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.

>>20997
Looking at real world royalty, yeah I kinda am.

Bob 2012/06/02(Sat)15:10 No. 21361 ID: 2eac65
File 133867505379.png - (3.04MB , 1280x4000 , darkness_of_the_unknown.png )

I really like the new villains they came up with for the finale. Chrysalis has a clear motive that isn't simply petty villainy, and the changelings have a well-defined theme to their powers which are useful for a variety of plots without being too overpowered. They'd make good recurring enemies in later episodes.

Their design is nice, too. Very similar to the ponies, but different enough to be unsettling. I just wished they'd chosen a different color scheme for Chrysalis; we already had one "black winged unicorn with a dark blue mane".

Random thought: It's neat how they several of the major villains in Equestria have motives that, while antagonistic to pony society, are also mutually antagonistic to each other. Makes it seem more like a matter of good and evil individuals instead of simply Good versus Evil.

>>21361

I liked the new villains but goddamn Chrysalis has got to learn not to reveal all her evil plans to the one pony who stopped being suspicious of her.

>chrysalids
BACK TO THE SKYRANGER

>>21362
Fortunately for her, she has minions who can hopefully think of a plan she couldn't.

>>21361
Next Season: The Mane Six discover that Chrysalis laid eggs in Twilight Sparkle! Now they have to decide whether changeling babies can be raised among ponies to not be evil, while Twilight recovers in the hospital.

Bob 2012/06/07(Thu)03:34 No. 21386 ID: e3d099
File 133906527002.jpg - (8.90KB , 240x240 , topper no.jpg )

>>21380

It looks like Ponibooru is going to shut down soon.

That's about all I can say on the matter.

>>21518
Damn, that's awful...
I'll have to try to make some time to archive everything cool I can find on Ponibooru while it's still up.

Bob 2012/06/23(Sat)00:42 No. 21593 ID: 927efa
File 134043735781.jpg - (104.88KB , 720x720 , O3o.jpg )

>>21564

http://www.ponibooru.org/endofanera.html

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0a28fe146ed6d80f2e5f2921f1cd39400aa794b2&dn=Ponibooru-Select-Safe&tr=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ponibooru.org%
2Fwaterfall%2Fannounce.php
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:272b2d8d73781c6e08474833aaa7a23486aef6a1&dn=Ponibooru-Select-Questionable&tr=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ponibo
oru.org%2Fwaterfall%2Fannounce.php
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f14024d292c1332fc867d09df54cce9a5d5c5120&dn=Ponibooru-Select-Explicit&tr=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ponibooru.
org%2Fwaterfall%2Fannounce.php
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2c85d81a1e30bb5b9f84fe562af479e1851193f8&dn=Ponibooru-Select-Unrated&tr=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ponibooru.o
rg%2Fwaterfall%2Fannounce.php

 

Yes, I'm bumping the pony thread with something a month old which is also uncomfortably close to rap music. But bloody hell, the animation quality on this is unbelievable.

>>22341
It really is amazing what some people can make when they've found the right inspiration.

Which could be said about the show itself, in a way.