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@Pokémon discussion? In my pony discussion?

Australia would be a good place to set a Pokémon game.

@DeadParrot

Hasbro's financial report? Shit, how deep did you go looking for season 4?

Nothing is too deep when it comes to pony, Affluence.

And Australian Pokemon? If that were to be true, every Pokemon there would have to have at least one of their attacking stats at base 150 at the very least: everything there can, will, and wants to kill you, after all.

Exudes said:

Hasbro’s financial report? Shit, how deep did you go looking for season 4?

"Maybe they hid season four over here!"

"No? Well, what about over here?"

"… What was that? We don't have to dig at all because it was on EQD? Two months ago?!"

Okay then….

“… What was that? We don’t have to dig at all because it was on EQD? Two months ago?! ”Oh… Okay then…

SHOWS HOW MUCH I CARE ABOUT EQD. MAYBE IF THEY WERE NICER TO ME AND DIDN'T LOSE MY SUBMISSIONS FOR THREE WEEKS.

I go on EQD like once a month and read a bajillion pages. I only do it because I'm worried I'll miss out on animator castings for the sequel to Double Rainboom (there'd better be one) or something like that.

@Austrailian Pokemon Game
Every trainer will be so strong they would have health bars.

Oh oh…the MLP:Fighting is Magic is on the front page of gamespot…

You guys should get this game



(Click each image for sauce)
Like
Really
Its amazing
I cannot stress how much you guys should get this game and play the shit outta it
Seriously
Get it
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
get eet

At the risk of this turning into "Pokemon General", that does remind me of some concept for a Pokemon Story I once had where the main character has No Pokemon, but challenges the Elite Four anyways with his Bare Hands.

… I got bored with the idea though.

Whatever they do, they should probably give it Literal Flying Foxes. Not only is Australia full of Foxes that came here from abroad, but we also have plenty of bats that look like Foxes, our "Flying Foxes".

…They are so flipping cute!

Why am I still talking? It's too early in the afternoon…

Have some Randomly Selected Pony and Pokemon Cross image:

Everyone's talking about Pokémon…
Should I join in? Or should I stay on pony topics?

Not sure if…

well considering everything eventually runs headlong back to pony anyways, it doesn't matter what you say, you'll find a way to make it pony related.

I spent a good portion of the last few pages espousing the view that Surprise is dead to this show.

…Not so much because The show is getting derivative or whatever, but because humans have developed to a point where we know just about every possibility.

…and The only way to surprise a human now days is to force them to willingly discard a notion after having thought of it. Or perhaps come up with an idea that you yourself think is too crazy to accept, and then go with it.

How does this relate to ponies, other than the show of course?

Let's just say, Pinkie Pie's antics never surprise me.

I could be an isolated example though…

Now Excuse me while I indulge in dark magics.

MERCH ALERT!
Anyone out there who wanted one of those vinyl Derpy figures from Hot Topic should act now!

DERPY
As of when I'm writing this, she's available for purchase.
In case you didn't know, she was released for a short time some months ago, immediately sold out, and hasn't been remade… until now!
The Rainbow Dash figure and the special Vinyl Scratch trading card box are also now available from them too!
I think they just restocked today and they are unlikely to last very long!

Edit for random thought:
I'm going to hazard a guess that Hot Topic probably doesn't do much international shipping.
To that end, if any of the non-U.S. people here want one and can't buy it directly, let me know.
Perhaps I can pick one up for you and ship it myself!
Gotta spread the pony!

Double edit:
Just checked and I guess they do offer international shipping…
Oh well, offer still stands if anyone needs an order by proxy, I guess.

I suppose I have Reached Pony Number 2…

Her Name is up for grabs…

Suggestion Page

Edit: Yes, I am mostly aware it's essentially a lighter and Greyer version of the first.

…But they all have Blue as the Main coat color, so that's a given.

As for color differences, I would attribute those to the color system I used to better fit it together with Green, which is this one's (Eventual) Outfit.

Anyways…

If we're all going to be forced to wait for this "Big announcement coming soon", can we at least have a date?

Not that it matters, it comes when it comes. But at least if we have a date, we won't miss it when it comes.

No new episode today :(

"Remember, patience… discipline."

There's a note I want to bring up about Crystal Ponies.

Consensus Agreement is that they are simply Earth Ponies that have been exposed to the powers of the Crystal Heart.

But personally I see as more like a mutation of Earth Ponies, similar to Bat Ponies… even if still it's still caused by the Crystal Heart after thousands of years of Repeated Exposure.

Even when the crystal Heart isn't glowing, they still retain some level of Crystalline Appearance (Hexagonal Eyes, Gradient Mane) And they do Flare up with a bit of a Crystal Aura before the Heart is active, and that's kinda what activates the heart.

Think of it this way: If your species lived next to a energy source known to cause Extensive (But Harmless, and actually Beneficial) Biological changes once a year, eventually it's going to start causing some permanent effect to your genetics that get passed down the bloodline.

I'm not sure who's going to argue against this, or if anyone actually disagrees with me, so I'm just stating my opinion as clearly as I can.

So… Whatever…

Actually, come to think of it, if there's a crystal Heart that theoretically caused a Mutant offshoot of Earth Ponies; then how many other Mutation Causing artifacts might be out there?

And though we've seen like… 2 to 5 mutant offshoots so far, what's to say there aren't more?

…After all, in real life, there's dozens of individual kinds among creatures. There's a dozen distinct kinds of Foxes, hundreds of species of Bats (Both Microbat and Megabat), More types of birds than can reasonably be listed (even among specific kinds of bird like Pidgeon, Dove, or Sparrow).

Now if that is all possible, then theoretically, there should be at least a dozen mutations of Each kind of Pony we are already familiar with out there somewhere.

…And also Sea Ponies. Which from what I heard of the "Probably not Canon" book, appear to have at least two kinds of which. (Edit: If I'm interpreting the information I have on it right.)

@ZeroBlue4, I agree. I think the Bat ponies (which I think look cooler with webbed batwing like manes) and Crystal ponies are variants of existing pony groups. Also, sea ponies, because of the new "Under the Sparkling Sea" book are more of a "possibly canon". If you consider that book canon, then they are. I personally doubt they will show up in show, but it is possible that they may show up in the IDW comic series.

@ZeroBlue4 I do think that the Crystal Ponies branched out from (if I remember) all of the normal pony groups (Pegasus, Unicorn, Earth) and if memory serves me there had been unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi in the city.

If I'm wrong, please correct me.

I think it's high time we talked about a subject like this.

I like the idea of crystal ponies bein' normal ponies who were mutated (in the positive meanin') by the magic of the Crystal Heart and then mutated again due to the lack of it's power.
Kind of like elves and many other races in the Warcraft's lore.

Alright, I've got another (sort of) memetic nugget I figured I'd toss in here. I was wondering if it had been documented yet, which it might very well have been. I haven't had time to look through all of the parent MLP:FiM articles that might include some mention of the memeish thing in question.

You know those turntable GIFs?

Like that?

I see them around quite often, and was wondering if there was already some mention of those types of images in one of the MLP: FiM related articles. I can always provide more examples if needed.

(I would, but the image cap…oh, the image cap…)

I apologize that this post sucks.

Not even Nazis can derail this thread! We're just that focused.

I thought it was mentioned in the MLP art fads, but it's not. I think it could be added, as there are a large number of recolors with other ponies. However, outside of variants of that specific GIF, I don't think I've seen too many other variants with them on turntables, so it might not be noteworthy enough.

Hmmph.

I thought it was mentioned in the MLP art fads, but it’s not.

That's a surprise. I've seen enough variants of this particular GIF that I think it deserves some mention. An origin hunt may or may not be difficult. I find that many pony art fads emanate from DeviantArt or Poni/Derpibooru.

I think it could be added, as there are a large number of recolors with other ponies.

As do I. I don't know how many of them there are, nor do I know what keywords would be best for usage when searching. I tried two quick Google searches and found a few examples, but didn't get very much progress done on the whole.

However, outside of variants of that specific GIF, I don’t think I’ve seen too many other variants with them on turntables, so it might not be noteworthy enough.

I think I have some reason to believe that this is a genuine art fad among members of the fandom, though I have some research to do about that, and I already have a couple of entries on my plate as it is. I don't think that the question is "How divergent can we make this art fad?" so much as it is "How many examples of this art fad are there?"

So, yeah, at this point I think I'm going to request editorship of the entry and see if I can construct a decent write-up about this art fad, if I can find backing for my editorship appeal (which I think I can).

@Evan

Actually, these have been suggested to me before. Either as an addition to that entry or a seperate one, don't remember. But I rejected that idea. True, they are popular and stuff, but they aren't noteworthy. It's just basically a recolor of the exact same gif everytime again. Variations of an artpiece or gif but with different characters gets done all the time. That GIF is just a more poupular one, but that's also where it stops, as it hasn't spawn derivatives or similar things.

If you believe they're noteworthy enough, feel free to say so with some arguments and I might consider it.

RandomMan wrote:

Actually, these have been suggested to me before. Either as an addition to that entry or a seperate one, don’t remember. But I rejected that idea. True, they are popular and stuff, but they aren’t noteworthy. It’s just basically a recolor of the exact same gif everytime again. Variations of an artpiece or gif but with different characters gets done all the time. That GIF is just a more poupular one, but that’s also where it stops, as it hasn’t spawn derivatives or similar things.

That is a good point that was unconsidered on my part. I have a question, though: does mutation make the meme, or does popularity make the meme? Is it both? Because if the foremost is proven to be null, then I'd think that the GIF and its variants are noteworthy. If not, then maybe it is better off undocumented. Hmmph.

If you believe they’re noteworthy enough, feel free to say so with some arguments and I might consider it.

Well, whether or not I have an argument is based on the answer to my question, more or less.

Evan wrote:

Does mutation make the meme, or does popularity make the meme? Is it both?

It is both, but what's also important how they differ and indentify themselves from the rest. What makes them unique, what makes them stand out? Is everyone involved with their creation, or are those small amount that create them just getting a lot of attention? Popularity is important, but it's not everything. Would you call Dashboard ponies a meme because everyone uses them? Are Goo Girls a meme because they are different than other artwork styles?

Anyone notice that the most Bat Ponies have been animated doing, in show or out, is Flying?

I'd like to see someone do more than that…

I'd do it myself… Actually, I already tried, and it turned out that I'm an embarrassment to animators everywhere. And also possibly a cheat? No, wait, animators always kinda do that, and they do it much more efficiently than I did with my horrible approach…

I'm rambling now…

Anyways, if there's any animator's in here… I'd like to see how you'd approach it. (Not that it should be much harder than a Pegasus.)

I believe Exudes is the only animator here. AND I REQUEST HE DOESN'T ANIMATE THE BAT PONY INFERIOR RACE! Stealing all the jobs from honest, hardworking day ponies and raping our wimminz in the dead of night….disgrace really.

Side dump:

A friend of mine, 'DMAJohnson opened up some commissions so I decided to hand him some money since he's a pretty cool guy. My request? Radagast (from the movie version of the Hobbit) and Fluttershy like….having some tea or something.

He came back with this:

Not bad if I say so myself! I don't believe he's ever drawn ponies before and he pulled of Fluttershy and Angel pretty well!

So, there's a semi-interesting topic that I've been meaning to bring up here, but I keep forgetting: Pandering.
Over the past month or so (pretty much since Magic Duel), a small subset of bronies have been crying that the show creators have jumped the shark and begun blatantly pandering to the adult fanbase.
They tend to cite things like bringing Trixie back, pairing up Scootaloo and Dash, Fluttertree, and a handful of other seemingly brony-based elements to suggest that the show has lost its roots and is now just existing to play to us.
Now, most people (myself included) tend to consider this pretty ridiculous and some have taken to making fun of the 'pandering' claims by derailing the complaint into conversations about 'panda rings.'

Silly hilarity ensues.

Then, today, Megan McCarthy tweets this:

Well played, ma'am. Well played.

Anyway, like I said, I meant to bring up the topic before.
Anyone have any opinions on the idea that DHX is 'pandering' to us?

I believe Exudes is the only animator here. AND I REQUEST HE DOESN’T ANIMATE THE BAT PONY INFERIOR RACE! Stealing all the jobs from honest, hardworking day ponies and raping our wimminz in the dead of night….disgrace really.

Oh please, we're not interested in your "wimminz". They Frankly seem a bit Frail for our tastes.

And as for jobs, I'm pretty sure there aren't many of you Lining up for Midnight Guard Duty or Midnight Law Enforcement…

…But who is?

US!

It's like one of our most poplar choices for our race… Next to other curious professions like Security Consultant, Bleeding Edge Science, and Digital Media.

…The other sides of which being Hackers, Spies, Mad Scientists, Thieves, and Artists.

Seriously, we're not Barbarians!

Just ask our Spokes-Pony

@Deadparrot

That Board Snip Makes me wonder…

What would a pic of going and claiming all three, "Forced Pandering Filler", be image-a-fied as? Some Finger being forced to fill a Panda-Ring too small for it?

Finally Found some Fan Animated Bat Pony Tucked in the depth of the Internets!

@Deadparrot:

Didn't they make the Fluttertree joke in Season 2 though?

And besides, I'm all for panda-rings, Magic Duel was the best episode this season.

Anyone have any opinions on the idea that DHX is ‘pandering’ to us?

I would have been more likely to say that DHX was pandering to the brony fanbase more last season than this season.
 
It seems as if some people might have forgotten that Derpy isn't present much at all in Season 3. Even in times where it made no sense to have her in a scene (i.e., May the Best Pet Win!)m DHX made efforts to add her.

Not to mention that Derpy was first included (rather blatantly) way back during FEELING PINKIE KEEN (all caps for emphasis of the awesomeness of the episode) which was in the middle of Season 1. So I'd say there is acknowledgement of the fandom and the fanon, and there is a decent bit of it where it can be included without taking from the show.

However, it generally seems to be done in a way that has no effect on the episode or could even go without being noticed by bronies themselves.

In case you're like me and you never notice these things, that's a lyre/harp on Bon Bon's saddlebag in the second image: Lyra's cutie mark. Now tell me they're not in lesbians with each other. They are obviously in lesbians, guys.

Anywho, lightly implied shipping aside (or just plain implied shipping if you have a certain set of eyewear being donned,) it doesn't have the feeling of "pandering." I'd say that pandering is basically twisting the show itself to fit the desires or preferences of the audience. I think that there are alternate explanations for the examples people may present as pandering:

• Jayson Thiessen said back before Season 2 began to air that there was "more to tell" in regards to Trixie. Trixie fans were already well established by this point, but Jayson Thiessen had Trixie in mind for a long time (well, before Season 3, possibly even before Season 3 had begun being produced.)
  • As for her relationship to Twilight, Trixie explicitly stated why had beef with Twilight Sparkle. Trixie brought it up herself. Literally.

• I'm not so sure the Scootaloo and Dash pairing wasn't influenced by bronies to some extent. Lauren Faust said straight up that Dash isn't the kind of character (I can't find the original source, but typing in "Rainbow Dash," "Lauren Faust," and "sister" gets you several people saying they read the same thing in other forums.) Yes, yes, there is such a thing as character development, and Lauren Faust is no longer actively contributing to the show. I will acknowledge that if another Mane Six character without decidedly younger sisters (i.e., Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle) had come to be Scootaloo's mentor of sorts, then it would probably appear like the show was actively avoiding fanon where Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo become close. So if there was a scenario where Scootaloo would accept a mentor and the potential older sister would offer it, then it would probably be a situation like the one portrayed in Sleepless in Ponyville.
  • The random Luna in the episode seems to be how the show creators are trying to include Luna as a legitimate princess. I think at first (and for a while into the airing of the show) that Luna wasn't given a specific role or powers just yet. Luna Eclipsed had very little to do with Luna's rule. She was just expecting reverence as per any person of royalty. She just had powerful magic. We had seen Celestia in various roles indicating her involvement with Equestria (i.e., the Running of the Leaves, dealing with parasprite infestations), but Luna was barely mentioned in Season 1. The Luna appearance seemed shoehorned, but I think that wasn't due to pandering. I think that's DHX finally beginning to define what Luna's roles and specific powers are as Princess of Equestria.
• Fluttertree being a reference to the fandom is just being absent-minded. Sure, people didn't love the episode (because no one appreciates Dave Polsky's unbridled genius (what pun?),) but Fluttershy being a tree did not originate within the fanbase. How could people forget this scene? The fans made some fanart of it per anything in the show, but it was directly stated (in what doesn't seem to be a joke from Fluttershy as much as a "Fluttershy probably isn't quite right" thing. However, none of the Mane Six seems to bat an eye at the comment) as opposed to implied and exaggerated canon. It's probably more of a running gag than a fan nod.

As for the show "losing its roots," it depends on how you mean that.

In one way, it hasn't. Jayson Thiessen has said how much Lauren's vision does more than influence the show. They pull elements (likely even now) from her original concept of Equestria and its inhabitants.
 
In more ways, in my opinion, it has lost "its roots."

Consider this tweet from Lauren Faust:

It's changed enough from what the Executive Producer and Director had envisioned. This is the woman who was the creator of the show as we know it in Generation 4. She's attached to the characters, because they were a part of her childhood imagination, but if it's too sad for her to even watch it, then it's had to undergone some significant changes from what she had in the show bible.

Lauren Faust isn't new to animation. She likely knew that there were going to be changes to what she wanted in the show. So she also took the job thinking that they wouldn't change the show enough to make it so different from what she had in mind.
 
If there is a foundation (i.e., "roots") of Equestria, then Lauren Faust is it. I think that speaks to how the show had changed from the episodes Lauren Faust was overseeing (which were explicitly how she wanted them) to what they are now (where she won't even watch them.)

However, I actually think it was for the better.

"I think the show has changed some, but I don’t think it’s gotten overall worse. On the whole, (like others have said in fewer words,) I think it’s gotten better. Lauren might have had other ideas, and they may have made FiM to be even better than what it was. But considering that I still like the show as much (if not more) than what I first did, I can’t say Hasbro didn’t make a terrible call here in taking the show in a different direction."

Now I don't think the show had gotten better neither due to Lauren's resignation nor pandering to bronies. I think Jayson said it best:

We are keeping everything as it was in season one… Just making the best damn show we can.

I think many people would focus on the first part (i.e., keeping the show the same,) but I don't think he's holding to that over the second part: "making the best damn show (they) can." I think they try to do both, but if the two ever come into conflict, I'm sure Jayson would deviate from "its roots" in how Lauren Faust had envisioned the show.

Following this, I think that the show is getting better in basically all aspects of its creation.

• The animation is improving. People were saying that the animation for Flash was pretty good to amazing at first, and that the animators were already pushing the limits of it. And yet, they've gotten better at it (I don't think anyone would dispute that the show looks even better than it did in Season 2.)
• I don't think the music (background score and musical numbers) improved, but I think we're beginning to understand how good William Anderson and Daniel Ingram are as we hear more music and the timing of certain themes and variations.
• The writing has improved (poor Merriwether…) I think it takes time to really learn the characters, how they'd interact with other characters with their own personalities, and how they'd respond in certain situations especially when the plot is already determined. (For example, if each episode in the first season needed to end with a moral, then the events and interactions in the episode need to make sense considering the characters' established personalities.) Now that the friendship report "restriction" has been lifted since the events in Lesson Zero, I think the writers can focus more on playing with the characters in certain situations instead of trying to get to a specific end in about 20 minutes. Sure, that's difficult, but these are professionals. I have come to expect excellence anyway, and I'm sure they expect that from themselves. So they are likely trying to get even better. I think the writing shows that they have gotten better at portraying the characters and making entertaining episodes.
• Even the design of the new characters show variation from the Mane Six model and the Princess Alicorn models. And yet, they still maintain the FiM "feel" while expanding the universe to include more than just ponies and a stray griffon or two.
• Oh, how could I forget the voice acting? You probably already know of some changes like where Applejack and Rainbow Dash was made to sound less similar by Ashleigh Ball. But also consider Celestia (anger), Fluttershy (rage, insulting), Pinkie Pie (anger, contempt sadness to the point of tears), Rarity (but then again, Tabitha has always rocked Rarity's voice) and other characters showing more emotion and how the actors had to express it. I think they've done a great job of it
  • Perhaps especially Andrea Libman. Pinkie's and Fluttershy's voices aren't all that different, but she's been able to explore different emotions very well for both of them while keeping the two distinct. That may be easier to do early in Season 1 where Fluttershy's "moments" were more stern than angry and Pinkie was always Pinkie. Later on, the two characters expressed much more varied emotions but the two are still distinct.

All of this, I think, is part of the direction of Jayson Thiessen and the ability (and genuine like on the part of DHX) of working on the show. I think the show is still the same, but I do think it's changed to be better and more entertaining. Not because of bronies directly (however, our "zeal" probably helped Hasbro feel more comfortable about how good the show is), but because DHX wants to make a great show and to continue to make it better.

@ZeroBlue

Finally Found some Fan Animated Bat Pony Tucked in the depth of the Internets!

>Depths of the Internet
>Source is DeviantArt

…Ok.

Depths of the Internet
Source is DeviantArt

…Ok.

Fine: Depths of Deviant art then. After all, Deviant art goes a long way down…

Like, if you jumped off the edge, it would take you years to reach the bottom.

All I can say is that I have faith in those guys and I believe that they know what they're doin'. Maybe I didn't like all the episodes of the season, but overall the season is at least as good as the previous two. I don't really care if it's panderin' or not, I enjoy it so far, so I keep watchin it.

I'll just leave this here… Hope it's not too bad a quality image to see anything.

Linky

I'm an Attention W**** Aren't I?

@Verbose

(Just go right ahead and take care of the entire conversation in one go, why don't you?)
But really, pretty much all of that is spot on in my opinion and is exactly why I think this whole 'pandering' complaint is really silly.
I'd just like to add a few details to some of your points.

Like you said, Trixie's return and Scootaloo's development were not written up because bronies demanded them; they had been in the works for a long time.

Note that Boast Busters, Trixie's first appearance, aired on November 19, 2010 so she had only existed for two months when her return was first arranged.
Scootaloo was a bit slower but her episode was in production for nearly a year and a half.

ONE BIG CORRECTION
This is not at all directed at you personally, Verbs, since it seems that a major portion of the fanbase has been perpetuating the information for a long time, but LAUREN FAUST DID NOT/DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT RAINBOW DASH WOULD BE A BAD SISTER!
Here is the old quote that most people refer to when they make that claim.
(I love how even at the bottom of that very old image, someone is essentially describing Sleepless in Ponyville's ending)
However, that quote is entirely out of context.

To start from the very beginning, you need to know that the CMCs were not in Faust's original pitch for the show.
She had designed the main six and essentially intended for everything to revolve around them.
It was in fact the Hasbro executives (worried that there were no characters in the age range of their target demographic, I believe) who originally wanted to have some children in there.
Faust then went off and designed the preliminary versions of the fillies we now know with Apple Bloom as AJ's sister, Sweetie Belle as Rarity's sister, and yes, Scootaloo as Rainbow Dash's sister.
This was Faust's idea of Dash as a sister:

MAKE IT BIGGER!
(Note how that description sounds almost exactly like Dash's whole 'Tell anyone else and I'll deny it' attitude.)
It was Hasbro who made the decision that "Rainbow Dash wouldn't treat a younger sibling like they should be treated in MLP," not Faust.
In the development of any series, the creator and the executives will have disagreements and for Faust, this was a case of choosing her battles.
She liked Scoot and Dash as sisters (It was her idea) but she had already established the other two sister relations.
Having all three of the CMCs just so happen to be directly related to members of the main six did seem a bit… contrived in the end, so she simply decided not to fight the dissolution of that relationship.

Basically, at first, Hasbro was very wary of Rainbow Dash.
MLP had always had a certain attitude about it that Rainbow Dash really defied in a lot of ways.
I remember Faust mentioning that there was actually a bit of a fight with the executives to allow Dash to call Twilight an 'egghead' in Fall Weather Friends' as they believed it bordered on teasing/bullying and, while tame by most people's standards, Hasbro was very reluctant to dial back the saccharine sweetness that had usually defined MLP.
Obviously, after seeing the character in action, Hasbro has reversed their thinking on Dash to a significant extent.
They are willing to let her be the sort of 'jerk with a heart of gold' that they were so nervous about early on.
Because of that shift, Sleepless in Ponyville was allowed to re-canonize that lost sisterhood from Faust's concepts.

Except for the fact that it has caused this huge misunderstanding, I actually love the fact that Scootaloo and Dash were blocked from being biologically related.
It's no secret that I love how they interact and the fact that their relationship is built entirely by choice (by that mean, no familial obligation) makes it all the more special in my eyes.
For me, it's another one of those cases where restrictions placed on the creative team by the executives have led to more interesting characters than we may otherwise have gotten.

In short,

Lauren Faust Approved, bitches!

Edit:
WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?!
A little early to get your hopes up, but this sounds very interesting…

Except for the fact that it has caused this huge misunderstanding, I actually love the fact that Scootaloo and Dash were blocked from being biologically related.
It’s no secret that I love how they interact and the fact that their relationship is built entirely by choice (by that mean, no familial obligation) makes it all the more special in my eyes.

If this were Homestuck, they'd probably end up biologically related anyways. Considering Homestuck has children being "Adopted" by their biological Parents, only to find out they made their own parents in a lab, and then themselves by combining the genetics in the same lab, and each has a sibling. And it's all thanks to Time-loops gone mad!

And I say, thank goodness this Isn't Homestuck because that would make this 1000 times more complicated than it needs to be.

…Of course, considering that both these fandoms are prime ground for cross-overs…

…I'm pretty sure it's going to become head canon to someone.

@Pandering

This is hardly a new phenomenon. Folks have been decrying the show for it pretty much since season two started, it's just recently gained more steam.

We humans seem to have this unfortunate habit of twisting and turning everything into the worst scenario imaginable. It's useful when you need to do risk-assessment, yes, but we sure as hell seem to enjoy doing it when it's unwarranted, too. Makes me wonder if we're somehow wired for mental masochism.

Just about every culture has laboured under the assumption that they're living in the end-times. Even the ones with an understanding that time is cyclical tend to have some stipulation that suggests that this is the final cycle, at the end of which we'll ascend to the next stage of being. Or at least the worthy ones will. Often a common element to doom-sayings is that only the "chosen ones" will benefit from the apocalypse, with everyone else getting the shaft. I'm guessing that since folks like to think they'll get to say "told you so" at some point, and since we like to escalate and exaggerate, folks shouting "The end is nigh!" is the final result.

Since sub-cultures are oftentimes similar to cultures, just on a smaller scale, you tend to get many of the same features. Doom-sayers are one of them. In our particular case, the popular prophecy is the end of the show. I don't think anyone will dispute that it'll happen one day, but for some folks that just ain't enough. No, they've got to insist they've got some sort of special insight into how it'll all end. In fact, many claim it already has ended, the mindless cattle simply hasn't realized it yet.

This whole moaning about pandering is just one manifestation of this smug self-superiority disguised as fear. They say the show has jumped the shark and become feed for the sheep, always emphasizing how they've been saying this was gonna happen all along. Of course, they'll keep watching it, despite promises to the contrary, and after every new episode they will always be ready with another quip about how Trixie this and Fluttertree that.

That's not to say that the underlying concerns are bullshit, though. As I've said before, I'm in the camp that wants to see the show go out with a memorable bang rather than slowly grind to an agonizing halt, so the concerns about the show jumping the shark are rather valid in my book. Too bad they're barking up the entirely wrong tree here.

Well, Verbose explained the whys of that pretty extensively. But here's what I managed to jot down before his glorious megapost:

See, they've technically been "pandering" to us from the start. Remember how dear ol' Derpy dropped a piano on Twilight's poor noggin'? Also recall how Derpy only became a thing after somebody spotted a funny little background animation error/gag in the first episode and a bunch of folks took a liking to it? So yeah, that was pretty much our fault.

True, they've been getting more bold with the stuff that folks interpret as flirting with the fanbase, but come now, what show that has a fanbase significant enough to flirt with doesn't have an escalation in such material? And let's face it, the only reason the doom-sayers think it's bad is because they're so caught up in their self-made, faulty logic. Show jumping shark is bad. Pandering may lead to show jumping shark. Anything that may lead to something eventually will lead to something. Ergo, pandering is bad. Shun all pandering.

While it may indeed be worrying that Faust herself is expressing such grief over the show, let's not go jumping to conclusions about that just yet. Her sadness might not necessarily be because she doesn't like the direction the show is taking, it might just be because she's very attached to the characters and no longer having any say in them and their actions hurts her too much. Her statement about wanting to remember how she originally envisioned things supports this. Of course, we can't really come to a definite conclusion based on such limited info.

Since sub-cultures are oftentimes similar to cultures, just on a smaller scale, you tend to get many of the same features. Doom-sayers are one of them. In our particular case, the popular prophecy is the end of the show. I don’t think anyone will dispute that it’ll happen one day, but for some folks that just ain’t enough. No, they’ve got to insist they’ve got some sort of special insight into how it’ll all end. In fact, many claim it already has ended, the mindless cattle simply hasn’t realized it yet.

I doubt that if the show ends that it would stay ended.

Why?

Because This Society has a tendency to necromatize anything with so much as a hint of past or future potential.

Remember Digimon? I loved it as a kid, then it fell off the radar for several years. Then I rediscovered it last year, while it was in the middle of some Season where it involved a Digimon WAR instead of small scale conflict. And they had the biggest fan pandering ever after the end of the good bits.

Star Trek, the normal TV series ended ages ago, but then last year, they brought it back as a movie.

Star Wars… No idea what's going on there… making "Episode 7" or whatever.

I think, that with the fandom that MLP:FIM has gathered, if it ever does end, it WILL be back. Brought back from the dead by whatever methods that Hasbro will afford to get their hands on. Heck, they'll probably opt for finding Faust's Phone number if they have to, calling her back, bringing back all the characters we love, and then kicking things up to the point it will look less like a kids show, and more like a full on Anime! (Okay, maybe not that last part)

Oh, one more… A friend once told me that the original Dracula (Which went into public domain or whatever) is getting a sequel written by the descendant of the original Writer.

No successful show is staying dead anymore! Especially if it's aimed at teens, young adults, or kids!

[END RANT]

@ZeroBlue4

Ah, but what you're talking about there are franchises. Even if it belongs in the same franchise and is a direct sequel, it's not the same show anymore. It's why you get so much fighting over the prequels, sequels and other assorted chronological oddities in any fanbase that encompasses a franchise.

Technically, FiM itself is like this. My Little Pony is a long-standing franchise with several shows under it's belt. FiM is simply the latest incarnation. But I doubt you'll find anyone willing to blaspheme so as to suggest that FiM is in the same ballpark as it's predecessors.

I'll openly concede to DeadParrot's investigative skills. I don't like to make a statement, have it be debunked, and not acknowledge it. I've never seen that quote from Lauren Faust saying how she'd want to have Scootaloo and Dash as siblings, but it seems straightforward that she wanted them to be sisters and that Rainbow Dash wouldn't be a bad sister.
 
DeadParrot's edit:
>yfw it's a panda. An actual panda. Black and white equals grey. The panda's name is "Pegasus" because she wants to be like Rainbow Dash. She has to come to grips that she is a panda, she cannot fly, and she has no place in Equestria, because she is a panda.

She is then inexplicably but probably justifiably sent to the moon.

And then she and Opulence Charity become friends off-screen. Lesbians happened. THE END.

I'll also agree with ZeroBlue. There are franchises (maybe not necessarily toy franchises, because I don't know much about toys,) that will inevitably have different generations or sequels as long as the company is still about.

But I can speak to particular games that are/have become franchises. Pokémon and Final Fantasy.

• I know less about Final Fantasy, but I know that Final Fantasy X was one of the more popular and financially successful games for the series. Up to that point, no Final Fantasy game had a direct sequel (to my knowledge), but FFX got one in FFX-2. Even Final Fantasy VII, perhaps the most popular and the most successful games in the series have connections made in other games and spawned games set in similar universes.
• Pokémon has all sorts of spinoffs. Pokémon was also built to sell. There's nothing particularly novel about Pokémon. There have been other monster-catching RPGs. Pokémon was just able to make a literal killing off of its franchise. But the two generations that had sequels are the first (the on that made it so popular) and the most recent, fifth generation (with Black 2 and White 2.)
  • Pokemon Gold and Silver was actually the second generation, and it was set in a different continent with little bearing on the events of the first game. When you finish the main game, the postgame includes the original Kanto, first generation continent complete with all of the characters who have progressed since the end of the first game. So itself isn't really a sequel, but it had a sequel component that could almost stand as its own game.
  • Pokemon Black and White was also very successful So the second set of games within the generation wasn't just another version (i.e., Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, Platinum) where the story of the game changes very little, Black 2 and White 2 was set in the same land as Black and White, but a couple of years after the events of Black and White (where many non-playable characters you interact with acknowledge and act based upon the events in the original.) The main plot itself is a direct consequence of the events in Black and White.

These game franchises got sequels when 1. Final Fantasy doesn't really do sequels for games and 2. Pokemon has no need for sequels. It's not really concerned about a game story that's deep enough to merit a sequel…

Until Final Fantasy X and Pokemon Black and White came along, that is. Based on their success and reception (and the fact that they lend themselves to sequels), they got sequels.
 
Bringing it back around to Poni, does FiM lend itself to a sequel?

>Grow the CMC up add in Babs Seed.

Any of the Mane Six voice actresses that cannot/will not voice them will have their characters sent to the moon in another land to do something so that they do not interact with the CMC on-screen.

That could very easily happen. Heck, it may even be in the works right now. But if a MLP generation gets a sequel, then it's probably this one.

I suppose…

However, that does not mean that It's impossible for it to work if it happened.

…And considering that they will do their best to live up to the show as it is now, we can assume they'll have learned from this incarnation, and be ready to reapply all that to the new incarnation. And Since it's highly unlikely that they would suddenly forget how to make the show good, then the new show, while possibly being slightly different, will most likely be good… maybe even great.

…The question of it it will be as popular will instead be one of nostalgia, and whether the fanbase can put it behind them and enjoy the new incarnation. And since I can assume it would be a "Sequel"; I don't see a reason why it wouldn't be as popular, and have a majority of the old fanbase as well.

Now, I know there will be some bit of an uproar somewhere. But that's inevitable. But I'm betting it will be minor compared to what goes right.

Compare to Pokemon: People are always in an uproar about how new generations are not quite as good as previous ones, but everyone still buys them anyways, still enjoys them almost as much, and those that have their eye's open the widest to check out the details notice it might actually be better than previous versions.

Gah… let me just cut myself off here trying to state facts, and Start with my Opinion.

You're probably right in that it might not be "Exactly" the same show; but it's unlikely that the creators will have forgotten why the current incarnation is great, and so they won't have much trouble making it as good as it is now.

I'm fairly used to my favorite franchises getting massively overhauled. And I'm quite fine with it now, provided that I am still able to like the version in front of me. I'm not sure if that's because I judge everything on it's own merits or what… But I'm adaptable non the less…

…So… If this Fandom turns out to be just as adaptable… We won't have anything to worry about with what incarnation comes next…

On the other hand, even if the new version is good enough for us all to enjoy it, that won't stop us from saying that we like this incarnation better. But we should note that such a statement "Shouldn't" matter, as even if you like a previous version better, that doesn't stop you from liking the current version.

Just like how Liking Final Fantasy 7 more than 8 Doesn't stop you enjoying 8. Or whatever. It doesn't matter.

What matters, is if we get to it, we choose the right question to ask.

Not "Is it as good as the last one?" or "Do I enjoy it as much as I did the last one?"

But simply "Do I enjoy it?"

Edit: OH FFFF- Verbose Beat me to some of this!

Well done Verbose! Caught me out at the All Night Restaurant! if you can count McDonald's and 7/11 as a restaurant…

"Fan pan durian"? Sounds like some weird Eastern dish. Dunno why some people would think MLP is getting filled with that.

Don't You Mean "Fan Pandaren"?

Get that Pandaren a Fan!

Also, is it just me, or has this page filled up with walls of text surprisingly fast?

My first post on this pony thread, what do I say?………..Pone.

I believe a good start is to introduce yourself if you have no idea…

Basics:
→Favorite Pony
→Favorite Princess
→Favorite Kind of Pony
→Favorite Ship (If any)
→Favorite of Mane 6
→Favorite Side Character
→Favorite Background Character
→Favorite "One Shot" Pony

Here's How I do it
→Favorite Pony →Luna
→Favorite Princess →Luna
→Favorite Kind of Pony →Bat Pony
→Favorite Ship (If any) →All of them! All of the Ships!
→Favorite of Mane 6 →Rainbow Dash
→Favorite Side Character →Scootaloo
→Favorite Background Character → Lyra
→Favorite "One Shot" Pony →Vinyl Scratch

Apart from that, just jump in where-ever with whatever, and everything will come back to Pony… Eventually!

Oh look, my first pony thread too! I shall do as you say ZeroBlue and introduce myself:
→Favorite Pony→Pinkie Pie
→Favorite Princess→Princess Luna.
→Favorite Kind of Pony→Unicorn master race.
→Favorite Ship (If any)→SS Appledash.
→Favorite of Mane 6→Pinkie Pie.
→Favorite Side Character→Applejack (huehue), seriously though Apple Bloom.
→Favorite Background Character→Colgate (Dat Mane)
→Favorite “One Shot” Pony→Octavia

…I have nothing else to say now.
Proceed with your intellectual conversations people!

Okay, I already wrote three posts here, but fuck that, I probably still count as new here.
So, here we go:
→Favorite Pony→Applejack
→Favorite Princess→Cadance, for "non-canonical" reasons
→Favorite Kind of Pony→Earth Ponies are best Ponies
→Favorite Ship→TwiJack, SpiJack, LyraBon, CheeriShy and Carrot Top x Braeburn, can't really tell which one of these I like the most
→Favorite of Mane 6→Applejack
→Favorite Side Character→ex aequo Spike and Discord
→Favorite Background Character→Lyra and BonBon
→Favorite “One Shot” Pony→Hmmm… Fiddlesticks?

@DeadParrot

Take everything I have.
NOW.

I'm probably going to go into speech class or something. I need to get onto your guys' levels of intellectual arguments.
I feel kind of sorry for you guys to listen to my short and otherwise nonfactual posts, I don't think they'll be getting better soon.

→Favorite Pony→Rainbow Dash
→Favorite Princess→Princess Luna
→Favorite Kind of Pony→Pegasus
→Favorite Ship (If any)→Probably DerpyWhooves
→Favorite of Mane 6→Rainbow Dash
→Favorite Side Character→Scootaloo or Princess Luna [>not sure if she is one]
→Favorite Background Character→Derpy
→Favorite “One Shot” Pony→My head hurts now, thank you

Poni should pone ponu. Welcome to the thread, fellow new person. :D

Favorite ponies? Hrrrrmm…
→Favorite Pony → Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. Make me choose and I'll die. :c
→Favorite Princess → Luna
→Favorite Kind of Pony → None in particular.
→Favorite Ship (If any) → n/a
→Favorite of Mane 6 → See first response.
→Favorite Side Character → Sweetie Belle
→Favorite Background Character → Lyra
→Favorite “One Shot” Pony → Does Pinkamena count? (If not, Fancypants)