My Little Pony XXVI: Applebloom to Zecora!

[Eakin]

Here you go

My covers are the first four. The last, and most spectacular one, is not mine. I wish it was. It is spectacular.

That's awesome man, it's a great track.

[BlasTech]

RP:

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The machine let out a crackle, sending another slight electrical shock through Charger. She shook her head to clear the tingling feeling from her brain. "No, thank you. It's rather unstable right now, you see, and if anypony has to carry it, it should be I."

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"If you insist ma'am, however you shouldn't worry about this instability. I'm told I'm a well grounded individual, you might say it's my special talent!" He replied, with a little chuckle.

[SiuiS]

There's something on the wing of this plane!


And it's adorable.

Haha!

Here you go

My covers are the first four. The last, and most spectacular one, is not mine. I wish it was. It is spectacular.

Sweet!

Um, to my tastes filly-tonberrian is slightly cuter than Berry Ann, because she's got that slightly shy schoolfilly look going and I find that cute. Berry Ann is attractive, just not in a way that I would characterize as 'cute'.

That may just be the way I categorize different pony mare looks, though:

Twilight is adorkable.
Rarity is elegant.
Rainbow Dash is athletically cute (and is potentially gorgeous, but doesn't care).
Applejack is classic girl-next-door pretty.
Fluttershy is moe as [REDACTED]. Totally believable as a top model.
Pinkie Pie -- has a nice personality.
Celestia is regal.
Octavia is beautiful.

Poor Pinkie Pie XD

I see Berry Ann as a like, barely-has-her-mark child holding a lantern out of moxy, being all brave and such. It colors her cuter in my mind.

[Noctemwolf]

Finished reading Through The Eyes of Another Pony... It was very, very good, actually 0-0*

And for some reason I had an urge to write immediately afterwards.

I thought I might share what i wrote here 'cause, hey... If it was inspired by ponies...

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Within this land where Darkness warps everything it touches lies one glimmer of hope... But will even that be enough?



The Great Palace, whose walls have remained resolute and strong, slowly crumbles as the last of humanities resolve fades, the will to fight diminished in the face of an overwhelming enemy that gnaws at the very core of what we are.



The battle's grow arduous, and many question,

"Why even fight?"

Gnawing on our logic.

It's Hopeless...

Feeding on our Fear.

We're Better than this!

Our sense of Pride.

This is your fault!

Our Anger.

I hate you.

Our Love.



Such an unconquerable foe. A sickening Dread that veils our eyes and constricts our throats like serpents as we finally realize; we never stood a chance.



How do you stop that which you cannot touch?



How do you comprehend something unseeable?



Why do you still cling to hope when all vestige of it has shredded away and torn, Withered and dissolved into the blank Depths of the force that hunts you from the outside and the inside?



I can't take this!

Our Sanity.

Just let me die.

Our Life.

Why was I even born?

Even the meaning behind that Life.



It knows so perfectly who you are

Because it is you.

It knows how to make you laugh, cry, sing, scream, jerk, and moan.

Your own Worst enemy.

Because in the end,

You can't defeat Yourself.







Persistence... That voluminous, Dark cloud that hangs over our heads, holding away the dark thoughts that keep a man from Trying.

Hope, even when it's hopeless. Love, even when you have no more to share. Laugh, even when Deathly Serious. Be honest, even when the truth is hard to hear.

Even when a foe seems undefeatable,

It takes as strong an ally to oppose.

[Topaz]

Berry Ann is possibly in Scoltland, the only way I know to get there reliably is by taking a convoluted passage through the dreamscape, find a submarine, and tail it until it docks!

Onward, me hearties, TO ADVENTURE

Dreamscape? Do you need a navigator?

Thanks! I'm sorry if it's a burden, but you have the best M&M system mastery of anyone I know. And as far as I know, the only pony fan that I know plays M&M. You don't have to if it's going to be a big hassle, its just something I think would be kind of awesome.

Over at the Atomic Think Tank forums Murkglow wrote up a set of PL5 versions of the Mane 6 for M&M3 starting here, if that helps at all.

[otakuryoga]

There's something on the wing of this plane!


And it's adorable.

I finally have time to read all these books
----glasses fall and break----
No no it's just not fair its just
Meh, screw it, im just gonna go party with some ponies!

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[Topaz]

Oh I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and Rod Sterling came up, for anyone that doesn't know who that is he is the creator of the Twilight Zone, and all I could think of was placing ponies into all the old episodes of that show.

"You're a Bad Pony. You're a Bad, Bad Pony. I'm going to banish you... To THE MOON!"

[Eakin]

Twilight Zone is the best Zone

[Beeskee]

Here you go

I love it, that rocks.

Finished reading Through The Eyes of Another Pony... It was very, very good, actually 0-0*

And for some reason I had an urge to write immediately afterwards.

I thought I might share what i wrote here 'cause, hey... If it was inspired by ponies...

Good stories tend to do that.

And that is definitely an interesting piece of writing, I'd love to see more of it.

Dreamscape? Do you need a navigator?

Beeskee: "I would say yes, but I don't even know what that is." He sorts through his bags, double-checking over the supplies.

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zomg he has ponies in there? What is this I don't even

I'd appreciate it if someponies checked the colors on these two and let me know which one you prefer. I have zero artistic skills, and have to check a color wheel just to know what matches.





They both look like they came out too "blue" and not enough "slate" to me, so if anyone is particularly inspired and wants to try flood-filling them with better colors, go for it. It doesn't have to have a blue theme to it either, I just liked the way SlateBlue looks as a text color. I think on the pony though it makes it look like he's a Wonderbolt wannabe.

Twilight Zone is the best Zone

It would be funny if they did a "Twilight Zone" episode.

[Noctemwolf]

Good stories tend to do that.

And that is definitely an interesting piece of writing, I'd love to see more of it.

That was everything I wrote immediately after.
Suddenly, I'ver got an idea for a story... Not a fan fic, but perhaps a short story....

[Gaelbert]

You mean Season 2?
It's already started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0j1PVk30k

and the picture? Got a chuckle out of me.

You mean the one that started three weeks ago?

You're two episodes behind

Well excellent! I know exactly what I'm doing when I finish my work. Looks like I'll be spending more time here soon then. Glad to be back.

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[EsperDerek]

Hi, everpony.

Just got back from my very first TV Assisting a remote (gettin' paid for it too). A heck of a lot of fun, but also exhausting, I put in a twelve hour day plus transit time. About to drop off here, so no main details.

There was that one post about Pinkelestia asking Midnight something. The response:

Uhm...yes, Cestya. You were there. You helped introduce me. Don't you remember? And...and what's with the pink?

Goodnight now *thud*

[Roninhirox]

EDIT:darn 503

Relax though, mate. Trust me, getting stressed over "keeping up" doesn't work. You can't. Quite literally no one can.

Just relax. Ponythread is a good book. The never-ending story. Sure sometimes the plot gets wimpy or they leave threads and red herrings everywhere, but that's just this particular author's style.

I've found that needing to "keep up" stems from worrying that I won't get my opinion in fast enough, ponies won't realize I'm smart or opinionated or able to contribute, and they'll forget about me if I stop posting so fast.

But I haven't forgotten Evil DM mm. 3 yet. Or SSJ4 Vegeta. Or entertainer 13, or the here-again-gone-again Irbis, or Coidzor, or the occasionally present metahuman, or Jahkaivah, or Lex Kat, or Trazoi who may not have been here since thread 1, or even Xanatos, who has almos no Internet presence anymore. Soft Serve who was Kyuubi, Glass mouse, even CurlyKitGirl.

You are immortalized in the annals of the thread. We will keep a candle lit for you. If you need to stop, go to bed, offer some sort of palate-cleansing away from ponies... We'll still be here when you come back. But if you aren't enjoying the pace, don't worry about it. You can't lose a footrace if you don't run, right? And we're all friends here. With the occasional nemesis, kismesis, and all that.

And a magitech space lich.

Thanks for the advice and ya i have kinda realized keeping with with all these crazy ponies, and space liches, and various other beings is an impossible feat, but that doesn't mean i am going to dump far to much time into trying despite knowing better.

This story sounds incredibly familiar ... are you sure you're not me?

As for what episode, depends on what character you want to watch about I guess. Or you can just watch the two-parters again since they include all ponies!

I can say with complete certainty that I am not sure if I am not you, questions like that are to much for my pony addled brain. Also now I am watching the ones with songs in them cause they are fun.

Um, to my tastes filly-tonberrian is slightly cuter than Berry Ann, because she's got that slightly shy schoolfilly look going and I find that cute. Berry Ann is attractive, just not in a way that I would characterize as 'cute'.

That may just be the way I categorize different pony mare looks, though:

Twilight is adorkable.
Rarity is elegant.
Rainbow Dash is athletically cute (and is potentially gorgeous, but doesn't care).
Applejack is classic girl-next-door pretty.
Fluttershy is moe as [REDACTED]. Totally believable as a top model.
Pinkie Pie -- has a nice personality.
Celestia is regal.
Octavia is beautiful.

I agree completely, except on Pinkie Pie but my world view doesn't allow for any of the characters to not be pretty.

"You're a Bad Pony. You're a Bad, Bad Pony. I'm going to banish you... To THE MOON!"

"A sickness known as ponies. Not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ. Highly contagious. Adorable in its effects. Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone. Look for it in the forum. Look for it before your monitor goes out for the night"

[otakuryoga]

they expanded the great little filly Luna comic from a short bit ago....

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[Zevox]

Random thought brought on by that comic: when/why did the fandom decide that filly Celestia's hair was just plain pink instead of the four-color version she has now? Seems a strange thing to do, but it's very consistent across fan art from what I've seen.

Zevox

[Beeskee]

That was everything I wrote immediately after.
Suddenly, I'ver got an idea for a story... Not a fan fic, but perhaps a short story....

That happens, something that takes you a while to write can be read in a few minutes. I hear all artists/creators suffer from that though.

they expanded the great little filly Luna comic from a short bit ago....

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Adorable! I loved the first few parts, and the rest is even more hilarious.

Hi, everpony.

Just got back from my very first TV Assisting a remote (gettin' paid for it too). A heck of a lot of fun, but also exhausting, I put in a twelve hour day plus transit time. About to drop off here, so no main details.

There was that one post about Pinkelestia asking Midnight something. The response:

Uhm...yes, Cestya. You were there. You helped introduce me. Don't you remember? And...and what's with the pink?

Goodnight now *thud*

Oh wow, congrats.

Pinkestia: She shifts her pink wings a bit. "My wings are so pretty!" (What did you expect her to say, something coherent? ;) Tho I feel a little bad that, out of all the ponies here, you took time to respond to HER before passing out.)

G'night! Probably time for me to get some sleep too. Though every time I think that, I end up staying up late and doing something involving ponies.

[otakuryoga]

Random thought brought on by that comic: when/why did the fandom decide that filly Celestia's hair was just plain pink instead of the four-color version she has now? Seems a strange thing to do, but it's very consistent across fan art from what I've seen.

Zevox

some things just click and spread like wildfire....such as the Luna uses an abacus thing thats in so many fanfics

[erikun]

Re: People Posting
I like it when people post. I like seeing posters I haven't seen in awhile, even if they don't have anything momentous to say. Heck, they let me post here, and just look at what I end up talking about.

Re: Berry Ann
I like the design, but tonberrian gets the advantage of not trying to stab me. Seriously, I don't care how you look, threatening bodily harm over pears tends to make you rather not-cute. Just don't tell her about the blueberry-banana-strawberry pie I made recently. Or the apple-cinnamon-rhubarb one. Actually, just don't mention pies in her general direction.

SideNote: Am I the only one who does not like Crullershy Cruelershy? On the one hand, this may be the same as with Twilight Sparkle, where a lot of others like her but aren't very vocal about it. On the other hand, I'm only hearing about how people liked her meaner version. Yes, it was certainly fitting for discorded Fluttershy, but the reason I liked it in the episode is the same reason I dislike the personality.

SideSideNote: I'll keep using the cruller pun until I see a Cruelershy image with her hair done up like crullers. It will happen someday!

Re: Are You Serious, Brony?
If this is supposed to be a critique of the worst of Bronydom, then it is rather unimpressive. Yes, it digs up some rather disturbing parts of the fandom, but it's also digging up... human Applejack and an image six background ponies. Well-drawn, fully clothed Applejack, and his critique of the six is that he isn't familiar with them.

Seriously? I can understand how Fluttershy sucking Rarity's horn is going to be inappropriate for just about any audience, but is Lyra and BonBon sitting funny something that we should honestly be concerned about allowing children to see? I hope it's not intended to be taken too seriously.

Re: Season Two
The first two episodes have already been shown; episode 3 will apparently be airing on the 15th.

Random thought brought on by that comic: when/why did the fandom decide that filly Celestia's hair was just plain pink instead of the four-color version she has now? Seems a strange thing to do, but it's very consistent across fan art from what I've seen.

Zevox

The storybook beginning of the first episode show young Celestia with plain pink hair.

[Dexam]

So, my students today had to turn in an artsy project for class, one of those things that isn't super educational but fun to do and fun to grade. Create an Egyptian deity, draw a picture of it, and describe it using vocab we went over in class earlier in the week.

Someone drew a picture of a horse, and said horse had a cutie mark. I am wishing right now that I had had a bunch of pony themed stickers on hand to put on that to show how awesome it was.

Clearly the students are starting to steal your thoughts. I recommend lining your stormtrooper helmet with tin foil to keep out the Brain-theft Ray-o-tron.

Does it move from one of the ponies to him or vise versa? Suppose you have a point there though.

I'd say it's transmissable in either direction, much like avian, swine, and human influenza is transmissable among all three species; because there were no other dragons around during Winter Wrap Up, it couldn't have been a dragon -> dragon vector.

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Seems legit!

Saucy Twilight ahoy! Drawn and coloured by a couple of friends of mine from Canterlot.

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Confound that saucy Twilight Sparkle!

Wheels are turning in my head. No, that's not quite right, they're churning. Turning can merely be plotting, scheming, but churning implies a disquiet, a disturbance and an inspection of the wheels themselves if you don't want the whole factory to shake apart.

Just a very brief, random thoughts on this: basically, we are all human, and MLP:FiM has a broad range of appeal - as was intended by Lauren Faust and the rest of the FiM team. With that appeal, you're going to attract the full spectrum of humanity, and everything that brings with it. It's the price we pay for greatness - it will attract detractors, subverters, converters, and corrupters. But like also attracts like - it will inspire others to do great things and the MLP:FiM fandom constantly astounds and astonishes me in how it has done this. It truly is amazing. There is no way you can really weed out the "bad stuff" in the fandom, but what you *can* do is drown it in a sea of "good stuff".

Ramblings aside, one of my new favourite "Ask ponies" Tumblr accounts is Ask The Pie Sisters.

haven't been doing any well-wishing, but this has been foremost in my mind. Five weeks. Five weeks and you're in the clear. Just keep truckin' mate.

Thanks for the concern. To say things have been a bit stressful is a bit of an understatement. :\ And in five weeks, the fun *really* starts.

Doesn't work. Spike caught a cold for falling into a frozen lake. Colds are common shorthand for non-serious hypothermia. Remember, people still think you can catch colds by getting cold! It's not a valid avenue for figuring out transmission vectors; at best we can assume that disease does indeed exist, but even then it's not certain unless you take everything at face value.

Virus transmission does not work that way! Goodnight! </Morbo>
As you are obviously well aware. But cross-species transmission is entirely plausible - the recent N1H1 swine flu outbreak virus was traced backwards from humans -> pigs -> birds -> pigs -> humans.

I guess that it's possible that Equestria is operating on Cartoon Virology, as much as it appears to be operating on Cartoon Physics.

I'll be honest, as soon as I heard 'elf Fluttershy' I was waiting to hear what you'd come up with
It's a beautiful name. Fitting, methinks.

Am I that predictable?
Anyway, thanks!

Noooooo.

Everyone in my office is sick. I was one of maybe five people to NOT get it. Now... I'm afraid my immune system is losing the good fight.

Time to go to sleep and drink a gallon of OJ in the morning. We'll see how productive I end up being, whether or not Ido being sick means more or less pony while at work.

All this talk of viruses has clearly affected you. Fight the wee blighter! Take no prisoners!

Random thought brought on by that comic: when/why did the fandom decide that filly Celestia's hair was just plain pink instead of the four-color version she has now? Seems a strange thing to do, but it's very consistent across fan art from what I've seen.

In the "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria..." book that Twilight Sparkle is reading at the start of the very first episode, it shows Celestia with an all pink mane ruling side by side with Luna, and later battling Nightmare Moon. Obviously sometime after NMM was banished, Celestia's hair changed colour. My personal theory it was the result of magical backlash from using all six of the Elements of Harmony by herself.

[Kris Strife]

Hi, everpony.

Just got back from my very first TV Assisting a remote (gettin' paid for it too). A heck of a lot of fun, but also exhausting, I put in a twelve hour day plus transit time. About to drop off here, so no main details.

There was that one post about Pinkelestia asking Midnight something. The response:

Uhm...yes, Cestya. You were there. You helped introduce me. Don't you remember? And...and what's with the pink?

Goodnight now *thud*

Leo gently puts a blanket over Midnight, and places a pillow under her head. He then lures Pinklestia into a trap by laying out a trail of candy leading to a box propped up by a stick. Once Pinklestia falls asleep (it's dark, so it must be nighttime), he tapes the box shut and gets the real Celestia to trap her on the moon. He also gets her to send a piece of paper that reads "To escape Moon, see other side" on both sides.

"Well, that should keep her busy for a while."

[Deadly]

Sorry, missed it.
I think I'll try and get to Mare in the Mirror soon. Wanted to have a couple more chapters so I could dive into it. Still working on Ponyard's Lament though.

No worries. I'd be happy for any feedback if you do read it, of course.

[Aotrs Commander]

Okay, first off, let's get this out of the way, so I can go back to being civil (for a measured version of "civil.")

Uh oh. rant incoming; brace yourselves everypony!


On the tumblr thingy-issue wostit Raz brought up earlier, all I have to say is this:

Let me for once be extremely an uncharacteristically serious, and direct this comment and following rant unilaterally to every single person in existance, past present and future.

You. Do. Not. Rag. On. Other People's. Hobbies.

EVER.

YOU DO NOT.

Unless such a thing is actually illegal and is causing harm to anyone else, you suck it the frak up and keep your mouth shut. NO-ONE has the right to decide what someone's interests and hobbies are, NO-ONE.

It doesn't matter how silly or stupid or pointless or squicky you think it is, you do NOT get to disapprove and tell them they can't (so long as they don't abuse the priviledge by making people who aren't interested uncomfortable; in which case they can go do it in private - but they don't have to stop doing it unless, as stated, it is illegal or harmful). Note that "the thought of it creeps me out" does not, in ANY WAY, give you ground to disapprove.

People get their jollies in all kinds of ways, and it's not our place to judge. There are people who get off on eating poo, fer cryin' out loud. I might find it grosse personally, but damn it, they have the right to do what they damn well please in the privacy of their own homes and it is neither your - nor my - place to judge them on it. I might not agree with it, but damn it, it I will defend their right to do it to the death (by which I mean, "the death of the people trying to take their right" not mine, obviously. "Death" if they are lucky. I do not tolerate bigotry in ANY stripe. AT ALL.)

So damn, if people get their jollies from pony - sexually or otherwise - they have the right. (They do not get to flaunt it at inappropriate places, granted, but in their own bit of the internet, they are quite entitled.)

The people who are made uncomfortable by adults just watching and liking a cartoon show need to get the FRAK over themselves, shut up and learn some tolerance; because if you're gonna be intolerant, than I'll be even more intolerant of you, and one of us has a rocket launcher, a star fleet and no qualms about the sanctity of life, if you catch my meaning.

That brand of bigoted arrogance - almost always from the "ohh, you can't do that!" crowd, the same sort that say computer games are behind violence, cartoons are only for children and roleplaying is pathetic and/or outright evil (or in really extreme cases, claim cinema and TV/Harry Potter/Pokemon is the actualwork of the devil) etc etc makes me really and geninuely furious.



I will say this again, because it bears repeating:

What one (or more) sentient/sapient creatures gets up to on their own time is nobody's business but their own, so long as it is legal and is not causing harm or damage to anyone else.



Right. Calm now. Rant over. You can come out of your bomb shelters now.

Oh god, is it bad that my mind went instantly to slap a few breasts on to them?

Kinda, yeah, since assigning mammalian sexual characteristics to nonmammals drives me to rocket launchers (see: dragonborn)...

Joking aside, you have three choices:

1) Keep them monogendered, where it wouldn't be noticeable if the robot was "male" or "female".
2) Female is smaller and less threatening than male. In this case, keep it small and scale back its weapons/armor a bit.
3) Female is terrifying, and will destroy the male with relative ease: add some claws and such to it.

That's not quite what I'm going for. Usually, all alien robots are (even if technically "its" usually assigned, if not a male identity, at the very least, a male voice (as this seems - not really very correctly - to be the default assumption). I am attempting to fight this trend by having this crowd of alien robots be "female" in the same way the Daleks, say, are "male".

Now, I could simply design them and just say that (which is, I suspect, what I will end up doing in the end); but because this is not the "default" preconception, I thought I might be worth at least trying to see if I could invoke some sense of "female" in their structure to reinforce this, with the same sort of subtlety as Lauren Faust did with the ponies.

Could you perhaps lose the giant gun on the top and make two or three smaller guns in the torso itself, that are built inside of the machine? Perhaps without the need of a life support system, they could slide some guns into the body.

The gun is there for several very good reasons.

1) You wouldn't see smaller guns on the torso.

2) It can cover the widest range of fire (maximum elevation).

3) It can simply lock to the vertical for flight mode.

Like I say, functionality first, then asthetics.

Commodore, reverse everypony's advice. Rectangles are masculine, curves are feminine... Traingles and sharp points are insectile, which is also feminine.

Interesting point. I might give that a try, just to see the comparison.

And a magitech space lich.

Damn straight!

[Thanqol]

Okay, first off, let's get this out of the way, so I can go back to being civil (for a measured version of "civil.")

Uh oh. rant incoming; brace yourselves everypony!


On the tumblr thingy-issue wostit Raz brought up earlier, all I have to say is this:

Let me for once be extremely an uncharacteristically serious, and direct this comment and following rant unilaterally to every single person in existance, past present and future.

You. Do. Not. Rag. On. Other People's. Hobbies.

EVER.

Love and tolerance. Yo.

Kinda, yeah, since assigning mammalian sexual characteristics to nonmammals drives me to rocket launchers (see: dragonborn)...

The irony of the above rant paired with this statement is sublime. Particularly given how that's pretty much my thing, right there.

[Kris Strife]

The irony of the above rant paired with this statement is sublime. Particularly given how that's pretty much my thing, right there.

Not only that, but I gave him a perfectly justifiable reason for including such a thing in this case... He didn't bother to quote my response though...

[Nameless]

Wheels are turning in my head. No, that's not quite right, they're churning. Turning can merely be plotting, scheming, but churning implies a disquiet, a disturbance and an inspection of the wheels themselves if you don't want the whole factory to shake apart.

(Warning: may be slightly NSFW, in that it discusses NSFW-ness.)

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So. I don't even remember now how I found myself there, but I found myself looking at a tumblr blog entitled Are You Serious, Brony? I do not provide a link because it is rather unsafe for work, due to the work it showcases and rips apart: the dark underside of our fandom.

I laughed, I'll admit. Not at the blog author, but with him. I know another guy like him from a different fandom, on a different site, who has Standards and isn't afraid to be known for them, but who caustically cuts apart this kind of material instead of turning upon his fellow fandom members. I loved his sardonic sarcasm at some of the worst that our fandom has to offer.

And then I started thinking about why I'm in a fandom that tolerates this kind of stuff. That produces it in such droves. For every piece of beautiful art on Ponibooru, I guess that there's a piece of pornographic waste - as I don't browse Pb with a login, it's all hidden away. But I know it's there, and it spreads, and for every adult fan who's completely fine with it, there's a kid with an internet connection who doesn't know what the Pinkamina Diane Pie tumblr is like or comes across Naughty Naughty Luna!(tm) fanarts. And that concerns me, because I have the power to change that one bit at a time - I can't force artists to take back what they've drawn, but I can act upon my fellow fans in tiny, almost imperceptible ways. Or, perhaps, in larger ways. I am a writer, after all.

Then I read an essay that the blog author linked, written by a mother who was creeped out by the 'bronie' phenomenon. The replies started out promising, and then descended into the vicious defense that any negative Pony article gets, to the point where the original author locked the comment section because of all the insults that were being hurled her way, proving her view that bronies were borderline molesters.

And I thought some more. At first I thought, surely, surely I can say I'm clean, surely I can say I'm free of any blame, I'm not like them, the kind of bronies who sexualize this kind of thing to an abhorrent degree. And then I thought some more. Oh, wait, who was the brony who made the Haremizer Cannon in RP and had roleplayed out an attraction to an OC pony? Hint: that was me. Who was the brony that accidentally kickstarted the whole bondage craze and is currently writing a story that incorporates it in its themes, even if it is being deconstructed to an extent in said story? Hint: even more me. Who once wrote a naughty Lix/Trixie ship that he now regrets ever trying, as his first and only foray into anything even tangential to clopfic? Oh, wait, that was ME.

Do you think that any unbiased observer would believe that I don't find bondage or harems sexual, after how often they've come up in the forum RP, with me in the midst of it? (Dark secret: I like the stereotypical harem outfit, not the actual concept of a harem. And I mean like as in "I am intrigued by its aesthetics".) It's not bleeding likely. Stars and stones, do you think that any mother who stumbled across the GiantITP pony fandom, just out of the blue, would believe that the brony subculture isn't sexualized? I'm starting to have doubts.

You know how, a few pages back, we were talking about characters and how successful RP characters often come from seeds of your personality? Well, Shallow and Thoughtless Human as a title sums up part of my personality pretty well. I'll do something, and then never think about the consequences. I'll say something, and never imagine that I might regret it later. I don't see. I don't consider. If I could go back and tell myself, hey, Raz, don't write that fic for Trix'n'Lix, you'll regret it and feel as if you've failed yourself soon enough, I would, but I didn't even think about it. And I'm sure that, right this moment, there's something that I'm missing, something that will make me miss a step and tumble down the stairs painfully. It's already happened to me enough for a year in the past month or so, and I'm looking down at more stairs. It's stairs, all the way down. And the step I'm taking right now is going to make me scrape open my knee a few steps down the line, I just know it. Shallow and Thoughtless Human. Sums me up pretty well, don't you think?

But, then again, I also believe that a man has power enough to choose. He may, no, he will need help. He'll struggle. He'll fall on the way and be helped back up to his feet. But a man can change who he is, if he looks in the mirror and doesn't like what he sees staring back at him. He can comb his metaphorical hair. He can brush the yellow off his teeth. And perhaps he can't scrub that stain out of his white shirt, but he can remember, next time, that he shouldn't go for the ketchup with that metaphorical burger. And he can rally his thoughts, and give them marching orders, and focus - though it's boring, though it's hard - enough to change their course. He doesn't just have to go with the flow and take the easy course. Taking the easy course is always harder in the end. The hard course takes you straight through the briars and the brambles, but the easy course drops you down into them with no machete to cut your way out.

I'm not going to tell you all that you should stop looking at Molestia fanart or feel guilty for shipping. I'm not going to say that bronydom has been ruined for me forever. But I think it's time that the Pure and Honest Fox Raz can actually call himself that honestly, don't you think?

I think so.

And that's one step away from being the Shallow and Thoughtless Human. And if I speechify about it at length, that's even better, because speaking, well, writing, I think of this as being sort of like speaking, I take a conversational tone as if I was standing in front of you all gut-afraid but still speaking anyway, and now we're off-topic- anyway, if I write about it, I can rally up the troops, all those impulses and unconscious thoughts, and say to them, boyos, there's going to be a bit of a change around here. We're clearing house, doing autumn wrap-up and burning the rubbish, and then we can actually say about ourselves, we're pure and honest, because I'm tired as anything of being a liar about myself, to myself, to anyone who asks me, "So, Raz, are you pure and honest?" I'll smile, and say of course, and I want to be able to mean it, consarn it.

And when people ask me, "So, these Bronies, are they all sexually attracted to ponies and creepy?" I want to be able to say, with fervor and dignity, "No. No, they're not. They - well, the fans I know, at least, on my little corner of the Internet - are all amazing blokes. And I'm the most amazing one of all!" Okay, maybe not that last bit. But I probably will say it, anyway, even though I don't really mean it, because the Mountebank is a part of me, too, and he learned from Wile E. Coyote and the Doctor how to brag like a jester.

So the wheels aren't churning, anymore. They're turning, and they are groaning with the effort of making the engines run, but there's a bit of peace to me. Or, rather, all that energy, all that momentum as Thanqol says, is focused on something now. And, funnily enough, the momentum is moving me in a direction that I was already going, I've just stopped digging my heels in and resisting the motion now. I'm running. And I'll probably, in a half-mile, slow down and start panting like a dog in the Sahara, and hold my ribs and groan at the effort. But I've got friends here - real, actual friends - who I know will slap me on the back hard enough to leave five red fingers there, and tell me, "Hey, Raz, do you remember that you're running? Because you are. And it's easier to go from 60 to 80 than it is to go from 0 to 60. Keep that momentum up."

And maybe I've got your wheels churning. If you've got the time, and no siblings or children around your computer, and you're definitely not at work, take a look at that tumblr and tell me what you think. Because I think we Playgrounders are more influential on the fandom than we might think, and giving people a place to point to when they need to explain how bronies are just honest folks without any weird sexualizations is a good thing.

Gosh, I just can't end, can I? I feel like I've been sitting here for an hour, though truthfully it's just been half of one, but half is still a bit much for me right now. And I'm still rambling on, just cut it short, Raz-

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Well, I'm not a fan of the pornographic and sexualised side of it. They're freaking ponies, you know? But the thing is, you get it with almost every cartoon that has a strong fanbase, so it really doesn't surprise me. For me, it was more of a "Oh, for **** sake, this one too? Can I enjoy one cartoon without thinking about this stuff?" I want to watch this show and feel like a kid again for 20 minutes.

I'm quite a liberal person, so I'd never ask someone to stop doing their art. As long as they're not hurting anyone, I'm fine with it. You don't have to look at it. (Although it's hard to avoid at times). Personally, I just find it annoying more then anything. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Lauren Faust felt the same way.

... Are you coming on to me?

Yes.
*strokes your cheek*

Man, I hate that. Hate. haaaaaaaate.

To be fair, my computer is about 6 years old.

But... But...
Weren't we taking your thumbs?

I thought my hands were turning into hooves.
I've lost track of this conversation now.

With your hooves. Duh~
or lips! Such soft, expressive lips ponies have. Very mobile.

Who do you think I am? Hendrix Hooves?

Pics or it isn't true.

You want a pic of me... not playing a cello?

I can't remember what this was about but I'm tempted to give you a membership card... How many kinds of knots do you know how to tie?

Errr... I can do a butterfly not!





In other news, I now this this one my wall.

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[Aotrs Commander]

The irony of the above rant paired with this statement is sublime. Particularly given how that's pretty much my thing, right there.

I direct your attention to the very first sentence of that rant. That's all I'm going to say.

Not only that, but I gave him a perfectly justifiable reason for including such a thing in this case... He didn't bother to quote my response though...

I was deliberately ignoring that particular suggestion...

Because if I didn't, I'd be forced to hurt you.



Ask yourself this... do you all really want me to go off on another screaming rant about how, never mind about mammals (see: ponies) only primates - and, more over, specifically humans - have breasts and as such assigning them to every nonhuman female in existance is immensely and rather arrogantly humanocentric, not too mention irritating and often lacking in creative artistry?

(Just because it is hard to do, doesn't mean everyone gets to be lazy about it...)



Also, just because I might beat you to a wet, pulpy mess with my rocket launcher for something on any other day does not mean, if it really came down to the crunch, that I wouldn't defend you to the hilt, e.g. if some arrogant sod came along and told you it was immoral or something equally stupid.

Even if it made me cry a little bit inside.



Case in point: the sheer stupidity of sex (which is generally considered to be a pleasant pastime or even an expression of love between two (or more) people) having more of a taboo than violence (which is generally considered to be an unpleasant thing) especially in movies/on TV. Even I think that's fraktardedly backwards, and I prefer it this way around.

[Kris Strife]

I was deliberately ignoring that particular suggestion...

Because if I didn't, I'd be forced to hurt you.



Ask yourself this... do you all really want me to go off on another screaming rant about how, never mind about mammals (see: ponies) only primates - and, more over, specifically humans - have breasts and as such assigning them to every nonhuman female in existance is immensely and rather arrogantly humanocentric, not too mention irritating and often lacking in creative artistry?

(Just because it is hard to do, doesn't mean everyone gets to be lazy about it...)



Also, just because I might beat you to a wet, pulpy mess with my rocket launcher for something on any other day does not mean, if it really came down to the crunch, that I wouldn't defend you to the hilt, e.g. if some arrogant sod came along and told you it was immoral or something equally stupid.

Even if it made me cry a little bit inside.



Case in point: the sheer stupidity of sex (which is generally considered to be a pleasant pastime or even an expression of love between two (or more) people) having more of a taboo than violence (which is generally considered to be an unpleasant thing) especially in movies/on TV. Even I think that's fraktardedly backwards, and I prefer it this way around.

Like I said, it's not designed to be implicit of any anatomical structure. It's simply a design to protect the barrel of the gun (it could also contain additional cooling mechanisms, as air is a terrible conductor and doesn't dissipate heat well). Any resemblance to organic structures is entirely coincidental, as its shape was chosen for the strength of the arch shape.

See, entirely motivated by mechanical engineering, it's not your fault if dirty minded hominids see something else!

Also, I have no problems with it. I find your rants to be fascinating honestly.

[Thanqol]

Ask yourself this... do you all really want me to go off on another screaming rant about how, never mind about mammals (see: ponies) only primates - and, more over, specifically humans - have breasts and as such assigning them to every nonhuman female in existance is immensely and rather arrogantly humanocentric, not too mention irritating and often lacking in creative artistry?

(Just because it is hard to do, doesn't mean everyone gets to be lazy about it...)

Also, just because I might beat you to a wet, pulpy mess with my rocket launcher for something on any other day does not mean, if it really came down to the crunch, that I wouldn't defend you to the hilt, e.g. if some arrogant sod came along and told you it was immoral or something equally stupid.

Even if it made me cry a little bit inside.

Right, so you'll call my tastes arrogant, uncreative and irritating, but you'll defend me against someone who calls them immoral. Good to know where the line is!

Edit: Mostly messin' with ya, I don't exactly advocate a world where one can't have opinions.

[Tectonic Robot]

'Aight, 'Aight, heavy stuff going on in this thread. I skimmed through most of it, sorry, I'll read it in full, but I needed to check if anyone had posted this wonderful work of awesomeness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=jDMGv3hNMes

I nearly exploded twice upon listening.

[Aotrs Commander]

Right, so you'll call my tastes arrogant, uncreative and irritating, but you'll defend me against someone who calls them immoral. Good to know where the line is!

Damn striaght!

Just 'cos I like you doesn't mean you doesn't mean you can't have silly ideas! (I mean, some of my friends don't like ponies! What's with that? Some of them even play football!)

Though I might reserve the right to beat everyone who doesn't agree with my opinons to a bloody pulp (because of course, I remind you my opinion, is of course, subjective fact), it's in a joshing-around, exasperated sort of bloody violence.

But when I do the same to would-be moral crusaders/bigots/what-have-you, the difference is - I'm not nice about it...



Uncharacteristically serious for a moment: as you may have noticed, I have two modes, normal and Serious (the latter always being specifically stated by "being uncharacteristically serious"). If I have to go to the latter, I stop being Affably Evil and start being just Evil; I am not nice, I am not pleasant, and I am not merciful. (As I've occasionally warned people in the past, you do not want to see me be serious.)

I mean, Hopereaver and I banter and exchange violence all the time. But put us in an actual combat situation, something important, something where it actually matters, and we'll close ranks quicker than you can even blink.