Otaku-sempai

Maybe Twilight was not such a good leader. Opaline was such a shallow, one-dimension villain that, had she shown up in Friendship is Magic, she wouldn't have been worth a 2-part story. And yet she was supposed to be such a serious threat that she ended Twilight's reign? Really?

I'll note that even if IDW does lose the MLP license, another publisher might pick it up immediately. Skybound is publishing Transformers comics. Power Rangers is at BOOM! Studios. Image has the license for G.I. Joe. Even one of the big boys (DC or Marvel) could take an interest.

This can't be a good sign. From Bleeding Cool: IDW – Losing American Girl and My Little Pony Licences? My Little Pony comic titles from IDW are suddenly double sized and priced higher, suggesting a rushed series conclusion. Speculations arise about IDW’s overall licensing issues in the competitive young girl comic market. ...[It] also looks like IDW might have lost their final Hasbro license in My Little Pony, from recent solicits and solicitations. My Little Pony: The Storm of Zephyr Heights #1, out in September, the only MLP title for that month, was a standard-size comic priced $3.99. But My Little Pony: The Storm of Zephyr Heights #2 and #3 for October and November are double-sized for $6.99, with multiple and changing pencillers, suggesting that IDW is trying to finish the series and get it out of the door before the end of the year. As well as publishing oversized My Little Pony: Classics Reimagined – The Odyssey, and My Little Pony: Best of Discord in October and My Little Pony: Best of Princess and My Little Pony: Kenbucky Roller Derby in November. What's going on here? The young girl market for comic books has been booming of late. Is IDW having difficulty keeping the licenses to access it? Does this mean Skybound will get My Little Pony too and it may enter the Energon Universe? Or is it more that Hasbro is bringing the current My Little Pony TV series to an end? The other thing is that some folk reported as fact that IDW was losing the Star Trek license this year, only for Paramount to re-up the deal and IDW to announce a big Star Trek comic book event for 2025. So let's see how things go, shall we? IDW representatives did not reply to email inquiries made over the weekend.

From Equestria Daily: "A marketing company called Panaderia has uploaded a video all about the My Little Pony brand as a whole, with callbacks to older generations, showcases of merchandise, and various successes of the last few years. They top this off with a very interesting pair of slides looking toward the future in 2025."

That's probably wise until this can be either confirmed or debunked.

I've wondered if Skyros is only connected to Equestria's world by a portal. It might dwell on another plane of existence, maybe in a pocket dimension or a parallel timeline. On the other hoof, maybe Skyros is a floating city hidden from the rest of the world like Hayao Miyazaki's Laputa.

Previews World has the solicitation listing for My Little Pony: Best of Celestia #1 (one-shot): MLP BEST OF PRINCESS CELESTIA ONESHOT #1 IDW SEP241267 (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Brenda Hickey Peek behind the rainbow mane of Princess Celestia to discover the greatest hits of Equestria's favorite princess! Fly your way through tales of sisterly love, magical schools, and even the mighty princess disguising herself as a commoner! With all her kindness, there's a reason Princess Celestia remains the shining ruler of the land! Collecting My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #17 and #65, My Little Pony Micro-Series #8, and My Little Pony: Friends Forever #38. In Shops: Dec 04, 2024 SRP: $7.99

Previews World has the solicitation listing for the My Little Pony: Kenbucky Roller Derby trade paperback: MLP KENBUCKY ROLLER DERBY TP IDW SEP241270 (W) Casey Gilly, Amy Chase (A) Natalie Haines, Kate Sherron Lace up your skates, everypony, we're heading to the Kenbucky Roller Derby! After getting rejected from the local roller derby team, Sunny sets out to form her own team. Thanks to self-appointed team manager Pipp and her ClipTrot sleuthing skills, they find the perfect pony to join them: Tracy Tailspin, retired derby legend! But they'll need more skaters if they want to win the Kenbucky Derby, the toughest championship in Equestria. Sunny holds tryouts for all the other creatures who are either too mean, too scary, too uncoordinated, or... the Pegasnails, who are all heart but no limbs. Can the newly formed Maretime Bay Brawlers battle their way through the competition to take home the trophy? Or has Sunny just signed her friends up for rink rash and disappointment? In Shops: Nov 20, 2024 SRP: $17.99

Equestria Daily has a one-page preview for Maretime Mysteries #4:

Equestria Daily has an advance look at My Little Pony: The Storm of Zephyr Heights issue #3. Artist: Kate Sherron, Andy Price Writer: Jeremy Whitley Synopsis: As Equestria's catastrophic weather tears apart the kingdom, Princess Zipp and her Mane 6 discover the source of the chaos...and meet a favorite Friendship Is Magic pony?! Princesses Zipp and Pipp must work together to quell the dangers of Cloudsdale as Izzy and Hitch take flight in the Zeppelin, set on protecting their kingdom and their friends. In this climactic end of the Zephyr Heights saga, secrets of the past are revealed, friendships are strengthened, and a new leader finds their way to power! A must-read for Pony fans! Cover Artist: Justasuta: Cover Artist Casey Coller: EDIT (08/23/24): In Shops: Nov 20, 2024; SRP: $6.99

Advancing the Skyros plot might be a good idea. With our luck it will be another stand-alone story.

Well, the Crystal Empire was not the focus of the sourcebook. Neither is castle life in Canterlot. It's about going out and adventuring! I do wish that they'd included stats on Bat ponies, including making them playable. But I still have my homebrew. BAT PONY Accustomed to the harsh winds of the Trotsylvanian Alps, Bat Ponies are strong flyers--though not always as agile as Pegasi--with bat-like wings, tufted ears and cat-like eyes with slit pupils that allow them to see very well at night. They typically have gray coats, black wings and dark-colored manes and tails, though other coat and mane colors do occur. It's true that Bat Ponies have fangs, mostly used for sucking the juice out of fruits--a favorite being mangoes. Bat Ponies dwell in a chain of mountains located east of Equestria, and might be related to Pegasi (though most Bat Ponies themselves dispute this). Bat Ponies make up the Night Guard of Princess Luna. Bat Ponies are nocturnal by nature. Their unusual appearance and nocturnal habits, combined with a reputation for fierceness, have given rise to the rumor that Bat Ponies are vampires; however, this is just a tall tale spread by superstitious ponies. Other names: Cavalum; Noctral(s); Sarosian(s); Thestral(s). EXAMPLE BAT PONIES • The Night Guard: Princess Luna employs Bat Ponies as her personal guard. They can often be seen pulling her carriage. • Flutterbat: Fluttershy was once accidentally transformed by Twilight Sparkle into a form closely resembling a Bat Pony. ORIGIN BONUSES Essence Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Speed, or the Essence tied to an Influence Skill, by 1. Starting Health: You begin play with 2 Health. Movement: Your base movements depend on how often you use your wings and your legs. See Air Born, below. ORIGIN PERKS Acute Sense (Hearing): Your hearing is much stronger than that of the average pony. • You gain Edge on Alertness Skill Tests where your hearing can be applied. • You gain an upshift of 1 on non-Alertness Skill Tests where your hearing can be applied. Air Born: You were born with wings but without the strength to use them. How fast you fly depends on how well you took to it, and how much your training paid off. Choose one of the following as your starting Movement: • 15ft ground and 45ft aerial • 30ft ground and 30ft aerial • 45ft ground and 15ft aerial. Lighter Than Air: Aerial acrobatics are in your hollow bones. You get an upshift of 1 on Acrobatics Skill Tests. Unlike Pegasus ponies, you cannot land on clouds or walk around Pegasus sky cities. Night Eyes: Darkness does not affect you like it does other ponies. You can see in darkness as well as in light. Cutie Mark Perk: Pick a Skill, Specialization or abstract area you are especially talented with (see pages 30–31) as guided by your GM. You get an upshift of 1 shift on any action that area might apply to. ALTERNATE ORIGIN PERK Echolocation (replaces Night Eyes): You have the ability to use sound to navigate in your environment. You does not need to be able to use your eyes to see their environment, and you are immune to the Blinded condition.

I was able to download the Knights of Canterlot PDF earlier this evening and I just finished giving it a look. I highly recommend it if you want to give your MLP game more of a high-fantasy flair or just let your ponies play a game of Ogres & Oubliettes. Sorry, but if you want to add Bat ponies, you are still limited to using a homebrew for them. And, no, there's no new stuff about the Crystal Empire.

Discord had a cameo as a balloon animal, but we have to guess that he was occupied in another dimension or something. Maybe he was busy harassing Captain Picard as Q.