My Little Pony XXIV: Now About 200% Longer Than Firefly

[Lix Lorn]

I think it was mainly that I was half asleep at that point. In a bit I'm gonna try and go through it again. Not in a reading mood at the moment, plus I feel the need to harass Ronin about his birthday.

Kay!

I want a shiny Lixachu!

...shapeshifter.

Ok, reread [some] of it, here are some thoughts:

This sentence just seems to jumbled together to me.

“One, a mare with a blue coat and a long, vibrant purple mane, was in fact the shipping queen, the near-goddess known to some as Lixie.”

“Amongst them was demi-goddess Lixie, queen of shipping. She was a mare with a blue coat and a long, vibrant purple mane.”

To be honest, I quite like the long sentences. That second one just feels too simple.

The am isn’t needed, since you already mention the fact that it is in the morning.

Derp.

A or the?

A. There's more than one, isn't there?

Feels disjointed. It comes from one thought to the next. If you are going for the omniscient narrator bringing thoughts to mind, instead of “remember,” perhaps use “think.”

Very disjointed. Think might be better though.

Something I’ve noticed from just these two excerpts. You use a good number of adverbs. “Vibrantly”, “timidly” and so on. As I’ve told Esper and Grif, try to cut down on these.

For example, in the more recent quote, you say that she is “timidly sneaking up to a door”. Do we really need the “timidly” there to get that? We know she is sneaking, and we know that the rest of the family is watching her – giving her the morale support, and we also know from earlier in the story and this exact sentence that in terms of time of day, she is well out of her comfort zone.

Yes, but sneaking doesn't necessarily imply being un-confident. You can be sneaking while being utterly self assured. Timidly just colours it the right way.

Long story short, show, don’t tell. Adverbs are like salt and spices, you sprinkle it on and all is well, you empty the container and you end up with a mess.

Five in the entire thing is emptying a container?

Ok, heading out to hang with Ronin. I will say this, with some actual sleep under my belt I find myself getting interested in this. I see potential, but a bit of a lack of training. With everything, practice will straighten out those rough edges. Only really read up to the point I quoted, will finish the rest later.

kk

Brilliant!
...I'm a horrible pony.

S2

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I approve so much. xD

Guys:

Discord's tall enough to be Lord English.

???

Oh god yes. xD

New ep: Coulda been better, but pretty awesome.

[Kyouhen]

Oh, right, also...

S2

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And now we know what Celestia was up to that entire time. Guess she wasn't just sitting around letting Twilight do all the work, eh?

[MCerberus]

Oh, right, also...

S2

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And now we know what Celestia was up to that entire time. Guess she wasn't just sitting around letting Twilight do all the work, eh?

Season 2

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I think a certain Homestuck character will agree with me when I say that:

Celestia has all the plans.
All of them.

[Zevox]

Season 2 episode 2 Image dump. Warning! Meme heavy!

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Oh dear. I hadn't even noticed that while watching the episode.

So, who wants to bet that Derpy and Screwball will become the most widespread fanon couple since Lyra and Bon Bon? Knowing this fandom, that's pretty much the only possible result of this.

Zevox

[Trixie]

Can I kindly ask you guys to conserve remaining 9 pages for 6 hours? I seem to remember it's rather late in the USA now, and we never went much faster than a page a hour, but...

Also, new thread name proposals?

[PhantomFox]

Perhaps "Chaos... Chaos everywhere!"?

[Mando Knight]

Oh dear. I hadn't even noticed that while watching the episode.

I noticed the nutty pony, but didn't see her cutie mark until y'all pointed it out.

Can I kindly ask you guys to conserve remaining 9 pages for 6 hours? I seem to remember it's rather late in the USA now, and we never went much faster than a page a hour, but...

Also, new thread name proposals?

It's only a quarter to 6 in the Midwest...

[Zevox]

I noticed the nutty pony, but didn't see her cutie mark until y'all pointed it out.

I noticed her too in the broad sense, but not that she had derpy eyes or her cutie mark, which are kind of the important parts. At least for predicting the fandom's reaction to her.

Also, new thread name proposals?

Hm, since a week has passed since S2E1, are references to that now fair game?

If so, I propose "My Little Pony XXV: Eternal Chaos Comes With Chocolate Rain!"


Zevox

[Mystic Muse]

Alright. I've seen both episodes and now I'm back.

My review.

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Two more episodes added to the "never watch again" list. I want those 45 minutes of my life back.

[Trixie]

<sigh> Oh, well, at least I can hope that we won't exceed regular thread pushing speed

[AlterForm]

Can I kindly ask you guys to conserve remaining 9 pages for 6 hours? I seem to remember it's rather late in the USA now, and we never went much faster than a page a hour, but...

Also, new thread name proposals?

My Little Pony XXV: Au Contraire, Mon Pony Thread!

Although if that's too obscure, I'll second the Chocolate Rain suggestion.

[erikun]

<sigh> Oh, well, at least I can hope that we won't exceed regular thread pushing speed

I think we should be alright; most of the talk from the new season has already been played out by those who watched it today.

Perhaps "Chaos... Chaos everywhere!"?

I like this one.
Alternately: "My Little Pony XXV: No Love for Tom"

[Mando Knight]

If so, I propose "My Little Pony XXV: Eternal Chaos Comes With Chocolate Rain!"

Chocolate Rain, you guys! Chocolate. Rain.

Though DisQord references are also amusing.

[Gamerlord]

Another good explanation for where the Elements were...

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[SiuiS]

New necklaces for everyone! Sure, why not. I guess loot is an integral part of every adventure.

this is hilarious. Why didn't I read this sooner?

I dunno, I've never really taken hold of the whole "Tyrant Celestia" thing. It's worth a giggle or two, but on the whole she seems to darn nice.*

It's more that she seems to have gone to the same school for deities that the Remains of a Satellite That Collided With God (see: Futurama) attended. Or perhaps he was the professor. Either way, Celestia is a very firm proponent of using a light touch, assessing every situation and quietly setting pieces into motion which will resolve it to everyone's benefit without anyone realizing she had been involved. I think that the thousand years between her initial conflict with Nightmare Moon and the eventual return of Princess Luna eroded her willingness to directly impose her own tremendous powers on Equestria, when doing so has such massive consequences.*

Princess Celestia: benevolent mistress of the Xanatos Gambit. Because when you do things right, ponies won't be sure you've done anything at all.

I am flabbergasted that it took... Gosh, a full season for this idea to be generally acceptable.
Guess those were the initial assaults of the Internet; "good ruler, must be secretly instead of overtly evil".

It's difficult for me to understand why people find Rainbow Dash annoying (this is far from the first time I've heard this... accusation? I guess?), because it seems like it's ignoring the fact that she's one of the deepest characters on the show.*

I don't know if we're ever going to get to dig deeply into her past, but Dash is a pony who has been told, "No". A lot. She's been picked on and teased, told she'd never amount to anything, and I don't know what else. And we know this because... well, we've seen some of the people from her past. And moreover, because she is absolutely coated in insecurities. Obsessed with being the best and having a good public image because that's how she can prove everypony wrong, which is how she manages to look at herself in a mirror each and every morning. The actual reasons are open to speculation, but it's pretty obvious she's seen some bad stuff. If she's acting abrasive and/or cocky, I mean... well, I think it's really a lot more sad than annoying. Nopony needs the magic of friendship more than she does.

This as well. Its funny to note that Phoe's habit of expressing my opinion better than I myself could was happening loooong before I noticed it

Luckily, she's such an eloquent writer. I can just point at her stuff and say "yeah".

Rainbow's my favourite for slightly different reasons. She's reckless and thoughtless, and when she's with her friends she'll compete to be the best. She spent her formative years in a flight school and, as far as she knows, that's what ponies do. But the moment some external threat crops up of any kind she'll be with you till the end.

We see this quite a few times through the series. How she cheers up Applebloom in Call of the Cutie is a prime example.

Basically, Rainbow's always in a "Verses Them" mindset. If it's "Rainbow Verses Them" she's tough to be around, if it's "Us Verses Them" then she's the best friend ever.

Hm. I have a few friends I will have to forward this to, maybe they'll start believing there's depth to my behavior >>;

Okay!
Does anyone here have knowledge of the borg or the Phyrexians, and have avataring skills? I have a complex MLP request...

Edit: Haha. Said request is related to Blue's comments. Nice ninja-ing.

and there it begins. Sweet Dominion. Completion.

I know I had just realized I misspelled all of them and I came back here to hide my shame, but I had already been caught.
Speaking of which, I've never dealt with a thread that moves this fast. I can barely keep up.

A quick look says 13 minutes between first post and apology. We were already picking up steam, thread one page 24.
Also, I should check up on Gaelbert, don't think he's returned for the season.

Please don't tempt me to write MLP fanfiction.

*tempts*

Yes, I can feel your Friendship. Strike me down with your fanfiction and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete!

Oh man, these threads are a goldmine of humor.
Why isn't this a macro caption yet?!

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Oh, Trobby. Miss ya, mate.

First, I wanna talk about the whole Iron Hoof thing. I just don't see it, and I don't think it's particularly funny. It's great to talk about Lord Dominus or something because the source material is so crappy that wild fan theories are the only thing that make it interesting, but this show is good enough to stand on its own.

Interesting. I'm leaning the same way now. I'm trying really hard to get all iron-hoof-y but it's just not in me, it so hard look at these candy colored, pudding filled adorable creatures and twist their framework.

sorry to offend. I'll keep the Dominic Deegan bashing in its proper thread.*

Also, Big Mac is awesome. I want him to have his own episode.*

In fact, he could help Doctor Whoof and Derpy solve a problem in the space time continuum with his fancy mathematics!*

Big Mac: Didn't you used to have wings?

Doctor Whoof: Well you see time is a horsey, worsey ball.*

Derpy: I'm a friendly reminder.

Boy is this man thorough. He doesn't even watch/like doctor who. I do, and I'm not sure what he's referencing. Ahar.

Three pages overnight. This is an acceptable level of pony.

HahahahAHHAAAAha. Three.

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end...

*Re: My Little Pony: Because Friendship Is Magic
Quote:
Originally Posted by Admiral Squish *
Man, when I think about it, I'm honestly surprised rainbow dash didn't turn out exactly like Gilda.
I guess that's where the Nature part of Nature vs Nurture comes in. I think on some level, Dash acts that way, but knows that she shouldn't, but it's too ingrained in her. It's her default behavior mode which she has the consciously resist.*

Gilda, on the other hand, doesn't have that bit of conscience.*

It makes me think that Dash had a good upbringing up to a point, then had the world turn on her (related to her flying school days? but if flying school was so terrible, why was she so eager to say the old school chant for Pinkie?), so she got selfish and defensive, with a "me against the world" attitude. But, because she was raised with good morals (friendship, loyalty, etc) up to a certain point, once she's in a good environment (Ponyville after the gang forms) she can adapt.*

Actually, her defining magical trait of loyalty WOULD explain why she didn't see the problem with Gilda. Gilda was her friend, and Dash doesn't like (noncompetitive) conflict with her friends.

Believe it was Thanqol who said it, but ponies who are told they are geniuses tend to crash and burn the first time something gets hard, where ponies who are told they worked hard or did a good job continue.

Rainbow was a flying ace, until she hit flight camp, where everypony was a flying ace, and boom. No longer the most special, the best and coolest, she had to work for what she wanted.

For someone who had coasted on passion and talent up to that point, that's a crazy shock.

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Wow, this is really touching for some reason. *sniff* something in my eye.

Oh, and this is the answer to various continuity problems related to The Ticket Master.

you make the ponies sad :(

I agree. That's just depressing. I REFUSE to believe that the Grand Galloping Gala will be like that!

Uncanny. That's actually pretty close to what really happened, and that was also the generic fan consensus...

Yes. The Junior Speedsters are a separate organization from Cloudsdale University; I got the impression it was more like a summer camp than an actual school. The complete and total lack of griffons in Cloudsdale would seem to corroborate this.*

I just started a big giant writeup of all my theories about Rainbow Dash's past, but then it occurred to me - nuts to that, I am writing a fanfic about it. I just found my project for this weekend...

Hm. Did this become Chasing Rainbows? or is it a left behind fanwork, that you have half completed, O Phoe?

-

Enough old thread, time for new thread!

[Season 2] [spoilers]

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On Windows
the stained glass windows are visual chronicles, not 'facts'. As you walk through the hall, the story progresses.
Think about it.
Pane 1: sad Luna
Pane 2: NMM evil eyes
Pane 3: celestia/NMM battle
Pane 4: moon banishment
Pane 5: NMM returns
Pane 6: Elements do battle
Throne: Celestia and Luna, side by side, ruling. Go ahead, look upon her. Look upon us. Turn your eyes, your anger and fear upon my sister. Tell her what you think, ignorant pony, who doesn't understand. See my response, this unity and love which allowed us once, we who were mortal, to stand before all of chaos and seal it in stone.
Call my sister all the dark names in your heart, I dare you. Because I won. Be angry. I won't have the time.

All she has done, all she has been through. She is stronger now than you could know, and the verbal slings of such a one as you? Water off the ducks back. Luna had the power in her hear. To seize the throne of heaven, and succeeded. She still sits that throne, does she not? We changed her mind, but still she is strong.

On Characters
Spike stole every scene he was in. I love this dragon.
DisQord holding Twilight like Simba cub? Sook cute~

Fluttershy the brute? Interesting, as a lark. Over all a rape of her character, though. All the "best pony" comments make me sad. Fluttershy is getting a raw deal, here. She is never going to be looked at the same again. This godbeing bent her mind under his omnipotent will, but now everypony is going to see this as a latent part of her personality, despite it having to be a perversion of who she is. She will forever bear the stigma- it's like a canonical Cupcakes.

Bucking bronco RD is sexy. In the same way a six foot long, fifty-millimeter 'rifle' is sexy. I enjoy the sheer athleticism and dangerousness of an actively hostile Rainbow Dash.

On the Effects Of Ponythread
gracious. Every couple minutes I'd mutter 'implied shipping' or 'ship material.
Big Mac licks Twilight? Shipping.
All the ropes? Shipping.
Fluttershy and Applejack together? Shipping.
It just went on and on. Awesome.

On Ponies and Pacing
I have to ask; dis any of you folks consider this was intentional? The designers have to get so much content into so many minutes. It's going to be hectic, why not use it?

Crazy storm of chocolate rain- hectic
Celestia's presence- calm, measured
Celestia and disQord in same room- fluctuates
Dealing with disQord and his chaos- hectic
Letters from the princess- calm, measured, but accelerated pace subtly hinting qt controlled panic
Corralling the ponies to restore harmony- starts hectic, becomes methodical

The pace, the frenetic, chaotic pace... That feeling of unease you get from watching some things too fast, others too slow, things not connected, somewhat disjointed...

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All according to plan~

-

I'm just not sure I want to RP a pony who is pretty much just a ponyfied, gender bent version of me. I mean, I'm sure I could come up with much more interesting characters than that

You'd be surprised. That's kind of what we are all doing (some with more help from Lix than others XD), even my own is just an extension of my childish view of things. Starry Notions lacks only my understanding of cause and effect politics.

And I look forward to your works- when you're comfortable doing them. A break is probably a good idea though. All work and no play, and well, too much play becomes work. Everything in moderation, including moderation, they say.

I wouldn't count on it, I'm not gonna be using that yet. I mean... * I won't be using that ever. Yes I will.

you are so cute~
I can't think of any other way to describe you. You are horribly, terribly awesome.

I still have a few months of childhood (or, teenagehood rather) and I intend to milk it as much as possible.
I don't want to be 20.

Hard to fight age of majority. Don't worry, you're not old until your joints say you are.
Related: don't wear cowboy boots and make athletics checks.
Or run 20 yards on your knees. Or sword-fight on balance beams.

Thank you!
Yes, assuming I can think of a plot.

Something tells me you'll pull that off in the end

I mentioned that Starry Storms was named after her auntie Starry Notions, right?

Aww~
I am really, really flattered

Still don't get it. DXD

Well, if that is the gesture Ido had in mind... I want confirmation from him first though.

There is a character in Homestuck. She has All of the Luck, because she can steal luck from people. Her weapons are called the Flouride Octet-eight eight sided dice. The higher she rolls, the better.
Here is a link. You should NOT follow it. Instead of following it, you should follow THIS link and read the entirety of homestuck-although it starts slow, it is the best, awesomest, heartrendingest, confusingest, BESTEST comic. No exceptions.

But if you have no intention on reading any time soon, or will risk a spoiler, follow the first link, read it, and read the next ten or so pages, and see Vriska with All of the Luck, rolling 8^Y where Y=8.
16,777,216.

Ah. Ok. Hm. Well, every MSPA link goes to the first page because of how my phone OS works, so no worries about spoilers. I think it will make more sense in context, though I'm starting to get it. Thank you :)

Awww, thanks!
Oh, the pic I use as a reference for Faithful Song? I use this one.

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Now... I can't remember... what tremendously talented artist was it who did that for me?

Well, I was going to be a smarthorse and put up the name of the bloke who vectored and colored it, but you removed it from your signature, and all I remember is 1) I was impressed and 2) it wasn't Alterform. So... I'll just tand here awkwardly for a minute

I do hope that my megaposts are starting to get a LITTLE recognition, as small as they are in comparison to yours. xD

I recognize them! They seem to be becoming default ponythread format, actually. I'm surprised, although the more ponies do them, the easier they become to do. Please don't take that out of context, anypony >.<

I think I have explicitly stated before that it's 'Reverse Gender' because if I cast any spell with 'sex' in the name, I'll start giggling.

True. True.

(offers a Cure Serious Wounds)

*accepts without Will save* Gramerci.

That makes me giggle. xD
I just like the idea of kidnapping all wrong cause it's funny and sweet.
Also people would get annoyed with me being a literal goddess if I weren't playing her/me as a complete naive ditz half the time.

Well of course! Just because I'm holding you against your will, doesn't mean I'd have to be ungentlecoltly. Except the incarceration part.

And aye. Free-form has a bad reputation for just such stuff, which is why I prefer some level of system. My willingness to allow others to succeed goes away when they don't seem to share it. At the very least, I would pick an arbitrary third party to keep informed of info I have but my opponent doesn't. Many an FFRP argument was settled by a second, time-stamped document showing relative stats, how much I was bluffing about handling the enemy, and how much of my "Deus Ex Machina" perfect defenses were just very, very good guesses.
You guys astound me by handling yourselves so well.

I would have done it myself if the pinkielauncher was a file with flat colors that was easily modified... :(

Eyup. I'd have drawn it by now if I had more practice drawing Aurora, actually. It was my first thought, but it has to go to the bottom of the list for now.

This is a long queue isn't it. xD

I cant find the "Celestia with crazy long scroll" image, so I'll let you answer that.

^=fact.

Well, there you have it- straight from the goddess' mouth!

So how much fresh fanon have we trampled already?

A little. More and more as the fallout gets distributed, I'm sure.

.....

I was going to write a review...... But that summarizes it in fewer words with more accuracy then I could ever hope to express.

Am I the only one who now wants to see an episode that's just Pinkie Vs Discord?

What do you mean "versus"?

Wow, that was fast (Season 2):

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Saved!

Season Two: as I watch it

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The internet... you're going to do flutterbondage now aren't you.

I most enjoyed the episode

What do you mean "now"? Haven't you looked in the secret file I flaunt ever so unsecretly?

Also, I like to think that either Rarity taught Thanqol to dance, or vice versa.*

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Waaaay ahead on that one

And the slightly more explicit version

Man that was a while ago (my art sure has improved), but the first one's still one of my most popular works on dA for some reason.

STARS ABOVE!
you drew those?! Wow, I'm a bigger fan of your work than I thought! I've been showing those around for around 8 threads now, or more. Probably closer to 18 threads!

I will have to get back on dA and favorite the muffins out of you.

Season Two:

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Heroes summon the strength of will to break your master plan? *pour some milk*

They possess artifacts that mean you can't touch them? *drink glass, leave milk*

About to taste the rainbow? *throw milk, have it explode* *Go out like a pimp.

LIKE A BAWSS

S2Ep2:

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I knew Fluttershy and Shimmer were related!

Which scene makes you say that?

So, anyone else have a party member like this? *

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Yes. In some games, I am this guy.
Though usually I set up sparring sessions, since I am supposed to trust my life to these people.

It's usually a "DM needs an hour and a half to think about something because he made a map, two encounters, and expected it to hold us all session" kind of thing though.

"They said our love was forbidden, Zombie Spike! But I showed them!"

More evidence that Fluttershy and Shimmer are related!

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aaaaaawwwwwww mmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn~!
I've been sitting on that for three days, waiting for the right moment, and you beat me to it! Oh well. Have the other picture I've been sitting on...

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Good game, Topaz. Good game.

... Shapeshifter.

Hawt.

-

Right. Rest of day is going to be art and work. So, have fun ponies!

[Anarion]

S2Ep2

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Yeah, I'm going to agree that them overcoming Discord's spell probably could have been done a little better. Twilight getting back the letters from Celestia was a great way to start it, but the others were kind of lacking.

I'm mostly fine with Discord just sitting there and letting them blast him, mostly because his power level really is stupidly high. He's proven they can't use the elements and is confident that they're just wasting his time. My main complaint with it all is that we now know the colour changes were visible, which means Discord had to have completely ignored the fact that the ponies had their colours back and as such might be an actual threat.

S2

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Okay, I think I have the answer that solves everything. Discord is colorblind. There, you heard it here first. He can warp minds and create chaos, but he can't see colors. Maybe that's why he needs so many visual antics and why he had to verbally check that Twilight was sad even though we can all see that she's gray. Once he saw that Twilight was planning to leave ponyville, he stopped caring because he figured he had won and corrupted everyone. He figured them returning was odd, but perhaps a last hurrah and assumed that he had already won. He's colorblind, so he can't see his mortal danger until it's too late.


Like others have said, I think the episode would have been much better as a 3-parter. I even thought about how I would do it.
Part 1
Mostly the same, end with the hedge maze still going and Fluttershy and Rainbow still uncorrupted, draw out the scenes for the others a bit and give a longer and better intro and explanation about Discord.

Part 2
Fluttershy and Rainbow corrupted, Discord rants to Twilight mid-episode, end with elements failing and Twilight going gray as the last scene (thousands of brony hearts break worldwide and lamentations go up for a full week).

Part 3
Twilight saves Applejack on her own. Spend longer trying to capture Fluttershy with Applejack's help, then all 3 work together to get Rarity and all 4 to get Pinkie, finally culminating in getting Rainbow Dash as we saw it. In all cases, show memory scenes like we saw with Applejack. Extend fight with Discord by another 1-2 minutes (basically one more scene of him teleporting away and them chasing I think).

In particular, I think that if we saw the ponies struggle together to save each one of them with Twilight merely administering the coup de grace, it would make it feel less cheap build up a much better climax to Discord's final defeat.

So, anyone else have a party member like this?

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See, in every game I play, I'm always the guy saying "I HAVE NO WORDS." Beautifully done though and I've been trying to find that comic forever (it was linked somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 or 8 threads ago and I completely lost track of it).

[EsperDerek]

S2EP2

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I don't know if anypony noticed (and Inkwell was the one who pointed this out to me) but the Elements truly were put back where it all began.

What was the first thing we see, in the very first episode?

[OracleofWuffing]

Wait, S2Ep2 is out? Looks like it doesn't air for me until Monday... I can't wait to see what sort of glow-in-the-dark snap-on armor they get.

[Kindablue]

In other news, a Sherlock Holmes villain just won the ad banner bid.

ETA:

S2EP2

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I don't know if anypony noticed (and Inkwell was the one who pointed this out to me) but the Elements truly were put back where it all began.

What was the first thing we see, in the very first episode?

That's clever. I didn't think of that.

[Kyouhen]

Enough old thread, time for new thread!

[Season 2]

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On Ponies and Pacing
I have to ask; dis any of you folks consider this was intentional? The designers have to get so much content into so many minutes. It's going to be hectic, why not use it?

Crazy storm of chocolate rain- hectic
Celestia's presence- calm, measured
Celestia and disQord in same room- fluctuates
Dealing with disQord and his chaos- hectic
Letters from the princess- calm, measured, but accelerated pace subtly hinting qt controlled panic
Corralling the ponies to restore harmony- starts hectic, becomes methodical

The pace, the frenetic, chaotic pace... That feeling of unease you get from watching some things too fast, others too slow, things not connected, somewhat disjointed...

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All according to plan~

S2

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That's actually a very good point. It's entirely possible they didn't want to give us a moment to think about what's going on because it's all supposed to be chaos. In that case I still think they could have handled it a little better, but thinking about it that way at least justifies the reason it's so rushed. Assuming that was intentional. The people behind the ponies have done a good job so far, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

[MCerberus]

Idea for a fan art I'm going to be doing instead of another ask gummy tonight

Season 2 I guess

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Just a simple mailmare
Until the day that everything changed
Now, when all hope has failed
She will fight fire with fire

9-24-11

I just can't decide if Dig Mac or Muffin the Foal Wonder should be Screwball's sidekick.

[Lix Lorn]

and there it begins. Sweet Dominion. Compleation.

FIXED THAT FOR YOU.

*tempts*

Way too late. xD

Believe it was Thanqol who said it, but ponies who are told they are geniuses tend to crash and burn the first time something gets hard, where ponies who are told they worked hard or did a good job continue.

Rainbow was a flying ace, until she hit flight camp, where everypony was a flying ace, and boom. No longer the most special, the best and coolest, she had to work for what she wanted.

For someone who had coasted on passion and talent up to that point, that's a crazy shock.

(Knows this from experience)

Something tells me you'll pull that off in the end

Maybe. xD

Aww~
I am really, really flattered

Well, if that is the gesture Ido had in mind... I want confirmation from him first though.

Ah. Ok. Hm. Well, every MSPA link goes to the first page because of how my phone OS works, so no worries about spoilers. I think it will make more sense in context, though I'm starting to get it. Thank you :)

I think ALL links do... sigh.

Well, I was going to be a smarthorse and put up the name of the bloke who vectored and colored it, but you removed it from your signature, and all I remember is 1) I was impressed and 2) it wasn't Alterform. So... I'll just tand here awkwardly for a minute

Crown of Thorns.

I recognize them! They seem to be becoming default ponythread format, actually. I'm surprised, although the more ponies do them, the easier they become to do.

True!

Please don't take that out of context, anypony >.<

Well of course! Just because I'm holding you against your will, doesn't mean I'd have to be ungentlecoltly. Except the incarceration part.

Exactly!

And aye. Free-form has a bad reputation for just such stuff, which is why I prefer some level of system. My willingness to allow others to succeed goes away when they don't seem to share it. At the very least, I would pick an arbitrary third party to keep informed of info I have but my opponent doesn't. Many an FFRP argument was settled by a second, time-stamped document showing relative stats, how much I was bluffing about handling the enemy, and how much of my "Deus Ex Machina" perfect defenses were just very, very good guesses.
You guys astound me by handling yourselves so well.

Also why I avoid fights. xD

Eyup. I'd have drawn it by now if I had more practice drawing Aurora, actually. It was my first thought, but it has to go to the bottom of the list for now.

Hee. xD

I cant find the "Celestia with crazy long scroll" image, so I'll let you answer that.

Vunderbar.

Hawt.

That's my job.

[Thanqol]

Sweet! I love the fastened on cutie mark of the clock, and the feathers, and the accordion joint...

Awesome birthday present! Thank you!

I am going to need a name though...hmmm

One of the design goals was to try to make it fairly modular so it could be simplified easily for other art styles. I can't suggest names without a personality/backstory summary.

So here's my thoughts on the S2E1 and S2E2.

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The reason I watch Friendship is Magic is because it's funny. Yes, sometimes there are really awesome episodes that makes you go woah, but they are 1) icing on the cake, 2) most often not (solely) I'll-kick-your-butt-with-great-power moments and 3) often times more noticeable because they replace the otherwise mostly light-hearted humour of the show in a positive way.

That's why, to me, the multi-episode adventure thing never really worked. The tone becomes different, we use different assumptions and comparisons and FiM will fail to live up to that because it's not what it's good at. Okay, I agree, S1E1-2 were good, but that's because 1) we were getting introduced to the characters in the meantime, which are a strong point of the series, and 2) they were the first ones, so they didn't compete with anything, and nostalgia makes everything look better. That said, they were probably also simply better written, but you get my point.

I quite enjoyed S2E1-2 as would I a standard FiM episode; the entertainment came from watching the mane six mess around with each other. The twisted character takes were hilarious, particularly Flutterbitch and Spikebow Dash. All the chaos in the episode was also great. The part I got most excited over was the balloon chase after Rainbow Dash, way more than the final battle with Discord.

Any Star Wars reference went completely over my head.

Bottom line: Friendship is Magic will never be Gurren Lagann, and shouldn't try to be. The same way a whole episode of Kamina and Simon mucking about would be horrible, so does ponies saving the world leave something to be desired. There needs to be a more personal spin to it.

Okay, this man basically said everything I was going to say.

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I admit, I was slightly dubious after 1, but this was hilarious. I can scarcely point out all the moments, but I was laughing roughly non stop. I could stand to have more adventure plotlines like this!

[erikun]

Wait, S2Ep2 is out? Looks like it doesn't air for me until Monday... I can't wait to see what sort of glow-in-the-dark snap-on armor they get.

There are videos on Youtube already, if you want to catch it now.

this is hilarious. Why didn't I read this sooner?

Where are you getting these quotes? Off-site? Because I don't seem to recall those conversations.

I do agree with Phoe that the Tyrant!Celestia doesn't fit well with what we know. In fact, I'd say there is good reason for Celestia not to lord over everything. Ponies are happiest when they find their cutie mark and perform the job they are best at. In order to do so, they need the freedom to explore and determine what it is that "triggers" their cutie mark; keeping them all locked up and "safe" would just result in a bunch of grumpy blank flanks. Their work afterwards needs to be rewarding, too. If somepony's special talent is making thunder from rainclouds, then having your ruler/goddess say, "Oh well we don't really need you, but I'll let you make some noise while I'm controlling the weather," would just be demeaning. It would be far better (from Celestia's point of view) not only to allow the ponies freedom to find their special talents, but also freedom to make use of them.

I'm not sure if I fully agree with her take on Rainbow Dash, though - we don't really know enough about the characters to say one way or another. Rainbow Dash certainly could be the most complex character, but just from what we know I'd actually give that title to Rarity. I mean, we have a character who obviously wants "it all", from wealth to prestige to royal titles, but is willing to throw away her good name and potential future as a businessmare just so her friends are not even slightly disappointed in something that was freely given.


I think that's it for tonight, though. See you all tomorrow, ponythread!

[Thanqol]

Where are you getting these quotes? Off-site? Because I don't seem to recall those conversations.

He's doing the ultimate act of madness and multiquote replying to the threads we made before he joined.

[Topaz]

Can I kindly ask you guys to conserve remaining 9 pages for 6 hours? I seem to remember it's rather late in the USA now, and we never went much faster than a page a hour, but...

Also, new thread name proposals?

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I kinda like "Chocolate Rain!" myself, even though it's a bit spoilery.

Which scene makes you say that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omhSnagjOL0
15:10 in.

Good game, Topaz. Good game.

I am a leaf on the wind...

S2EP2

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I don't know if anypony noticed (and Inkwell was the one who pointed this out to me) but the Elements truly were put back where it all began.

What was the first thing we see, in the very first episode?

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I grinned like an idiot as soon as Twilight started looking for the book. When the keep-away started, I was sure.

[SiuiS]

I don't remember a lot of these conversations either, Whig is why I'm reading them!

I am going through the older threads. Today's post comes from pages ... 22 through 28 I think, of thread one: My Little Pony, because Friendship Is Magic.

[Kyouhen]

I do agree with Phoe that the Tyrant!Celestia doesn't fit well with what we know. In fact, I'd say there is good reason for Celestia not to lord over everything. Ponies are happiest when they find their cutie mark and perform the job they are best at. In order to do so, they need the freedom to explore and determine what it is that "triggers" their cutie mark; keeping them all locked up and "safe" would just result in a bunch of grumpy blank flanks. Their work afterwards needs to be rewarding, too. If somepony's special talent is making thunder from rainclouds, then having your ruler/goddess say, "Oh well we don't really need you, but I'll let you make some noise while I'm controlling the weather," would just be demeaning. It would be far better (from Celestia's point of view) not only to allow the ponies freedom to find their special talents, but also freedom to make use of them.

Agreed. The fact that Celestia does so little is basically proof that she's a kind, caring ruler. Just looking at her interactions with Twilight, she lets her learn and grow on her own with just a few nudges in the right direction. Sure, she can be a bit of a troll once in a while, but the only solid evidence of that was at a 'casual' visit that had Rarity show up in her gala dress and Applejack refusing to eat for fear of starting with the wrong thing. She was probably grateful to see Pinkie Pie doing her thing and largely ignoring the fact that the princess was in the room. She was obviously just trying to lighten the mood for everyone.

It wouldn't be hard to see her extending that to the way she rules Equestria either. As you said, ponies are happiest doing what they're good at, and will eventually figure out just what that is. For all intents and purposes Equestria basically runs itself as long as you create an environment where everyone is capable of surviving doing what they love. The biggest problem Celestia probably has to deal with is making sure everyone can bring in enough to keep fed and have a home regardless of what their special talent may be.

Also
S2Ep2

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Just finished watching episode 2 again. Still funny, though I think I've pinpointed the funniest part based on what still managed to get a solid laugh out of me a second time.

"That won't end well"
Just the look on Spike's face as he said that. He's outright terrified of what Dash would do, and for some reason I find that absolutely hilarious.

[dromer]

First off, I need to request for help.
HELP
I need some kind-hearted people to help with an issue I'm having with the piece of fiction I'm writing, Blue Moon in a Red Sky.

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First off, here's my initial request that I put on Ponychan:

Name: Blue Moon in a Red Sky
Tags:[Dark][Sci-fi][Adventure]
Description: A subversion of Luna/Celestia origin stories. A new theory on magic leads to the discovery of Equestria's greatest weapon. The timing couldn't be worse; the United Stables and Union of Socialist Stallions Republic are at each other's throats. Ponykind must survive this cold war with a new kind of warfare; love and tolerance.
Link: Prologue: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1.../edit?hl=en_US
Chapter links are at the bottom of each chapter. Go as far as you like; I'm looking for impressions, and plot review.

Now for the request: I need a reviewer who knows little about the Cold War. I'm not looking for an in-depth review; general impressions are fine. I'd like to know if the story remains cogent to those without an extensive knowledge of history. Thank you in advance.

Namely, what I need to know is plot cogency. By playing around with the description and tags, I've obfuscated the fact that BMiaRS is essentially an alternate history setting with ponies, and that ponykind has had a parallel history to mankind. (I.e. They both had industrial revolutions, the same empires, etc.) I want to make this as obvious as possible without being ham-fisted or stating it outright. So, with that in mind, could I get some help?

Replying with anything, ANYTHING AT ALL, is helpful. I really need some help with this last bit, and I can't thank you enough.

I am flabbergasted that it took... Gosh, a full season for this idea to be generally acceptable.
Guess those were the initial assaults of the Internet; "good ruler, must be secretly instead of overtly evil".

To be honest, there's a lot of societal and historical examples that show that this would be a logical first response.
First off, there is large amounts of literature and movies and games based on dystopic sugar bowl environments, such as Fahrenheit 451. Second, our parent's always taught us the virtue of 'too good to be true'. On the historical side, quite a few 'perfect' and thriving societies had secret police or other such enforcers.


The main reason Equestria doesn't need to have secret police is because Celestia's a god. There's not much reason to oppose her when she can just smite you. Ironically, that makes part of the reason good Celestia's kingdom is so perfect is due in part to fear.

[Tectonic Robot]

Over at the homestuck MLP thread, we were talking about what Discord would be if Celestia and Luna were god-tier players who won their session.

We decided he was the Crazed Discordian with waaaaay to many prototypings.

Anyone agree?