LunaEclipse

This is true, I agree. It's been said that a truly modest person would never say, "I'm modest", while a person who prides themselves on how modest they are, are simply stating a paradox. And yes, we all also know the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." No need to excessively reiterate the motto if you just make like Nike and do it. Of course, I don't think "Love and Tolerate", would mean treating a hater with ridiculous kindness. I'm not sure I couldn't do that myself. But I think what's meant is to have a sort of neutral attitude towards them. As long as we don't stoop down to an ignorant hater's level, then they're the ones who are going to look bad. As far as what I think of the post, I see what you mean. I agree, I notice many bronies out there who are being way too overzealous about the motto to the point where they aren't even representing it anymore. Personally, I try to not preach and flaunt it and instead, just follow it. Deal with the haters in a mature, classy manner, and keep an open mind towards others. I've heard that the brony community is a respectable one. I've heard that we have a lot of talent and a lot to offer while accepting much of the garbage thrown at us, so everyone should try their best to keep it like that. There's always going to be problems and mistakes and flat-out weird stuff, but the best everyone can do is try their best. Nice lecture and post. It was a good read.

Ahhh, I heavily agree with this too. I'm glad there was a thread made to acknowledge the change in Twilight's personality because I too, miss her sarcastic, innocent-cute-bookwormy, and (since it IS the best word that describes everything about Twilight) adorkable self. I miss iiiiit!! I've always reserved a high place in my mind for Twilight, and these changes to her personality have discouraged me a little. But I feel like they may have put some of Twilight's distinctive traits on hiatus because they wanted to make the transition of "Oh, Twilight's now an alicorn princess, so she should seem to have a more mature vibe to her." However, if this was the case (not saying it is) then that's silly. Luna is a ruling princess of Equestria, and we all saw how adorable and silly she was in Luna Eclipsed. So by altering Twilight's personality to seem like she is more of a princess would seem unnecessary to me. Hopefully, in the upcoming season 4, we'll see princess Twilight revert back to her awkward ways. This is what I'm wishing for. Season 3 Twilight just isn't the same, and isn't the Twilight we all fell in love with. Yeah, I miss this Twilight:

Haha, don't worry about it, you're right. I mean, nomenclature exists for a reason right? I was never known to have literary finesse, but I can understand how it can irk someone a bit. I didn't mean anything by my lack of diction, so I guess I can rephrase myself: Iron Will ain't such a bad guy.

Yeah, I agree. I probably am twisting what antagonist means, but it's just the way I think of it. I take antagonism to make active oppositions to the protagonists in the setting. Under an actual definition of an antagonist, then yeah, Iron Will is one. But this is just how I choose to interpret an antagonist. I know what you're saying, and I understand the common misconception of antagonism = evil. EDIT: Also, the bolded sentences you addressed in the other post were meant to emphasize the passiveness of Iron Will's opposition, which just simply didn't give me the feeling that other antagonists would. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Iron Will didn't seek out Fluttershy and force her to attend his seminar because he represents everything opposite of Fluttershy's existence.

I feel like this is a bit of a semantic argument. It really just depends on how harshly you interpret the definition of 'antagonist'. It's true that Iron Will does oppose what our pony protagonists stand for, but it IS just for a business. He does what he does for everypony; not just the protagonists of the show. The Minotaur's just trying to make a living, you know? Iron Will was understanding at the end of the show anyway. Fluttershy was assertive, and he had nothing to retaliate with. Iron Will isn't truly evil or anything like a typical antagonist would be, so I feel like he was just used to create a plot where Fluttershy is actually her own antagonist. He's actually rather polite and well-mannered. Did you see how nicely he knocked on Fluttershy's door after throwing Pinkie Pie into the mud?? Hopefully I'm not succumbing to biased statements...I really enjoyed Iron Will as a character and found his comic relief, well...kinda funny. One of the more refreshing characters next to Discord, in my opinion. I feel like he really was just a businessman trying to make money and not a true antagonist.

I have to admit that MLP also has had an influence on my outlook in life. I try to take the lessons implemented in the show and use it to direct my behavior in society as well. As our beloved ponies learn life lessons, we may not be aware that we are learning too. It's an adorable and upbeat show most of the time, so it makes sense that being a fan and simply watching the show can lift dampened spirits and lives. The effect of MLP would certainly differ from person to person, so depending on how avid of a fan you might be, the show can definitely change your life. I'm sure many people are aware of all the fan-art and fan-music out there for MLP. And all of the separate projects too (which were shut down by Hasbro...Guhhhh.) Being a fan motivates people to mesh their talents with their interests. Hell, I would have never improvised a template for origami ponies if I didn't have something like MLP to drive origami towards. I want to believe that it's just the delightful-ness of the show that can snap people out of bad habits, or promote good ones. When we watch this cartoon, we are taken to Equestria, a wonderful, harmonious place under the watchful eyes of two of the coolest princesses ever. Good deeds and behavior are encouraged and lessons learned from mistakes are actually taken to heart. At the end of the day, those with good behavior are rewarded and those with bad are taken care of in a peaceful manner, which usually leads to another lesson learned. What we see is something so serene and innocent, that when we compare it to the corrupted society we live in, Equestria is perfection. Maybe this is sort of why people sweep some of their bad habits under the rug when they become fans of MLP. By improving one's self, they can make a step towards what it might feel like in Equestria; something I'm sure any fan of the show could only dream. Life in Equestria really does shimmer and life in Equestria really does shine.

I find that MLP is one of the few things left that is capable of making me just sit down and rain a copious amount of emotional, manly tears down my stupid face. I loved the episode, it was delightful. It definitely pulled on my emotional strings numerous times with all of the flashback panels with Twilight and Celestia, and Twilight's devotion and appreciation for all of her friends. Such love and feelings of friendship like that should always hit a soft spot for everypony. It did feel like I was watching more of a musical than an episode, but then again, is that really a bad thing? MLP has always provided us with great music that gets stuck in our heads for weeks, and this episode was a flaunt of the musical talent possessed by the voice actresses and singers. I certainly appreciate it; not many cartoons even incorporate song into their shows, and MLP gives us some of the best. (Twilight's singer is just fantastic. Chills, man.) It seems to me that much of the brony community is just excessively difficult to please sometimes... Change is not always a bad thing. If we were to go on doing the same thing for a while, it gets boring. Twilight's advancement to a princess opens doors to new ideas. Lay off the producers a bit. They've provided us with 3 seasons of adorable, wonderfully-created episodes of our cute, awesome ponies. We've been given a lot as fans of this show, so I think we ought to just relax, and trust them. I'm sure they know what they're doing. I have a feeling that the last line of the episode, "Everything's going to be fine," was definitely said for a reason. The producers probably foresaw the brony community freaking out. The pace was a bit fast, but the do only have 22 minutes of screen. And with that amount of time, I think the episode did everything it needed to do succinctly. And from I have heard, the first two episodes of the already confirmed S4 is a continuation of this episode's plot, so we all have something to look forward to! Let's try not to be biased because the idea of Twilight becoming a princess is initially unsettling. Be happy for her. I'm sure our adorable Twilight and all of her quirks are here to stay.

Such a hard question! Well, if I was to imagine myself as a pony first, or ponies as humans... Not in any particular order, I would go for 1). Applejack - She has awesome family values. Hard-working, strong and independent while still being a cute sweetheart. I would love to marry AJ. She has a more traditional, archaic mindset about things, and I think that we would get along great. I could help her with all of her work on the farm and I get Applebloom as a sister-in-law! I've always wanted a baby sister, and I get Applebloom. Win. 2). Twilight Sparkle - I've always had a thing for Twilight for some reason. I feel like meeting her in Equestria as a pony would be really cool. She can be rather rigid and uptight with things, especially when she's stressed, but Twilight is loving and sincere, and that level-headedness of hers is definitely a plus. Supporting her would be great. I feel like she's a pretty attractive pony, and I would love to spend my time with her. 3). Octavia - I love Octavia. She's very cute, despite that sophisticated air she puts forth. I feel that it would be a lot of fun to get comfortable with her and have her open up more. I love music and I would go to all of her concerts. Or I would simply be the bass to her cello. It would be my honor.

I haven't cried yet, but tearing definitely. A lot of the episodes brought (manly) tears to my eyes. Out of happiness though, more often than not. I tend to cry more at happy things than sad things. Some episodes that stick out to me are Sonic Rainboom and May the Best Pet Win. I was so happy for Rainbow Dash when she was able to pull the rainboom off, but more importantly, she was able to do it because she saw Rarity in trouble. It showed that Rainbow Dash's love for her friends drives her more than proving herself to the Wonderbolts. Such friendship. Rainbow deserved every bit of the congratulatory praise she got at the end of the episode. I had similar feelings of happiness for Tank and Rainbow Dash after seeing the effort that Tank put forth for RD was not only rewarded, but helped Rainbow Dash understand an important lesson. Kudos to you, Tank. I think I wanted to tear up in Sisterhooves Social when Rarity was starting to realize that not having her adorable sister around was actually creating a gap in the important things in her life. When I saw her find Sweetie Belle's heart that she made for her, I kind of lost it a little. Things that are sad don't really make me cry. It just feels bad man. This just made a part of my soul shrivel up and die... If you guys want a potentially tear-jerking story, read this: http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/o8xd7/saying_goodbye_how_my_little_pony_touched_my_heart/ Copious torrents of manly tears...

I like the holding things in the mouth too. It does add to the cuteness. This may be a bit off topic, but I also like when the ponies use their noses to nudge or press things. Like at the end of the Raise this Barn song, Applejack pushes the camera button with her nose instead of her hoof, and I just D'aw'ed at it. I find this really cute too.

My vote goes for fancy pants! Like everypony else who likes him, I think his modesty, despite being rich, famous, and having that mare following him around all the time, makes him quite the stallion. While he holds so much power, he's understanding too, defending Rarity from the snobbish attitudes of the Canterlot residents. What a gentlecolt. He's just a cool guy. A much better stallion for Rarity than that selfish imbecile, Prince Blueblood, in my opinion. Ugh, you'd think anypony having some sort of relation to Celestia and Luna would be half-way decent. I guess that's what nobility can do to you.

I'll go with 8. I'll take Pinkie Pie if I get it.

Ahhh, this question is more difficult than I thought...it's rather close. I guess I'll have to say Luna is mine as well. I just thought she was just too adorable in Luna Eclipsed. And despite the overshadowing of her sister (In the show, not the fandom) and the probable jealously towards Twilight, she remains above most things, modest and doesn't really complain. She is Princess of the Night and watches over her subjects when they are most vulnerable; asleep. Plus, I like her color scheme the most. I won't go without saying that a lot of my love goes to Celestia though. She's rather skilled at trolling, and I have a thing for her quirky sense of humor. Despite her royal duties, she can still play around with her pony subjects while being understanding and easygoing, and I love that. Probably the most knowledgeable and composed of the princesses as well. Princess Cadence is cool, but she didn't really have anything outstanding that caught my attention. But I do like that she was an awesome sitter for Twilight when she was younger. She's compassionate and loving (not saying that the other Princesses aren't) and tried desperately to protect the ponies in her kingdom from King Sombra. I felt so bad for her.

Rainbow Dash hoodie (The one with the wings and ears!) and a Twilight Sparkle plush doll. The hoodie is the one found in Hot Topic or some store like that.