Raven Rawne

Ah, Coloratura... She's both a great person, and a great lesson. Through AJ's flashbacks we learn about good ol' Rara - a filly with a great talent, but also a big, loving heart. Truly a child every parent could wish for. We're informed that, right before Applejack lost touch with her, she mentioned going to Manehattan in order to become famous for her talent. Now we know nothing about what happenned next, but it's safe to assume it was the usual: she went to a talent show, probably won it, even. Suddenly famous and clueless about ins and outs of show biz she quickly finds herself out of depth, only to be "rescued" by her lovely new manager, who new better than to pass the occasion to make money on a rising star. And so a lovely child with a big heart and a bigger talent (if that was even possible) rises to fame under careful tuitition of a selfish, cynical, and controlling manager, who gradually pygmalions her into a "Countess". Since it's a story with a happy ending, Coloratura, with some help of her childhood friend reconnects with her past self and finds the meaning in her life on stage. In real life she would be sucked dry by the manager, like an apple by a vampire fruit bat. It happens to many talent show stars, after all. Coloratura is a pastel colored equine ambassador of all the talented individuals, who wish to become famous by participating in various talent shows, only to be devoured by the show biz hydra. Her story is a call to alert any would be stars, or their encouraging guardians that, in fact, there are monsters in the dark, often right behind the stage, actually. And when they promise they will make you a big star, some may demand form you to abandon all you live for, in order to attain that goal. The question is, will you bow to their will to attain fame?

I'd choose Celestia. Working for her would mean rather normal work hours, although, considering the wide range of her responibilities, it's entirely possible that my schedue would be full from dawn till dusk. Occupational risk, I suppose. Also, she seems like a person who would be a good boss, and not just on professional level, since we know she's a good ruler, but on a more personal level too. I don't think she would just demand something without considering if it's even possible, for example. Last but not least, I think she's much more playful than she appears (remember the tea at Sugarcube Corner?), and I like when my boss has a sense of humor. Those are the first reasons I could think of, but overall, I'd like to be Celestia's assistant. It sounds like a good job for me.

Well, I know when I joined the herd, and setting a symbolical date in that time span wouldn't be a problem, but, generally, I don't celebrate anniversaries. Not even my own birthday. Some State holidays like Independence Day are excluded form this policy, but as a rule, I believe that, if something is important, one should remember about it every day, rather than set aside one "special" day to make up for it. As I see it, anniversaries are, for the most part, a shortcut form daily commitment and a way to convince ourselves that we do remember, that we do care, when in fact, it's not always so. Please keep in mind it's just my private observation and I don't negate the point of celebrating anniversaries in general. I just don't see much place for them in my life.

The Disc World is placed on a tortoise shell, Grinch lived in a world contained in a snowflake etc. It would be hardly suprising if Equestria was a daydream of an alligator, especially since some pieces of this world don't fit each other. That explains everything!

I like where you're going with that. Personally, I came to the conclusion that our toothless gator has achieved what some sources call, form lack of a better word, enlightment. Basically he reunited his lower self with the rest of the Universe, and thus he is no longer restrained by the fallible senses limiting his perception and cognition. Through reuniting with the rest of creation he no longer feels neither pain nor doubt, as all the Truths lay before him. I just used Occult Sciences to analyze a cartoon alligator... I am officially FUBAR. Now whenever what I said is true or not is a matter for another day, but It's crystal clear that Gummy had a point when he mused about his flank, forever blank. For ponies, their cutie marks are nearly everything - they provide a sense of identity, signify their uniquness amongst other ponies, help them choose a vocation etc. For an outsider, it may seem like a cutie mark controls It's owner, since it's appearance may turn their lives around just because "this is their destiny". For ponies, on average, a blank flank means they haven't found their place in the world, that they're still kids, not yet ready to face the world head on. Gummy provides another explanation - that a blank flank is liberating rather than limiting. That it should be celebrated as a symbol of unlimited possibilities, uncharted territory full of treasures to discover. That chasing the rabbit is just as important as catching it. Maybe even more so, if we look at the CMC and realize that they should be filly encyclopedias by now. Gummy is a patient sage, who doesn't impose his teachings on others, but will eagerly provide for those ready to accept his teachings, and willing to learn.

Depends on what you want to do with it - a ponysona is a natural choice for avatars and other personal artwork - a way to reprent oneself in pony form. Plus, if you're new to roleplay it may be easier to try with a character with simmillar psychological makeup (although the backstory may be very different from the person that created them - keep that in mind). OC gives unlimited options, but generally requires some more experience, or natural talent, to effectively roleplay somepony that very well may be completely different, psychologically, from the roleplayer. That would be the main difference if we go back to basics. Other than that, it's mainly personal preferences and the goal witch the character may serve.

Allow me to provide a possible explanation. Princess Luna, in her opinion, is guilty of letting her own ambition and resentment before the needs of her subjects. For a good ruler, it's enough to make a capital offence. But it didn't stop there, no. She grew so angry about the whole world, the very way it's arranged (that ponies slept through the night instead of admiring it; that they praised both royal sisters, or Celestia, but not her; that they didn't see, nor they appreciated the unique gifts of the night) that she was posessed by a demonic creature witch wreaked havoc (however short lasting and minimal in damage) to everything and everyone she loved, while all she could do was watch (that's how posession works). She saw what happened after she transformed into Nightmare Moon, and she couldn't stop it. She saw her sister cry, and it probably ripped her heart out (and then stuffed it with mashed grapes, roasted it to perfection, and gave her for dinner with a nice Cianti and some fava beans). And then, she was Banished to the Moon. Now we don't know whenever she (or to be precise, they) was put in stasis, or she was wide awake the whole time. I wish she was in stasis, because a thousand years is a long time to ponder about one's mistakes. Being put on a bus for so long is the main issue here, since she didn't know what happened after that fateful night, and ahe probably assumed the worst. Once Luna returned to Equestria, and finally was herself again, she was probably terrified how the world will react to her. As far as she was concerned, she was the most evil being her subject could think of, while in reality all was forgiven and forgotten and ponies had a silly holiday to commemorate all that "Nightmare Moon stuff". If you ever had that paranoid streak that people smile to you only to gossip about you once you turn your back, you'll know how she felt - watching for any hint of resentment, hatred hidden behind big smiles, all that jazz. Plus, she got a hard case of cognitive dissonance, since in her opinion, she did something unforgivable, and too vile to even contemplate, while everypony was like "Yaay new princess!". So, if you see yourself a criminal, and the world has no wish to punish you... you make your own punishment. (I think Luna is one of the "Justice over Mercy" ones) I hope it's enough to see why she didn't really get over it, or suck it up and move on. Some things drag us down years after, and even though everyone sees it as no biggie, for some people it's all that matters.

Well, If I were to wade through those gigabyes of pony tunes I accumulated over the years, I'd say that my favourite fandom musician is Aviators (although his recent albums have only token pony content). I have all his albums. Others worth mentioning would be Prince Whateverer, BlackGryph0n&Baasik, Feather, Plum Creek Rhytm Section, Mandopony, Archie, Glaze/Wooden Toaster, Ponyphoric, EliteMonty, Original songs from the show and EQG, and a looong list of artists from whom I cherry picked single songs. There's just too many of them to mention everyone, and so I most certainly failed to mention some awesome artists I listen to.