Boss_Hoss1 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 The questions here about Diamond Dogs brought to mind something else I have been thinking about after watching the shows and reading some of the fanfics. Gemstones there that could buy a mansion here are used in Equestria for the same decorative uses as costume jewelry or smooth river stones. And the dragons each horde hundreds of tons just to eat for meals. This leads me to believe gems are extremely common while gold is relatively rare since it's used for money. Would it be off-base to assume that the forces that created Equestria set things up so that dragons would either not go hungry or not deplete the gem resources? The minerals regenerating within a lifetime from microscopic crystals in the way the medieval miners actually thought minerals would after a while, like forests grow back? In a universe full of magic, those legends were the first thing I thought of, especially since Rareity's first find was a giant node similar to a geode, but packed with a potporii of precious gemstones that never occur here on earth in the same spot. It also oddly lends itself to Pinkie Pie's tale of living on a rock farm, shifting crops from field to field... If any of this makes sense, what does this mean for the diamond dogs? Would there be regions where say, diamonds or rubies are worth something simply because they dont grow there while the next country over is swimming in that type? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dessa Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Dragons seem pretty assured of not going hungry, if Spike is an example. He likes gems the most, but he also seems to eat hay and muffins. His incisors would suggest he eats meat as well. It would appear that dragons are some sorts of super-omnivores (given that regular omnivores font typically eat minerals beyond salts).While gems don't seem as rare as they are in our world, they seem rare enough to be prized nonetheless (Rarity's name and cutie mark would suggest that they're at least not common). Dragons treat them as a delicacy, and the Diamond Dogs don't take them for granted, at least.I'm not sure what this says about the geology of Equestria, but it's food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 To add to what Dessa said, gemstones seem to be more of a delicacy to dragons than a dietary necessity. Spike gets by just fine on the same food that Twilight eats. I suspect that dragons are also carnivores, but I doubt something like that could be shown on the show.This topic got me thinking a bit thought. Most gemstones are formed by some kind of volcanic activity. The large deposits of gemstones in Equestria seem to indicate a history of heavy volcanic activity in the past. This could also explain the random cliffs that pop up around Ponyville that Rainbow Dash always crashes into (or climbs to escape Pinkie.) Maybe when the princesses (or their predecessors) founded Equestria, they had to quell the volcanoes first? Feels like there's a fan-fic in there somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianblackberry Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Gems is a loose term because the definition is any mineral cut and polished, usually for adornment. Some types of gems that have little value int he real world, such as Quartz, may be even more common in Equestia. Also like here on Earth, there could very well be a difference in abundance between common, semi-precious, and precious stones and that just hasn't been made clear in the series even if overall abundance appears to be greater (while gems overall are abundant, diamonds may be quite rare).Diamond Dogs may place greater value on gems simply as part of their culture versus other species and thus they may appear so "obsessed" with them from a pony point of view. It could be that showing one can collect a number of gems or having a successful mine is required for a certain level of acceptance or status in Diamond Dog society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renabeforerainbows Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Here is a thought I had. The apparent abundance of gems of all kinds could be do to the existence of dragons themselves. Dragons might be the ones creating the gems, using their strength for pressure and breath for heat. If that is true, and because gems are seen as a delicacy for dragons, dragons might actually be farming gems in various places throughout the world. That would explain some of the sudden terrain changes that are mentioned previously. Of course the time factor in the formation of gems, may or may not be an issue. Adult dragons may have a special technique that makes gems form faster, or, considering their long lives, they could just wait it out. If it is a latter, then those gems that Rarity keeps finding all over in that particular area could be the remains of an old gem garden that some ancient dragon made at one time. Spike might know, but probably not since, in dragon years, he might not be even a 'one-year old' yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennwick Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 One year? Based on the fact that 100 years was a nap to them I would say spike is less than one DAY old in dragon years.Anyways the idea of dragons cultivating gemstones seems like an interesting idea. Now that I think about it the area that Rarity was finding gemstones was pretty barren. A few trees but otherwise it was clear of grass and other plants. Maybe a dragon comes by every thousand years and burns everything down instead of weeding. Honestly when it comes to dragons and magic, we can't really base Equestrian geology on Earth Geology all that much.That or its the rock farms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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