@Kyler that's partly it. I do think that making someone the absolute best is incredibly restrictive writing wise, but it's also because I can't relate with a character who is the absolute, 100%, born with the potential to be better than anyone else best at something.

Maybe it's just me (I know it's just me), but my ability to empaphize with them just plummets when that happens

edited 10th Dec '11 11:05:39 AM by gingerninja666

Hm... that raises a question. How do you feel about an otherwise ordinary (or possibly even disadvantaged) character who had to work their butt off to become good at what they do, eventually becoming the best at what they do by sheer determination?

In other news, good gravy, John Joseco is fast! [1] [2]

edited 10th Dec '11 11:07:54 AM by KylerThatch

I can see why it could be a problem (due to the whole "lack of growth" thing), but I don't see any issue with a pony being at the top of their skill set if they have other flaws to offset it.

That said, I really don't think any of the ponies are the best at what they do. Sure, Twilight is a skilled unicorn, but she screwed up her spells as often as she gets them right, and as awesome as RD is, I really don't think she's hit Wonderbolt level yet because she's just too unreliable and wouldn't really make a good team player. I could go on at length why I think she isn't cut out for the Wonderbolts yet, but I have a paper to write.

So, town destroyed again. You now, my first thought when Spike destroyed Sugar Cube Corner was, "Meh they live with Pinkie, I'm sure they have VERY extensive insurance coverage"

@ ginger what about Twilight being the best at magic? Cesestia herself said Twi had more magical potential then any other unicorn she's ever seen. Yet Twi works her flank off to constently be better at it.

also as to Rainbow being the best, lets face it, pretty much the whole "best flyer ever" is her stroking her ego. Sure she's the fastest Pegasus we've seen, and she does have skill. But speed is just one facet of flying, especially as a Wonderbolt. She's lazy, a poor team player, and fairly poorly disciplened. Yes she's got speed but that's all she's got.

edited 10th Dec '11 11:14:59 AM by Seraphem

somebrony link me to the new episode.

edited 10th Dec '11 11:11:56 AM by RandomChaos

@Kyler I still wouldn't like it. As much as I LOVE Jack Rakan (who's pretty much exactly like you described) there were still several other people who were stronger than him.

I just don't see the problem with being number 2 or number 3 or number 4. You're still one of the best in the world.

@Seraph Twilight being the best at magic pisses me off on a daily basis if you haven't noticed

edited 10th Dec '11 11:14:09 AM by gingerninja666

All right, caught up with the thread.

@Ginger: Lyra & Bon Bon + Derpy were right at the start of Spike walking through Ponyville, before Cheerilee, I think.

Also, I agree with Ginger, a character working to improve is always better than one who is the best, also avoids any Mary Sue accusations.

edited 10th Dec '11 11:13:27 AM by FellDeedsAwake

Talent never gets you anywhere, I know that from bitter experience.

Only by continuously sharpening the skills you possess can you achieve something of value.

Remember the part where Spike says he's been ageing his gem for months, and how it was almost ripe? We now have solid evidence that in Equestria gems are grown in the ground like vegetables, which means Pinkie probably grew up on a gem farm after all.

When Dash heard Fluttershy scream I could have sworn it was Pinkie. Of course since they have the same VA I guess htat's not surprising.

I also noticed Spike never grew wings. Maybe size is the only thing affected by hoarding and other things like wings come later after a certain amont of time has passed?

edited 10th Dec '11 11:14:19 AM by WillKeaton

Yeah, sometimes Fluttershy does start to sound like Pinkie. (And in rarer cases, vice-versa.)

I don't know, his entire body type changed, which implies to me at least that it's indicative of how he'll look as an adult.

edited 10th Dec '11 11:18:07 AM by JapaneseTeeth

Big shocker: Maybe there are different types of Dragons?

There are other types of ponies after all

So apparently none of the wonderbolts from this ep were Soarin or Spitfire. What about Rapidfire and Fleetfoot? What was the gender ratio of the three anyway?

Hm... did Applejack ever start to sound like Rainbow Dash? Or Rainbow Dash start to sound like Applejack?

Or is the difference in accent too great for that sort of thing to happen?

I don't understand why people are so obsesed with giving Spike wings.

We don't know what Rapidfire or Fleetfoot look like, but one of them was Surprise.

Comin' on a bit strong there, buddy. Nobody's obsessed withgiving him wings, they just noticed that he didn't get wings, while the two dragons seen thius far have had wings. It's an interesting observation

(side note, I typed this with my eyes closed, exept for the next sentence. Didn't turn out too bad)

edited 10th Dec '11 11:21:37 AM by Enlong

In my headfanon Spike's fire will one day mature into dragon magic, so he can fly via Telepathy rather than using wings.

Yes... in my head Spike's race is the dragon equivalent of a unicorn

edited 10th Dec '11 11:24:48 AM by gingerninja666

So many awesome background ponies!

In most of fanart and fanfic Spike grow wing.

Different species of Dragons? Absolutely! That's a part of all dragon mythologies, isn't it? At least in Tolkien-lore it is. Also, the more I think about it, but I really love the greed-growing in size-spiraling out of control idea, it so perfectly explains dragon hoards.

Also loved the Continuity nods to Dragonshy, with Fluttershy being scared and the mountain Spike flees to being the same one (or is it? I think so).

Was there an epasde today?

Well, given that the other two dragons are palette swaps of each other, it makes sense that they both have wings. Spike is a totally different body type, so there's no real reason to assumed he'd end up looking the same.

Yeah, but with Ponyarchive the files are about two or three times bigger than they need to be. With my system I can d/l at 1080 for abuot 500 megs; 720 is almost half that.

In my head cannon Spike race is equivalent of Earth Ponies. They don't fly and don't have magic but they can "conetc" with other creatures (like ponies). And in the end they grow bigger than rest of dragons.

Huh, didn't miss as much as I expected to in this thread.

Anyway pretty decent episode, kinda slow in the beginning and a few weird things but overall I liked it.