@L Mage I actually don't think Always Someone Better is the best of a moral if you're generally humble about your abilities. And we already had an episode about boasting about talents.

I personally think Twi wouldn't care. In fact, Twi would probably annoy the person, with constantly wanting to learn from them.

Yeah, that moral would be redundant with Boast Busters and Mare Do Well. Granted, neither of those episodes are particularly well-liked.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:29:29 PM by Pannic

Mage: I am also not opposed. I'm neutral on it. I'm arguing against yours and Gingers' statements because I have reasons to believe Twilight is not the best mage out there. I don't think she needs to learn the lesson. That doesn't mean it couldn't be feasibly set up, yes, but my only statement regarding that was that Applejack and Rarity could also potentially fall into that category by of your logic of saying over-reliance on one's talent is a condition for that lesson to be learned.

True on the magic damage bit there. Also apparently phoenixes aren't able to resurrect unless they self-cremate.

@Badwolfwho Or like reptiles they don't care for children.

@Pannic: Weeeelll... I guess it might explain a little about me and shipping if I mentioned that I come from the Homestuck fandom..

I used to be in the homestuck fandom! But I had to stop. I still read the comic though.

@ Pannic I like those episodes.

Look at this.

@L Mage: Because I honestly don't think Twilight needs to learn that lesson; Boast Busters already established that she's humble about her abilities. There probably is somepony out there who's better than she is at magic, but just because she's really good at it doesn't mean that someone has to come along to prove that she's not the best. It borders on Tall Poppy Syndrome; even if somebody is genuinely skilled they have to be taken down a peg for no other reason than...what? Unless Twilight is being a jerk about her skill I see no reason for such a lesson to happen.

If anything Rainbow Dash or Rarity are the ponies who need to learn that lesson.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:32:32 PM by JapaneseTeeth

Ponies put Blu-tack on their hooves?

And Rainbow sort of learned that lesson already in MMDW.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:33:16 PM by crowlover

Well, Rarity did have that episode with Fluttershy. Not so much always someone better, but it did show her putting friendship in front of ego.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:33:01 PM by MrAHR

@Kuroi: Heck, if anyone ought to learn the lesson, it's Dash. Yeah, she's had her 'don't boast' lesson, but she's still the most likely to recieve a 'someone better' lesson. The plot is even simple - she tries out for the wonderbolts, and doesn't make it. She get's depressed She gets a visit from Soarin who tells her to buck up - with a bit of practice she'd be prefect for the team. She just needs to learn that there's always further to go, always room to improve. Try again next year, get AJ to introduce him to Braeburn, etc etc.

Also speaking of, Matt Hill voiced one of the dragons too, I think! Which was pretty cool.

@ Death: Or like humans and the sapient creatures we've seen in show, they do care for their young.

@ JT: But Rainbow already knows there are ponies better than her. The Wonderbolts.

Who have not broken the sound barrier. And she has saved them once or twice.

Crack Pairing

@ AHR: And yet she still recognises their superiority. More points that she doesn't need that lesson.

Hi everyone, just saw the episode. It was pretty good, but now we need fanon names for all those teen dragons. So, what's the topic?

@Sky: Fighting over whether Twilight is overpowered or not. I'm going to bow out now, because we've basically established that trying to reason our way through it isn't working.

The Binding of Spike

@Jteeth: I'm gonna post random pics to derail this.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:37:39 PM by AceOfScarabs

Fair enough. I come from the mentality that I don't like shipping. And I find myself filled with self-loathing for writing shipfics.

Probably because my first experience with shipping was in Sweeney Todd and it broke my mind. And because of the horror stories from the Harry Potter and Avatar fandoms. And personal experience with the Glee fandom.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:37:38 PM by Pannic

@AHR

Yes I have:

Twilgiht has a great deal of identity warped up in her magical skill. You can't be obsessed with something to the point of it being the main focus of your life, you can't be told that you are the strongest a Goddess Princess has ever seen, you can't have spent all the effort to get into a magical studies school, and have it NOT be a huge part of your identity.

Twilight has things that other ponies do not that make her good for this lesson, she is dramatically insecure and neurotic, she has a deep seated need to live up to expectations of herself, she's humble enough to assume the problem is her own rather then that of her competitor. And most importantly she believes-truly sincerely believes (not like RD who is mostly hot air)- that she is the best at what she does.

Having her learn that her friendship and her identity are not wrapped up in one single things would be a good lesson, she would go crazy with worry if another pony with genuinely better magical skills showed up and impressed her and mystified friends, her response would be "make myself better" and it result in usual shenanigans with the end result being that she would learn her friends don't like her just her special talent, but rather like her for who she is.

You "arguments" where not refinements of my position, they where redirection of the issue that muddled my actual position: that Twilight would benefit from this lesson.

edited 17th Mar '12 1:37:38 PM by LMage

@Japanese Well, she's one of the most powerful unicorns in 1, 000 years, so I use that as an explanation for her powers.