EmmerichWolfe

Let's not forget that, if Hasbro really wanted to, there would be no episodes on youtube. They'd be gone and that would be it. Any subsequent episodes uploaded would be taken down faster than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. Seriously, look how fast Michael Brockhoff sent out legal threats when the Bronydoc was uploaded.

This crap is everywhere you look. DHN, EqD, /mlp/... The doomsayers are getting annoying. We're making Hasbro money, and our content is free advertisement. Yeah, you can point to absurd examples of what Hasbro would consider "bad for PR" like hotdiggedydemon, but people are going to pervert anything on the internet. If Hasbro wanted us done and over with, they'd Order 66 our asses, take full control of the show, and destroy everything that made it popular, thus dooming G4 to the mediocrity of the previous gens.

^This When the government pursues legal action against individuals involved in pirating, they're filing suits that basically state you violated a federal law, and it has little to nothing to do with what you stole or what the company's opinions are.

Look at what happened to Aaron Swartz. It is the right of the copyright holder to pursue legal action, but the Department of Justice can still file charges as pirating violates a federal law. Is it right? No. Is it a gross overreach of governing bodies? Yes. It's a huge mess, really.

Right. When I say the fandom was founded on piracy, I'm referring to the fact that it was illegally distributed and uploaded to places that would garner more attention. Piracy played a big role in building the foundation of the current fanbase. Yes, the ones who did see it first probably viewed it on the Hub, but they also started the uploading process. As for the comic, I'm talking about the official release comics. My point on the comics was to illustrate how piracy is still a driving force in the fandom. But we don't even need to mention the comics, because if you want to get technical, bronies are still pirating the show despite Hasbro's approval. We could easily get screwed over by the Federal Government and it be no fault of Hasbro's. We can disagree on semantics, and it's certainly true that the creativity within this fandom is one of the main attractions. It's a huge staple, yes, but the show was pirated by people who recognized the artistic integrity and quality of the show. They believed it should be shared, so they did so. Those who pirated the show recognized the creative quality of it. So, yes, it went hand-in-hand.

. The community wasn't founded on piracy? I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. I'm all for making the fandom look good, but let's not make saints out of sinners. This fandom got its start on 4chan, pirated episodes, uploaded them to youtube, and we still do the same thing with the comics. The creativity you see in the fandom is the result of that. If it weren't for Hasbro having actual business sense, the fandom wouldn't even be half of what it is now. I don't know many people that are willing to shell out extra cash just to get one channel, do you? And, yes, you're right. Hasbro is smart enough to realize what we do for the franchise. They know piracy won't kill their business. In fact, they're one of the only corporations around that recognize what "piracy" is: free advertisement. I know what John and Michael were planning to do, but when you slap Brony on a documentary, it's only going to appeal to bronies and those curious about bronies. Most of the general public either doesn't care or have their minds made up. Throwing it on the internet guarantees a wider viewership, which Hasbro itself has accepted. Like you said, piracy isn't the issue. Lack of foresight is.

This fandom got its start by pirating. John and Michael didn't have to do this at all. In fact, they both could have ignored us and went on with their lives. I'm of the opinion that they--or at least John--did this out of the kindness of their hearts. With that said, they released this documentary digitally and DRM-free to a community that got to this point by giving the finger to a corporation. Seems like a huge lapse in judgment. John's tweet and the update from the crew does come off as more than a bit naive and accusative respectively. This is a large fandom, and for the most part, John's right. The people do tend to be pretty cool, open-minded individuals. But let's not pretend we don't have our share of bad apples. The show's message--which is what I think attracted them to this--only reached this strange audience because of piracy. They should have sharpened their projections, tiered the donations, released the hard copies on a pre-order basis, and released the DVDs at the same time instead of giving the backer's an early download. Moreover, a small portion of the funds should have gone to the bonus disc. I don't blame them for wanting compensation for something they did as a favor to us, but I do think they should have thought this through a bit better.

We've seen that they can be defeated. I would think their seemingly godlike abilities come from centuries of knowledge and experience with magic. We've had nothing to contrast it to--unless you count Chrysalis--so some assume they're a type of divinity.

The guy who started the rumor on reddit later posted and said he was bullshitting. A lot of background ponies were cut short from this season.

(Just woke up, so forgive me if this reads like a rambling internal monologue.) Odds are, bronies weren't even in the business model for Hasbro when they approved it. Yes, this is a ploy to sell more toys; yes, it's another way for Hasbro to sell another talking princess doll and castle set, but so was Cadance. You can certainly make the argument that this is just appealing to another girly stereotype, and you'd be right just looking at it like that. However, DHX didn't create your stereotypical princesses when they made Celestia and Luna, did they? Of course little girls are going to look at them and think "Oooh, pretty princess," but we're a little older and have noticed the nuances--even if they seem a bit sinister at times--in the Alicorn sisters' personalities. This proves that the writers--who have gone far out of their way to be as much a part of this fandom as they can--are not a bunch of dime a dozen amateurs. It's exactly what ponyvangelist alluded to: they know what kills a story and what doesn't. They do their best with what's handed to them.

I've looked everywhere and can't find a single source which states that Derpy is being taken out of the show. Can someone clarify this?

I try to be of the same mindset. People--especially bronies--are very protective of what they love. But let's not forget that there were a lot of rather frightening rumors floating around before the premier of Season 3; one was confirmed. If Hasbro does indeed become more active in the production for all the wrong reasons, then they--and we--might very well see this fandom start to slowly crack and crumble. I'll say this, at the risk of sounding a bit over-dramatic (possibly depressing): I love the show and the people of the fandom, but I hold no loyalties to vested interests. Hasbro got something completely unexpected and beautiful when this all began, and now they're stepping in, tossing the dice, and making a gamble that might cost them. With that said, if it does decline and Hasbro's involvement proves to be something ill, then I will not stick around to complain and watch the show die. I'd rather leave it with the good memories I have, than leave it feeling completely disappointed.

XD I'd certainly hope it wasn't that simple. But you're right. They have plenty of options within the show to sell princess toys. Not every person will identify with Twilight. It's a slippery slope to be sure. If they overdo this and constantly have Twilight overshadow the others, then they risk leaving a portion of their demographic feeling dejected. But, like I said, I have a good amount of faith in the writers.

Well, it has certainly been a long minutes, but I'm back. (Busy with life in general. Excuse the absence.) I'm going to address the recent revelations categorically. My personal view: Freaking out is not the way to handle any situation unless you suddenly wake up with one less limb than you went to bed with. The writers have pulled off some amazing feats after being handed material by Hasbro. A few of you have mentioned A Canterlot Wedding as an example, and that is certainly true. This episode could be something truly amazing, or it could turn out to be a gigantic flop. The same goes for any episode, but the difference here is that the plot development is rather huge. Honestly, I'm torn but patiently withholding judgment. We don't know exactly what Alicorns are, or even if they all have the same level of power. We don't even know if they're actually immortal--that could have been a spell Celestia and Luna cast on themselves. There's a lot we don't know, but it looks like the writers are willing to expand on the lore. Business: As a business decision by Hasbro, Princess Twilight makes no sense to me. I don't see any reason why little girls would differ from bronies in the sense that they, too, might have their own favorite character(s). By suddenly casting Twilight as a princess, Hasbro is favoring one over the others, and, subsequently, overlooking those in their target demographic that might favor Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. And, finally... To the Burning Fanfic Writers: Ever since the Season 2 finale, I've been feverishly working on a gigantic fanfic, of which I have over 40 documents of notes, outlining materials, and artwork. I'm here to say to those sweating fanfic writers out there: It's okay. If Princess Twilight "ruins" your story, just slap an Alternate-Universe tag on it. It's been done before and to great success. Just continue writing. And that's my two bits.

Favorite: I wanted to say the season opener and closer, but I'm not going to count those. I'm going to say Hurricane Fluttershy. We got to see a rather heavy psychological moment from Fluttershy, and some "character development" from RD. (Though in Dragon Quest, the moment Spike lays on the floor, the light from the window looks like an egg... that was genius, imo.) Least Favorite: Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. The others pretty much went behind RD's back and just screwed with her like a fool. The writing was just terrible.

I'm with the people that wanted an all-inclusive song like At the Gala.

That's what I plan on doing I was interested in what other theories were and also trying to see if I could incorporate some from this thread, as I'm trying to involve the community in the story's development as much as possible.

Unlike me. F-f-f-forever short! But in all honesty, great theories. I feel like I've been brain farting all this time.

oh... god... lmfao

Oh lawd.... Some fanfic has it as Pearis...

Eeyup.

She's in Prance right now. Plenty of love there.