I probably would have read Fallout Equestria, but I tend to not care for original characters in fics plus I was turned off by the Chrono Cross-esque revelations of what happened to the Mane Six.

Yeah, that was also a big problem I had with that episode.

edited 20th Dec '11 6:03:44 AM by Mio

to be fair. From the sounds of it, the fic DOES uphold the morals of the show. It just puts them through the most horrific of tests. I'm not completely averse to the concept (I LOVE Earn Your Happy Ending as a trope) but I just don't want it mixing with THIS series. I come here for unshakable optimism. If that's your kind of thing, then I'll reccomend it. It must be doing SOMETHING right if it's become so beloved.

For me personally, knowing that Diamond Tiara commits suicide in it turned me off the fic ENTIRELY. It's exactly the sort of thing I DIDN'T want to see.

@Sky Because this was the first time her ego actually started ENDANGERING people?

edited 20th Dec '11 6:04:36 AM by gingerninja666

@ Pan READ IT. IT'S AWESOME.

Also, I'd like to know where all the modern-y tech came from. Like why apparently Equestria has guns (Don't give me any of that 'Fast-as-a-Bullet stuff).

Come on, she still had a good ten seconds for autographs!

Yeah, I see what you mean. I still think the Mane 6 could've handled it a lot better.

edited 20th Dec '11 6:06:50 AM by SkyStrike

Again, I can handle things like suicide in a game, or even a film or tv show, but not in a book for some reason. I will do my absolute best to stop it a game though, even if I have to resort to save scumming.

edited 20th Dec '11 6:07:30 AM by Cookoo

Kicking her while she was down was sort of the point, she wasn't going to be reasonable with her head that big.

Hmmm. Fine, I'll give it a flip, I suppose. I don't mind Gray and Black Morality (Though setting it in MLP is pretty WTF), nor do I particularly mind gory violence. Being a shameless Lovecraft fan kind of jades you to most other horror tropes.

Expect a full report soon!

It still seemed pretty mean. And Rainbow Dash is probably my least favorite of the Mane 6, so I usually don't take her side.

And how was showing up as an anonymous hero supposed to do anything except make her feel threatened?

I really don't understand how people can justify what the Mane Six did. IT'S A TERRIBLE PLAN, and really should have ended in disaster if it weren't for the fact that RD had more faith in her friends then apparently they did (it really makes their whole plan seem unnecessary and mean-spirited).

If that is true the episode doesn't do a very good job of establishing it. To be honest the way they came across was kind of petty at least to me.

edited 20th Dec '11 6:18:15 AM by Mio

I think the issue the mane cast had was, yes, RD is egotistical ALL the fucking time, but before now she wasn't really in a position of responsibility. She wasn't the town's hero, or a large scale role model. (she had a fan club sure, but it was relatively small scale) She became BOTH of those things in Mare Do Well. THAT'S what they had an issue with .If you're gonna go around and be considered a paragon of heroism, you just CAN'T have that kind of attitude.

AJ said: "A true hero doesn't brag."

The mane cast can put up with RD's egotism normally, but they took specific issue with her here because of the CIRCUMSTANCES around it.

that's my theory anyway

Also, RD was flying her swelled head HIGH into the sky and she was NOT coming down.

I've said it before, but if you intend to be a hero or an athlete, then you NEED to get it in your head that there will ALWAYS be someone out there who will out do you. Imagine if RD's egotism had been left unchecked, and mare do well showed up in a few years, except she was REAL, and not played by her friends.

They were giving her a dose of reality sooner rather than later because she NEEDED to get that lesson in her head. Her eventual breakdown would've only been WORSE (and possibly dangerous) if it happened any later than it did

I don't think anyone is really debating against the fact that RD needed to learn a lesson. It really is more about how the Mane Six went about it.

Remember how you said in the discussion of Secret of My Excess how you found Rarity's desire for Spike's birthday present personally offensive. This is kind of the same thing with me. Having been on the receiving end of "lessons" delivered in a similar manner, I get very cross when characters in a show decide to go that route. To me Tough Love has always been an excuse for people to do terrible things to each other and have them justified, and from personal experience I have found that these sort of secretive "lessons" don't do a good job of actually teaching, but instead bred mis-trust and contempt.

I still think the fact that RD took it so well in the end means that the plan really wasn't necessary. Big ego or not they didn't have to dress up in order to convey their message they could have just gone as themselves to rescue the other ponies, and I think it would have worked much better.

edited 20th Dec '11 6:42:36 AM by Mio

It does expand her character from "rich bitch" to "your lord and master".

I think there's also the fact that, really, these ponies know each other better than we do. At least under certain circumstances. These are friends that are apparently so close they can wield the elements of Harmony. Plus, RD isn't exactly the most complex character. I think they knew how she'd react, and trusted her to make the right decision in the end.

No, it expands her character from "annoying fashionista" to "annoying fashionista that can handle herself in a dangerous situation."

Let me guess Mousa, you see in Rarity negative traits of yourself being reflected by her.

I know that feel, bro. I still like her because I can empathise with her artist's struggles that are portrayed so convincingly.

New episode revealed!

Title: "Baby Cakes"

Airdate: January 14, 2012

Synopsis: Pinkie Pie tries babysitting Cake's twin toddlers but finds it harder than she thought.

On a side note, Zap2it has numbered this episode as S2E12 and "Family Appreciation Day" as S2E11, so it looks like production order and broadcast order will be back in sync starting with S2E14.

And I think if that were really true they would have come up with a better, more reasonable plan.

Oh well, I guess in the end we can say that the episode was more interested in making Batman references then actually getting its moral straight, so any problems on that end could be attributed to that.

Wait. The Cake's have kids now? And they left Pinkie in charge?Oh boy. . .

edited 20th Dec '11 7:07:06 AM by Mio

Excuse me while I cry.

Big words for an annoying arteesta.

Anyways, being stupid and useless is something rich bitches often are in media, which she is very much not.

Oh man, that is going to be epic. I've always wanted an episode where Pinkie has to be the responsible one...

Anyway, as far as the Mare-Do-Well goes, my two main problems were 1. Ponyville as a setting just seemed off in that episode, and 2. while I think the mane cast's plan was semi-justified, they jumped to it way too quickly. There needed to be a scene where they simply tried to talk RD down, and failed so the more extreme measures were justified. If you want a more detailed look at what I thought of the episode, read this.

@Ginger: Hey, this sets her up to finally be the pony who has to learn a lesson about responsibility. I'd have thought you'd be all over this idea.

edited 20th Dec '11 7:12:53 AM by JapaneseTeeth

Tealove?

Tealove.

They have twins? Fascinating. I wonder what they look like, the Cakes have such unique designs. Are they newborns or have they just been hidden away?Will they look like the mutant in Rainbow Dash: Attention Whorse The Mysterious Mare Do Well?

@Ace, Maybe so, maybe so. I doubt it, the things I dislike about her have noting to do with all we have in common, which is admittedly too much.

edited 20th Dec '11 7:13:36 AM by MousaThe14

They're genderswapped versions of their parents. Tall, skinny girl and short, chubby boy.

Wait, if we have a Fat and Skinny pair... Could Snips and Snails be their kids?!?!

edited 20th Dec '11 7:17:21 AM by SkyStrike