starswirlthebearded

You just answered your own question. Evil stems from morality and morality is subjective. My moral values (or lack there of) are not the same as your moral values. You postulate that it is still evil when a person abducts a child even if the parents and society do not think it evil, but you fail to realize that this is evil to you. Western societies consider women not covering up to be an expression of sexual freedom. Many middle eastern societies consider women not covering up to increasing sexualization of women. You do not get to decide which is morally "right" or "wrong" because morallity is subjective. When murder is acceptable is subjective. Whether having chocolate rain instead of water is "evil" or "good" is subjective. Evil is subjective because what is evil is opinion.

Also I rather dislike the Phantom comparison. Phantom was the cause of the actions of others. Discord is a SPIRIT that embodies a specific trait. He is by the very nature what he is. This makes him exceptionally different from the Phantom of the Opera.

That explanation totally reminded my of Steve Hughes bit on offence. But yes, morality is highly subjective, and a lot of it stems from what the society, group, and personal upbringing of the person viewing interprets as moral. *Some* (can't blanket statement) Christians think it is amoral to be homosexual. Now I'm not saying all of morality is subjective, a lot of it is fairly uniform. But it certainly isn't black and white as some purport.

@Ginger: To say that a creature whom refers to himself as "Discord, Spirit of chaos and disharmony" is evil for being what he is, is not right. It is his inherent nature. He cannot be anything else other than a bringer of chaos and disharmony, it is his inherent nature. That is his task in life, that is all he is, the essence of chaos and disharmony in physical form. If he had a choice in the matter I may agree with him being evil, but that isn't the case. Would you say Dionysus is a drunk and a bum because he is the embodiment of wine and the party? Or Aphrodite a slut because she is the embodiment of love and desire? And naturally ERIS because she embodies STRIFE AND DISCORD as evil? No, because that is their purpose, that is all they are, it is them. It is not good or evil for them, it is who they are. What they may do may seem immoral, but they are the spirit of those traits, they are not like normal people, and should not be treated as thus.

@Weesh and GingerMint, I'd like to suggest something quite interesting. Discord didn't actually *change* the mane 6 in the strictest sense of the word. Q, and thus by extension, Discord, does not possess that ability. He can only bring out and enhance personality traits through suggestion. If the mane 6 did not possess the inclination towards those personality traits, he would not have been able to do anything. Q (Discord) can change reality, not people/ponies. Each pony CHOSE to make that change because it was suggested by Discord, with the exception of Fluttershy. In S1 each pony showed an inclination to those negative traits at least to some degree. I believe I read from link here about the elements representing the qualities that the mane 6 hold in highest regard, not what they are the embodiment of. Fluttershy showed her ability to be mean when rejected by the animals, AJ wasn't always honest, Rarity not always generous etc... Just because they hold those qualities in highest regard does not mean that they are completely opposed towards the opposite spectrum. And that is what makes them interesting characters. If they weren't like that they would be as boring as the MLP of the past.

I was going to continue onto reiterate why Discord isn't evil, but Rosewind said essentially what I was going to say.

Discord is the Yin to Celestia and Luna's yang. He is part of the necessary balance of the world. Celestia and Luna are the pure representation of consonance (they are the combination of all three pony species in harmony within their body), Discord is the pure representation of dissonance (the combination of multiple creatures that are out of harmony within his body). Harmony can only exist with the existence of both.

Discord is the poster child for lovable antagonist. However that does not make him evil. He technically didn't hurt any pony he just changed six, making one miserable (the others weren't in any state of mind to be miserable until after twi's memory spell). That is naturally not right but not necessarily evil. He changed the world into one of chaos. That is his nature, why would you fault him for that? He is no worse than Loki. And honestly had he toned it down, it would have made for a more balanced world, as in Norse mythology. And honestly, if he was in a grand scale like the character he was based off of, Q, there would have been no issue as the universe moves towards entropy anyway.

He isn't good, he isn't evil. Like most beings he just is. And he is by far my favorite antagonist.

My first thought was horror that they didn't return the egg.

The second was rationalization, because they saved the egg by running away with it.

The third was disappointment that they didn't at least make an attempt to return the egg again.

Also, regarding the attitudes and temperament of the dragons:

I expect dragons to be somewhat regal and arrogant. Not the type of arrogance shown by the teens, but the arrogance shown by one who knows that he is superior and doesn't need to prove it to anyone. I liked Dragonshy, because the dragon did not care about the ponies at all until they made severe steps against him or his treasure. "huh, there is a roach in my cave. it will probably be gone by the time I wake up..." I don't need dragons to be good or bad. I need them to act like they have grown bored of their ridiculous power.

The ending scene was nice. Not so good as the close of Kung Fu Panda 2...

when Po came to tell his dad that he had found his family

...but similarly satisfying. Well, until he named the Phoenix.

I can think of two reasons why spike did not return the egg. The first is that he was carried by the teen dragons to the nest and was transported away by twilight thus his knowledge to get there was lacking. He could have asked twilight, but either she don't remember because she was intent on following or other vague plot enhancing reason. The second is that he did off screen and the Phoenix nest had moved due to the dragon attack.

I am in total agreement on everything else though.

As always, it really was a great episode! Although, like most I feel a little disappointed on how it didn't really reveal any information on Spike like why doesn't he have wings? Or is that something he'll develop later on in his growth cycle? It would've been really cool if they gave some more information on the Dragons themselves like why do they migrate to that one spot?

As for the thing about the Phoenix, in the episode with Phylamina(sp?), Princess Celestia did mention that it was an incredibly rare sort of bird, right? Well, she didn't say that Phylamina was one-of-a-kind now did she? Besides, if Phylamina was really an immortal bird and the only Phoenix in existance, would she really spend her time being a pony's pet?

I'm going to say that Equestrian Dragons are like Dragons of Middle Earth. Not all of them are the same. Spike is a wingless dragon, nothing more. Winged dragons are probably more common and the more dominant species. But that does not mean that there aren't a smaller amount of wingless dragons somewhere around Equestria. Lets face it... Wings give an advantage in the hunt. However, it could be possible that wingless dragons have an affinity for magic and winged do not. Which could suggest separate species like in the pony population. Faust said that the Princess specifically chose a dragon egg for Twi's test. It could be that she chose it from the rarer breed of wingless, magically gifted, dragons, as opposed to the magicless and winged. Spike may just not be as talented as the Princess hoped or is a late bloomer in dragon magic, and can only perform the letter sending magic at this time. But it is possible that Spike could develop other magic down the line.

As for Spike having a Phoenix... I'm going to go out on a limb and say it will probably be shared responsibility between him and Twilight. Spike will be the primary care giver, but Twi will support him. Kind of like a kid's first pet. So I think, in reality, it will be more like a "family" pet than Spike's personal pet. That is if it survives to see another episode >_>.

I've always compared flying to swimming. You can swim as an infant, but can't as an older child and the skill has to be relearned... Either that, or as others have suggested, Scoot's body developed faster than her wings, meaning that her wings aren't big enough or strong enough to allow her to fly.

As for magic, I can't really answer, there is no real world parallel. However, it seems that in most literature magic is an instinctual natural gift that can manifest itself without the forethought of the creature casting it. The control of the magic seems to depend on the will or desire of the caster. So for a single minded infant, I see no reason why it cannot perform magic with control. The only, and I mean only, questionable thing was the portal through the basket. That seemed to be done using active thought, which shouldn't be possible. However, everything else can be explained through singleminded will.

Princess thing is because of Disney and their evil regime brainwashing little girls into thinking queens are evil and princesses are good.

Here is the link from faust confirming this courtesy of tales: http://img.ponibooru.org/_images/0beedbf8d2a82fc6a0b6fb241682a320/5739%20-%20celestia%20deviantart%20lauren_faust%20queen%20word_of_faust.png

Strangely enough the CMC are actually cuddled in fear of Nightmare moon in the first episode of season 1. Makes you think why they never came to this realisation of cutie marks much earlier.

Would you notice that in the face of impending doom? Seems trivial in comparison.

Copyright laws are weird. When LOTR came out, there were two sets of rights. For video games for example, there was EA who could only use the rights for the movie versions of LOTR. If it didn't happen in the movies (But happen in the books) they couldn't use it. While another video game company had the rights from the books. If It didn't happen in the books, they couldn't use it. yeek.

This is why I went into science instead of law.... Law is unnecessarily complicated... Well, at least I have no reason to boycott it anymore, and I can see it in theaters like I did the LotR series.

Nope. The copyrights still stand, and besides, it's not Peter Jackson or MGM/WB/New Line that's suing, it's the Saul Zaentz Company. And from what I've heard so far, the company worked out a few things with the pub, and they were permitted to continue to use the name...

Ah that is good to hear. Though I really could have sworn the copyrights only last 50 years... But I could be thinking of the wrong media copyright or the wrong application.

I think it's perfectly acceptable. The pub is making money off of something they do not own. They do not own the rights to the Hobbit. And it's not like they just have a clever name, the whole pub is Hobbit themed. From the names of the drinks to the photos on their 'loyality cards'. You either protect your copyright, or you lose it. What I believe is unacceptable is that this tavern has been up for 20 years and they just now are doing something about it.

I'm pretty sure the copyrights on the term have expired. The studio bought the name for the purposes of the movie, but that doesn't extend to business names. Though I could be wrong, law was never my forte.

No blueray is a totally useless format, especially when its coming so soon after DVD, it only exists for HD snobs, Hollywood to remake movies because they ran out of ideas and DRM.

Soirry I am totally opposed to this so called "standard"

It's called progress. I don't see you complaining when they come out with a new processor that becomes a standard. And those last less time than DVD did. DVD lasted about 10 years, which for a standard in technology these days is a long time.

I'm sorry, but as awesome as the trailer looks, I cannot support this movie.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17350103

That is simply unacceptable. I hope others will join me in the boycott of these movies. Attacking businesses because they chose to name their business after a fantastic novel is disgusting.

Rumor had it the premier will be April 14 at 11 am EST.

The show is actually animated at a resolution slighter higher than 1920x1080. It's not an "actual" resolution you would find in any monitor's settings. It's something along the lines of 1963x1156.

The reasoning for this, is so that when transferred to television, minimal image quality is lost (if any) when The hub airs the episodes. This resolution helps 1080i keep it's quality, as well as perfect quality for 720p, and 1080p alike.

Also note that not many (if any) TV providers provide 1080p channels. Usually it is 720,or 1080i. Of course, The hub only airs in 1080i, so it isn't actually 1080p. Which is why the iTunes episodes look better. However, the actual image quality loss when in 1080i is VERY MINIMAL for animation. As it only affects things like fast-paced sports. It would take a highly trained eye to tell the difference between 1080i, and 1080p for an animated show like this.

OK, see, now that is interesting, I did not know that. I knew that TV broadcasts in 720p or 1080i, but did not know about the higher source resolution. Also... I suck at telling the differences, even on my 46" 1080P LED TV. I can barely tell the difference between a 720p source and a 1080i source. The most I do is hear a difference in audio. Though I can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. I know... I'm strange.

Thanks for the lesson

Not often do I see a topic that requires my technical knowledge. I like it!

The "higher" the quality, the better. This is a rule, not an opinion. The only time this varies is if it's supposed to "reference" to olden times. (Like intentionally lowering sound quality in 8-bit music)

The Color correction is applied in the iTunes episodes, but there's really no "certain" way to view it. If you don't own the episodes via iTunes, but got them via other means, you can manually "Correct" the color using your Computer's video card.

I can use Catalyst Control Center (My video card control station) to manually change the color, saturation, hues, brightness, contrast, etc, and apply it to video not only on my PC, but on the internet. The only upside to the iTunes is that there are no watermarks. (The hub logo, and such)

"720p" resolution is 1280x720, and is considered an HD resolution. However, you need to remember that higher resolution is ALWAYS better. My native resolution on my Monitor is 1920x1080, which is 1080p.

I have all of the episodes downloaded in 1080p, and they look fantastic. Why, may you ask?

Because. When a video's resolution is the same, or closer to your native resolution, less "stretching" is applied when you full screen it. Less stretching = less blurry pixels, better color, and a better video experience.

There is no "overkill" to this show. The only way you could do that, is if you stretch it PAST the resolution it was animated in. (Say it was animated in 1920x1080, but you stretch it to 2560x1600) otherwise, the better resolution, the better quality.

Oh, and by the way. The quality difference between 720p and 1080p is VERY VERY noticeable,. BUT only if your monitor is running at a resolution of 1920x1080 or higher. Otherwise, all of your "1080p" episodes are resized down to your native resolution. Which, granted, would still look better than 720p. I can get you some photos soon, too, if you'd like. A comparison, if you will.

Hope this is helpful~

I only have one issue with all of that... I have heard, though unconfirmed, that MLP:FiM is not animated in full 1080p, not even 1080i, which would mean that they are upscaling for 1080p. Naturally there are ways to enhance and remove artifacts if you have the source material, but it is still not perfect. Which means that there is still some loss of quality, which would make 1080p overkill in this case. (I have heard that it is animated in 720p, which is its native resolution). So while it will look better due to lack of stretching, it still won't be true 1080p quality.

Though, if what I have heard is untrue, than everything you said is 120% correct. (I'm not substantiating rumors, just mentioning it, as it would be a point of contention and quality loss)

Naturally, for such a grand explanation you deserve this:

This should probably be moved to the 18+ section. Maybe.

This should be deleted or merged, because I'm pretty sure there is already a R34 topic in the +18 section. Though this sounds like the topic "

How do you feel about the sexualization of ponies?

"

Though I suppose it can also fit into the shipping and R34 thread >_>

If I recall, she was supposed to be Queen Celestia from the start, but Hasbro insisted that she be a princess cause "Little Girls love princess'!" Forget the fact that Celestia is the resident sun goddess.

I blame Disney. Every Disney movie princess= good, Queen = evil.

If I was on my normal PC I'd find something clever to reply to that with, but alas it's on the moon right now.

I never realized how many ads this board has, a ll my blockers are gone

You need to meet my good friend "portable apps." (I'm never without my bookmarks or addons thanks to Firefox and Chrome portable, especially the latter because I can log in and get everything synced)

That said... It is REALLY TOUGH. It really depends on my mood. Smile Smile Smile, Find a Pet and Opportunity are all amazing. I think Opportunity is my overall favorite because... Music Man. Yup that is it. That is my reason folks. I associate it with its source material, that is what it took for me to decide. I'm a horrible person

Show me another pony, ANY other pony, that can manifest rainbows. That's the key here. Any pegasus can create a sonic boom, but only a rainbow pegasus with their unique rainbow magic can create a rainboom. As of now, we only have Rainbow and possibly Celestia.

Yes, but Dash is self-proclaimed "Fastest Pegasus in all equestria" if she was beated it woudl shatter her fragile self-image and do a LOT of internal emmotional damage that few ponies would ever see (probably fluttershy, possibly twilight, the others probably would see no change)

I dont hate her, I just want to see her get her comeuppance. I think she'd be a nice vehicle to exlore Dash's past and quite possibly her psyche (and griffens are awesome!)

Sent PM, I don't want to derail the topic any more than we already have.

2 problems with that. I LOVE the idea of Gilda being shown up, that I agree with, but...

1. Sonic Rainboom can only be performed by a rainbow pony, it's a fascet of the same magic that gives dash her rainbow 'trail' that follows her when she flies

2. That would decimate dash. She would lose faith in herself, her abilities, and the wonderbolts. She might even grow to hate them or herself... It could be one Tartarus of a movie, but I dont think that in 22 minutes it could be resolved with any finality unless it *was* intended to destroy dash emmotionally (as opposed to simply humbling her) --- now keep in mind that's a worst-case-scenario. Though I do think she would lose faith in herself and her already-low self-esteme would take a nasty hit. I dont think she'd hate the wonderbolts but she might give up on her dreams of joining them... or she would become insanely obcessed about winning against fleetfoot and spend all her time working out and practicing, letting her obcession destroy her... neither of which is pretty... (though again, great movie --- or fic idea, either way)

Was it ever confirmed that it needs to be a Rainbow Pegasus? Just because RD is the only one that can do it, doesn't mean that no pony else can. Also Pinkie said "When a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going so fast a sonic boom and rainbow happen all at once," and no mention of a specific type of Pegasus was mentioned... In fact, the colts that previously made fun of RD asked if she could teach them how she did it, suggesting that it is possible for others to learn. Also, the fact that the Wonderbolts are "the best fliers in all of Equestria" would lessen the blow, imo. Think of it this way... If you trained in a sport, and was able to do a move before anyone else, and then one of your idols performed it after, knowing that it is a near impossible move, would you honestly be so destroyed emotionally? Really? They are professionals, that is their job. All they do is train in aerial tricks, so if any pony other than RD was to be able to do it, it would have to be a Wonderbolt. And I think that would just make RD respect them more, but realize that she isn't unique. Though, she likely would go mad trying to beat fleetfoot... That I will give you, it's in her personality... However, the Wonderbolts are probably the only ponies in Equestria that would be able to beat her without destroying her completely, because of how much she respects them. It would provide a mechanism for her to be further recognized as well, because no pony would think any less of her for losing to a Wonderbolt, but would think of her more highly for being able to beat 5/6 of the Wonderbolts and come in 2nd overall. I actually think it would do well as part of the finale of FiM (if they ever do one). A method of being fully recognized and a way into the Wonderbolts while giving a final push for her development.

Alright, so, I'll just state whom I'd like to see and why...

Luna - Seriously, we need more Luna. I'd like to see something like a problem at night and Luna steps in and recruits the mane 6 to help solve it. I'd even appreciate more cameos. She is supposed to be the co-ruler of Equestria after all.

Trixie - Now mind you, I'm not a huge Trixie fan, but she has some depth and is one of the few characters that can honestly grow and reappear changed. I'd really like to see her return as part of a new revised magic show tour in Ponyville. Not even in the foreground, but in the background. Letting it be only mentioned that she changed for the better and that her magic show is enjoyable for all without being demeaning or overly boastful without reason.

Fancy Pants and Fleur - Fancy Pants and Fleur were just awesome. They are characters I wouldn't mind seeing every time that one of the Mane 6 was in Canterlot. In fact, I think that should be a prerequisite as a cameo, even if only by name. He seemed genuinely interested in the Mane 6, and I'm sure by now he has heard that Twi is protegee to the Princess. It would be interesting to see him invite the mane 6 to future parties and such. Or if they do a return to the Gala, it would be interesting if the mane 6 made a problem and he steps in to stand up for them along with the Princess. The two most infuential people in Canterlot standing up for 6 ponies from Ponyville (or perhaps 5, because I'm sure at least some guests at the Gala would recognize Twi from Canterlot)

Gilda - I loathe Gilda for starters. However, I'd love to see her in the capacity of an open flyer competition. Specifically, I'd like to see her place really poorly, being beaten out by many she would deem "uncool." If such an episode did come to pass, I'm not sure I'd want RD to win either though. The ideal end for a competition like that would be this for me: RD is in the top 5 until the end (likely with at least one or two of the Wonderbolts). RD jumps to first using the Sonic Rainboom. Fleetfoot (the confirmed fastest of the Wonderbolts) follows suit and beats RD at the last second, causing RD to come in second. This would naturally shock RD, whom thought she was the only one that could perform the feat, allowing her some growth as a character. Honestly, the humbling episode for RD (specifically MMDW) was really lacking, and I think that would do it right. Gilda wouldn't even place in the top 10, and hopefully realize that being cool isn't everything, and perhaps apologize to Pinkie and RD.

Her argument is invalid based off of the current episode. Solid Snake Twilight? Unless she wants to make the argument that Metal Gear Solid is girly that is... (I don't know if you can, MGS is like awesomeness concentrated)

But honestly... Brony artists and musicians make the most awesome of stuff, and tailor the show's girly image to something decidedly not girly, or at the very least androgynous. There are many things on ponychan, ponybooru, and deviantart that can't be put on this site because of their content. And they make everything from figures like above, music of all sorts from classical to electronica, and artwork that takes the basic image and makes it into something new and exciting. Honestly, I think Faust was able to leave the project as early as she did because she felt she completed what she set out to do, which was to create a show that proved that a girl's show didn't just need to be fluffy nonsense and could have solid substance that everyone could enjoy despite a girly image and history (though I think we can all agree that this is clearly a case of lightning striking twice because PPG did it first, just without the stigmatic history). And the brony community, as ostracized as it is, is constantly growing in size and is testament to her efforts, and proof that she succeeded.

As I said earlier in this thread. If I saw this situation happening, I'd buy two of the same toy the kid wanted and give one to him and keep one for myself. And would probably take the effort to explain to the mother that looks can be deceiving and to not judge a book by its cover. I think everyone in this community would agree this isn't the same show as it was in G2 and G3, hell it isn't even the same as G1 (which I admit, CR got me curious and I gave a shot and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be quite the opposite in fact, I didn't enjoy it near as much as G4 and the art style wasn't doing it for me). The show has solid substance, interesting and dynamic characters, engaging storylines, and solid comedy with adult in jokes that make it possible for adults to enjoy, and even gets people of all ages interested in things that they normally wouldn't have looked at, whether it be I Love Lucy because of the cherry scene or The Music Man because of the Flim Flam Brother's song (among others). This show has pretty much everything that makes a good cartoon good.

Because haters annoy me,and waste butt-wiping time.

Love and tolerate bro, love and tolerate

Seems there are a few add ponies here. Myself included. Welcome from yet another add pony.I hope you enjoy yourself here.