H.P. Lance

Earlier today I got hold of Batbrony for his follow-up interview. Go check him out, he's a great guy! Oh, and also check out his first interview with Brook if you haven't already. Enjoy! 1) Like many bronies, your introduction to the show was one where you found yourself unable to stop watching after seeing the first few episodes. Can you pinpoint the reasons behind your initial interest in the show, or is your infatuation still a mystery to your own mind? As I said with Brook, I think it's largely that I was kinda bored and lonely in D.C. at the time, being one of three students from my school out there, so I was just looking for something new to get into. The next step was coming across Solrac's hilarious dub-overs of songs from the show, along with some other pony vids, and as I watched them, I couldn't help but notice that the animation was pretty darn good - beautiful even - as well as the voice acting, whenever actual clips from the show played in these vids. Since I'm always on the hunt for great new entertainment to get into, those factors, combined with the little I'd begun to hear about bronydom and their glowing reviews of the show, finally convinced me to check it out. The rest is history! 2) Derpy Hooves is your favourite pony outside of the Mane 6. What would you say to those who demand Derpy either be "fixed" or removed from the show entirely? Is this a subject you feel strongly about? I do strongly feel about this subject indeed, and I've thought quite a bit about it. To those who want her entirely removed from the show, I can destroy their argument for her removal in about ten seconds by listing at least a dozen characters (all male) from previous shows who've been far more mentally incompetent than Derpy. The entire controversy from the beginning was overreacting political correctness at its worst. However, concerning "fixing" Derpy, I'm actually a little more lenient. While as a matter of principle I don't really agree with it, as I think it's unnecessary, I mostly just want Derpy to stay in the show, and it's greatly saddened me how little she's shown up in Season 3. I have high hopes that she might both show up in the season finale, and significantly more in Season 4, now that the entire controversy has died down, but we'll just have to wait and see. More than anything, I don't want my favorite derpy-eyed pony who played such a key role in the first two seasons in building bridges between bronies and Studio B to just be left out in the cold. I don't need her to speak, I don't even need her eyes to be derpy; I just want her to come back and show up in some fun cameos like she used to. Miss ya Derpy! 3) You love the passion our fandom has. What do you think about the recent copyright controversies concerning the shutdown of Fighting is Magic, among other fan works? Well first of all, I love the fan works all around; it's one of the foundations of bronydom itself and helps keep it going strong. Some of them are simply among the finest fan work I've ever seen for any fandom, and they only continue to get better and better. As for "Fighting is Magic", I'm sad that it got shutdown. However, unlike a lot of other bronies, I refuse to lose my head over this. Hasbro was perfectly in every right to shut them down; they didn't have the proper permits, and were heavily advertising the game before it was even released, so it was pretty clear that they were looking to make some money off of it in some way, shape, or form despite not having any licenses from Hasbro. At that point, it's not just a fan project anymore, it's an entrepreneurial activity, and a case of piracy at that, so again, Hasbro was completely in the right. In the aftermath of this whole situation, I'm not worried in the slightest that Hasbro is going to crack down on fan projects. They've always encouraged these kinds of activities, and even if they're stepping up their game a little bit, that's probably more a natural result of the awesome amount of fan projects out there, some of which are guaranteed to break even Hasbro's standards, and thus warrant being shutdown, rather than Hasbro deliberately targeting brony fan work. Pretty much every entertainment company out there has done so much more to remove copyright material from the Internet than Hasbro ever has with bronies, so when I see some bronies in this aftermath going so far as to suggest that Hasbro would be the first company ever to remove fan fictions and fan art, I honestly can't help but laugh, it's just that ridiculous of a concept. Just keep calm and brony on everypony! 4) Season 4, 26 episodes. Does this make you bounce around like a sugar-high Pinkie Pie, or are you concerned the quality of the show might wane? Why do you think Hasbro and Studio B have increased the number of episodes again? More like this... So yeah, I'm totally not worried about the quality of the show; I really do think there are a number of explanations for the 13-episode season, all of which might've contributed to the 13 episodes instead of 26 this season. (1) Lauren Faust left the show last season. (2) A significant number of new members joined the Studio B staff. (3) "The Last Round Up" controversy, which came right around the time that Studio B would've been just getting started on working on Season 3. (4) The 65 episode rule, started by Disney, which states that no show may go beyond 2 or 3 seasons, which can be averaged to about 65 episodes. While it's pretty much official policy for Disney, it's more of an unspoken, unofficial rule for other studios as far as I know. These all probably contributed in their own way to the resulting 13 episode season. Lauren Faust's departure and the arrival of many new staff probably meant that there was a lot of reorganizing going on at Studio B right around when they wanted to get going on Season 3. "The Last Round Up" controversy probably further delayed production, as Studio B would've had to reassess what role Derpy could play in episodes for Season 3. Finally, I do believe that at the beginning of production for Season 3, Hasbro wasn't 100% certain that it would continue production of the show, and probably wanted to wait and see what the fanbase's reaction to the new season would be, and if they still had potential for even more fiscal success with a 4th season. All of these in their own way probably resulted in Studio B and Hasbro deciding that Season 3 should be a 13 episode season. Now that they're more certain of MLP's continued staying power, I'm guessing that that's why Hasbro gave the green light and funding for a 26 episode season. It could also, possibly (even though I hope not) be that Season 4 is planned on being the last season of MLP (heaven forbid), although I really hope not, and it really is too early to say. We'll just have to listen to what the producers have to say as production gets underway and Season 4's release date approaches. 5) Imagine this: a mob of axe-wielding nutters are hunting Derpy, and you see she's in trouble. Would you, a man with only a sword and his sense of justice to hand, take on the mob alone so Derpy could escape? Derpy in trouble? Angry mob?!?! Hmmm... Of course, I would try to reason with the mob first, as the great statesman (and one of my favorite historical figures) Abraham Lincoln would've tried, but if that didn't work...watch out haters, Batbrony's coming at ya!!!!!!!! 6) Another riddle coming your way: what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? I hurt people, of course! Mostly certifiably insane clowns clad in purple suits and awful make-up who have a terrible sense of humor, can't make up their minds on what their backstory really is, have an unhealthy penchant for blowing up pretty much whatever they can and just spread chaos in general. But, in my defense, they're not that funny. And that, fillies and gentlecolts, is Batbrony. As you've probably concluded yourself, he is a very intelligent, elaborate and fun brony. It was a pleasure interviewing him.

Your signatures are brilliant! Alright, could you do one for me? Ponies: Twilight on the left, Discord on the right. Background: I'd like the left-hand-side to be bright and cheerful (where Twilight is), and the right-hand-side to be dark and mysterious (where Discord is). Text: Light Is Inspiration Drawn From Dark's Illumination

Hello everyone! Yesterday Lord Bababa kindly took gave up some time to do this interview, following his first with Brook. If you haven't seen that first one yet, I'd advise taking a look before reading this one. Same format as always. Enjoy! 1) Your little sister becoming a fan of MLP FiM was a contributing factor in you deciding to watch the show properly. Do you relish having a family member with whom you can share episodes and fandom jokes? What does your sister think about you enjoying the show? Well, despite the fact that she's been in it longer than I have, I'm kind of more into it and, to literally quote her: "Christian you are one sad, sad, sad individual." I personally think it's great because we actually quote pony things at least once a day and we both have a retarded sense of humor. We love quoting the show and the .MOV videos (among others) and it's just so fun having it fly across people's head without them realizing that we are actually quoting something extremely nerdy. But yeah, she thinks I'm a freak for being so into it. My other siblings think I'm weird too, but she especially is almost disgusted at how into it I suddenly got. I find it funny. 2) The brony community helped you during a seriously tough time in your life. Does everyone have the potential to become a better person if they gave the show and people of the fandom a chance? What would you say to those who refuse any and all help from others? Everyone has the potential to become a better person. Everyone. That being said, giving the show a chance doesn't automatically equal a better person. It might help them realize some things about themselves, but you don't know how many racist, homophobic, power hungry, selfish, or just plain cynical bronies I've met out there that the show and community hasn't affected. For those who don't accept help...that's their own choice, but they are making a mistake. 3) You told Brook that season 3 is the best season yet. How do you feel about Discord's return? Has he truly been reformed? He kind of has, but he still has his naughty side to him. He said he'd use his magic for good "for the most part" so I'm assuming if he does come back then he'll probably do something silly. That being said, I really doubt he'll ever make another appearance. 4) You're in a room with Andrea Libman and you can get her to record one sentence, especially for you, in either Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy's voice. You can then treasure it forever. They're your two favourite ponies; what would the sentence be, and in which pony's voice would it be said? If I could get her to say anything, I would probably get her to read a line from Daring Doo and the Jungle of Terror in Fluttershy's voice. My inner six year old demands it. 5) You particularly enjoy pony artwork. Can you give us a link to one of the best pieces of fan art you've ever seen? What is it about art that you love? What I love about art is that it allows humans to be creative. Art in itself can be anything, and if you're the kind of person who looks at that famous interior semiotics video on youtube and says it's not art then you're a damned philistine. Art doesn't have to be beautiful, or for that matter doesn't even have to be unique. Art is just essentially art. Just because it's art doesn't mean you have to respect it; in fact you can hate it if you want to. The definition of art is as follows: Quote What I find amazing about pony art is just how crazy things can get while still relating back to the show. I'm sure a lot of people have read Fallout Equestria, and the whole thing is just incredible and it relates to the show in such a nifty way. There's also all of the pony fan music that exists, one of my favorites being Tombstone's remix of Discord, which is for the most part top notch. Then you have the visual art and games and yadda yadda yadda, which kind of exist for any fandom but from what I've seen so far with these is they usually have bigger teams working on them than any other fangame. Anyhoo, that being said my personal favorite piece of pony art is this song right here: Why is it my favorite? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I really dig how it sounds, maybe it's because I'm also an anime geek, maybe it's because I'm also a huge gamer. Probably the biggest thing, though, is just how much this song kind of makes me want to kick ass at everything I do. 6) I read the entire Skype conversation between you and Brook, which includes the phrases "gay sex", "I watch you while you sleep" and "CHANG OUT BITCHES" On a scale of Fluttershy to Trixie, how sorry do you feel for me? I don't really know. In a way I want to rate you as a moldy burrito stuffed with PCP, but then I'm not really sure. Lemme interview you for a second to find out here, why is it that someone once told me that he or she really wanted to punch you in the face at your wedding really badly? This promptly turned into Lord Bababa suddenly interviewing me. Strange things were said. Let's leave it at that. Until next time, everyone!

Holy balls, I'm falling behind here. Brook interviews with brutal efficiency! Those who have already been interviewed by Brook, don't fret; I'll contact you about your follow-up interview soon! In the meantime, enjoy the fruits of these interviews we have up here now.

Earlier today I interviewed a staple member of our community: ~Lawful Jordo~. He's a Canadian with a big heart, and doing this follow-up interview was extremely interesting. By the way, if you haven't seen his first interview with Brook, I'd highly recommend checking it out before reading this one. My questions in bold, his answers in italics. Enjoy! 1) Your responses to Brook left us in no doubt that Dash is best pony. But can you pick out a flaw in her character, and to what extent can you personally relate to this flaw? Dash is not without her flaws, and I will be the first to admit that. She can be quite arrogant and narcissistic at times, and a lot of fans hold that against her. It isn't surprising that she acts this way. She most likely needs to self-validate her own actions because of her need to feel special; it is this that drives her to compete in the first place. Honestly, I think everyone can relate to this on some level, whether you would like to admit it or not. One thing that all of us want is validation. Her positives far outweigh her negatives in my opinion. 2) Your dream is to become an animator, a desire that MLP FiM cemented. Is the end product of animation always worth the frustrations you go through in the making process, or are there sometimes low points where a project just doesn't emerge as you wanted? I have to say this to anyone reading who may want to take up animation; it is a lot of work. I mean a LOT of work. Hours and hours of hard labor are put into animation, and I personally believe it is a very thankless position. You can throw upwards to twenty hours of work into about ten seconds of animation. Is the end result worth it? Most of the time, yes. There is no feeling quite like bringing your imagination to life. With animation, you can make quite literally anything you can think of a reality. Just like any artistic career, it doesn't always go according to plan, but if you are a talented animator with a solid work ethic it should turn out just fine. 3) You have a rather dashing photo of yourself somewhere in your awesome profile. Would you feel as comfortable revealing your appearance on other, non-pony forums? Oh, stop it you. :3 <3 To answer your question, yeah. I don't really have a problem with showing my true self on the internet. I usually have an IRL picture of myself on every forum I visit. I have always been comfortable with posting pictures of myself on the forums. 4) You told Brook that eventually "I will look back on my time as a brony and smile." How long do you think it will be before your interest in the show and/or fandom starts to wane? What is the biggest factor encouraging you to stay right now? To be honest, I don't think there is really a way I can accurately answer that question. I have no idea how long my interest with this fandom will hold strong; all I know is that I have been in a lot of fandoms, and that this is by far the one I've become the most invested in. The biggest thing encouraging me to stay isn't so much the show itself - although the show is fantastic - but the fandom. These are some of the coolest people I know. 5) Did The Mysterious Mare Do Well overplay Rainbow's competitiveness, and were you initially annoyed that your favourite pony was portrayed in such a selfish light? Well, not really. I wasn't too upset that she was portrayed somewhat negatively, because it teaches us a valuable lesson. There is a fine line between being competitive and being arrogant/unsportsman like. I have run into a lot of people in competitions who can come off as douchebags; competition can do that to people. Heck, I've acted a little arrogant myself on occasion. Seeing Rainbow Dash like this reminds us that she is still human (well, pegasus. I meant it more figuratively). Her character indeed has flaws and she is not perfect. In the end she learns her lesson, and that is the important thing. 6) You're a martial artist. Could you beat Feld0 in a fight? Haha, I have no idea. I don't know what kind of fighting experience the Feldicorn has. Personally I am trained in Karate, Taekwondo, Kickboxing and a little bit of Krav maga. Is he bringing any weapons to the fight? Where would the fight take place? Conditions are everything. Also, I'd rather not talk smack about Feld0. I am still in his domain as we speak >.> [i told him the fight would be in the throne room of Canterlot Castle, Feld0 would have Pinkie's party cannon and he could have a sword.] Alright...I'm assuming since Feld0 is an alicorn he would be atop the throne; therefore he would have the high ground. From that position he would be far out of the reach of my sword and he would be able to utilize the party cannon to it's fullest. A direct charge would be suicide on my part; the Party cannon has a long range, plus I would be slower moving up stairs. I am not too sure how long it takes to reload the Party cannon (or if it even needs reloading in the first place), so I would need to be very cautious. If he misses me and needs to take a while to reload, It may give me an opening to rush him; although if I rush out of cover and he reloads it before I can get to him I'm toast. I would need to use stealth and hit him from the sides or from behind. If I do manage to close the distance, Feld0 would not be able to compete with my sword and the party cannon effectively becomes useless. In the end I would say Feld0 wins in this scenario about 7 times out of 10. My chances of assassinating Feld0 and taking over the forums are sitting at roughly 30%. 7) Season 4, 26 episodes practically confirmed. ~Lawful Jordo~ says...? Season 4 being confirmed period is the best news I've heard in a while. The fact that it is 26 episodes long is just another reason to get excited! I was a little worried with Season 3's length that they were planning on canceling the show, but this puts my worries to rest. And there you have it. What a guy! You've got to love the exhaustive tactical thought he put into his imaginary duel with Feld0. Let's just hope Jordo doesn't suddenly get mysteriously banned... Until next time, everyone!

Today I interviewed a member who is a recent addition to our forum: Prismatic. It was refreshing to get viewpoints from somepony who hasn't been around for absolutely years. Oh, and if you haven't seen Prismatic's first interview with Brook, then I'd highly recommend checking it out before reading this one. My questions in bold, Prismatic's answers in italics. Enjoy! 1) You discovered the show near the end of season 1, and promptly watched every other episode available at that time. How disappointed were you when you had to wait for more, and what attitude do you employ nowadays during the long wait between seasons? I was honestly not bothered by the wait between seasons 1 and 2. I've got plenty of things to do and mess around with (MMOs, video games, computer repairs and all that stuff) to the point where I don't have a fixation on waiting for the new season or new episodes. Hilarious as it looks, I only moderated another brony community from S2E24 to 6 days after S3E2, so I could probably vouch that I was extremely busy at that time and new episodes were the last thing on my mind. For between Season 3 and Season 4, I'll probably just do other things; I always have my work cut out for me somewhere. 2) You have been to a brony convention before. Did your initial expectations of other bronys' appearances and personalities match the reality when you arrived? What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most at the convention itself was someone cosplaying as Miles Prower. I found that hilarious. The other thing I remember well (I think the photographer has it on his dA and website) is that an elderly gentlemen cosplayed as Starswirl the Bearded very well. Overall the personalities and other things matched what I had anticipated for that convention, notably because Brony Fan Fair was as it was labeled; a strictly fan based convention (i.e. no VAs or supporting show staff). I think what probably left a rather odd aftertaste from the convention is that I tend to think of the community as three totally different worlds: Internet (different websites have different folks; I've not seen a single pony here I recognize elsewhere), local bronies and conventions. 3) You told Brook that Trixie is a favourite pony of yours - to what extent do you think she was justified in turning her loneliness into anger to terrorise Ponyville in Magic Duel? Can you sympathise/empathise with her at all? Yes, she was very justified. There are many sites I've played on where a user was exiled for something they did, although maybe not maliciously, to the point where they're stranded from those who they hung around with. I'm not the kind to get angry when I'm lonely but I'm sure there are many others that'll rage over a period of time. As for her appearance in Magic Duel, I somewhat felt what she was going through but I thought that her anger against Twilight specifically didn't match her Season 1 character; hence the Alicorn Amulet being used to show that Trixie was rather desparate to show off, becoming corrupted. 4) You also told Brook that there are "no such things as good or bad ideas...just horrible execution." Pony-related or not, what's the best thing you've ever personally executed? Are you generally proud of your achievements? Now you're making it sound like I'm a coldblooder terminator. I never had any real big roles in various sites, except just one in the brony fandom, so my response is rather limited. I think the one thing that I felt went 'well' was when I stayed up from midnight to about 10:00 AM trying to deal with a rather big issue going on at the time, in which I assumed users would expect me to break down over time. I also did a lot of odd work like scanning images and eventually rewriting rules and other things on the backend. 5) You seem to be enjoying the forum, despite not having been around for long. Is it important for you to establish yourself as a member, or are you happy to sit back and enjoy other members' ideas and creative works? Eh...I like to be known but not popular. I know there are about many different levels of entrenchment and I do feel the want to be out there, but at the same time I have about five members from another brony website continually monitoring my activity on their site. Let's just say though that it's probably better to remain in the shadows for a bit longer; I don't really come up with good ideas (it's a running joke that I'm not charismatic). 6) Three words or less: Spike At Your Service was...? Exceptionally awkward. Well, there you have it. I'd like to enforce again that it was very interesting to get opinions and some personal insight from a relatively new member. Until next time, everyone!

Haha, brilliant last question! I've got to honest, I'm going to have to disagree with Parsleyshy here...I just about prefer T. But I understand why you chose A...they're both very appealing, after all.

Well, we have the brilliant member Flipturn back for a second round! I fired some more questions his way and he responded just as eloquently as last time. If you haven't seen Flipturn's first interview with Brook, I'd strongly recommend checking it out before reading this one. Enjoy! 1) You're known as a Pinkie Pie fanatic, and you told Brook that you turn to her bouncy character for inspiration in your own life. But do you ever experience Pinkamena days, and did Party of One have a particularly profound impact on you? That's a brilliant question - and the answer is yes, sometimes bundles of optimism won't always prevent a terrible day from happening. Ever since I've discovered and devoted myself to Pinkie Pie, they have been considerably less in occurrence, and actually even less so when I watched Party Of One. Party Of One is proof that even those who swim in happiness and enthusiasm will work themselves into a state, and seeing Pinkie break down twisted my heart into impossible knots of emotion; because it's the last thing you'd have expected from her nothing-but-smiles self, and as a matter of fact from My Little Pony as a show. But the fact that she returned to her bright old self after being apparently beyond any help has always told me "Feeling down? All hope isn't lost, buddy." The impact was definitely full-on. That particular ethic introduced by Party Of One is probably the most important lesson of all, for me - that there will always be bad days, but who's to say they don't come from wrong impressions unless you see it for yourself? On a note not related to Pinkamena days, I love how Party Of One completely destroyed the stereotype of Pinkie Pie being nothing more than one-dimensional comic relief, and that there was much more to her than parties and singing. Certainly cemented her status as my favourite pony. 2) Your interview with Brook left us in no doubt that this community is like a second home to you. What is the single, most important, mutual factor/emotion that drives bronies to rally in such hospitable strength, and to what extent do you try to incorporate this factor into your own interactions with bronies? For me, I always viewed Bronies as a whole to be the collective realisation that there's no reason not to apply pure, well-meaning morals to real life situations. It's part opportunism as well - My Little Pony, being a young girls' show, is obviously going to garner attention if you have grown men appreciating it as opposed to the morals coming from self-created philosophies of which 98% gather about ten people then falter within two days. I'm impossibly glad that the chance to make an impact has been seized so well. On very many other communities, you'll get a lot of cynicism or the need to be "in" to make your mark. With Bronies, it's completely different - no matter who you are, people will recognise you for what you do well, and what makes you well as a person, and shake you warmly by the hand hoof. This is the most important factor of the fandom for me - the knowledge that in the end, nothing beats total happiness and acceptance. Not only can I fully and voluntarily incorporate optimism and acceptance of others into my interactions with Bronies, but also to general life situations. It makes me step back, take a look at everything we've done, and think "We really are something, aren't we." It also makes me just endlessly thankful to Bronies, this community especially, and the show that Hasbro has given us. 3) Corey Powell is whipping up a storm after a powerfully touching debut episode and a solid follow-up. You're loving season 3 so far - do you think Powell could remain consistent enough to surpass even Larson's block of hugely satisfying episodes, and are either of Powell's episodes now a favourite of yours? With my eyes on the word "could" it's a definite yes - Corey Powell evidently has some brilliant talent. Sleepless in Ponyville was smack on the nose to get her name heard despite being newly hired; every character in that episode was written beautifully. I think Corey Powell's main strength is how she picks up and cements ideas that had always been partly present. For instance, in Sleepless, three things we had been yearning for were a Scootaloo episode, more Luna, and more Scootalove - she came in and immediately ticked all three. Bam, brilliant stuff. It lived up to the standard of S3, with a great moral and concept along with a classic cartoon's atmosphere. Of the two episodes Corey's given us, however, none of them are my favourite. They are wonderful episodes, there's no doubt in my mind, but not being too wild about Scootalove or a great Spike episode means my appreciation for them can never be as fervent as those who've waited their entire Brony life for it. I'm definitely looking forward to more episodes from her 4) Imagine you're living the dream in Equestria with Pinkie Pie, but after just a week you suddenly find that if you don't go home immediately, the portal to poor old planet earth will close permanently. Pinkie is obviously your best friend by now; you can stay in Equestria forever, or go back to your old life. What do you do, and why? Talk about tough... talk about an extremely tough question! It can go beyond text alone at this point just how much Pinkie Pie means to me. Eighty per cent of the day, she's in my thoughts. If I could truly express exactly how much I love her, I'd probably dislodge Earth from its rotational axis. That being said, here on Earth I have a family that I've known for as long as I can remember, and to forever leave them for the love of my life would be a new level of difficult. Even though being in Equestria and being with Pinkie Pie would be the most blissful fantasy, I would still feel as if I betrayed the people that raised me into who I am - and no matter what, I'd be thinking about how they'd never see me again. I wouldn't be able to enjoy life in Equestria nearly as much as the idea of Equestria offers such wild ideals. If I could leave an exact copy of me behind to live my life for me, I would stay in Equestria with my darling Pinkie without a doubt in my mind. I wouldn't just be over the moon, I'd be over the restaurant at the end of the galaxy. Imagine waking up every single coming day to nothing but fun and the full-on spirit of Pinkie, knowing that there'd be no guilt left back in the real world... and now that I snap back from that Edenic image, I will now go and create a virtual reality Equestria. 5) You're British, just like me (RoidRage: "YEAHHH!"). What is the absolute best thing about living on our little island, and do you think British bronies tend to have a greater or lesser discretion in revealing that they are a brony relative to the rest of the world? Well, I was born and raised in the UK, so I've learned it to be my home - I love how in comparison to other nations we're pretty tightly-packed, able to share a laugh or a frustration collectively when something appears in the media. Even more so online, because you get much more US people than UK. I can compare that sort of wide-area community with us Bronies as a community, in fact. British Bronies obviously face an immediate issue in that conventions aren't everywhere in the country like the US, and it's generally something you wouldn't hear about. 90% of people at school hadn't even heard of the word "Brony". So revealing your dedication to the fandom is very risky to a country unfamiliar with it, but then again there's the inclination to make the benefits and qualities of the fandom more known to people. Actually, with the idea that Bronies are rarer here than in other countries, it's when you DO find a fellow Brony that the occasion is all the sweeter, like two complete strangers washing up on the same desert island. And as conventions are practically becoming whackamoles over in the US, the occasions don't become as special. With the UK though, conventions don't go as far as B.U.C.K or the Nottingham convention, so when British Bronies do have the chance to go to those, it's impossibly more spirited because you know you're not alone on the little British Isles. 6) Derpy is to muffins as Flipturn is to...? But Tango Cherry, of course. Well, that's that. Flipturn is as dedicated and pleasant a brony you could ever wish to meet. Go friend him or something. Now.

Welcome to the homeworld of second round interviews! Please read the information below before going on to the interviews. Links to specific interviews: Before I say anything else, most of you have probably already seen Brook's interview series already. If you haven't, what in Celestia's name are you doing? Get your flank over there right now and nab a spot on that waiting list. After seeing the recent surge in interview opportunities, it occurred to me that most interviews with members on this site are becoming somewhat linear and predictable. Most of the time the questions are somewhere along the lines of "When did you first become a brony?" and "What is the best part about MLP Forums?" A generic sort of pattern is emerging. I shared these concerns with Brook, who agreed with me; he said himself that doing interviews was starting to feel like he was just asking for "résumés". So I proposed a Follow-up Interview Series, in which members who have already been interviewed by Brook would be called back for a second round by me. The difference? This time, my questions build on the answers given in the first interview. After finishing with Brook then we know a selection of facts, certain opinions and other essential fundamentals about that member. Then I read the interview and carefully tailor more personal and specific questions based on what the member told Brook. Brook promptly agreed to this concept. Therefore, if you have been interviewed by Brook, you can expect to hear from me sometime in the near future. I hope that this project will provide even more insight into our members' lives both inside and outside of Ponydom, discovering what really floats their boat and learning about their thought processes. Take a look at our humble members' interviews via the links in the spoiler at the top! You cannot request an interview here. You must be interviewed by Brook first, whose request thread resides here. After you have been interviewed once, you don't need to do anything else: I will get in touch with you. I will ask that if you have already been interviewed by Brook then please post below telling me this is the case, lest I accidentally miss you out when going through Brook's list. Thank you.

What a response you're getting! Yup, I'd like to be interviewed too, if it's not too much bother. I'm more of an aspiring writer than anything else, so it'd good practice for my communication and people skills anyway! Well, I'm ready whenever you are.

@@Wingnut, This was your first visit? I'm a little surprised, but maybe that's just because I spend too much time in there. As for the potential (un)suitability of your piece of writing in the thread I gave, it's true that most people submit their latest fanfic chapter for scrutiny by either myself, Kolth or the humble creator of the thread itself, Sky Warden. However, I hold no weight in what is considered "off-topic"; Sky Warden runs the place and is the one who tries to organise everyone's requests in a comprehensible fashion. Admittedly things can get a bit confusing, especially when there are a lot of requests at once, but there's little we can do about it. That said, Sky Warden is an extremely polite, thorough and helpful guy. He has kindly offered to give me advice as and when I request it with regard to the fanfic I am currently writing, along with brilliant co-author Kolth and my editor and proof-reader. Part of his thread's title is "Want some writing tips?" Nowhere does it mention that submissions should be limited to fanfictions, and in his opening post Sky Warden actually says "...ask any questions about writing..." You want a review of your writing technique and style, and I believe he will give you exactly that. If you're still unsure, then I know he won't mind if you PM him personally about it; I'm confident in saying he'll be more than happy to help. Just tell him that I sent you. You're welcome for the analysis. I understand what you're saying about using "we". I know it's difficult to scribe your opinions in emotionless text without sounding like you're a bit of a narcissist...getting to know the right dosage of your personal input will come with practice, as will doing so with subtlety. If your writing is naturally appeasing and your arguments flow seamlessly, you can give controlled amounts of opinion and the reader may find themselves automatically feeling inclined to lean in your favour. Yes, in general it's advisable to put your short, snappy humour point as close to the end as possible without it actually being the last argument you make. You should save the best until last! I would strongly recommend using italics when quoting the name of a show, book, episode title or indeed any other work. Quoting is for...well, quotations. What people actually say should be put in quotation marks. The only other time you should really be using quotation marks is when you want to put emphasis on a particular word or phrase, often one which someone else has already said anyway. This should only be done in narrative writing and is usually implemented to serve as sarcasm and/or mocking, or sometimes used when a word gives a colloquial/simpler/crudely more literal description of something that is actually much more complicated than that word would suggest. Putting emphasis on words in speech should be done by writing them in italics, even when implying sarcasm (unless they're quoting somebody word for word, in which case the quotation should be put in single quotes sandwiched inside the double quotes of the original speaker). Which thread is "this thread" that died after you posted? Did the 5000 character total you were approaching include your actual work in the character count? And regardless, no one should be "offended" by the length of your post. In fact the longer your post, the more you can feel assured that anyone who responds is truly trying to give you the best advice possible. After all, they took the time to read it all! Don't worry about the lengths of posts.

Well, you certainly left me in no doubt with regard to how much you love Fluttershy. You gave compelling arguements and didn't fall into the trap of making a list comprising twenty million points or so. It was just about concise enough so that the reader should actually take in what you're saying, instead of reading the words but not actually learning from them. Still, I wouldn't go as far as your friends' praises; I think "expertly" is the wrong adverb to describe the way in which you wrote this. Before I go any further, have you seen this thread before? You're more likely to get a better response if you paste your request in there, simply because everyone who posts advice and reviews within it - including myself - are experienced, consistent, and usually active on this site. You should be able to get some more critique over there, but of course it's up to you. Now, the essay itself: speaking purely in strict grammatical terms, for the most part your writing is of sound grammar and you clearly understand which idiomatic phrases are acceptable to use when considering the tone in which this piece is intended. It's obvious that you did not want this to be overly formal, and you kept the style of writing consistent. One thing I will point out, however, is a slight inconsistency in your list-making. The introduction to every point you make (the sentences written in bold) are full sentences...except for point 2. All of the other introduction points make a clear statement, but point 2's intro contains no verb and you simply state an entity. Given the title of this essay, then it is admittely very obvious that you're going to subsequently compliment it, but this small niggle just pulls away from your consistency (and therefore to some extent from your professionalism) somewhat. This is the sort of thing I meant when I said that I don't judge this as being "expertly" done. Oh, one other thing I noticed: in point 4, you say, "...she can be impeded by and, on occasion, paralyzed by fear of..." That word "by" which I've put in bold shouldn't be there. Again, this is a strict grammatical rule. Since both of the passive forms of the verbs you use are followed by the same preposition, there is no need to use "by" after the first verb...even with the "on occasion" part separating them. It's completely obvious what you're saying, but needlessly writing the preposition twice is generally considered bad practice. Now, just a couple of more opinionated points which I think would get the reader on your side to a greater extent. 1) Organisation of points: A compliment, first of all: I think you made the right choice with putting the subject of point number 1 first. That Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness is an undisputable fact, one which is constantly referenced by the show itself. This is always a good starting point. However, point number 3 has been misplaced, in my opinion. Point 3 is the opposite of point 1, a statement born of pure opinion. The worst thing you can do with these kind of points is put them first - which you didn't do - but then the next worst choice is thwacking them right in the middle of your argument, which you did do. It disrupts the flow to an uncomfortable extent and dissuades people from listening to anything else you have to say. Regardless of the length of the list you're making, this sort of point made for a touch of light-heartedness should almost always go in the penultimate position, right before your final point (which should one of your best points, I might add). 2) Being an active narrator: The title of this essay is "5 things I love Fluttershy." The build-up to your list of points is very much about you talking directly to the reader. It's not really about Fluttershy yet, but the point is that you're setting the scene. You use the pronouns "I" and "you" in this build-up, which is absolutely fine. The way you banter with the reader is good. But then in your actual list of points, you seem to deliberately degrade this and constantly use the pronoun "we" instead. It's fine to do this every now and again, but making it your only option of interaction with the reader makes it sound as though you're presuming things about them and trying to drag them into an opinion which they might not necessarily agree with, even after taking heed of your arguments. This often causes their respect for you to subconsciously diminish, meaning that they're less likely to agree with you and they might actually then try to actively pick out flaws in your reasoning to assure themselves that they're right. It's rude, but we're all guilty of it, so you need to minimise the chance of that happening. By "being an active narrator", I mean you should continue to do more of what you did in the build-up and give your personal opinions more often. You list reams of endearing qualities about Fluttershy (and you list them well), but you never back that up with an opinion as to why it was a personally important quality to point out in the first place. Like I said before, your title is "5 things I love about Fluttershy." It's your feelings that you're conveying here; make them stand out! Just don't force them onto the reader. Phew...that's about it. This might look like an all out attack on your writing technique, but they're just a few small points which, in the long run, often make the difference. You did a good job here. The only way to get better is through practice, so if writing is something you're interested in, then make sure to do it often. And the thread to which I linked is always on hand to help, too. Good luck!

Alright guys, apologies but I can't take on any more offers unless you'll be the kind person who would be willing to do the cover art. I'm getting snowed under and it'll get too difficult to choose if anyone else offers to help out. Not to mention that I really don't like to disappoint other people. Sorry!

Whoa...I wasn't expecting this response. Thank you to everyone who's replied, it means a lot! Well, now I've just got to get around to PMing you all, so I'm sorry if my replies end up being sluggish. A couple of positions have been offered by 2 people as well, so aplogies in advance if I choose someone else over you. Only thing we're lacking now is the artist...

I'm sorry about that guys, there was something wrong with the link. Should be fixed now. Aha, thanks for reminding me! No, the rating will be Teen, so no excessive language, gruesome violence and only mild, suggested shipping involved. I totally forgot to say that. <_< And yes SCS, I'll PM you now.

EDITOR POSITION OPEN. PLEASE READ MY LATEST POST. Hey everyone. Just as the title says, I'm looking to get a group of people together to help make my newest adventure fanfic something special. Specifically, it'd be great if you could help by acting as one of the following roles: Co-author Editor Proof-reader Artist Before anything else, if you'd like to see what you're getting yourself into then the final draft of the prologue is complete, and can be viewed by following the link below: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11J3xW1CrRFEKzBbTdGTW8XBtdujSYJyUUJHupHP3SY8/edit The entire story's plot is too long to be placed here without it assualting your eyes, but rest assured the Mane 6 are heavily involved and Discord, Celestia and Luna will be making regular appearances, along with some other canon characters. The story will be fairly lengthy. An outline of each role is explained below. Co-author: You'll be right in on the action with me, discussing plot points and suggesting changes which could alter the entire storyline. We'll talk about chapter names as and when they are completed, and also the name for the actual story, which is as of yet undecided. If you like you could even write chapters whenever you're in the mood (just make sure to ask me first so you know what's going on!). You'll need a fair bit of time and dedication on your hands, but it will be your story as well as mine. Editor: You'll need to at least follow the plot and ensure aspects such as character development and general speed of the story are up to standard. You can suggest more minor changes (probably chapter-specific) if you like. You will of course be credited as such. Thank you! Proof-reader: No knowledge of the actual story is required here; it'd just be helpful to have someone to check all spelling and grammar is correct. Of course, if you do find the story interesting then I'd love to hear feedback on that too. Many thanks if you go for this role, I know it's not the most inspiring! Artist: A one-off job. Seeing as I can't draw for chocolate-covered candy, it'd be great if someone could create the cover art for this story. What that art will actually depict I'm not yet sure, but we will of course chat about it over PMs. Interested in one of these? Leave a reply down below and I'll PM you ASAP. The roles aren't filled until there is a name next to the corresponding job shown below, so if someone has already asked then you can still leave a reply and I'll get back to you as well. Thanks again! Co-author: Kolth Editor: - Proof-reader: SCS Artist: Tylerdavasel

Well if it's the lyrics troubling you then I think I could be able to help! Words, whether in prose or in a poetic style, are my speciality. As a pleasant coincidence I've actually been thinking about the subject myself recently, so I already have a couple of ideas about this. I wish I could help with the music too, but I've never really done enough theory to get the hang of it. Still, feel free to PM me if you'd like to take me up on my offer of assistance with lyrics. Good luck!

FIGHT BAG >PONIES HOOF IT Send out which pony? RARITY >CLOCKWISE GEAR FLUTTERSHY PINKIE PIE DERPY HOOVES FELD0 Go, CLOCKWISE GEAR! CLOCKWISE GEAR used JOIN MLP FORUMS! It's super effective! Nah, but seriously, welcome. Here's your complimentary song of welco- ...Hang on. GODDAMN IT STURDY WING, KARMA'S A BITCH.

Well, a very warm welcome, Lionheart! Don't worry, you can fire off a PM to near enough anypony on this site and you'll most likely find that they'll be happy to help you, even if you've never spoken to them before. Oh, and Pinkie Pie's happy you're here too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix7vrluEm4E Yeah. (Zygen usually posts this video, but don't say anything, alright?)

1) Give me any kind of pasta with a decent sauce and it'll go down quicker than Pinkie Pie swallowing a tasty cake in one go. 2) Chocolate. Seriously, if I see any chocolate I'll have a hard time resisting the urge to put it in my mouth and just let it melt to prolong the goodness. Especially if it's dark chocolate - I'll chow down quicker than Pinkie Pie nomming on anything with a 90% sugar content. 3) Despite the fact that half the time I can't finish the things, pizzas are a vice that I only let myself have rarely. But when I do (ahem), it's with lots and lots of cheese and lots and lots of chicken and bacon as extra toppings. They'll be eaten more quickly than Pinkie Pie devouring...er... Alright, I can't think of a good third analogy with Pinkie, so instead here's a video of her that sums up my experience of eating these three foods. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su2x_f_LlFc OMNOMNOMNOMNOM

Hi there, always good to see another new face around here. The welcome song has already been posted, so I'll just have to compensate by writing my own greeting with real subtlety. WELCOME!!!