My Little Pony XXXIV: There is Pony of it, no exceptions!

[grimbold]

true non heretical theory:

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Alicorns are gods, and were always worshiped by ponies though never did they appear physically, except maybe to devout worshippers. And that is why they were represented on the first Equestrian flag.

But during the Discordian Age, the hope and fervent prayers of ponies mixed with the ancient friendship magic, and thus the perfect fusion of all pony races are made manifest, in fact, they are friendship magic incarnate. There should be no doubt to their divinity or their divine right to rule.

There, I said it, can I be let go now?

edit: frankly this makes the origin of Celestia and Luna that much closer to How the Emperor of Mankind were created. 40k Pony Canon?

this seems like a fairly good idea if i understood everything right

[Bayonet Priest]

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Leaving aside any questions raised about the nature of the Sisters and what not I really liked this episode. Just as an episode it was a lot of fun, it was very funny without getting quite a zany as Lesson Zero. I liked the military dictatorship pegasi, I liked the callback to Starswirl the Bearded. Pinkie played someone named Chancellor Puddinghead who... wore pudding on her head. That sounds about right to me. Fluttershy was adorable and I loved sarcastic straightman Applejack.

It was a lot of fun.

[Lord Raziere]

On Season 2, Episode 11

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Hm. Windigos must only do this during the winter. otherwise all the the other episodes where ponies conflict would've caused blizzards as well.

either that or the threat of the Windigos is much less right now since Celestia and Luna came.

I am now beginning to think a human being would not survive in Equestria, mostly because I would start hating Windigos and they would feed off my hate for them and freeze me. humans are too negative. the ponies only thrive in their world because of their unique adaptation towards optimism and friendship.

good episode though, can't wait to see more history, I like history.

[Kurgan]

Episode thoughts

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In regards to nitpicking, as mentioned, the flag shown is the current flag of Equestria. It's used since the audience is more familiar with it. I guess it's similar to some plays using more modern versions of the American Flag when the design may not be accurate for the era.

As for the raising of the sun and moon, I believe they said unicorns, plural. It probably took a whole group of their strongest mages to do it, and Celestia and Luna are powerful enough to do it by themselves.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode for what it was, worldbuilding. The mane cast played the parts very nicely. Not as filling as an episode of character development, but still tasty. Just a different flavor.

Um....just curious, you had all that in a quote and not a spoiler. Is this from the episode itself, something you took from elsewhere, clicking the wrong tags? Anywho, just bringing this to your attention since while I'm generally fine with spoilers, I know others aren't.

Well that explains the phrasing then. Read. The. Books.

No!

Eh, I'm not much a reader, but if I would I'd definitely read the series. It's actually more fun this way too. I can't imagine trying to keep information you might know about the characters to yourself, though I'm really good at playing my characters even if I know info out-of-game that I shouldn't. Our player who has read the books, he is not so good at it.

Yeah, Wheel of Time was fun back in the day, but I don't know. When I was 13, they were the awesomest thing since awesome came to awesome town. When book....eleven I think (last one before Jordon died)? Anyways, by the time eleven came out, I just had trouble getting into them again.

I'd say my favorite part of WoT is the world building, not the actual story or characters themselves.

Also yeah, playing in a set setting like WoT, you need to basically say "ok, screw canon and lets just have fun!" By trying to hook the game into the books too much, you are just asking for pain and tedium.

[Eakin]

S2 E11

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It was... nice.

Seriously, I was hoping for a bit more than what we got. I kinda feel like it had a double dose of cheese this week in place of it's usual all-ages charm.

Pinkie stole the show, obviously, glad to see her get a bit more screen time.

Regarding the flag, I assumed it was a modern Equestria flag since otherwise the sisters being on it but absent from the story makes no sense.

Also, I find it slightly creepy that the world enforces friendship via Eldritch Abomination-esque blizzard monsters

[Zevox]

New Episode:

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Well, this one was okay. It's always nice to learn a little about the history of a fantasy setting, but other than that there weren't really any highlights for me. The resolution did seem excessively cheesy and a bit forced, but I guess they didn't want to make this a two-parter. Oh well. Not one of the great ones, but I will take it over the Crusaders and Rarity-centric episodes we've had this season at least, and maybe also Mare-do-Well.

Zevox

[Lord Raziere]

In Response to Eakin

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Yea, between Discord, Windigos and the insanity of the ponies underneath that potentially lead to things like Nightmare Moon, its starting to seem less like "friendship is a voluntary virtue" and more like "friendship is a survival mechanism" which is somewhat more pragmatic and realistic thing that can be taken away from the show.

[Deadly]

So something unrelated: Equestrian wedding rituals.... thoughts? How do ponies celebrate weddings? Who performs it? Stuff like that.

[Gamerlord]

So something unrelated: Equestrian wedding rituals.... thoughts? How do ponies celebrate weddings? Who performs it? Stuff like that.

This made me think, what do Earth Ponies and Pegasi wear instead of rings? They have no horns.

[Sean Mirrsen]

S2 E11:

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Well, the Christmas thematics aren't particularly enjoyable to me (Russians don't celebrate Christmas in quite this way), but on the overall I guess it's a passable episode. Pretty funny in a lot of places, especially where Pinkie was present. I half-expected it all to turn into a disaster-ish spectacle a-la Ember Island Players, but oh well.

As for the three windigos and the conspicuous absence of the Princesses... epileptic tree time! The Windigos are actually the original Alicorns, transformed by exposure to the Great Fire of Friendship. Two became the princesses of the Sun and the Moon, but one mysteriously vanished, eventually reappearing in his new, twisted form - as Discord.

So, the roar heard when the M6 are arguing again at the end - those are Celestia and Luna, under the influence of their original Windigo forms. The whole thing with setting up the play for Hearth's Warming Eve is actually a ploy to concentrate Harmony and Friendship in Canterlot, to create the Great Fire again and prevent the Windigos from regaining control.

[Lix Lorn]

So something unrelated: Equestrian wedding rituals.... thoughts? How do ponies celebrate weddings? Who performs it? Stuff like that.

This made me think, what do Earth Ponies and Pegasi wear instead of rings? They have no horns.

Wow, we've literally had this conbo before xD

Episode demotivators:

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Pretty picture, wittiest caption I could think of.

I didn't think so.

Shipping goddess. I was contractually obligated.

Longest callback ever?

[Deadly]

Wow, we've literally had this conbo before xD

Were there any particularly good ideas or theories, then?

[Kairaven]

Were there any particularly good ideas or theories, then?

if I remeber correctly it was mostly necklaces and horseshoes.

think there were also discusion about rings weaven in braided manes

[Lix Lorn]

Plus wing ornaments for pegasi, IIRC. And tail rings?

[Bayonet Priest]

if I remeber correctly it was mostly necklaces and horseshoes.

think there were also discusion about rings weaven in braided manes

I think for pegasi each of them exchanging a feather was brought up too.

[Deadly]

Hmm... tatoos, maybe. Or a second "cutie mark". Though we don't see that in the show so maybe unlikely.

[AlterForm]

S2:E11

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Yeah, lots of awkward unanswered questions to handle now. Just watch those epileptic trees shake...

I keep wanting to feel kind of awkward about what the play suggests about how early pony society was structured, but then I remember it was a play and some parts were probably exaggerated a bit. Hmmm.

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Inorite? Those names were absolutely absurd. Earth? Why in their right mind would name anything Earth? I am disappoint Smart Cookie, you could have at least settled for Bob.

S2:E11

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I'm never calling it that.

[Newman]

THIS EPISODE WAS BRILLIANT, THAT IS ALL.

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But that final flag... it kinda bugs me... They proibably didn't want to bother with the history of equestrian flags, and basically did the equivalent of having George Washington raise a 50-striped flag.

As for the ham and cheese: it's a play. A "Birth of a Nation"-style, propagandistic, ancient, traditional play. Of course the storytelling techniques are basic to the point of being skeletal. Of course the dialogues sound forced and strange. Of course the nations are represented by one leader and one follower. The story, whatever's left of whatever actually happened, is condensed as much as possible, reduced to its barest elements. And while the characters are lively, they are also fairly flat and one-dimensional: they are pure plot devices, ALL of them. And the entire plot exists to serve An Aesop: don't be a ****. It's kind of a basic Aesop, but one that bears repeating.

Also, it's ironic how it's Rainbow Dash of all people that represents the Enclave.

@Russian Christmas: that reminds me of a play I saw this week about a guy who was in love with a very vain girl who, to torment him, asked him to bring her the Zarina's shoes as a precondition to marrying him. The guy tricks a demon into helping him, and after a very amusing ecounter with the Zarina, comes back to find that everyone thought he had killed himself. There's also a very silly B plot about his mother having nearly half the village as lovers, unbecknownst to each other, and the classical comedy that arises from that.

[otakuryoga]

This made me think, what do Earth Ponies and Pegasi wear instead of rings? They have no horns.

Unicorns couldn't really wear rings on their horns anyway unless they constantly used their magic to keep them there...if they nodded their heads the ring would slide right off since the horns are tapered fairly sharply

most fics where this comes up the author goes with bands on the foreleg or ear-rings

I think for pegasi each of them exchanging a feather was brought up too.

only place i have seen that is Kindnesss' Reward...though maybe others have used it also

[BlasTech]

Heh, Ep11:

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Nice thing to wake up to. A bit cheesy, and as subtle as a cake to the face, yes, but it's the christmas episode so it gets a pass.

Overall, I liked it better than Mare Do Well, because even though the lesson was applied rather heavily, I didn't feel like there was the same malice in how it came about.

Ok, on rewatch, I like the fact that the Leaders all got frozen first simply by virtue of the fact that they were standing further apart. Not sure if that means points for subtlety or symbolism, but will give it credit for that ^^

Other notes:

Pony heights confirmed, just measure them against that "Eight Foot(?!) Candy Cane Twilight spys at the beginning." Looks like the mane six are about 3 Feet (??!) tall. PERFECT HUGGING SIZE!

Fluttershy in that costume ... HNNNNGGGGHHHHH

AJ, Snarking up to 11 in this episode.

Naming the country Earth made me laugh. Something I caught on the second playthrough is that Pinkie calls the planet Earth too when she says "Newsflash .. the Earth is round there is no up or down"

Nifty carol at the end, but would have loved it to be a few verses longer.

Windigoes ... welp there's another creature of mass destruction to add to the list

Interaction between the Mane 6 was hillarious, particularly Pinkie's "helping" to get Fluttershy out of the box. (Magic is elastic?).

Casting choices were spot on! The three more disruptive ponies were all put in the leader roles, while the more tempered three had the advisor roles.

They seem awfully calm for a bunch of ponies being frozen solid

[Bayonet Priest]

only place i have seen that is Kindnesss' Reward...though maybe others have used it also

Hmm, you're right. I remember that now. I think it came up in discussion on here too though.

[Anarion]

Wow, we've literally had this conbo before xD

Episode demotivators:

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Pretty picture, wittiest caption I could think of.

I didn't think so.

Shipping goddess. I was contractually obligated.

Longest callback ever?

As a point of order, this was actually the longest callback ever, clocking in around 9 years.

[RdMarquis]

if I remeber correctly it was mostly necklaces and horseshoes.

think there were also discusion about rings weaven in braided manes

The ritual for earth ponies could involve working together to planting a tree or something.

Ep 11

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I basically feel the same way as a couple of you. It was a pretty good episode, but I would have liked it better if it didn't raise more questions than it answered. I did like it, though, and I don't feel that there's anything wrong, personally, with the story of Equestria's founding. Pinkie Pie (well, Puddin' Head) was hilarious, and the whole thing was enjoyable overall.

[Lix Lorn]

As a point of order, this was actually the longest callback ever, clocking in around 9 years.

(EYEROLL)
I almost said 'except for that one' too.

[Gadora]

I'm still back on page two of the thread, and I'll be staying there until I watch the episode. Regardless, here, have some logs of the IRC discussion on the new ep. (EDIT: Through the magic of friendship, combined with Dropbox and Chatzilla, those logs will update automatically. Not instantaneously mind you, but, still, automatically.)

Cool, new thread. Will welcome it with open moogle

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Anyone here play Wheel of Time or have read the series? I got a Wolfsister named Fiona that I'm playing as close to Flutter shy's personality as I can. Even named my horse Twilight :) Gotta love the insane sense-like skills I got. Had to take several combat feats though to have any real use. Three levels away from taking a feat that lets me talk to any animal, not just wolves.

I actually came close to picking up the game the other day. I don't care for what I've heard about how it models the setting's magic though.

[Thanqol]

New Episode General:

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Meh. Reads like a propaganda drive rather than a myth. I, personally, see no reason why this should contest with anypony's fanon; it's clearly as inaccurate as any other Christmas movie in circulation.

This one is getting judged way harsher than usual, though, because I'm soaked in mythology up to my ears. The episode was all right, nothing more. Bottom of the S2 heap for me, just over Mare Do Well (which I've decided is my least favourite pony episode of all time, which is a real pity given how many cool concepts it invokes).

also an insane heretical theory

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Discord unwittingly caused his own down fall by mixing pony genetics during the Discordian Age and inadvertently created the Alicorns. who's vast magical power comes into focus with the magic of friendship to forge the elements of harmony.

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I don't buy this because it implies I can't ship cross-species. Unless you're talking about... oh my god. The only way to get an Alicorn is to have a parent of all three pony races. And the only way to do THAT is to use Esperderek's Book.

QED the Book is Discord's evil doing.

Thoughts on the new episode:

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Wait a minute, Twilight's character mentioned Star Swirl was her mentor, and Luna implied she knew Star Swirl....despite apparently not existing at that point in time. Then again, maybe Luna is a bookworm like Twi.

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AHA! A PLOT HOLE! I KNEW IT! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!

So something unrelated: Equestrian wedding rituals.... thoughts? How do ponies celebrate weddings? Who performs it? Stuff like that.

With pegasus ponies, I've always been a fan of the notion that they give the gift of a feather, which their other half affixes to their own wing. "And may a part of me always be with you".

Also, I'm unable to get the image of anyone other than Derpy performing weddings due to one comic I saw ages back.

[legomaster00156]

Episode thoughts.

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This was a really, really fun episode. I liked the Derpy appearances at the beginning, and it continued to be good well afterwards. I paricularly enjoyed the mention of Starswirl. The story was an interesting one, although since it pretty much rips apart prelaid canon. Are the alicorns needed at all for what their established duties or raising the sun and moon? When did Discord rule? How could they have a flag of Equestria when the alicorns hadn't entered the picture yet?

[Pendulous]

I actually came close to picking up the game the other day. I don't care for what I've heard about how it models the setting's magic though.

Channelers are horribly overpowered and can basically do anything. There is no penalty for doing certain things, like weaving two weaves in the same round (that's a quickened spell in D&D terms). Plus over-channeling and stuff that makes them cast at a higher level. It's insane. Also, our DM is running it a little differently than the book, because the book came out around the fourth or fifth book, so things are different. Which is fine, but I'm seeing a bias toward certain classes. He's giving our Asha'man pretty much everything in the world, while most of the other players are getting crap. Though I can't say much, there's not much item-wise that benefits me. Except normal combat gear.

[HalfTangible]

New Episode General:

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Meh. Reads like a propaganda drive rather than a myth. I, personally, see no reason why this should contest with anypony's fanon; it's clearly as inaccurate as any other Christmas movie in circulation.

This one is getting judged way harsher than usual, though, because I'm soaked in mythology up to my ears. The episode was all right, nothing more. Bottom of the S2 heap for me, just over Mare Do Well (which I've decided is my least favourite pony episode of all time, which is a real pity given how many cool concepts it invokes).

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I don't buy this because it implies I can't ship cross-species. Unless you're talking about... oh my god. The only way to get an Alicorn is to have a parent of all three pony races. And the only way to do THAT is to use Esperderek's Book.

QED the Book is Discord's evil doing.

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AHA! A PLOT HOLE! I KNEW IT! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!

With pegasus ponies, I've always been a fan of the notion that they give the gift of a feather, which their other half affixes to their own wing. "And may a part of me always be with you".

Also, I'm unable to get the image of anyone other than Derpy performing weddings due to one comic I saw ages back.

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TBF, if Luna was born shortly after the formation of Equestria and Star Swirl was so influential, she definitely would've been taught about him. Heck, every kid in america knows who George Washington is, and he was alive around 200 years ago.

[AlterForm]

With pegasus ponies, I've always been a fan of the notion that they give the gift of a feather, which their other half affixes to their own wing. "And may a part of me always be with you".

Also, I'm unable to get the image of anyone other than Derpy performing weddings due to one comic I saw ages back.

Warning: Large Image

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Wuv, Twue Wuv ... and Muffinssssss

Fun Fact: That was sitting in my "WIP" folder for something like 6+ months. It was so old I was still using black outlines for everything.