Anarkat, but over here @Anarkat@anarchism.space

I think this is particularly relevant in the way that there aren't simply pnies and zebras, where there definitely could be parallels drawn, but that there are numerous sentient species, and so the world is built in exploration of how these different sentient species relate to each other.

I will, however accept that there are some racist conceptions about how people relate to each other in the fact that the zebras take on a lot of tropes of mysticism.

There's been a lot of characterization and worldbuilding around the zebra society in Fallout Equestria, which has brought me inexorably towards the question of how much this world relates to our own, and whether neat parallels could really by drawn. Clearly, in a lot of stories featuring anthropomorphized animals, zebras are equated to black people, but I don't think that there is any such neat parallel as there is in most stories (cont.)

Been reading through it a bunch. Tossed that "one chapter a day" thing completely out the window. Anyway, onwards.

Themes of this chapter: respect, honesty, responsibility. An immortal ghoul facing the responsibility he has towards his morals, and to the person he respects as his leader. The responsibility he has to be honest with people he respects. The failures of the past to uphold responsibility.

As Littlepip is starting to acknowledge the depth of her addiction, her friends incapacitate her and force her to undergo addiction treatment. She's enraged at the violation of trust and consent, and then realizes the depth of her addiction.

Trying to help someone can still mean hurting them. What responsibility do we have to our friends to try to guide them away from self-destructive behavior?

Littlepip realizing that she can't run from her addiction, and keep denying that's what it is.

What gets her there? Being forced to acknowledge that she's not okay, and that indulging won't actually help.

Littlepip in denial about their addiction, bristles at overhearing her friends discuss trying to get her into a treatment for the physical addiction. Hurt, she decides to close herself off from them.

We often have the hardest time seeing faults in ourselves, understanding weaknesses as personal failings, rather than challenges that can and should be overcome.

We can be better people, but it means opening ourselves up to opportunities to do so.

Rage. The need to lash out at anything that represents the source of that anger. And then despair. Realizing that there's no evil to fight. Nothing to rage against. Just a series of mistakes and good intentions, paving the road to hell.

And when left with the emptiness of realizing that there's no conspiracy, just confluence of coincidence, what's left? To escape from reality, in the hopes that the one you escape to is better.

Ah, the classic love triangle! Well, it's not *that* far out of place. At least it's between several well fleshed out characters.

Interesting exploration of the thought processes that lead someone down the path of addiction. First it's "this is fun!" then it's "I'll just take a little bit more to stave off the hangover" and then it's "all of this would be so much easier if I just had a little kick"

Themes of trauma and consequences. Calamity left the pegasus society because they isolated themselves in the clouds. He was branded for it, and has to live with the consequences of his decision, even if it was the right one.

A cute demonstration of what putting on a high-charisma outfit to barter might actually look like.

The start of volume 2 sees Littlepip establish a base of operations. A small subplot resolved with the Crew defeating a dragon, and opening up the town the raiders were operating out of to start trading operations.

Already on volume 2. I get through stories quick when I'm concentrated.

The story does a very good job of tying up loose ends. Less a chekhov's gun and more a chekhov's armory.

The story does quite a good job of skipping over unnecessary details. Some stories go to great lengths to describe every single moment. This one does quite a good job of setting scenes like "alright, we're going to do this thing that is within our capabilities that will resolve the immediate impediment or conflict" and then time-skipping to after that's resolved.

The story explores how the good intentions of the main character lead to bad outcomes in parallel with its exploration of the same fate befalling the government of pre-war equestria. Good intentions piling onto each other.