brianblackberry

• Twilight is not a Mary Sue. I wrote a blog here about this, but let me try to sum it up: being a Mary Sue isn't just that a character has super powers or is very likeable. It means that you have a character who is unchallenged by anything that happens to them. Twilight may be a Princess now but this hasn't stopped her from wondering about how she is going to shoulder this new-found responsibility. She has faced many challenges too and is indeed affected by them, unlike a true Mary Sue who in unfazed.
  

This is part of the result of the Internet forgetting what a Mary Sue actually is supposed to be in lieu of creating a vague and broad definition, with the intent of shoehorning in any character into the motif that they do not particularly care for. This is especially true when it comes to fan made characters. OC have one or more positive traits? Well that's a Sue. Make them too negative though, then its an "Anti-Sue", which is seen as just as bad.

People warp what Mary Sue means in order to justify their own subjective dislike for a character to justify their claim there is something objectively wrong with said character.

• There seems to be a backlash regarding some popular members of the fandom. When has popularity become a source of hate? Or maybe these people are just jealous.
  

This isn't an FIM or Brony fandom only phenomenon, but a general geek fandom issue. If one is involved enough in Furry, Anime, Gaming, Pokemon, etc, etc. fandoms, one will find this exact same issue in regards to "fan celebrities" or even fandom folks with some fair amount of popularity.

There are many reasons why this sort of thing happens. Partially it depends on how the popular member responds towards their new found fame. Every fandom has its cliques and elitism where some people will suddenly have their new in-fandom fame go to their heads, becoming elitist in their association and having a level of disdain towards "the fanboys", which is viewed as anyone who may be a fan who is not part of their clique. This really rustles the jimmies of the Internet, especially given that fandom stars are often riding on the coattails of actual creators of the show or game they are a fan of (this is much less true in Furry, as most content is original, but famous people can still easily morph into giant elitist jerks).

That all being said, many fandom famous folks are quite decent, friendly, and appreciative but may still get the hate from various corners of the fandom. Why? Well you already nailed it: Jealousy. People don't like it when others manage to get fame (and money) for what they probably do just for fun. Here is a now fan famous persona, making content they love on their own time, being their own boss, setting their own prices, and people are willing to buy; its a small dream being realized. Well for others who simply do not have the talent, or fail to utilize their own, they sometimes simply get jealous that they are not receiving the accolades. Of course they could try and change that, but it is easier and costs a lot less effort to lash out.

I saw Luna in her first season form as Luna before her magic fully returned to her after she was freed, hence why she was darker and her mane ethereal in season two.

Carrot Fields

Carrot Fields felt like an humilated young colt, as if he was back in school and he tripped over his own hooves, causing him to fall on his face with all his books and papers spilling out on the floor before him, right in front of all the fillies; it was the closest analogy he could think of to his current situation. The matter certainly wasn't helped by his little sister scolding him as if he was a little foal, even if she was right to be upset, it was still an accident! He apologized as he tried to explain himself to his sister, dropping all attempts to make himself more understandable to the local ponies, "AIt was an accident, Ah jist wanted tae offer some ay yer wonderfully delicioos cake tae Dash an' Rarity. Ah didne pure techt tae trip! sorry... jist, Ah guess Ah am jist a pure big klutz fa jist is bad at talkin' tae th' mares."

As guilty as he felt in regards to his sister, it wasn't half as much as he felt towards Applejack. In one brief moment, he managed to mess up the centerpiece gift the orange mare got for her sister's birthday; a birthday Carrot Fields now felt he had no business being at anyway. "Aam sorry Applejack, 'at was stupid ay me." He'd offer to clean it up, but he probably end up making even a bigger mess. "If ye need onie part fixed ur replaced, i'll be sure tae pay fur it. Woods ye loch me tae leave? Ur Ah coods help clean them!" He just gave an awkward, embarrassed smile. Could you blame her if she did tell you to go, you Dumbtail?

Cheerilee

Cheerilee simply smiled as Applebloom guessed incorrectly what the gift may be. This was a good thing, as it made the surprise all the better when the gift was revealed. Applebloom's reaction didn't disappoint either once the little farm filly discovered what her present was. Cheerilee gave Abby a hug back, "happy birthday Applebloom, I hope the compass really helps with you and your friends' crusading."

She didn't want Sweetie Belle to feel bad though for giving Applebloom a similar gift, "come to think of it, you could keep one compass in your clubhouse and one with you on adventures. Orrr take both with you in case one of you got lost, that way it be easier to find your way home." Of course, that idea would only make perfect sense with three compasses. Well at least that meant she knew what to get for the next birthday among the trio.

Martini Paradise

As Martini stood on her haunches and slowly worked Misty Morning's back with her forehooves, she smiled as the Wonderbolt crooned approvingly at her massage skills, "glad I could help here hon. To be honest, I wasn't sure how good I'd really be, I've never done this formally, or had any actual training". She has given massages before, for one reason or another, but it was always an informal or intimate situation and it had honestly been years, Martini was surprised that her massaging skills had not gone rusty with time, either that or any relief the pegasus mare got for her achy back was good right now.

The bar mare laughed when Misty asked about the price of her massage services along with the rooms. "Well as I mentioned a few times to your fellow pegasai, tonight the rooms are free, courtesy of Ponyland! It's for all that you brave flyers did in combating that terrible storm that came out of the Everfree." Martini thought for a moment and snickered playfully, "I guess that means the massage is free too, although I wouldn't have charged ya anyways."

Martini looked up as she continued to kneed at the Wonderbolt's back with her hooves, it was well into the wee hours of the morning! Soon Celestia's sun would rise above the horizon, which meant one thing, "alright ponies, I doubt if anyone is still awake enough for anymore drinks but I still gotta say it! 'Last Call!' " At this point, Martini was sure the remaining ponies were much more interested in sleep than wetting their whistles.

Flitter

Flitter smiled wearily at Cloudchaser; it was clear the bow wearing pegasai mare was feeling the post-cider hangover and her once flirty, giggly demeanor had quickly mellowed out to hazy exhaustion. That and thirst, as she reached over and poured herself a small glade of cold water. "Ooogh, I think I went a bit too far with the apple ciders Cloudy hon…"

Hopefully she didn't act like a total mule earlier. Cloudchaser appeared to be in good spirits, so that was a good sign that things were alright.. Well, usually, and that is what Flitter was going to go with in her mind as she was simply too tired to actually inquire. "Cloudy hon, I think I'm..uhh ready to lay down now…"

Flitter slowly stood up and walked, well more stumbled towards the back and into the same room her and Cloudchaser had talked in earlier with only one thing on her mind… Sleep.

*Exit Flitter*

Trixie was caught quite off guard by Twilight and her "escort" when they appeared in front of her, surrounding the trio in some sort of mist. It seemed the lavender mare had more spirit then Trixie gave her credit for, as she appeared to be determined to have the last word. That admiration by Trixie was mixed with incredulousness when Twilight demanded that Trixie be apologetic and demur towards the royal guard. Trixie had learned to apologize, as hard as it can be, whenever she was clearly in the wrong or done something awful, like with the Alicorn Amulet, but this wasn't one of those times!

With a bemused expression on Trixie's face she rolled her eyes, "oh, so it is like that between you two is it? Trixie suspected as much!" Truth was, Trixie had no real idea about any feelings the orange pegasus may have or vise versa, but it was a fun thought to tease with none the less.

As amused as the azure unicorn may have been, she was also disturbed by Twilight's demanding attitude. The purple alicorn may be indeed the best at magic, but she still had a lot to learn about the responsibilities and required maturity that went with her new title. "So Twilight Sparkle, the observant and astute Trixie sees you still have yet to learn how to handle the responsibility of being a princess by your authoritarian demands."

Trixie looked Twilight directly in the eyes, not even flinging as Twilight dragged her in closer, she knew who was right! "Look at you now, using force to illicit an apology, would princess Celestia use such an bullying attempt upon her subjects such as this? You may indeed be my magical better, but you have so much to learn when it comes to royalty!"

Trixie smiled with confidence, believing in her own repartee, "there is no law, no rule, that demands that ponies must has to humbly defer honor and respect to the REA! How dare you believe as a princess that you can create a new law on the spot! What would your mentor and guide say about such presumption as to create new laws on the spot such as this?! Tsk, tsk, still so much to learn still… princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Trixie's own horn glowed a bright purple, she did have one other new spell she learned on her many adventures in such of tomes and magical knowledge with Whooves, teleportation! "Until we meet again my beloved royal highness." With that, a bright purple flash surrounded Trixie for an instant as she winked out of view.

She was surrounded in a blue smoke, and felt the world disappear around her ... then hard earth was under her hooves once more, and she was struck with a terrible weariness. "Haha!" she crowed weakly, "The great and powerful Trixie has escap-" she paused, looked around... she'd moved a total of fifteen feet away... maybe ... she turned and took to her hooves, fighting the weariness to flee into the dense woods, leaving an large obscuring blue cloud of magic dust behind her to cover her trail, along with two baskets of apples she needed for the journey ahead.

No escape needs to be perfect, it just needs to work.

((Trixie exits))

Trixie was about to enjoy the fact she successfully challenged the princess when Twilight quipped that the greatest showmare in Equestria was both immature and poor at magic! Why that unbearable, entitled little pony!! Trixie worked really hard on her skills, but how could anypony elevated to alicorn status possibly understand!

Actually what really agitated the azure colored unicorn wasn't that comment, it wasn't even the kiss Twilight gave to Applejack, which Trixie judged in her mind as pretty good and made her just a little curious about what it be like to kiss Twilight… Just a little. No, what really made Trixie angry was the idea that she was a cheapskate! "now hold on right there Trust Fund Twilight! Trixie will pay for her bushels herself and she won't be using the stipends a certain pony gets from Canterlot on the backs of hard working taxpayers! No, the Diligent and Generous Trixie worked hard for her bits and does not need charity from the golden filly!"

With her magic Trixie levitated out two small bags of bits, lifted Applejacks hat, turning it upside down dropped the two bags inside before popping it back on the orange mare's head. "No if you excuse me, I will be taking these two bushels and wishing you a good day yer hiiiighness, humph!"

As Trixie began to walk away with her nose high in the air, two bushels of apples floating behind her, a large, bright flash of her horn caused the spheroid barrier to dissolve, just as Flash Sentry was barreling in for another attempt at cracking it, exposing the rapidly approaching open ground to the nose diving royal guard.

She could have let the orange pegasus crash into the dirt, and for a brief moment Trixie considered that, but no, that may have been the way she was once upon a time, but not anymore. With one last flash of her horn, Trixie encased Twilight's escort in a small bubble, stopping his decent and floating him over next to Twilight, a few feet above ground before dissolving it, allowing the pegasus to flop to the ground, or float down if he reacted quick enough. "There, princess! No one can ever say the Great and Kind Trixie doesn't have a heart! Trixie has made sure your little colt toy didn't hurt himself. Consider it a prize reward for kissing so well; too bad he missed it, sure you can make it up to him later."

Trixie gave a sarcastic grin and trotted away from the crowd, assured of her victory, as soon as she figures out what it was.

The arrogance! The pomposity! Just because one was a princess doesn’t mean one could be utterly dismissive when being spoken to! “Twilight Sparkle! How could you openly and purposely ignore the Great and Powerful Trixie in such an uncouth manner!! A true princess would have the grace and majesty to listen when one of her subjects spoke! Tsk, tsk, you have so much to learn…”

Trixie looked about, the problem was there were so many distracting individuals, but that can be remedied, “now watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie educates you!” With a bright purple glow of her horn, Trixie formed a lilac colored bubble around herself, Applejack, and Twilight, slicing right between the lavender princess and her pegasus guard. “There! No more distractions!” Trixie couldn’t help but wonder if Twilight was surprised that she learned such spell.

“Now Twilight Sparkle, the Great and Passionate Trixie had challenged you so please do try and pay attention, and do not worry, there is no amulet, no tricks this time! No pony will be in any danger, quite the opposite actually!” With a confident and wry smile Trixie pointed her forehoof at her self-styled rival, “now as Trixie said before, she dares you to do better than this!”

And with that, Trixie reached out to grab Applejack again. "Don't worry," she said, "I won't charge you extra bushels for these passionate kisses... consider them a generous tip!" Then she took Applejack and dipped her back once more, one hoof supporting the earth pony's head, horn glowing to send up little fireworks as her mouth reached Applejack's in a passionate kiss, sparks literally flying from the touch of their lips, surrounding them in a tingling glow showing the light of their love.

I'm afraid the list stops at Neo! That's my five slots, all full. I'll post here again when I've got open slots, so keep an eye out. >w0

Whoops, nevermind, should have refreshed before posting. Is what I get for being slow.

I'd like one for Matini Paradise if that is possible.

I think Meghan McCarthy is a great writer and a great asset to the franchise even if she did write Equesrtia Girls; the latter I suspect was poorly done thanks to extensive rewriting oversight through excessive executive meddling.

I don't hate Equestria Giles, although in the EQ thread here, I did cover what I felt were the myriad of issues with the movie. It isn't well done but it doesn't actually earn "hate" from me, stuff like NSA spying earns hate, not poorly done cartoon movies, even for one of my favorite franchises. Perspective.

I dislike the "Down With Molestia" movement from a month ago. Although I understand the original person's reasons, that promotion of rape culture is a real and systematic problem In America and is a very bad thing, I don't feel that blog does that. Worse, why wasn't this brought up two years ago when the blog was nothing but Princess Molestia jokes and instead now where it is at least half "Gamer Luna"? Well a lot of that has to do with many bloggers simply being "white nights" for the person who started this, others I feel do it because they just dislike people becoming fandom celebrities and popular (when it's not them of course). I also strongly suspect that almost none of these people actually do anything useful to combat rape culture and abuse, like donate time or money to women's centers, or work to make sure law enforcement and politicians understand the actual issue of rape.

Why do that when you can white night from your keyboard on Tumblr.

That brings me to another aspect of the fandom I dislike, people ripping on popular works because I suspect, simply they are popular. I feel a lot of hate towards Fallout Equestia and Princess Molestia Blog isn't out of sincere creative criticism, but from people who believe they are more talented and thus are jealous when others have the spotlight, and not them (even though they so deserve that spotlight),but they won't put their money where their mouth is and make something better or at least try to by creative arts or stories and so forth, no, instead they complain on the Internet.

It takes no effort.

If I had to go my the video game overall that I have played the most, it would be Mass Effect III - Multiplayer. According to my Bioware account, I have put in over a 1000 hours. Why? Well it started out as just being really fun to play, but it evolved into my exercise game, that is the game I play while biking. The reason why it serves this purpose is that I am so used to it, I find I bike the faster while playing (unlike other games where my focus on the game slows my biking). So while a 1000 hours may sound bad, it is also around a 1000 hours of exercise (which turned out great for me physically).

Beyond that, i would say the most time I spend on a series of games over the years is the Civilization series on the PC.

For a moment Trixie sat there, mouth agape, with an incredulous look. Deep down she knew that Twilight Sparkle was right, she wasn't now an alicorn as a result of some spell, but because somehow she managed to create a new kind of magic that elevated her to royal status. It was admirable, but at the same time so very much infuriating. Trixie just wanted to show she could, on her own, just once be just as good as Twilight… Just as loved.

In that moment of shock Trixie could have crumbled in despair, folding like so much cheap furniture from Twilight's bristling comment. The temptation to shrink back in shame just as she did after her awful actions with the Alicorn Amulet, and part of her, that voice of the scared little foal, told her to do just that…

No! She was the Great and Powerful Trixie! Not some frightened foal! The azure unicorn stood proudly beck on all fours and gave a confident smile. "Perhaps you forget, but in your first encounter with the Great and Powerful Trixie, you nearly sprained your horn trying to show her up with your flashy rescue!" Trixie stepped closer, her smile became wry, "And in your second fortunate encounter with the Great and Powerful Trixie, you were unable to match up to her magically and needed to resort to trickery and deceit in order to win the day!" She blushed slightly in remembrance of her own dishonest action and rolled her eyes, "admittedly, that day hadn't been Trixie's proudest, and she was glad Twilight has rescued her from the amulet, but she was on a roll!"

She wasn't finished with her retort though, not by a long shot! Since the princess was so curious about what Trixie had been up to, and who wouldn't be interested in the life of such a celebrity, the unicorn show mare was more more than happy to share. "And for your edification, yes! The Great and Powerful Trixie has been traveling the length and breadth of Equestria with a truly knowledgeable individual-" and Trixie would die if Whooves ever found out she'd said that - " and discovered secrets about this land that even the Princesses themselves have likely forgotten, if they ever knew in the first place! I have discovered dark creatures predating Equestria's founding, and vanquished them with style and panache, protecting the good ponies of the land with little thought of praise or reward!" Though, admittedly, a little praise and reward would be nice... nothing fancy, a medal, an award ceremony, perhaps a nice beachfront estate with a giant manorhouse... something modest.

"You may have had good fortune with your fancy schooling! You may have been able to team up against Trixie so you could defeat her en masse! But despite your favored upbringing and unfair advantages, you still go straight for the 'win'! All the book-learning in Equestria cannot give you the suave style, the fantastic showponyship, or the unadulterated flare of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" And with that, she turned around, seized Applejack confidently, dipped her backwards, and kissed her soundly upon the lips in a classic and crowd-pleasing romantic movement, letting the kiss go on long and lingering, as little magical fireworks flew up into the air behind the two mares, sparkles shining from the kiss and a lovely blue heart-shaped aura surrounding the two.

The moment only lasted for a few seconds, but that was all the time Trixie needed. She released the no-doubt twitterpated farmer mare and turned back to the undoubtedly speechless princess, "Trixie dares you to do better!"

Cheerilee

Cheerilee was almost ecstatic as she hugged Purple Haze and Guiding Light for finding her gift. Up to that point she was pretty sure, given how the day went, that she was going to find her present smashed, crumpled, covered in food, and perhaps even sneezed upon for good measure. Instead thanks to the diligence of two of her students, the compass was safe!

Cheerilee turned around to present it, awaiting her turn as she witnessed an amusing sight. Applejack appeared to be more enthralled with Applebloom's play farm than Applebloom was. Every mare and stallion could understand the draw of nostalgia, the whimsical memories of the carefree times as foal, but this was a bit silly. Still the schoolmare felt it best not to say anything, this was Applebloom's special day and there was no reason to tempt fate anymore by causing disharmony through a misinterpreted job, no matter how good natured.

What was really important was that Cheerilee now had an opportunity to finally offer her present. "Here you go Applebloom, something I think you will find not only educational in a way, but most useful when you and your friends go crusading." The farmer filly was easy to shop for, just get something that somehow could be both fun and helpful to the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'. Now only if they could only find their destinies, maybe they wouldn't be so mischievous in class.

Oh who was she kidding, they still be mischievous! At least it kept the school day interesting.

She laid down Applebloom's present in front of the filly and turned her attention to her new acquaintance, Ingrid Marie. "I’m sorry you have to go so soon, but I understand, it is getting late after all.” Cheerilee smiled and offered a hug to the beige unicorn, whom she hoped, could become a new friend, “the next time you are in town, we’ll get to the inn, it’ll be my treat.”

Carrot Fields

Carrot Fields smiled at the white unicorn who had now introduced herself. Even in her messy way, she was still incredibly stunning. He wasn’t going to mention that part out loud of course, so he just went with the route he knew best- Be a gentlestallion, and hope to Luna he doesn’t klutz it up.

He walked over and cut two slices of Purple Haze’s carrot cake, she wouldn’t let anypony else touch it to be sure, but he was the exception, at least in his mind. Carefully he carried the two small plates in his mouth as he made his way towards Dash and Rarity, “haur ye gang, Ah brooght ye two-“

Before he could even finish explaining his noble deed, poor Carrot manage to somehow trip up over his own hooves in nervousness, his chin smacked squarely against the barn floor as the cake slices flew forward…

Please don’t hit anypony…

This griffon had to be talking nonsense: It sounded like she was trying to claim that Twilight was a princess or something. The bird must be mixing up princess coronations with royal weddings - both having to do with Cadence. Even Trixie remembered Cadence's coronation as a filly. What grandeur! What a spectacle it had been! An inspiration for Trixie's own magnificent shows!

Trixie shook her head. This griffin was either ignorant or was attempting to get Trixie's goat. The former seemed proven when her feathered compatriot turned the conversation back to royal titles; the griffin version of royalty sounded full of intrigue, duplicity, and politicking. No wonder they were such an aggressive species! "We have no Kings or Queens, although distant lands have such titles! Equestria has always had princesses, as far as Trixie knows, and the Great and Knowledgeable Trixie is famous for being a well-spring of knowledge! The title you speak of must be very, very ancient, predating Equestria itself!"

She was admittedly content as she regaled any listeners with her vast breadth of Equestrian history, even if the line seemed ridiculously slow. How long did it take one pony to get his apples?! Useless stallion. The common phrase brought thoughts of Doctor Whooves strongly to mind. What was he up to? Getting himself into all manner of trouble without Trixie, no doubt! He had better not get himself hurt or anything! If he got hurt while she wasn't there to get him out of it, she'd never forgive him! How thoughtless of him, getting hurt without even thinking of what that would do to her! Not that she cared. No, of course not! Just that she needed him to find that ancient grimmoire he kept going on about!

Trixie was preparing a withering comment that would devastate the self-esteem of the glacially slow stallion while looking behind them for the camera the griffon had mentioned. Wait, was that Twilight Sparkle? Ha! What luck, Twilight could watch as the Great and Romantic Trixie gave her friend the most amazing ki- Waitaminute! Something was off. The Perceptive and Observant Trixie could always tell when something was wrong, and something was very wrong here. She narrowed her eyes, staring at Twilight as the unicorn chatted away, taking in the small details - how her hoof pawed at the ground, how her wings fluttered against her sides, how her mane tossed when she - Waaaaait a minute. Wings?! If that wasn’t enough proof to shake the unbelieving unicorn out of her denial, a royal guard called Twilight.. “her highness.”

No this couldn’t be… This was impossible! How ... how ... how could that egghead be an alicorn?! Sure, she was a great magic user, but c’mon!! Trixie was stunned into silence, her mouth agape. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair! Trixie was going to show she could be just as powerful, just as good at magic, and not through cheating like last time with that accursed amulet! She was going to learn enough arcane mysteries and gain enough mystic power to truly show she could be the best through her own skill, and now… Now ...

Now that Twilight Sparkle had cheated! She'd obviously searched out some rare spell in the Royal Library that would give her this unfair advantage! And now she'd gotten into line right when Trixie was here, JUST to show off to her! She'd obviously been waiting there and flicking her wings like that JUST to make sure Trixie had noticed! Trixie marched right up to the lavender alicorn with determination and anger, “Twilight Sparkle!!! You did this just to show Trixie up, didn’t you! Just to make sure Trixie couldn’t ever have the spotlight again, how.. How selfish!!” Trixie just fell back on her haunches, her forehooves up in the air before her in a pleading fashion, “hooooow cooould yoooou!”

One that would explore Trixie's backstory and what originally motivates her and how those motivations were twisted in such a way to cause her to be extremely egotistical and prone to poor decision making and dubious action in order to be recognized. In reality she really just wants to share the joy and wonder of magic through entertainment (and has a soft spot for foals), and her ego is driven by her need to be sincerely wanted by somepony(s).

I see where this thread is going....

I've looked around at random shipping stuff on the internet, and here's my updated shipping list. I support the following:

Pinkie Pie x Pokey Pierce

I never give Pinkie Pie ship much thought, although I have drawn a few PinkieDash pics for people in the past. I suppose I always saw her as someone who have flings but not many relationships. However PinkiePierce is something I can get behind

Doctor Whooves x Derpy Hooves

I like this one as well. I know some people ship Derpy with Dash, Fluttershy, or Carrot Top though. I am a fan of Derpy and Carrot Top as roommates instead personally, more potential for humor.

Twist x Snails (Because of someone on here)

Some peeps like SnailsBloom, but SnailsTwist is one of those ships I think works well.

Sweetie Belle x Featherweight

I just can't, huh... It doesn't connect in my mind. Although I am not sure who be good with Sweetie Belle entirely, although I am a fan of Scootabelle, (also like Scootaloo and Rumble).

Trixie x Blueblood

Whaaaaa... You insult the Great and Powerful Trixie with such a ship!

Rainbow Dash x Soarin

I personally love SoarinDash myself, probably my number one Dash ship.

And there are probably more to come. And no, Rosewind/other assorted people, I'm still NEVER going to ship any of the main 6 together, nor will I support same gender ships. Extremely picky Christian shipper out.

I am not a real fan of shipping the main six with each other, although I have no moral objection to it, rather because I feel it disrupts the BFF chemistry between the six. That being said, I am not such an opponent that I won't draw it for people, just not my thing.

For you Monochrome:

It's a new direction for Canterlot, so a new pictures thread is needed! Well perhaps not needed, but hey its a fun way for us as a community to share our favorite drawings of the ponies we love, right?

Just keep to the following please:

• Pictures should be based around My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic somehow
  
• Only G (BBFC U) to PG-13 (BBFC 12) rated images; I know most pics are not rated, just use the aforementioned ratings as a guide. If still confused, just go with the "no porn, no gore" rule.
  
• Regular, anthro, and human pony pictures are all welcomed.
  
• I recommend using the spoiler tags to hide the pictures for easier scrolling, not a requirement though.
  

I'll start off:

Derpy and DInky!

Noir pony:

Just funny:

Very cool, wish I knew the story behind the picture, sure it is a fanfic somewhere:

I refuse to let this thread die, so I ask you all this: Show us your favorite ships wither its all canon, all OC, or OC-canon in pictures!

I'll start with my personal OTP - LyraBon (hidden by spoiler tag for many pics of embiggen size).

Because ponies nose rubbing is the cutest thing:

O MAI

And last but not least because I found it funny:

Welcome to Canterlot. I see a few basic questions already been answered, but if you have any more, please ask away!

Usually when you post to a thread you automatically follow it, but not always. In addition to what Phil covered, another possibility is that you have your brower's settings set or have an extension that blocks javascript, which will severely curtail any notices you may receive.

Trixie just rolled her eyes, the fact that Shining Armor married Princess Cadence was old news, and common knowledge. After all even itinerant ponies such as herself heard all about the attempted subterfuge at the wedding by the changeling queen in her attempted invasion of Equestria. Although it was only later through all the talk of what all that happened did Trixie learned that the same royal guard captain who married Cadence was Twilight Sparkle's brother. Some unicorns just get all the breaks! It made Trixie wonder though, how was the purple unicorn doing? She hadn't seen or heard any news about Ponyville since that… Amulet encounter, yet again how could she? Until very recently she had been out adventuring for mystical items of rarity in the exotic realms outside of Equestria proper.

What did annoy her was the griffin's ignorance of Equestria's royal system, it certainly wasn't a caste system! Actually that was a bit less vexatious then calling Twilight a princess just because who her brother married! It was high time to correct this griffin's ignorance! "Well my unenlightened griffin companion, there is much you do not understand about Equestria's royalty. First although the husband of a princess is indeed called a prince, his siblings most certainly are not! So Twilight Sparkle isn't a princess just because of her brother, she is just another unicorn citizen, like the magnificent Trixie who stands before you!" There, that explained things without sounding jealous!

"As for our system of sovereignty and authority, we may have princesses, but we are not a caste system, no pony is forced to have a particular job or live in particular place. Princess is just what we call those special ponies who are an amalgamation of all pony kinds. The regal sisters have always been this way as far as Trixie knows, but once in a great while when a pony shows one of the fundamental bonds of pony kind in such an extraordinary way as to create new magic in regards to that; when they do, they are elevated to princess, but it is something that comes from within! So very, very few ponies ever achieve such great heights, maybe once a century! Cadence was the last!" Trixie was so excited and proud of her explanation, she was back on her hind legs showcasing again without realizing it until the magical sparks flew once again. She quickly caught what she was doing and again came back down on all fours, "anyway, it is hard to truly comprehend unless one is a pony and thus have a true connection to the magic that flows all around us."

The griffin did suggest one thing that was amusing enough to make Trixie snicker, a photograph of one of Twilight's rather haughty friends smooching her, "alas the Great and Powerful Trixie does not carry a camera with her on her many travels. A pity, for such a moment should be… Immortalized!"

Accellerant made a couple excellent points I forgot to mention in my critique of the movie. Like he, I didn't care for the pastel coloring on the humanized ponies, and felt they should have had human skin tones instead. I suppose Hasbro did this for two fold, one so the audience would better recognize the characters, and two, to avoid the whole racial aspect that would come into play (because, let's be honest, no matter which way they went on that, some people would complain loudly). The former reason though is annoying because I feel it purposely underestimates the intelligence of the target audience. Like Accellerant said, they have the same hair styles, and their cutie marks are plain to see on their clothing.

Another aspect that I did find annoying was all of the mane six (and every girl of similar age overall) had the same body structure. Granted this is true in the show as ponies as well, but that is television, and more importantly, they are not humanoid normally. Here I felt it reflected poorly on Hasbro that every gal had the same thin, rather tall body shape; how much better of a message would it have been if there were some real variety?

Anywya, another two cents form me, still liked the movie, it was just flawed... Like Prometheus.

Carrot Fields

Carrot gave an embarrassed smile as Rarity reminded him of her name; he did hear it before, Dash had mentioned her a few times as a close friend who was into fashion and “looking good”. She was stunning, though his idea of a fashionista was as pony who would be appalled at any sort of mess – not the unicorn mare before him, willing to get down and dirty. But despite all that, she was certainly no slob – even matted and filthy, she had an air of sophistication about her, like dirt and grime was the new black. “Glad tae meit ye miss rarity; i’m carrot fields!” Dumbtail, she already knows that!

If his stating the obvious wasn’t embarrassing enough, he felt even more self-conscious, if not a little annoyed, when Dash mimicked some of the conversations he had with his little sister. He felt a bit indignant as the two mares laughed, but his impending protests were cut short before they started as Rarity complimented him and his traditional garb. “Weel cheers! usually ponies aroond these parts jes’ sniggar about th' kilt, callin' it a frock an' aw. Oi’m glad tae finally meet a pony wi’ a bit of culture about her! “

Carrot smirked, “Oi kin tae it, Rainbow Dash, ye allae dress in style! Let's hie tae th' main room so ye kin show off yer frock!” It was a friendly jab, from the brief time he knew the pegasus he learned that she wasn’t one for dressing up unless it was for some formal occasion, which a farmer foal’s birthday party certainly was not. Truth be told, she looked amazing, but he didn’t want to appear like one of those stallions who could only made dorky comments about how pretty they thought the mare they were talking to was but never getting to know the actual pony.

Of course the real reason to get back to the party was because there was cake, and he wanted to make sure every pony got a slice of Purple’s masterpiece, “Guid day purple, Ah hoped ye saved some fur..” Carrot’s inquiry was cut short when she noticed Applejack playing along, quite enthusiastically, with Applebloom and her play barn set. He couldn’t help but have a large, goofy grin. He understood how she felt, it was a family thing. He still remember the times he play with his little sister when she was more into toys, it help them bond, and even a grown pony can still enjoy some foal like things from time to time, heck he was still a Daring Do fancolt. “Glad yoo’re havin' fin applejack; did ye aw hae a slice ay th' cake yit?”

Cheerilee

Cheerilee smiled gleefully as she watched Applebloom avidly play with her gifts, it seemed everypony's gift was a hit but none more than her farm house set. Of course Cheerilee still had to find hers and then hope Abby would like it, given that already got a compass for her birthday, although not nearly as sturdy and well made as Cheerilee’s was. Hopefully her little assistants will be able to locate it before it was lost among the detritus.

Cheerilee held her forehooves a horse shoe apart in response to Purple Haze's question, “Gilding Light is right dear; it is about this big, dark blue with a bright red ribbon tied to it, just like the one in your mouth.” Cheerilee eys widened and her pupils shrunk in surprise in the face of the obvious, “oh! That’s it! You found it! Thank you Purple Haze for being such a helpful little pony!” Cheerilee gave both Purple and Guiding a hug, “and you too Guiding Light, you are such a considerate young stallion.”

Things looked like they were going to work out after all. Applebloom was happy, they manage to salvage some of the food, and not a present was broken! Now all Cheerilee had to do is wait her turn and hope nothing else would go awry.

I went in watching this film with rather low expectations, and came out feeling they did a reasonably decent job. I feel what annoyed me wasn't the theme itself, even though I have no interest in 'high school' shows myself, but the fact that the story was pretty pedestrian. For me one of the draws of FIM is the excellent writing, which is why I dislike Mare Do Well so much, in addition to the powerful art and characters, and truth be told, if it wasn't for the fact it has characters I love, Equestria Girls would hold no appeal for me.

The issues I had were four fold, and all of which could have been fixed or done in a much more interesting fashion:

-- Problems were solved too easily or quickly. The prime example of this was when Snips and Snails, at the behest of Sunset Shimmer, made fake pictures of Twilight destroying the gym. Here was an excellent opportunity for the mane six to bond by coming together and working to uncover the truth and prove Twilight's innocence before the "big night", but this plot point was solved in ten seconds by Flash Sentry, making the whole scene unnecessary and thus pointless.

-- The story was just one big prom episode. How much cooler who it have been if Twilight first attempted to steal the crown back by being sneaky (in her mind, it isn't wrong, since it does belong to her and she plans to swap it with the one that belongs in the human world), but only going with the "princess of the fall formal" route when her initial plan fell apart in a silly and adorkable fashion?

-- Flash Sentry: I don't have an issue with Twilight having a romantic interest as long as it doesn't derail the main theme of FIM (the strong friendship bond between the mane six). I don't have an issue with Flash Sentry as an pony. My issue is that he was given no development, thus there was no compelling reason for Twilight to like him other than the basic "he is cute". Sure he helped her in the fake photo scene, but that was basically it other than them just bumping into each other, there was no chemistry.

Even that is forgivable, but what really alienated me was in his human form Flash Sentry was the all too typical love interest stereotype for tween focused high school shows. Tell me if you haven't seen this before: The slicked or spiked haired "rebel", but not too much of one, who happens also to be an artist of some kind (usually a musician in some garage band), who happens to be very attractive, and drives that awesome sports car. FiM has always been about going against stereotypes, and here was someone who was nothing but the most tried of tropes.

-- Sunset Shimmer: Her character just wasn't developed. We are never given much of a motivation other than she apparently wants power in Equestria, presumingly as an equal to Celestia. Why though? What pushed her to be the pony that she was? Unless Celestia is just terrible at choosing her personal pupil in magic, something happened that drove Sunset Shimmer to make the choices she did. See what makes a great villain is that no matter how immoral they may be, in their own minds they believe they are righteous, that they are doing the right thing. Sunset Shimmer is just being awful for awful's sake.

In the end it was an alright, but flawed pony story, equivalent to a lower-end episode. The animation was well done even if some of the human characters looked a little off. They tossed in some nice Easter eggs and the songs were catchy and fun; two and half stars. They had almost 90 minutes, it should have made a statement, run against the stereotypes and empowered it's target audience, none of that happened.