's little to no difference in that respect.

As for alicorns, we've seen that Celestia was taller than the Saddle Arabian delegates and while those horses are small, they are still horses; though I don't think the current suggested height bothers me much in that respect.

2147956
darn it... I can't find it right now but there's a youtube vid that goes into an ammussing analysis on pony size by comparing the size of an apple in the show to an average apple in real life and using that as a size basis.

Applebloom is the size of a small lapdog.

Conclusion?

I really want a small lapdog sized Sweetie Belle now...

1719133 Did we ever decide where Lyra's family name come from? Is one of her dad a Heartstring or is it her mother's?

2147956 Does the precise detail actually matter? As long as size of things remain consistant and suited for ponies the precise size of stuff doesn't matter.

2190845
Dunno on Lyra's point. Though pony names aren't necessarily constructed with family names. She might just be named Heartstrings.

2148236 2190845
Fizzy has got more or less the right idea here, outside of crossver type stuff, there's really no need to exactly define the size of an Equestrian pony, they live in their own distinct world seperate from ours and thus use their own scaling.

The apple thing is clever enough, but not a very reliable measurment given the wildy variable sizes of real world apples. The only even remotely solid indication of scale would be from the hearth warming episode, where Twilight specificly cites an "8-foot candy cane" and then one of the foals we see with their tonge stuck to it apears to be Scootaloo.