Considering everything I’ve done in my life, the element of deception would probably work best.

And that’s not some self-loathing garbage either. We all have to lie a little, to ourselves and others, to spare their feelings, or get through the day.

It’ll never be a popular opinion, because it’s so easy to take things too far. But deception is just as important to harmony as honesty.

All things in balance.

You think no pony else ever has?

Just because Equestria hasn’t had a real war doesn’t mean there hasn’t been fighting. Most stallions grow up to be members of the Equestrian guard and are deployed to border towns. Why do you think there’s so few of them around?

Fighting does break out, and ponies do die. As I understand it, relations are particularly shaky on the border between ours and the griffin territories.

Two reasons.

One, because this is the internet, not face-to-face interaction. You have time to communicate without stumbling on words or being incredibly upset. There’s no excuse for swearing.

Secondly, I run a family friendly page. I operate under the assumption that some of the ponies following me don’t know those words and have no reason to be exposed to them. Plus, it shows a certain level of maturity. And swearing isn’t the way mature adults communicate in a casual interaction.

I swear, but not online, and not in front of children. When Gilda tossed me like a rag doll into a wall, I swore quite a few times. Not directed at anypony, just as a reaction to having the wind knocked out of me.

You’re probably right. I’ve never been in a war.

And as many times as my life was put into danger when I was a foal, there were safe places to be, if you could reach them. There aren’t any where you are. Not really.

But when somepony limps up to you and says they just watched their best friend or sister get raped and kidnapped, what exactly are you supposed to say?

It’s not fair to you because it’s my past vs. your present. I can choose to ignore what happened to me years ago, but you can’t ignore what’s happening right now.

But if I’m not sorry, what am I?

Should I put that I’m an orphan in my sidebar or something?

I don’t know of any living relatives. I don’t even know of any dead relatives! I assume I had a mother and father, but I have no memory of them what-so-ever.

So the answer to “Are you related to X” is always going to be, “Probably not, but I don’t really know.”

Actually, a tree uprooted itself, fell into another tree, and both trees fell on my next-door-neighbor’s roof.

Turns out taking all the loose branches off of trees only helps so far.

I was going to take care of Sweetie Belle from now on. In the end, I couldn’t bare the thought of splitting up their family.

I’m fine.

They were kidnapped. No one really bats an eye at an orphan disappearing. From there, any number of nightmarish scenarios.

Friendship is mostly about emotion. Taking others feelings into account when deciding upon your actions. “Treat others how you want to be treated” is a nice, general tactic, but not always the best.

But all three are important on at least some level. You wouldn’t buck a friend square in the jaw, for example. And you wouldn’t act dumb around them either. All things in balance, but having a solid and understanding emotional relationship is the key to a steady friendship.

I’ve never been one to go with the whole, male/female version of occupations/status.

I just call all actors, ‘actors’. It’s not fair that colts seem to get the bottom rung in the ladder of our society. No reason for us mares to add an unnecessary flourish to our titles.

We’re supposed to all be equal.

I was just about to sit down and talk with her.

The initial topics to address are what she heard, and why. Unfortunately, what she heard were ravenous screeches of ecstasy and other… less than savory dialog. And why? Well, while directly related it makes lying or downplaying things pretty much impossible. I can forgo exactly how things work, but she’s going to have to hear the truth about what she heard and why.

The real truth.

After that, I’ll do as much damage control as I can. The last thing I want her to do is go out and use that knowledge. Fortunately, for once anyway, Sweetie is fairly reserved. I think the information will be enough to ease her mind a little without making her curious. It might sound a little cruel, but if it’s embarrassing enough, she won’t want to even think about it for some time.

Rarity, I not sure what to tell you, to be honest. I guess just try to be, whatever you were to her before this ever happened. Big sister, motherly, whatever it was. Pretend that this doesn’t change anything. You’re still the authority in her life. You cannot let this be something she holds over your head.

Basil, I don’t envy the position you’re being put in. Either you become a father/big brother figure to her or she does everything in her power to ignore you. The latter will only make things worse in the long run. The former will be devastating if the two of you ever break up. So, I guess pick up a few books on father/daughter interaction.

I can’t ever say anything with certainty, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay. Mostly she’s just shaken up, confused, ashamed and embarrassed.

I have a scar from a cigarette that was put out on my foreleg, but it’s pretty hard to see.

I’ve never actually been ignited, no.

Sure.

Step one, when things first start out, avoid spending time together. It’ll happen naturally, don’t try to force it or you’ll get sick of seeing one another.

Step two, designate what belongs to who. If it isn’t yours, don’t touch it without permission.

Step three, find a show or game that you both like and can watch/play together. If it’s a game, don’t make it a versus game or you’ll kill each other.

Step four, help out. Once you move in, it might not be your stuff, but you’re using it. Help with routine maintenance. Wash something, dust, vacuum.

Step five, cooperate. It’s all fun and games, and/or threats and jokes. But you’re in this together. If you get mad, if you yell, scream, whine, or cry before slamming that door, guess who you’re going to have to explain it to? Sometimes yelling has to happen, but always remain calm.

Come to think of it though, with Spike around, not sure how much of step four will actually matter. And if you’re a couple, not sure how much you can apply step one either.

We played for real back when I was around.

1. If you fail to complete a dare, whoever’s ‘it’ gets a point and remains 'it’.
2. If you refuse a truth, you lose a point and whoever’s 'it’ gets a point and remains 'it’.
3. If you complete a truth or dare, you get a point, and you’re now 'it’.
4. You can’t just keep going back and forth with each other. Quit playing like a d-… uh… dingus (That part was added before I came along).
5. There’s no rules about what kind of truth you can ask, but the answer only has to be true from the truthee’s perspective. So don’t ask some off-the-wall history question, “you’re not a clever pony.” (We had to add that part in for obvious reasons.)
6. Dares can only directly involve other players if they are willing participants.
7. Dares can only involve non-players as observers (usually for something embarrassing).
8. There was a lot of debate over it, but you can dare somepony to tell the truth. Truth is almost always the easier option anyway, so most of the time you’re throwing your dare away.
9. If you believe a dare is unfair you call out… uh… bullpoop.
10. An unfair dare is any dare the daree is believed to be completely incapable of completing, or something 'completely illegal’. 'Completely Illegal’ is a technical term for “they’re gonna get caught and snitch!”
11. If a dare has been… questioned, then you make your case and the other players agree or disagree.
12. If the other players disagree, you gotta do it. No penalty for trying to get out of it so you pretty much always call bull… poop.
13. If the players agree, whoever’s 'it’ loses their turn, a point, and the daree is now 'it’.
14. If the players agree but the daree says they’ll do it anyway, one of two things happen. Either A) The daree fails and the darer gets a point and remains in control. Or B) The daree succeeds and gets two points, is now it, and the darer loses two points.
15. When dared, the daree can 'diamond dog dare’ the darer to do it instead. If they agree and succeed, the former darer get two points and remains in control, while the former daree loses a point. Nothing lost if they refuse to go through with it, but lots of taunting usually ensues.
16. Despite varying degrees of pi-… peeing matches, there’s only one thing above a 'diamond dog dare’.
17. A 'double diamond dog dare’ can be called if one of the participants is the currently in the lead, and is usually a signal that everypony is getting tired of playing.
18. A 'double diamond dog dare’ means both participants have to do the dare. Refusing is no longer an option, by penalty of every other player.
19. A 'double diamond dog dare’ usually also means something really bad is about to happen, so get your things together and get ready to run from the guard. Younger players are excused and can leave at any time because they can’t run as fast.
20. Whoever completes the 'double diamond dog dare’ first wins.
21. You lose if you get caught, unless the group decides it was worth it.
22. YOU LOSE IF YOU SNITCH!

You’re my friend!

And it wasn’t so long ago that I was where you are. I remember what it was like. I doubt things are identical, but a lot of what you say hits home pretty hard.

I wish I could convince your parents to not force you to work while in college. I know for a fact that having to work and study at the same time negatively impacted my grade. Eight to twelve hours a week spent in a cafeteria was still eight to twelve hours I could have spent studying.

Incidentally, most of the time I worked in the cafeteria, I caught pizzas from the oven, sliced them, and put them on display.

Popular society deems any instance in which those four letters are arranged to form the swear in question, makes it a swear. It doesn’t matter if it contains a prefix or a suffix.

Likewise, you won’t see any biblical words condemning somepony to a location, archaic words that designate a girl dog or a fatherless foal, or alternate nouns for either a donkey, or somepony being stubborn on my page.

As I’ve said before, this isn’t a literature class. This page is meant to be accessible to anypony, regardless of age. That’s why I use such vague terminology when talking about things like intercourse.

The bottom-line? It’s my decision, not yours. You’re free to question it, and I’m free to defend it.