My Little Pony XIX: I Emptied Your Thread

[Kris Strife]

I still say that while it's funny, that's like watching X-Men and concluding that there are four men for every woman.

It certainly applies to Ponyville.

[Kurgan]

Ah man. Now we have to build a new Thanqol. Anypony have any tinker toys?

Will legos suffice? Or for a cheaper option, cardboard, duct tape, and a blanket? We could totally turn Thanqol into a raging blanket ghost. Might even splurge on some googly eyes and glue to see that.

[darthbobcat]

It certainly applies to Ponyville.

Hence why Applejack had to find Soarin out of town, and why Braeburn is going to pick off one of the main 6 (Twilight or Dash, leaning towards Twilight for the fun of the opposites attracting). In my continuity, at least.

[SiuiS]

I still say that while it's funny, that's like watching X-Men and concluding that there are four men for every woman in the Marvel universe.

gonna have to agree with Bobcat on this one. As much as utopia would be more utopian with more women than men¹, there's no real evidence for this.

And we are why alignment debates happen, my good chum...

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I am using my powers for good. (the lighting isn't too good; can you tell the grin is smarmy? I'm not good at drawing smarmy).

Sorry, Lix Lorn. Between the lighting and my tiredness, I won't be able to draw the comic. It was (is, probably) going to be

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a Lix pony multiplying by two. Various playgrounders score her at between 5-7 with cards. The announcer says she's got a total score of 9.9, and the forumites, confused, look sideways, and see Lix Lorn going herself a 10.

And a 10, and a 10, and a 10...

And then it zooms out to a Lix Lorn army all holding score cards.

¹ I like girls, so I'm biased.

[Kris Strife]

Hence why Applejack had to find Soarin out of town, and why Braeburn is going to pick off one of the main 6 (Twilight or Dash, leaning towards Twilight for the fun of the opposites attracting). In my continuity, at least.

So, Big Pink or FlutterMac?

[RdMarquis]

Will legos suffice? Or for a cheaper option, cardboard, duct tape, and a blanket? We could totally turn Thanqol into a raging blanket ghost. Might even splurge on some googly eyes and glue to see that.

What, no cloning? We could have an army of Thanqol.

[Aotrs Commander]

Why did you do that?!

Tales of derring-do, bad- and good-luck tales, woo-oo~ *sobs*

Bwahahahaha! Welcome to my world.

So, Winter Wrap Up.

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Seriously. I had it stuck in my head all day today at work, and it's been at least a week since the last time I watched that episode! It will never leave. It's like the DuckTales theme song, but with Ponies. I'll be humming it as an old gray man on my deathbed, long after I've forgotten where it came from.

I'm half convinced that the only reason I like it is because if I didn't, I'd go absolutely insane.

Zevox

Speaking of, you should totally clense your mental pallet by listening to the old G1 sea pony song. I garentee it will help clear your mind of Winter Wrap Up.

Would I lie?

Muhahahahahaaa!

I still say that while it's funny, that's like watching X-Men and concluding that there are four men for every woman in the Marvel universe.

gonna have to agree with Bobcat on this one. As much as utopia would be more utopian with more women than men¹, there's no real evidence for this.



¹ I like girls, so I'm biased.

When I first joined this thread, I did point out that there actually is a much higher ratio of mares to stallions in wild equines. They form harems of 3-35, consisting of one dominant mare, one "lead" stallion and umpteen other mares and immature foals, plus the occasional non-dominant stallion at the fringes.

So mares really should out-number stallions, by something like 2-6 to 1; and canon, as I pointed out at the time, largely bears out a disparity of at least some scale. So, no, it's actually not unlikely at all.

(Heck, it's even consistent in the prior generations too. It may be coincidental, but that doesn't mean it's any less realistic or plausible.)

Note that this is independant of current social structure, in the likelihood harems are no longer a function of society (though I'd hazard pony society would be liable to be much more tolerant to multiple lovers). The genetics would remain still. (Actually the harem/herd model is quite common among many mammal herd animals, not just equines.)

[ScionoftheVoid]

Ok! So. Everypony in my hotel room is asleep because they are wussies. GenCon's all over and stuff, because things end. It's part of that 'time' thing I've heard so much about. What this means is that I'm not home, but I've got time to post. Hooray!

And... I... you... y-y-y-y-y-y-you... f-filled... a thread. An entire thread while I was away. It was only for a couple of days! 50 pages! You know when I said I wasn't going to bother catching up? This is why! Cheese on toast, guys. What exactly were you all up to, anyway?

Highlights: We didn't succeed at the "one thread in one day" thing - which turned out to be fortunate because the mods wouldn't have appreciated it, we talked about Scootaloo for a while, there was a discussion on starship armaments and armour and the Commodore was stripped of his position as the thread's Sane Person after he was shipped with Lix and had a breakdown.

-(Now wants to make a series of "____ is my shoulder pony!" pictures)-

*Now wants to see said series*

[Kurgan]

What, no cloning? We could have an army of Thanqol.

I said cheaper. Cloning sounds expensive. Though, an army of blanket ghost Thanqols would be amusing. I have a feeling it would end up like this.

[Etcetera]

I said cheaper. Cloning sounds expensive. Though, an army of blanket ghost Thanqols would be amusing. I have a feeling it would end up like this.

Thanqol only has two settings?

[Kurgan]

Thanqol only has two settings?

I was more going for the fact that he would be unable to see, what with the blanket covering his body. However, it would be interesting to see what his two settings would be.

Art and Writing?

[Welf]

Ok! So. Everypony in my hotel room is asleep because they are wussies. GenCon's all over and stuff, because things end. It's part of that 'time' thing I've heard so much about. What this means is that I'm not home, but I've got time to post. Hooray!

And... I... you... y-y-y-y-y-y-you... f-filled... a thread. An entire thread while I was away. It was only for a couple of days! 50 pages! You know when I said I wasn't going to bother catching up? This is why! Cheese on toast, guys. What exactly were you all up to, anyway?

Welcome back.

It's a Phoe! High, Phoe! (get it? "high fee"? No? Psh. Fine, I'll try context next time...)

Believe it or not, from 25-45 of last thread was the most on-topic we have been since... Around thread 5. There are a couple neat highlights.

Scootaloo and why she can't fly.
Military application of Pegasus pony magic.
Starship technologies.

Um... There's more, but I can't remember any of it. Oh! And Inkwell did a Filly Phoe wi' yarn.

We've been talking a little bit about DarthBobCat's IASiF trilogy. The discussion about Scootaloo was related to that. I then tried to turn his story into an episode of the Jerry Springer show (or rather Maury, but I just like that "Jerry...Jerry...Jerry"). I suggested that Scootaloo is Soarin's daughter and that Big Mac would be jealous of Soarin with being a big fancy pony from the capital and all that. Then we tried to figure out how a fight between the two of them would turn out. And that's all I remember.

Science is based on consensus opinion, not individual opinion. As you age your brain loses plasticity--the ability to learn and understand new things; it's not a trait of scientists but of rabbits and dogs and humans too. It also doesn't really matter because new blood is constantly being added to replace the old. It all evens out.

The brutal circle of life. Which means that if you don't come up with something new in your 20s you will never. And your life is just another of billions that will have no effect whatsoever. [/darkness]

I just caught this.

What. The. Hay?! Seriously?! Everypony knows you use BCC so I won't see it, and then get mad at her for 'going through my private message folder'.

How did you catch that? Do you reread the old stuff? I hardly look back at the last page.
I wouldn't set her in BCC, that be inefficient. You'll end up the one being guilty for anything anyway. You're the boyfriend, that's how it works.

Aye, too much of a good thing, and all that.
Also, my own personal safety, but let's be honest. We are discussing me and chainsaws...

I have the same relation to anything that burns. One day I will set myself on fire, but it's just too much fun.

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Said before, but worth repeating: D'awww

>receive random text "Mmm applesauce"
>respond with picture

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Am I a horrible person, pony thread?
Or an awesome friend?

Nice hips

[Thanqol]

Will legos suffice? Or for a cheaper option, cardboard, duct tape, and a blanket? We could totally turn Thanqol into a raging blanket ghost. Might even splurge on some googly eyes and glue to see that.

Mask: Awesome!
Charger: I'd kind of prefer to be in an organic body, really.
Mask: Are you kidding? Lego, girl. Lego.

What, no cloning? We could have an army of Thanqol.

Charger: Now this I like.
Jayden: I especially like this if we all get individual bodies. And SiuiS does have those cloning fields...
Mask: Uh, the cloning fields of cannibalism?
Jayden: Oh hush up! He was joking! He was probably joking!

I said cheaper. Cloning sounds expensive. Though, an army of blanket ghost Thanqols would be amusing. I have a feeling it would end up like this.

Jayden: I vote that we build this robot.
Mask: I vote that we build this robot as well as get a real body.
Jayden: Whatever! Charger, we've got schedule time to learn robot design, right?
Charger: We've got schedule time to put a hose on a wheelie bin.
Jayden: I vote we find a wheelie bin!

I was more going for the fact that he would be unable to see, what with the blanket covering his body. However, it would be interesting to see what his two settings would be.

Art and Writing?

Jayden: Fire and Rock and Roll!
Charger: That's three. Also, Thanqol hated rock and roll.
Jayden: No, that's Batman.
Charger: Wait, Thanqol wasn't Batman? Why did he keep telling me he was?
Mask: Oh, my fault. We do that whenever there are small kids around.
Charger: Pretend to be Batman.
Mask: Why do you think we possess a cape?
Charger: ... Okay, whatever. Art and writing seem reasonable settings anyway. It's not like he did anything else around here.
Mask: How long, then, until the two bleed together?

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Charger: That long, I guess.

[erikun]

First of all: Welcome back, Phoe! I hope you had fun while away.

Am I a horrible person, pony thread?
Or an awesome friend?

You are horriawesome, and we love you for it.

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D'aww, that is almost the cutest little filly ever. No clue how that pair ended up together, though.

[Etcetera]

Mask: Are you kidding? Lego, girl. Lego.

Words will not suffice to express my relief that at least someone (or someone's sub-level personality construct) is using the correct word.

[Aotrs Commander]

Words will not suffice to express my relief that at least someone (or someone's sub-level personality construct) is using the correct word.

I second this wholeheartedly.

[EsperDerek]

We grow spares. Beyond that cloud bank yonder, there's a wide plateu just positively strewn with green glass capsules, a la mega man X.
Inside each is a tiny filly Midnight, vestiges from when cutting open EsperDerek was a thing, and he'd need replacement parts.

Almost everypony but me forgot they were up there, and what was supposed to be discrete organs and organ systems have had the time to become full ponies. It's a lonely job, growing and tending to a field of comatose Midnights, but at least I get to eat well. ;D

Oh, come on. I was joking!

I have better things to do with an army of nubile clones than eat them. like have a Gaming Group without schedule issues!

With having a constant supply of gamers? Food bills. I can barely afford to feed myself.
hheeeeyyyy. . .

I could combine the two!

Midnight, you like eatin' Midnight, right?
(Aw nuts, Esper went to bed, didn't he?)

*Midnight's jaw drops, as she awakens and begins to read this conversation, the revelation that there are apparently clones of her being used either as a meal, as gaming buddies, or...well, who knows what else. Her mouth moves, as if trying to process this information.

Her eyes suddenly flash green for a scant second.

"Why don't you come over here for a second, and I'll show you how much I like that idea?"

Yes! We are Battle Network buddies! From the glorious land where the internet runs on magic and contrived stupidity.

Heh, I loved that series too, at least the first three games. After that they got pretty bad.

Also, sorry to hear about your psyche fragmenting on itself what with your death and all, I'm sure you'll get it fixed soon.

[Thanqol]

Heh, I loved that series too, at least the first three games. After that they got pretty bad.

Also, sorry to hear about your psyche fragmenting on itself what with your death and all, I'm sure you'll get it fixed soon.

Mask: MMBN4 is well regarded as one of the most awful sequels of all time.
Jayden: But it did give us Anger Impact!
Charger: Like, half a dozen people in the world are going to get that joke.
Jayden: And thanks for the well wishes but I'm kind of hoping it stays this way. I get to be in charge! Wait a minute, I just realised that I'm the only one here who's never been ponified.
Mask: You say that so... enthusiastically.
Jayden: Ponies are cute. You got a problem with cute things? *Fist catches fire*
Mask: No! No! We'll see about getting you ponified.
Jayden: Damn right.

[EsperDerek]

Mask: MMBN4 is well regarded as one of the most awful sequels of all time.
Jayden: But it did give us Anger Impact!
Charger: Like, half a dozen people in the world are going to get that joke.
Jayden: And thanks for the well wishes but I'm kind of hoping it stays this way. I get to be in charge! Wait a minute, I just realised that I'm the only one here who's never been ponified.
Mask: You say that so... enthusiastically.
Jayden: Ponies are cute. You got a problem with cute things? *Fist catches fire*
Mask: No! No! We'll see about getting you ponified.
Jayden: Damn right.

MMBN4 was just unbelievably bad. I gave up about halfway through just because I could not play it anymore, and I don't usually give up on games once I'm playing them.

Ooh! Ooh! I can help with the ponification! Pick me, pick me!

[Kris Strife]

Ooh! Ooh! I can help with the ponification! Pick me, pick me!

I couldn't resist.

[Thanqol]

MMBN4 was just unbelievably bad. I gave up about halfway through just because I could not play it anymore, and I don't usually give up on games once I'm playing them.

Ooh! Ooh! I can help with the ponification! Pick me, pick me!

Mask: Halfway through... the first time? Because the game had to be played through a minimum of three times before you'd be done with it.
Jayden: I choose you, ponymon. Use whatever twisted sorcery you possess. I'll take notes.

[darthbobcat]

Bwahahahaha!


When I first joined this thread, I did point out that there actually is a much higher ratio of mares to stallions in wild equines. They form harems of 3-35, consisting of one dominant mare, one "lead" stallion and umpteen other mares and immature foals, plus the occasional non-dominant stallion at the fringes.

So mares really should out-number stallions, by something like 2-6 to 1; and canon, as I pointed out at the time, largely bears out a disparity of at least some scale. So, no, it's actually not unlikely at all.

(Heck, it's even consistent in the prior generations too. It may be coincidental, but that doesn't mean it's any less realistic or plausible.)

Note that this is independant of current social structure, in the likelihood harems are no longer a function of society (though I'd hazard pony society would be liable to be much more tolerant to multiple lovers). The genetics would remain still. (Actually the harem/herd model is quite common among many mammal herd animals, not just equines.)

Ah, but let's have ourselves a looksie at horse GENETICS. Horses do indeed use the XX/XY sex chromosomes (I figured they would, but I made doubly sure).

That means that we have three choices: statistically, a roughly equal number of males and females are born across Equestria, or else some sort of gender discriminatory birth control is practiced and practiced HARD, or these cute little ponies drive away large numbers of stallions at adulthood. Take your choice, but I prefer number 1.

Unless someone more knowledgeable about horses knows of a mechanism (like, a chemical mechanism or something) that results in an uneven number of live births, those are our three options.

[Dexam]

I know I said I didn't like it the first time I saw it, but Pinkie Keen is OK because:

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Honk.

I see your "Honk" and raise you...

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HONK!

[EsperDerek]

Mask: Halfway through... the first time? Because the game had to be played through a minimum of three times before you'd be done with it.
Jayden: I choose you, ponymon. Use whatever twisted sorcery you possess. I'll take notes.

Hey, look, I'm not a masochist. If I'm going to be banging my head against a game for 80+ hours, it actually has to be a game that I actually like to play, no matter how aggravating it can get. (Hello there, SMT: Strange Journey.)

*Midnight claps her hooves together eagerly!*

"Oh, great! Now, this spell was adapted from the djinnification spell, it's based on the same principals, but instead of turning ponies into djinni, it should turn non-ponies, into ponies! I mean, as long as I've done my research properly, but I'm the daughter of Twilight Sparkle! I read as well as I breath! It should be just fine."

*Midnight's horn glows, and she attempts to 'ponificate' Jayden!

[darthbobcat]

I see your "Honk" and raise you...

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HONK!

"Some day, sister! SOME DAY I SHALL WREAK MY BLOODY VENGEANCE. YOU'LL FORGET TODAY, BUT I WON'T! YOU'LL PAY! YOU'LL PAAAAAAAAY!"

[Thanqol]

Hey, look, I'm not a masochist. If I'm going to be banging my head against a game for 80+ hours, it actually has to be a game that I actually like to play, no matter how aggravating it can get. (Hello there, SMT: Strange Journey.)

*Midnight claps her hooves together eagerly!*

"Oh, great! Now, this spell was adapted from the djinnification spell, it's based on the same principals, but instead of turning ponies into djinni, it should turn non-ponies, into ponies! I mean, as long as I've done my research properly, but I'm the daughter of Twilight Sparkle! I read as well as I breath! It should be just fine."

*Midnight's horn glows, and she attempts to 'ponificate' Jayden!

Charger: I gotta draw this now, don't I? Hold still, I'll be a few minutes.
Jayden: BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!

[EsperDerek]

Charger: I gotta draw this now, don't I? Hold still, I'll be a few minutes.
Jayden: BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!

*Midnight blinks, and tries not to fall over when asked to 'hold still'. After all, she never says no to this sort of thing! But she does comment:

"That's actually a pretty good evil laugh you have there. I'm impressed. "

[Grif]

Oh god. Someone crossover-ed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with MLP on ponychan.

I know where I'm going to spend the next hour doing.

[Etcetera]

Oh god. Someone crossover-ed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with MLP on ponychan.

I know where I'm going to spend the next hour doing.

Link?
Link, or I will end you.

[Thanqol]

*Midnight blinks, and tries not to fall over when asked to 'hold still'. After all, she never says no to this sort of thing! But she does comment:

"That's actually a pretty good evil laugh you have there. I'm impressed. "

Jayden: Thanks! Now look upon thy work!

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Mask: ... she's prettier than me.