My Little Pony XCVIII: Still Haven't Caught Up on Season 7!

[DigoDragon]

I was waiting for this joke to happen...

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[Aotrs Commander]

I was more going on Twilight hadn't been Princess long enough to have the chance to majorly frack princessing up or majorly excel just yet, really...

How far apart are the princesses within each factor, and which factor weighs more heavily? I suspect you can quantify these things, but I'm less able to do so than an arbitrarily high number of AOTRS personnel who don't tire and have IQs that dwarf mine, and honestly I don't really want to try.

To be fair, the top Aotrs staff in question were Professor Magi, Professor Warlock, Professor Enchanter and Professer Sorcerer.

And I basically just read the summary.

...

Skimmed, really.

...

The ten thousand word thing WAS the summary.

I have no idea how long the actual thesis was, because by the time I got to the end of that, words had stopped making sense, the world was spinning (on a stationary starbase) and I was seeing things that no Lich Was Meant To Know.

Look, I have a lot of very bored 5000-IQ Alakazam, Okay?

Setting aside Flurry, of course. Including her wouldn't be fair. Flurry, Flurry uber alles.

That we can definitely agree on!

I am, of course, speaking about woona:

And THAT, along with the ridiculous bias shown towards Luna and against Celestia especially early on by loads of people SOLELY BECAUSE LUNA SOBBED A BIT AT THE END OF EPISODE TWO is why Luna ranks where she does.

I have certainly never forgotten that Luna was banished for a VERY GOOD REASON and not because Celestia was being mean; as I've said before, she's bloody lucky she only got banished for a thousand years and then was immediately basically told "right, you've had you punishment, let's not dwell any more on it, 'kay?". Had the Crystal Heart done the business and not the Elements of Harmony, you'd mostly like have been picking bits of Luna out of your manes for months¹, 'cos that don't frack about or nuthin'.

Seven years on and that whole thing still annoys that CRAP out of me.



¹Also, see Protector of the Crystal Empire.

[b_jonas]

Which is why my post should be read "what more could anyone want out of life than to be a dragon, with all that entails?"

Hands, so you can use non-magical tools such as a pen, bag of holding, keyboard, or screwdriver. This depends on the universe though, because the young dragons we've seen in MLP do have hands and can use tools.

[Rater202]

So I just fulfilled my New Years resolution for the first time ever.

[DigoDragon]

So I just fulfilled my New Years resolution for the first time ever.

Which was...?


I'm just trying to re-learn how to relax.

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[zimmerwald1915]

So I just fulfilled my New Years resolution for the first time ever.

Which was...?


I'm just trying to re-learn how to relax.

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I am also curious. I've never bothered making one for the Christian New Year - that's what Yom Kippur is for.

[Rater202]

Which was...?


I'm just trying to re-learn how to relax.

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I am also curious. I've never bothered making one for the Christian New Year - that's what You Kippur is for.

Rather than set a vauge goal, I gave myself until Valnetine's day to have a chapter written for each of my fanfics.

[Pendulous]

Them's Fightin Herds, the fighting game that used to be ponies, and is now under the artistry of Lauren Faust, has a release date. February 22

[DigoDragon]

Rather than set a vauge goal, I gave myself until Valnetine's day to have a chapter written for each of my fanfics.

Ah, well that's a solid goal right there.

Them's Fightin Herds, the fighting game that used to be ponies, and is now under the artistry of Lauren Faust, has a release date. February 22

The link might not be working? Try this one. Anyway, looks like they finally got the game done. Kudos to the team behind it. I figured this was just never coming up considering the long road of issues it ran into.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Them's Fightin Herds, the fighting game that used to be ponies, and is now under the artistry of Lauren Faust, has a release date. February 22

Oh Yes - I got the email today.

I don't like fighting games much, but I did chip in to this one as I thought they deserved a chance. It all seemed to be going well, then loooong silences. I was afraid that it had fallen by the wayside after all. I'm glad they seem to have made it.

[Aotrs Commander]

Ah, Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals... Few shows indeed can be so endlessly entertaining and such a joy to watch. Even better with the dub.

[gooddragon1]

Ah, Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals... Few shows indeed can be so endlessly entertaining and such a joy to watch. Even better with the dub.

You mean this one?
Byaku-Sharingan
Naruto SD: Neji vs. Hinata

[t209]

Just finished watching My Little Pony: The Movie.

Spoiler: Plot Holes

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So was it me or the Hippograffs don't know what to do with the Pearl when they got invaded?
I understand that Shining Amor and Crystal Empire are not accessible except via train, but what about other garrisons?
And they didn't notice Mos Eisley Glurge Town?

The link might not be working? Try this one. Anyway, looks like they finally got the game done. Kudos to the team behind it. I figured this was just never coming up considering the long road of issues it ran into.

Well, definitely will not be gold since the game only has 6 characters while Skull Girls has 16. As a friend on Discord said,
"That being said, it's...not looking like it's going to be a great game. Controversy, genre and style aside, it's very difficult to make a successful fighting game with only six characters. Let's put it this way. When Street Fighter II came out in 1991, it had 8 characters. Without enough characters to pick from and to mix things up, competitions get stale.
Skullgirls is currently the gold standard of Indie fighting games. Or Melty Blood."

[b_jonas]

Just finished watching My Little Pony: The Movie.

Spoiler: Plot Holes

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So was it me or the Hippograffs don't know what to do with the Pearl when they got invaded?

Spoiler: My Little Pony: the movie

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The hippogryphs knew exactly what they did. They used the power of the Orb to turn themselves into seaponies and hid deep underwater. The Storm King couldn't reach them deep under the sea, because the storm shakes only the top of the water. The Storm King would then have to find an easier target, and they wouldn't take part in the war.

[Adderbane]

So it looks like ponies are up for round 3 in Death Battle.

I bet this is going to be pretty good considering how well they did with the Pinkie Pie vs Deadpool one. Probably see some nice clips of the Twilight/Tirek battle when they do their usual "yes this is MLP but it's actually a lot cooler than it sounds" bit.

[DigoDragon]

So it looks like ponies are up for round 3 in Death Battle.

I bet this is going to be pretty good considering how well they did with the Pinkie Pie vs Deadpool one. Probably see some nice clips of the Twilight/Tirek battle when they do their usual "yes this is MLP but it's actually a lot cooler than it sounds" bit.

Probably end up more like the Pinkie/Deadpool one where they end up making friends instead of finishing one another off. Still could be entertaining.

[meto30]

This isn't October, and these aren't even done in ink, but still, some Inktober 2017 prompts were good excuses to draw ponies.


...Well, pony. My bias for Sunset Shimmer seems to be mounting ever higher!

Spoiler: Behold my waifu

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[DigoDragon]

This isn't October, and these aren't even done in ink, but still, some Inktober 2017 prompts were good excuses to draw ponies.

...Well, pony. My bias for Sunset Shimmer seems to be mounting ever higher!

Hey, I can dig your tastes in pony. She is a cutie and really carries the EQG series.

Hmm, I didn't see that third one before. Not sure if mermare or seahorse. ;)

[Aotrs Commander]

Whelp, Nanny's in hospital again; her chest ifnection hasn't cleared and she hasn't been drinking and eating for the past week. Dad saw her yesterday and seemed okay, but when we went round this morning, she looked grim. So my sisters had the doctor out, and they've taken her in for chest x-rays and the like. Naturally, my mate who I was going to play with tonight is also running dead late (he said "can I meet you there," and I laughed and said "nope!" - Can't get the box out with only one of us.)



But, I did see something that made me snort and laugh - an advert for a light-up Celestia, during which the phrase was uttered "Princess Celestia. On every adventure, she lights the way!"

I am a terrible, terrible person for finding that so funny.

But we knew that already.

[zimmerwald1915]

Whelp, Nanny's in hospital again; her chest ifnection hasn't cleared and she hasn't been drinking and eating for the past week. Dad saw her yesterday and seemed okay, but when we went round this morning, she looked grim. So my sisters had the doctor out, and they've taken her in for chest x-rays and the like.

Sucks to hear, as always. Here's hoping they can get her drinking again, anyway.

But, I did see something that made me snort and laugh - an advert for a light-up Celestia, during which the phrase was uttered "Princess Celestia. On every adventure, she lights the way!"

Support for my theory continues to accrue at an alarming rate.

[zimmerwald1915]

Season 8 arrives on March 24.

[Aotrs Commander]

Season 8 arrives on March 24.

Bloody hell, that seems fast, it only feels like a little while ago it was the finale...

Maybe I've just been busy...!

[Rater202]

Is this a bad time to mention that I never finished season five?

[Adderbane]

Is this a bad time to mention that I never finished season five?

A pity. Season 5 seems to be very well regarded.

[zimmerwald1915]

A pity. Season 5 seems to be very well regarded.

It's a heck of a lot better than Season 6, slightly worse than Season 7.

[digiman619]

Season 8 arrives on March 24.

Now if we only knew when DuckTales was coming back...

[Rater202]

Now if we only knew when DuckTales was coming back...

Gotta catch up on that, too.

Only thing I'm up to date on is Steven Universe. Unless we're counting webshows.

*skips off while humming Stronger Than You*

[digiman619]

Gotta catch up on that, too.

Only thing I'm up to date on is Steven Universe. Unless we're counting webshows.

*skips off while humming Stronger Than You*

I highly recommend watching it in production order (Whoo-oo!, Daytrip of Doom!, The Impossible Summit of Mount Neverrest!, The Great Dime Chase!, The Beagle Birthday Massacre!, The House of the Lucky Gander!, The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!, The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!, and then Terra of the Terra-Firmians!). Some things feel too compressed if you watch it by airdate as Webby gets a lot of focus all at once rather than spread out as was intended.

[DigoDragon]

Season 8 arrives on March 24.

During Spring Break... dang. Guess I'll see it at the tail-end of the weekend.

Is this a bad time to mention that I never finished season five?

It's not the timing that concerns me, but that you're two seasons behind.

Now if we only knew when DuckTales was coming back...

Rick & Morty too.

[b_jonas]

I wanted to tell you something about MLP and why I enjoyed the season 7 finale so much. And you were just talking about ranking the princesses of Equestria from best to worst, which is just the right cue for this.

Spoiler: MLP-related rant

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Basically, MLP keeps repeating this strange empathy story. The most obvious version of it was in Equestria Girls*1. Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are obviously different people. Sunset is a brilliant social hacker who keeps the whole school under her power, manipulates students so they drift apart from the protection of the other students without them realizing. Twilight is Princess Celestia's star student, a big geek who's just been thrown into the deep with becoming a Princess. But past that differences, Twilight can see what they share, and gets through to Sunset with that.

I'm a total sucker for that story. And the Equestria Girls creators have figured out that it works well, and so reused it for EG3, EG4, and EG5 episode 3. This is part of why I enjoyed EG3 so much, although it has lots of other merits, and also why I could still enjoy EG4 even though it generally doesn't live up to the quality standard set by the previous three films. Then S7 E25..26 did it again, which was just perfect. It seemed to me like EG5 specifically prepared Starlight for the finale, but frankly it could have been the reverse, depending on the in-universe chronology.

But I actually grown to like this story even before I first saw EG1 or EG2, when watching the main series. Only there the target of the empathy is usually not a villain, but just somepony who's feeling a bit sad. Luna is the absolute master of this: she cheers up foals all the time. She cheers up Scootaloo and nudges her to befriend Rainbow Dash in S3 E6. She cheers up Sweetie Belle and lets her reconcile with Rarity in S4 E19. She does her part in S4 E25 when the three princesses together try to give confidence to Twilight to feel better about how she got converted by Princess Celestia's side and now devotes her whole life to serve as a friendship princess. In what might be her hardest task yet, she goes on to cheer up Apple Bloom, who's still obsessed with her future cutie mark, in S5 E4. Each of those times, Luna managed to weave the story of her own life into her words, highlighting how she understands other ponies through what they share with her. To Scootaloo she said "Everypony has fears, Scootaloo. Everypony must face them in their own way. But they must be faced, or the nightmares will continue.", which is something you wouldn't get to fully understand until S5 E13. She was more obvious when talking to to Sweetie Belle: "I understand what you're going through, Sweetie Belle. I too have a sister who often shines more brightly than me, and with this, I have struggled.", and to Twilight as well.

We finally get Princess Luna's best appearance yet in S6 E8, she sings a solo to Snowfall Frost, talking her off from magically abolishing hearth's warming eve. When I was first watching that episode and realized that Princess Luna was about to sing for the second time, I was jumping up and down from joy. I'm on record saying that it's totally worth to become an evil wizard for the reward of getting Luna to sing to you.

Occasionally somepony other than Luna can perform the similar cheering up trick. You'd think that Rainbow Dash is the least likely to be able to do it, but nevertheless in S4 E5 the situation was just perfect for her to be able to teach about loyalty, and she was able to push just the right buttons with all three Cutie Mark Crusaders to get them through the crisis. I might count S4 E13 Simple Ways, in which Applejack manages to teach Rarity what happens when she tries to force herself to keep up an act about being someone else than she likes to be. Applejack seems to still remember what it was like when she got her cutie mark. S5 E12 is the easy mode example: Twilight manages to get through to Moon Dancer because she sees the obvious resemblance with her past. I call this easy mode because outside of Equestria Girls, Twilight doesn't really excel in empathy, and you can see here how much she's struggling to pull this lesson off. But unlike in EG1, it's really easy for her to find what they share, the resemblance is just so uncanny.

The strange thing is that this kind of story seems pretty much exclusive to MLP. In almost never happens in any of the other fiction I read. (I might be reading the wrong kind of stories of course.) It's not that there's a lack of empathy in the characters in other media. It's just that even when the hero finds a way to understand the villain through her own self, and tries to talk to her, it never works. Almost nobody outside of MLP can ever just talk a villain off what she's about to do. Susan Calvin manages to understand why Herbie is lying to everyone, talks to her and explains how his lies are hurting everyone, and eventually makes Herbie really understand the consequence of his actions so he just can't continue lying. The ending isn't something you'd put in MLP though, because when understanding what he's done, Herbie commits suicide. (I wouldn't say that Susan found something she shares with Herbie, but we can ignore that, some of the MLP examples aren't perfect either.) The most any hero can achieve with empathy is understanding the villain enough that she's able to forgive his crimes, or to defeat the villain by conventional means but be haunted forever after about the thought of whether she should have done that.

-----

Other stuff.

"Princess Celestia. On every adventure, she lights the way!"

Except she didn't light the adventures of Princess Twilight, so Twilight had to sit up all night with nothing to read by but the light of her own horn (S4 E22).

> In S7 E23 Secrets and Pies
> Pinkie: Okay. All we need is a dot of salt, a dab of sugar, and a spritz of ginger.
> Twilight: Uh... Are those real measurements? How do you keep track without a recipe?

I'm very inconsistent.

The washing machine chemicals have the dosage written carefully on the side of the bottle. The right amount depends on the amount of clothes you're washing, how dirty they are, and how hard the tap water is. The bottle also always comes with a big cap that acts as a measuring cup. I use the cap to put the right amount. A full load of cotton shirts needs a bit more than a full cap of detergent, and half a cup of the rinse agent. My mother doesn't use the cap, she just pours liquid straight from the bottle to the washing machine. When I was that, I'm always amazed, just like Twilight above. How can you just pour them? What if you put the wrong amount? If you put too little, the clothes might not get properly washed, or the washing machine could slowly get damaged by the lime; if you put too much, the clothes might come out with some soap stains remaining in some places.

I just mopped all the floors. The ceramic tiled floors with bleach, the wooden tiled floor with special parquet washing chemical. I don't bother with the dosage with these. I just pour some liquid straight from the bottle to the mopping bucket of water. Two swags is the right order of magnitude. Twilight would be amazed at that negligence. What if I use the wrong amount of chemicals?

Season 8 arrives on March 24.

Bloody hell, that seems fast, it only feels like a little while ago it was the finale...

Yup. The series always seems to continue too early, as in, so early that I couldn't digest the existing episodes yet.