Lux

[colour=#800000]"Ooo..." [/colour]Sweet Surprise said through a few sniffles, [colour=#800000]"You like dark chocolate too? I love dark chocolate!"[/colour]

Upon hearing Three Cloud utter his disgust at dark chocolate, the chocolate pony turned to him with a look like he said the foulest thing in the world.

[colour=#800000]"Bleh .... to dark chocolate? You're not sick or something, are you?"[/colour]

Really it boils down to this:

1. It's a movie, not a series and as such will have little impact on the series as a whole.
   
2. If you base your dislike off of rumors and what little we know about it but not watch the show, then all you're really doing is practice the same baseless paranoia that spread times before when Faust left, Cadence was introduced, and Twilight became a Princess.
   
3. If you watch it and like it, great for you.
   
4. If you watch it and don't like the movie, remember it's just a movie and will not impact the series much if at all.
   
5. And most importantly, we are our own worst enemies. If we go around thinking that every change is going to spell the death of MLP FiM as we know it, then as long as you trick your brain into believing such silly notions then nothing that the writers, artists, VAs or musicians do will be good enough.
   

So let's put away our torches and pitchforks and actually wait to see how the movie really is instead of wild speculation, shall we?

[colour=#ff0000]"Thanks," [/colour]Fire Heart replied to Spirit who commented on her dorm room, [colour=#ff0000]"It really isn't much, just a home away from home. But you said that your room is smaller than this? [/colour][colour=#ff0000]Wow, how big is your space Spirit? I mean, I thinkt this place is small! I really had to think about where to put things and I don't want to take over the other side in case I do get a room mate."[/colour]

The red unicorn heard Moondancer comment about the fact that she was without a room mate. The older filly knew that Moon was likely to talk to Miss Marie to arrange a new room mate for her.

[colour=#ff0000]"Oh, it's not a problem being without a room mate, honestly. I have friends on this floor. As for the bursting into flames thing, that was a fluke. I was preparing for a tough exam and getting frustrated. My room mate kept wanting to talk to me when all I wanted to do was study. And when she knocked some of my notes off the table, well, I kind of scared her when I burst into flames. She ran out of the room shouting that her room mate was on fire. I guess she didn't know that was my ability. Well she left the next day for another dorm room, and I've been by myself since. Come to think of it, that was when I first came here, so it's how long. maybe a few years?"[/colour]

[colour=#800000]"Why yes I did, well, either me or Mr. Cocoa who owns the store (cough). Of course (sniff) I didn't [/colour][colour=#800000]make those today (cough) being sick and all. But do you have a favorite candy miss?" [/colour]

[colour=#ff0000]"That's good to hear. Actually I just want to check out your shop first before we go upstairs."[/colour]

As she looked around the store, she noticed something right away. The store felt cool inside. Maybe it was to help in the snow cone making process or maybe Ice Storm just liked it that way. She said that the heat bothered her after all.

[colour=#ff0000]"So this is where all your snow cones are made? How many flavours do you have exactly?"[/colour]

Hello.

Your friendly neighborhood Helpstaffer Lux here.

You have an interesting character there. Let's take a look at a few things to make this character even better!

You asked about whether it's ok to have another OC in you app. That depends on whether it is yours or another one's OC. If it's yours, you can certainly include it into your app. If it belongs to another, you'll need their permission and you'll need to explain that in your app.

Besides that, you should expand your character's history a little more. Things like how Aureate first met his cousin, why he chose to leave Trottingham and move to Canterlot, and how he he is currently adapting to the new city are good to know. Basically, the more we know about your pony, the better we can role play with him.

Before Carrot Top could say anything, Derpy removed the carrots from her basket while explaining her mistake.

[colour=#ff8c00]"You know Derpy, if you wanted carrots, you could stop by my stand. Is there anything you need else from the store?"[/colour]

She gave a little nod to Hayseed as if to ask him to help her help Derpy while trying to see if she was completely alright.

Yeah, it doesn't but this one seemed more in the forefront than others did. You might though want to switch the tag to FiM Cast to designate it.

Hello. This character I think would be better suited if she was considered a Tier 3 pony. Other than that it looks fine, but please adjust the title.

Sky Flare stood in line behind the griffon, waiting his turn. Outside he tried to keep a calm cool appearance, but inside he was shaking. It wasn't the fact that he was about to get a kiss from Zecora. He imagined that a kiss was the same no matter if the giver was a pony, griffon, or zebra. What made him nervous was the fact of just getting a kiss! Although he wouldn't admit it, the fire manned stallion had never been kissed.

[colour=#ff8c00]"Heh... looks like all of you are looking for the same thing this Hearts and Hooves Day, a nice kiss, am I right?" [/colour]

He hoped in talking to somepony, his nerves could be steeled until it was his turn.

Fire Heart stood amongst the crowd, still looking for her friend's business and house, when she heard a familiar voice. The older filly looked around for the source of the sound until she spotted Ice Storm in the crowd.

[colour=#ff0000]"Ice Storm," [/colour]she exclaimed as she ran towards her friend and gave her hug, taking care to be calm enough to not accidentally catch fire, [colour=#ff0000]"How have you been?"[/colour]

Without warning, the strange mare walked up to Heart Healer and without saying much of anything other than claiming that she was "pretty" rubbed the pony's cheek with her hoof, leaving a smudge.

[colour=#800080]"Errr... yes, pretty. Um, you haven't met a Crystal Pony before, have you miss, what is your name?"[/colour]

Then the strange mare asked to see the Crystal Heart, adding that it would make a great present.

[colour=#800080]"While we'd be happy to show you the Crystal heart, it really isn't a present. It's very important to us."[/colour]

Hearing that other ponies agreed to assist the mare and the stallion to see the Empire, Heart Healer became relieved. She turned towards the armor clad pony and whispered in her ear.

[colour=#800080]"Not to tell you how to do your job, but I'd watch that strange mare. She sounds like she wants the Heart as a gift."[/colour]

Trying to redirect the conversation, Heart Healer turned her attention to the stallion who now had a notebook in hoof.

[colour=#800080]"So, are you a reporter?" [/colour]

Happy birthday you wonderful pink party planning pony!

Heart Healer walked down the road that provided a main artery from the Crystal Gate nearest to the new railway station into town. She paused as she looked out past the gate and into the snow covered wasteland, wondering who might come to visit the Crystal Empire. She knew the allure of a city that recently appeared would attract ponies to her home town, and she wondered how they would be like.

Suddenly a pony seemed to drop from the sky and rather than going through the gate like a rational pony would ended up hitting the gate instead. She quickly galloped over to get a closer look at this pony. Maybe that's what some ponies did beyond the borders of the empire, or maybe she was testing the structural integrity of the gate in her own special way. But for whatever reason, one thing was for certain. The winged mare looked strange dressed in a shirt adorned with little pockets and a hat.

[colour=#800080]"Oh, [/colour][colour=#800080]hello there. I see that you found one of our entryways to the Empire, so good for you."[/colour]

She saw that a serious looking pony clad in armor, no doubt one of the guards protecting the city, had come to the fallen pony's aid. She then noticed a second pony, this one a male unicorn running towards the entrance.

[colour=#800080]"Ah, I see you've found the gate too, but with better success as you didn't actually found it with you head like this mare did. Well, welcome to the Crystal Empire. I'm not the usual welcoming party, but I guess I'll do. My name is Heart Healer. What's your name?" [/colour]

Heart Healer suddenly realized that while she thought that she had the free time this evening she really had an even more important meeting to attend to. It was a psychology lecture that she marked on her calendar but seemed to slip her mind until now.

[colour=#800080]"Oh, excuse me everypony, but I do have to get going. I'm sorry that I can't stay but something came up. Hopefully I'll see you again."[/colour]

The mare left the guild feeling embarrassed that she had to make such an abrupt exit. But her embarrassment was quickly replaced by the need to get to the Canterlot University's lecture hall before she was late.

(OOC: I am reworking Heart Healer and need to pull her out of this thread. Fear not, I will still be keeping Fire Heart here.)

(OOC: This thread is now closed. Fear not, there will be another one similar to this soon. I'm giving this character an overhaul. Thanks to all who participated so far.)

Hello there!

I'm a furry and pony artist. I have to say that I felt the same way as you did, questioning how well I drew. But here are a couple of things I learned over time that hopefully can help you.

Nobody's perfect. You're going to have hits and misses in your art. Sometimes you art might not turn out as you wanted it while other times it may be better than expected. The goal is to minimize those less than stellar art and maximize the good results.

That brings me to my next point: practice, practice, practice. Very few artists can pick up a digital pen and draw awesome works of art with their first try. I spent a year drawing and I still know I have a long way to go. There is no magic trick to being a good artist other than practicing. the more you do, the better you'll be.

Aside from practicing, do your homework. Study how others draw (but don't copy them) and study art books. Maybe even take a few art classes. The more you learn the better you'll be. Also try drawing a certain part of your character like just the head or a hand to get the details down.

And most importantly, draw for yourself. You will have those that like your art, and you'll have those trolls that will for some reason not like it. Personally, I barely get any responses to my art just because of the sheer number of art works being made per day. The thing you have to remember is that art is a passion first. You draw because you want to. How others view your art is all extra. So ignore the haters and the trolls and focus on how you view your art. You are who you think you are. If you think your art is bad, then you'll trick your brain into drawing bad art. This is a scientific fact. So train your brain to think that you are doing well and go from there.

Hope what I said helps as much as it helps me when I draw and continue to improve.

Sweet Surprise watched as Three Cloud scaled the shelf. She worried that he would be ok. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to this colt's parent or parents why he was now hurt.

Luckily the colt managed to get the item with the customer's help. Suddenly Three Cloud accused the pony of thievery.

[colour=#800000]"Three Cloud," [/colour]she yelled and then broke down in a coughing fit.

[colour=#800000]"I know you want to play store manager, but you can't accuse ponies of being thieves."[/colour]

She then turned to the pony who entered in. The poor thing probably felt startled.

[colour=#800000]"I'm really sorry about that (cough). My name is Sweet Surprise (sniff). Is there anything else i can get you?"[/colour]

Carrot Top watched as Dr. Stable explained his need to put Derpy to sleep for further examination and how Flam fought back against the idea. The mare simply shrugged at the idea when Hayseed looked over at her for her opinion.

[colour=#ff8c00]"Well... you're the Doc, um, doc. I mean as long as she's ok after waking up, then that's fine with me. I mean she's acting more... more than she normally does."[/colour]

Carrot Top braced herself for what she thought was going to be an ugly confrontation between Flam and Haymaker when to her surprise the mare suddenly swallowed some pills and fell asleep. Hayseed could only apologize to Carrot Top for her sister's action.

[colour=#ff8c00]"Oh you don't have to apologize Hayseed. If anything this is sure livening things up at this store. And no pony was hurt so I think things are ok. Um...Doctor? How long do those pills last in terms of a pony sleeping?"[/colour]

Suddenly Derpy swooped by and dropped some items into her shopping bag. She searched into the bag to see what exactly the pegasus dropped in.

[colour=#ff8c00]"A box of tea, [/colour][colour=#ff8c00]a bottle of mane and tail shampoo, and a bag of carrots? Er... I'm not sure if I need the last one."[/colour]

She turned to Hayseed and whispered in his ear.

[colour=#ff8c00]"Um... Hayseed? She gave me a bag of carrots among other things. Practically everypony knows I sell [/colour][colour=#ff8c00]carrots. My house looks like a big carrot and there's a garden of carrots surrounding it with nothing but carrots. I mean even my cutie mark is a carrot! I think we should follow her in the store just to be sure she's ok."[/colour]

[colour=#800000]"This is going to be soooooo sweet," [/colour]Sweet Surprise exclaimed as she trotted merrily through town towards the Town Hall. It had been a while since the chocolate hued pony last set her hooves in Ponyville and the EQGirlsCon was a perfect excuse to do so.

At last she reached the front desk of the convention and approached the green mare.

[colour=#800000]"Hi there. I'm Sweet Surprise! I'm checking in for this [/colour][colour=#800000]super fun convention!"[/colour]

Meanwhile...

Carrot Top looked back at her house and the surrounding garden before making her way to the Town Hall. The orange manned mare felt like she needed a little break from farming and a change to get to know more ponies. Of course owning a farm meant that she didn't have the luxury of just getting up and hopping aboard a train to some other town when she felt like it. The convention therefore was her best change to take a little holiday while still being close enough to her house in case she needed to return.

[colour=#ff8c00]"Hello there," [/colour]Carrot Top said as she approached the registration desk, [colour=#ff8c00]"I'm here to sign up for the convention. Oh, and I brought along a carrot cake in case you want an extra dessert."[/colour]

Sweet Surprise watched as a new pony entered the store. Having Three Cloud as a temporary assistant could either be a big success or an epic failure.

The colt seemed to forget the name of the store, and he didn't quite know where the chocolates were but so far nothing bad happened.

[colour=#a52a2a]"Um... Three Cloud. The place is called Mr. Cocoa's Candy Confections. Yeah, I know it's a confusing name, but you'll get the hang of it. Also just take a moment to get used to where everything is in the store." [/colour]

Congrats to the happy couple!

Sweet looked at the colt in front of her. On one hoof she vowed to work today and was unsure how much this customer actually knew about retail and the delicate art that was candy making. But on the other hoof she was sick and couldn't function even as half of her normal self. If she didn't do something she'd have to close early, a fate worse than getting stuck in taffy or when she made the jelly beans that tasted like vegetables which didn't work so well.

[colour=#a52a2a]"Um... I guess you can help today," [/colour]she said to the eager colt.

Light finally started feeling better. The barn, however, did not. How was there supposed to be a party for Apple Bloom when everything was a mess?

[colour=#daa520]"I hope I didn't mess things up," [/colour]the colt said as his ears flattened to his side.

He knew that Apple Bloom was his friend, a pony that gave him the time of day when others did not and helped him to overcome his shyness. And if there was one thing he knew about friendship, it was that friends helped other friends.

[colour=#daa520]"Time to get this party back to together, starting with a little clean up."[/colour]

With a flicker of his horn, he began to deconstruct the hay bale fortress and spread it out into a table.

[colour=#daa520]"Come on ponies," [/colour]he said standing on the hay bale table and firing off a blast of light to hopefully get some of the ponies' attention, [colour=#daa520]"Let's get this place back to normal so Apple Bloom can have an awesome party!" [/colour]

How's the app coming?