My Little Pony XXVIII: In the Crazy of 40.000 Posts, There is Only Pony!

[Aotrs Commander]

Hey, AotRS commander, I have a question that is surprisingly somewhat related to ponies. Do you play D&D? Specifically, 3.5

Well, it's more like 3.Aotrs at this point, but yes (weekly in fact...) 3.5 tends to be our system of choice these days. (The second choice being Rolemaster, which is why things like 3.5's grappling rules have never bothered me - and why we only selectively take bits from the splatbooks...)

[Mystic Muse]

Well, it's more like 3.Aotrs at this point, but yes (weekly in fact...) 3.5 tends to be our system of choice these days. (The second choice being Rolemaster, which is why things like 3.5's grappling rules have never bothered me - and why we only selectively take bits from the splatbooks...)

Do you ever allow homebrew? I was thinking of turning a particular monster into a playable class.

It's a combo of a dragon and a pony. I think it's obvious where I'm going with that...

[Aotrs Commander]

Do you ever allow homebrew? I was thinking of turning a particular monster into a playable class.

Well, considering I am more-or-less the only one that makes any homebrew (even when I'm not DMing, I'm still considered primary rules-smith of the group, and everyone else tends to adopt my rules) and the reason it's 3.Aotrs is mostly because of the scads of house-rules, modifications and additions...

Notably, my campaign world Dreemaenhyll specifically has rules for nonhumanoid character races (which basically are a combination of "race" and "class", completely replacing the screwy LA system).

(Unicorns and dragons are among the races... Though the former are rather different to pony unicorns. And the latter start off as Tiny at ECL 1...)

It's a combo of a dragon and a pony. I think it's obvious where I'm going with that...

I think it is and I approve...

[Strife Warzeal]

Since we are still on the subject of pony dreams, unfortunetly I've never had one. Do dreams about ponythread itself count? I would say who posted in it but all I can remember SiuiS there and our resident lich too. Maybe the next step is pony dreams *crosses fingers*.

[Vent Reynolt]

FFRP: Blue Ponies Yay!

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*eep* Oh no! I wasn't offended I just never know how a pegasus will react when I tell them I'm a flying unicorn *ahem* And I admire him for his mind, so there! *sticks out tongue* Though I would be lying if I said I didn't think he was cute when he blushes *ahem* So I take it that you've known him for a while?

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Now it's Autumn's turn to giggle for a bit, as Raindrop blushes even more. He looks like he is going to try to say something, but words fail him at the moment. Oh yes, I've known him for a while. You see, ever since Shadow, who by the way, really hates it when you use his full name: Five O'clock Shadow. Anyway, ever since he stepped down as our weather team leader about 2 years ago, Raindrop was assigned to our weather team because he's got all this training from the Cloudsdale Weather Academy. I just thought it was fascinating to see a unicorn so interested in weather control.

And now I meet another unicorn who flies?! So what do you do? Are you a weather unicorn too, or do you do something else?

Raindrop seems to have recovered enough to say something. Um... Autumn, don't you have to make sure that the night weather shift is taken care of?
Don't worry about that. Wings has the night shift.
You left Wings in charge.
Yep. A smile crosses Autumn's face as Raindrop's falls with worry.
All by himself?
Yep!

I gotta go. As Raindrop gets up to run out, Autumn blocks off his escape.

Hold up now! I was gonna let you find out tomorrow morning, but the opportunity was too perfect. Whatever mess he makes, you can deal with later. For now, you've got a date to finish.
It's not a date!
Now be a good little pony, and stay with your date. I'll just be here to keep things interesting.
Fine, but I'll get you back for this! Putting Wings in charge! You've gotta be crazy!

Hrm. My pony dream was rather mundane in comparison. It consisted of reading this thread. Yeah, that's it.

Funny you should mention that. I had a dream a few weeks back where my best friend and I ended up in some sort of parallel universe/alternate dimension/whatever, and at some point while trapped there, I ended up browsing that universe's version of Ponythread. Everything was all topsy-turvy! Two things that really stood out to me were firstly, that that universe's version of Aotrs Commander was an over-the-top, scenery-chewing, cliched, megalomaniac (also, his faction and rank were different, but I can't remember what they were). The other thing that really stood out to me was that the version of Thanqol was extremely terse, and almost exclusively responded to posts with pony reaction images/image macros. There were several other oddities, but I can't remember them at all.

I either need more ponythread, or less; I can't tell which right now.

CrazyTwi's and Cuddlepiles (barring a better name)

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Amish pops his head out from a fast-growing wall of pillows, complete with what looks to be a fully functional portcullis and gate. Somepony has to defend the cuddlepile from crazy Twilights, and it might as well be this pony. He blows a feather off of his snout. "Aye, we're going to need a messload o' pillows (and possibly some additional building permits) at this rate...whoops, hold that thought..."

He quickly opens the gate to let a pony-shaped blur (because I cannot remember Vent's character right now) flying-tackle-glomp the pile before closing it just as fast.

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Just so you know, the character is Autumn Breeze. She's from the Blue Ponies RP. She's an orange pegasus whose mane and tail are mostly red, orange, and brown. Her cutie mark is of three leaves being blown by the wind.

Midnight's Great Big Cuddlepile:

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*Midnight giggles gleefully, as so many ponies dive under the bed to join in on the cuddle pile! Her horn glows, and just happens to make the legs of the bed a little taller, so that everypony will be able to fit comfortably. After all, it's not a good cuddlepile if somepony is uncomfortable!

"Eee! Pretty soon half the thread will be under here!" She sounds very delighted at that, and somehow is managing to at least be in contact with everypony all at once! Those new wings and nimble tail are proving very good for that.

Stop it, that tickles!

W-wha? No! Bad Midnight!

*Midnight sticks her head out of the pile, and looks at this new pony.

"Uhm...excuse me? I'm no tempting anypony!" She pauses, and looks back at the pile. "Okay, maybe I'm tempting them a little, but there's no law against that!

Yeah, just cause we're all hiding under Midnight's bed and cuddling while completely naked, doesn't mean that anyth-

Oh, now I see how this could be misconstrued.

[Mystic Muse]

I had a dream that Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle were the same pony. I don't remember much of it, but she was an Alicorn, and it seemed to be Twilight's mom who was the mother.

[Aotrs Commander]

that that universe's version of Aotrs Commander was an over-the-top, scenery-chewing, cliched, megalomaniac (also, his faction and rank were different, but I can't remember what they were).

So apart from the rank thing, pretty much identical then...?

[Titanium Fox]

Do you ever allow homebrew? I was thinking of turning a particular monster into a playable class.

It's a combo of a dragon and a pony. I think it's obvious where I'm going with that...

I approve.

Since we are still on the subject of pony dreams, unfortunetly I've never had one. Do dreams about ponythread itself count? I would say who posted in it but all I can remember SiuiS there and our resident lich too. Maybe the next step is pony dreams *crosses fingers*.

I would say they count. I'm pretty sure I've dreamed about some of the ponies in here too, but I can't remember.

Midnight's Great Big Cuddlepile:

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Yeah, just cause we're all hiding under Midnight's bed and cuddling while completely naked, doesn't mean that anyth-

Oh, now I see how this could be misconstrued.

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"But... You know we don't wear clothes anyways, right? The whole naked thing doesn't change anything."

[Vent Reynolt]

So apart from the rank thing, pretty much identical then...?

Pretty much, but much more prone to villainous speeches over the most mundane of things. (I have feeling that he was also much less effective at being evil, but since it has been a while pretty much all details have been forgotten.)

[Aotrs Commander]

Pretty much, but much more prone to villainous speeches over the most mundane of things. (I have feeling that he was also much less effective at being evil, but since it has been a while pretty much all details have been forgotten.)

More prone... I didn't think that was physically possible! The mind boggles...

[Mystic Muse]

I approve.

You should be seeing it within my monster thread in my signature within a week.

[Vent Reynolt]

More prone... I didn't think that was physically possible! The mind boggles...

Dream worlds. Logic need not apply.

[Capt. Ido Nos]

D&D ponytalk reminds me.

Next session I'm going to cast Mount for the first time, and get my own little pony. With the knowledge that I'm rolling with Elf!Twizard, who should it be?

[Titanium Fox]

D&D ponytalk reminds me.

Next session I'm going to cast Mount for the first time, and get my own little pony. With the knowledge that I'm rolling with Elf!Twizard, who should it be?

Trixie!

[the_druid_droid]

Another note is lethality. I really want it to be non-lethal, but I've had some bad experiences with perceived player immortality...

That's my hand, as far as I can remember it. Any pointers, suggestions, questions or critique appreciated.

Regarding lethality, what seems to work well in most of the Heroes and other mostly-FFRP games is that players go in with an understanding that they'll be mostly immortal, so long as they don't attempt obviously stupid or game-breaking things. Basically, you have a buffer right up until you think you can single-hoofedly take on the Emperor/Big Bad/etc. Then, if you're dumb enough to try, and your number comes up, that's it, re-roll.

The gist of a conversation I had with my Mum about half an hour ago;

Her: "I had the strangest dream last nght"
Me: "Oh?"
Her: "We were in Yorkshire, looking at [detail forgotten] when a flying horse appeared"
Me: "Flying horse, as in pegasus?"
Her: "Yes. Well, it was more like a pony, silvery grey."

My mother is having pony dreams, despite never having watched the show, or had any exposure to it at all.

Frogstart: "And yet you still chickened out about mentioning your (not so) little equine obsession. Wimp."

We're catching! Yay!

I haven't had any pony dreams, but I do tend to have strange pony related thought chains when I'm laying in bed waiting for the alarm.

For example this morning I was thinking about the fact that ponies apparently use the same names for days of the week that we do, which led to a thought about the norse names for said days (Wodan's day, Thor's day and the like) which led to a vision of Celestia & Luna posing as the members of the norse pantheon using props, huge fake mustaches, and a variety of amusing hats.

I decided that the whole affair ended when Luna lost the big hammer thingy and the ravens flew away with the eyepatch and the mustache collection.

I don't need dreams, my waking mind is strange enough as is.

Were you around during DBC's time? He had quite an interesting theory that made Equestria an extension of the World Tree...I think Celestia and Luna were Loki's daughters, actually, a la Sleipnir.

I know I've had a few pony dreams, but I sadly can't remember them. I seem to remember most of them were of the variety where I was with some of the mane cast, but I don't think I was a pony. It was just me doing some weird, random things with the mane six.

Ah! I stand corrected, I just remember one:

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One time, as I was falling asleep, I had this vivid sensation of something soft being draped over me and this feeling of incredible closeness and intimacy. I felt small, in the sense of being powerless as well as physically small. It didn't feel very good, and I started to be afraid. Just then, that feeling of closeness grew sharper, and it felt like two larger, warm bodies were snuggling up next to me. I can't remember anything they were saying, but I just know they were whispering reassurances and calming me down. I often talk to myself mentally, and despite not being able to remember what they said, I swear I could physically hear their voices. In hindsight, it felt an awful lot like I was a foal, and my pony parents, apparently pegasi judging by the wings they covered me with, were snuggling me to sleep.

For the life of me, I can't remember if I was asleep or awake during all of this, and I have no idea how I just remembered all that.

That actually sounds like a nice dream, once the initial creepiness wore off..

Speaking of dreams, here are the ones I can recall:

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1.) There was one a long time ago involving Pinkamena. Yes, that Pinkamena. *shudder* We'll just move on...

2.) Last night I had a weird dream where I was watching the show/playing an interactive game on a smartphone. I was trying to type in some combination of numbers to color in RD's mane, but I kept screwing up. The weird part was that she was freaking out onscreen in real time as I messed up her mane, which only made me more nervous so I failed more... It was kind of disorienting...

[Vent Reynolt]

Trixie!

Are you suggesting having Twilight riding Trixie?

Also, mount is an awesome spell. Just wail until you get Regal Procession! Then you can have all of the little ponies. Each one can even include a "Heraldic or personal symbol" Cutie marks anyone?

[Lix Lorn]

D&D ponytalk reminds me.

Next session I'm going to cast Mount for the first time, and get my own little pony. With the knowledge that I'm rolling with Elf!Twizard, who should it be?

Trixie!

Trixie. xD

[Capt. Ido Nos]

Are you suggesting having Twilight riding Trixie?

Also, mount is an awesome spell. Just wail until you get Regal Procession! Then you can have all of the little ponies. Each one can even include a "Heraldic or personal symbol" Cutie marks anyone?

I like it, I love it.

Oh! I'm going to work in the cutie mark as some sort of personal glyph, of which I'll be casting and drawing everywhere I can. my DM even foolishly had a traveling merchant have a magic unending stick of chalk. You know THAT mess is going to be used for mass graffiti at every opportunity

[Titanium Fox]

Are you suggesting having Twilight riding Trixie?

Trixie. xD

*Snickers, leans in close to whisper and points to Midnight*

Sure wouldn't be the first time.
I am so sorry I couldn't resist the joke that was a perfect setup and you know it.

[Eakin]

More tales from the helpdesk!

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IT at this company doesn't support the program Salesforce. From our point of view, people just kind of started using it. He asked for it on a loaner, and I told him this.

"...But it's on my other computer."

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that IT does not support the program. The best I can do for you is to direct you over to the Salesforce website or your manager."

"...But it's on my computer! Right here, see?"

"...I know. We have nothing to do with the program though. I'm not sure who put it on that computer, but it wasn't us."

"An IT Personnel in Vancouver put it on."

"We don't have any IT support personnel at the Vancouver site."

"...But it's on my computer!"

Aaaaarrrgh. I'm going to have an aneurism by the time I'm 25.

Shadow IT is actually really bad. Users find a program that works for them and download or use it without considering what kind of technical problems or security issues they're creating.

There was a round table discussion I saw on it a while back on how to address that kind of thing

I see your evil Fluttershy GIF and raise you an orphanage

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[Forum Explorer]

Regarding Pony dreams its hard for me to tell which ones are actual dreams or just daydreams that slipped into dreams or perhaps its the other way around?


Anyways the list!

The only one that I'm positive is a dream was a brief argument with Twilight about magic. I was a pony in this one.

The one that I'm sure was originally a daydream:

Celestia bursting into my room crying about being called a tyrant and a troll. I felt really guilty and was trying to calm her down when the dream shifted.

The other ones are just a confused jumble of ponies.


I'm just worried about the inevitable zombie pony dream.

[Raz_Fox]

On the subject of Pony Dreams: I know I have had Ponythread dreams, but the exact details escape me. The strangest dreams are always the ones where you're doing something completely mundane, and it's strange in the weird way that mundane stuff always is, given the chaotic, madcap world we all live in, and then you - or, rather, I - hear the alarm clock and realize that I was dreaming about posting in Ponythread.

...I think somepony needs to add 'Intolerance' to the list of OFC targets

Triiiiiiiiiiiiiixie.



Well, what a fantastiiiiiiic idea you have there Trixie that would be a greaaat addition and I already have an idea for the first target-

"Um, boss, sorry about this, but I think you really need to get off Ponythread before you do something you'll regret- oh, goodness, somepony pry him away from the keyboard, for Celestia's sake!

NO NO GERROFFME VENGEANCE WILL BE MIIIIIIIIIIIINEeeeeeeeeeeee

"Ahem. Talespinner here! Discord!Raz and the Pure and Honest Fox Raz are making sure that Raz_Fox can't hurt himself in an attempt to... oh, sweet Celestia, he's actually frothing at the mouth, I thought that was only the kind of thing that happened in stories. And now he's thrashing around like, er, you know that crazy Firebender chick from the finale of Avatar? Yeah, that chick. Um. This is awkward. Just forget this ever happened. Ooooooh-wooooo, you are being hypnotized into forgetting this."

I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE AND IT WILL BE A BITTER FRUIT LIKE A LEMON A LEMON OF PURE HATRED THAT BURNS DOWN HOUSES AND BRIDGES YOU WILL TASTE MY LEMON TRIXIEEEEEEEEEE

[AlterForm]

I can't believe that nobody's linked to this yet:

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...It still bothers me that the left arrow isn't recolored for being offbeat.

[Capt. Ido Nos]

Pony Princess, one of the community item makers from the last TF2 update just made a celebration post on reddit. Good on him/her!

Pony Fortress on the brain now.

[Irbis]

Sure wouldn't be the first time.

I approve

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Why is there Japanese text on the front?

I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE AND IT WILL BE A BITTER FRUIT LIKE A LEMON A LEMON OF PURE HATRED THAT BURNS DOWN HOUSES AND BRIDGES YOU WILL TASTE MY LEMON TRIXIEEEEEEEEEE

Naaah, you didn't eat enough pure asbestos first :P

Speaking of which, why there are suddenly so many weird Twilight pictures around?

[MCerberus]

Speaking of which, why there are suddenly so many weird Twilight pictures around?

*flies around using propeller hat and speaking in a mocking tone*
tardy tardy tardy!

[Titanium Fox]

Cracked takes a pot shot at Bronies. Well, kind of. This particular author just literally took a two word potshot at us at the end of his article. For no good reason. Seriously, take a look.

[Capt. Ido Nos]

Cracked takes a pot shot at Bronies. Well, kind of. This particular author just literally took a two word potshot at us at the end of his article. For no good reason. Seriously, take a look.

You know what? I was about to, and then I decided that I didn't want to give Cracked the traffic if they're going to do something like that. I will just sit here and keep watching Fluttershy trample that orphanage instead.

[EsperDerek]

Cracked takes a pot shot at Bronies. Well, kind of. This particular author just literally took a two word potshot at us at the end of his article. For no good reason. Seriously, take a look.

Not really here yet, just had a couple of minutes before work and managed to sneak some Wi-Fi. Can't respond to everything, but I checked this, and I think I get the joke.

The whole point of the article is lecturing ponies on how if you don't try to understand others, you end up making incorrect assumptions of them. In this case, she uses quiet people.

In the end, she says first "Basically, nobody's wrong, except for people who aren't willing to accept the other group of people they don't understand. " And then uses the "And Bronies." crack. I think it's hypocritical humor, she lectures for a few pages on how to treat a group, and then turns around and pins assumptions on a completely different group of ponies.

That's not to say that it's funny. It's pretty lame, actually.

[Eakin]

Cracked takes a pot shot at Bronies. Well, kind of. This particular author just literally took a two word potshot at us at the end of his article. For no good reason. Seriously, take a look.

Not really a shot, it was clearly a joke.

A joke she stole from one of the Austin Powers movies, where it was originally "the Dutch"

EDIT: Also, the highest rated comment currently in the comments section concludes "f**k you ponies are awesome." Considering it's cracked I think that was a neutral-to-positive reference to us.