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TheLuigiLightning

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Posts posted by TheLuigiLightning

  1. This is an acapella arrangement of the Mega Man 2 Wily Castle theme (I'm sure you've all heard it before).

    I do acapella harmonies like this all the time and share them with my friends.

    However, the main difference here is that I did nearly the entire thing while most of my arrangements last about 10 seconds.

    I sometimes make my own harmonies, but here I stuck with the song, except I also did each part an octave lower as well as in the correct octave.

    I do not think this is Smooth McGroove quality by any stretch of the imagination;

     

    • The audio balance is terrible
    • It's laughably obvious that I'm doing it in many segments
    • I'm probably off beat
    • My pathetic excuse for a beat is laughable

    But let's not trash my work just yet.  You can all listen to it, and you can do all the trashing you want.

    But most importantly, please enjoy it;

    Wily Castle Acapella.wav

  2. I've been making a lot of acapellas in my spare time lately.  Some good, some utter crap.  But this one turned out pretty good... for the most part.  You may remember I released a Pokemon acapella not to long ago.  You can find it here; 

    http://mlpforums.com/topic/96614-pokemon-theme-song-acapella-sample-custom-chords/

     

    I don't know if you guys find the top part adds to it or just sounds plain annoying.  But it is what it is.  But anyways, enjoy it, it's yours to keep.

    Harry Potter Theme 2 (Custom Chords).mp3

  3. Hello.  Rarity is a great pony, and I agree she's amazing about friendship; she's more realistic in the sense where she doesn't always feel pressured to be nice, and that's how friends are sometimes.

    Welcome to the herd.  I seemed to have gone on a tangent XD.  This isn't about Rarity, this is about you!  I hope you have an amazing time.

  4. Well, not only do we have a Pinkie Pie fan, but we have Pinkie Pie herself!   :lol:

    I think we'll get along very well!

    Welcome to the herd, Sugar Truss!

  5. This is an acapella sample of the original Pokemon Indigo League theme song in D Minor!  I put in custom chords to make it 20% cooler! B)

    (No, not really.  I don't pretend to be a more skilled composer than any of the Pokemon theme song composers by any stretch of the imagination.  They deserve gold metals, but I still think I did a decent job on this).

    Pokemon Theme Test in D Minor (Custom Chords).mp3

  6. I have officially finished writing my new, original short story.  I put a lot of work and editing into writing this.  I know that there are tons of ways that I could have made this better, but it is what it is. One thing that I must admit though, Rarrian (one of the characters in the story) is heavily inspired from Rarity's personality, so this is, I guess, somewhat MLP related, but completely original.

     

    Enjoy.

     

    The Rarr Event of a Life Time

     

     I sat down on the large, red couch in the school lounge with Rarrian.  Her eyelids were covering half of her beautiful, cyan eyes.  I could empathize with her; I got six hours of sleep the previous night due to an overload of homework from my science class.  But she seemed like she got no more than four hours.  Obviously in much worse condition than I am.  “Tired?” I asked, trying to start a conversation.

      “Just a little bit,” she rolled her eyes at me.  She laid her head on the back of the couch, and closed her eyes, probably trying to get a little more sleep before class started.  “Why do classes start so early?”

      I checked my Timex watch; it was 6:30.  Class started in fourty-five minutes.  We were only there because they take attendance one hour early.  “I know it sucks, but complaining about it won’t make it any better.”

      “Easy for you to say.  Some of us have a little more to do in their lives.  I haven’t gotten a decent sleep for two months!  I have to wake up at 5:00 just to brush my hair.”

      I held back a laugh, but the temptation subsided when I took a look at her head.  I didn’t even notice how messy her hair was before, but now that she pointed it out, there were blond strands curling upward.  But other than that, it really wasn’t that bad.  But to her, every strand counts.  I dared not try to convince her, though, in the fear that she would go on a rant on how wrong I was.  I respect her opinion, but I think she’s beautiful no matter what condition she’s in.  “But that seems to be the least of your issues at the moment.  You look like you haven’t gotten a minute more than four hours of sleep.  What’s going on?”

      “Oh, nothing,” she began as she opened her eyes.  “It’s just… oh, you don’t need to know.  It’s a lady’s problem.

      “What is it, tell me?” I kind of just said it instinctively.  For a moment, I got the feeling I was going down a dark road, and every wrong action from this point on could lead to terrible consequences.

      “Belachrome, please, this doesn’t concern you.”

      Despite Rarrian’s reluctance to tell me, I felt that this actually did concern me.  But I knew that it wouldn’t be easy.  “Okay, well, what else has been going on with you?”

      Rarrian turned towards me.  “I spent my time yesterday hanging out with friends after school.”

      “Did you hang out with Clenauria again?”

      “Clen?  No, she’s been hanging out with Squiphler again.  I don’t understand why she would enjoy hanging out with such a fool after school hours.”

      I grew a subtle look of insult on my face.  Squiphler is a nice guy… despite his silly ways.  “What about Syneria?”

      “With Drakenor yesterday.  That boy needs to get his life out of his head and be social.”

      I was so confused.  These were Rarrian’s friends that she was complaining about.  Has she been having boy issues lately?  “Rarrian, I couldn’t help but notice that you are complaining about other guys at the moment.   Is something bothering you?”

      “Belachrome, I told you, I don’t wish to talk about this.”

      “Why don’t you… wait a minute, is this what you didn’t want to tell me?”

      Rarrian jumped a little bit.  “Belachrome, I’m done talking.”

      “Come on, Rarrian.  I’m your friend.”

      Rarrian gave me an intimidating look.  I was a little scared. 

      “Can you not trust me?” I said weakly.

      “I can’t trust boys at all these days.”

      I think I hit the gold mine.  I began my questioning in a calm voice.  “Rarrian, why can’t you trust other guys?”

      “Belachrome, give a girl some personal privacy!” Her voice was cold, and it seemed unwise to press further.

      I feel bad getting Rarrian this mad just to get some information out of her, but as a friend, I feel like it’s my duty to take the initiative.  “Please, Rarrian.  Tell me.”

      She gave me a menacing frown.  “Belachrome, stay out of my business!” she raised her voice at me.

      I was starting to feel like this wasn’t such a great idea, but for the sake of helping my friend, I wasn’t going to give up.  “Rarrian, why don’t you want to tell me?”

      “Why?!  Isn’t the answer obvious?”

      “Actually, no Rarrian.  I haven’t a clue why you don’t want to tell me. 

    “You know the reason!” she started breathing harshly in my direction.  Her teeth were clenched with a strong grip.

      “No, Rarrian, I don’t know, and it clearly isn’t as obvious as you think.  How about you tell me?” I couldn’t help myself.  I was starting to speak in a harsher tone.  I know it’s not helping my case, but my patience was wearing thin.

      Rarrian’s breathing calmed down minimally, but enough to start speaking.  “Well, obviously, it’s because… because…” She started to grow a nervous look on her face.

      I was starting to feel that she was just talking without thinking, so I just had to wait this out.  “Yes, Rarrian?  You have my undivided attention.”

      “Because… I… I can’t… I don’t… I just can’t trust other guys!  A-and…”

      “…Is there another reason?”

      “Y-yes!  It’s… i-it’s… uh…”

      “Are you sure there’s another reason?”  I wasn’t even talking with a sharp tone anymore, I knew I was breaking through, and all I had to do at this point was remain calm and collective.

      “…No, I-I just… can’t trust other guys!  Not even you!  She went back to shouting at me.

      “Why can’t you trust me?”

      Her anger went down again.  But instead, she seemed like she was on the verge of tears.  “Because… because I… you… I can’t…”

      I lowered the volume of my voice; “Why can’t you trust me?”

      It seemed to be helping.  Hers lowered as well.  “Because I… I… just can’t!” Now tears were officially sparkling in her eyes.

      Now was the moment to act.  “Yes you can.”

      “No, I can’t trust you!” Rarrian said in a slightly quieter voice.  The first tear escaped her left eye.

      “Yes you can.” I lowered my voice to almost a whisper.

      “No, Belachrome, I can’t trust… I just can’t.” 

      “Yes you can,” my voice was nothing more than a whisper.

      “Belachrome, you don’t…” She sniffled, as a couple more tears escaped from her eyes.  “You don’t understand!  Please stop!”  She wiped the tears from her face, probably hoping I somehow still haven’t noticed her crying.

      “You can trust me.”

       “Belachrome, please, I…” she closed her eyes as a last, desperate attempt to prevent her tears.

        “Trust me, I’m your friend.” I still spoke in a whisper.

      “B-Belachrome…”

      “I’m your friend.”

      “But…” Rarrian’s eyes started flowing freely with tears.  Her voice had no power left for anger.  “I can’t trust you.” She was speaking no louder than an average conversational voice.

      “Yes, you can.  Yes you can.  You can trust me,” I stated without ever leaving a whisper.

      “I…” Rarrian lost all courage to keep herself contained, and started openly crying.  She buried her face into her hands, and cried without preventing any aspect.

      That was the final straw.  I couldn’t stand seeing her so upset for any longer; I moved towards her, and wrapped my arms around her.  My embrace firmly encased her body, and I could feel every bodily shake that came from her crying.  I started patting her backside, and she continued to let out her tears.  “It’s okay.  I’ve got you, don’t worry.”

      Rarrian continued to cry for the next minute, and I kept my embrace around her.  “Everything’s going to be alright, Rarrian,” I stated in just over a whisper.  “Do you think you can uncover your eyes?”

      Rarrian breathed in through her nose with a big sniffle, and weakly shook her head.

      “Come on, Rarr, we’re friends, I don’t think of you any differently just because you’re in tears.  Just show me your beautiful eyes.”

      Rarrian started to uncover her eyes.  It was a painful sight; they were red, and very puffy.  It was such a mess, and yet, so beautiful at the same time.  She looked shy to uncover them any further than half way, probably feeling ashamed to look into my purely natural eyes, but I didn’t think any differently of her.  She covered them up again, and the bittersweet sight of her eyes was gone.

      “I’ve got you.” I patted her back softly.  “I know you’re a strong, young lady, Rarrian.  Just please uncover your eyes for me.”

      Rarrian didn’t move.  She almost started shaking up, and would probably start shedding tears again.

      “Come on, Rarr.  I know you can look me in the eyes.”  I took my right hand, and placed it on her left wrist.  “I gave the minimalist force of a tug that could be managed.

      She pulled back, but I didn’t increase the force of my pull.  It was only an incentive.  In the end, she will have to be the one to reveal her face.

      “Rarrian, I can’t do this for you.  Take all the time you need, but this isn’t the Rarrian I know.  The Rarrian I know is very outspoken, and is never afraid to share her thoughts.  But please at least uncover your beautiful eyes.  I’m not going to pull any harder than this, so no pressure.”

      Her body started shaking less heavily and her silent tears and sniffles cleared up for a moment.  She seemed to be in a moment of thought, possibly debating on exposing her face.  Her arm was shaking in my hand, and she seemed ready to start crying again, but when I expected the return of her tears, she sighed, and slowly started uncovering her eyes.

      I could start to see the white, or in this case, red of her eyes.

      Eventually, her face was completely exposed.  Her eyes were puffed up, her face soaked, and her blond hair was, I’ll admit, a complete and utter mess.  But she was somehow so beautiful.  The redness was starting to clear.  But I could tell that she was very unstable at the moment, and could start crying again at any moment.

      I looked directly into her eyes.  “What’s up, Rarrian?  How’s your day going?”

      Rarrian grew the weakest smile that one could manage.  Of course, I wasn’t expecting a laugh from her, but that one smile was enough for me at the moment.

      She couldn’t hold the smile for long, which was completely understandable.  I just couldn’t bear to see her wallow in pain for another second, but just as she looked like she was going to burst into a flood of tears again, she swiftly returned the embrace that I had around her for the past ten minutes.  She made no attempt to prevent her tears, and instead buried her face into my chest.

      I tightened my grip on her body, and made sure that she was as secure as a mother bird protecting her young.  “I’ve got you.” I patted her backside once again.  I let her cry into my shirt for however long she needed.

      My priorities were without a doubt on comforting her, but to be frank, I just can’t express how great it felt to be in her arms mutually with her head nestled on my chest.  I used to help Rarrian in the past, but never did we come anywhere close to this magnitude of emotion.  It felt good to know that I was helping her.  It felt good to give her comfort.  It felt good to be a friend for her to go to for her problems.  It felt good to know that she now trusts me despite a problem in her life.  But, I’m not going to lie, it felt good for her to be embraced with me while letting her tears out into my chest.  I was somehow able to count the tears that dampened my shirt.  I guess when you are focused on an individual, every bit of the situation matters to you, and you remember things that you normally can’t remember, or just don’t pay attention to.

      After about five minutes of letting out her tears, at a grand total of 257 tears released into my shirt, (no doubt completely soaked from her crying) she lifted her head to look into my eyes.  She smiled for a moment and said her first words after fifteen minutes of not talking; “T-thank you Belachrome.”

      Those three words touched a very soft part of me.  As I said, it felt good to know that I was helping, but I had no confirmation from her, verbally.  But I didn’t show it in my expression, because not only would it be overwhelming for her, but I needed to focus on her at the moment.

      “No problem, Rarrian.  It was nothing, really.”

      She inhaled through her nose again.  “Nothing?  How could you possibly say such a thing?  You put up with me, and my anger, and my stubbornness, and showed nothing more than compassion!” After the completion of her statement, she tightened her grip around me.

      I was quite surprised by this statement; Rarrian has never admitted her arrogance in the past, but at the same time, I wasn’t completely surprised.  Either she was growing as a person, or this was just the right moment for her to reflect on her actions.  “Alright, I’m glad you think so, but if that’s the case, I ask for a favour in return.  What’s going on in your life right now?” Now was the time to get to the bottom of her problem.

      Rarrian’s smile faded.  “Oh… right.  I guess it’s only right that I tell you…”

      “Yes… go on.”

      She was very hesitant to say a word about it, clearly thinking about every detail and every possibility of what I would think of her and the issue, and probably even some girl things that I don’t even know about.  But eventually, she sighed and began.  “…For the past month, a group of guys in the school next door were inviting me to hangouts during lunch time and after school.  They gave me lots of beautiful jewelry, and treated me like a true lady… or so I thought… they would also demand things from me, such as getting me to do things I didn’t want to do… I don’t want to talk about what I did…”

      “What did you do, Rarrian?” Everything I’ve said up to this point was calm and as friendly as humanly possible, but this question came out a little sharply.  “Tell me what you did.”

      She grew a desperate look on her face, and almost looked like she wanted to cry again.  “Please, Belachrome.  Don’t make me.  It’s completely unlike me.”

      “That’s why I want to know.”

      Rarrian started tearing up again, and that’s when I realized I was being a little bit harsh.

      I took a deep breath before making my next statement.  “Listen, Rarrian, I’m not trying to force information from you that you don’t feel comfortable telling me about, but I need to know this if I want to help you.  I mean, it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone.  I swear to you that I will not say a word about this to anyone else.”

      Rarrian seemed to heed my words, and also seemed to gain the courage to tell me her shameful acts.  “Alright, they asked me to be an accomplice in horrible schemes against younger kids, and stealing food from the cafeteria.  I never directly got involved in the main scheme, of course, but they asked me to pick the locks of gates with my hairpins so they can get inside the playground and steal the little kids’ toys, or pick the locks of the cafeteria so they can take the food.  They promised me rewards, but they never did.  Their excuse was that the jewelry was the reward, and that it was enough of a reward for all schemes.” She closed her eyes with a sigh.  “But it wasn’t at all.  I figured out the hard way that it was stolen from one of the kids at their school.  I happened to pass by the girl whom it belonged to.  She saw my bracelet, and screamed at me that it was hers.  I told her that a group of boys had given it to me as a gift, and that I could prove it.  But when she asked them, they said that I stole it from her.  They made up so many details about how I snuck into her locker.  I wanted to argue with them, but I was just too shocked to say anything.  The little girl ripped it off my wrist violently, not caring how much it hurt, and threatened that if she ever saw me again she would kill me.  I didn’t mind since it was a little girl, but I was madder at the group of boys.  I screamed at them and demanded answers as to why the hell they had done such a thing, but they just laughed at me, and commented that I sounded just like the little girl.  They admitted proudly that they were never my friends, and that I was so dumb to have actually fallen for their feeble trick.  They laughed, pushed me into the grass, and walked away.”

      “I felt so horrible afterwards.  Despite my hatred for those guys… they had a point.  It’s very difficult for me to admit such a thing, but… they did have a point.  I was foolish to listen to them.  And ever since then, I’ve been extremely cautious around other guys.”

      My mouth started gaping near the end of the story.  Not only was I starting to understand what Rarrian has been going through, but I’ve also started to realize just how Rarrian was feeling when I asked her profusely what was going on in her life; insecure; her dark secret was getting chipped away at, attacked, slowly escaping the secure barrier of her mind.

      If I were in her position, I wouldn’t have dreamed of telling this to anyone, ever.

      I am absolutely amazed at how much information she volunteered, and with no struggle in between.  Now I feel like an invader.  I feel terrible.  But I have to convince myself that this is the right thing… but it’s hard. 

      But now it all makes sense.  It’s no wonder she holds a grudge against guys.  But now I’m ready to talk; “M-my God, Rarrian, I never knew… now it’s my turn to admit my faults; I can’t believe you co-operated with me at all in telling me all these things after pestering you about such a serious issue.  I was only trying to help.  I’d understand if you never wanted to speak to me again, but…”

      Rarrian looked up at me with utter shock and bewilderment. “Never want to speak to you again?  Never want to speak to you again?!!  Are you kidding?  You’ve done nothing but try to help me, you’ve focused solely on me, my feelings, stayed calm, stayed friendly, no matter what crap I’ve given you, you hugged me through all of my nonstop tears, you let me use your chest to cry into, you said nothing but comforting words, you helped me find my courage, sworn to keep everything confidential… HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK I WOULD NEVER WANT TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN???!!!”

      “You’re so silly, Belichrome!” she said as she lightly wacked me on the head.

      I was so disoriented.  My mind was racing with hundreds of thoughts.  All of them were revolving around the inside of my head, all shouting at once.  There were so many things that were happening at the moment that just… couldn’t be happening.  I’ve never had such a headache in my life.  But despite the overload of thoughts, everything Rarrian had just said was jammed right in the center of them, never fading vividly, or emotionally.  Rarrian kept repeating it in my head at perfect intervals between words, over the loud thoughts attempting to drown it out.  It kept getting louder and louder, and I felt like I was going to pass out.  But all of a sudden, my mind went completely blank of all of the thoughts twisting and turning.

      The first new thought entered my head with a realization; did Rarrian just make a joke about me?  I felt inside that I was completely in the wrong throughout this entire half an hour, but that joke that she made… when she wacked me on the head… somehow gave me a feeling of authenticity… a lack of ability to argue with her.  Well, if she thinks it’s okay… then she’s right!    

      “Well I think you’re wrong!”

      Rarrian looked up at me.

      Wait, did that just come out of me right?  “Yes, you heard me right, I think you’re wrong.  I’m not silly at all; in fact, I think I’m an arrogant person who doesn’t listen when one’s trying to help them.”

      I thought she was going to get really mad when… I said that.  But to my surprise, she took it in very good humor.

      “Oh, are you talking about me?  At least I’m not one who tries to invade someone’s personal privacy!”

      We giggled over the jokes together.

      “Thank you so much Belachrome for taking this moment to help me get through this problem.  You have no idea how much this means to me,” she said as she wrapped her arms around me again.

      “Oh, lay off of me, you little shit, you’ve gotten enough hugs from me today.  I even gave you my own stomach as a tear pillow!”

      “It’s your fault I needed a tear pillow, you invading bastard!  Learn to stay out of a girl’s life!”

      We glared into each other’s eyes intently, and profusely, until we finally shouted out in unison, “Fuck you!”

      We fell on the floor laughing…

     

      Rarrian and I continued to jokingly insult each other for the next ten minutes, and we were having so much fun!  But to be honest… I wasn’t really coming up with the insults; in fact it almost felt like an instinct; my mind just selected different insults to say, and I just said it without thinking.  If I were thinking in my real head, I wouldn’t have even thought to take this kind of approach towards Rarrian.  I never had an insult relationship with her.  In fact, whenever I did this kind of behavior with her, she would get offended… horribly.  I tried to gain control of myself a few times, but I was just having so much fun, that my will power was failing me.  I have never had so much fun with Rarrian in my life.

      But unfortunately, it didn’t last.  As soon as the last minute had gone by, my Timex started beeping, and I knew exactly what that meant…

      “Uh… Rarrian, it’s 7:10.  Class starts in five minutes.  I think it’s best that we head over to first period right now.” Knowing Rarrian as well as I did, I thought she would be reluctant to leave, but like she had the entire rest of the morning, she surprised me yet again;

      “You’re right, let’s go.”

      I lifted myself up to my legs, and then helped Rarrian get up.  There were no signs of tears in her eyes now, or on her face.  In fact, she seemed happier than I felt at the moment.

      I usually try to get to class as fast as I can, despite the “no running in the halls” rule, but I didn’t do that today, because this time, I had a friend with me.

      We walked to class together, holding each other’s hand, I, standing to her left, and she, to my right.

     

      In the most emotional moment of my life so far, I have reached an entirely new level of connection with one of my friends.  I was very unsure of myself as to whether I was being helpful or detrimental throughout those fourty-five minutes, but now, I’ve never been surer of anything.  I helped someone get through a very hard time in their life, and I helped her regain her trust of the opposite sex, after losing it in a horrible incident.  It feels good to be that kind of person.

     

      I said that nothing that Rarrian did would change any of my thoughts about her, but at an ultimate irony…

     

      I will never think of Rarrian, even minimally, the same way again…

  7. Oye... what can I really say about this episode that's good... besides the ending...?  The episode had Applejack excruciatingly out of character, and just really obnoxious to listen to.  I don't even think the most over the top soccer mom in the world would go as far as she did!  And it was just after making a family decision (that she was involved in, BTW) that Applebloom was ready to stay home alone, and then she comes back to make sure everything was alright, and then decides to never leave her again, and starts babying her in every way imaginable, from adding safety cushions to apple trees, to talking to her as if she's a baby, to checking on her if she wanted a snack... now I'll admit, Applebloom didn't seem quite ready by the looks of things, but not nearly at the magnitude that Applejack was making it out to be.  Honestly, I don't know what the hell they were thinking!   :okiedokielokie:

    The only redeeming factor of the entire episode is the ending.  I'm not going to spoil anything about it, you HAVE to watch it!  But I just can't enjoy it after all the crap I had to watch beforehand.  In fact, the episode is so bad, that the ending pretty much singlehandedly brings the episode's score up from a 0.7/10 to a 4/10.  That's just sad.  I think I'm being pretty generous, but that scene was just so cool, but the episode was excruciatingly awful!  Even worse than Simple Ways, but there was nothing good about that episode, and this episode had an awesome final scene, so because of that, Somepony To Watch Over Me is overall a better episode.  I guess I just really like the ending.

    4/10

    (Hasbro, please remember that there are more than just kids watching this show, alright?)

    This episode was one of the biggest screw ups I've ever seen on the show.  It really pains me to see episodes like this.  And that's your review for today by TheLuigiLightning.  Have a good day, everyone...

     

    (There's no journal entry either, this proves they knew how bad it was).

  8. I just don't understand why everyone I've talked to doesn't like the episode! I thought it was fantastic! The moral was great, it shows a real life problem, Sea Breeze was a lovable character, and an understandable issue, and... no offense, but if you don't like it, I'm sorry, you're just stupid.

    • Brohoof 1
  9. I don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely can't stand the stare.  It's way to over powered.  One should not be able to control animals just by looking them in the eye intently.  And it's even outside of character for her to just get mad at an animal.  I've never seen a timid character just go berserk mode.  I mean, sure, Pinkie has some weird gimmick, but predicting the events in 2 seconds doesn't help her defeat any ferocious monsters.

  10. I've finally made a tribute again after over a year of not making them!  I thought I was done with them, but low and behold, here I am at it again!

    Most people's tributes are the following;

    A video with a song in the background with a bunch of arbitrary pictures...

    I think that's pointless, so my style is to tell a story through the pictures and the song.

    I tried the whole arbitrary thing with my Twilight tribute, and it just felt incomplete.

    So... check it out, and share your thoughts on it.

     

    The story of this tribute is that Rainbow Dash is pissed off at Pinkie Pie.  Thus, she just abandons their friendship, and Pinkie Pie is just torn apart about this.  She desperately tries to reason with Rainbow Dash, but she doesn't listen.  However, Rainbow reflects on the past together, and thinks that maybe the unknown incident wasn't so bad, and isn't sure what to do.  Meanwhile, Pinkie makes one last desperate attempt to apologize.  At the sight of Pinkie's sorrow and endless tears, Rainbow Dash accepts her apology.

     

    I hope you enjoy;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJFzcuo294M

     

    P.S.

    The song is Friendship by Aviators

  11. Trust me, it does, all the time.  In fact, it tends to happen more frequently among best friends than among acquaintances specifically because you're so close to them.

     

    In any event, yeah, I probably did misunderstand, and I apologize if it came across as antagonistic - not my intent.  Like I said, we're all entitled to our opinions. :)

    You know, this entire conversation has reminded me of a song.  It's really beautiful, and you should check it out;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0UUDy_5ik

  12. If you are able to control yourself to such a great extent that you never insult another person no matter how angry you are, then I commend you for being a rare, virtuous person. Unfortunately, many, many people do just lose control and say many hurtful things when they're upset, whether they're thinking about what they said or not. It's all too easy to blurt out something mean without even realizing what impact it'll have. I've done it to my wife, and been very sorry for it.

     

    But she's still here.

     

    I think my point is that the "real world", as you put it, isn't nearly so black and white as you seem to believe. Perhaps you really would turn your back on someone who you've known for years because they said something crude to you. But I don't think the majority of this show's audience would, and I think having Rarity and Pinkie do that to Fluttershy would have been pretty counter to FiM's core message.

     

    Also, I'm not denying that there was a problem with Fluttershy's behavior - she most definitely was out of line. And I want to be clear I'm not excusing it. I would hold someone who did that to me accountable, and I'd want my friends to do the same for me. I just don't think I'd be so quick to say it's over, that's all.

    I think you completely misunderstood me.  I get mad at people all the time, I insult them, and I don't just turn on them and forget about them.  However, Fluttershy just said that their lives are pointless, and that they waste their lives.  And also, when I talked about "not insulting people", as you thought I meant, I never said anything about people in general, I just said my best friend.  I don't know, but I just think that getting this mad at your own best friend just doesn't happen.

    • Brohoof 1
  13. No problem. :)

     

    There was one other point I wanted to mention - something my wife pointed out to me when she read my post.  Take a look at specifically how Rarity tries to approach Fluttershy after the blow-up.  She says "We all said things we regret," which could either be about that specific incident or a more general "We all make mistakes now and then".  Whether you could point at any one thing Rarity said in that incident as something she SHOULD regret, this shows that Rarity is trying her best to be as non-accusing and non-confrontational as possible.  Contrast that with Pinkie's response: "We did?", then later when she said "Yeah, it's not your fault that you got all mean and nasty!" - both of those, while well-meaning, would very likely come across to a shy, sensitive person as "We were just fine, and you were the nasty one!".

     

    I actually really liked the dialogue in this scene.  Again, having worked with shy and sensitive people, I know that some people really do need the sort of finessing that Rarity used more than the direct approach that Pinkie seemed inclined to use.  Rarity's comment basically means "I know I've said things to you in the past that I regretted, so I know how it feels."  It's a form of empathy that can really make a huge difference to someone who's already feeling bad about him or herself - that person who's just royally screwed up likely feels like he's screwed up so badly that nobody else could possibly do worse.  So Rarity's comment reaches through that to let Fluttershy know it's okay - she's not that bad.

     

    Pinkie, in this case, is a bit less empathetic and more practical, but I thought it was gratifying for her to follow up her second comment (after Rarity bumps her) with "What I mean is..." and explain how Fluttershy can do better.  That's much more constructive. :)

     

    One other thought I had was on how I feel this episode shows a good way of dealing with a person who's acting badly because they got some bad advice, contrasted with other episodes where the Mane 6 deal with someone acting badly because that's who they are.  I'm going to use "Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" as an example (I know MMDW is one of the fandom's less-liked episodes, and the moral was REALLY heavy-handed in that one, but bear with me).  In MMDW, Rainbow Dash lets her heroism go to her head, and she decides to feed her ego.  This is part of her character - she's proud and highly self-confident (often too much so), and taken too far, it can really rub people the wrong way.  It's a very deliberate, realistic, and (again) exaggerated character flaw that makes her that much more relatable, IMO.

     

    Now, to be honest, I'd be much more likely to cut ties with someone who was acting like Rainbow Dash did in MMDW, than with someone who acted like Fluttershy in this episode.  But in both cases, everyone stayed friends and a lesson was learned, and that's the kind of ideal that I really love about this show, demonstrating that friends can work through even the toughest of personality clashes. :)

    I highly disagree.  Once someone starts criticizing me on such a high magnitude, they might as well have killed their friendship with me, and I think they are not a real friend.

    No problem. :)

     

    There was one other point I wanted to mention - something my wife pointed out to me when she read my post.  Take a look at specifically how Rarity tries to approach Fluttershy after the blow-up.  She says "We all said things we regret," which could either be about that specific incident or a more general "We all make mistakes now and then".  Whether you could point at any one thing Rarity said in that incident as something she SHOULD regret, this shows that Rarity is trying her best to be as non-accusing and non-confrontational as possible.  Contrast that with Pinkie's response: "We did?", then later when she said "Yeah, it's not your fault that you got all mean and nasty!" - both of those, while well-meaning, would very likely come across to a shy, sensitive person as "We were just fine, and you were the nasty one!".

     

    I actually really liked the dialogue in this scene.  Again, having worked with shy and sensitive people, I know that some people really do need the sort of finessing that Rarity used more than the direct approach that Pinkie seemed inclined to use.  Rarity's comment basically means "I know I've said things to you in the past that I regretted, so I know how it feels."  It's a form of empathy that can really make a huge difference to someone who's already feeling bad about him or herself - that person who's just royally screwed up likely feels like he's screwed up so badly that nobody else could possibly do worse.  So Rarity's comment reaches through that to let Fluttershy know it's okay - she's not that bad.

     

    Pinkie, in this case, is a bit less empathetic and more practical, but I thought it was gratifying for her to follow up her second comment (after Rarity bumps her) with "What I mean is..." and explain how Fluttershy can do better.  That's much more constructive. :)

     

    One other thought I had was on how I feel this episode shows a good way of dealing with a person who's acting badly because they got some bad advice, contrasted with other episodes where the Mane 6 deal with someone acting badly because that's who they are.  I'm going to use "Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" as an example (I know MMDW is one of the fandom's less-liked episodes, and the moral was REALLY heavy-handed in that one, but bear with me).  In MMDW, Rainbow Dash lets her heroism go to her head, and she decides to feed her ego.  This is part of her character - she's proud and highly self-confident (often too much so), and taken too far, it can really rub people the wrong way.  It's a very deliberate, realistic, and (again) exaggerated character flaw that makes her that much more relatable, IMO.

     

    Now, to be honest, I'd be much more likely to cut ties with someone who was acting like Rainbow Dash did in MMDW, than with someone who acted like Fluttershy in this episode.  But in both cases, everyone stayed friends and a lesson was learned, and that's the kind of ideal that I really love about this show, demonstrating that friends can work through even the toughest of personality clashes. :)

    Also, I can understand someone just being mad, but if Fluttershy is insulting her own friends and their lives, there is a big problem.  If they are her friends, she just doesn't talk to them like that.  Ever.  Even when I get mad, I don't just tell my own best friend that he's basically an idiot.

  14. If you don't mind, I'd like to debate with you on this. :)

     

     

    Fluttershy was designed to embody (and exaggerate) all of the traits of a severely shy person, along with a number of secondary traits like low self-esteem, low confidence, fear of change, etc.  And it's well-known that people who are like this tend to have a lot of repressed emotions specifically because they are afraid to let them out.  Thus, when something either pushes them over the edge or helps them gain enough confidence to start letting those emotions out, they often come out in a torrent and the person is usually unprepared to handle it.  (I'll come back to this point in a bit.)

     

     

    Well, first off, the episode is pretty blatant about the difference between assertion and aggresion.  I believe it should be obvious from the start that Iron Will himself THINKS he's teaching assertion, but his techniques have much more to do with "getting your way", which is not what assertion is about.  I agree that most people (myself included) gloss over this somewhat, but at least from my POV, this is because I didn't think it needed to be stated.  Fluttershy demonstrates at the end of the episode that she understands what true assertion is, when she confronts Iron Will about not being satisfied with his program.

     

    As for the jump from passive to aggressive, I mentioned earlier that it's pretty common for shy, passive people to be unprepared to deal with the flood of emotions (particularly repressed anger and frustration) when it comes out.  In this case, Fluttershy sees that Iron Will's techniques are working for her and gets carried away with them, to the point that she doesn't even realize how she's hurting her friends until after it's happened.  Having witnessed this behavior first-hand and even having done it myself to people I work with, I know how this feels, which is why I said in my review that I thought they handled this very well - it came across to me as a very realistic portrayal.

     

     

    IMO, Rarity and Pinkie were role models in this exchange.  Fluttershy is their dear friend, so her behavior is so unlike her that the very first thing they experience is shock.  They do tell her to stop with the petty insults, and it's obvious that they're both angry about what she's saying.  But when Fluttershy makes it clear she's not listening, rather than stoop to the same level, they remove themselves from the situation, while at the same time expressing how hurt they are by it.

     

    In other words, they clearly demonstrate that they are angry with what she said, NOT with Fluttershy herself.  The distinction there is that she's behaving badly, but she's not inherently a bad pony.

     

    As I was growing up, I was taught that this sort of reaction is what everyone should strive for, rather than retaliating.  Further, IMO, their reaction showed that they realized this was not the Fluttershy they know, and that even an insult to the fabric of their being isn't something she would do normally - they could tell she didn't mean it, so while it still hurt them, it wasn't going to kill their friendship.

     

     

    Isn't that what happened?  "What happened to NICE Fluttershy?  We want that Fluttershy back." // "I can't believe what that monster ... has done to you!"

     

     

    Going back to what I said earlier about Fluttershy being an exaggeratedly shy and passive archetype, when a shy person blows up like this and then realizes how he's hurt his friends, his first reaction tends to be to withdraw and avoid everyone.  This is for two reasons: One, he fears that they'll be angry with him and he wants to avoid confrontation, and Two, he fears that he's just going to hurt them more.  That second point is exactly what Fluttershy is reacting to when she ties herself up and claims she's never coming out again - keep in mind, she's a cartoon character, and cartoon characters are contractually obligated to exaggerate real-life traits and emotions. :)

     

    As for Rarity and Pinkie, I say again that this speaks very well to their characters that, instead of holding a grudge against Fluttershy, they come to mend fences with her and try to address the problem.  Again, they realize that this isn't in Fluttershy's nature - they firmly believe (rightfully so) that Iron Will's techniques are flawed and that she didn't mean to be so nasty to them.  I also interpreted their behavior as realizing that Fluttershy, being the sensitive pony she is, really needs encouragement and support rather than to be shunned, as that would do much more damage.  Which works out well, since Iron Will comes along shortly afterward to threaten her.

     

     

    IMO, there are two major lessons in this episode, both presented more subtly than in some other episodes.  The first one is the one you said should be there - Fluttershy writes it in her letter to Celestia: That you CAN assert yourself without becoming mean and nasty.  It's a simple lesson, but a very effective one, and my wife says it's the first episode in the series that really made her sit up and say "Wow, I really feel like I learned something myself from that!".

     

    The second lesson, though, is that true friends will see you for who you really are, and will understand when you make mistakes even when those mistakes hurt them.  Fluttershy made some serious mistakes in how she handled Iron Will's training, and she really did hurt Rarity's and Pinkie's feelings.  But they were perceptive enough to realize Fluttershy doesn't really feel that way toward her friends, that she would not have meant what she said, and that she wasn't handling that "training" very well (and also, that it was bad training in general).  They aren't the kind of ponies that would end (or even threaten to end) a long-standing friendship just because someone said something they didn't mean.

     

    Regarding "Iron Will just completely changed her in an instant / she didn't learn a thing" - if I'm reading this right, you're referring to the jump between the hedge maze and when Fluttershy walks out of her cottage and confronts the gardener.  It's hinted that a significant amount of time passes between these two scenes, in which she goes through his full training regimen.  She's obviously learned a lot more catch-phrases since the big advertisement, so I don't think there's a suggestion that he "instantly" changed her at all.  And I'm not sure how you can say she "obviously didn't learn a thing at the time", when she got up the courage to tell the goat assistant to watch where he was going.

     

    I think the point here is not that she didn't learn anything, but that she learned the WRONG things.  Iron Will taught her that his techniques were all about being assertive and not being a doormat.  And to some extent, that was true, but you're right to say that what she really learned was aggression.  But then, after she blows up at Rarity and Pinkie, then shut herself away, she apparently realized what was wrong with that approach and figured out the RIGHT way to be assertive, as she demonstrates to Iron Will.  And in turn, Iron Will appears to realize that his own techniques are flawed when they fail to work on her.  So not only has she learned an important lesson, but she's taught him one too.

     

     

    Well, I respectfully disagree, but we are all entitled to our opinions.  My opinion is basically just the opposite - this episode for me did much more than almost any other to build Fluttershy's character, and it honestly makes her more relatable than almost any other.   The only other episodes where I felt this connected to Fluttershy's character are "Hurricane Fluttershy" (where she confronts her fear of being ridiculed and her obvious weakness in flying) and "Dragonshy" (where she reluctantly confronts her fear of dragons and discovers her ability to stand up to a powerful monster when he hurts her friends).

     

    Anyway, I know that's a big wall of text, but I honestly felt you might have missed some important cues in this episode that might change your opinion.  After all, that's what debate is about. :)

    Don't worry about the huge body of text.  When someone responds to me, I read the entire thing.  I accept that I may not have understood everything in this situation.  After all, I'm only 15, and still learning.  But this was really interesting.  However, it's a bit too late, because Fluttershy used to be my favourite character, but the damage has already been done.  Besides, I think Pinkie Pie's better anyway, so I'm happy with my current appreciation for her.  

    Thanks for the debate.  If you ever want to do this in the future, I would love to!

    • Brohoof 1
  15. This is going to be a bit of a rant.  This episode makes no sense!  Fluttershy is depicted in the show as a slow grower, and even frustration shouldn't completely change her behavior.  Fluttershy attends Iron Will's program, in order to become assertive, even though we all know he's not really assertive, but something I've never once heard any reviewer touch on is that what he's demonstrating is not being assertive, it's being agressive.  Fluttershy is passive, and assertiveness is in between.  But the part that's completely wrong with this episode is that Fluttershy instantly becomes an out of control agressive bitch.  That doesn't just happen!!!

     

    Another major problem is how Pinkie and Rarity handle her behavior.  Fluttershy is just yelling in their faces, and they are just calmly trying to get to her, and what do they do when she insults their - very - way of - life?  Do they get mad at her?  NO!!!  They just run away pathetically in tears.  Then Fluttershy finally realizes what's wrong, and ties herself up in her cottage, and Pinkie and Rarity come back to help her... WHAT?!!!

     

    Okay, that's not how life works.  If someone is yelling at me, I would probably get mad, but Fluttershy wasn't just yelling at them; she was insulting their very ways of life!!!  I would be so mad that I would never want to talk to that person ever again!

     

    I feel like the way the episode should have ended like this; Fluttershy gets mad at her friends, and then Pinkie Pie and Rarity get mad, and say "I can believe this, Fluttershy!  What has come over you?  This is not the Fluttershy we know and love!"  Then they run away.  Then Fluttershy finally realizes the issue, as she sheds a few tears.  Then she approaches her friends, and desparately tries to apologize.  Pinkie being more open to her apology, but Rarity takes a little time.  In the end, they realize that she is genuinely sorry, and they protect her from Iron Will.  Not just, "She magically knows how to be assertive and then they embrace her in a group hug"!  Oh God, no!

     

    The lesson would be that there is a line between being assertive and being agressive.  If this was how the episode were presented, it would be much more fluent, but it would still be a mess, considering how Iron Will just completely changed her in an instant, even though obviously at the time she didn't learn a thing.

     

    I'm sorry, but I think that this episode did a very poor job of demonstrating Fluttershy, and this episode is basically why I lost my appreciation for her.

     

    This episode gets a 2/10

    • Brohoof 2
  16. Why is Pinkie Pie best pony, you ask?  Well, where do I even begin?  I don't need to explain!  The reasons are some of the most iconic parts of her character.  But since this is a matter of opinion, let me enlighten you all.

    Pinkie is the cutest, most adorable thing in the world! :lol:   Her puffy main, her cerulean eyes, everything!  She's even adorable in her character.  Did you see what she did in A Dog and Pony Show when they were going down the hole?!  Look at that!  She was hopping down, and she looked like she was having the time of her life!

    That demonstrates two points; she hopps around, which is very cute, and she always looks on the bright side of things, and is very optimistic.  She's very free spirited, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about anyone else.  She wants to make everyone smile, as demonstrated in A Friend in Deed.

    She get's really hyper and tends to forget about other ponies' feelings, but when it becomes apparant that something is a problem, she fixes, and her goals are clear, so we know this is not her intension.  If you ask me, her hyperness is part of what makes her so great.  It reminds me of myself as a kid.

    But the kicker, the best thing about her that no one can deny is her voice!  It is the cutest voice that has ever existed.  It's high pitched and bubbly, and any fan brony will instantly fall in love with it, and sometimes I wish I could just hug that little voice of hers so hard.  (I guess I will hug Pinkie on her voice's behalf).  Just kidding, I love Pinkie as a whole.

    I could go on for hours, but I still wouldn't manage a propper justice.

    In the end, it's a matter of opinion, but to me Pinkie is the best, and I would love to hear you guys articulate on whom you think is the best.

  17. This episode was really funny and made me laugh much more than any other episode.  But there were so many sub plots, and the thing that bothered me about this episode was that it felt like a waste.  Twilight didn't make any progress on finding the key, and instead she just said, "Let's make a journal!"

  18. Hey there, your lines show improvement in confidence, and a Pinkie Pone Picture is always the best. If I had any critisism, I would say, your proportions are just a hair off (or that Pone had one to many cupcakes).

    There's more than that.  In the picture that I was modeling, Pinkie's head was oriented quite differently.  I thought that was more obvious than the neck problem.  But then again, I know what I'm modeling off of, and the neck is a general point.

    Thanks for the positive feedback!

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