My Little Pony XCVII: Cheerilee's Lonely Hearts Club

[zimmerwald1915]

Is that the opening theme to Final Fantasy VIII?

Indeed it is. That's a bombastic Latin choir with violin accompaniment I've not heard in a long time.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Actually, we'd pretty much agreed "not for some time after the last international release date" before it released, given how staggered it was; and since it hasn;t come up much, I think it safe to just keep spoilering it until the new year (or if anyone like asks us to even longer!) It's not especially like it generated all that much discussion.

I would say "decent watch" is fair.

According to the notifications I am getting from my Amazon Pre-order, the DVD release date (or possibly shipping date) is variously:

Original pre-order: Christmas (ish)
04/12/2017 11:18: Feb 12th
04/12/2017 12:41: Jan 8th
04/12/2017 20:06: Feb 26th
08/12/2017 13:51: Feb 12th

...And yes, that's three emails in one day with different release dates. Schrodinger's release date, anyone?

The Crackle of Doom.

Or for Ponyville, Thursday.

Yup. The ending was just right.

[Pi Pie]

I have a thought on rock farming in Equestria. What if it is not some silly earth pony ritual needed to activate earth pony magic? What if it is closer to animal husbandry coupled with golem making?

In S6E3 The Gift of Maud Pie, Maud introduces Boulder to the group. In the picnic scene, Maud pushes boulder to a sandwich. In the next shot, the sandwich is gone. This was pointed out by LittleshyFIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZcBtTpzYPE

In S7E4 Rock Solid Friendship, Boulder is placed next to the mirror pool. In the next shot, there are two Boulders.

This implies that Boulder has some strange magic within to perform these feats.

It's possible that the reason that the Pie rock farm has to move rocks from one field to another is because the rocks are actively consuming the magic or minerals in the field.

[b_jonas]

I foolishly wondered into the Shades today. Look at this pony toy I've seen there.

Spoiler: Pony toy

Show

Six inch tall vinyl toys with nylon hair, unbranded knockoffs depicting each of the Mane Six in pony form. The body shape and color and cutie mark are close to the show. The eye color and hair color are at least trying to be similar to the show, as far as cheap nylon hair goes, and does about as good a work as the Hasbro toys. The packaging tries to be suggestive of the Hasbro toys, using a similar font and design, but no names are used.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I foolishly wondered into the Shades today. Look at this pony toy I've seen there.

Spoiler: Pony toy

Show

Six inch tall vinyl toys with nylon hair, unbranded knockoffs depicting each of the Mane Six in pony form. The body shape and color and cutie mark are close to the show. The eye color and hair color are at least trying to be similar to the show, as far as cheap nylon hair goes, and does about as good a work as the Hasbro toys. The packaging tries to be suggestive of the Hasbro toys, using a similar font and design, but no names are used.

What really impresses me is that the pony depicted on the bottom left of of each box/cell is not the pony in the actual box. Now that's dedication!

[t209]

I foolishly wondered into the Shades today. Look at this pony toy I've seen there.

Spoiler: Pony toy

Show

Six inch tall vinyl toys with nylon hair, unbranded knockoffs depicting each of the Mane Six in pony form. The body shape and color and cutie mark are close to the show. The eye color and hair color are at least trying to be similar to the show, as far as cheap nylon hair goes, and does about as good a work as the Hasbro toys. The packaging tries to be suggestive of the Hasbro toys, using a similar font and design, but no names are used.

So the relatives are still unknown towards My Little Pony again?
Just a "it sounded similiar enough, so I bought this" joke .

[DigoDragon]

It's possible that the reason that the Pie rock farm has to move rocks from one field to another is because the rocks are actively consuming the magic or minerals in the field.

Alternate theory--She's Pinkie Pie's sister. She breaks physics too, but in more subtle ways.

I foolishly wondered into the Shades today. Look at this pony toy I've seen there.
[Pony toy]

Haha "Best Product" indeed.

[Rater202]

Alternate theory--She's Pinkie Pie's sister. She breaks physics too, but in more subtle ways.

She's just as weird as Pinkie. She's just weird in different ways.

(Seriously, "this is my pet rock! His name is Bolder!" is totally something I could see Pinkie saying.)

[zimmerwald1915]

She's just as weird as Pinkie. She's just weird in different ways.

Amen to that. If the choice is between something about the world being weird, and something about the Pie family being weird, bet on the Pies.

[Manga Shoggoth]

On a totally different subject - as part of my epic Christmas Leave (after shoveling snow off the drive yesterday), I started re-reading Sandra and Woo, the heartwarming story of a girl and her pet racoon.

I'd forgotten these strips:

• Little Red Riding Pony
• Witches and Horse
• The Dip
• The Maretrix

Yuna: Can I play with the ponies too?
Ye Thuza: No. Maybe when you’re older.

[b_jonas]

So the relatives are still unknown towards My Little Pony again?

I'm not sure. I think these minis might be ones that educated relatives buy, because they are cheaper yet almost as good or better as the ones licensed by Hasbro.

On a totally different subject - as part of my epic Christmas Leave (after shoveling snow off the drive yesterday), I started re-reading Sandra and Woo, the heartwarming story of a girl and her pet racoon.

I'd forgotten these strips:

• Little Red Riding Pony

Nice, thanks for linking. Update: Apparently Sandra had an MLP toy as far back as early in season 2. And later she even calls Fluttershy her favorite.

[DigoDragon]

Little Red Riding Pony

Hee hee, I see i'm not the only one who did this idea. Nice find!

The Dip

Now I'm trying to picture Christopher Lloyd voicing Celestia.


Why do we even have that lever?!

Spoiler

Show

Standard OC practices.

Spoiler

Show

"What? No, I always vibrate at the speed of DC traffic!"

Spoiler

Show

[Aotrs Commander]

Wow, have I really not posted in several days...?

Well, I have been busy...

Finished Harvey's New Eyes (at this point, I have come to the conclusion that any game written by Poki will never have a happy ending and am well prepared for it... The third ending was the best of the three (and the one I picked first!)

Finished Masters of Orion. I tech victoried, and then reloaded and economic victoried for good measure. Never actually fought a war (so telepathy was entirely pointless) or even had much of a battle. MoO also severely suffers from late-game inter-turn lag, so I'd about had enough by the time I finished somewhere around turn 550-ish or something. Not in a huge hurry to have another go.

Finished Pokémon Moon. When I FINALLY got the new IV checker, wow, it is waaaaaay easier having it in the top screen when you access the PC; the improvement over having to take each Pokémon to the dude, check it, remember it and then go back to the PC to makr it is enormous. Plus, they made it so you can mark best IVs and 0 IVs, 'cos you can mark in blue and pink now. So I spent a couple of hours sorting through the Pokébank and working through the chaff...

And then I carried on with Vicky 2, but didn't get very far. Damn it, I want my tanks!

[Pi Pie]

Anyone doing anything pony themed for Hearth's Warming Eve this year?

I have a few ornaments on a tree, a stocking, and one last project that I am finishing up.

[zimmerwald1915]

Anyone doing anything pony themed for Hearth's Warming Eve this year?

I have a few ornaments on a tree, a stocking, and one last project that I am finishing up.

Lighting candles, frying potatoes, same old.

The winter solstice is not an important time to my people.

[digiman619]

Lighting candles, frying potatoes, same old.

The winter solstice is not an important time to my people.

Same here. L'Chaim!

[Manga Shoggoth]

Anyone doing anything pony themed for Hearth's Warming Eve this year?

Beyond the advent calendar and perhaps watching S7, not really.

[DigoDragon]

Anyone doing anything pony themed for Hearth's Warming Eve this year?

Does drawing pony art count? S'about the only thing for me. Would like to sneak back into Walmart Friday and grab that Pony gift wrapping paper I saw. Wrap up all the gifts with it, especially for the family/friends who don't 'get' pony.

The only real tradition I have this time of year is watching the greatest Christmas movie of all time-- Die Hard. ;)

[Rater202]

I've added the pony Christmas Album to my seasonal rotation, but that's about it.

Just finished my last day of school. Assuming I didn't bomb my finals I'll have my degree soon.

[digiman619]

Does drawing pony art count? S'about the only thing for me. Would like to sneak back into Walmart Friday and grab that Pony gift wrapping paper I saw. Wrap up all the gifts with it, especially for the family/friends who don't 'get' pony.

The only real tradition I have this time of year is watching the greatest Christmas movie of all time-- Die Hard. ;)

*fistbumps Digo*

[DigoDragon]

*fistbumps Digo*

*fistbumps back* (\

Spoiler: Yippie Ki Yay!

Show

[Adderbane]

I've added the pony Christmas Album to my seasonal rotation, but that's about it.

The MLP Christmas album was surprisingly good.

[Aotrs Commander]

Determined to finsh my Vicky 2 run as France... Got up to 1919 now and we're just getting aircraft (3% chance of getting the tech each and it took a few years from 1914 to roll it...)

Soon as I've got some in my armies, a bit f a dust-up with Germany - maybe two, in the time! and we'll be about reet, I reckons, before 1936...!

[b_jonas]

Anyone doing anything pony themed for Hearth's Warming Eve this year?

Nothing pony-themed. For Christmas, I'm visiting my brother in Sweden. We'll spend the whole week after Christmas there too, and leave on New Year. We'll eat Christmas food, play games, relax, have fun, and also watch the new Star Wars movie together. I'm a bit anxious because this is the first time this happens: for the previous four years, my brother and his wife were able to come back home and spend the Christmas with us.

[t209]

Well, felt depressing this time of year. But I have this weird cross over.
My Little Pony and Avatar The Last Airbender, but what if Fire Nation invaded Equestria that would be at same levels of military strength and technology?

[DigoDragon]

I'm kinda mad I didn't think of this one first. XD

Spoiler: Nice bubbles.

Show

Well, felt depressing this time of year. But I have this weird cross over.
My Little Pony and Avatar The Last Airbender, but what if Fire Nation invaded Equestria that would be at same levels of military strength and technology?

Well ponies would all be kinda considered to be benders since they all have magic? Sorta? It might work out the same way as the show did; Mane6+4 coming together to stop the Fire Lord.

[Pi Pie]

Well, felt depressing this time of year. But I have this weird cross over.
My Little Pony and Avatar The Last Airbender, but what if Fire Nation invaded Equestria that would be at same levels of military strength and technology?

It all depends on the plot strength of the ponies.

They do have dragon allies which would be a serious problem for the Fire Nation. The princesses, Discord, Mane 6, Starlight, Star Swirl and original bearers, changelings, etc. might all pose problems. Even pegasi might cause problems by just making it constantly rain.

Spoiler: Movie Spoilers

Show

On the other hoof, we see that most of Equestria's strength can be countered by a small army and plot demands to keep their power house fighters out of the scene for 100 minutes.

I am already sick of winter and it is only December. This is not a good sign.

Spoiler: My feelings on winter. Warning, NSFW.

Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk2wqYPlLoc

[t209]

It all depends on the plot strength of the ponies.

They do have dragon allies which would be a serious problem for the Fire Nation. The princesses, Discord, Mane 6, Starlight, Star Swirl and original bearers, changelings, etc. might all pose problems. Even pegasi might cause problems by just making it constantly rain.

Spoiler: Movie Spoilers

Show

On the other hoof, we see that most of Equestria's strength can be countered by a small army and plot demands to keep their power house fighters out of the scene for 100 minutes.

I am pretty sure that Firebender can use fire in the rain, like an episode about Southern Raiders.

[Aotrs Commander]

Fire benders draw their power from the sun, just like waterbenders to the moon. Celestia controls the sun.

It is generally considered to be tactically inopportune to have the source of your power controlled by your enemy.



One imagines that the result would be the fire nation invasion ends almost instantly as Celestia just simply says "er, no. I don't think so," and that would be that.

[zimmerwald1915]

It all depends on the plot strength of the ponies.

They do have dragon allies which would be a serious problem for the Fire Nation. The princesses, Discord, Mane 6, Starlight, Star Swirl and original bearers, changelings, etc. might all pose problems. Even pegasi might cause problems by just making it constantly rain.

Spoiler: Movie Spoilers

Show

On the other hoof, we see that most of Equestria's strength can be countered by a small army and plot demands to keep their power house fighters out of the scene for 100 minutes.

I am already sick of winter and it is only December. This is not a good sign.

Spoiler: My feelings on winter. Warning, NSFW.

Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk2wqYPlLoc

Setting aside allies (because Discord makes this trivial - same reason he wasn't in the movie), the course of a Equestria/Fire Nation war probably goes a lot like the Avatar Hundred Year War compressed into a short span of time. Fire Nation naval superiority leads to the capture of some Equestrian port (which one depends on which coast; probably Las Pegasus on the west or Baltimore on the east), and they blitz inland from there following the rivers and railways. Pony air superiority allows them to harass and eventually slow the Fire Nation advance, but a small and antiquated army means they can't retake ground. Fire Nation offenses will be smaller and more dispersed in time than they'd like, but they will happen.

Meanwhile, Equestria 's royals are mostly tied down shielding cities (Cadence in the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor in Canterlot) or managing logistics (Celestia, Luna). They have enough heroes now for about 3 special forces squads(Twilight's, Starlight's, and Star Swirl's), which will be dedicated mostly to intelligence gathering and some sabotage while a proper offensive army is recruited, trained, and equipped. Eventually one of these will figure out through some misadventure that the Fire Nation's bending can be disrupted by an eclipse - an event that is trivially easy to arrange and maintain in Equestria.

The Equestrian counteroffensive takes pace during its Longest Night (many weeks in duration), and drives the demoralized (because bending-less) Fire Nation back to its bases. Twilight will somehow convince Sozin to renounce his conquering ways. The Princesses, Discord, Starlight, and Star Swirl together can probably manage to send the whole Fire Nation back where it came from if the people want to go.