Yup

I just like how all three posts of the day came from Kegisak. XD

Edited by GNinja on Mar 2nd 2021 at 5:29:55 PM

It's either an indication of how much Kegisak posts here relative to other posters or proof the POTD is rigged! The Pony Illuminati are conspiring to undercut the fairness of Story's random post-choosing in order to artificially uplift Kegisak into a perceived position of authority over the rest of us!

those damn ponies

Speaking of ponies. I heard of a spinoff show named "Pony Life" and would like to ask what do you think about it?

It's... Something. Definitely not recommended for fans of FIM, but it's fine for a good laugh, just don't go in thinking of it as FIM's replacement. It's more of a Gag Series

Yeah, it's... fine. Just fine. I hope the kids like it, at least.

It's the best, watch it right now, you'll never want to go to Heaven because nothing up there can ever beat that show.

Really? Because you haven't exactly been talking about it a lot until now.

You don’t know my life!

But we do know the Pony Life!

Do you have a minute to talk about letting ponies into your life?

I didn't choose Pony Life, Pony Life chose me.

Pony Life is love, Pony Life is life?

Post of the Day #3172

Posted by Bluespade on Mon, 13th Feb '12 5:21:26 PM - Post #94732 in the old thread

I just discovered Friendship is Dragons, a Campaign Comic based on a select few episodes of Friendship is Magic. I am generally doubtful about these comics, feeling that DM of the Rings and Darths & Droids already did all the possible jokes you can make in a Campaign Comic, but this one could surprise me. I didn't expect that Twilight's player would come up with the idea that the Mane 6 represent the Elements of Harmony, thus winning the battle against Nightmare Moon and nullifying the GM's plan to send them on an epic quest to retrieve the Elements of Harmony.

Curious question: what was the general consensus for the Tree of Harmony (or as I call it, the Magic Tree and Tobias calls in his own special way-not trying to be snide here, I swear- the Tree of Bullshit) in season four and five, i.e the season it came out and the season it started off "Friendship missions"?

Well, it did feel a bit superfluous. Like, it was basically doing the same thing Celestia would do occasionally, but now artificially selecting two ponies for the mission, whereas before that happened more organically.

It's basically the writer making a plot decision without really having to justify it in-universe. That's why the thing feels rather god-like.

I think that the Tree could have gone down a lot more smoothly provided at least one of two things happened:

• One, the characters expressed at least some doubts, confusion or skepticism about it at the start. I can understand how, after a few rounds of missions working out fine, the characters could have just accepted that evidently the missions and selections have logic behind them — after all, if it worked the first five times, chances are it's a smart idea to play along on mission number six — but them just handing over all personal agency to it from day one is... a little odd. Also, I find it a lot easier to accept a frustrating or dubious development if it's treated as such in the work as well.
• Two, for the Tree to have some ability to communicate with the others beyond the map from day one. That would have made it seem more like an in-universe character with, presumably, its own logic and thought processes and less like a transcendent direct line to the writers, and hopefully also make its reasonings a little clearer.

Making the Tree an actual character would have gone a long way to smoothing things over. Of course, then it would be even more redundant with Celestia, but that really just calls into focus how redundant it was in the first place.

With it just being this omniscient inanimate object, it really did just feel like a mandate from the writers declaring, "You and you will go here because that's where the plot I wrote is at and I don't want to bother explaining why you're there."

Edited by TobiasDrake on Mar 3rd 2021 at 4:42:54 AM

Guys, do we have a chart like this lying around the Pony Fandom Sphere? I know we had an "Insane Pony Thread Tumblr" thing so I was wondering if the fandom ever made something like this, with all the creative, flowery, funny, and weird ships and ship names.

Edit: I think I found something similar in purpose, though the names aren't as good.

Edited by fredhot16 on Mar 3rd 2021 at 5:31:01 AM

It also doesn't help that the Tree doesn't really tell them anything beyond the location, and the characters just have to sort of guess what the problem is and what they are supposed to do about it. Hence why the tree seems prescient as well as omniscient. It seems to already know the outcome of the plot, which is why it sends very specific characters to solve a problem.

Of course this is really just the writer cheating their own narrative by working backwards from the solution they have in mind. Something they tend to do in other episodes as well, by the way. You can usually tell when a bunch of seemingly unrelated and random events suddenly come together in this really cool idea, and the plot seems to steer characters and events towards that idea to some extent.

Ever heard of Sony Pictures' idea for the MLP movie? Apparently it was to have the Mane Six getting stuck on Earth.

Gee, doesn't THAT sound familiar?

Edited by superboy313 on Mar 3rd 2021 at 10:01:18 AM

Sounds like every other Human-Focused Adaptation of cartoons...

Not to mention they already did the "Twilight Sparkle gets transported to a non-magical human world" plot in EQUESTRIA GIRLS.

Except in this case, it would've been magical talking ponies meeting humans in the actual Earth.

$20 betting it would've taken place in New York City.