RagingTwilight

A part of me is really hoping this is fake; from our perspective, it would make no sense at all and would kill not only fanon, but even some canon elements as well. But...who knows? I'll reserve judgement until the episodes air. As for Princess Celestia's thoughts on the matter... Sorry. Had to do it. It was just too good an opportunity to miss.

Honestly, I don't know whether we are or not with respect to society at large. If the show were not as popular, it's likely many of the things you've mentioned would still exist, though would be much less popular. It seems to be getting more and more popular to be a brony, so as our populace increases, so will the variety of user-generated content. So with respect to the core message and target audience of the show, I think we have taken it too far already; we've been taking it too far since almost the beginning of the community. The community went "too far" as soon as the first "clop fic," or the first non-friendly fanfiction was written, or the first youtube poop, etc. But we have to keep in mind one thing: the phenomenon is a product of the internet. Naturally, people from all walks of live can view roughly the same content online. They have different agendas, entertainment preferences, etc. It seems the show is likeable and relatable to so many different people, that people take elements from the show and "transform" or recreate these elements into their preferred form of entertainment. And it also turns out that some people on the internet don't like the entertainment preferences of others, and choose to ignore them or even berate their creators. So, the community splits itself up into several subsets of which when the union is taken between every subset, the result is the entire set - the brony community. So in essence...it is unavoidable. In the end, people will see our community in different ways, no matter how many of X-type bronies we have, where X can be any type. The community has taken My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and created many different variations and derivatives of the core elements of the show, making some of the user-generated content almost completely different from the original purpose of the show. In other words, user-generated content has taken so many creative paths, that while they all share a common ancestor, some of the content hardly resembles the show at all. As a community, we've picked this show up and ran with it. And we're not stopping anytime soon. So whether or not what we're creating has been taken too far with respect to society, I still don't know, but with respect to the show itself...we're miles apart on some things. If we tried to look back from these, we'd barely make out the original show that captured our hearts.

I do, too. Like I said though, I could be exaggerating or it could simply be confirmation bias on my part. But even if the fanbase is split, I don't see bronies completely going away for a very, very long time.

A lot of strong feelings about the episode, one way other other. Some really seem to love it, others really hate it and its "darker" nature. And, of course there are those in-between. Granted, the backlash isn't as bad as Mare-do-well, but still...go to ponychan and EQD and read comments there discussing the episode. I'm used to seeing dissenting opinions, but there seem to be more stronger dissenting opinions this time around. So while it could be confirmation bias on my part, I do believe this episode has at the very least invoked some strong opposing opinions within the fandom.

Well, it's nearly impossible to maintain a constant state of happiness forever. The happiness eventually wears off given certain circumstances (bad day at work, death, break-ups, etc.) But hey, I love Pinky Pie's ability to make people laugh. I think the world of Equestria (and the real world) could always use more laughter. So no, Pinky's talent of making people laugh is a highly respectable one. If I were a pony and needed cheering up, I'd know who to go to.

I suppose we just have different world views. Or, we don't have the same definition of Utopia. A Utopia is a perfect society, if I'm not mistaken, not "near perfect." We also most likely have differing views on what "dark" means. From your giant wall of text, your definition of "dark" resembles that of "realistic." Still, I don't see how people getting angry is pessimistic necessarily. The show can have a slightly darker edge and still convey meaningful messages of friendship, as this one did. Was the anger overdone? Yes, but in my opinion that's due to a weakness in the writer of the episode. And your comment about "bringing our role models and heroes down to our level," are you implying that we are "dark," as in bad? The comment after that one is also perplexing. You have no idea why I like the show, nor why I'm here. I for one like seeing the ponies more expressive; they feel more alive and realistic to me. To sum it up, If they have to get a little more realistic, then that's okay. Sorry if I come off a little harsh. I haven't much time to respond, so I've had to mince words. I should add: Fluttershy was most certainly NOT herself whilst she was bullying people around. She basically let someone do her thinking for her (Iron Will,) allowing him to influence her. She was being told all these things and probably had no idea exactly what she was doing. Think of a child or young person being told to commit a heinous act by someone with an aggressive, forceful personality. I'd be almost certain that when said person commits the heinous act, he/she won't be doing it as himself/herself. It's as Rarity said. Fluttershy wanted to become more assertive, and "received some bad advice..."

Oh yeah, he definitely would. Randy's awesome.

It was darker, but I think the show has had previous moments at least as dark. For example, Pinky Pie going completely psycho in Party of One and Twilight going insane (HI GIRLS!) in Lesson Zero.. And I didn't find anything Flutterbitch said to be any more cruel than what she said in Return of Harmony Pt.2 while under Discord's influence, save for maybe when she made Rarity and Pinky Pie cry. Was the cruelty too much for a kids show? Maybe, but I've seen more cruel things in other classic cartoons. I for one am glad they're striving to make Equestria more relatable to the real world, and not simply making it a utopia. The show would be so boring. What would the show be without a little...chaos and discord in the mix? As for the citizens specifically...most likely a plot device. They were simply written that way to advance the plot and nothing more. Now whether or not this is good writing is another debate entirely.

I could totally see Cartman becoming a brony. The entire episode could center around him trying to hide his love of pony. Too bad this announcement was confirmed as fake; South Park makes fun of everyone, so I think it'd be a pretty good episode.

Not really, though I am starting to worry that the fandom is getting too large to contain itself. Seems lately that some of the episodes (like the newest one, S2E19 as of this post), along with other events (Derpy drama, for example), are polarizing the community.

I hope it gets even more. The video definitely deserves more.

Well I know one way to get it more views. Have you submitted it to Equestria Daily?

I have now watched this episode 4 times. I think I like it too much... If I had to critique it about anything though, it'd be that the plot itself is kinda linear. Fluttershy encounters bully after bully, with various results. Rinse and repeat. Mare-do-well had this kind of flow, though that entire episode itself was...ehh. I won't say anything. Despite the linearity, Putting Your Hoof down has so many good things to not only cancel it out, but make it a great experience: great music, outstanding animation (the pseudo-3D scene when Fluttershy was tied up, especially,) lots of good references and above all, humor. When all is said and done, this episode is just flat-out hilarious. Oh. And Rarity and Pinky Pie together turned out to be a great combination. Also, Iron Will is the best ever.

I think I have a new favorite episode.

I still haven't told anyone, except for my girlfriend. And a couple of her close friends know, too. Honestly, I don't think I will ever tell many people. There are several things even my parents don't know about me (namely views on various social issues and stuff like that.) If i ever run into a Brony in real life, I'll be happy to say hey but else I'll just keep to myself.

A Twilight Sparkle episode that's sort of the opposite of Boast Busters, exploring the pride Twilight puts in to her studies by putting her in a situation where she is only the second smartest pony in the room; it'd explore how Twilight handles having her pride shaken (she can't, initially) and what she eventually learns from the ordeal, which would be something along the lines like "there's always someone out there who will know more on a particular subject than you, and you shouldn't scoff at people just because you don't think they're as smart as you." The short synopsis could be something like this: Twilight Sparkle is dismayed when she loses in a contest of knowledge. Or, Twilight Sparkle welcomes a new, studious pony into town, only to be bested by him/her after her and the student's knowledge is put to the test. Kinda simple, but I think it could easily be made into an episode. ...I would have posted this earlier, but I couldn't keep my eyes off Trixie (SuperTheAwesome's avatar) brushing her mane in the upper left of my screen. Dx

Gilda just strikes me as the type of person who is desperate for attention, always wanting to be with the "in-crowd." If it's deemed uncool, Gilda will distance herself from it. It's entirely possible that she was different back when she and Rainbow were best buds, but people change...for better or for worse. To make things interesting, though: what if Rainbow was just like Gilda when she was little, always wanting to go with the flow and go with what's "cool," then changed into the loyal friend she is today?

Ask Princess Molestia is a rare guilty pleasure in this fandom for me.