My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

reply to post by Majic

Slightly related question. What program did you use to make that Pinkie Pie/Applejack subterfuge animated GIF? That was an excellent animated GIF.

Friends Bearing GIFs

Fig. 1: Why so serious?

I didn't make the GIF in question, don't know how it was made, and alas, cannot attribute it properly because it's one of those Things Found On The Internet. I think it was in someone's signature on a forum, but as with many such images, may not have originated there.

In my defense, I have just under 2,500 images in my Pony folder from all sorts of sources, so I hope I can be forgiven for not being more fastidious about attribution.

It's a great GIF, though, and looped quite nicely. It captures some of the subtle, comedic genius inherent to the show and its ability to say so much without saying a word (in addition to the singular ability of the ponies to stretch their necks to giraffic proportions).

Since we're on the subject, I'm tempted to present a few more GIFs I find amusing, but will refrain in consideration of members on slow or metered connections, because the GIFs in question are major bandwidth hogs, and I'm already pushing the envelope, as it were, with all the JPEGs and PNGs I'm already posting.

And on that note, I suppose I should post some more articles with lengthy, boring verbiage interspersed with pretty pictures.

reply to post by Majic

Thanks for the reply. I figured that might be it. I found some programs and tutorials to turn clips to GIFs out there but the good ones cost money as usual. It would have been a pain to create with a bunch of image files.

I remember seeing MLP everywhere and just being baffled. Eventually I got so curious that I had to watch it. Best decision of my life.

Desperately waiting for the second season.

You know a few days ago I saw a woman with a MLP on her arm....


Except it was all evil looking...

And she caught me gawking.

Pwnd By Ponies

Originally posted by Swamper
I remember seeing MLP everywhere and just being baffled. Eventually I got so curious that I had to watch it. Best decision of my life.

The "Pony Phenomenon" is so ironic, because for anyone who hasn't seen the show, they must think the adult fandom is absolutely out of their minds.

It can be somewhat frustrating at times, but it's also kind of like being in on a cool secret, like being a fan of a rock band before it breaks out and becomes super famous.

Will that happen with the ponies? I suppose we'll have a better idea starting September 17, because that's when Season Two is going to rock the airwaves.

And yeah, I am very much anticipating that day.

Can't Sleep, Ponies Will Eat Me

Originally posted by Lysergic
You know a few days ago I saw a woman with a MLP on her arm....

Except it was all evil looking...

And she caught me gawking.

That wouldn't, perchance, happen to have been Rainbow Dash, would it? She's known to be somewhat menacing at times...

Fig. 1: The last thing an enemy pilot sees.

Don't worry though. She's really quite nice and hardly ever kills anyone that doesn't deserve it.

No need to be afraid. Much.

mwah

what a great post.

I absolutely love My Little Pony...originally bought them for my Daughter but ended up playing with them most of the time

bath time was sooooo much fun and what is funnier about the timing of me reading this thread is my friends all call me 'Pony' (that is my nickname) and yesterday I wrote in the writing section I want....

"a flying horse and it's name is Majik... "

I love the colourful pictures... fantastic!!

reply to post by Thurisaz

There are no coincidences.

Thanks to your evil sigfile, I got "ponied."

...and I'm looking for more. And then (somewhere around here) I committed a "Firefly" pony-izing in one of my sketchbooks. Just because I could.

Just think of all the people we could drive-by pony-ize!

Invasion Of The Pony Snatchers

reply to post by Byrd

Welcome to the Herd! Your ponification was, of course, inevitable. When it comes to ponies, it is never a matter of if, just when.

As for ponyizing, that can be an absolute blast. While scouring teh Interwebs for pony art, I often come across "ponytars" that represent "ponified" versions of forum members. Many of these renditions could easily pass for official characters, and that's a very cool way to both identify with and promote Ponyism at the same time.

How something like that would play out on ATS can only be imagined. But I suppose, considering who we are, that we could expect to see "alien ponies" (of various subspecies), "conspiraponies", "psychic ponies", "political ponies", "apocaponies", "ghost ponies", "econoponies", "disaster ponies", "Unidentified Flying Ponies", "government ponies", "ponies of faith", "weapons ponies", "Ponycrats", "Ponicans", "Ponytarians", "enviroponies", "sheeponies", "disinfo ponies", "space ponies", "Mason ponies", "anarchoponies", "prophet ponies", "news ponies", "survival ponies", "ponycabras", "science ponies", "Ponies in Black", "pen ponies", "the Ponies That Be", and heck, maybe even a few "mod ponies" lurking around.

But ATS can be wild and untamed at times, so it never hurts to bring along a little backup on those drive-by ponyizing runs, just in case...

Well I could not view the media at work so @ 7am Sunday, I am slothed out watchin them now.
Lol and I am using my phone, navigation is a poop but at least I can view them...Hahaha I nearly chucked a tantrum when I couldnt find the thread....
'wheres the pony thread?' and then I saw it..... All better now.

Pony Music Break: Winter Wrap Up

When most shows break into song, my first impulse, after rolling my eyes and reaching for the remote, is to head off to the fridge to ride out the interlude by planning my next snack. It's not even that the songs necessarily suck, just that they so often feel awkward and out of place.

Thus when we consider the fact that Friendship is Magic is a cute little girls' show featuring talking ponies, it's nothing short of miraculous that it manages to work in musical numbers which not only don't trigger nausea, but can actually be considered highlights themselves.

One of the more famous and endearing fan favorites is Winter Wrap Up from the episode of the same name (Episode 11), which offers an excellent example of just how catchy and inspiring these sequences can be.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, it's worth the three minutes and eighteen seconds it takes to watch. And for anyone who has seen it, another round is usually quite welcome.

With that I present, for your viewing and listening pleasure...


While there has been a recent trend of whole episodes being removed from YouTube due to copyright claims, shorter clips like these seem to be of lesser concern, so hopefully they will stay up and help spread the pony magic.

Can't stop the music, baby.

What ?
Why ?

I really don't understand this thread, I tried to read it but I couldn't make sense of it all

You're a man and you like My Little Pony ?

I dunno if you've seen this, but it makes the MLP scenes actually watchable

*snip*

If the language is too strong (It's rap so it's expected) then just remove


Mod edit, removed video.

Poniez N Da Hood

reply to post by Discotech

No disrespect to the Wu-Tang Clan, but they do tend to ride a bit dirty for ATS profanity standards.

However, that does bring up the point that our little ponies are a very popular subject of crossovers and gags which play off their status as characters in a girls' cartoon. Even (and perhaps especially) people who can't stand the show can appreciate the humor in having them muggin' like gangstas.

And of course they're also immensely popular for movie trailers, graphics in strategy games and first-person shooters (pony "spray tags" are all the rage among bronies who play Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2, for example), voiceovers and the like. It's just a matter of time before we see them on F-18s and maybe even the President's lapel pin.

Fig. 1: In the grim, dark future of Equestria, there is only war.

When it comes to the power of the ponies to penetrate popular culture, expect the unexpected.

Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Ponies

Fig. 1: Dramatis ponae. (larger version)

The scope of Ponydom can often be overwhelming to newcomers, sometimes intimidating, and can occasionally cause potential fans to run around in circles waving their arms in the air screaming "We're all going to die! We're all going to die!" although, on second thought, that may be about something other than ponies. Hmm, I should probably check on that.

Anyway, in response to the need for authoritative, in-depth reference sources, helpful scholars have assembled a vast array of charts, guides and manuals to aid the budding poniologist. While some examples are provided here, they represent only the barest fraction of what is available, and are offered more as a representative sample than an exhaustive study.

For those interested in equine evolutionary biology, Charles Darwhinny's On the Origin of Ponies is considered the definitive, if controversial, dissertation on the subject. Although the fossil record is in many cases equivocal, several elements of pony evolution have been conclusively established:

Fig. 2: Morphological adaptation of selected subspecies. (larger version)

Here we see the effects of natural selection, genetic drift, biased mutation and gene flow reflected in heritable traits observed in sample populations:

Fig. 3: Mendelian analysis of salient anatomical characteristics.

Scholars more interested in gender-related behavioral classification may find the following chart helpful:

Fig. 4: Comparative gender expression in Equus Diminutus Mei and Draco Spikus.

In addition to structured frameworks of biological analysis, our little ponies have been extensively studied by historians and cultural equinologists, who have found significant evidence of ponial influences throughout history:

Fig. 5: The Last Cupcake.

More recently, ponies have been associated with major shifts in popular artistic culture and social organization:

Fig. 6: Sgt Pinkie's Lonely Hooves Club Band.

Unfortunately, significant turmoil during recent cultural epochs has obscured important narrative sources for comparative analysis or, in the words of popular musician, spiritual advisor and fitness guru Pinkie Pie of Ponyville, "If you remember the Sixties, um... what were we talking about?"

In conclusion, it is hoped that this brief survey has proven helpful not only for academics and pony enthusiasts, but that it may, in small part, serve to inspire future generations to pursue studies within the rich and ever-widening field of general poniology.

Originally posted by Majic

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! It's so CUTE!!!

I'm toying with the idea of ponyfing certain of my characters... I can feel them all cringing in horror. Particularly the vampire. Most of 'em couldn't be done with the MLP game on Deviant Art, but HE could!

Evil ponifying game is here (go ahead-- click! I dare you! I doubledog dare you!!) I ponified my vampire character (muahahaha: Ponycode: 2S5K005080B7B7B7FFC49D01240DBFEF8UN1837001040720E0CC3F3FFF7FFF1I107F3FCC004CB2)

I tend to see myself as Twilight Sparkle, though there are moments when I'm pure Pinky Pie. Or Fluttershy. Those are the moments when I'm out on the ponds, knee deep (and stuck!) in muck, rescuing bivalves from the crows. Pity I don't have unicorn magic just to float them out to where they're safer.

Last month, while perusing random stuff on youtube, I happened upon that pony physics video. My curiosity was piqued, so I went and looked up the first episode.

Nine and a half hours later, the sun was up, birds were singing, and "Best Night Ever" was ending. I sat there for a moment, wondering what had just happened. I had just spent nearly ten hours watching, of all things, My Little Ponies.

I dreamed about them that night (hardly unusual when I binge on media, I've also dreamed about HBO's "Rome" series, and about being Gordon Ramsey.) it made for a very interesting day after.

Perplexed by my newfound bronydom - and there was no mistaking, I was hooked - I went for a second watching to see where, exactly, all hope of leading a pony-free life had failed.

It's right here:

That's right. Episode 2, only a few moments in. Pinkie Pie bounces across the screen, and my previous life ended and a glorious future of marshmallow equines opened up. Why that scene? I... don't know. Maybe it was simply the final straw on top of everything else that finally broke any resistance I had. But after that point, time ceased having meaning, and my only regret was the lack of a second season at my fingertips.

As I said, I was perplexed. This is a new thing for me - I've never really been into any sort of fandom. even Firefly, probably one of the best shows I've seen, failed to hook me so fast and so hard. So I decided to approach this scientifically. Why did My Little Pony; Friendship is magic snare me so hard?



1) it defied expectations. if you're like me, you went down this dark path expecting an insipid, shallow and sugary puddle lacking anything of value. And then? bam, excellent animation. Bam! Characters have personalities. Bam! There's plot that makes sense (within the context, of course.) And... it's sweet and cute without feeling like it tries too hard. it seems "organic," for lack of a better word - the cuteness comes out on its own, rather than being forced in. Even if the show itself weren't that great, it would deserve points just for breaking form so thoroughly. And the show honestly is good.

2) It's clever and accessible at all ages. There's surprisingly little slapstick, considering it's a children's cartoon. Several of the jokes are clearly beyond the ken of the "intended audience" ("I guess the punch has been... spiked!" isn't a joke you hope your 6 year old niece gets) and there's a range of comedy style, from those handful of slapstick instances, to sitcom-style humor, to the absurdist stuff.

3) One gets the feeling of actual depth, as if this universe could be expanded into several different shows at various tiers of target audience, without any real strain. I could even see a show targeted at boys coming from it - after all, the main character, Twilight Sparkle is apparently some sort of magical demigod thing that needs good training to keep her from becoming the epicenter of a magical apocalypse. no, really.

4) The plot. Don't worry, you'll get this joke, then feel very weird.

5) The community. Okay, yes, it's as completely bizarre as any other internet community, but it's so much more relaxing. I've even come to the conclusion I'd rather hang around on Ponychan than here on ATS - less stressful, and, well, people are generally more intelligent (I've never had to explain 6th grade biology to a brony, for example) Plus where else could I get away with making frightful stuff like this?

Picture completely unrelated to anything

6) The complexity and quality of the media. While there are of course limitations to the medium, every background pony is detailed. the backgrounds are well-done. there seems to be little, if any "recycling" in any single scene (remember the old cartoons, Scooby and Shaggy are running down a hall and pass the same door twelve times? yeah). And the soundwork!! Even if you can't hear them over the background music or other sounds, darn near everything has a sound effect. For an example, here's the song from episode 14, "Suited for Success" with the background music dampened"

Now, bypassing for the moment that Rarity's voice actor has managed to create chocolate for the ears, at 3:50 in hte video, you can hear her uvula wobble. Weird, sure, but still, they took time to give that a sound effect, even if it can't be heard in the original.
Another example is in the last episode of season one, where Fluttershy roars like a dinosaur - but you can't har it over the music.
So basically you can tell a lot of work and attention went into the show, and it adds that extra layer of polish.

so in closing, yes, I'm a man who's nearly thirty years olf, and enjoy hte hell out of a show about singing, dancing, sugary ponies. And it seems to be contagious; I've shown the show to ten other friends.. all have succumbed.

Soon all will be pony.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

Ha! You, too? Only the best, I say!

I think for me it's the delight of having stories that are small (episodes. I hate long story arcs with lots and lots of backstory) and where the characters do some logically despicable things that have real consequences (like AppleJack and Rainbow Dash trying to pump and push and kick each other during a race, only too end up losing because they were too busy trying to get back at each other to focus on what the purpose was.)

And I like it that the idea of problem solving doesn't come down to "who can swear the loudest, snarl the loudest, strut the best, or wave the biggest weapon." That "let's think about this" works.

Here's hoping Season 2 is equally as good.

They Know What Boys Like

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

Excellent post, and a very familiar story. The many confused and embarrassed comments by male viewers on the YouTube video pages hint at similar tales.

The fact that Lauren Faust had both the genius and guts to make a My Little Pony show that's so appealing to males still blows my mind. I can safely say I never thought I would see that happen in my lifetime.

I like Twilight Sparkle's (I'll admit it still sounds strange to be talking about a character named "Twilight Sparkle" in any context) "o" response to Pinkie Pie's "it was under EEeee!"

That's also a great running gag: Twilight Sparkle, probably the most studious book reader in all of Equestria, couldn't find the book she wanted to save her life. Or in this case, to save Equestria. From the beginning of the first episode onward, it seems everyone else but her has that ability (including an owl). The fact that even Pinkie Pie is better at finding books (in this case and others) only rubs salt in the wound.

Fig. 1: She has a spell for everything, except finding the right book.

As for the a cappela version of The Art of the Dress, thanks for embedding that. I love the song (again, I never in a million years would have imagined I would love a song about dressmaking), and being able to hear Kazumi Evans (Rarity's singer; Tabitha St. Germain is her normal voice actress) so clearly is a real treat.

Her expressiveness, from the joyous lilt in her voice in the first movement to the increasing exasperation in the reprise, is magnificent. It's voice acting as well as singing, and seamlessly (pun incidental) integrated with Rarity's normal voice. That's real talent.**

And being able to hear the sound effects is a revelation. So much attention to detail, and so typical of this well-crafted show.

Welcome to the Herd, as they say.

Here's hoping we can survive until Season Two.







** Although I would like to point out that Ashleigh Ball, who voices both Rainbow Dash and Applejack and their singing parts as well (do take note of that when listening to At the Gala in Episode 26), is an absolute voice acting goddess.

Fig. 2: Inner conflict, externalized.

Coupled with the ongoing rivalry between the two characters she voices, and the fact that they so often argue with each other (Episode 13, Fall Weather Friends, is basically her versus her), the work she does in this show is an amazing tour de force of voice acting mastery.