Princess Lona

The point of the key episodes was to present each pony with a situation that challenges their element, but for the element to shine through in the end and for them to make the more difficult choice in favour of it. I don't think Wonderbolts Academy would have made a good key episode because while Rainbow Dash does have a difficult choice to make, loyalty isn't really a part of it. If anything, she is making the difficult choice to be disloyal to the Wonderbolts by quitting. With a bit of tweaking it could have been a key episode. Like if Lightning Dust had tried to get Rainbow to quit for some reason.

One reason that green is not present in a lot of character designs is that its most complimentary colour is red, and red and green together signal Christmas in western culture. Obviously I don't want them to change now, but in the very beginning they could have integrated green into Fluttershy's design. I think it would be fitting because she's a bit of a hippie.

I like this head canon. I always noticed that Rainbow Dash always choses to fly instead of walk and even hover instead of stand, but I just figured it was because she loves flying so much. Your idea is way more interesting. Now I'm thinking maybe it's not a fear of losing her ability to fly that scares her, maybe she's just scared of the ground the way others are afraid of heights. It's funny to think that RD gets dizzy if she's too low to the ground for too long. XD

I always figured that "cutie mark anxiety" is a regular part of many foals' lives before they get their mark, just as awkwardness is a part of life for most young teens and pre teens while they are still figuring out who they are as people. I think the CMC are just the only ones we get to see experiencing that anxiety.

Maybe after the Crusaders get their marks they can introduce a new, markless character who is younger than them for them to guide. It would be neat to see the CMC transition from wandering souls to mentors.

They're probably not using their real voices. They created voices for the characters and they've been practicing with them, so even when their real voices change, they can still do the character voices. Voice actors are pretty good at this and after starting at a young age, these girls should be pros at "vocal retention" by now. Might I point out that the voice of Megatron on Transformers was provided by the same 57 year old chain smoker who voices Curious George.

In high stakes situations like this one, adrenalin levels can spike causing a burst of physical power. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash would have both had heightened adrenalin levels because there was a friendship at stake. The four stallions really didn't have anything to gain from outrunning the others besides money so they would not have had the adrenalin boost. Also, RD can use her extremely powerful wings to help propel her along, that's why they had to be tied to her sides in Fair Weather Friends. Presumably Flutters can use this tactic as well. And yeah, AJ's cart was way bigger.

I got in a bit late to the fandom too. I think I had just become aware of the show and started watching season one around the time The Last Roundup was airing, so I too was not there from the start watching Derpy become a major fan nod. For this reason, I'm glad that she's so mainstream. Derpy is definitely the kind of thing I like to see in media. In most of her appearances, she is an Easter egg to watch out for and I like subtle and not-so-subtle background jokes. So I'm glad that she became popular because if not for all the hype, I might never have noticed her. I agree that blindly following what's popular is a very sheepy and dangerous thing to do, but it's also important to remember that sometimes things become popular because they're good. It is a delicate task to consider your media carefully and be sure that you aren't just getting swept up in the hype, and maybe on closer inspection you will confirm that you really do dislike Derpy, but don't deny yourself the opportunity to get to know a pony or any piece of art just because it's popular. Give yourself more credit than that! You're obviously a very thoughtful person, and you are probably quite capable of deciding for yourself what you like, despite what others like. You don't have to be ashamed of liking a mainstream thing as long as you like it for the right reasons.

I always thought that the "offense" came from a misunderstanding about her name. I never thought Derpy had a disability, I just thought she was clumsy. But the people who got mad thought that the word "derpy" was supposed to be a slang term for "mentally disabled", so her name coupled with her behaviour is what bothered them. The stupidest part is that "derpy" never meant disabled. It has always been a term to describe generally clumsy and sometimes annoying behaviour, whether the person exhibiting that behaviour is disabled or not.

That's just the self fulfiing prophecies of marketing coming true. In their infant to toddler years, girls and boys don't show a gendered preference for toys. Once their brains develop to the point where they can make associations, and they see girls in commercials playing with pretty dress up accessories and boys in commercials playing with armoured fighter dolls, that is when children "decide" what they must be destined to be interested in. It's actually a really crappy thing for the marketing companies to do to developing minds, narrowing the child's field of vision before their brain is fully developed. And toy companies don't stray from that model because it works. Gen 4 has done some pretty cool work in breaking down gender stereotypes and I would love to see them continue to show leadership by branching out that fight into the toy line and marketing armoured ponies to young girls.

I think for it to sell with the main demographic, it would have to be an armour-wearing pony from the show or comics. So a Royal Guard, Dash as Commander Hurricane, Armoured Luna, or Nightmare Moon would make the most sense. I think kids who watch the show would be interested in owning armoured ponies, but they would mostly want what they see in the show (except for the really imaginative kids, they would probably be interested by say, Pinkie Pie in full jousting regalia). Although if the show were to come up with a reason to put Twilight in some armour (the fight with Tirek was a missed opportunity), I think it would sell like hot cakes with the kids. They really seem to like her.

Which short is that? I can't seem to find those two in any of them. Is it a subtle background thing?

I think the name Button Mash was a fan invention. I believe the character has never been referred to by name on the show and I'm not sure if his name appears in any official pony name lists or merch. Does anyone know his official name? Is it Button Mash?

I've always liked lots of girly things. When I was a kid the girly shows I watched included Freakazoid, Pinky and the Brain, and the very girly 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm still into girly things now. I like MST3K and Bioshock and the most recent girly movie I saw was Mad Max Fury Road. I also like super girly activities like swimming, cooking, going to the theatre, doing improv, hiking, baseball, and gardening. So yeah, I've basically been super girly my whole life and I can't wait for my next big girly adventure which is a trip to Mongolia that I'm saving up for!

If a new canon ship was to be introduced, I would want it to be subtle. Romantic love is a part of life that kids can benefit from learning about, but the focus of the show and the subjects of lessons it teaches are and should stay friendship. Between the Cakes, Matilda and Cranky, and Shining and Cadence, I think we have a healthy amount of romantic relationships on the show. However, I would like to see a canon homosexual relationship. I think we're at the point in our culture where it is time to ditch the taboo of anything gay appearing in children's media. If we are accepting of homosexuality, there should be no reason not to represent it in a show that already represents heterosexual love. It doesn't have to be a soapbox episode, just Lyra and Bonbon having relationship troubles and coming to one of the Mane Six for advice or something. I think MLP is the perfect show to take on this challenge, because there will be backlash. Hasbro would probably take a financial hit. There are still plenty of homophobic parents out there who would probably boycott the brand if they came out as gay positive and regardless of the personal feelings of the Hasbro execs, they are a business and the bottom line is what matters most. I would like to see some brave Hasbro execs make this choice, and I think the obvious ship is LyraxBonbon since they are already a popular fanon ship so it would ruffle less feathers on our side of things anyway.

I think it depends on the friend. If you really want them to give the show a chance, show them an episode that plays to the things they already like. I introduced a friend to the show via Lesson Zero because I knew that he likes the many crazy facial expressions on Ren and Stimpy and Twilight has a lot of unique crazy faces in that episode. If I wanted to introduce to the show a friend who really loved the Monorail song from The Simpsons, I would show them Cider Season. Feminist friend? I would show them the pilot episode.

How about "Pone-Ups"? As in grown ups who like My Little Pony. The original term "brony" was invented to reflect the fact that the new fan group fell way outside of the target demographic by being male. Now, the main thing that sets us apart from the target demographic is age. We're adults. We're grown up fans of My Little Pony. We're Pone-Ups. Or Pone Ups. Or Poneups. Or Ponups. Do you like it? Which spelling looks best?

I personally believe that gender doesn't exist (sex does exist, but gender was made up) so there is no need to create separate names for genders within a fandom. I think the term "brony" was coined because the first adults to clue into and call attention to the fact that FIM is actually a good show despite being intended for children, were males who identify as "men" (I put the word in quotes because "men" refers to gender, not sex and as I said, I don't believe in gender). They were aware that by expressing their appreciation of the show they were going against gender normalisms, so they made up a title for themselves that expressed the construct of "masculinity" (ie: "bro") As the word got out about FIM, more people including many females joined the herd and because many people do not agree with the belief that gender doesn't exist, some of them felt the need to create a more "feminine" title for female fans. Thus, "pegasister" was born. So I personally never saw the need for a new title for "women" fans. I also don't really see the need for the original title to have purposefully included "masculine" connotations, or for "bro" to even be considered "masculine", since again, I don't believe in gender. But those are the words that we have created and for the sake of simplicity, I prefer to use the original title, "brony" as a general term for MLP fans. And as a female, I use "brony" to describe myself because that helps to break down the gender normalisms. That being said, I really don't care who calls themselves what and I'll use whatever individuals want me to use to refer to them. I do think it would be cool if more "men" took on the title "pegasister", just to further break down this new, unnecessary gendered term we accidentally created.

I think they're just trying to get back into a regular season schedule. Most TV shows have their season premiere in the fall and finale in the spring. All the other FIM seasons followed this, but season 5 premiered in April. If they had kept on airing episodes, season five would have ended in the fall and if they still wanted to get back into a normal season cycle, we would have had to wait a whole year for season six to start in fall of 2016. With the hiatus, we wait out the summer (which is a perfect time to watch less TV anyway), and after the finale this spring we will only have a few months to wait for more ponies. Not to mention, this way the show will still be airing around December toy selling season. $$$$$

I don't miss the physical elements themselves, but I will be sad if the show drops the theme of the ethereal elements, the concepts of kindness, honesty, etc. The rainbow power is kind of vague. They all found their key by having their element challenged and growing because of that challenge, but when they actually powered up, there was nothing to say that they were specufically powered up in a way that was connected to their original element. They were just kind of jacked up long enough to overpower Tirek.

I would go back to the roots of G4 and what made adults so attracted to the show in the first place. The original reason that I fell in love with this show is that despite being a toy seller, it is also a healthy influence for the target audience in a culture that, while making progress, still lacks in positive role models and stories for young girls. The reason older fans even noticed the show is that it is well written with engaging, nuanced characters and "morals" writing that isn't overly simplified. That wonderful show that we all fell in love with was always intended for 3-7 year old girls. And I think it's still a great show for them, but I worry with all of the fan service this season (and a little bit in season three) the franchise is focusing too much on bronies. In a very selfish way, I love the fan service and I do think the more subtle of it could remain without getting in the way, but the thing that excites me most about this show is dreaming of a world twenty years from now, when all the seven year olds watching it have grown up and are starting to take leadership roles. If the show keeps on catering to bronies the way it has recently, it will have to cut time devoted to teaching kids about friendship. For G5 I would keep much of the themes and feeling of G4, but I would add some male main characters. This show is too good to not share with all the kids. That being said, I would not change anything about the style or stories to make it "more marketable to boys". MLP has already shown that it can cause older fans to question gender stereotypes, I think the next generation should work to break down those barriers even further. Make a show about love, friendship, and vulnerability and stick some guys in there too, so that little boys can learn that they too can be kind, honest, generous, optimistic, loyal, and friendly. For EQG I would revamp the doll line with more of a focus on activities and less on fashion. Fashion could still be there, but it need not take centre stage.

I've always wondered about her cutie mark and that makes total sense. Maybe her special talent is taking charge of a situation, but she just hasn't figured out how to use that talent in a positive way yet. Like Troubleshoes, she has misinterpreted her cutie mark, or maybe she got it but isn't sure what it means so she's angry and confused and that's why she takes it out on others. Perhaps the moment she got her cutie mark is when she went wrong.

The only other dragons we've seen whose genders were discernible were the mean guys in Dragon Quest. But I think the reason those dragons were all boys was to draw a parallel between what Spike was experiencing in that episode, and what a lot of young boys experience in reality when trying to fit in. The dragons were all negative male stereotypes, but not out of lazy writing or sexism on the part of the writers. They purposefully made those dragons stereotypical douchebag bully bros because unfortunately, there is still a prominent cultural normalism that says men are supposed to be tough, gruff, and at least a little mean to each other. Spike wanted to fit in and "be a dragon", but the episode was really about a boy trying to learn how to "be a man". In the end, Spike learned that you don't have to be a jerk to be a dragon, just like you don't have to be a negative male stereotype to be a man. So that I think is why there were no female dragons in that episode, but it would be neat to see some female dragons in the show, and some more male dragons who are nice like Spike.

Not sure if this has already been said, and I'm sorry to be a party pooper, but Celestia and Superman would never fight. They both love peace. Even if they disagreed over something, there is no way one of them would ever do something that would make the other one have to resort to force to stop them.