Ginger Mint

hi hi I am wondering how seaponies and everypony else managed to interact in the earlier series, it seems like it would be hard to get them into the same setting anyway. Do they magic that lets them hover around?

hi hi It doesn't seem to me like Rarity is leading Spike on, although I'm pretty sure she would know about his feelings, she does seem to genuinely enjoy his company as a friend. I just haven't seen any positive or negative reinforcement on a romantic level. Everypony seems to enjoy helping each other out to some degree, whether it is cleaning up the library after a crazy weekend of studying, picking apples during a bumper crop, cheering on a friend, or making super amazing personalized outfits.

hi hi I've never met anyone particularly famous in real life, but I think if I met Tara Strong I'd probably have to try extra hard to avoid an "ohmygoshohmygosh," reaction.

hi hi Can ponies even get drunk? I mean, they ferment cellulose as part of their natural digestion process.

hi hi Oooh, Hey Ocean is pretty alright.

hi hi Okey Dokey Lokey is a phrase Pinkie has used before, like when she's hooked up to twilight's brain reading machine in Feeling Pinkie Keen. I think she's just being Pinkie Pie. I found it funny that Pinkie Pie was blaming everypony for making excuses, but then she turned around and started making excuses for why they couldn't be her friends anymore. Classic, and so very true to real life sometimes.

hi hi I know that feeling Diego, some of my friends and I had to deal with that kind of thing a lot once upon a time. It is frustrating when friends make a habit out of being inconsiderate, but I don't think it does anypony any good to hold a grudge in case they eventually try to change their mean old meanie pants ways... Not that it helps any right then when you're feeling down. Losing a friends trust is definitely the easiest way to lose a friend forever, just try not to sweat the small stuff. Some of it is a matter of attitude I think. Although I didn't have any particular plans on my birthday yesterday, and my friends were all busy with work and such, I told myself when I woke up that I was going to have an awesome day no matter what. Even though I burned the cake I had planned to take in to work, I brought donuts instead. Even though it was cold and windy, I went on a fun bike ride anyway. In the end, I had an awesome day anyway.

hi hi Oh, don't mind my rambling, I was just being hypothetical in a point, counter-point fashion. Everypony made some mistakes here and there. It was kind of like a bunch of little things that all added up to something that seemed like a big thing, but wasn't. There were lots of "what if" moments where somepony could have stopped the flow, but it all worked out in the end. Thats all I was getting at... I think. Edit: I think in Bridle Gossip we were given a bit of a preview of Pinkie Pie's suspicious nature. It was apparently obvious enough to me that when I was working on my MLP RPG, I made suspicion the opposite of laughter. I think it has something to do with how laughter is used to disarm and de-escalate situations, while suspicion escalates things.

hi hi Did anyone else notice the similarities between the "Pinkalicious Tea Party," from an earlier season? Teaparty by yourself with stuffed animals trope subverted? A good friend of mine was having relationship problems once upon a time, where his significant other got to the point that she would always assume the worst. So during one argument over a misunderstanding he just said: "If there's more than one way you can take something I say, just assume that I mean the good one." Perhaps the other ponies might have been more sensitive to the distress Pinkie Pie was in and clued her in to the surprise earlier when they realized she was getting angry. (it'd still have been a good surprise.) I get the feeling that this sort of thing isn't something that anypony deals with all to often, so the rest of the gang might not have seen it coming. Still I think part of the point is that nopony is perfect and sometimes you've got to give your friends the benefit of the doubt, or at least a break. (channeling a little bit of "two wrongs don't make a right?" or maybe "don't get angry, get even?") The resolution may have been sudden, which I can see being disconcerting to some. Honestly, I think a lot of these episodes could easily be 30-45 minutes long, but I'm not going to fault them too much for time constraints. They probably could have used a little bit more time coming to a resolution in order to put the drama to rest, but I have a feeling the next episode will do a good job of that too. I am really glad that when Pinkie Pie started getting sad with the whole "I thought everyone liked my parties," line, just as I was about to start tearing up, Rainbow Dash popped in from out of nowhere and broke the tension.

hi hi It just so happens that it is my birthday today, and I have to say this was totally fitting. I laughed out loud for real for probably half the episode, and that good humor helped smooth out the rough edges of the dramatic end. I've also had situations that were kind of similar to this in my own time. One time my friends and I threw a surprise birthday party for a friend a month after his birthday, and boy was he surprised. However, we almost blew the whole thing because he didn't realize what was going on and almost decided to not show up. I was worried that Pinkie Pie was going to be moping and crying, which would have made me sad, but at least until the point where she snapped it was hilarious. ((and even after she snapped, you kind of knew that the plot was rushing full tilt towards the denouement)) I know it was no fun for Pinkie Pie to feel hurt, nobody likes that, but I think it helped drive the point home. You shouldn't let one thing get you upset, friends ought to be able to let some stuff slide, or at very least give things time. Even if they hadn't been planning a surprise party, friends make mistakes sometimes and you ought to be able to give them a chance to make things right before you toss them out. ((Admittedly, sometimes they will refuse to make things right, but that wasn't the case here, that was the lesson in Griffon the Brush-off.)) Also: I really wanted to see how bobbing for apples was really done. Also, also: That dramatic music that played while Pinkie Pie was following Twilight was great! Also, also, also: Choreographed mini dance routine? Yes!

hi hi That was a pretty good review, my favorite part was the whole (I can't believe I'm writing about a show with things called 'cutie marks.' I can't believe I'm about to explain what those are.) tangent.

hi hi I'm super glad there aren't flame wars like that here. Someponies can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Someponies just want to watch the world burn. (Get it? Flame war.)

hi hi I've gotta be honest, the only "alternative chess," I've ever had any knowledge about was Klin Zha. I am a bit curious as to why you chose the movement types that you did, and what the significance is. I don't really possess the abstract mathematical logic to figure it out intuitively. Edit: If I were to make up movement rules based on character traits, I would think Pinkie Pie should teleport around to different edges of the board like she does in the show.

hi hi Dear Princess Celestia, I learned today that it is easy to get carried away when writing anything and that a Thesaurus can help smooth out the rough edges on any sentence. Your Faithful Student.

hi hi Has anyone ever played an "emperor" style game? Where you've got two equal sized teams (usually three each) and the goal is to keep the emperor player alive. We played a game like that -except you could only effect people to either your immediate right or left- but I forget what the exact ruleset is called. We did this when Mirrodin was the current set and everyone had Cloudposts. Needless to say, each Cloudpost was worth a LOT of mana.

hi hi Yeah, I think there is some amount of counter culture there (at least for the mid twenties crowd), but what is really amazing about it is that it showcases the value of working together without also diminishing the value of the individual as well. A lot of people see self-vs-society as a black and white, one or the other dichotomy, but it doesn't have to be that way. You can have both at the same time.

hi hi Dear Princess Celestia, When you don't agree with somepony, it can be difficult to get along, let alone reach an agreement. But I've learned that even if you don't like or agree with how they are dealing with their concerns, everypony's concerns are still valid. If you can't discover an alternative way for them to satisfy those concerns, no amount of arguing will solve the problem. Sometimes ponies will get upset about something without even realizing what is really bothering them, sometimes they get mad about something else and it puts them in a bad mood, but if you can uncover the root of what is really troubling them, you might just find a way to make everypony happy. Your Faithful Student,

hi hi I'm not sure what they had reservations about, I just remember them saying something like "are you sure you don't want to watch something else?" My guess would be the voice acting, but I don't know if I feel like asking them to find out for sure.

hi hi Rainbow Dash will have an episode where she has to realize that being a role model is srs business. Somepony is going to learn how to deal with somepony else who just wants to take advantage and leech off of her good intentions. Luna!!! An episode where Princess Celestia gets sick and everypony else has to pitch in to help out.

hi hi While I think there is some amount of "forbidden fruit," effect going on with some people's initial reactions to the show, I think I agree a bit more with teygrim's original assessment as far as the show's enduring qualities. Although, I would be hesitant to use the term "utopia," since that has negative connotations for a lot of people. However, I understand your working definition and it makes sense. People are told over and over in contemporary media that they should be cynical, violent, mistrustful, afraid, apathetic and selfish. Most of these seem to have started out as marketing techniques to get people to buy something to fix those problems (even if they didn't exist before), but it has since taken on something of a life of its own where it has been used to achieve some social and political goals. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is like a refreshing reminder of that other part of ourselves that is brave, honest, kind, empathic and trusting. Now obviously there is more to philosophy and morality than what is shown in a TV show for kids, but it captures the spirit of harmony. Harmony that is not through uniformity and conformity, like the proponents of the self fear, or though some heroic dictator father figure, as the proponents of the society fear; but as a balance of many different things. Even anger gets a few brief acknowledgments (dragonshy anyone) when it is appropriate, but they're just as quick to point out when it quickly becomes a hinderance. "A deep man believes that the evil eye can wither, that the heart's blessing can heal, and that love... can overcome all odds." - Emerson

hi hi I had some vague memories of watching that as a very little kid, probably when it first came out on television. My parents were cool enough to let me watch it, but I guess I kinda understand now why they had reservations about the whole thing. When I saw Spike start playing the piano, that scene from the movie was the first thing that popped into my head.

hi hi Supposedly this is Twilight Sparkle Day (hooray!) which I suppose I should endorse since, as Pinkie Pie said: she's the all around best pony. Someponies have wondered just how do you celebrate Twilight Sparkle Day? What does Twilight Sparkle do other than read and learn about friendship? I don't know, but that seems just fine by me. And so, in honor of Twilight Sparkle, I am sharing something that I have learned about friendship and getting along. Dear Princess Celestia, I have learned that sometimes somepony might be mean or rude, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are inherently mean or rude. Sometimes, though not always, they are just having a bad day and could use some cheering up. This is a good example of the Fundamental Attribution Error or Correspondence Bias. You never know what motivations somepony might have for acting that way unless you take the time to find out. And if they really are mean and rude all of the time, changing the things that in their life that surround them and keep them from getting better might eventually heal those wounds. Your Faithful Student

hi hi I suppose you could be right. I just figured that when she said "the fabric looks like toile," she meant that it looked like the kind of cheap material you use for a test pattern rather than a finished product.

hi hi Toile via Wikipedia "A toile is a version of a garment made by a fashion designer or dressmaker to test a pattern. They are usually made in cheap material, as multiple toiles may be made in the process of perfecting a design. Toiles may be called "muslins," in the United States." I believe what you are thinking of is Toile de Jouy which is sometimes shortened to just toile as well, but is obviously a different thing. Toile de Jouy originated in France in the late 18th century and literally means "cloth from Jouy-en-Josas," a town in north-central France. Haute Couture is definitely a dress that is made for a specific individual, though when she says "True French Haute Couture," she's breaking the 4th wall a little bit and probably referencing a more specific style of dressmaking that is regulated by the French Department of Industry, who require twice yearly presentations of work to maintain accreditation.

hi hi You might be on to something Dessa, perhaps Owloysius is one of Nightmare Moon's minions trying to discover Twilight's weaknesses and study ways to bring the evil mare of darkness back.