#mlp complexity au

[insaturnity]

queen konets

[vezhenart]

the sillies :3

[ashleyfableblack]

A Mother's Day Eternal Courtship Jam. Love is complicated. Love takes work. For a Big Mama Bughorse with a family spanning several species it can take alot. A hard tale about love and family some may find all too familiar. TW in hashtags

"THERE'S my SPECIAL Boy..." Chrysalis beamed a grin of gleaming, razor-keen fangs at Pharynx as the guards shut the balcony bay doors behind them. She levitated a bunch of grapes from a nearby table of assorted dishes and goblets, offering them. "MY Pharynx. Come. Sit with me. Something to eat?" Pharynx politely refused with a reserved smile. "No, thank you, My Queen." Purple grapes. Very plump, ripe ones at that. He wasn't surprised that she knew his favorite fruit. Though he'd gotten to spend very little time with her since The Exodus of their people, he had little doubt that her agents were still hidden among his Lovebug kind. She likely knew more of their affairs than he did. Making his way to the heap of cushions she was lounging upon he climbed the pedestal and sat. "Happy Mother's Day." He gave a sheepish grin. After last years celebration he hadn't been sure what to expect from her. 'Mother's Day' wasn't a changeling concept. Every Day was Mothers Day as far as The Hive was concerned. His people's decision to adopt the pony holiday as a lovebug tradition was received awkwardly at best. But Chrysalis was a Queen and the Mother of her entire race and she was certainly making a go at it for her sons sake. She was looking healthy. No doubt she was eating very well. Her pony wife had made it very clear that she alone would give her wife all the love she needed. She had always been large, so tall, beautiful and majestic in an indefinable way, by changeling standards. But she seemed larger still, these days. Her chitin gleamed, dark and smoky. The pitting of her limbs seemed reduced. Her mane of spidersilk seemed more like the hair of a pony. Her shape even seemed different. Her plot, in particular seemed rather... round. He wondered if she was unconsciously adapting her form to suit her wife or maybe to fit more closely with their pony subjects? It was a common enough trait among changelings in deep-cover. Her eyes shifted between her two sets of irises as she looked him over, examining him both visually and taking note of his emotional state. "I trust your trip was well. Hmmn." She could see he was particularly troubled but spoke nothing of it. Decorum was to be observed. She was a Queen. "Where is your idiot brother?" Pharynx chuckled. "Heh. He got pulled into a discussion on some artsy-craftsy garbage about 'decorative baking' with one of Queen Twilights advisors. The bubble-headed pink one." "Ah." Chrysalis nodded. "That would be Pinkie-pie." "That's the one. Ugh." Pharynx shifted uneasily on the pile of assorted cushions and royal-blue throw rugs. Some creatures would say that all ponies looked alike. He knew this to be untrue. Though he was a lovebug he still had a changelings eye for fine detail. Ponies of any tribe were very distinct, visually. Their personalities on the other hoof, on that he could definitely see their point. They were all so cloying, so irritating. They all just blended into one big blur of annoying, bouncy, frivolous children to him. Tasty as food but still, annoying. "I told him to just go on with her and he could meet us later. Seemed just as well."

"Indeed." She pursed her lips, studying him. The Queen took a sip from an ornate silver goblet. "She has a way with most creatures, one I would imagine fitting your brother's demeanor all too well." Pharynx regarded the view. He could see why his Queen-Mother had chosen to make this balcony into a receiving area. From here, New Canterlot castle had an impressive view of the surrounding land. From the peaks of far-off Yak-Yakistan to the tides coming in off the Celestial Sea. This perch was as tactical as it was deceptively pleasant. She could plot out an entire campaign from here as easily as charm unassuming diplomats. He sighed. He missed those days as a changeling agent. Chrysalis broke his drift into the past with her sharp, multi-tonal Hive voice. "But you desired a private audience." It wasn't a question. She knew. "Yes." He cleared his throat, straightening himself. "Yes, My Queen." Her emerald snake eyes stared expectantly. Most of his life those eyes had been a place of comfort to him. She was his Queen-Mother, the source of all life for his people. However, in this moment, he would almost be anywhere else than in their gaze. Still, he had planned. He had prepared. This was the time and this was his moment. He was going through with this. "I wished to speak with you on a personal matter, My Queen." Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Pharynx, it's not like you to be so nervous. Speak." "I needed to-" he paused. His deep, gravelly voice cracking, he cleared his throat. He couldn't believe it but he was actually trying to recall Thorax's 5-5-5 rule for dealing with his anxiety. Or was it 3-3-3? UGH. He would have to punch him when he saw him next time- more than he usually did. "I needed to apologize... to you, My Queen."

Chrysalis furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" She adjusted her irises to study the shimmering pattern of emotions emanating from her lovebug son. Guilt, radiated from him like smoke from a oil-fire, guilt, shame and a deep, black loathing. She craned her neck and drew slightly closer. "You've nothing to apologize for." Pharynx visibly shrank. The words and the feeling behind them hit him like fists. "Respectfully, My Queen-" his lavender eyes glanced to her "I feel I do." Pharynx sighed hard. It had been years in the build-up. He'd finally opened the door. Nothing to do for it now but walk through. "Mother... I failed My Hive. I failed our people. I failed myself. Most of all, I failed you." His lips pursed as her struggled to contain the breaking dam inside his chest. Chrysalis straightened herself. She narrowed her eyes, her intense gaze could cut through stone. Her ears flitted as she listened intently. "Continue." Pharynx stared into the floor. His eyes looked to the same past his voice spoke from, a time some decades ago now. He could almost see the timeline in front of them, the chain of events which led him to this moment. "Look after her." He paused. The word, the identifier, it stung his tongue to say it. "That's what you said to me. The first thing you ever said to me. Look after her. You ordered me to protect my idiot younger sister, my broken, faulty twin." Pharynx sighed. "She was born wrong. You knew it. I knew it. She wasn't like the rest of us. From the moment I crawled out from our egg and looked back at her, still wobbling around, she was silent in the hive-mind. Not a ghost, not a whisper, just nothing. But rather than just leave her to our sisters to be eliminated, you ordered me to protect her. You seemed to value her, maybe me as well, if by proxy." He looked into his hooves as if searching for the secrets of his past in them. "You didn't give us designations like our sisters. We were different. We got names. I would be Pharynx. She was Thorax." He bit his lip. The dam was stressed but holding. "I wanted you to be proud of me. My Queen. My Mother. So, I protected her, the idiot. The coward. The weakling. Our sisters knew she was born wrong and they hated her, wanted her gone, if not dead. She was not of The Hive. She smelled wrong, tasted wrong. None of us could hear her in the Hive Mind." Pharynx gritted his tiny nub fangs "But I protected her from them. I kept her safe. When they bullied her, I fought her fights. When she failed missions, I cleaned up her mess. When she betrayed us, ran away like the traitor she..." He paused, the words caught in his throat. The dam was cracking. "The traitor he was. I still obeyed. I kept the patrols from finding him. I guided any incidental seekers from his pathetically obvious hiding spots. I even masked the scent of his fear in the air- THAT took ingenuity. But All for you, My Queen. All for The Hive. I protected him even up until..'" Pharynx shuddered. He hesitated to even say the words. The name his changeling people had given to the day of their near-genocide. The day their home was destroyed and the lovebugs were born. "The Exodus. I could have stopped him. I could have stopped all of them. The cowards." He gritted his teeth, hooves clenched against his thighs like fists. "The ingrateful, treasonous scum. The filthy pony intruders, that stupid draconequis-thing, my traitorous brother. I could have stopped them but I didn't." Pharynx looked to his Mother, His Queen. He owed her the respect of looking her in the eyes when he said this. When he admitted to the price of his shame. "I had a choice to make. In that moment I had to choose. To be the perfect daughter for you like I always wanted to be..." The weight of his guilt was crushing. The dam was breaking. Held back for the last thirty years The edges of his eyes moistened. "Or be the... the worthless... Son... I always knew I had needed to be."

His shoulders shook with the pressure of containing the tears. Gritting his teeth he continued. "I hated him. He wasn't a Changeling. He wasn't one of us. I hated him for being weak. I hated him for being different. I hated his stupid smiling face. I hated his stupid feelings, his selfishness, his self-important, self-righteous- OH, he was SO much better than the rest of us, he was better than The whole HIVE. He was so special, like those stupid pathetic little ponies. But I-" Pharynx choked. "He... He was braver than me. He was Thorax. He was... your son. And I made my choice." His lips quivered. The hot stinging droplets formed. His vision blurred and he looked away, sending the tears to patter against the cushions. "I could've stopped him, Mother. I could've saved you from all that. I could've saved all our sisters. I should've stopped him. I wanted to. I... I wanted to be strong for you. I swear I did. I swear I- but I couldn't- had to- I had to be- Ff- Ff- Ph-" Years of self-loathing buried the rest in a mass of sobs as he pressed his face into his hooves. The dam was broken now. Pharynx was broken. His chitinous body convulsed as he wailed. Like a tiny foal, he shrieked, loosing out the tears of self-hatred he'd held deep inside for decades. The venom within him had rotted away, cold and black, like tar on his heart for years. Pouring out from his eyes now, it burned, searing like fire. His lips curled back, baring his tiny lovebug faux-fangs. They were not the fierce, dagger-like sabres of a changeling. He chattered them together, trying to finish his thoughts but all that came out was a gibbering, wailing mess. To his shock Chrysalis pulled him to her barrel. Without thinking, he threw his hooves around her, hissing his tears into his Mother's chitin in thick, painful sobs. Several minutes passed as years of hate poured forth, drenching her chest. Not as The Changeling Queen-Mother but as his Mother, she held him firm and steady. Several minutes passed as years melted away between them. Finally, enough of the pain drained off, Pharynx found his words again. "Mom? Do you... hate me?" Chrysalis stared back at him with her giant serpents eyes. In all these years, he had never called her that. No drone had. 'My Queen'. 'Majesty'. 'Excellency'. 'Queen-mother.' 'Perfect One'. 'Exalted One' 'Our Beloved Perfection.' Never 'Mom'. She considered the question in silence. Her horn glowed. In a small eruption of emerald flames a trinket appeared in Pharynx lap. Her multi-tonal voice cut through the tense silence between them. "Do you know what this is?" He looked to the trinket. A fine golden chain set around a series of opaque transparent flakes of shimmering, almost crystalline material, chitin from a changeling. As many times as he'd seen his alicorn mother-in-law wear it, of course he knew what it was. "This is the wedding token you gave to Queen Twilight." "And its significance?" He swiped away a bubble of snot with the back of his forelimb. "It's an ancient pony practice- unicorn, specifically, to give an expensive token of affection to a mate." She starred expectantly.

He expanded- "Adapted during the fusion of their 3 tribal cultures to include the Terrestrials... Err... colloquially, 'Earth Pony' tradition of an exchange of a family heirloom ... one holding a more personal value than one dependent on the unicorn system of material worth." Chrysalis nodded. A smile began to warm her lips. "And what is this?" "It's your token to your mate- Queen Twilight." The Queen gave a small huff of impatience, touching the article with her pitted hoof to accent each word. "What. Is. This?" Pharynx wasn't certain what his mother was asking him. He lifted the article carefully in his hoofs and examined it. He'd never actually seen it this close before. He could see now the small plates of chitin were quite old. He had always thought they were just tiny clippings his Mother had made from her wings, emulating the pegasus practice of giving their mate one of their primary feathers. But that couldn't be. They were far too old for that. Their translucent quality was caused not by their age, but by their structure. No only that, they were slightly curved and shaped irregularly, each slightly smaller than the last. They were fitted plates. "These are..." he straightened as the realization dawned on him, suddenly taking even greater care to be very gentle with the artifact in his grasp. "These are the plates of a grub's first molting." She nodded again, her smile growing to expose her fangs. "They're yours."

Chrysalis draped a hoof around his shell. Pharynx fought to find the words. "Mine? But... How? Mine? They're... How did y-" "Your idiot brother saved the discards of your first molting. Don't ask me how he secreted them away or where he hid them. None of your sisters ever knew." She looked from the tiny bracelet to the astonished Pharynx. He stared at the jewelry as if it were speaking to him in a foreign tongue. "I've never found the knowledge in the Hive Mind, anyways. " She gave a wistful sigh. "I remember. You had both just completed your nymph molt a few days before. He came to me, all puffed up and smiles, and presented me with a set of baubles he'd made. A necklace and a bracelet. He'd managed to cobble together the materials from one of our caches of acquired valuables. I'm still not sure how he learned the skills required to craft them, half-dumb as he was. Still, he did. A necklace from his own remnants..." She lifted the trinket in her green flames. "...and this, from yours." In an implosion of magic the matrimonial token vanished, teleported back to Twilight's dresser. Pharynx stared in silence. She'd held onto such a thing, all these years, in secret. With a gentle touch of his angular cheek, Chrysalis regarded him. "I gave this to Twilight, my immortal love, as an act of trust, to honor the ancient custom of her people. It was only a thing but it was my most precious of things. And if I could trust her with this thing I could trust her with my hearts." She stroked his cheek, drawing close. "I am your Queen. I designate you all with purpose." Her snakes eyes held him like a helpless little grub. "When you hatched, I knew it. You were never born wrong. But you were born different. You weren't like any of our kind, ever, more like..." She paused, catching herself as if to keep a secret. "Yes, I named you. I knew what you were, as I have all my children from the dawn of our kind. Your foolish, flighty brother, he was Thorax, 'my heart'. You..." She smiled in a warmth he had never seen from her before. "...you were stronger, fiercer stuff. Pharynx, 'my voice'." As she smiled down at him the tears came again. He didn't fight them this time. "I've never hated you. In all The Hive, I've thousands of drones. Infiltrators, Warriors..." She wiped at his cheek with her pitted hoof. "But I've only one Pharynx. One you. You are my son."

He returned her smile, wiping at his cheeks.

They sat in silence. Maybe for the first time in their lives, they were truly Mother and Son, as Pharynx would see it. "Any other questions?" She gave a playfully irreverent smirk. still draping a hoof over his shell. "Heh... Maybe... Another hug? My Q-" She cut him off, pulling him into her hooves and squeezing her son tightly. He embraced her in return. He could almost taste the love in the air around them. It was an unusual feeling, this warmth. Was this 'acceptance'? It was alien but certainly not unwelcome. If this was what Thorax was always going on about Pharynx could get used to this 'family' business. The balcony-bay doors creaked open. A guard broke the tender silence of their moment with her announcement. "My Queen. Prince Thorax awaits Her Grace." Chrysalis looked to the guard, then to Pharynx. He smirked, making to hop up. "I'm gonna go pound him." The Queen rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Don't pick on your brother." Pharynx sniffled and froze. He had an almost pouty quality to his silent obedience. She sighed in resolution. "Fine. You're brothers..." Pharynx leapt up with a burst of energy and sprinted for the door. From the halls Chrysalis could hear the sounds of things being broken and shouting of various slurs of endearment. She chuckled and took a large mouthful of the grapes, chomping them down hungrily with a smug, self-satisfied smile. "Best. Mom. EVER."

[casually-salad]

Lilly's last cutie mark

text is now in image ID

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

not really an ask but MY SIBLING DREW YOUR FAIRY FANART!!!!!!!!!

we both love her

AAAA IT’S FAIRY!!!!!

[fridaydevils]

If you’re insane like me, I picture the MLP concept like a heartfelt dramedy coming of age for awkward weird girls… two episode ideas under:

- Twilight loses steam for her fanfic that’s been going on for 2 years and has a lot of attention in the fandom, gaining micro celebrity status. The pressure is too much, from her home life and school and college on the horizon. She doesn’t know it, but she’s suffering from a burn out and ends up blowing up at Pinkie who overstims her. Pinkie gets her feelings hurt but they talk through it and Twilight learns how to let loose and not have to work all the time… by the end of a weekend together, Twilight gets an idea for the ending that reflects the time they spent together. 🙂 And she really learns to value Pinkie’s own creativity, and sense of freedom she needs too.

- Rainbow Dash is always confident and speaks her mind proudly, too much even, but when she overhears gossip at school making fun of a gay theatre guy for “gay is just his personality”, she starts to get anxiety about her own new sexuality and wonders if it’s shallow.

During this week, she’s helping out Apple Jack for a big family dinner coming up for Thanksgiving break and is invited— when she sits at the table, right next to her, she gets flustered and imagines that one day she’ll come back again as “part of the family”

[polarisblitzwing]

KIU MLP designs! Because why not, lol

Pit & DP's cutie mark designs ~

Some things I put into consideration for their cutie mark designs~

Pit: (Palutena bow) arrow pointed towards a circular symbol of light, laurel crown leaves, wings, and a heart :)

Dark Pit: (Silver bow) arrow, his wings (which represent the freedom of flight), a broken laurel crown (doesn't listen to the gods/does what he wants), and broken mirror glass (he wants to find his own identity) ^

Fun facts in this mini au: DP came out of the mirror as a blank flank. He represents Pit's desire to have a bit more independence and be free from his responsibilities sometimes, so this was reflected as someone with someone with complete freedom to choose their path/destiny.

DP believes cutie marks restrict someone's path for a while, but learns later on this isn't the case. Once he realizes that, he earns his cutie mark later on. I imagine Viridi got a little bit too bossy one day and DP made sure she remembered that he's not Pit & that no one can control him. (Laurel crowns were snapped that day.)

He's very outspoken and this litttle pony will sass you & snipe you at point blank with his staff (so be careful xD)

[horsejawbone]

C.O.S.M.I.C. (Canterlot Observation of Solar Movement and Interstellar Change)

Sometime after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Queen Celestia discovered that her sister had organized a collective of like-minded individuals in order to monitor the planet's neighboring celestial bodies for... an unknown purpose. None of the individuals involved knew exactly what the exiled royal was looking for.

There were whispers... though. Rumors that Luna had not been looking for something but instead someone.

Celestia had been entirely unaware of her sister's devices. Perhaps that had been the point. Her sister had seemed more prone to obsession in the months leading up to her transformation.

This presented a unique opportunity to the elder alicorn, who was bereft over her sister's imprisonment. Celestia decided to take command of her sister's project, COSMIC was then reformed to an organization that would serve a similar but more broadened purpose.

C.O.M.E.T. (Classified Observation of Magical and Extraterrestrial Threats)

If COSMIC was a group of scholars and astronomers, COMET was a more "militarized" agency. It was an unsaid fact that the research done within COMET was purely scientific on the surface, but as Celestia took a "hooves off" approach to leadership of the organization in the wake of her solitary rule, things began to change. Her subjects needed a way to defend themselves against magical threats on their own.

In the wake of several crises over the years, this opinion became more widespread throughout the mortal agents of COMET. Celestia couldn't possibly always be there. So, multiple bases were established.

The major plot significant branches are located in Canterlot and Ponyville. However, there are multiple bases across Equestria. Several were closed in the wake of Queen Luna and the recovery of the Elements of Harmony, the crowning of Empress Cadenza, and Twilight Sparkle's alicorn ascension.

[nadia-cannot-think-straight]

Everything you need to know about me in one image:

Every hiperfixation i have NEEDS to have either needlesly complex MLP au, needlesly complex ATLA au or both. Usually both.

I like borzoi dogs :)

[skyscrapergods]

I say this as someone who grew up on G4… this AU’s lore is a thousand times more engaging than the canon lore

Thank you!!! I am creating exactly the content I wish to consume. This AU is MY level of detailed and interconnected and angsty and wonderful. Similar media that has gotten close to my preferred level is the MYST franchise, which I grew up on. It's 10000% worldbuilding with a little bit of story thrown in.

My little pony is a show for small children. I can't expect it give me what I want. But its a very fun starting point to MAKE it what I want.

Using MLP as a scaffold for more structure

Why the simplicity is refreshing and where I extrapolate

Meta tag

I have stressed this many times, but My little pony is not bad or wrong for not being complex, cohesive, and consistent. It is what it is. I like things to be heavy (thematically) and developed, and since I have an audience that appreciates and resonates with it, I go for it!

A lot of writers and artists who liked MLP extrapolated as I did on a world shared by small children and mature adults alike. The canon lore isn't bad or unengaging, you just have more detailed tastes than what it gave you.

I'm very glad you are enjoying the meal I serve. Its a wonderful journey and scratches that itch for a lot of people.

[oswald-can-draw]

About your mlp infection au!! I love this one so much I'm so interested!! Maybe give us a rundown of a couple of the survivors and how equestrias chances are looking? How did the ponies infected by black magic change and mutate? Can spike or other species like dragons, griffins and zebras get infected since they dont have cutiemarks? Are foals who dont have cutiemarks yet immune until they get their cutiemark? How does that play in? Im so sorry if this is too many questions, I really love this au and I think its really cool!!! Its a really well thought out idea and I think its awesome!!! :D I hope you have a nice day! ❤️

Someone being an autistic beast about my work is the highest compliment, so never apologize for that!

But, boy howdy, have we got a lot of ground to cover!

Let’s take it step by step:

1. FOALS

Foals (or those without their cutie mark), are a very complex cog in this AU. On one hand, they don’t have their cutie mark, so they can’t be infected, as there is no magic to corrupt. Great!

The bad news? Getting one’s cutie mark is often an unplanned thing, which means any foal can become susceptible to the Meanie Mark Virus at any time. There are many ways to deal with this.

One common one is to wrap the foal’s flank with compression gauze. Half a desperate idea, and half a way to forget their child’s vulnerability (or to hide when they DO get a cutie mark). Somepony suggested that it could “keep back” a cutie mark, and the rest of the populace decided to go with it.

Another way is to just try and keep the foal from anything that interests them. This works to a point, but the stress from their friends and family on the brink of death every day, and now any sliver of joy that they can find in this hellscape is strictly forbidden. This can cause a once rare, but quickly becoming more common developmental condition known as “Muted Cutie”. This causes a cutie mark to appear, but it’s based off of an outside tension, such as familial pressure, cutie conditions, and lack of input. It’s like a magical wisdom tooth — keeping the actual cutie mark from developing and causing pain and stress to the pony.

The third option is a last resort: quietly “taking care” of foals that were of cutie mark age or freshly marked.

Having a foal of a certain age can bar you from going into certain populated areas, getting ample supplies, and even contact with other ponies.

Of course, this is EXTREMELY traumatizing for the foal. Feeling like they aren’t wanted and that they aren’t allowed even the smallest of joys can make life miserable.

2. OTHER SPECIES

* Zecora’s redesign is based off of the Karo tribe, a small tribe famous for body painting and self expression. Though I have done as much research as I can, there is still room for error. If there is something inaccurate, please let me know so I can fix the redesign accordingly.

Other species may not get the Meanie Mark illness, per se, but they do have reactions to parts of the evil clones that seep into the soil or the corpses of already infected ponies.

Griffins, for example, get something similar to food poisoning, with nausea, vomiting, and unseasonal molting. This is their body attempting to purge the toxins. Their flying also becomes affected, with severe bouts of vertigo and lost sense of direction. For the average, healthy griffin, this usually only lasts a week or so. However, if a griffin is elderly, injured, or any sort of health condition, this infection could be fatal. Fortunately, since griffins are so far from the Everfree Forest and spend so little time on the ground, this sickness is very rare, especially with certain security measures set in place.

Dragons are even luckier. Their stomachs are able to digest any trace of the infection, neutralizing it before it can cause any real damage. However, there is a phenomenon that has been unearthed due to dragons. The gems found near their volcano-filled home can actually be infused with the disease. The only sign of this having occurred is a slightly darker hue and a “rotten” taste, according to the dragons. A few dragons have been enlisted to dispose of infected material, as them consuming it is the only way it can be disposed of without putting more ponies at risk. Not many are up for the task.

Zebras, on the other hoof, have quite the reaction to infected material. While they aren’t infected with the true disease, the special, magical markings and body paint can give the bacteria something to feed on. This can cause weakness, confusion, gastrointestinal distress, rashes, burns, irritability, and even aggression. Zebras often have to be quarantined from the rest of their tribe in order to keep the disease from spreading and the victim from hurting anyone or anything. Removal of paint and markings can help, and are often reapplied after recovery, with additional markings showing their bravery, strength, and health. Unfortunately, some of them do not survive.

Any other living thing, including birds, mammals, plant life, and insects all have generally poor reactions upon exposure. Common themes in symptoms include weakness, vomiting, and confusion. Plants will turn away from the sun. Dogs will whine and curl into a ball. Birds will run into things and screech. Survival depends on the age, health, size, and care plan of a creature. Among them, usually about 73% survive.

Though no other species has the guaranteed death from the disease that ponies do, it can still cause some nasty, or even deadly, side effects.

3. BLACK MAGIC

Since the Meanie Mark Illness is already a form of black magic, just more widespread and deadly, the disease has horrendous effects on those who have already succumbed to dark magic.

Though it’s a rare instance, the phenomenon has been observed. Whether the black magic or the illness comes first, it always begins and ends the same way:

First, a pony becomes much, MUCH more powerful. Instead of gradually gaining this talent through the virus, their black magic reaches a feverish pitch. The pony begins to have uncontrollable displays of magic, usually of the destructive kind. Explosions, rays, death, and evil spells emanate from them without stopping. This has caused many hasty villains to try and catch the famous Meanie Mark Illness — with this power, they think, taking over the world would be easy.

Second, the two opposing powers battling for control inside the pony begin to destroy the victim from the inside. See, the reason why ponies become a husk-like corpse and turn to dust at the end of the Meanie Mark’s cycle is because of the Tree of Harmony’s magic fighting the dark magic of the virus, which ends up destroying the pony in the process. But with the black magic far overpowering the Tree of Harmony, the pony has a different problem — their body can’t handle such raw power.

The pony’s hair begins to fall out, their veins swell, their skin begins to blacken with gangrene as less and less blood goes to extremities. The pony ends up rotting from the inside out, black sludge oozing from their mouth and eyes, magic still pouring out of them. Their cutie mark, both subdued from the virus and given immense power from the black magic, sputters and shines and pulses.

Finally, a pony will die within a few days, their corpse zombified and rotting. However, those who do survive the ordeal have poor quality of life, as their joints, brains, and some of their organs hardly work anymore. They will live either as a wandering corpse or a patient for their friends and family to take care of until their demise in the near future.

In other words, this is a quicker but much more painful death!

4. CHANCES FOR EQUESTRIA?

This disease can be spread very easily, especially among unicorns. If an infected unicorn casts a spell on another pony, they too will catch Meanie Mark. Other than that, a pony either has to come in contact with infected soil/plant life, an animal that has eaten said infected material, or a corpse. This means that, though the illness will be slow to spread at first, it will pick up speed as time goes on.

With the emphasis on foals and the amount that are being killed for mercy or safety’s sake, repopulating is going to be difficult.

As for a cure…perhaps the dragons can help, since they are the only one’s completely immune? Or maybe they could at least offer hints about how to stop this horrible disease?

All this to say — there is a chance of survival. But is Equestria quick enough to find a cure? Or at least keep the disease at bay?

BONUS - SURVIVORS (NOT COMPLETE):

1. Spike: Being a dragon has its perks. But being surrounded by ponies does not.

2. Big Mac: The pony you would want in an apocalypse. Still mourning the infection of his sisters.

3. Discord: Could he even…get sick? Isn’t he part pony? But he doesn’t have a cutie mark…

4. Rainbow Dash: Cloudsdale is on lockdown, and isn’t allowing anypony in or out. But it’s like herding winged cats.

5. Winona: Aids Big Mac. Since eating an infected piece of flesh, she avoids the infected like the plague.

6. Sweetie Belle: Was staying with Scootaloo right before Rarity got infected. Apple Bloom would have come, but she didn’t feel well…

7. Scootaloo: Her inventions are invaluable. But her lack of a quick way to escape could be the death of her one day.

[lockandkeyhyena]

For the ask game: 13? I'm most interested in hearing your answer for MLP, but I'm sure there's some folks who wanna hear the warriors answer as well

13. worst blorboification

since i’ve already given the warrior cats answer to this, i’ll give the mlp answer now! once again i’m defining blorboification as sorta ‘woobification’ or an unwillingness to address a characters flaws

for gen 5, maybe sprout? i see him as most interesting when characterised as a big man-baby who is used to getting what he wants and there was a big surge of ‘apologists’ when the movie first came out that i was embarrassingly a part of. idk, i just have a thing for pathetic characters lol

for gen 4, i HAVE to say starlight glimmer. look. i love starlight, i really do, but she’s always been more interesting to me as a villain. with starlight i often see people either pushing under the rug her anger issues and controlling tendencies or otherwise (usually in next-gens) just making her irredeemably evil. she’s neither- she’s a really interesting complex character that i think she show failed to properly explore in some ways and yet in other ways had a few episodes where she was done fantastically!

anyway. if you guys keep up with my aus you may have noticed i really like villain starlight haha

[stoshasaurus]

haven't been making any sfw ultrakill or overwatch drawings to add to this blog, but I have been drawing some discords lately (a goofy goober from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, for the majority of my followers that are probably unfamiliar)

(if you're a follower and know who he is you're a g i love you)

yes i am also an mlp artist and have a very complex au and ships going on. twicord ftw fuck everything else/silly

WOE! CyberCord be upon ye

normal art should resume soon hopefully, either ultrakill, overwatch, or completely unrelated and breaking into another fandom that i am not remotely equipped to deal with. been doing that lately.

[xycuro-illuminati]

I'll be honest, there's this one unusual I really want, so I'm offering to do key based commissions! For anyone interested, please DM me! If you're interested in regular commissions and other options I have them right here.

Detailed backgrounds are an additional 4 keys.

TOS doc (What I will/will not draw) will be under cut

Terms of Service:

I have the right to decline a commission and can choose to explain or not and will do refunds if I am unable to complete the task if something comes up. 

If you decide to commission your oc, your oc must have a complete character ref for me to work with depending on what commission type you are looking for. For example, if you want a full body commission, I need a full body reference. I will NOT make your character for you with other references.

This is payment first; I will not start on the commission if I do not receive payment first. You are not allowed to use the commission for NFT or AI Art purposes.

Allowed:

+OCs

+Characters from any media

+Characters from AUs

+Aliens

+Monsters

+Sci-Fi creatures

+Supernatural creatures

+Other people’s ocs (IF this is for a gift or with their permission)+Furries/anthros

+Animals/MLP

+Suggestive

+Subtle/minor gore/horror

Not allowed:

-Explicit NSFW

-Explicit Gore

-Non/Con

-Shotacon/Lolicon-Incest-Pedophilia

-Hate art/Hate speech/Any bigotry

-Complex armor/mecha

-MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

[toothpaste-for-the-skin]

Sorry guys (hits my agents with the horse transformation beam)

Ok admittedly I’ve had a rough idea for all these designs floating around in my head for a bit now, but I never actually got the chance to draw it digitally so here’s a quick concept doodle ig?

Anyways, ig as you can see from the image, in the “mlp AU” Iota is an earth pony, Min is a pegasus, and Astra is a unicorn. Their personalities remain relatively unchanged but idk how they’d all be “agents” in the mlp world.

Iota is a survivalist with a strong dislike for magic. They believe magic is just something to “cheat your way to success” with. Generally unfriendly and tends to keep to herself. Her Cutiemark is a branch wrapped in thorns.

Min is a pegasus with pretty weak flying capabilities. She doesn’t let that stop her however, becoming well known as an excellent engineer (or mechanic, something of the sort). She’s still pretty down to earth and smart (but with a bit of a hidden superiority complex). Min is not actually a blank flank I just haven’t thought of a cutiemark for her yet.

Astra is a unicorn astronomer. She had moved to town fairly recently to study the stars, but she’s is seldom seen by the townspeople due to her work requiring her to live a more nocturnal lifestyle. But despite this, Astra is very lonely and wants to be able to make friends and interact with everyone, but she’s always too tired to do so when everyone is awake. To solve this, she began using her magic to force herself to stay awake for long periods of time, which does technically allow her to socialize during the daytime now. However, her extended overuse of this magic has taken a very noticeable toll on her, and now she just tends to scare people away as the weird unicorn with the pinprick eyes and unbreakable stare. (If you can’t tell, she takes a lot of inspo from the Apple Sleep Experiment creepypasta, but without all the murdering). Her cutiemark is the planet Saturn surrounded by 3 stars.

All of these guys are also gonna get MLP style names, I’m just really bad at coming up with those so I don’t have anything yet.

But uh.. yeah these are the agents but horse. I’m having a lot of fun just reimagining everybody and I’m def gonna do more with these guys (and hopefully I’ll finalize their designs soon)

[hueberryshortcake]

i wish i could make intellectually and artistically complex aus that got really popular and garnered me a lot of attention but i dont think that dt and dwd have the same scope of audience as mlp