Yellow Diamond

Truth be told, I barely knew about them. I had a few people on my Steam friends list who had pony avatars, and one evening we trolled a bunch of TF2 servers with pony sprays and constantly posting "BROHOOF" in the chat when we won, but I wasn't at all familiar with the show. In retrospect, being a brony then would have made the event much more entertaining for me. Generally, I had no set opinion. I rapidly got into MLP, so transferring into the herd came without much by way of preconceived notions regarding fans of the show.

When introducing my dad to MLP, I began with the first two episodes ("Friendship is Magic, Part 1 and 2"). It seemed like a natural starting point since, well, they are the first episodes; they establish the premise for the entire show. But I remember somepony suggesting "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" since it incorporates the basic lessons of the show while displaying some clever writing and a strong musical number, one which would resonate with adults. I hesitate to jump on the "Party of One"/"Lesson Zero" bandwagon. I think those are better episodes to show contemporaries (i.e., young adults) who will most likely come to a viewing expecting a namby-pamby, let's-all-drink-tea-and-play-dress-up type of affair. For older adults, however, it may be better to hook them with episodes which emphasize clever writing and dialogue---not to say that either of those episodes lacked those attributes.

Like any other veteran of the police action in Griffon territroy, Cheerilee was given full medical benefits.

Pinkie is friends with everypony in Ponyville, except that seems to be mostly a social function rather than something that radically affects her life. What I mean is this: her friendship with the rest of the Mane Six is shown to be a whole lot more meaningful than it is with most any other pony---save, perhaps, for the Cake family. Pinkie would be pretty devastated by the loss of a close friend. If "Party of One" is any indication, Pinkie is possessive and lacks self-assurance. Losing one of the girls would probably hit her especially hard.

I think the central theme of the Winter Wrap Up is handling the task through physical labor. There are definitely unicorns living in Ponyville (e.g., Rarity, duh), so it can't be that the concept of magic is alien to the population. The pegasi still have to fly about, move the clouds, and direct migrations. The big problem seems to be when casting magic in large swaths is used instead of clearing up winter more or less by traditional work ethic. It's still strange that "the Earth Pony way" is so dominant in the theme. Again, unicorns live in Ponyville; magic also appears to consume a good deal of energy for most unicorns. Would it not be their way of contributing to the Winter Wrap Up? If "Applebuck Season" is any indicaton, Twilight alone could have done a good portion of the work in about half the time it took most of the Earth Ponies to manually move snow, gather the animals, prepare the farmland, etc. Perhaps Ponyville is a bastion of old school, midwest American conservatism: all the ponies so very nice; but don't you dare suggest radically changing everyday life with your fancy contraptions and unicorn magic.

It doesn't seem as if it will ever be a major issue. AJ hasn't had a major "breakdown" episode---unless you count "Applebuck Season" or "The Last Round Up"---over the past two seasons; I doubt the writers would suddenly and inexplicably cause her to totally flip her lid.

The only one who hasn't had a "proper" mental breakdown is Applejack. The worst she has been is incredibly stubborn ("Applebuck Season"), but that has since been addressed by her confidence in her friends. Rarity has come extremely close, at least in "Suited for Success" when the rest of the Mane Six drove her to the point of exhaustion. "Lesson Zero" is forever the bar for total breakdowns in the show, save perhaps for "Party of One." I don't think the same formula will be trotted out (excuse the pun) in future episodes---unless there is ample reason for things to go south for one of the ponies.

Isn't the show already catered more toward bronies than ever before? Think about the entirety of the second season---especially the season finale. Beyond all of the pop culture references, the stories were generally less linear and a bit edgier than their season one counterparts. As far as I'm concerned, DHX Media is already well on its way to targeting bronies as a significant portion of the audience.

There is dispute over whether or not Celestia is a "goddess" in the proper sense. She has remarkable power and is seemingly ageless, but she is not omniscient and/or ubiquitous. Celestia's abilities come through in her ability to strategize and make the best use of resources. Case in point: When Night Mare Moon was slated to return, Celestia orchestrated events so that the Elements of Harmony would gather and subsequently defeat/restore an evil Princess Luna. Celestia's true strength lies in her assessment of others as well as herself. Clearly she is not all-powerful, however, since Chrysalis managed to neutralize her during the attack on Canterlot. The Royal Guard provide another avenue for Celestia to enact her plans and preserve the peace. They can also bring security that Celestia on her own would be incapable of readily providing. The citizens of Equestria also likely feel safer because the Royal Guard are present. Even though they are tasked with protecting Celestia, their primary objective is to protect the whole of the kingdom. Note that the Royal Guard were present across Canterlot during the wedding; aside from the groom, Shining Armor, none of the Royal Guard were at Celestia's side. So it seems that, at least within Canterlot, their constant presence near and around Celestia is not required. On trips outside of Canterlot, it makes sense that some of them are present to ensure her safety as well as the safety of her subjects present. While Princess Celestia could order the Royal Guard to focus their efforts on protecting her person, she has probably set that duty aside so that her subjects are protected first and foremost.

Let's keep this on topic, folks. The thread is about Pegasi OCs and why they are so popular, not Greek/Roman mythology. Carry on.

Twilight's color scheme bothers me, as does Rainbow's, to a lesser extent. I can only say this in comparison to the current and final designs. I would probably be just fine with their colors had they been chosen to be included in the final product. As it stands, however, those two in particular bother me. Surprise (who became Pinkie Pie) doesn't have a lot of clashing colors, so I could roll with her design.

As others have already said, AJ acting as the Element of Loyalty (if she were not already the Element of Honesty) makes the most sense. Her steadfast honesty is tied into the loyalty she feels toward her friends and family. It also makes AJ occasionally stubborn, when it comes to family tradition. Pinkie could double for the Element of Kindness, given her willingness to befriend everypony. She has glaring blindspots which Fluttershy does not possess (e.g., not leaving others alone even when they explicitly request privacy), but her end goal is to increase the happiness of her friends and neighbors. Rainbow Dash rather easily fits into the Element of Laughter. Her propensity for pranks (generally good natured ones) and desire to entertain others adapts well to that particular element. Regarding the Element of Generosity, I again went with Pinkie Pie. The primary hiccup is her aforementioned myopia. On the other hoof, throwing parties for everypony, and putting a great deal of effort into said parties, is rather generous---not to mention her desire to see everypony smile. I selected Rarity for the Element of Magic. I am admittedly biased toward selecting another natural unicorn. Rarity's attention to detail and ability to turn the otherwise ordinary into the extraordinary could be liberally described as "magic." The Element of Honesty is a bit tricky, but I went with Twilight. She is the most likely to seek the truth of the matter, even if it may be motivated primarily by personal concerns rather than a more abstract sense of truth (e.g., "A Canterlot Wedding"). Twilight will also readily offer advice to her friends. If I had to swap out one of the ponies to accomodate Fluttershy, it would probably be for the Element of Generosity. The reasons for such a selection should be otherwise obvious.

Arguably, Pinkie Pie also possesses a high Charisma score. If she can befriend everypony in Ponyville, she would need to be socially adept and have a magnetic personality by D&D standards. Twilight would have an amazingly high Intelligence score. If it isn't in the low 20s, then it would easily be in the high teens. She was also able to make 5th place in the Running of the Leaves, so she must have some above-average Constitution.

Oh man. This qualifies as more than painful; this is the kind of pain which latches itself onto your soul and slowly eats away at you until there is nothing left. All that remains is a husk and a blank stare---not unlike baby Scootaloo. I think I know what Dr. Forrester meant by "Deep Hurting" now.

I never had the sense cloppers caused excessive friction within the community---at least overtly. As is in keeping with the Zeitgeist of the 21st century, bronies tend to display a "live and let live" attitude toward cloppers, so long as they don't impose to their habits on others. Clopping is nevertheless a more sensational aspect of the brony phenomenon, if only due to the fact the main characters are equines. But the sexual fascination found among a segment of bronies is not idiosyncratic; most every fandom crafts out its own little niche where such activity is visible. Nobody is going to go after, say, some Sonic fans who fantasize about the characters, because that ground has been covered and it does not garner a lot of attention. Given that bronies are receiving press coverage and focus from media sources, people are going to more readily dig into the arguably unsavory facets of the fandom. Again, clopping only seems to be an issue when it is made an issue. Otherwise, how often does it otherwise come up when the show is being discussed? Most of the focus of outsiders falls upon the fact a number of adult men are heavily invested in a cartoon show aimed at girls. In that respect, bronies more readily rally against attempts to pigeonhole the entire community as weird, socially backward, and disturbed. Because clopping feeds into that stereotype, it quickly raises everypony's blood. That is how I view it, at least. I cannot readily think of a major conflict within the community. To me, arguments over shipping and clopping quickly become proxies for other issues, i.e., those concerning general sexual morality. Other arguments tend to be rather fleeting, e.g., disagreements over character interpretation. Our biggest conflicts tend to be external, usually involving the perception of the fandom and the occasional accusation (which may or may not be true, depending on the circumstances) that bronies force MLP onto others when they wish to be left alone. The worst problem bronies face is probably bullying by those who do not understand, refuse to understand, or simply desire to engage in tearing down others.

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