The Enduring Man-Child

Ugh! I forgot another great thing: MORE WOONA!!!

The ten greatest/most notable things about the season finale: 1) Machine gunner Pinkie Pie! 2) Machine gun Twilight Sparkle! 3)There are more than two alicorns. 4) After being submerged for much of season 2, we are reminded that Twilight is the star/main character. 5) Magical Female Powers™! 6) A new race of evil supernatural baddies. 7) Princess Celestia owes Twilight an apology. Why didn't she apologize??? 8) A great brother-sister relationship. 9) Vinyl Scratch didn't get enough screen time! 10) Spike has no idea what a bachelor party is, or when it's supposed to be thrown. A great finale to tide us over till next season. If season 3 is as much of an improvement as season 2 was, we're going to have our socks blown off!

So far as I know, last sat. and this morning is the first time the Hub has re-aired this episode since The Great Derpy Controversy. Now that tempers (including mine) have cooled a bit, I realize that the new voice isn't really that bad (Tabitha gave her a colt's voice the first time because she thought Derpy was male). No, this second voice is kinda cute. Not as cute as BaldDumboRat's Derpy voice, but cute. Now if only they would re-derp her eyes (they're still slightly derped, but they were most definitely changed) and (most of all) restore Rainbow's line calling her Derpy, think I'd be perfectly satisfied. Unfortunately, we all know they aren't going to do this. She'll always be Derpy Hooves to me.

Another epic Pinkie episode. After being very scarce for the first half of the season, she's back with a vengeance. And who isn't happy at that fact? No way the target audience would get the movie parodies or the reference to Julia Child (whom I used to watch back when PBS was NET). It just keeps getting better.

I just noticed on re-watching the episode on YouTube that the "What is Big Mac hiding?" photo was one of him holding Smarty Pants in his teeth. Excellent continuity in this series!

BTW, could anybody make out Featherweight's cutie mark? I couldn't see it on TV and I can't see it on YouTube either.

The typewriters and old fashioned printing press were a nice touch. It wasn't just the Crusaders who learned a lesson this week. All the ponies in Ponyville enjoyed and patronized Gabby Gums until they themselves became her victims. This is especially true in the case of the Mane Six. Only Twilght Sparkle thought it was a bad idea from the beginning. Good girl, Twilight!

Okay...I know absolutely nothing about who "Gabby Gums" is going to turn out to be (I hate spoilers!), and this is pure speculation and nothing more on my part, but I know who I'd like her to turn out to be! MWA-HA-HA!!! (Is it okay if I post the name here? I won't if it's not all right.)

That's just a bit of an exaggeration, as Applejack was going to compete anyway (the party at which Town Hall was destroyed was to send her off). But true, she did afterwards promise to donate her winnings to the repair job. Whether or not she would have avoided returning home anyway (just because she was ashamed of not winning a blue ribbon, aside from financial considerations) is something the writers didn't tell us. But I understand what you mean. Fluttershy in athletic headband and ankle bands...can you say "sockies???"

Pinkie Pie. She's the absolute greatest, bar none (and this coming from somebrony who is almost the exact opposite of her in every way). And she is not a psycho. Or a monster. Her song Smile, Smile, Smile describes her exactly: she lives to make everypony happy. That's all there is to it. No sinister motives or secrets whatsoever. And definitely no "Cupcakes." I've never really had any friends. It's nice to know there's a pony who (if she were real) would really want me to be her friend. And I would be honored to be just that.

Your comment about not acting like spoiled children is well-taken, as are your arguments regarding the legitimate reasons some objected to her. If the objections had been limited to the target audience I would have understood. What I didn't get was the bronies who objected to her. Why would the people who created her object to characteristics they had given her themselves? Your "perfect storm" point also makes much sense. I much preferred Balddumborat's fan voice, and, yes, Tabitha gave her a stallion's voice. But "derpy" does not mean mentally retarded. Until I started reading about her, I had never heard the word before. As I understand it, it simply means "clumsy." If anyone were going to be offended by clumsiness it would be me, as I am perhaps the clumsiest person who has ever lived. Furthermore, I have a personality disorder, which means I am technically mentally disabled. But then, I am not the mother of a little girl who watches the show. Again, the objection of that demographic makes more sense than the objection of bronies. But I must ask why making her a stereotypical "dumb blonde" with the name "Ditzy" ("ditzy" being a common adjective to describe "dumb blondes") would be any less objectionable, especially considering that some of the children and mothers in the audience would naturally resent the stereotype. I feel a sort of special connection to Derpy. After discovering the series I began reading fan fics and I encountered her almost at once. I couldn't wait to see her on the show, delivering mail and interacting with the other characters exactly as I had seen her written. It wasn't until after I had watched the entire first season that I found out everything I had read about her had been created by the fans. That's why I was in seventh heaven when she was addressed by name and spoke to us. The entire Internet seemed to explode with joy. The whole fiasco was just a shame. I have no intention of arguing about this (I got in trouble on another forum for doing so). I thank you for your input and hope you will accept mine as well. Other than that, what's done is done, none of us can do a thing to change it.

Hey all. I don't want to get to into this thing since it's been discussed to death (and also because I got in trouble on a previous forum), so I'll just say the simplest possible thing: I wish they'd left her as she was.

WOULD I???!!! Is Fluttershy a tree?

Yes, and how sad. And almost unprecedented shout out to the non-traditional fans of the show (the bronies) was turned into a PR nightmare by, as I understand it, some of those fans themselves. Why they complained about the characteristics of a character they had basically created themselves (and why Derpy is any more offensive than a zillion other similar cartoon characters, or worse) is beyond me.