These Illustrate The Points Me & A Few Others Have Stated For A While. Both Of The Above Characters (along

These illustrate the points me & a few others have stated for a while. Both of the above characters (along with Cadence) suffer from what my editor would call the Wally Problem. For those unfamiliar, Wally from the RSE/Hoenn story was kinda neat as a character, but you don’t really hear from him as he’s abandoned for 90% of the games (although he was elaborated upon in ORAS along with the other Gen 3 characters). Shining & Maud are nice, decent, & even likable, but suffer from the above issues.

Interestingly, all 3 ponies are more fleshed out in the comics than in the show, especially in Shining Armour’s case. To sum it up, neither sibling are bad characters, they just didn’t have much done with them in-show (including in EqG), although Maud has made not an insignificant splash in EqG (the shorts, mostly). I personally would’ve liked to find a prequel story showing how & why Shining became captain of the Royal Guard (in literature or otherwise) despite a military draft (even willing to write such myself if needed), but something on Maud’s backstory would be appreciated to flesh her out also.

why do you think there was such a hypocritical split between the fandom's first reactions regarding Shining Armor and Maud Pie's introduction? Like with Shining most claimed he was "sooo forced/out of nowhere" for a brother of Twilight when "she never ONCE mentioned him before"... and yet those same fans *adored* Maud in her debut... even though there was literally NO mention/sign of a third Pie sister before that random photo in "Pinkie Pride"...?

The answer to that question becomes clear once you read your question to yourself out loud. The introduction of a previously unmentioned family member was a problem with Shining, but not with Maud, so this discrepancy most likely means one of two things:

1. Their dislike of Shining has nothing to do with his “sudden” introduction, but they don’t know how to articulate their grievances with his character, so they just cling onto something that’s easy to criticize, even if it doesn’t make any actual sense.

2. They genuinely think the introduction of Shining was sudden and out of nowhere and simply don’t notice or don’t care about the dissonance, or they think that briefly showing Maud in a picture in Pinkie Pride counts as sufficient establishment of her existence even though she was nowhere to be seen in previous depictions of the Pie family.

I don’t see how that would train dogs, especially as it lacks a smell factor (since that’s their most relied upon sense). Still, the idea’s kinda adorable.

Here’s some basic yet overlooked questions to keep in mind.

Commonly Forgotten World-Building Questions

- What or where serves as a bathroom? - What are common hygiene habits? - What are common medical practices or beliefs? - What is the type of government? - If it’s a monarchy, what are the workings of it? Does the ruler have a counsel or constitution to prevent the ruler from having absolute power? - What common foods are eaten?

Not many, but a few. Hope they help! - @authors-haven

This will be handy for those in the US (which probably applies to most of ye) to know.

This country treats immigrants and their families horribly, but that doesn’t have to stop anyone from applying for college.

These are most certainly worth considering for fantasy settings, especially for worldbuilding purposes.

Non-Boring Environments that need Fantasy Representation

Tropical Rainforests

Scrubland/Dry Forests. For extra effect make them the sort that burn very often; some native plants never germinate until after a fire, and some animals not only rely on fire to smoke out prey, but may even start them themselves.

Savannas/Tropical Grasslands

Temperate Rainforests. I almost didn’t include this bc New Zealand is covered in them, and that’s where they filmed Lord of the Rings. But tbh, no one really knows about them, so it belongs here

Taiga Forests

Barren Tundra, perfect for some extreme seasonal dichotomy

Polar Ice Sheets

Desert-Grasslands (arguably the same as Scrubland but Australia’s good at adding its own twists)

Barren Desert

If you like Cacti, look at American Deserts like the Sonoran

Salt Flats

Soda Lakes and Alkaline Lakes

Madagascar’s Karst Limestone Formations

Madagascar’s Spiny Forests

Madagascar’s Baobab Forests

Madagascar’s Subhumid Forests (Madagascar is cool as hell ok)

Danxia Landforms

Badlands/Mountainous Deserts

Steppes and Highland Prairies

Flood Basalts

Newly-Formed Islands, still rife with Volcanic activity

Now for Underwater Environments, sure Coral Reefs are cool.

But there are SO MANY other kinds of environments for aquatic settings, it’s unbelievable:

Seaside Cliffs

Archipelagos. Not just Tropical Island chains like Polynesia (Moana anyone?) but also Coldwater Archipelagos like the Aleutians.

Tidal Flats

Bayous/Cypress Swamps

Tropical River Basins, AKA Seasonally Flooded Rainforests

Mangrove Swamps/Deltas/Beaches

Kelp Forests

The Open Ocean

Coastal Seabeds

Rocky Beaches with Tidepools

And there are a LOT more I could name but this post is already obscenely long as is, if you’d like to toss in your own go right ahead, but my point is if you limit yourself to European Deciduous Forests you’re a wimp.

I appreciate y’all here who stay in for more than the good moments & will help those in need.