Wired debuted a clip from the season opener: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/09/my-little-pony-season-two-clip

Youtube Alternate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSBKKPjfNA

Oh yeah, forgot to mention:

Discord is voiced by Q.

>>17890
That is the best piece of casting.

When you said Q I thought you meant James Bond's.

That's incredible.

>>17894
I thought somehow MrQ was secretly a voice actor. I may have c:'d excessively when I twigged it was John de Lancie.

My body is ready.

>>17897
Super big secret?
i am, just an unprofessional one
also he sounded duper super awesome

Clip Number Two: Electric Scootaloo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzQf5cEPxsM

>>17922
Their unique talent is fucking everything up.

>>17926
their cutie marks should all be gilligan's hat

Bob 2011/09/15(Thu)17:55 No. 17928 ID: 2ae337
File friendship_is_awesome.swf - (3.13MB , 780x480 )

So I'm guessing when it's finally out, you guys are gonna be like this?

Bob 2011/09/17(Sat)00:36 No. 17956 ID: 2eac65
File 131624501451.jpg - (86.31KB , 522x640 , LF_pony_sepia.jpg )

It's the big day, Ponychan! Brace yourselves for magic!

While we're waiting, why not take a look back on the season that came before? Here's an interview with series creator, Lauren Faust, on what it was like to work on the show.

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/09/exclusive-season-1-retrospective.html

Quite an enlightening page, in my opinion. Definitely worth a read if you want to understand just how My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic came about.

I hope I'm not the only one whose attention was caught by "I have a lot of irons in the fire right now".

D'aww, lookit the busy producer.

Thanks for the link, Calling Bud. That was a pretty interesting interview. One of these days I might just have to bookmark Equastria Daily.

Season premiere's up on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0j1PVk30k&hd=1

>>17928
Not really. I was hyped up about the premiere, but the first half of the pilot was a bit of a cold shower.
Firstly, the whole thing seemed rushed, like they suddenly had to pack two episodes worth of stuff into one.
Secondly, "the fate of Equestria is in your hooves now" is ridiculously cliche.
Thirdly, four months ago, when I read people complain about "The Best Night Ever" ruining Fluttershy's character, I didn't give it much thought. Now I know that feeling, because this episode ruined Pinkie Pie for me. Screwing everything and everypony you know for a shitty lame-ass sugar addiction? That's just... ugh. It's like she gave up before the central conflict even started. Yes, I mad. And I'm not even a Pinkie fan.
Fourthly, there's a gaping plot hole in why Celestia can't wield the Elements anymore. They just wrote that off as "because I say so", but jeez, Celestia, you raise the goddamn sun. Couldn't you have nicked the stones from the maze at least?

On to the good stuff.

Basically, I'm just happy to see more pony. As a plus, we got a peek into equestrian lore. Yay!
Discord's voice actor is simply magnificent. Mad props.
Same goes to Tabitha St. Germain, by the way. In the giant rock scene she made Rarity sound so passionate it almost, almost gave me a weirdest boner.
The background music has improved, or so it seems.

Aaand that's about it. Yeah.

I just wonder if Bitchyshy will get as popular as Pinkamena did relative to her "normal" alter-ego.

>>17963
Okay, a few things, Celestia can't wield the elements of harmony anymore because she wielded them WITH HER SISTER, and after she was forced to turn on her sister and imprison her in the moon, the elements left her as she was no longer harmonious with her sister. If she and Luna finally make amends in the second part of this episode they might be able to wield them again somehow but that'd be awfully rushed.

Second, Pinkie Pie was perfectly in character. She's all about laughter, surprises and happyness, and Discord at the time was doing things that she thought were fun and out of the ordinary, but later on at the balloon party she saw him for what he truly is.

Third, "The Fate of Equestria is in your hooves" is purposefully cliche. How can you not read that line and think it's not funny? It's in their HOOVES. Because they're PONIES. Little ponies even! The show pulls shit like this all the time, if you don't like these sorts of things I don't know how you couldn't have seen them so far.

BTW, Discord was voiced by Q from Star Trek TNG. That's why he was so great in this role.

>>17964
you mean being an all powerful crazy asshole?

>>17965
Yes.

Arguable Complexity 2011/09/18(Sun)04:58 No. 17967 ID: 42b5a9
File 131634707991.png - (103.67KB , 685x435 , 131619825931-mai_waifu.png )

The regal sisters made amends at the end of the previous season’s pilot. I know this whole setup is a plot device to make the mane six wield the Elements, all I’m saying is it isn’t well justified.

You make a good point about Pinkie, although I’m still not convinced. The impression I got was:
“Hey, Pinkie Pie, weird shit is going on all over the kingdom, help us fix it!”
“Fuck off! Free candy!
“Hey, Pinkie Pie, an ancient evil is about to dislodge Celestia and end the world as we know it. We need to work together and defeat it with the power of friendship.”
“Chocolate rain.”
She is the pony with an uncanny insight into how things work. She naivety she’s portrayed with in the first episode annoys me greatly. Maybe it’s only a big deal to me.

As for Celestia’s role, it’s not about me not catching the pun. It’s about Celestia going from “immortal and wise but bored ruler who isn’t averse to playing pranks on her subjects” to “troubled ruler caught completely off guard and losing control of the situation”. Not only these two contrast with each other a bit too much, the first image is more original too.

>>17967

Fuck completely spoiler'd posts

>I know this whole setup is a plot device to make the mane six wield the Elements, all I’m saying is it isn’t well justified.

Did you notice how the elements reconfigured themselves in season one to be represented by the main cast's cutie marks? The whole 'the mystical artifact is attuned to you, now, so I can't use it any more' thing is a plenty solid justification when we watched the artifact reconfigure itself.

Honestly, my biggest problem in the episode is that Discord is the lamest trickster god ever. He STARTED to trick Applejack and Rarity into screwing things up, but ultimately he just magic'd the shit out of them to change them into jerks. He was stretching with Pinkie Pie, but with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy he didn't even TRY to trick them before he used his mind control eyes.

It would have been more interesting if he had convinced Applejack that, if they completed this mission, the friendship would end; thus causing her to be dishonest and/or sabotage the mission because she values their friendship so much. Instead he starts to trick her, but then just goes 'pffft fuck it' and magics her into a liar. The worst examples are fluttershy and rainbow dash, where he changes both of them without any sort of seed. He used his stupid mind control eyes on Rainbow dash BEFORE HE EVEN OFFERED HER THE CHOICE.

This episode had John de Lancie playing an omnipotent trickster, even if he had a couple of weak lines. Therefore it is good, no exceptions.

Although, yeah, they've still got Dash and Applejack's supposed virtues backwards.

(Yeah, sod the swathes of black. The epsiode is up, watch it first, we're into spoiler territory now.)

>>17968
Yeah, although I did like the "oh fuck it" he did on Fluttershy.

I'm pretty sure you could point to any of them already "breaking" their power normally in series 1, too. Applejack has certainly lied, e.g. in the episode with Pinkie's surprise party.

But, hey. It's not as hideously contrived as the challenges from the series 1 pilot. :V

>Did you notice how the elements reconfigured themselves in season one to be represented by the main cast's cutie marks?
Huh. Honestly, I didn't. Not having rewatched season one might have something to do with this. I assumed there were always six stones that were supposed to belong to exactly six ponies.

>It would have been more interesting if he had convinced Applejack that, if they completed this mission, the friendship would end; thus causing her to be dishonest and/or sabotage the mission because she values their friendship so much.
Indeed it would. But if Applejack changed her mind and gave in to Discord within three minutes, it would look horribly unnatural. They probably had Discord resort to "brute force" of hypnosis to make it look more convincing.
If Thiessen is to be trusted, season 2 production was just as much a mess of nearing deadlines and rushed work as season 1 production was.

>>17968
Yeah, I was a little disappointed in the "trickster" thing. If he'd properly tricked everyone else and then just came down to Fluttershy and gone "fuck it," it would have made that section even funnier.

Fluttershy's hypnosis is probably the weakest since he went like that, she'll be the first to return to normal. With the others, there's some form of back-up and paranoia to help the illusion along, so even after they lose the hard hypnosis, they might slowly come back to normal thanks to issues Q gave 'em. Rainbow will likely be second to come down as well, but there was some basis still, applying to her own greed and vanity of her wings, even if she didn't make her choice without the mindwarp first. Then Pinky then it's a mix for Rarity and Apple Jack, but I'm betting Apple Jack comes back to normal last because she's the strongest pony in the group (with relating issues with her friends like the time she wouldn't accept any help from them thanks to her pride) and her downfall could be more stronger than the others. The consequences implied in her personal encounter with discord for this arc are also stonger, with the whole future vision that shows a common standard in kid's shows, the popular gang break-up.

You know that's gonna become true, it's such a staple of kid's shows that they have to do it legit with no mind control.

Arguable Complexity 2011/09/18(Sun)11:04 No. 17978 ID: a40e16
File 131636905071.png - (213.76KB , 796x446 , Без имени20110918215451.png )

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/everyday-im-shufflin

It's been what, thirty hours since the episode? The speed new content's being spread with scares me sometimes.

>>17977
>Rainbow will likely be second to come down as well, but there was some basis still, applying to her own greed and vanity of her wings, even if she didn't make her choice without the mindwarp first.

It didn't seem to me that it was greed or vanity that made Dash give in, it was more that Discord twisted her own virtue and pitted it against her. Stay with the girls and betray her childhood home, or try to save Cloudsdale and betray Celestia and the girls. As the element of loyalty, she was pretty much in a no-win situation.

Cloudsdale might not have been in any real danger, but the ponies are kinda naive in general, so hypnosis or not it probably wasn't hard to trick her.

the more people that replace p- with bro-, the more likely this might achieve bro-tier.

What does it mean to be a bro?
I'm imagining that as an opening line of one of NPH's songs. and it's beautiful.

I note from Wikipedia that the director of S2E1 is the same guy who did Sonic Rainboom and The Cutie Mark Chronicles. So, uh. If it seems to "derail" your favourite pony, now you know why. :B

He also did Swarm of the Century, aka "The Trouble With Tribbles, Ponies Edition", though, so isn't all bad.

 

Mentlegen. I don't want to bump the series 1 thread, but I feel the need to draw attention to InfinityDash's endeavour w.r.t. its music.

We gots us a medley. MP3 in description.

(Also, full length Winter Wrap Up Zone! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi0ooYV_H_U )

This thread is about My little Pony. Please don't talk about things that aren't My Little Pony. If you wish to discuss your Bro show, take it to Big Dumb Arguments or make a Bro thread.

Bob 2011/09/21(Wed)19:56 No. 18034 ID: 2eac65
File 131666021083.png - (152.53KB , 705x431 , yeah.png )

While we're waiting for The Return of Harmony: Part 2, here are my thoughts on Part 1:

It was fantastic! An excellent reintroduction of the epic fantasy elements included in the original two-parter. Discord is a quirky and still threatening villain who's already shown some character depth, and he managed to shake Princess Celestia out of her "gentle, calm, in-control" attitude, which helped develop her character, too.

The corruption scenes were nice, too. Applejack's made a sort of sense (she's slipped into self-delusion before), and Pinkie Pie's was great (because she's about playful laughter, not derisive laughter). Rarity's wasn't too good, though; it was basically "oh look shiny wall, blarg I am hallucinating". It was funny that Discord just gave up and zapped Fluttershy, because it showed that he isn't really playing by the rules, but I'd have preferred if he had actually done something to challenge her kindness. Rainbow Dash's was the best of them, because it invoked the classic virtue dilemma: abandon her friends, or abandon her hometown; a situation with no apparent answer.

There were a few problems with the episode. First, the way they just zapped away the ponies' wings and horns (though the earth ponies didn't seem to lose anything). It felt kind of like they needed to take the heroes' powers away to provide them with a challenge. Combined with Twilight's failed "spell to fix everything", it leads me to feel that they aren't handling things line Twilight's magic as well as they could be.

There's also Discord's powers, like the aforementioned dismemberment. At times, he seems to be just too powerful, leading to questions like "What else could he have taken away?" and "If he can do that, what does it matter what the heroes do?" It invokes the bad kind of hopelessness that tends to crop up in supernatural horror stories, wherein the challenges of the story are essentially random and meaningless, with only the whim of the villain/author to dictate the hero's success or failure. NIghtmare Moon was intimidating, but you could get a clear sense that her power, though great, had limitations (she mainly used shapeshifting); with Discord, his abilities are so vaguely defined that he almost seems to be omnipotent.

Overall, though, it was a fun and entertaining episode with great action, drama, plot and characterization. I'm eagerly awaiting the next one.

>>18034
Q is basically all powerful compared to the enterprise yet he no matter how much of a dick he was he never outright attacked them. he likes messing around and being a pain. so i am certain that discord gets FUN out of dicking with them. he could of slew them with a wave of his hand but didn't because it's too easy.

>>18035
Well, yeah, but Q worked because of the themes of Star Trek. Discord is a straight up villain; putting him on the same level of power gives the impression that the only reason the heroes have a chance is because he doesn't feel like winning yet, which compromises his menace factor and makes the whole "epic quest" seem less meaningful. Maybe it could work in some stories, but I personally don't like it.

>>18037
>Discord is a straight up villain
I think this is possibly a mischaracterisation. From the relatively small peephole of a single episode, he seems pretty Q-esque omnipotent trickster, and giving their playthings a semi-sporting chance is SOP, because that's fun.

>>18038

>and giving their playthings a semi-sporting chance is SOP

Except that he specifically magic'd them to fail. This would be like if Q mind-controlled Riker to keep his Q powers to win the bet with Picard.

At least Discord doesn't turn ponies into stone.

>>18040
You have to admit, statue gardens are more scenic than prisons.

Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFbNCjZ8d40

Gentlemen, even taking into account the apparent lack of screen time and the rushed ending it led to, I'd call this episode a major success.

Discord was still classy as hell (up until the last few minutes), I'm gonna miss him. Excellent dialogue, a dozen of new expressions/reaction faces and a couple of potential memes to boot. And a huge homage to SW that totally flew over my head because I never watched the old movies. Sigh.

I just wish they'd come up with something more profound than "Twilight tells them to snap out of it and they do". I guess I'm just nitpicking.

Oh and is it just me or Twilight's voice changes a bit during the library scene? The way she talked while annoyed was strangely distracting.

Actually, I found Part 2 rather disappointing. The characterization was great, and I liked the depiction of "total chaos", but I thought some plot points were badly handled.

For one, the "Twilight restores everyone's personality through magic". As generally-defined as Twilight's abilities are, she hasn't yet used a sudden new spell to resolve a plot. It would have been much more meaningful if she had restored them in a way that addressed their issues, rather than just mind-zapping them. For example, she could have restored Rarity's sense of generosity by showing her the outfits she made for them, and reminding her that she loves gems because the help her make other ponies beautiful, not just to hoard them for herself. The other season-opening episodes were better about that. Though I liked how Celestia sent back Twilight's friendship reports to help her; that was a nice touch.

Also, Discord wasn't very active. His character was a lot of fun, but he didn't do nearly as much as the first part. Apart from revealing the trick in his riddle (which doesn't really count), he mostly just taunted the ponies and let chaos happen. Nightmare Moon was much more proactive, and she did more in the final battle, too; Discord just... well, like I said, it was almost like he only lost because he didn't really try.

Overall, it was still a great episode, but there were a few glaring flaws that stood out for me.

They created too powerful a villain that the only way to have him lose was due to an insane amount of hubris on his part.

>>18053
Yeah. He was basically a god.

>>18052

Well, I think it only fits that she just casts a "dispel magic" spell to bring them back to normal, since Discord went for the cheap way too and simply hypnotized them in the first episode, rather than actually exploiting their weaknesses and make them doubt.

But in their defense, I guess you can fit only so much in a 22 minutes episode.

>>18057
Is it just me or did Discord seem kind of...well just a little bummed when Twilight had given up and wasn't paying any attention to him.

Probably me reading into stuff that isn't there. Goddamn having a shipper for a boyfriend.

Well, that was pretty lame. Twilight uses magic, Discord basically gives up.

I guess it got Star Trek-grade writing to go with Q. :V

>For example, she could have restored Rarity's sense of generosity by showing her the outfits she made for them, and reminding her that she loves gems because the help her make other ponies beautiful, not just to hoard them for herself.
This would have been a substantial improvement over Twilight Inverts The Tacyhon Flux.

>>18061
Nah, I was expecting that to be the cue for him to get bored and end up re-colouring the ponies to make them more fun, which would then ultimately be his undoing. Rather than apathy. What the fuck, Larson, you hack.

Oh well. I guess it isn't really much better than the Series 1 pilot after all.

I figured the spell wasn't so much undoing the magic directly as it was some sort of reminder spell about their friendship, which basically showed them season 1 the same way the letters did for Twilight. They even showed the things Applejack was seeing, and abbreviated the rest for (I guess) time constraints?

It still wasn't terribly satisfying, and it would have been better if Discord just undid the magic to make the ponies more fun, but it really wouldn't have been better enough to be satisfying.

>>18066
Twilight does call it a "memory spell" during the baloon segment, so that is presumably the idea, but it still ends up coming across as "magic arbitrarily solves the problem". (And there I was thinking they were lampooning that with her failsafe spell failing right at the start.)

There's a lot wrong with Dash in that segment, too. If she's lost loyalty entirely, why does she desperately cling on to the cloud she thinks is Cloudsdale the whole time? If she hasn't, why is Ponyville dismissed as a dump, when her "failing" was putting it in second place when forced to choose? Second, not last. "I need to be here protecting Cloudsdale more let me back to Cloudsdale aaa", not "enh, it sucks and I hate you guys even though I haven't encountered any of you during your bitchy decoloured phase and my own one didn't involve being turned bitchy myself".

Part of the reason I didn't like the memory spell was because it didn't fit my previous interpretations for how unicorn magic works. All of the other spells we've seen have been physical in nature, like creating objects or lights, or turning things into other things; this is the first spell we've seen that affects someone's mind, apart from the "stop eating the food" spell Twilight used on the parasprites, and that was also out of nowhere (though it didn't resolve the conflict). This makes one of my big issues with the show slightly worse: magical forces whose abilities aren't really defined beyond "they can use magic".

If they're going to make extensive use of the Elements of Harmony in the future, they should give each of the wielders a specific power separate from the all-purpose Rainbow Friendship Combination Beam thing. For example, Rainbow Dash could get the ability to make her rainbow trail into a bridge, so no matter how fast she flies, she won't leave her friends behind. Or something like that.

Bob 2011/09/30(Fri)11:11 No. 18138 ID: 2eac65
File 131740628261.png - (276.15KB , 639x360 , maplejack.png )

Here's a thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa075ZlTUys

>>18138
Ponies have never been drawn so badly by people who are getting paid for it. Good god M.A.D. is shit.

Yes I am allowing for the existence of DeviantArt commissions.

>>18114
but only twilight can USE those spells. all other unicorns can only use spells related to their talent. like rarity can use that gem finding spell. they wont over this in the trixie episode.

Bob 2011/09/30(Fri)18:32 No. 18144 ID: 36fde9
File 131743275102.jpg - (44.73KB , 640x480 , darthluna.jpg )

oh me oh my

Bob 2011/10/02(Sun)18:45 No. 18159 ID: 78b9fc
File 131760633865.png - (146.64KB , 600x480 , beautiful.png )

>>18139

Everything is drawn so badly, not just ponies. It's a Robot Chicken ripoff. Only squares couldn't appreciate such beauty.

at least robot chicken has pacing and timing in its jokes
and doesn't get wordy or overexplanative as fuck
It's like every joke they do is in speed racer style, but they don't even notice it.

>>18164

Sure it's not nearly as good as Robot Chicken. Just that saying "the art is bad" is missing the point. That MAD thing is lame because they explain their jokes, because they change jokes too quickly, and because they don't offer any satire or insight into their pop culture references. That the art is cardboard-cutout is just an aspect of the style. Frankly I think they did the MLP part a bit too artistically. Should have been photos of plastic figurines or whatnot.

>>18165
"Good god M.A.D. is shit" was covering that without going into it because boring. I just commented on the most visceral, immediate objection. (tl;dr I agree)

(Robot Chicken? The style's more JibJab, or any other photo-collage-in-Flash thing.)

>>18166

Sorry I had been replying to your comment that "Ponies have never been drawn so badly by people who are getting paid for it." I am in total agreement that M.A.D is shit.

The main thing I got from the first episode was that Discord is an awesome villain.

The main thing I got from the second episode was that they needed more than two episodes to tell that story well.

i bet discord faked his re-stoning and is just leaving them alone for now since they passed his test.

>>18202
Me too, but to me was obvious since Episode One. They rushed the beginning way way too much, it really feels like a three-parter would hold it together better.

Flynx!Gatekeeper 2011/10/07(Fri)01:00 No. 18212 ID: 1bdc1e
File 131797444246.png - (85.36KB , 265x265 , c10fe5ced5360e9161e1df7ee7879eaa.png )

>>18204
This isn't really a show that is about longwinded epic stories; it wouldn't really work anyway. So it's okay they cut it short imo.

>>18204
It moved a bit quick in places, but I thought the first episode wasn't too bad.

>>18212
It could have been; Faust wanted it to be more story-based. If Hasbro hadn't vetoed it, the whole series would be like the first two episodes of the season.

I'm pretty sure it could work.

>>18251
>It moved a bit quick in places, but I thought the first episode wasn't too bad.
Yep, the first episode was a great first episode for an epic adventure story. But then they compressed the entire rest of the story into episode 2, so things felt kind of bare-bones.

>It could have been; Faust wanted it to be more story-based.
Ah, not quite. According to that interview, she was planning to have more Dragonshy-ish adventure episodes in comparison to the slice-of-life episodes. They decided to focus more on comedy because they were familiar with it and the adventure episodes take more effort to make.

However it is, I'm going to be very happy when they decide to make a video game.

Bob 2011/10/09(Sun)16:48 No. 18259 ID: 2563d4
File 131820408383.jpg - (222.63KB , 1250x702 , c7e606b727e58d282459c76e12265f45.jpg )

>GIS for Fluttershy references
Oh god my brain. Fluttershy why are you holding your angry self it only makes you sad.

Bob 2011/10/11(Tue)07:22 No. 18281 ID: 2eac65
File 131834296228.png - (185.16KB , 499x441 , twilight_snuggle.png )

>>18259
Homunculitis is growing increasingly common in modern-day Equestria. Sadly, many people do not understand this condition, causing much needless suffering and strife. Please support your local apothecary to help spread the word and give those suffering from this condition the care they need.

>>18259
>>18281
wtf?

 

Best thing.

And the second season starts for reals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX6-2y09J6s

Pissed off Celestia is definitely the bestia.

>>18320
Eeesh. Twilight's battle with Flanderised OCD and Hero Syndrome: not so great. For all the slightly increasingly Termite Terrace-ish quirky-twitchy-deformy animation, it was damn short on laughs.

And I really don't like the changes to the title theme. :/

Interesting to see the weaponised Sonic Boom, though. :V

Well. The new episode was... interesting. Neat way of starting a season. My thoughts:

Twilight's studiousness is getting exaggerated too much. It's slowly getting to the point where she seems less like a character and more like a thing to laugh at. Paqrt of it could be explained by Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome, but even when she's "normal" she goes too far.

Also, Spike doing a bit of meddling with the fourth wall. KInd of funny, but I liked it better when it was just Pinkie Pie who did that. Now it feels like she's lost one of her "things".

On the plus side, new title theme! I think it's more... "melodic", I guess, than the old one. Good way to mark a new season. The train was a bit out of place, though.

Twilight being silly with cupcakes. You know, if she was paying attention, she could have learned a lesson from that. "Sometimes, some of your friends will be more fortunate than others. It's good to share your good luck, but you can't always please everyone equally, and trying too hard can leave everyone worse off than when you started. Be happy for your friends, even when you can't share everything".

Rarity, being dramatic as usual. Which actually illustrates the episode's moral quite well; Twilight thought the ribbon was pretty small to be upset over, but she was willing to help anyway.

ATOMIC RAINBOOM! And Twilight Know-It-All tries to help without trying to understand the problem first. Fortunately, since that wasn't the moral of this story, it only led to a small embarrassment instead of a small apocalypse.

Fluttershy shows off her bear wrestling skills. Or her massage skills. Makes me wonder where she learned. Maybe from Rainbow Dash.

And as her CMFIS deepens, Twilight manifests another new spell at the worst possible time, single-handedly causing a disaster which messes up the whole town. My complaints about Twilight's excessive power are worsened.

Thankfully, the day is saved by Her Heavenly Radiance, God-Princess Celestia. Thereby proving that she does, indeed, have godlike magical power befitting of her station. It's also nice to see, again, how the other ponies react to her.

Overall, it was a fun little episode, and showed quite well what it's like to have a Solar Exalted hanging around a Dragon-Blooded circle. However, I think they exaggerated the wrong things, and that got in the way of the personal connection with the characters we got previously.

I enjoyed the most recent episode. :V

I thought the Discord episodes kind of muffed the concept a bit, but this one had me entertained pretty much the whole time.

>>18346

Technically Spike was messing with the fifth wall, the way in which the story is told, not the fourth wall as in the audience.

I enjoyed this week's episode.

Especially for "I'm going to do what I do best! Lecture her!"

I'm really loving this season so far, these first two real episodes are close in quality to the best of the last season.

I liked how it contradicted the Luna fanon.

Except for the one about unshorn fetlocks.

Jukashi!!WzMJSzZzWx 2011/10/22(Sat)14:27 No. 18393 ID: 5d184e
File 131931886076.jpg - (263.00KB , 750x675 , oldfashioned.jpg )

>>18391

Which is the one that I started.

:D

>>18391
Doesn't the Luna fandom contradict the Luna fandom?

>>18391
I dunno, it seemed pretty SadLuna compatible to me. It's obvious she has some trouble fitting in still.

Also, mmm. Unshorn fetlocks.

I thought that episode was complete bullshit. If they wanted to be scared all along, then they should've SAID SOMETHING when Luna kept telling them not to be scared.

It would've been cleared up in the first five minutes if that were really the case. If that wasn't the case, and people really couldn't let go of the whole Luna = Nightmare Moon thing, then nothing should've actually changed at the end when she figured out people seek out frights for fun. People would still get spooked when she wasn't trying to be scary.

>>18404
Furthermore:
>Celestia didn't re-integrate her properly with lessons on current ettiquite

The fuck?

>>18404
Yeah, that was one thing that really bothered me. It was like, there was this whole celebration centered entirely around demonizing and demeaning her, and no one considered how she felt about it. The only person who gave her any help was Twilight, and it ended with her learning to just let people have their "fun" at her expense.

>>18389
Great line, and indeed a return to form.

A pony being swarmed by spiders? Man, the "too scary for children" brigade must have been asleep. :V

Bob 2011/10/29(Sat)16:57 No. 18505 ID: 78b9fc
File 131993265629.jpg - (160.34KB , 827x639 , equestria1.jpg )

>>18504

It seems like someone needs to be shown what Africa (not Iranian militants) is like.

>>18505
I didn't make the image. I know South Africa is basically civilized, high incidence of gang rape notwithstanding.

Bob 2011/10/31(Mon)11:55 No. 18515 ID: 2eac65
File 132008734127.png - (566.54KB , 1280x878 , Applevanni.png )

In honor of Halloween: vamponies!

Bob 2011/10/31(Mon)14:03 No. 18519 ID: 2eac65
File 132009501764.png - (597.99KB , 1280x932 , Malkie_Pie.png )

Though some would dismiss the clan as being mentally disturbed or merely "quirky", those who pay attention to them will come to appreciate the unique insights they offer.

I see you...

>>18515
All right I can see Pinkie Pie being a Malkie but what traits doe Apple Jack share with the Giovanni's?

A head for business.

Bob 2011/10/31(Mon)16:03 No. 18523 ID: 2eac65
File 132010218992.png - (727.61KB , 1280x1001 , Tremere_Sparkle.png )

Here's a Twilight vampire.

>>18520
I think the logic is that she's all about being loyal to her family and such. Of course, some will fit better than others.

I'd have thought Applejack fit as Bruja, just by virtue of being a small-town sort of a filly, not an authority worshipper or monger.
Rarity is obviously Toreador.
Fluttershy can be nothing but Gangrel, even if it's not a perfect fit.

Also these designs are quite good, especially Twilight's.
The names, not so much.

>>18521

Giovanni don't even have a head for business. They have a head for necrophilia and everyone hating them. Ventrue are the business clan.

Putting applejack in as a Giovanni analogue is an incest joke.

>>18533
I really didn't want anything but that was the only connection I could get too
But that's a retarded joke in the fandom, so I disqualified it as a possibility, Pinkie's and Twilight's have fitting canon traits

>>18533
That's not the only kind of "family loyalty".

>>18541
Unless you listen to Freud :V

Bob 2011/11/01(Tue)00:33 No. 18543 ID: 2eac65
File 132013283613.png - (651.63KB , 1280x936 , Tzimishy.png )

>>18524
Well, this is how things turned out. Apparently, it's because all of the clan's various Disciplines represented her abilities surprisingly well.

>>18541

I know that, I'm saying that it's an incest joke and that's why it is stupid.

>>18543

Dominate: Arguable, Given that she only ever seems capable of persuading animals (which dominate doesn't work on) Animalism would obviously be better. People tend to like her a lot (Applebuck Season, et al), but that's more like Presence.
Potence: Yeah, she's definitely the strongest of the main ponies.
Necromancy (THE ICONIC DISCIPLINE OF THE GIOVANNI): Fucking no.

Let's compare some others!

Brujah:

Celerity: She is definitely one of the fastest ponies, competed with outside of flying only by Rainbow Dash.
Potence: Discussed earlier. Perfect Fit. Also Iconic Brujah Discipline.
Presence: Everyone sure does seem to like and respect her a lot!

Let's try Ventrue!

Dominate is a wash, but Presence is still there. Fortitude also works great for Applejack. They also tend towards business enterprises (Applejack is the most enterprising pony), Favor Tradition (Winter Wrap-Up, Applejack was the one that actually got upset at Twilight for Magicing), and often take Leadership Roles (which applejack frequently does as well).

Giovanni doesn't really fit at all, it just gets potence. That is it. Setting Applejack as Giovanni is 100% incest joke.

Oh, and despite the ugliness - Nosferatu is a far, FAR better fit for Fluttershy than Tzimisce is.

>>18545
It's because she's part of a large, close-knit family, that's all. That's the logic behind it.

>>18547
I can see that, after all, the first we see of her is when she's surrounded by the entire Apple family at a reunion. Which isn't too far from VtM: Bloodlines' introduction to the Giovannis, they were having a party and a lot of the family was there. I forgot if they considered it a birthday/embrace party or family reunion or if it was about getting the sarcophagus.

>>18547

Then I guess my mistake was thinking far too highly of the people behind this, because that is even more retarded than an incest joke.

A large close-knit family is neither a defining feature of applejack nor the giovanni. In applejack's case it is entirely based around a family reunion that was happening in the first episode, and in the giovanni's case it comes from the one-two punch of incest references and everyone hating them for being untrustworthy, deceitful murderers.. They are quite possibly the WORST fit for applejack, except for maybe the assamite.

The actual (and not retarded) correlations are:

Applejack - brujah, or ventrue if you really want to avoid duplicates.
Twilight - tremere is perfect.
Pinkie - malkavian is ideal.
Rarity - toreador
Rainbow dash - brujah
Fluttershy - nosferatu

Bob 2011/11/01(Tue)09:57 No. 18550 ID: 2eac65
File 132016663491.png - (610.45KB , 1280x888 , Rainbrujah_Dash.png )

Here's what comes next.

>>18548
Well, it's hard to be exact about it, since we're talking about two entirely different series. If there were a vampire clan that was all about gathering blood from humans to trade with the others, that might be a good fit, but you've got to work with what you've got.

As for Fluttershy, the way it was explained is that Animalism represents her affinity with animals, Auspex helps her empathize with others' feelings, and Vicissitude helps with her medical practice and could make her beautiful despite her physical and social awkwardness. There was also the idea to give her a clan that didn't have Animalism, because her affinity with nature is unusual, but apparently that didn't pan out.

>but you've got to work with what you've got.

When 'working with what you got' leads to picking two things that are complete opposites, but each have one scene in one piece of media with a family reunion, as corollaries for one another, the problem isn't the materials you have to work with.

Even the Followers of Set would be better than the Giovanni. They are at least peddling SOMETHING.

I think you are focusing too much on the incest, there. Now, I have never played VtM, but from what I can read about the clans, Giovanni is the third best fit for Applejack [with the fact that mafia jokes are made about both of them, if you ignore in the incest], with perhaps the Brujah and Ventrue making more sense. But then you end up with what the other restriction to these kinds of mash-ups commonly: only one from column A for every slot in column B. So, Brujah and Ventrue make sense for AJ... but hey make MORE sense for OTHER characters.

And the Followers of Set seem to make LESS sense to me than Giovanni.

And who said that only 6 of these pictures were made?

In other words, I think I might be putting up the Exalted set after these are done. Partially because I'm not sure if Jukashi has seen them.

Bob 2011/11/01(Tue)16:56 No. 18557 ID: 2eac65
File 132019181435.png - (597.29KB , 1280x888 , Torarity.png )

>>18554
I'd disagree on the Brujah. They're all about being individualistic and aren't too well-organized; it's a good fit for Dash, but it doesn't work for the Apple family at all.

Now, Ventrue, they'd work well, since Applejack's all about business and being loyal to her community. But then again, they also favor the higher-class sorts such as nobles and academics. So I guess the author went with Giovanni for the "family business" aspect and for having a widespread, closely connected clan; of course it's pretty different, but that's just what you'd expect when you try to compare a children's relationship comedy with a supernatural crime thriller.

Bob 2011/11/01(Tue)19:04 No. 18562 ID: 2eac65
File 132019947215.png - (621.05KB , 1280x976 , Lunasombra.png )

And here's the Princess of the Night herself, as the vampire queen of darkness and shadows. Because she once blocked out the sun. That was the main reason.

>>18554

>So, Brujah and Ventrue make sense for AJ... but hey make MORE sense for OTHER characters.

Ventrue makes sense for 0 other characters in the show. Absolutely none of them. Even Celestia is more of an Old-World Tzimisce than a Ventrue.

And, once again, the reason for the 'close knit' nature of the Giovanni is that nobody trusts them, everyone wants to kill them, and thus even though the Giovanni even hate each other they stick together in an attempt to not be murdered. Social advancement in their circles is gained by blackmailing and gossiping about their clanmates (remember that their social circles consist almost entirely of other Giovanni!).

Also I'm not overstating the incest thing here. I can't speak for Bloodlines, but incest references were all over the place whenever Giovanni popped up in the books. It was ridiculous. They were always the biggest joke of a clan. The clan who was 'wiped out' and had their leader Diablerized by Giovanni to creat the Giovanni is both more relevant to AND more active in the oWoD metaplot than they are. They are seriously only in the setting to be smarmy, gossipy incest jokes.

Honestly, thanks to the similar appearance of the Venture clan with the suit, one could just Photoshhop out the name and symbol, plus the A hairband and replace the name with a Venture pun and BAM fixed clan.

Ventrue love the fuck outta suits.

Bob 2011/11/01(Tue)19:27 No. 18566 ID: 2eac65
File 132020083143.png - (581.09KB , 1280x888 , Princess_Celestrue.png )

And the other half of vampiric nobility falls under the dominion of...

>Celestia as Ventrue
>MFW Koldunic Sorcery
>MFW Tzimisce's whole schtick is being vampire royalty

Yeah somebody does not know their shit.

>Celestia and Luna
>Not Cain and Abel

>>18571
Man, I know Caine is that guy that always wins but isn't Abel just dead in that setting? Or did he get kick-ass powers too eventually or in another game like Werewolf, Mage, or Changeling?

Abel is basically a non-issue.

>>18575
Abel's deadness is a pretty decent parallel to being trapped on the moon for just short of eternity.

I think Dark Age Salubri fits Fluttershy the most, better than Nosferatu and Tzimisce, at least based on actual personality traits and conceptions instead of Disciplines.

Salubri don't get enough love, where the hell is all the lame players that overkill playing a fucking rare as hell race? Is it just completely a big fat no to roll as one of those motherfuckers?

Bob 2011/11/02(Wed)06:49 No. 18580 ID: 2eac65
File 132024174970.png - (638.44KB , 1280x890 , Caitiff_Mark_Crusaders_Coterie.png )

Of course, there are those who haven't found their place in vampony society; some of them choose to band with other outliers, while others try their best to live up to the majestic beauty of their elders. Look at them! Isn't it adorable how hard they're trying?

Sadly, the magic of friendship is far from abundant in their world, and those not fortunate enough to be part of a clan may go their whole unlives without a place to belong. Let's hope a better future awaits these three fillies.

Inb4 zecoravnos

>>18578
Or just nobody plays Dark Age.

>>18578

Outside of Dark Age there are seven Salubri at any given point in time.

Unless you count the antitribu that just sort of popped up out of nowhere, which would be a silly thing to do since they're completely different.

I know there are only seven legitimate Salubri at any given time thanks to their "eat the sire" practice, I'm just surprised there isn't a rash of players rolling as one of those seven because lord knows everyone loves "rare" stuff so just kinda surprised there's no large amount of Salubri characters out there, drow on a quest of redemption or spiting their races moral alignment style.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/03(Thu)11:56 No. 18600 ID: 869052
File 132034659759.png - (1.13MB , 1044x1280 , dawn_caste_applejack_by_rhanite.png )

Hey, you know what I said earlier? I'm going to do this thing. First up, Dawn Caste Applejack.

I wonder how quickly I should post these...

Bob 2011/11/03(Thu)12:10 No. 18601 ID: 2eac65
File 132034742406.png - (1.36MB , 1920x1080 , My_Little_Masquerade_Wallpaper1920x1024.png )

>>18600
I wasn't quite finished with this series yet.

Okay, now I'm done. Unless someone wants the taller version.

>>18601
Oh, sorry. I wasn't sure if the group picture 'counted' as part of the series since... well, it's just a group picture with the existing vectors. Ah well~

>>18602
It's okay, I guess I should have posted it sooner. But now that it's done, it might be a good idea to delete and repost your picture, so that each set can be in a neat little sequence.

Maybe we should hold off on the Exalted ponies. The next episode is coming in two days, and It would be messy to talk about both at once. Unless you think we can post them all in about a day and a half, and I wouldn't bet on that.

Just a thought. I'm not too familiar with the proper etiquette for mixing cartoon ponies, vampire ponies, and demigod ponies.

>>18603
I really don't think there's a compelling reason not to post them.

I'm also not sure why you wouldn't just post them in succession instead of this weird spread out thing.

>>18607
I just thought it would be a bit of a bother to have conversations about two different topics at once. But if you don't mind, then go ahead.

It's not like you're interested in discussion anyway, you're just posting things and dismissing anything anyone says that doesn't agree with you. Might as well just post it all at once anyway.

>>18618
I didn't mean to be insulting. I just didn't want to turn the topic into a nasty argument. Talking different points of view can be fun and rewarding, but when it's along the lines of

>your ideas are shitty and retarded and you're a shitty retard too because this is the only valid point of view

then it's just unpleasant for everyone involved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok1rn5TP-Ws&hd=1

Apparently. I'm too busy to check that link right now and everyone else is too lazy.

>>18625
I'm mad at Celestia making all the girls write down their lessons now. I thought "Oh wow, absolutely no Twilight Sparkle this episode. Sweet, that means no repeated lesson at the end! oh wait, what's Spike doing here. Oh god, now Rarity is actually doing it. NOOOOOOOOOO"

>>18625
That was hilarious.

Especially the music when Rarity realizes the error of her ways and goes all super dramatic.

Bob 2011/11/05(Sat)15:37 No. 18629 ID: 0f38fc
File 132053265710.gif - (1.88MB , 570x181 , ScootieBig.gif )

The best part was Rarity and Sweetie's parents.
They were all I dreamed of and more.

All right, who's parents haven't we seen?
I think Rainbow Dash's, AppleJack's (granny don't count) and Fluttershy's

"Rarity, once again you're thinking about yourself."
That'd be her virtue of generosity. :V

Man. I'm just really not feeling the humour in these.

>>18629
Sweetiecrouch was one of the best moments (along with "ONE DAY" and "It's organized chaos!").

>>18633
I didn't think it was all that funny, either. Most of the apparent "jokes" were about failure and rage, and I don't like that sort of thing. I found the episode to be more of an annoyance than anything.

As for the "Rarity being selfish" thing, though, that's defensible as her not interpreting it as being selfish. Most of her generosity comes in the form of sharing material wealth with the needy, usually to help them look pretty. She's the sort of person who is "generous" with the things she likes giving to people, and expects them to be grateful for it.

There were some neat background details, though. For instance:

Ponies eating eggs for breakfast. This implies that their diets are more diverse than regular herbivores.

Rarity swearing an oath in Celestia's name. So the ponies do see the princess as a sort of goddess. This could be a reference to the fanon's interpretations, or just a more obvious example of what they intended to begin with; either way, I like it.

Herding the sheep. Which is an interesting bit of insight into how the ponies treat other races.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/08(Tue)13:40 No. 18646 ID: 869052
File 132078841957.png - (1.05MB , 1280x959 , zenith_fluttershy_by_rhanite.png )

Bleah, I still haven't watched the new episode entirely. [Mostly, when I sit down to watch it, something come up 8 minutes later, and I never get back to watching it.] But anyway, didn't I say I was going to do something...? Oh, right, I was.

BAM. Fluttershy.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/08(Tue)13:43 No. 18647 ID: 869052
File 132078863077.png - (1.14MB , 1280x1028 , twilight_caste_twilight_by_rhanite.png )

BAM, Twilight Sparkle.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/08(Tue)13:47 No. 18648 ID: 869052
File 132078886944.png - (1.04MB , 1280x1151 , night_caste_rainbow_dash_by_rhanite.png )

BAM. Rainbow Dash.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/08(Tue)13:50 No. 18649 ID: 869052
File 132078905120.png - (0.96MB , 1280x952 , eclipse_caste_rarity_by_rhanite.png )

BAM. Rarity.

I think I am bending over the sites bandwidth. Sorry~

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/08(Tue)13:56 No. 18650 ID: 869052
File 132078937221.png - (1.54MB , 1255x1280 , joybringer_pinkie_pie_by_rhanite.png )

Aaaaand... bam? Pinkie Pie.

There are some more, but I'm going to leave the site time to recover~

>>18649
's got nothing to do with you. We apparently switched/are switching/??? servers or something recently, and everything's been all slow and weird as a result.

>>18650
Okay, we've recovered

MORE DAMN YOU

Bob 2011/11/10(Thu)19:45 No. 18670 ID: 2eac65
File 132098314723.png - (1.00MB , 1191x670 , my_little_exalted_wallpaper_by_rhanite.png )

I guess now's a good time to post this, then!

I like the outfits he made for them. Applejack's orichalcum sword (and hat!) have a neat design. He could have been more creative with the anima banners, though; things which look right as a 2d symbol don't work so well as free-floating totemic displays of power.

The caste arrangements are kind of iffy. Some of them are obvious, but most of them have about one or two abilities which fit the characters they're assigned to. But, I guess that's the limits of the premise.

I think the whole thing would make more sense if you have Twilight Sparkle as a Solar and all the others as Dragon-Blooded. That would account for the difference in power and let them all have more suitable castes.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/11(Fri)01:55 No. 18673 ID: 869052
File 132100535682.png - (1.42MB , 1280x1204 , air_aspect_trixie_by_rhanite.png )

>>18665
Well excuuuuuuse me! I had no idea if people actually noticed them, or anything. Hard to tell if you are being ignored or if people are just silently watching online. Of course in hindsight, all the discussion on the previous set was on how the creator was an idiot, because Applejack is not incestuous... so maybe that's a good thing.

But anyway, he did some more of these of minor and background characters, including this great and powerful one. There ARE Trixie fans here, right?

Also, of the mane six, I think I happen to like Fluttershy's design the most of exalted ponies.

>>18673
The Great and Powerful Trixie demands honor and praise!

Though I think it would be nicely ironic if she were an Enlightened Mortal, who knows a bit about thaumaturgy and maybe First Circle sorcery and lords it over the mortal citizens of wherever she visits. Then she goes to a village where a Solar Circle Sorceress is trying to better understand the populace, gets in trouble with something too big for her to handle, and then gets an uncomfortable glimpse of what real power in Creation is.

...I'm still thinking about the vamponies and what their stories would be like. Would it be okay to post my thoughts on them, or would that be an inappropriate change of subject?

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/12(Sat)01:16 No. 18699 ID: 869052
File 132108941948.png - (1.35MB , 1280x1068 , full_moon_gilda_by_rhanite.png )

>>18685
I thought Dragonbloods WERE enlightened mortals? Or do I not know how Exalted works, again? And that was kind of the reason Trixie was a Dragonblood and Twilight was a Solar: Twilight beats the pants off Trixie on her best of days.

Also, go on with your vampire pony storylines. Except remember that apparently, Applejack likes incest. :V

Anyway, up next is... GILDA! As a Lunar! There are Gilda fans here, right?

>>18699
>I thought Dragonbloods WERE enlightened mortals?
No, they're still a type of Exalted, like the Solars and Lunars, just not as powerful; their "spark" is inherited from their parents, and has such a strong influence on their appearance and personality that they're nearly a separate species. An Enlightened Mortal is someone who started out normal and gained the ability to use Essence through training; they can learn Thaumaturgy and, with great difficulty, the most basic level of Sorcery and Martial Arts, which makes them impressive compared to mortals but not much on the supernatural power scale.

>Also, go on with your vampire pony storylines.
Okay, let's see...

vampire!Twilight Sparkle was a brilliant but socially awkward filly who was always interested in the strange and supernatural. Because she was bullied by other children and didn't have any friends, she instead spent her free time reading fantasy and horror stories and investigating spooky rumors. This eventually led her to the rather impressive feat of discovering vampire society on her own; fortunately for Twilight, it also caught the attention of several powerful vampires who wanted her for themselves; rather than having her eliminated to preserve their secrecy, the Princess decided to "adopt" her as a sort of personal apprentice, teaching her the secrets of the supernatural world in preparation for when she will join them herself.

Some of her detractors claim there were reasons besides Twilight's intellect, but that's another story.

Eventually, the vampires decided that the time was right to Embrace the young Miss Sparkle as one of their own. Rather than do so personally, the Princess allowed her to be Embraced by the Clan Tremere, who took a keen interest in her already-apparent talents with science and magic. This was done as a favor to the clan, an offering of a valuable member in exchange for several unique services the Tremere could provide with their secret blood thaumaturgy. Most failed to realize the true nature of this "favor": the young unicorn was still completely loyal to the Princess, and now had knowledge of the Tremere's well-guarded magical secrets.

Twilight Sparkle is in a very uncomfortable position; the Tremere are suspicious of her relationship with the Princess, other vampires scorn her because of the Tremere's sinister reputation, she is distanced from mortals by her unusual interests, and there's always someone ready to crack a joke about her name. Despite this, she is still very close to the Princess, politically and emotionally; apart from her, Twilight has very few real friends, and will guard those she does have with all her might.

>>18699
Would I be considered a Gilda fan if I feel inexplicably sorry for her and just want to give her a hug I know she wouldn't accept but enjoy nontheless?

BiteQuest!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2011/11/13(Sun)07:11 No. 18706 ID: 383006
File 132119710606.jpg - (78.73KB , 798x446 , The Jesus.jpg )

The Jesus doesn't care about this fanwanky nonsense

BiteQuest!!Z0Mwx3ZJZj 2011/11/13(Sun)07:12 No. 18707 ID: 383006
File 132119715813.jpg - (76.41KB , 798x426 , Big Lebowski.jpg )

No seriously, references to The Big Lebowski were awesome.

walter pony is best pony

>>18706
>>18707
Holy shit, I was passing by and these happened to catch my eye. So these ARE legit, right? Fucking awesome.

Not enough to make me like ponies, though.

>>18711
Yup. 100% legit. I screencapped them myself, from the episode. There was one more where you could see them, but I just did these two.

>>18712
...new episode? I've kind of started ignoring this thread because fanwankery.

Ugh. It's another CMC one. Is it even worth watching?

>>18714
Not really.

>>18714
It is if you like Zecora.

http://soundcloud.com/thelivingtombstone/tombstonesisterhate

Apple Bloom dancing and weakly pleading 'helllllp meeeee...' to her sister. Slightly creepy.

Also, another Ponyville panic.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/14(Mon)03:07 No. 18729 ID: 869052
File 132126883390.png - (1.43MB , 1280x1094 , no_moon_zecora_by_rhanite.png )

Fan wankery? You mean the game system ponies?

In other news, I am a terrible brony*, since I don't watch the episodes as soon as they are available. But then again, I hate doing things alone.

*Of course, some people would say this makes me a better PERSON.

Anyway, have some Zecora.

>>18729
Yes, game system ponies is terrible fan wankery. You heard it here first.

Also, doing tangentially-related demi-shipping is exactly what Bronies (that loathsome breed,) do instead of watching the actual show.

>>18732
I don't see a problem with it. Crossovers are just something people enjoy doing with things they like.

Thoughts on the new episode: Nice to see popular background characters again. We got a nice showing of Zecora and her relationship with Apple Bloom. And we confirmed that zebras do, indeed, have magical potions.

Apple Bloom seems to take her cutie quest more seriously than the other Crusaders; they just had fun bowling, but she got into a funk over it.

Speaking of bowling, that was a neat little "slice of life" to explore. It makes the world seem more real to have events like that, and Zecora making potions for other animals.

There was also development on the nature of cutie marks. It seems that having a certain "special talent" can grant a pony superhuman skill, even allowing for seemingly magical feats.

One thing I didn't like, though, was how badly they executed the moral at the end. They tried to draw analogies between things that weren't analogous in any practical way and it ended up as another "this lesson is true because the setting's magic makes it true" lesson.

I didn't like how they handled Big Mac, either. All he's said recently is "eeyup" or "nope". He had more character than that (and actual dialogue) in the first season; now, he just seems retarded.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/18(Fri)14:02 No. 18830 ID: 869052
File 132165372488.png - (1.42MB , 1280x1123 , harbinger_derpy_hooves_by_rhanite.png )

>>18807
I don't think having a cutiemark necessarily gives you 'superhuman ability' in a talent. I think that was more an effect of the POX if anything.

As for Big Mac not getting speaking lines... has he gotten any actual lines since Applebuck Season? Everything else he has said seems to be one work replies.

>>18830

And his two lines in applebuck season weren't exactly characterful. The problem here is bronies characterizing him in the fanon and then forgetting that he didn't have any more character in season one than season two.

Really, he had more character in the sisters episode and with the smartypants fiasco than in the entire first season. Bronies are just retarded.

I got around to watching the show this week, so I guess I now count as a Brony.

...The drawings of the ponies as exalted castes makes my want to draw (if I had any skill at drawing) the main cast as ADnD classes (possibly because that is the only pencil/paper RPG I have played :/ ).
Twilight Sparkle -> Mage
Rarity -> Illusionist
Rainbow Dash -> Fighter
Applejack -> Paladin
Fluttershy -> Druid
Pinky Pie -> Bard

I thought the second season wouldn't be as entertaining.

After all, ponies have been around for more than a year. There's no novelty, almost none of the "haha why do I like this" factor. MLP: FiM fans are as recognized a community as Sonic fans or Harry Potter fans or what have you. As the community rose up, I expected the excitement that every new episode brings to subside.

Man, am I glad I was wrong.

The last four episodes are just... magical, despite whatever backsides they may have.
I still get hyped up when an epidose finishes downloading. I still freeze frames every few minutes or skip back to a scene half a dozen times. I still giggle quietly like a retard every now and then.

I'm not sure whether FiM strikes some deep-running chord I'm not aware of or is just an masterful amalgam of tropes I like (and that I'm perfectly aware of), but I can't recall a cartoon I've enjoyed quite this much.

30df25 2011/11/21(Mon)20:27 No. 18956 ID: 30df25
File 132193606705.jpg - (616.97KB , 1024x1144 , MyLittleMages_MagicIsFriendship.jpg )

>>18926
Pic related. If you can do a better job, plz do.

Also, look around for something called "Ponyfinder," you may be pleasantly surprised.

Rurik!1OFz4scUNg 2011/11/21(Mon)23:40 No. 18961 ID: 869052
File 132194761482.png - (1.25MB , 995x1280 , reckoner_octavia_by_rhanite.png )

>>18956
I always find it weird when someone draws the humanized unicorn with HORNS. I mean, with wings on humanized pegasi, they look like angels, but horns just look... weird.

Also, final image of the 'official' Exalted ponies, Octiva! Which reminds me... hey, Jukashi, is it possible to make an Exalted character like this?

Also, this one is somewhat thematic since HOLY CRAP, ACTUAL SONGS RETURN.

Also, I think I said 'what the FUCK' out loud at the quarray eels. I think Equestria has more fucked up wildlife than D&D sometimes.

>>18961
Poor Galliard. ; -;

>>18956
Yeah, that is fairly close to what I was thinking of.
(I still think Pinkie Pie is a bard, because of the singing, strangeness, and bizarre ability to spontaneously know things (which is an actual ADnD bard ability)).

>wilderness
DnD still wins in strangeness with the way it can have a room composed entirely of monsters (ceiling monster, floor monster, wall monsters, etc).

>>18961
>I always find it weird when someone draws the humanized unicorn with HORNS. I mean, with wings on humanized pegasi, they look like angels, but horns just look... weird.
Yeah, that sometimes bothers me too. Horns just don't look good on a human body shape. But that begs the question of "what do they have instead?" A halo? A third eye? A forehead jewel?

>Also, final image of the 'official' Exalted ponies, Octiva! Which reminds me... hey, Jukashi, is it possible to make an Exalted character like this?
Like what?

I'm not sure why, but I thought the new episode was... lacking, somehow. There are a lot of good points, though, like the song, and the way they executed the lesson at the end. I like the way they showed Fluttershy's character development, by showing something she gets really enthusiastic about; Season 1 Fluttershy would never be that loud and outgoing.

...So, I guess we're back to the between-episodes lull now.

>>18961

Not sure what you're asking, I assume it's whether there'd be a Sidereal of that caste that has the same thematic dealie as Octavia? The answer would be: maybe, but slightly unlikely? Performance is a Serenity Ability, not Endings. However, it's certainly possible, and would be quite striking. They are Celestial Exalted, after, all, and not locked so much in there Caste roles.

Ending pain or mourning would fall within the jurisdiction of both Serenity and Endings. And I think Sidereal Performance has some Charms related to romance and feelings and such, which when applied to Endings duties would be... rather of the bittersweet pill. Breaking up lovers to ensure arranged marriages for the greater good and such. Very poignant.

I don't have my books, though. I might be thinking of something else.

Bob 2011/11/25(Fri)12:32 No. 19040 ID: f40f83
File 132225312023.png - (943.01KB , 867x488 , steelportMLP.png )

Here's a question for you all, does this look like a MLP to you? I found it in Saints Row 3 a few days ago and my friends say its just a coincidence, but I think there may be some fans working at volition.

>>19040

It's a coincidence.

>horns

Make as much sense on a human as they do on a horse. Also it is stupid to complain about some particular style if humanized pony when they are all retarded from the start.

>>19040
While SR3 is entirely the kind of game I'd expect a nod to ponies in, the proportions just don't look right for it to be one.

>>19042
They could just be shitty at drawing ponies.
But I think this is a fucking unicorn and there's no sense in overanalyzing it.

Winston 2011/11/25(Fri)14:57 No. 19044 ID: 0d7a83
File 132226184134.jpg - (35.54KB , 480x360 , red-faction-armageddon.jpg )

>>19040
Looks a lot like the pony weapon from Red Faction Armageddon

>>19044
Aha, I think that may be it. I've never played, much less seen anything from Red Faction so I didn't see it and after a quick google Red Faction was made by Volition as well.

I keep reading 'Pinkamena' as 'Pinkamina'. As in "Believe in the Pinkie that believes in you!".

>>19044

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHhBx1FtLQ ?

So, we've got a new episode now. I thought it was a huge disappointment. The plot was shallow, the twists were predictable, everyone was either dumber or more jerkish than usual, and the setting was sort of messed up too.

>>19073

Huh, I thought it was alright. Not the greatest, but it was enjoyable. I didn't notice any out-of-character situation and I thought some of the jokes were pretty funny, like the road that only leads to a cliff and everybody falling down it.

It was a simple episode, but I think it worked pretty well, I don't know what kind of expectations are you setting up. And I really liked the references to Batman: TAS.

>>19082
The references were nice, but that's about it. The plot unfolded exactly how one would expect it to turn out. The ending plot twist was obvious, especially after the "Mysterious Mare" was revealed to have both wings and a horn. There are only two ponies in existence who have those, which meant she could be either a princess or several ponies at once; even Rainbow Dash should have been smart enough to figure that out, especially when all of the other ponies were indirectly bragging about their greatness right in front of her (I thought they already learned a lesson about that) and then laughing at her for being upset (I thought they already learned a lesson about that, too). What happened to talking things out?

Speaking of which, what was Fluttershy trying to accomplish? She flew by Dash after the dam was saved. What was the point of that? To taunt her?

And then there's the setting details. The episode didn't directly contradict anything, but Ponyville apparently now has a massive cliff in the middle of a road somewhere, is right next to the ocean, and was in the process of building a skyscraper several times larger than any other building with modern construction equipment. It's as if it merged with New York for an episode.

>>19091

I thought the episode was okay myself. But I have to admit I was kinda dissapointed in the ending. Also, ponies in Equestria have been shown using modern equipment before, like the delivery truck from "Feeling Pinkie Keen" or the Jackhammers and Microscopes (Or pretty much everything in Cloudsdale) in "Sonic Rainboom". Then again, in both cases it was Pegasi using semi-modern tech, so maybe they lent the equipment to the earth ponies? It would explain why the driver had trouble working the damned thing to begin with. I dunno though, at that point I'm rambling a bit.

>>19091
What episode doesn't have a plot you can guess in the first five minutes? If you don't know exactly how things are going to turn out by that point, you probably have some brain damage. It's a fucking kid's show.

Though the original episode in which it appeared annoyed me, I do like how Pinkie's psionics reappeared rather than just being a one time thing.

Also, the scene where
Pony Kid: "Some day I want to be as awesome as you!"
Rainbow Dash: "Its good to have dreams, but don't aim for the impossible."
reminds me so much of Captain Hammer

>>19094
Yes, but they didn't have construction equipment before, or self-propelled vehicles. Until now, most of the architecture has been medieval; nothing like a modern-day skyscraper has shown up, especially not in Ponyville.

>>19099

I think you're watching the wrong show for your tastes. It's a show for kids, that focuses on humor and enjoyable characters. They don't care about continuity, or staying true to a "setting" (the use of that word applying to this kind of show makes me cringe a bit).

Because if they couldn't make jokes or funny situations because it would "contradict the setting" it would become boring and mediocre.

>>19100
That's not true. The writers have put some thought into how the world of Equestria works, and some of the episodes were written to show that. For example, see "Winter Wrap-Up" and "Fall Weather Friends". I appreciate that, and I like seeing how they built their world.

But then you get things like, for example, building a modern-day skyscraper in the middle of an otherwise medieval town, and that sort of thing warrants a "Wait, what?" There are ways to make stuff like that work, but I don't think this episode handled it very well.

>>19099

they have assembly-line conveyor belts. And trains. None of the construction equipment they were using is more complex than those.

Of course, they are inconvenient so you are going to ignore them.

>>19105
>they have assembly-line conveyor belts.
Really? I don't remember that, but I'll take your word for it.

>And trains.
They have horse-drawn trains. Lauren said that actual steam locomotives didn't fit with how she saw the ponies' society, but they reall wanted to put them in for the sake of the Wild West reference, so they compromised with that.

>>19107

They're from the GET YOUR CUTIE MARK flash game that coincided roughly with the series' release. From the official site.

And they had the rails for the train regardless of its propulsion systems.

>>19114
Ah. That explains it. I never played the Flash game.

>And they had the rails for the train regardless of its propulsion systems.
Sorry for not understanding you, but I'm not sure why that's relevant. The way I see it, they have things that look like trucks and trains for the sake of visual gags, but are powered by manual labor because they're not that technologically advanced.

>>19119
Rails, ovens, lights, mixers are all industrial products, and all have been shown since almost the beginning of the series. It's not that they're not advanced, just that they apparently don't use combustion or coal-burning vehicles.

IF you're going to bitch about something, at least don't be completely wrong about it.

Bob 2011/11/30(Wed)15:04 No. 19142 ID: 2eac65
File 132269428409.jpg - (186.38KB , 775x480 , techie.jpg )

>>19124
But not heavy machinery.

I'm just saying it clashes with what we usually see, it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be. The setting isn't that strictly defined.

>>19142
Okay we need this lady to start a quest.
Her writing/world generation seems pretty legit.

>>19143
She's fun, isn't she? I always like reading Mrs. Faust's comments, because she's so nice; she's not afraid to state her opinion, but she never acts like a condescending jerk about it.

Sadly, I doubt she'd have time to run a quest, since she's working on a Super Secret Project. On the plus side, that's something to look forward to.

>Her writing/world generation seems pretty legit.
That's one of my favorite things about the show. It's set in a world that's distinct from real life, but has its own well-developed rules which it follows consistently. Great fodder for the imagination.

>>19144
It is less well-developed and consistent than G1 ponies. Actually, the text up there basically says she doesn't care about consistency if it gets in the way of the joke she wants to make.

I'm not saying this is bad - it isn't for a show like MLP:FiM, I'm just saying people make it way more detailed than it is.

Bob 2011/12/05(Mon)16:44 No. 19321 ID: 2eac65
File 132313228913.png - (40.58KB , 605x482 , world_dynamics.png )

>>19169
>Actually, the text up there basically says she doesn't care about consistency if it gets in the way of the joke she wants to make.
To me, it looks more like she's saying she's fine with making anachronistic jokes partially because there's a way to make them fit into her setting. If she didn't care, why would she rationalize it with "unicorn magic"? Or care about electricity?

>I'm just saying people make it way more detailed than it is.
Well, that depends on just how much detail you think they mean.

From the way Lauren usually talks, she seems to have put some thought into the setting and enjoys developing it and sharing the details. If nothing else, it looks like something that wants to be consistent. This generally doesn't get in the way of the plot or humor; on the contrary, the setting is often a source of jokes in itself, such as the beginning of "Bridle Gossip".

>>19321
I mean, you are using as an example a quote by her saying that they put the episodes in an order that doesn't make sense timeline-wise for story purposes.

That is like... the opposite of what you seem to be trying to argue. The show has a neat world design with some cool design choices, but consistency has never really been a huge deal, as far as I've noticed. Hell, putting a hydroelectric dam in the town makes a lot more sense than "A unicorn literally enchanted every household appliance forever ago." Remember, there is a difference between an excuse and an explanation, and which one you are using in large part determines how much you write your setting from your stories, and how much you write your stories from your setting. MLP:FiM is basically 90% the first, 10% the second.

G1 ponies still had a more consistent world/timeline, even though it was on average not nearly as good. :V

The other Whitewolf stuff reminds me

Me and a friend where wondering on this though: Pony Scions?

Dash would definately be Artemis, and maybe Dionysus for Pinkie, but no idea other than that.

>>19334
She's saying that she put the episodes in that order to establish the rules of the setting early, so that people would understand the Running of the Leaves and similar things. Because the details are important like that. That's a far cry from "consistency doesn't matter".

>Hell, putting a hydroelectric dam in the town makes a lot more sense than "A unicorn literally enchanted every household appliance forever ago."
Even though they don't have electricity? And do have magical unicorns?

It's true that large construction equipment is technically possible, but it doesn't fit the general style of Ponyville. It's like going through a wild west town and seeing a pyramid built in the middle of it.

Okay, I went back and checked that interview with Lauren Faust that I posted earlier, and found some relevant quotes. They're from question #18.

>I always wanted the default technology of the show to be a bit medieval in nature; but since this is a whimsical, non-serious show, I felt there was plenty of wiggle room.
>However, I insisted that such an attitude was to be considered only as a last creative resort - don’t use a light switch when you could use a candle, just because you’re feeling lazy.
>Overall, though, it was definitely not a strict approach - and it’s hardly consistent. Humor and ease of storytelling took precedence over technicality.

So I guess that's cleared up. Personally, I'd rather they didn't "wiggle" too much (such as the mentioned "hooves wrapped around handles", which they actually did in Winter Wrap-Up) because I like the distinctiveness of the setting) but it's not a big deal and wouldn't make an otherwise good episode bad.

Now that we've got that out of the way, what does everyone think of the latest episode? We've been getting so caught up in these silly arguments that we're forgetting to enjoy the show.

>>19375

Nobody has been forgetting to enjoy the show. The closest has been people who have been too busy bitching about episodes being inconsistent in ways that most of the preceding episodes were inconsistent and saying that the more recent episodes were disappointing for it.

>>19375

>don’t use a light switch when you could use a candle,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSnOxszC10I&feature=related&t=5m23s

Electricity confirmed in the first episode of the fucking show.

But I mean, what does that have to do with anything? It's just the show.

>>19380
i really despise this animation style

>>19378
>This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by HASBRO, INC.
Apparently, along with the second series being a bit naff (has there been a properly good episode up to S1 standards yet? I'm thinking Green Isn't Your Colour/Art of the Dress-grade good, and the question is sincere since I mostly stopped paying attention between the lacklustre episodes and general hurr in here), they've also decided that free publicity time is over and copyright assertiveness time is now.

On the upside, that might mean a DVD is in the works.

>>19385

This season has been, so far, better than the first one.

>>19386
That doesn't exactly answer my question, since so far from memory I've seen amusing-Q, shitty-Trek-grade-writing-Q, lousy-hero-syndrome-twilight, middling-for-1st-series-which-is-not-bad-overall-luna-haloween, and some shitty CMC thing I almost immediately forgot (and the one after that appeared to be a CMC episode too).

So, y'know, clue me in here at the part where it got good again so I can skip forward to it.

>>19385
From what I've heard, the owner of the old MLPFIMHD channel was told by Hasbro that Hasbro wasn't the one filing DMCA requests.

Not that this kept the channel from being suspended anyway.

>>19390

Every episode has been good, including the CMC episode.

>>19390

The last episode is about Rarity being super popular in Canterlot, and includes a rich pony with a super-thin beauty pony whose purpose appears to be to drape herself across him while he speaks.

Despite being among the wealthiest and most influential ponies amongst the elitist socialite caste in Canterlot, he actually turns out to be extremely level-headed and even appreciates the Ponyville ponies despite their lack of sophistication

>>19378
Um... yes, she mentioned that.
>Humor and ease of storytelling took precedence over technicality.

Now that's settled. Again. On to the new episode!

It was a wonderfully done episode. One of the best yet. It had a good, well-rounded exploration of Rarity's personality, some fun interactions with other ponies, and a few touching friendship moments. Plus, there was a very pleasant song, some nice humor, and even a few surprises in the plot.

My favorite episode is that one of the leaked song.

Bob 2011/12/10(Sat)13:24 No. 19423 ID: 2563d4
File 132355228458.png - (1.35MB , 1280x720 , wheres-derpy.png )

>>19394
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtRVWJe7pUA ?
Well it keeps up the tradition of Ponyville men being dumb!

>Jokes are back
>Musical number
>Opal's answer to "too much?"
And Rarity with the save!

Oh god I think I just burst a lung at the shower bit.

Bob 2011/12/10(Sat)14:07 No. 19424 ID: 2563d4
Audio becomingpopular.mp3 - (3.22MB )

I'll get bored of this just as soon as Daniel Ingram stops cranking out outstanding work (or we get a soundtrack CD). Dat percussion.

Also this episode sported an impressive array of equestrian hairstyles.

ugh I still feel shame watching this show
but Rarity is a unique cool character that is really adaptable in a lot of situation
Christ and she comes from a show designed for little girls what the fuck

Also jesus christ rarity give that busboy a great tip
Not only is it a great effort carrying all your bags but he isn't even complaining, just politely suggesting he move on quickly.

Did anyone see the budboy's and that window washer's marks? I wonder if bussing and window washing are legitimate talents or if this stuff is just things they do on the side to make ends meet.

>>19428
Clean windows are important! Just because it pays less doesn't mean it's demeaning!

Well, okay. Maybe a little.

 

A beat-em-up is one of the worst game genres to shoehorn ponies into.

But it has the excellent side-effect of making RainbowCrash88 write more fan-music. This is ace.

I never said it was demeaning
Just that... it just sounds like a weird super special talent. A very boring, tedious one.

The busboy scene provides a good bit of support for the Trollestia depiction.

>>19431
I guess it's a good thing it's a fighting game and not a beat-em-up, then.

Bob 2011/12/10(Sat)19:06 No. 19437 ID: 2eac65
File 132357276263.png - (269.48KB , 638x359 , turnip.png )

>>19428
Here it is. Apparently, it's three turnips. Though what that has to do with his special talent is anyone's guess, since sunflowers can mean "nurturing young minds" or something similarly cryptic. Whatever it is, he must be pretty fond of it, so more power to him..

Bob 2011/12/11(Sun)19:58 No. 19464 ID: cdb8cb
File 132366228749.png - (10.18KB , 480x387 , 35872 - artist:The_Weaver Bad_Joke_Face colored pi.png )

>>19437

Looks like he just fell off the turnip truck.

Cruxador 2011/12/11(Sun)20:43 No. 19466 ID: d60822
File 132366501831.png - (558.92KB , 481x575 , rarity_cropped.png )

Other parts of this image had shitty anatomy and perspective. This part was fine. I have made the world more perfect by excising imperfections from this internet art of a humanized pony.

>>19431
It's just amazing how much high-quality fanwork the show inspired. But that begs the question: what would be a good genre for a pony game?

A platformer? And adventure game? Maybe a Mario Party-ish board game?

Or... dare I say it... Elite Ponybeat Agents?

>>19476
Lucasarts style adventure game.

>>19480
Pretty much. Anything where most of the gameplay is combat is going to be "off-message" both in terms of not fitting with what Hasbro presumably wants (read: wouldn't get contracted out by them to be done professionally in some happy fantasy; might even bother them existing as a fan project) and in terms of just plain fitting nicely with the setting and cast.

Something from the classic adventure game/puzzles-and-talking RPG end of the spectrum seems like it'd be a pretty good fit for a cast of ponies with varying talents solving problems, and plays to the writing and characterisation strengths of the series. Also the 2D art style could be preserved entirely, because in general adventure games are presented from a fixed "theatre stage" perspective anyway (rather than anything that "demands" 3D, which is most genres these days).

I would probably emit an uncharacteristically unBritish amount of glee if they actually put as much effort into creating an adventure game of this as they put into creating a cartoon series that doesn't use "it's to sell toys to little girls" as an excuse to suck.

>>19476
Oddly enough there is a Ace Attorney game in the works called My Little Investigations. So there is that.

I'd be sad if they didn't make a big 3D game. It would be amazing to fly through the clouds as Rainbow Dash or admire Rarity's dresses from all angles.

Whatever genre they make it, they should definitely use the Carousel Botique as an excuse to give the player lots of different wardrobe options. We can thank the likes of City of Heroes and Team Fortress 2 for bringing fashion into the mainstream.

My ideal pony game would be an action/adventure game along the lines of Zelda or Okami. You'd play as Twilight Sparkle, learning various magic spells as the game progresses; you'd start with a few basics like telekinesis, which would be the main way of interacting with the game world, and later gain more unusual abilities like teleportation and firestarting. You'd also be able to play as the other ponies, of course; they'd accompany you on certain adventures, and you could talk to them to give them commands, or control them directly by using the magic of friendship to unite your hearts or something.

One problem with that kind of game is how to handle pegasus flight; if the player can fly freely, then it becomes much harder to design platforming segments or keep the player from bypassing certain challenges.

>>19491
Zones that can only be accessed from flying and you only get the wings for those segments

>>19476

Hentai dating sim.

Bob 2011/12/13(Tue)16:51 No. 19517 ID: cdb8cb
File 132382391760.png - (101.31KB , 638x478 , RBD flight training screenie1.png )

>>19491

Or just don't put 3 foot tall roadblocks and expect the players not to be able to get around them. There are plenty of ways to make a platformer even more interesting when flight is incorporated.

Taking a break from the video game discussion, what did everyone think of the new episode? I thought it was pretty good; not as great as Sweet and Elite, but fun for its own reasons.

I like how they showed the character interactions between Spike, Twilight, and Rarity. Rarity showed her personality quite well, including her love of fashion and seemingly paradoxical greed and generosity, which is hard to do right. Twilight normally stays focused on her studies, but can be caring in her own way. It's also nice that Twilight learned to stop friendship problems before they get out of hand... or at least try; you usually don't get that kind of character development from a cartoon.

The background characters were well used, too. We got to meet some nice new ponies, and see a few of our old favorites doing their thing (though it would have been nice to see the nurse pony again). The Cakes get to give out baked goods, Cheerilee is her usual happy teacher self, Zecora has a chance to be a mentor, and perhaps most interestingly, the Equestrian government finally sends someone to help with a crisis. Seeing the Wonderbolts in action was a treat, even if they didn't manage to do much.

Learning about dragon biology was pretty fun, too. I like it when the show reminds us that the characters aren't exactly human, physically or mentally. That includes the little things like Spike's prehensile tongue and secondary eyelids as well as the whole "growing bigger by collecting stuff" thing.

There was also some pretty impressive magic from Twilight. Teleporting, reshelving an entire room full of books, and even a new spell for lighting the candles in her library!

Overall, Secret of My Excess isn't quite the best episode, but it's certainly one of the better ones. It takes nearly everything the show does well, and does it well.

Bob 2011/12/15(Thu)21:10 No. 19614 ID: af7fd8
File 132401223517.jpg - (102.66KB , 1191x670 , ancient_humans_by_equestria_prevails.jpg )

Something totally unrelated. For you bronies from us dragonborn I present this.

"Humans are still a mystery to this day. What brief records show of their existence describe a civilization well advanced beyond our own, shunning magic for the power of science."

"Shown here is a depiction showing that at one point they had enslaved ponykind, with inscriptions speaking of a way between rebellious ponies and loyalists."

"Exactly how the war ended is still unknown. Some say we won and the humans were hunted to extinction. Some say they still exist in some 'mythical hidden' city. Others claim they simply vanished. Unless we can unearth more artifacts we may never know."

>>19614
What, exactly, does that have to do with Skyrim?

EveryZig!Ac/akrMPao 2011/12/15(Thu)22:41 No. 19616 ID: e3aff6
File 132401769690.jpg - (316.81KB , 576x2536 , 89333 - artist:braindps butterfly comic fluttershy.jpg )

>>19615
Beats me.
This one is relevant though:

>>19615
Yeah it's one of the more obscure bits.

Humans look an odd lot like the Dwemer in Skyrim, and the whole dwemer-falmer relationship sort of reflected the human-pony relation. And just like the dwemer in Skyrim, there is little to no trace of human existence save for tools that fit better in a hand than say a mouth or a hoof.

>>19618

>Humans look an odd lot like the Dwemer in Skyrim

As much as they look an odd lot like everyone else. The Dwemer are elves.

>Dat newest episode

So does this mean Luna and Celestia are prophesized crossbreeds of the three tribes? Is this still Discord's land and he's just neglected to show up? Is magic literally caused by the race's unity?

FUCK.

This show is bringing out my inner Lore Faggot

>>19653

I wouldn't dwell on it for too long; it is a Children's Television Animated Cartoon.

>>19653

Possibilities that have been raised:
- Celestia edited herself (and Luna) out of the story for personal/political reasons (wanting to emphasize the lesson, or not wanting to be reminded of Luna)
- The flag was used in an inaccurate way, just as a modern american flag might be used in a play set during a time when it would be wrong
- Celestia and Luna are the pictures on the flag, brought to life later by Discord

Another great episode! The series is really having a good run lately. I was a bit worried about how they'd portray the history of Equestria, and how it wouldn't jive with my favorite theories, but I like what they came up with.

They way they characterized the Ancestors was good. I noticed that they were similar to our modern-day friends, but with fewer redeeming qualities (Puddinghead was apparently a self-absorbed idiot, as opposed to Pinkie Pie, who is quirky but mostly sane). Though I wonder how much of that was the characters and how much was the actors. Either way, I hope the other meteors don't show up anytime soon.

It's also nice how it incorporated most of the stereotypes of the various pony races, with pegasi having a warrior culture and such. Though it raises some questions about what role the unicorns serve in the nature-managing system. In modern Equestria, it's the goddesses' role to manage day and night, but apparently mortals can do that themselves; apart from that very big and specific task, the unicorns don't seem to do anything special like the earth and pegasus ponies.

I don't like the whole "windigo" thing, though. Seems tacked-on and... forced? I think that's a good word.

Overall, it was another good candidate for "best episode"; it did something difficult in a satisfying way.

>>19653
My thoughts? Historical revisionism. The events showed in the play were simplified for the children in the audience, and they put in subtle reminders that the Sisters are the absolute, eternal rulers of ponykind, even when they don't entirely make sense.

Or perhaps they had already existed at that point, but had decided let the ponies rule themselves, fading into myth as heroic goddess figures. Until the ponies went and did something immensely stupid, which triggered the collapse of their civilization and prompted Celestia and Luna to take up the role of god-princesses, for the sake of the mortals who can't be trusted to look after themselves.

I think it's a bit over-the-top to write whole essays about the historical evaluation of Equestria :p

>Flag

We don't fly the Betsy Ross flag on the Fourth of July. We fly the modern flag.

>>19659

+1

>>19658
The way I see it, maybe it took all of the Unicorns power to change from day and night or controlling the magic of nature etc. in their land.

Though perhaps in places like the Everfree forest, ponies are wierded out because Nature doesn't need them.

Anyway, my theory is that the flag of unity just showed Unicorn + Pegasi as a symbol. But then, a pair of sisters are actually born resembling those symbols and they ascend to Godhood after defeating the reign of Discord who was convinently absent when the ponies retook HIS land.

Bob 2011/12/31(Sat)01:31 No. 19800 ID: 0c9433
File 132532390095.jpg - (64.46KB , 851x473 , hasapony.jpg )

I think I need to learn how to get unpermabanned. The lack of hate is affecting me

It started with me looking at Weaver's pony art then seeing episodes.

Now I've fapped to humanized pony (and felt the deepest shame every time) and know the background meme characters like Octavia and Lyra.

God help me.

>>19677

To repeat:

>>19664


This is not even an issue. Why are people making a big deal and trying to come up with ridiculous fanon over something perfectly reasonable and straightforward?

Bob 2012/01/01(Sun)08:07 No. 19832 ID: 2eac65
File 132543405933.png - (1.27MB , 346x2307 , Friendship_is_Magic.png )

Happy New Year, everypony! Let's all take a moment to remember all the good times we've had way back when. I hope we can all have more fun in the future.

For anyone who wants the full sized version, you can find it here:

http://Jiayi.deviantart.com/art/Friendship-is-Magic-276459863

Also, Lauren Faust has decided to respond to some questions she's received. It's mostly about her personally, but if you're interested, you can find them here:

http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/journal/FAQ-276161988

So, uh, how 'bout them zap apples?

Latest episode was good. It had some nice fun moments, some adorable moments (yay, fillies in bunny costumes!) and some nice worldbuilding. I like how the zap apples show just how weird Equestrian ecology can be.

>>19933


That ain't the latest. I just sat through the latest on Gmod.

Derpy Hooves finally finds a voice.

Will 2012/01/25(Wed)19:39 No. 20010 ID: c460ad
File 132754918158.jpg - (19.86KB , 193x396 , OHDEARCELESTIAWHY.jpg )

Okay, my girlfriend wrote this fic. Even she's not quite sure why. It's pretty much an artistic statement on ideas. The general goal was to take a terrible, horrendous idea, and execute it well, pretty much for the sake of proving it can be done.

This is the result. It's a really good fic, but it's a hard read. Not for the weak-stomached. Read at your own risk:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/4009/Triple-Crown%3A-Friendship-Sequence

I was one of the first to read this from the start to the end. MFW.

 

And now, Quake style!

>>20010

I knew that this was going to be pony centipede without even reading a single word.

Shockfags are so predictable (amusingly).

This is worth sharing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-NsP3RIPEc

It's "The way through World of Discord". A very well-made fan animation.

Well... huh. I was hoping that would generate more discussion.

So! It looks like we're coming up on the season finale. How's everyone feeling so far? Thoughts?

well I for one just hadn't noticed the video yet.I am amused that there exist people with the overlapping interests to think of producing this.

It's certainly well animated, but I think the original gave a better sense of crazy. Most of the background elements were either simplified or pony-fied, giving the entire thing more cohesion and Pinkie Pie than one would expect. Still spooky and weird, but I feel like this would be the world of the Everfree Forest, not Discord

I've still got my fingers crossed for a genderbent bodyswap merge transformation episode.

I have been thinking a lot about My Little Pony because it is not studying for my Finals. Here are my thoughts:

I have a generally positive opinion of the changes that the staff has made post - Faust. The two changes that are positive is the existence of ponies before celestia, and the addition of a power grid to the cities of Equestria.

Making the powered appliances actually be powered by a hydroelectric dam, and making steam vehicles self-powered doesn't hurt the world any more than putting things like trains or ovens or light switches in the world hurts it in the first place, and it makes a lot more sense than "an ancient unicorn or something enchanted them forever ago lol"

The fact that there is some more extensive family of "alicorns" from somewhere else who found the ponies and subsequently ruled over them I think is also a positive change. We don't know exactly where they came from or what happened when they first showed up, but it makes the world a bigger place. My main sort of "disappointment" with G4 ponies was that the world presented was very small - there is Equestria, the Everfree forest, and that's about it. Gilda went to school with Rainbow Dash. As far as we knew there were no other kingdoms of magical creatures or anything like that - the fact that Celestia raises the sun in the morning and other similar facts imply that Equestria is the dominant power and center of the world, if not the only power. G1 had a much wider mythos. The place where the ponies live was a small part of a much larger magical world, with all sorts of kingdoms and wizards and stuff carving out their own domains.

Although Equestria is still obviously central with these changes (the winter pageant episode, and the fact that Celestia has other relatives, etc) widens the world, which I think is a good thing.

The negative change to canon is the way that dragons operate. It's sort of just a bad choice I think rather than something I think is illogical or stupid - it just means that spike will never grow up without becoming a greedy dickhole, and that every (western I guess) dragon we'll meet will always be a greedy dickhole. (the eastern-looking dragon from the S1 pilot is probably a different sort of guy).

So, I like the direction that the writers have moved in without Faust, and think their changes are generally positive.

The only thing that I find regrettable are the lack of "adventure" episodes in S2. Faust pushed very hard for there to be monsters and danger in the series, more like G1- less like the abysmal G2. Hasbro was apparently always against including content like that, and it shows in S2.

When we have had monsters and danger, they've curiously been a level removed from our protagonist: the winter pageant episode had windigoes, and the Daring Do episode had a cool villain, but those were both dangers not faced by our actual characters, and were both removed from reality to a degree. We did have the cool rock eels, but it was still a structured threat that Rainbow Dash intentionally exposed herself to.

The other episodes (besides the pilot) that had "dangers" were the spike episode, which didn't really introduce a new threat, and the great dragon migration episode, where the characters intentionally went along and didn't think they were in any real danger.

COmpare that to S1: The hydra, cockatrice, red dragon, manticore, Ursas, and the Parasprites were interesting creatures that were external dangers the ponies happened upon and had to defeat, and were usually encountered in dangerous circumstances outside of the pony's control.

I'm not saying the spike epsiode or the great dragon migration episode weren't dangerous for the characters, but it's still not as significant as the above-listed threats.

Even without as much "adventure," I feel that season 2 is at least as strong as Season 1, it was just a shift I noticed, and one that made sense considering that Faust had to fight for those elements and Hasbro was against them.

I look forward to the final episode. We'll see what they do with the other "alicorns."

(I don't really like that they use that term for the unipegs or whatever. The word means a unicorn's horn)

>(I don't really like that they use that term for the unipegs or whatever. The word means a unicorn's horn)
Apparently it's been used for unipegs for at least a few decades, which is good enough for me.

Plus, "unipeg" sounds worse. So does pegacorn.

Bob 2012/04/21(Sat)10:58 No. 20987 ID: 049dfa
File 133503108785.png - (1.14MB , 895x1077 , ponywaifu.png )

holy shit dat wedding

>>20987
And she already has porn and plenty of fanart. Well played, internet.

Bob 2012/04/23(Mon)08:56 No. 20996 ID: b9e291
File 133519657522.gif - (645.63KB , 720x405 , <_< >_>.gif )

Well it's official now. The term for a horse with both a horn and wings is a "princess".

>>20996
You act like it's surprising that the royal bloodline are genetically superior.