My Little Pony 2F: Ponibooru, We Hardly Knew Ye...

[Kd7sov]

So I've been trying out that Pony Fantasy VI thing.

I think I was going about it entirely the wrong way, trying to look at it as FFVI-with-ponies. They clearly put a lot of thought and work into this, and changed the story up quite a bit. (See: espers.)

I'm still amused, by the way, that Celestia, Twilight, and Apple Bloom all sit entirely differently on chocobos.

We shall have to see how it compares, now that I realize it's a distinctly different thing. VI was always my least favorite SNES-era Final Fantasy.

[Eakin]

But if they showed how Luna and Celestia beat Discord, then thousands of fan works would be ruined!

Actually, how Luna became Night Mare Moon would be my choice, although Discord would be second.

I honestly hope they DON'T show how Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, because it would probably involve her being corrupted or possessed by some malicious entity.

She's so much more interesting if she decided to go bad of her own free will, and Celestia is that much more impressive for forgiving her afterwards.

Maybe I just hate the "good person is corrupted by an evil force and now you can fight them without having to worry about whether they have a legitimate argument for their actions" trope. Along with the corollary "Once you beat someone up you can be instant friends with them again without having to make difficult personal compromises to address what made them hate you in the first place."

Why yes, I used to play World of Warcraft. However could you tell?

[Tvtyrant]

I honestly hope they DON'T show how Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, because it would probably involve her being corrupted or possessed by some malicious entity.

She's so much more interesting if she decided to go bad of her own free will, and Celestia is that much more impressive for forgiving her afterwards.

Maybe I just hate the "good person is corrupted by an evil force and now you can fight them without having to worry about whether they have a legitimate argument for their actions" trope. Along with the corollary "Once you beat someone up you can be instant friends with them again without having to make difficult personal compromises to address what made them hate you in the first place."

Why yes, I used to play World of Warcraft. However could you tell?

But they were never friends with Luna in the first place. It was already a good versus evil situation, the moral shading was barely even hinted at. Celestia might have forgiven her sister, but there is never a "I'm sorry for my part in all this" from her, it was all about Luna's choice to return to "good."

[Eakin]

But they were never friends with Luna in the first place. It was already a good versus evil situation, the moral shading was barely even hinted at. Celestia might have forgiven her sister, but there is never a "I'm sorry for my part in all this" from her, it was all about Luna's choice to return to "good."

But at least she had to make that choice, which is a potentially interesting character moment. As opposed to "Oh, thanks for getting rid of that mean ol' parasite. Everything's better now. What's for lunch?" Moral shading is interesting.

Obviously once it gets to the point where not beating NMM leads to total extinction by eternal night whether to fight her or not isn't really a choice. But she's a tragic figure if she fell that far because of her own actions. Otherwise her character arc is meaningless.

Look at Luna Eclipsed. Other ponies are afraid of her, and she seems to feel guilty about her actions. Neither reaction makes sense if she was just along for the ride while the NMM-entity did all the bad stuff.

[Anarion]

But at least she had to make that choice, which is a potentially interesting character moment. As opposed to "Oh, thanks for getting rid of that mean ol' parasite. Everything's better now. What's for lunch?" Moral shading is interesting.

Obviously once it gets to the point where not beating NMM leads to total extinction by eternal night whether to fight her or not isn't really a choice. But she's a tragic figure if she fell that far because of her own actions. Otherwise her character arc is meaningless.

Look at Luna Eclipsed. Other ponies are afraid of her, and she seems to feel guilty about her actions. Neither reaction makes sense if she was just along for the ride while the NMM-entity did all the bad stuff.

Totally correct, but I think you could do corruption/outside influence without messing up that character arc. Here's how I would do it, though this isn't the only way.

First, set up that the royal pony sisters are especially powerful, and as a result especially open to the influence of magic. This could be something from their earlier lives, or even a scene with Celestia to show that they're similar.

Second, have Luna go through her whole misery at not having anyone appreciate the night, sinking deeper and deeper into depression.

Then, have Luna get possessed while she's in the depths of despair, and give her just one instant to realize what's happening and show her panicked eyes as it consumes her.

That would allow Luna to be aware and feel responsible for everything that happened due to her own depression bringing on the possession, while still having a powerful malevolent force controlling her that could later be banished.

[Eakin]

Totally correct, but I think you could do corruption/outside influence without messing up that character arc. Here's how I would do it, though this isn't the only way.

First, set up that the royal pony sisters are especially powerful, and as a result especially open to the influence of magic. This could be something from their earlier lives, or even a scene with Celestia to show that they're similar.

Second, have Luna go through her whole misery at not having anyone appreciate the night, sinking deeper and deeper into depression.

Then, have Luna get possessed while she's in the depths of despair, and give her just one instant to realize what's happening and show her panicked eyes as it consumes her.

That would allow Luna to be aware and feel responsible for everything that happened due to her own depression bringing on the possession, while still having a powerful malevolent force controlling her that could later be banished.

Hmm... Well if it HAD to go in the "evil force possesses her" route by the end, I'd rather the bad thing (I'm just going to call it NMM) was presented as more of a temptress than something that aggressively took control. Egging her on about how much ponies hated her and her night until she finally agrees to accept it of her own free will, even though she clearly knows better and recognizes that NMM doesn't mean well.

That way she's at least an active participant and thus morally culpable. Your way still casts her as a victim.

But I'd still rather she just snapped on her own.

[Anarion]

Hmm... Well if it HAD to go in the "evil force possesses her" route by the end, I'd rather the bad thing (I'm just going to call it NMM) was presented as more of a temptress than something that aggressively took control. Egging her on about how much ponies hated her and her night until she finally agrees to accept it of her own free will, even though she clearly knows better and recognizes that NMM doesn't mean well.

That way she's at least an active participant and thus morally culpable. Your way still casts her as a victim.

But I'd still rather she just snapped on her own.

That could work.

I was going off the way the show presented Wendigos, where you basically have to have friendship or the world could devolve into winter. In the same way, it could be that the Royal Pony Sisters have to maintain a certain level of calm and control or they could be taken over in some way, and Luna's depression would cause her to give in to that power.

[erikun]

Huh. I haven't posted here lately. Might as well weigh in on a few posts.

Thanks for all the welcomes, guys! There's a lot of good Doctor/Derpy fanfics around, which is great because I love Derpy too. I especially like the mother-daughter relationship she has with Dinky, it's just so heartwarming and makes you feel good.

Welcome! I will recommend Family Matters as a good Ditzy/Dinky fic, although it does venture into touchy subject matters. It's also an alternate-Ponyville setting, in case you're wondering why characters like Trixie have so much printtime.

I still found it very good.

Random question: It seems like you all know eachother rather intimately. Do all of you basically live in the north east section of the united states? Or is the group going to this bronycon just commuting there?

We tend to act crazy on the forums and in the chat, although I don't think many people get together outside conventions (which are a reasonably new thing). I'm located Ohio-ish, if you're curious.

Raised on Nintendo, so I'm completely biased, but I don't like how much shorter and more accessable Mario's become. Yes, it's about a profit in the end, but in some of the "more traditional" of the games (the New Super Mario Bros series, specifically), it feels like less and less is going into it. I suppose bringing it into 3D and all might be an excuse, but it's just not as challenging anymore, and it feels like it goes by too fast.

Mario probably feels easy because you've been playing it for over a decade; I would hope with that much practice, a lot of it would come easily to you. I don't have a problem with Mario, but I think that Paper Mario is the only series of games that I'm still rather interested in.

On the topic of old characters, I feel Trixie should return. I don't personally like Gilda, but she could comeback for the same reasons I'm about to state.

The return of Trixie would not only please the fans, but it would also be easy for the writers. Simply have a remorseful Trixie return and try to make friends, trying to make up for her old ways. The script basically writes itself.

Eh, I wouldn't say the script writes itself - then again, I wouldn't a character just appearing to apologize is a very good idea. I've been thinking of writing something about Gilda coming back to Ponyville, and realized that it would take a lot to explain why she's suddenly back and make her attempts at apologies seem significant.

I actually don't think Trixie has much reason to come back and apologize. Heck, by all rights, Ponyville owes her a performing cart! I also think that it might be interesting to see Trixie without the performer mask, but unlike most people, don't seem to think that THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE is how she presents herself when ordering hayfries at BigMac Donalds.

Maybe it's just personal taste, though. Maybe it doesn't stand out as much to some people as it does to others.

I like what FiW does, in making characters that are somewhat-similar but clearly different, and then putting them through the standard episode's paces. I've liked it when it's been done with other series, and I generally don't care much for most abridges shows.

That said, I do think recent episodes have felt a bit off. Perhaps it is trying to inject too much alternate-story into the episodes? Part of the silliness, after all, is taking the supposedly-serious characters in a supposedly-serious setting and still running them through the same plot.

So I've been trying out that Pony Fantasy VI thing.

I think I was going about it entirely the wrong way, trying to look at it as FFVI-with-ponies. They clearly put a lot of thought and work into this, and changed the story up quite a bit. (See: espers.)

Oh? Interesting. I'd assumed they just swapped out the sprites and a few words here and there, like A Derp to the Past. I may take a look at that one, then.

[thubby]

That could work.

I was going off the way the show presented Wendigos, where you basically have to have friendship or the world could devolve into winter. In the same way, it could be that the Royal Pony Sisters have to maintain a certain level of calm and control or they could be taken over in some way, and Luna's depression would cause her to give in to that power.

luna is now a jedi.
read it here first, people.

Well, my happy meter just decreased by several dozen points.

awe, it's ok. we still love you.
*begins drooling on maxtronaut's head*

[PhoeKun]

So I've been trying out that Pony Fantasy VI thing.

I think I was going about it entirely the wrong way, trying to look at it as FFVI-with-ponies. They clearly put a lot of thought and work into this, and changed the story up quite a bit. (See: espers.)

I'm still amused, by the way, that Celestia, Twilight, and Apple Bloom all sit entirely differently on chocobos.

We shall have to see how it compares, now that I realize it's a distinctly different thing. VI was always my least favorite SNES-era Final Fantasy.

I'm going to be starting a Let's Play of that sometime in the coming week. I'm not 100% sure I can keep up that energy level through 30 gameplay hours in an entertaining manner, but the more I hear about the game the more it makes me look forward to trying.

[BlasTech]

Having the repentant antihero who shows up trying to mend her ways, that's... Bland. Uninteresting. More importantly, That is not how Trixie behaved at all. She wouldn't show up with a whole new personality. She's not Bon-Bon's voice. If Trixie returned, she woul probably be a better person but still proud, still arrogant, and not at all subservient to the mane cast. Which absolutely does not write itself, or there would be only a single definitive fanfic of it instead of what we have.

If Trixie did make an appearance, probably as a cameo, I'd like it to be clear she hasn't changed a bit since her last appearance ^_^.

After all, she is a performare, and alot of the arrogance she got in trouble with could just be explained as stage ponysona. Maybe some lesson about taking anything you hear on stage with a grain of salt?

For Discord what I would love to see is how he was originally defeated by Celestia and Luna. If they were to make a MLP FIM movie that's what I would want it to be.

I think it looked like this. (Should be a large pic. It's DA so I can't be sure it linked correctly while at work here since that darn site is blocked )

Spoiler

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[Kd7sov]

Oh? Interesting. I'd assumed they just swapped out the sprites and a few words here and there, like A Derp to the Past. I may take a look at that one, then.

Oh, not at all. Not to spoil too much, but... Apple Bloom takes the place of Locke, and has both Steal and Tools. Which, if you're familiar with FFVI, you might notice leaves no room for Magic. This is specifically justified because she's an earth pony. That sort of thing.

The story, as far as I've gotten, is largely unchanged, although several of the details and motivations are tweaked. But "largely" is not the same as "completely".

[Anarion]

luna is now a jedi.
read it here first, people.

Lies.

I'm going to be starting a Let's Play of that sometime in the coming week. I'm not 100% sure I can keep up that energy level through 30 gameplay hours in an entertaining manner, but the more I hear about the game the more it makes me look forward to trying.

I met the guy who was making that mod at PAX East. It's pretty thorough. Overworld sprites, portraits, and character names and information all changed. I'm not sure where the dialogue was at the time, but it sounds like that got altered too. Honestly, when you consider how much of a final fantasy game is spent staring at your menus, changing icons and ability names is pretty significant.

[Tvtyrant]

http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=...et=24#/d55q9wh

Best fanfiction ever.

Also, its says in the intro that Luna chose to keep the moon in the sky before she became Night Mare Moon, so the choice to do the wrong thing was on her. She became a "wicked mare of darkness" after the choice, but before the elements locked her up.

[thubby]

only acceptable history of discord

Lies.

luna is now a jedi.
read it here first, people.

technicality powers, go!

[Tvtyrant]

only acceptable history of discord

Yay! Another story that makes Celestia out as a heartless, evil pony! Woooooh! [/Sarcasm]

[thubby]

Yay! Another story that makes Celestia out as a heartless, evil pony! Woooooh! [/Sarcasm]

how is turning down someone's advances heartless or evil? also, considering his response to rejection was genocide. you can't say she was anything other than completely reasonable in her reaction.

[Tvtyrant]

how is turning down someone's advances heartless or evil? also, considering his response to rejection was genocide. you can't say she was anything other than completely reasonable in her reaction.

I think the image of her looking disgusted at the flowers and then leaving them on the ground is pretty heartless, yeah. Having turned people down and been turned down before, I can tell you that is about as unempathetic and cruel as you could deal with the situation. That came off as a little strong. What I am trying to say is that asking someone out/confessing to someone is a tremendous risk, and the least the other person can do is let them down easy. It is the same reason that if someone works extremely hard in a class they tend to get a passing grade even if their work isn't perfect, because it hurts so much to see your efforts dashed like that.

I actually liked the video overall, and it certainly made Discord evil enough. But that doesn't make it's depiction of Celestia any better.

I think it looked like this. (Should be a large pic. It's DA so I can't be sure it linked correctly while at work here since that darn site is blocked )

Spoiler

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Spoiler

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[maximus25]

only acceptable history of discord

Welp, I have sads now, time to go to bed.

[Maxtronaut]

awe, it's ok. we still love you.
*begins drooling on maxtronaut's head*

Ummm... *sniffle* Thank you?

[Anarion]

technicality powers, go!

*Looks at title of linked picture.*
*Reads the words "Jedi Luna"*
*Blinks*

[thubby]

*Looks at title of linked picture.*
*Reads the words "Jedi Luna"*
*Blinks*

i reject your reality, and substitute my own!

[Dexam]

*stumbles into thread*

It's been one of those days weekends... Dex Jr (just shy of 8 months old) has recently decided that 2:30 AM is the perfect hour for playtime and insists that daddy join in too. Somepony hook me up to a caffiene IV drip please.

To all of the ponythreaders at BronyCon - all of my jealousy!

This has truly been a fascinating group... I'm not sure what keeps drawing me back.

Has been, still is, and more than likely always will be.
As for what keeps drawing you back... quite a few bronies have joined the herd this way: they come out of curiousity and stay for the community.

Random question: It seems like you all know eachother rather intimately. Do all of you basically live in the north east section of the united states? Or is the group going to this bronycon just commuting there?

Just out of curiosity. Maybe slightly jealous that everywhere but Georgia gets cool stuff happening to it...

Try living in Australia some time...

I honestly hope they DON'T show how Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, because it would probably involve her being corrupted or possessed by some malicious entity.

She's so much more interesting if she decided to go bad of her own free will, and Celestia is that much more impressive for forgiving her afterwards.

Maybe I just hate the "good person is corrupted by an evil force and now you can fight them without having to worry about whether they have a legitimate argument for their actions" trope. Along with the corollary "Once you beat someone up you can be instant friends with them again without having to make difficult personal compromises to address what made them hate you in the first place."

Why yes, I used to play World of Warcraft. However could you tell?

My personal head-canon is that Princess Luna was corrupted/posessed, but it was a willing corruption - she succumbed to temptation. The dark power that turned her into Nightmare Moon seduced her by offering her a way of making ponies adore her, and in the depths of her despair she agreed without realizing the full implications of the deal: the ponies would adore her, but out of fear, not love.

That could work.

I was going off the way the show presented Wendigos, where you basically have to have friendship or the world could devolve into winter. In the same way, it could be that the Royal Pony Sisters have to maintain a certain level of calm and control or they could be taken over in some way, and Luna's depression would cause her to give in to that power.

My interpretation of the Windigos was that they cause and feed off conflict, and as such you don't necessarily need to have friendship to avoid them, just understanding and an absence of hostility. Of course, once you've got a Windigo infestation, friendship magic is pretty much the only way to get rid of them.

[Pokonic]

Well, I found this.

And I now have the urge to write a fanfic starring Dimond Tiara and Sweetiebell. Darn you, you colorful equines!

[BlasTech]

Try living in Australia some time...

Been there, still doing that

At least we get the episode boxset!

[Balmas]

only acceptable history of discord

This actually makes a lot of sense. Dislestia rocks, in a love-hate kind of way.

Well, I found this.

Loves.


Regarding Luna, my headcanon is that she wasn't so much possessed as she was corrupted. Her magic nature, combined with continued spurning, slowly drove her mad. The elements served as a wake-up call, reminding her of the good in life.

My question is this: when Celestia and Luna used the Elements the first time, they petrified Discord. When Celestia used the elements the second time, they sent Nightmare Moon TO THE MOOOOOOON. The third time they were used, this time by the mane six, they purified Luna.

What are these things? *Set phasers to MOOOON!" "Aye cap'n!"

EDIT: Here, have an awesome Pie Quartet.

[thubby]

This actually makes a lot of sense. Dislestia rocks, in a love-hate kind of way.


Loves.


Regarding Luna, my headcanon is that she wasn't so much possessed as she was corrupted. Her magic nature, combined with continued spurning, slowly drove her mad. The elements served as a wake-up call, reminding her of the good in life.

My question is this: when Celestia and Luna used the Elements the first time, they petrified Discord. When Celestia used the elements the second time, they sent Nightmare Moon TO THE MOOOOOOON. The third time they were used, this time by the mane six, they purified Luna.

What are these things? *Set phasers to MOOOON!" "Aye cap'n!"

well they're basically whatever the plot needs them to be.
but in-universe i always figured they were just really powerful sources of magic.
they do different things because the intent of the users were different.

celestia couldnt bring herself to attack what she saw as her sister so she banished her. discord is (headcanon here) a force of nature and not really kill-able. the mane 6 wanted to destroy nightmare moon and it did. regardless of where NMM came from, i have to see it and luna as different entities at some level. regardless of it was her negativity personified or external or what-have-you.

Ummm... *sniffle* Thank you?

*hugs maxtronauts head*
*licks*
there, there. you'll be ready soon, and when you are, you can escape this melancholy ponies melon. then you'll be all mine

[Forum Explorer]

Ok, edited it a bit. Seem better than before?

Err, I honestly can't say if its better or not. I know its been changed and due to me so that always messes up how I view things.

I honestly hope they DON'T show how Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, because it would probably involve her being corrupted or possessed by some malicious entity.

She's so much more interesting if she decided to go bad of her own free will, and Celestia is that much more impressive for forgiving her afterwards.

Maybe I just hate the "good person is corrupted by an evil force and now you can fight them without having to worry about whether they have a legitimate argument for their actions" trope. Along with the corollary "Once you beat someone up you can be instant friends with them again without having to make difficult personal compromises to address what made them hate you in the first place."

Why yes, I used to play World of Warcraft. However could you tell?

I agree that Luna getting corrupted by an outside source always seemed a little cheap to me. However watching Luna slowly go crazy as other ponies continually ignore her could be interesting if heartbreaking.

I think it looked like this. (Should be a large pic. It's DA so I can't be sure it linked correctly while at work here since that darn site is blocked )

Spoiler

Show

Well that was awesome

Regarding Luna, my headcanon is that she wasn't so much possessed as she was corrupted. Her magic nature, combined with continued spurning, slowly drove her mad. The elements served as a wake-up call, reminding her of the good in life.

My question is this: when Celestia and Luna used the Elements the first time, they petrified Discord. When Celestia used the elements the second time, they sent Nightmare Moon TO THE MOOOOOOON. The third time they were used, this time by the mane six, they purified Luna.

What are these things? *Set phasers to MOOOON!" "Aye cap'n!"

EDIT: Here, have an awesome Pie Quartet.

I guess my headcanon with Luna's corruption into Nightmare Moon was just frustration and jealousy. Kinda. She went into the plan willingly but progressively became more and more insane. Celestia failed to talk her down because Luna's hate was focused a lot on Celestia and her day. Ponies called her a monster so that's what she became in response.

As for the elements the reason for the variance goes like this in my head cannon. Celestia and Luna using them have less effectiveness then the Mane 6, the other reason for the variance is due to possibilties. Discord can only ever be sealed away and turning him to stone is the most effective method. Nightmare Moon was too powerful and too hateful to initially be anything but sealed away but was sent to the moon instead as a weaker seal that let her think. The second time the Elements were more powerful and Nightmare Moon had calmed down over the last thousand years so they were more effective and could purify her.

[Balmas]

My thoughts on the Elements of Harmony were that they act like magic amplifiers. Whatever goes in is amplified a certain amount, made easier. Also, rainbow lights.

[Thanqol]

That you have the guts to is commendable. I really should, just so that my distain for it is justified. I feel one isn't allowed to dislike what one doesn't understand. Kinda my reason for being here, actually. I can't decide on a subject I have no knowledge of...

Then again, that philosophy had me waste money, time, and sanity trying to endure Twilight, so I suppose I have the right to be a bit cautious here and there.

On a similar topic, I recommend the Sonic 2006 LP highly. It's about 24 hours of footage, which I know is not cool on the internet, but the LPers basically marathoned the worst game of all time without sleep.

Their minds actually snap. Like twigs. They pass through the five stages of grief perfectly. It's the most fascinating psychological experiment I've ever seen.

Wait, really? What about Kano? Hell, what about Miyamoto? Eww, one person having complete control over a project? That just sounds terrible.

All-Sakamoto all the way, baby!

I watched my roommate play through it. Perhaps the defining Bad moment for me was, after a rather large plot twist was revealed in a cut scene, the camera zooms in on Samus in a dramatic manner, clearly to convey to the player that Samus is just as surprised as we are.

And then we got a voiceover from Samus: "I was surprised by this revelation."

Among other flaws, the entire game is a lesson in how Showing and Telling is possibly worse than just Telling.

That was one of the less terrible moments in the game, I think.

You don't have a link to the LP, do you? I might want to read that.

Metroid: Other M: The Let's Play

We got three motherhood references into the title alone!

I'm going to be starting a Let's Play of that sometime in the coming week. I'm not 100% sure I can keep up that energy level through 30 gameplay hours in an entertaining manner, but the more I hear about the game the more it makes me look forward to trying.

Woop woop woop woop!