TenthSpeedWriter

I remember reading the book back in the fifth grade. I'm looking forward to it.

Well, if anyone gives you a hard time about it, then I'd suggest filing them into this bin right here.

Too many people seem too quick to file away others' world views under shallow and presumptuous titles, instead of understanding the meaning behind their perspectives and what they have in common between themselves.

I'm sure we'd have an interesting theological debate, but academics aside, I feel like I know where you're coming from, and I find your story very inspiring.

So... I had one of those moments today. Y'know, the ones where your fanship actually influences your life decisions. xD

I've had to put off watching much of season 2 up to this point because of school-related stress and such. (I guess I have a hard time enjoying the show itself as much as I'd like when I'm in a sour mood.) I made it as far yesterday as S2E5 – Sisterhooves Social.

I felt like, in some ways, it really reflected how my little sister and I are. I'm 21 and off at college most of the time; she's in middle school right now. She tends to run up in my personal space, and I tend to be overbearing. When we're together, it's usually in that tolerate-and-annoy-the-dance-out-of-each-other mindset, and we rarely bond as much as we should. While I was thinking about the episode, I realized that right now she's a lot like I was at her age; over-dramatic, good intentioned, easily frustrated... we even have the same taste in music and anime. It seemed... really sad, that as easy as it should be for us to relate, we never spend more than a few minutes at a time getting along.

So, I went and visited today.

I took her out for a cup of ice cream, and we talked for a while, just about the sort of things that a preteen girl wants to talk about. I'm happy to know that she's at least as geeky as I ever was. Afterward, I took her back home for a while and taught her the very basics of Warhammer 40k; I remember her asking me about it months ago, but I didn't think she could even start to comprehend the rules. Instead, she ended up winning against me twice. (And she can just keep on thinking I let her win that second round.That's totally what happened. Shh.)

I found out after it was all over that she was having trouble in her classes, and wasn't ready for her final tests; so, I offered to sit down and tutor her over the next few days. Usually I can't get her to sit still for anything, but I think that somehow breaking down that wall between us changed her mind; she agreed to it, and I think she'll be read by the time her tests start.

I dunno if y'all really cared to hear the journal of my day, and I admit it's kinda tl;dr, but it occurred to me just a minute ago that the cause of all of this was a watching an episode FiM. It stunned me just how close to home its writers can hit... and I guess I felt like that was something I had to share.

Also, I left her a note; she has to watch the same episode now. I got Momma to say so. It's divine law. It's gotta happen.

… I win.

I hate to sound like an apologist for corporate culture here, but Hasbro has a right to control access to what they produced. They don't license the show as an act of charity; it has to generate sales revenue for their toys and viewer ratings for the networks which air it. They realize good and well that their show has hit on a massive and unexpected vein of awesome, but they're still obligated from a business standpoint to oversee its availability.

Honestly, I think it's our duty as fans to endure a few commercials or pay-per-view iTunes nonsense... maybe even to buy a toy or two. It's putting food on the table of the folks that make this wonderful show, and it's giving the company who owns the rights to the series a very good reason to continue promoting it.

I had a dream that I was at the BCS National Championship, watching the long-anticipated Alabama-Louisiana State football rematch. I was sitting in the student section discussing the weak points of LSU's coaching staff with former U.S. president Bill Clinton when it occurred to me that this couldn't possibly be reality -- we were playing at home.

In a moment of lucidity, I decided not to let the simple fact of immateriality get me down; I asked Bill to fetch me a Coke, 'found' a ticket to the skyboxes in my pocket, and walked up to the sweet seats to enjoy the game.

We start with APPLEJACK!

My first endeavor shall be to gird dear Applejack in the wargear of the legendary Cadian infantry. The theme is khaki with olive armor plating.

Here she is dressed in the aforementioned khaki. You may notice that she doesn't have a hat. It didn't occur to me until I had left the store that she didn't come with one, and that makes me unhappy. AJ without a hat is sad AJ in any millennium.

AJ after her last coat of khaki and some gentle highlights, along with my trusty hobby knife and some select, primer-coated bits.

And here she is put together. This is her mean side, you see.

And, of course, her "soft" side. Soft being a relative term.

http://www.canterlot.com/uploads/gallery/album_177/gallery_774_177_83062.jpg

Ta-da!

Now with camo markings and a chainsword.

She just needs her hair done and a cutie mark stand-in.

And not the sad, scary kind of grimdark; the gritty, retro-sci-fi, incurably badflank kind.

An idea struck me while looking at models the other day for the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40k. I wanted to make a squad of Rough Riders -- mounted dragoon style cavalry. (Yes, in the 41st millennium. Cavalry in space, shu'up.) Unfortunately, the riders and mounts together were heinously priced; so, I thought...

Who needs Rough Riders, when you have a posse of badflank ponies bringing the friendship and/or fury of the God-Empress? >

It turns out, your average pony figure fits just right on a Games Workshop cavalry base. I also happened to have a nauseating amount of hobby paints and 40k bits laying around...

Thus, an abomination of a project was born.

My girlfriend took a test like this a while back.

Turns out, she's Pinkie Pie.

I am okay with dating Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pizza Pie: Pineapple, extra cheese, and hot sauce. (That's what I imagine her eating at least.) Myself, I load my pizza with pepperoni, sausage, onion, green and bananna peppers. No fungus or dead fish, please.

Somehow, I feel like Pinkie Pie Pizza would be more along the lines of...

Stuffed crust

Light sauce

Extra peanut butter

Tabasco

and gummy worms.

Quiet crapper communitas.

It should be noted that at one point Fluttershy does, in fact, wrestle a bear.

http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/150/f/2011/210/f/c/fluttershy_banner_by_mrs_spring_onion_man-d4217sk.png

Plus

http://www.millerhats.com/productimages/008.jpg

(And, because I must painfully acknowledge that the entire world does not, in fact, share in my obsession deeply enough to catch the reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Bryant xD)

"Oh, yes indeed, friend," he laughed, "I ain't quite cruel."

Tinny leaned down to stow his banjo down beneath the stand, and re-surfaced with a fairly wide pail of milk -- about the right size to dunk one's head in, if need be. There also appeared to be a dried cayenne pepper in his mouth, produced from some secret stash or another.

"Now, you got 'cha hot sauces, fresh peppers, spice breads... whatever y' like. Or would'ja be interested in tryin' a bite of this fine salsa?"

He pushed forward a cup of the chunky red salsa. "We got hot salsa, real hot salsa, shut-'cho-mouth-an'-slap-ya-grandma hot salsa... an' iffin' those don't set'cha mouth on fire, I've gone an' brewed up batch of a secret ol' family recipe. Stuff may just be lethal; ain't tried it yet myself. Ain't nopony really made none since my gran'pa's day, come'a think of it. Gotta be good.

Anyhow. Wha'cha care for, friend?"

Tinny beamed with excitement at the sight of his little stand finally... well, standing. Sure, it was a ramshackle little thing, but the spicy smorgasbord on top more than made up for it; there were peppers fresh and dried, sauces and oils of every sort, and even a few pleasantly (or painfully) piquant baked goods out on display. The bounty of his fall harvest and all the family know-how he could muster had gone into this little endeavor, it was finally time to put his skill as a salesman to the test.

With all the grit and grin of an old cart seller, he drew out out his beloved banjo and leaned on the counter to strike himself a fanfare.

Come one an' all, y'all gather round,

Anaheim Peppers are back in town!

Big ripe bells for your salad mix,

habaneros for your firey fix!

Oils to soothe your muscles sore,

clean your commodes and much, much more!

Special t'day, our salsa treats,

Peppers fresh and tomatoes sweet,

Out for free for y'all to try,

so grab a sample! Stop on by!

True to his word, Tinny had ladled out paper cups of his very best salsas, each set beside a basket of flatbread and few price-tagged jars of the very same. There were some full of a rich red paste, chunky with onions and tomatoes; others were filled with a fine green sauce speckled with diced jalapenos and spices; and then there were a few filled with a brilliant orange salsa that seemed as though it would like nothing more than to set fire to its containers.

“Come on, come on, now! Anypony here think they got the pallet for a taste of the Ol' Anaheim Fire?!”

43: Being an interesting person will increase your lifespan, unless you should encounter a point at which being dead would make you more interesting.

"Yes, she's alright. You're not welcome."

...or,

"It's like swimming... except on fire."

I am in the strange position of being both eager to see this but also terrified of it.

Oh, lordy mercy... this can't go anywhere good.

... or can it? <<

So...

Big Mac ended up with the doll.

Can anyone say crack ship of the week?

Some of my own...

[Vegeta Impersonator] Work with dry portland cement while your hair is damp.

[bROHOOF!] Discover the brony-tude of a fellow member of a fraternal organization.

[Not THAT Hot] Drink Sriracha directly from the bottle.

[Ain't from 'Round Here] Be scolded by a complete stranger for holding the door open for a lady.

[Right Round, Baby] Attempt to hold a revolving door open for a lady.

[beating 'Round the Bush] Successfully hold a revolving door open for a lady.

[Applejack's a 'Bama Fan] Simultaneously watch a premiere episode of MLP: FiM and an SEC football game.

[it's My Special Helmet] Forget that you are wearing a hardhat while attempting to enter a low-ceiling automobile.

[i'll Drink to That] Participate in a round of the My Little Pony drinking game.

[immediate Regrets] Survive a round of the My Little Pony drinking game.

And a couple that the community as a whole can relate to:

[Coming out of the Stable] Successfully explain your hobby to a family member.

[Not a Horse ****er, Dad.] Unsuccessfully explain your hobby to a family member.

[uNSHORN FETLOCKS!] Make a clever, well executed, and completely under-appreciated MLP reference.

[but. She's. Not. PINK.] Engage an argument related to My Little Pony while in public.

[Welcome to the Herd.] Witness the conversion of a new fellow Brony.

[Grimdark is Tasty] Enjoy a rainbow-swirl cupcake.

[We'll Have to Improvise] Make a batch of baked bads.

Is it Brad Dourif?

This thread..

bahahahahaaaawwww why this thread. T_T

Shivering pine cones

In a mat of moldered straw

Keening the late months

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGafrzq-LgY&NR=1

This.

I can't look at this and be in a bad mood. It's like watching Fluttershy say or do anything and being in a bad mood.

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=Crimson%20tide&order=9&offset=24#/d497ft2

Something relevant!

Alrightey... there's a little more detail there.

I'm gonna leave it up as WIP for a bit and ask for some proofing from y'all, but if nobody has any issue, I'll likely make this a final draft.

Fluttershy wasn't supporting the weight of two ponies. She was pulling the mass of two ponies. Even though the balloon is lifting Twilight and AJ, the mass of the two ponies, the balloon, and the air inside the balloon would be more than Rarity and Pinkie plus a rope. It's the law of inertia. I could be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. A balloon with air is heavier and has more mass than a balloon without air. Anyone wanna do the math?

Also consider the immense air resistance of even a relatively stiff, fully inflated balloon.