#ssg lore

[skyscrapergods]

What would a goddess breezie look like

What do you think changelings are?

[skyscrapergods]

ik this blog is in a bit of a lull rn, so no pressure on answering, but I've perused thru most of the posts on worldbuilding for ssg and I didn't see this question asked: one of the main traits of humans that let us become the dominant sentient species is our opposable thumbs. ponies don't have those! and yes, unicorns can control and move things with magic but thats a difficult process to learn and not readily available to everyone. most worldbuilding I see for MLP tends to leave this question ambiguous behind the veil of cartoon logic. what are your thoughts? how do ponies maintain technological advancements and perform everyday tasks despite only being able to hold things with their mouths or (in some cases) horns? and what of writing and art?

Horses have extremely dexterous lips for ripping up grass. So they use their mouths WAY more than they do in the show. Fine motor skills are all done with the lips and teeth.

For bigger tasks, many earth ponies have horseshoes made of ferrous metal, and have magnets on items they need to interact with. Tea pots with magnetic handles, but the handles look like big disks for the shoe to fit in.

In the show, all these things are human-shaped for familiarity (and because designing for hoofed apex species is a lot of work). But in my world, things like door handles, light switches, buckets, sewing machines, typewriters, and such are all converted to large-surface hoof levers, mouth pull-strings, pressure plates, tooth-grips, etc

Here's a look at an environment that is built for someone with hooves and mouth rather than hands.

See how he doesn't struggle to operate human-centric machinery?

Meanwhile, creatures with hands will struggle in ponyville, when presented with something that is meant only to be bitten to operate.

Likewise, areas with mostly-unicorn populations have doors, buildings, devices, utensils, bookshelves, food, and everything else built for form rather than function, since they don't need to use their hooves and mouths for anything. Think a teapot with no handles at all. Nothing on the back, and nothing on the lid either except embellishments. No post that sticks up for hands or mouths to grab, just fancy markings. Unicorns can just lift that smooth lid out of the way and telekinetically hold the pot under the water. For this reason, isolated unicorns are often shocked and horrified to see ponies and pegasus use their hooves and mouths. A unicorn with a broken horn would be able to function in a pony world just fine, but is severely disabled in unicorn-only society. Though, they would still struggle when faces with devices that require horse-teeth, since unicorns, being deer, lack upper front teeth. Their hard dental pad is useful, but it is more delicate than teeth and can be injured by using pony devices.

Pegasus settlements use their mouths and hooves too, but have additional devices and adaptions mean to be operated with their wings. They have a highly developed alula, which is is the free-moving digit at the wrist of the wings.

A pegasus can grab and move things with it, but it's not as deft as their cloven hooves and prehensile dewclaws.

This is especially helpful since pegasus mouths are made of a lot of hardened cartilage with feathery skin over it. This helps them preen their feathers, but lowers dexterity.

Thankfully, most areas of Equestria have been adapted to all three species. Places of business, housing, devices, and commerce have pullies, hoofpads, soft mouth-grips, and such. Unicorns learn to use their bodies to operate things, or they train themselves to press the right area with magic to get results.

Twilight's school of friendship is the most inclusively-built area os equestria, with desks, writing utensils, and classrooms fit for a variety of hooves, hands, claws, mouths, and more. This breaks down a major barrier than has kept pony and non-pony creatures apart from each other. Hopefully the rest of equestria follows in her hoofsteps.

[skyscrapergods]

hii! so, i'm not sure if i've asked this or if you've already answered this, but if celestia ferries the sun around, what about the "gas ball" that boabab had discovered?

Different Sun

My lore is constantly changing and developing! I believe I invented Boabab before i gave celestia an origin story? I think the sun existed and she just took control of it. But now the lore is that celestia made the sun herself