My Little Pony XXVI: Applebloom to Zecora!

[Lord Raziere]

Episode 2 of season 2 made me think of up of this mythological fan fic or whatever, hope you like it:

Discord, Progress and Stagnation

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Long ago, before Equestria, there were two great beings

Discord, the being of directionless chaos, trickery and manipulation

Progress, the being of directed change and creation.

Order nor Harmony had even been conceived yet. Discord and Progress were like yin and yang, Discord being an eternal producer of Problems and Dangers, while Progress was an eternal producer of Solutions and Evolution. Together they ensured that the world constantly evolved, adapted and changed. Without Progress the world would devolve into meaningless chaos, while without Discord, there would be nothing to challenge Progress and thus keep things getting better without problems to solve.

Even Progress could only conceive of directed chaos towards an ever-evoling goal of improvement and change towards something better and there was always something better.
However Discord disliked Progress.
Everytime Discord broke and scattered things apart, Progress would recombine them in new ways and continue to improve and direct out of directionless chaos.

Discord didn't want this eternal upward improvement of everything to interfere with his beautiful mayhem, so he went to Progress and began to show him vision after vision of every solution that Progress created would bering about a greater problem, the situation getting worse and worse every time Progress solved something until Progress saw the destruction of the entire world through the visions, all the while Discord spoke his lies and twisted Progress's optimistic dream of eternal improvement into a nightmare of bringing ever greater disaster.

Soon Progress began to grey and believe it that it would be better that things stop changing and remain eternally the same, becoming Stagnation. Discord found it trivially easy to overthrow and exile Stagnation and plunge the world into eons of meaningless, glorious chaos.

Stagnation then slunk off in despair, retreating away from the center of the chaotic storm that raged about Discord.
However, Progress was just as powerful as Discord and could fight somewhat against Discord's magic.
He managed to fight his way until he was half Progress and half Stagnation. Then, from a combination equally of the two concepts,he had a flash of enlightenment and inspiration, and finally conceived Harmony and all the Elements that make it up.

In this flash, Progress hurriedly created the Elements of Harmony and hid them away. However, he focused so much upon making them, that Stagnation soon took over totally, and thus he became completely petrified.

So for Eons did Discord rule in never-ending chaos.
Almost never-ending.
In one spot of reality, the Elements of Harmony emitted an aura of Harmony that subtlety influenced the area around it to be more stable, its change more directed, its evolution more progressive and harmonious, all too subtle for Discord to possibly notice, if he wasn't busy drinking chocolate tacos or making birds walk underwater using pyramids.

Eventually the evolution directed by the Elements of Harmony resulted int he Ponies, Celestia and Luna, who soon observed that their placed was more harmonious than most within the chaos, and journeyed to the center of the harmony to find the Elements of Harmony, which they then used to defeat Discord.

Thus did Discord's reign end. In the aftermath, the world stabilized and many things came into existence from the ever-changing reality of Discord, such as the diamond dogs, the dragons, and many such other creatures formed from the great stabilization of the world that would've probably lasted only moments in the chaos of Discord.
This stabilization however was achieved by using up all of the Element's Aura to do this, thus dimming their glow. The original place where the Elements sat for so long became Equestria, while many places that stabilized from the chaos became places like the Everfree Forest.

Thus does Harmony now keep reality running smoothly, but without the magnificent forever-improvement that Progress desired. Progress is still trapped in stone, no one knowing of his existence- and even if he was released or awakened, would he come back as Progress? or Stagnation?

[Topaz]

Don't do it! She'll turn into Screwball then we're in big trouble!

So far I've seen five post-Discord versions of Screwball, two of which involve Derpy and three than involve Diamond Tiara. I wonder if one of them is going to stick?

I had no plans to read this fic, the whole human in equestria thing mostly, but I guess I'll give it a chance based on your opinions. It can't be the worst thing I've ever read, I mean I've read The Twilight Saga for Celestia's sake.

I adore Through the Eyes of Another Pony. It's one of the fics that I SQUEEEE for when I see that there's a new chapter up.

[Beeskee]

Episode 2 of season 2 made me think of up of this mythological fan fic or whatever, hope you like it:

Discord, Progress and Stagnation

Definitely interesting. Are you planning to write more of that?



I'm reading Progress right now. It's about Luna learning how to adjust to the world after a long absence.

[Kurgan]

Welp, internet died on my computer, and only my computer. Since my knowledge of how computers work can be summed up as "its magic!" I haven't the slightest clue how to fix it. Long story short, tedious day.

On the plus side, I totally bummed my dad's laptop, so I can keep up with pony thread. Which reminds me, I have almost a full day to catch up on now. See ya when I get there.

[Trixie]

...

Since the forum code is about to be changed crashing many old functionalities in tables, I decided to change the 'Fanwork' table in the OP to semi-new standard. Can the volunteers take a look at it and tell me if the new version is legible, and what improvements to make?

[TheAmishPirate]

...

Since the forum code is about to be changed crashing many old functionalities in tables, I decided to change the 'Fanwork' table in the OP to semi-new standard. Can the volunteers take a look at it and tell me if the new version is legible, and what improvements to make?

It's legible, but I'd try and move the left column up to the top to match the right if it's not too much trouble. There's a lot of horizontal lines from the divisions, but since I don't exactly know how I would rearrange it differently, I'd say it's fine.

If I see anything else, I'll let you know.

[Bayonet Priest]

Definitely interesting. Are you planning to write more of that?



I'm reading Progress right now. It's about Luna learning how to adjust to the world after a long absence.

Progress is pretty funny, especially the early chapters.

[Roninhirox]

Welp, internet died on my computer, and only my computer. Since my knowledge of how computers work can be summed up as "its magic!" I haven't the slightest clue how to fix it. Long story short, tedious day.

On the plus side, I totally bummed my dad's laptop, so I can keep up with pony thread. Which reminds me, I have almost a full day to catch up on now. See ya when I get there.

See I thought computers ran on evil spirits which explained most of the internet in my head. Mine is still holding up thankfully I think all the tree sap I have in there holding parts together is really what keeps it going.

[otakuryoga]

AWESOME Trixie pic

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lol...just checked the DA page for fave writer and she had this posted in her journal

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GUESS WHO'S NOT SLEEPING?

Okay, so, brony pick up lines:
"Wanna see my cutie mark?"
"They ought to call you episode two, because you've got PLOT!!"
"Call me AJ, because I'm a world class bucker "
"10 seconds flat." (Geez that's practically our mating call)
"How about we take this from shipfic to clopfic (optional: in ten seconds flat)?"
"Oh, I'll make you scream louder...."
"Wanna taste the rainbow?"

Congratulations you are now Rainbow Dash. What do you do?
> Look up from my bed made entirely out of satiated lovers and sigh contentedly
Congratulations you are now Fluttershy. What do you do?
> Hide the bodies before my friends get here
Congratulations you are now Twilight. What do you do?
> Fluttershy
Congratulations you are now Pinkie Pie. What do you do?
> Wait for Fluttershy to leave and steal the bodies. Mmmmm.
Congratulations you are now Applejack. What do you do?
> ApplesApplesApplesApplesApplesApplesApplesApplesAp ples
Congratulations you are now Rarity. What do you do?
> Put down the gun. P-put it down. You're stronger than this. You can do this. PUT DOWN THE GUN
Congratulations you are now Celestia. What do you do?
> Look up from your bed of unconscious "lovers" and sigh contentedly
Congratulations you are now Luna. What do you do?
> Really wish you weren't on Celestia's bed right now. Or that she'd at least remove the ball gag
Congratulations you are now Cheerilee. What do you do?
Sweetie Belle Uhhh.....g-grade homework?
Congratulations you are now Vinyl Scratch. What do you do?
> Dubstep WHOMPWHOMPWHOMPWHOMPWHOMPWHOMP
Congratulations you are now Applebloom. What do you do?
> Wish your family wasn't the town charity case
Congratulations you are now Scootaloo. What do you do?
> Clop furiously to picture of Rainbow Dash
Congratulations you are now Sweetie Belle. What do you do?
> Bury confusing feelings about teacher
Congratulations you are now Big Mac. What do you do?
> Run entire farm and wish Granny Smith had let you finish your master's degree
Congratulations you are now Granny Smith. What do you do?
> Set your motorbike on fire and take off for the shark tank
Congratulations you are now Mrs. Cake. What do you do?
> Wish husband was more responsive and consider visiting Big Mac again
Congratulations you are now Mr. Cake. What do you do?
> Think about how golly-gee swell today is, but wonder why Mrs. Cake has been taking so many treats to the Apple family
Congratulations you are now Octavia. What do you do?
> Try not to be seen leaving Scratch's place smelling of sweat and cooking oil
Congratulations you are now Lyra. What do you do?
> Check into hospital for sexual exhaustion again
Congratulations you are now Bon Bon. What do you do?
> Find someone thing to do while Lyra's in for her monthly visit
Congratulations you are now Roseluck. What do you do?
> Finish spreading butter down your legs and get out the clown nose and reverse saddle before Bon Bon gets impatient
Congratulations you are now Caramel. What do you do?
> Hope nopony sees you dressed up for your weekly tea party with Mr. Snugglekins and Sargeant adorabloodthirsty
Congratulations you are now Avery Stange. What do you do?
> Wallow in insanity and pony makeouts

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[Kurgan]

Well, not a whole lot for me to comment on today, seems I missed all the juicy stuff. Anyways:

...

Since the forum code is about to be changed crashing many old functionalities in tables, I decided to change the 'Fanwork' table in the OP to semi-new standard. Can the volunteers take a look at it and tell me if the new version is legible, and what improvements to make?

Seems legible, though it throws me off that the top of the two columns don't match up.

I think it's time I came out of the closet.
Brony, eh? I think the term suits me.

I just spent the last three days watching the entirety of the first season. And then I marveled in the sheer AWESOMENESS that is John De Lancie as Q- I mean Discord.

Now I have no idea what to do with myself.
I wonder how my girlfriend will react...

Welcome! Here are the traditional images (I have to hand type them, since the document they are on is sort of on another computer that no longer has a functional internet connection, so here's hoping it ends up alright):

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[IMG]htp://ponibooru.413chan.net?_images/0da1a106ff7923e0fb2630d06310c636/12549%20-%20macro%20scootaloo.jpg[/IMG]

Speaking as a someone currently operating on ~1 hour of sleep, I'd just like to say that I'd rather be drunk.

Spoilered for real-lifeyness:

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Long and short of it: Mrs Dexam had another epileptic seizure last night. So, another trip to hospital, and another nervous time for all of us, particularly as she started having contraction-like aches about 6 weeks too early.

Everything appears to be okay. Mrs Dex and the impending bub check out okay, but they're keeping her in today and tonight to for observation. I'll be going back to join them soon.

Good luck, sorry to hear of your troubles.

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EDIT: yeah, looks like only 1 out of the 3 things I posted went up. I'll give you your traditional greeting when I can just copy/paste it from my normal computer.

[otakuryoga]

HOODYHOO!!
it's now official...i get Luna episode on the 22nd for my birthday!!!!

[Kris Strife]

Welp, internet died on my computer, and only my computer. Since my knowledge of how computers work can be summed up as "its magic!" I haven't the slightest clue how to fix it. Long story short, tedious day.

Try becoming friends with it?

[BlasTech]

I move that the next thread be named "Season Two Ruined my Lunafic" in honour of the 22nd Oct episode.

Especially since I'm sure it will invalidate mine before I even get to writing it

[Topaz]

The local supermarket ads this week all have specials on Gala Apples.

[Kurgan]

See I thought computers ran on evil spirits which explained most of the internet in my head. Mine is still holding up thankfully I think all the tree sap I have in there holding parts together is really what keeps it going.

Evil spirits can be magical too!

Try becoming friends with it?

My computer and I have a (platonic) love-hate relationship going. We cannot exist in a state that isn't one of those.

[Eakin]

Hay fellow bronies! Let's play a game!

I'm trying to get a handle on how popular our mutual favorite TV program actually is. My best guess so far is that there are about 50,000 to 250,000 bronies out there, but that's just a gut feeling and I need data to really back it up.

So I decided to try Google Insights to figure out what might be comparably popular to ponies, but I can't think of anything that matches up well.

So I request that we play around with new search terms until we find something equally popular as measured in google traffic.

Also, how many bronies would you guess there are?

EDIT: Apparently we are 1/7th as popular as World of Warcraft! Impressive!

[Gamerlord]

Also, how many bronies would you guess there are?

I would say a minimum of 10,000 with a liberal estimate being 100,000.

[BlasTech]

Yay, dreams of midnight just went up on ED.

[Roninhirox]

Evil spirits can be magical too!

Can not!

Also Bryan got a tattoo.

[Gamerlord]

Yay, dreams of midnight just went up on ED.

FIVE STARRED SO HARD IT PUNCHED A HOLE IN MY MONITOR!

[Eakin]

I would say a minimum of 10,000 with a liberal estimate being 100,000.

The MLP reddit has 8000 subscribers, and ED posted a breakdown of viewers of S2E1 on youtube, it had something like 75,000 day 1 viewings. Assuming most of those WEREN'T repeat viewings that seems like a good number to start at

Found it

[Kurgan]

Can not!

Also Bryan got a tattoo.

I can only assume those two statements are linked, like the tattoo siphons all of the magic from my computer, only leaving the evil spirits. Or maybe the other way around...I like the magic sans evil spirits in my computer myself.

Also, of what, if I may ask? I am almost hoping you slipped the artist a wad of cash to change whatever he was going to get into Rainbow Dash.

[Roninhirox]

I can only assume those two statements are linked, like the tattoo siphons all of the magic from my computer, only leaving the evil spirits. Or maybe the other way around...I like the magic sans evil spirits in my computer myself.

Also, of what, if I may ask? I am almost hoping you slipped the artist a wad of cash to change whatever he was going to get into Rainbow Dash.

No but that would be about 20% cooler. He got the Dark Sword rune from Suikoden

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I hid it cause it wasn't pony related. Also now I need my job to hurry up and start so I can get money and get another tattoo cause I am getting jealous.

[Kurgan]

No but that would be about 20% cooler. He got the Dark Sword rune from Suikoden

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I hid it cause it wasn't pony related. Also now I need my job to hurry up and start so I can get money and get another tattoo cause I am getting jealous.

I'm afraid I've never played Suikoden, though I think he tried to run a dnd game based off of it three or four years back. Forget why it never got off beyond the first session.

So you are going to get ponies for your next tattoo, right?

[Lix Lorn]

Announcement:
I've been listening to tetris songs ALL DAY, ponythread. This is your fault.

[Kurgan]

Announcement:
I've been listening to tetris songs ALL DAY, ponythread. This is your fault.

This is a good thing, correct?

[Roninhirox]

I'm afraid I've never played Suikoden, though I think he tried to run a dnd game based off of it three or four years back. Forget why it never got off beyond the first session.

So you are going to get ponies for your next tattoo, right?

I vaguely remember that maybe. Also no probably not, I have to many things lined up infront of ponies to get a tattoo of them right now, maybe a few years down the line. Prolly gonna get the Snow Town tag from the comic Fell.

[Bayonet Priest]

FIVE STARRED SO HARD IT PUNCHED A HOLE IN MY MONITOR!

How do you star something on Equestria Daily? I've never figured it out and I want to start rating stories that I like.

[dromer]

Yay, dreams of midnight just went up on ED.

Congratulations. BMiaRS got rejected again, so I'll have to go back and check through it. The pre-reader's responses were a bit mystifying, but I'm getting it checked through again on /fic/ and having it looked over by a couple of other friends.

How do you star something on Equestria Daily? I've never figured it out and I want to start rating stories that I like.

There are little stars in the upper left corner of the blog post. Click the fifth star to the right to give it all five stars.

[Grif]

Congratulations. BMiaRS got rejected again, so I'll have to go back and check through it. The pre-reader's responses were a bit mystifying, but I'm getting it checked through again on /fic/ and having it looked over by a couple of other friends.

May I ask what is the reason given this time? It is mystifying considering some of the other material they do let through.