Pony Fanon Workshop

Had an idea...Moonbeam is determined to find out why Chuckles can't (or wont) talk.

Que him investigating his past...which leads to the Mimic Order etc.

Edit: Big question...what would Twilight make of the magic mime?

edited 27th Dec '11 8:36:58 PM by ApplelightLimited

The problem with Trixie to me is that she comes off as a Jerk Sue. She's never called out on for her actions at all, at least in how she deals with challenges that she accepts. How about instead of them bucking off her magic themselves, Moonlight notices what she pulls first and challenges her to actually do something rather than interfere with someone else.

Either that or Chuckles gets put up against her, which I think would be both funny and awesome, considering how we've been describing him as basically Male Pinkie Pie.

edited 27th Dec '11 8:46:43 PM by theLibrarian

Well I could see Twilight being intrested in finding out how it's possible, though given how well FPK turned out I doubt she'd fall into the same faulty baises that caused her so much pain. Honestly this time I would be dissapointed if she didn't just polightly ask for an explaition. upon being informed of his inability to speak, she would provide quill and ink.

Hell there's an idea why not have that be something of an on again off again gag where Chuckles seemingly has a prewritten sign for every occasion something else to drive Check Up up a wall with.

Artificial unicorn horns is something that I considered putting in my Star Swirl fic in a flashback. Maybe I still will. Though in her case, they wouldn’t work.

That would fit on with the guile hero thing MB has got going on.

But a showdown between the two performers would be too awesome to pass up.

Love that sign idea. And yeah, maybe Twi would be willing to just roll with it.

Also, I have a reason for Chuckles and Check Up to be good friends. Warning, severe daw to follow:

When the group converged into the hospital for the first time, Chuckles disappeared. They later found him and Roy in the Foal Ward, putting on a juggling and yo yo show for the kids. Kids who hadn't smiled for weeks were laughing with joy.....Check Up later came to thank Chuck, and they've been good friends ever since. Even if he is still befuddled by the clown at times.

edited 28th Dec '11 6:27:32 AM by ApplelightLimited

So, pony genetics, or pony eugenics.

How does it work?

Some fancrufters forward their own hypotheses revolving around genes and genes alone.

I would like to hazard my own hypothesis on pony genetics and/or eugenics.

• All Pony embryos exhibit all the four traits of pony: Sea, Wind (Pegasi), Earth, and Mind (Unicorn).
• Pony genes tend towards a variety of configurations that influence the odds of the embryo growing into a particular kind. Both parents contribute to the genetic makeup at this stage.
• Pony embryos are affected by the environments and magical conditions of said environs.
• Pony embryo growth is affected by the magical balance of the mother most, since they spend most of the time in the mother's womb. It does something like this:
  • (Ratio of X:Y, where X is Magic Inside and Y is Magic Outside)
    • X over Y: Unicorns more likely
    • X equals Y: Earth Pony more likely
    • X under Y: Pegasus more likely
  • I reasoned under the idea that the world of Equestria has some literal magic in the air, which is part of the Mana Cycle. Earth Ponies are common because most of them have mana-neutral diets and live in places with very "average" (being about par with the pony neutral average) magic concentrations. The Unicorn thing was deemed due to the average Unicorn body being mana-rich relative to most normal environments.
• Granted, the environment is but only a single factor, there is still some major influence from both parents so there's a fair chance of the child inheriting from both parents and taking the same 'race' as them. It's a wildcard factor that comes into play if the parental inheritence isn't strong enough to lock the child's 'race' into a particular template - that's when environmental influence takes over (like, say, in interracial pony couples or when Carrier Genes (Sea and Alicorn) become involved).
• Sea Ponies are special, requiring a usually-unexpressed gene plus a nautical (Saltwater) environmental factor. This gene can remain latent in bloodlines for thousands of years.
• Alicorns are also special, requiring a similarly obscure gene plus an extremely magic-rich condition, where X and Y are both very magic-rich. Otherwise a unicorn with a carrier gene will result.
  • If both parents have this obscure genome, the baby will be much more likely to be born an alicorn, or may otherwise have a rare condition where later in life, they might undergo some "growing pains" whereupon either their vestigal wings or vestigal horn will grow to maturity.

Other magical factors from the parents may influence the resulting baby pony's abilities, which may or may not affect the odds of getting a specific Cutie Mark by a small margin.

It's a work in progress. I expect some pony biologist to poke holes in this wmg, but that's okay, because this isn't an exact science yet, lol.

The alicorn genome thing was something I thought up as Fanfic Fuel wherein a conspiracy is hatched by shady individuals to make their own Royalty with some eugenics program of questionable ethics.

tl;dr version: My system basically runs, baby inherits from parents, otherwise the environment or blood will tell.

edited 29th Dec '11 2:52:39 AM by AceOfScarabs

Right this is a very WIP idea but,

see how Chuckles powers are fueled by the imagination? Well, what happens when he loses control of his powers and his imagation runs wild?

Homicidal Puppets.

edited 28th Dec '11 7:41:07 AM by ApplelightLimited

The idea seems sound. Though personally I don't like the extremes you want to take it.

Yeah, in theory it works, but I think it sounds a bit overpowered.

There has to be limits to his powers though, Apple.

What are they?

edited 28th Dec '11 8:01:42 AM by gingerninja666

His powers might be limited by his mana pool, so whatever he is capable of is limited by the upper bounds of how much magic he can safely handle without burning himself.

Ok, homicidal is the wrong word...what I mean is, the creepy puppet that is unnerving him is brought to life by his powers as he lets his imagination get the better of him, and it wants to cause discord and strife.

But it can only do it whilst it's in his presence...or while he's thinking about it. Obviously, as the situation gets worse...it snowballs.

Atm, Chuckles is limited to summoning up simple geometrical objects with no moving parts. A wall, box, rope, ball etc are all easily summoned.....a motorcyle would be well beyond his reach.

An earlier version of him could do this, but I dropped it.

That's it! If he tries too hard, he gets seering headaches.

edited 28th Dec '11 8:28:11 AM by ApplelightLimited

That. . .is honestly more powerful then I was expecting him to be. I never envisioned his powers having an more effect then on his own imagined objects.

OK, idea wasn't well received. Dropping it like a lead weight.

Ace, I can post a responce to your bit later tonight after work.

I had T-1000 flashbacks

"It can't form complex machines. Guns and explosives have chemicals, moving parts, it doesn't work that way, but it can form solid shapes, such as knives and stabbing weapons"

What do you mean, Mio?

edited 28th Dec '11 8:24:15 AM by gingerninja666

I like the idea, Apple Reminds me of The Brood. Maybe it could go after people he's angry at as he sleeps?

What I meant was that I did not think his imagination could effect objects that he did not create with his mime powers. If I am wrong then I would like to know.

edited 28th Dec '11 8:28:44 AM by Mio

I always imagined him like Le Mime from Xiaolin Showdown, (at least when it comes to his mime powers)

but he does need some clear cut limitations, like maybe he needs to remain intensely focused on any mime construct that he creates, otherwise it vanishes

edited 28th Dec '11 8:33:46 AM by gingerninja666

Oh wait, you mean you just didn't know what he could do Mio?

Ah, right. My apologies.

It's all WIP of course, but his magic involves bringing things to life. The out of control puppet is actually a similar magic to the images he can conjure up in the flames he breathes out when doing that act.

Maybe it happens when he's asleep, as Ginger said?

This is why he dislikes hecklers shouting things like 'Ropes! He's using ropes!'...they spoil the illusion and 'dispell' the magic, making the object dissapear.

And yeah, it takes effort and concentration to create an object.

edited 28th Dec '11 8:49:32 AM by ApplelightLimited

Ah, ok that does make a little more sense.

I'm not sure about the situation you are putting forth. Perhaps manipulating "real" objects is more difficult for him then imagined ones.

The scenario your describing could still happen if he had some kind of magic induced Freak Out a la Twilight in Cutie Mark Chronicles.

I had this image of Chuckles' friends falling off a cliff. Chuckles throws a mime rope after them and they're left dangling from it.

Cue someone on top of the cliff trying to distract him and dispell his illusion

Your imagination is generally considered to be more active when you're asleep, so maybe that's why he can only control stuff like that subconsciously while he's asleep

edited 28th Dec '11 8:41:15 AM by gingerninja666

Thank you Ginger! He loses control of his powers when he's asleep and very worried about something, makes sense (well...sort of).

Actually, here's a scenario that might help explain his powers limits.

He is being chased by two goons. He stops, and quickly mimes a wall into exsistance. The goons run smack straight into it. Chuckles stays long enough to reinforce the image and taunt them...then he gallops off.

Just at that moment, the goons leader shows up, and demands to know why they have stopped. They tell him about the wall. He asks what wall?...as he steps right on past it. The goons are very puzzled...but they carry on.

In other words, it's as much the other ponies imaginations as Chuckles own that summon these things. And you have to be there for it to effect you...

edited 28th Dec '11 8:50:32 AM by ApplelightLimited

It seems that I am still imagining something very different from the two of you. Oh well, Chuckles is Applelight's character so I will leave it up to him.

I'm generally going by the assumption that (with rare exception) that magic requires a conscious act to actually do something. I'm not sure why Chuckles' powers would be any different.

Hmm, that could make for some interesting scenarios. Especially when he is with his friends.

If enough people think the idea works then far be it from me to stop it.

edited 28th Dec '11 8:50:49 AM by Mio

No, Chuckles belongs to the workshop.

If this idea dosn't work...maybe it should be ditched.

That reminds me of a villain I once came up with that had god like powers, but they only worked on you for as long as you believed that it WASN'T an illusion. As soon as you began thinking of it as an illusion, it stops working. Or if you're unaware of it

I know chuckles isn't god like, but is that sort of the idea you had?

edited 28th Dec '11 8:53:45 AM by gingerninja666