[Nasa]

@Shion: Quite glad to see that Lyra got her full name, I honestly prefer that over Heartstrings on its own. And Trixie's? Not too shabby. :)

Though there's a couple things I should point out: One of 'em's named Junebug and if you remember Secret of my Excess, we had a side pony of the same name, but of different design. Heck, there was even one named Sapphire Shores, and that's obviously wrong. Also, the Luna BB is a recolor of Celestia and Cadence (the new alicorn, which btw has been confirmed for the season two finale), it really doesn't match canon at all. It even uses the original design from the pilot. Remember that Hasbro's toy department doesn't exactly follow all of the show's canon. They're just there to make toys out of the templates they've got, change the color schemes, make up the names, and sell 'em. And the show, while legitimately entertaining, is meant to promote the toy line.

That being said, I wouldn't mind getting Trixie, Lyra and Rainbow Dash. :)

[Google]

Nasa, on 10 March 2012 - 10:44 AM, said:

Also? Twilight's brother is getting married. To an alicorn. Was not expecting that at all! o___o

Twilight, you can't do that! You've created a time paradox! *Metal Gear game over*

Wait... what? Mind = blown.
Firstly, since when has Twilight had a brother? What is this madness?
Secondly, where did this new Alicorn come from? I though Lauren said only Celestia and Luna. Does this mean that Nyx is now technically cannon-ish? Again with the madness.
Thirdly, is her brother is old-enough to get married, just how old/young is Twilight herself? Shes either fairly young, or old-enough to get married herself(I pray the first option). MADNESS.


Finally, bro is home for spring break, so no ponies for me this week... or am I enhancing the truth again?
Truth is, I'm headed to a convention this weekend. One with both a Meet-up and a few panels on ponies. If I can slip away from my parents and brother (no easy feat), then I'll record what I can of the events so that you guys have something to enjoy.

If you havent been to one, find a meet-up or convention near you and go to it. These things freaking rock. Saturday at AWA was the most fun I have ever had in my life, thanks in part to a PMV track, a pony panel, and the Meet-up. And I was hiding in the back too(the front during the PMV panel, so that if my bro or parents looked for me, they wouldnt see me from the door).

EDIT: also, welcome to the local herd, Derpy :D

[Nasa]

@Engie: 1) The brother bit came right out of nowhere, but knowing these writers, they're sure to explain why he hasn't shown up yet.
2) Cadence and Shining Armor first appeared at a toy event last fall. The voice of Braeburn confirmed their existence in the show in December. Their wedding's essentially a take of the recent Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Though according to Faust herself, Cadence wasn't supposed to be an alicorn.
3) I'm pretty sure one of the staff members said the mane 6 are into their 20s, if we're going by human years.

[Google]

Firstly, thanks Nasa for clearing that up :D

Secondly:
http://www.myfacewhen.com/images/219.jpg
They running the pony panel at 8:30. Directly opposite of Ellen McLain, the voice of GLaDOS in both Portals, as well as the voice of the Announcer in TF2. WHY DID THEY DO THIS? I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO MY PONIES IN PUBLIC!

[Nasa]

Don't fell bad, Engie. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to pull this off again. And let's not forget her husband. :)

Also, for those of you keeping up with EQD this week, a ton of screens of future episodes were ripped off the new puzzle game. It also links to a clip to tomorrow's ep. Here's one that really caught my eye:

Spoiler

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vkBP9d22dmI/T2LHG-HzrNI/AAAAAAAAi6Y/NEgBwZIsN2M/s1600/tumblr_m0ymqjlD4O1rnmf9co1_500.jpg
How 'bout that, there's another griffon. Is it just be, or does his beak look like a pelican's? o.O

I am SO glad I'm in a community college and not an actual university right now. XD Better yet, I'm glad it isn't one full of dragons.

Spoiler

-Teenage dragons. Haters gonna hate, it seems. XD Seriously, they're the personification of pony haters, how can you not see that?
-You can tell Rarity held over her care for Spike from Episode 10, despite all those "Spikey-wikeys." Not so much shipping, but their relationship's grown quite a bit since then.
-Faust did mention that Ponies know little about dragons, looks like the writers put it in.
-Apparently ponies know about trench warfare. Heck, they've even got the outfits for it. Except Rarity, of course. XP

Couldn't say much about this episode, but I still enjoyed it.

[Google]

Well, I didnt get to stay for the pony panel. However, I did make it to the meet-up (slightly late, had to cut and run in the middle of lunch actually xD), and stayed at the edge of the group. Didnt pick up a pocket-pony either, and I avoided all photographs with constant vigil. So I basically played Fluttershy the whole time. But it was still fun.
The dealer's room had some awesome pony merch (if I'd had $30 and a place to hide it, I would have bought a DJ Pon3 hat in a heartbeat), and there was plenty of cosplay (there was a group that did FANTASTIC royal sisters costumes, I'll post them later) although I didnt actually take too many pics due to the massive security issues (most of my schools anime club being in attendance).

And finally, although this is not really pony-related, I got my picture taken with Ellen, and had her the sign the book I bought at her table which was written by the Sniper himself. She is easily one of the top 10 coolest people ever (the line for signings took forever because she talked to everyone and always wrote something unique), and the only way it could have been better is if the Sniper himself was there with him.

Also unrelated: Grant Imahara from Myhtbusters was wandering around too, though I could find him in time to get a pic...

[Shion]

New episode was cool... It was nice seeing the dragons.

Spoiler

The teenage dragons really were monsters! Cracking and destroying a phoenix egg... really? At least he kept it. The phoenix that hatched was adorable... I wonder why they didn't return the egg to the parents? And I loved Rarity's line when she revealed herself to the dragons.

You know what I really wanted to see, though? A female dragon. Sadly, I guess I don't get my wish :(.

[Nasa]

I've finally gotten into vectoring this week. There were a couple shots of the Cakes I wanted to see in the Vector Club on dA, so I thought I'd fill in that gap. Here are the results of 6 hours of work between them: http://fav.me/d4tjnre | http://fav.me/d4tn472

In other news, Discord may or may not make a comeback in the future. I wouldn't mind having his voice return either. :)

One thing that I noticed this season is they've been pushing Fluttershy's physical limits, considering she is a weak flyer. It all came to ahead in this episode, and man did she show her stuff. :)

Spoiler

-First thing's first, that friggin' white muscular pegasus. Is it me, or is that guy a lost Ren and Stimpy character? XD The faces sure seem like it. Note: I have never watched that show.
-Another tear jerker that actually got me. Running off in tears, twice. :( Poor kid. You have to feel really bad for Fluttershy after what she's been through her whole life...
-...As explained in another Flight Camp flashback! Nice to see young Shy again.
-Twilight, might I suggest you pull out that one spell to zip Spike's lip?
-Lots of Derpy this time around. Once again, making up for her AWOL status since Putting Your Hoof Down.
-Ah, the classic 50's style info reels. They're playing with a lot of film grades this season, eh?
-And hey, look at that, Spitfire's back! Shame she only had one or two lines.

New favorite, hands down. :D I'd say Fluttershy had the best development up to this point in the season.

Now then, we have our first look at the season finale next month, and let me tell you, it's a doozy. A really big doozy.

I'll just leave you guys with this and call it a day: http://fav.me/d4tudd5

[Shion]

Ooh, I love the previewers for the royal wedding @__@. So prettyful. And I don't get all this hate on Candence, just because she's an alicorn. It's because it ruins fanon, isn't it? Well that's just too bad for people's fanfiction, then. You don't make the series, the writers do. I'm sorry to those who believe otherwise but it's really bothering me right now.

As for the first preview:

Spoiler

EVIL CLONES! And it looks like Applejack will do something for once. Good, I love Applejack and it breaks my heart the writers pay so little attention to her.

That's another thing that gets on my nerves... Why can't the writers think up of something for our darling little Applejack? They manage to put Pinkie Pie in most episodes with a significant role. I mean, there was a streak where we barely saw Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy, but somehow the writers manage to put Pinkie Pie in no matter what. Why can't the focus on some other characters sometimes? She's funny but.... what about my poor little Applejack? I love her and she never gets attention. There are so many possible story lines for her and I guess the writers can't manage much aside from a single line each episode. And by the way, no hate on Pinkie Pie here, that was an example. I love Pinkie Pie, of course. It's just that... Applejack...

[Nasa]

@Shion: There's plenty more info on the royal wedding where that came from, but I'll leave you to find them on EQD. However, I'll link you to this, which just goes to show how far Hasbro is willing to go to promote this series. XD

And yeah, I'll agree with you on Applejack, that's one of the big disappointments this season. She had two episodes dedicated to her and they really didn't focus on her a lot. Not to mention being overshadowed by Derpy in the first one.

Also, I know that Faust said that they were having difficulty figuring out how to bring in her parents, but at least mention them in some way. How 'bout a flashback or something? That's just me nitpicking, mind you, but still, I hope they figure something out on that front.

[Shion]

Oh my @__@. That's going... far, to promote the season finale. Now I'm really, really excited.

Yeah :(. I was hoping for some Applejack love at least after The Last Roundup, but then Derpy... Not only did she only get two episodes focused on her, the second of which was more focused on the apple family as a whole, she hardly gets any lines in the episodes that aren't focused on her. I mean, Sisterhooves Social and Family Appreciation Day. Those are two of four episodes which I think she said more than four lines, discounting the Return of Harmony. And then you have characters like Pinkie Pie, who got tons of lines in It's About Time and Putting Your Hoof down, which weren't even about her. I don't know, they could have easily put Applejack in those episodes in place of any of the other characters they used, but they didn't.

Me too :(. I was hoping to see her parents. I want to write a fanfiction entirely dedicated to Applejack at one point. I already have the main plot figured out. If they don't show her parents, a lot of it is going to be dedicated to how her parents went missing when they wandered into the Evergreen Forest when she was a filly and how she still believes that one day, they'll return to her, even though it's been years since they went missing and the chance they are alive is slim. If not, I still have a plot. But My Little Pony Fanfiction... I don't know how you get noticed by people and how you upload fanfictions because I never read them. I don't know why people don't use Fanfiction.net for it. That aside, I don't want to ruin their precious fanon with my own ideas. They might get outraged for one reason or another.

[Alexandria-chan]

Okay, so I have a really weird theory about why Cadence is an alicorn: pony plastic surgery. Think about it: imagine Cadence as a unicorn who wanted wings, so she went to another unicorn who gave her wings. (Twilight was able to do this in Sonic Rainboom, so it is possible, and money could be made from it.) If Cadence was a pegasus first, however, that would be harder to explain.

Oh, and I really wish they had plastic surgery that gave you wings in real life. It'd be the only kind I'd ever waste my money on. xD

[rebound6]

My main question is what does Princess Cadence do? Celestia and Luna control the sun and the moon, but what about her? I also wonder whether we'll see Blueblood again, and if he'll redeem himself.

[Alexandria-chan]

I don't know...my theory is that Celestia just looked for a random alicorn when Luna was Nightmare Moon and was sealed away, and Cadence happened to be her stand-in to bring night. That's my best explanation: Cadence really did night duty, but Celestia took the credit.

[Nasa]

Speculate and theorize all you want folks, but once the 21st rolls around most (or hopefully all) of these questions will be answered.

In the meantime, just so you folks know: we're heading downtown to see CANStruction tomorrow, and to transit our way in around opening time, we're leaving either at 9:30 or 10:00 Pacific. So either way, I'm gonna miss the episode stream. My thoughts will have to wait until I get home and watch the episode via YouTube, which won't be 'til around 3. So in case you're wondering why I haven't posted shortly after the stream, there's your answer. :)

Anybody know the address of Rupert Murdoch's estate? 'Cause he could learn a thing or two from these three fillies. *Nelson laugh*

Spoiler

-Sounds like Diamond Tiara hit puberty, she sounds more like a teenager. There's a word I would use to describe her, but I can't say it on here. ^^;
-Featherbrain's design reminds me of Fievel from American Tail. That's just me, though.
-Lots of characters showing up: The Cakes, one of the Spa twins and their Masseuse. Heck, even Trixie was mentioned. I'm sure Seth wet his pants after that. XD
-Poor Scootaloo, you can see she wants to fly so bad but can't. :( I really wish they'd go into her backstory a little more.
-OH MY GOD Big Mac talked again. For real this time. Heck, he even switched roles with Applejack. I love this show so much!
-The open letter was a clever little twist. Instead of writing to Celestia, they write to all of Ponyville. Nice touch, girls.

I actually thought this was episode was gonna be really weak based on the previews, but now that I've watched this episode, I actually found it quite enjoyable.

Also, before I go: be sure you people check the comics in the Sunday paper (or weekend for those of you up north) for FoxTrot. Bill Amend has a little surprise for you. ;)