Everyone is introduced to evil at some point in their lives. Whether it is by watching the evening news or by walking into a Wal-Mart, we must all realize that the world is not perfect, that dark forces run alongside all that is good and decent, and that we are going to die alone and afraid. But for many, the first time we run into these living nightmares is in our youth, in the form of the schoolyard bully. And not even Equestria can escape from this menace.

Behold Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, sworn enemies of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and general jerks.

---

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are a pair of fillies in the same class as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. During Cheerilee's lesson on Cutie Marks, the two quickly singled out Apple Bloom and Twist as the only ones who don't have marks, which then narrows to AB after Twist gets her Cutie Mark. During Tiara's Cutecinera, the two break away from the party to torment their target some more, only to then be confronted by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, thus leading to the formation of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the humiliation of the two fillies.

After that, the two showed up from time to time to make the lives of their enemies miserable. Tiara tried to make Apple Bloom embarrassed of Granny Smith, but ended up opening herself to public humiliation while even Silver Spoon was impressed with her story. Tiara then became the editor of the Foal Free Press, abusing her position to make the entire town her personal plaything but subsequently getting reduced to printer once Cheerilee finds out. Their greatest victory, however, was getting Babs Seed to betray her cousin and join them in general bullying. But once Babs was shown the error of her ways and became part of the CMC, she responded by stabbing her former friends in the back and turning Diamond Tiara into a pig.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's names are big signs of their general status within Ponyville's academic society. They are a pair of rich, spoiled brats who enjoy putting other ponies down just for the thrill of it all. In the case of Tiara, we know her family is wealthy, as her father, Filthy Rich (har har), runs Barnyard Bargain, the Ponyville equivalent of a Wal-Mart from the way he describes it. Silver Spoon is a bit more enigmatic, as we've never seen her parents or household, but the name itself comes from the idiom “Born with a silver spoon in your mouth;” that is, she was born in a position of wealth and comfort and has never had to work hard in her life.

Of the two, Diamond Tiara is by far the bigger antagonist, even menacing the trio by herself once. She's a genuinely rotten apple with not a care for anypony but herself, her friend and her father. Much like Filthy Rich, she seems to have a business side to herself, but where he built up Barnyard Bargain over an extensive period of time using underhooved business tactics, Tiara appears to lack the patience needed for a sustainable business. Even when she was rolling high as the editor of the Foal Free Press, she never seemed to think about how humiliating her customer base would reflect on her in the long run, especially after they ran out of stories in Ponyville. She's also not above blackmail if it'll get her what she wants.

That being said, she really can't take it like she can dish it out. Whenever the shoe is on the other hoof and she's the one being embarrassed, she either shuts down or breaks into a big whine. And since this is a kid's show, this happens nearly every time she appears. She tried to humiliate AB, only to get basically shunned out of her own party. She tried to make Granny Smith (and by association, Apple Bloom) into a laughingstock, but only succeeded in revealing that her family owes their wealth to Granny's kooky jam-making practices. She tried to use the CMC to build up her paper before stabbing them in the back, but was in turn demoted and covered in printer's ink. And when she was kicking the CMC's collective blank flanks with the help of Babs, the gravy train came to a halt when she got chewed out and knocked in the mud.

Silver Spoon is a bit tougher to nail down. She's definitely Tiara's subordinate, trying to cheer her up when she's down while also taking orders. But she was also willing to applaud Granny Smith's story about the founding of Ponyville, and is much better at brushing off turned tables and the like. Still, she and Tiara are both very close, both in relationships and in the depth of their personality.

And by “depth,” I mean that if their personalities were pools of water, you could touch the bottom with your little toe. After a very confused Yakuza cut the tip off.

Fans like to give these two more of an actual character, but they're really just basic bullies. Diamond Tiara has had a few moments of aspiring for greater evil, and Silver Spoon had that one time she was fairly decent, but for the most part there's nothing else to them. They just want to make the CMC's lives miserable because it makes them look better. (Never mind that Diamond Tiara only got her Cutie Mark a short time before “Call of the Cutie,” thus implying that she was one of the few blank flank students for a while, and that Silver Spoon got hers before her best friend.) But fans want there to be more to them, so they invent things like their mothers being dead or Silver Spoon suddenly turning on Tiara or DT having a schoolyard crush on Scootaloo, simply because it gives them some character beyond the basic schoolyard bully.

But that's not what they are in the canon. They are just...jerks.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are right next to Sombra on the “Villain Complexity” list, and even he's still edging them out. The two are the most basic antagonists in the entire series to date, with only the slightest traces of an actual character to them for fans to latch onto. Sad to say, these guys simply aren't that complex, will never be complex, and are more plot devices at points than actual ponies.

So as you can guess, I don't like them very much.

If you're reading this blog post, there's a good chance you're human. (That, or you're either an alien hijacking our Internet or some sort of super-evolved housepet. In which case, greetings to the former and a rolled-up newspaper to the latter.) Even when we're watching FiM, we're watching characters who have human characteristics mixed in with their more equine behaviors and terminology. But what happens when you add an actual, honest-to-God human into the mix?

According to a good chunk of the fanbase, anarchy, chaos, and horrifyingly high levels of awfulness. But really, are humans that bad of a mix for the ponies? Yes, but only if used improperly. And thus we have this thing.

Humans are not totally alien to MLP as a whole. The original specials, movie and first series had human characters mixed in, serving as surrogates for the little girls who would be tuning in every day for their thirty-minute toy commercial. But every iteration of the franchise since then has taken great labors to leave the ponies almost totally separate from any sort of human interference. Faust wanted to take it even farther by making the ponies genuinely horse-like, although that aspect has been twisted about since the beginning.

However, this has also manifested as a sort of knee-jerk reaction to the idea of humans in Equestria at all. But why is that? Here's four common reasons I can find:

A) Humans stand out poorly in the fantasy setting

FiM, much like the other MLP series, is technically a fantasy series set in a world of magic. While some more modern conveniences show up here and there, this is still a world ruled by a pair of seemingly immortal beings with godlike powers. This is in fairly stark contrast to the original series, which was much more modern (for the 1980s, anyway), and thus could get away with putting relatively modern humans into the same setting and seeing what comes up.

But now try putting a modern human into Equestria. It suddenly doesn't gel all that well, does it? In fact, it's rather offputting and pulls away from what makes Equestria unique to begin with. And this leads us to the second point...

B) People watch FiM for the ponies

One of the issues with the G1 human characters is that the show was really about them. Outside of the villains, the humans were the only characters with any definable personality, and were the most stable part of the cast. The ponies were simply rotated around depending on what toy Hasbro wanted to plug that day, and as a result had to be easily interchangeable. But surely FiM, a series with much more defined characters and a much smaller cast, wouldn't fall into the same trap, right?

Perhaps the issue wouldn't be completely similar, but the real danger of human characters is that they're easier to write for. After all, we are all human, and we know our species fairly well. But when it comes to ponies, you have to have them move, behave and talk in a different way than normal. So the writers will naturally migrate to whoever is easier to write for; namely, the humans. The show will end up becoming about them, and not in the “Season Three was all about Twilight” way.

And then there's the third reason...

C) Humans are boring

We're always around humans. Our best friends are human. Every other television show, movie, book, comic, and other piece of media is filled with humans. To put it simply, they're everywhere...except in FiM. Here, there are no humans running around, thus letting us focus our attention on the ponies and how wonderful and cute they are. But once you throw in a human, our eyes are naturally drawn to them. We like the familiar, and what is more familiar than a bipedal offshoot of the ape family? Just something to consider.

So with all these factors, and many more I haven't covered (since we'd be here all day otherwise), it's pretty clear why people don't want humans in the general canon. And yet, Human in Equestria is one of the most popular fanfiction genres out there. It seems that when your work is clearly not canon, it's fine to explore this angle. Plus, you have all the crossovers with human characters to think about. But even then, so many of these stories have attracted rather intense levels of hate. So what can you do?

It's not much, but here's a few suggestions:

A) Do NOT do a Brony in Equestria story

I normally say go for it if you feel up to it, but in this case I have to put my foot down. “Brony in Equestria” differs from the usual permutations of this genre by being less about a general human in the setting and instead about an actual fan of the show going there. As you can imagine, a lot of these end up being self-insert stories, with the human in question almost always having a better life in this new land and hooking up with their favorite pony. And then there are the deconstructions and parodies, not to mention the inevitable reconstructions that follow.

My advice? Don't do it. No matter how cool your idea is, it's been done. Unless your story is absolutely flawless, it will not work out. If you want to do a HiE story, then tweak the general outline to make it less about a Brony and more about someone who has no idea that Equestria exists and who these equine-shaped extradimensional beings are.

B) Play up the differences between the human's home and Equestria

Just because someone is human doesn't mean they have to come from modern-day earth. It could be the world of the future, or a thousand years prior. If it's a crossover, then look at how that universe is set up and compare it to Equestria. Have the humans talk about how bizarre this land of cupcakes and rainbows is and how alien it feels. In short, make them actually feel like they're in a whole new world, for we will most likely be experiencing the story through their eyes.

And for that matter, have fun with the differences between humans and ponies. Show off how the difference in height makes walking an exercise in constant bending, or how humans eat meat and ponies don't, or even how having hands compares to horns or wings. There's a lot of avenues for this kind of exploration, and I recommend you consider as many as you can before you start writing your masterpiece.

C) Don't make humans bastards just because

The idea that humans are bastards is a long-standing one. Throughout literary history, stories have been penned about the evils of man and how we're rotten monsters who need a good spanking. Some take this even farther and descend into full-on Genocidal Rage levels of anger, culminating in a desire to eliminate the entire human race for its sins. And of course, pony fics are not immune to these sentiments. The Conversion Bureau wouldn't be in its current state if this wasn't totally alien to the community.

Still, speaking on a personal level, I hate this trope and wish it would just die in a fire. If you want to make humans morally gray, that's fine, but don't turn them into monsters just to make the ponies look better. And for that matter, Equestria is not a utopia; it still has a standing military, constant monster attacks, has endured a full-on invasion over the course of the show, and gave us “Spike at Your Service.” I kind of doubt it qualifies as any sort of perfect world anymore.

D) Be prepared for backdraft

Just saying. Be ready for someone to come by, see the story tag, and then jump in ready to judge you. Unless your story is extremely well done, there's a good chance you'll get torn into.

...Nothing important, but just saying.

Still, there are good Human in Equestria stories out there, ones that manage to pull everything together and use the humans to shed a new light onto Equestria as a whole. They are rare, but they show that the genre can work.

So, that's some notes on this topic. Anyone want to add anything? Disagree? Want to tell me how much I suck and why I didn't mention this story that was so good? Go ahead and bring it up in the comments.

I'll try to get today's post done tomorrow. Possibly. I dunno anymore.

...

Anyone got any cinnamon buns?

Blogger: http://blogofpony.blogspot.com/2013/04/ponies-and-technology.html

Ponies and technology. Two good things that go great together, right? Well, yes and no.

Setting a hard technology level for Equestria is a real hassle for a number of reasons, all of which we'll hopefully be able to address. But suffice to say that Faust's intent was quickly moved away from in favor of convenience and expanding the possible stories, and for the most part I feel that was a good move. But if we're to approach ponies with machinery, just what is considered going “too far” and breaking the setting?

---

One of Faust's goals when creating Friendship is Magic was to restrict just what the ponies had access to. While the toys have them driving trucks and RC cars, she wanted a world that ran on the principles of magic rather than technology. The ultimate goal most likely was to avoid things like cell phones, televisions, and other props that pollute girl's shows and become the central focus of their own plots, but it was shattered almost immediately when Twilight audibly flipped a light switch in the first episode. Since then, things have gone back and forth, with the inclusion of gas stoves and sewing machines but also ponies pulling a whole train.

When it comes to the show, technology operates on Roger Rabbit rules; it only appears when it's funny. So you can still have a primarily fantasy world while also having motorized parade floats, weather production machines and industrial pet hair dryers. The issue with this rule is that it also gives the setting a very schizophrenic feel, with much of the available gadgets and whatzits simply not meshing well with each other.

The solution the staff have given? A unicorn did it.

Specifically, advanced tech in Equestria is not powered by straight-on gasoline, nuclear power, or much of anything else. (Jury's still out on wind and solar, but the latter kind of makes sense when one of the ponies running the country is tied to the sun.) Instead, devices like refrigerators, light bulbs, and other bits of machinery are powered by magic. This is evidenced with the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, which has to be kickstarted by Flim and Flam in order to operate. Whatever this magical enchantment is, it still allows for most devices to be operated by non-unicorns or without magical input, with only the astronomically complex machinery requiring continuous magical input.

However, this does not excuse episodes like “The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well,” which features a hydroelectric dam and construction vehicles. This would imply that some sort of industrialization exists. We know that factories are around, but the only ones we've seen are weather-related, transposing the mundane onto the fantastical. Regular plants and industrial areas might exist, but are far away from the primary settings of Ponyville and Canterlot. Also, two sets of trains are in use; one is pulled by a team of ponies, and the other (the Friendship Express) uses coal. No cars exist, but Twilight has a rough sort of computer setup in her basement. DJs and rock music are in circulation, but vinyl records are still being use. Why all the different levels of technology?

To put it simply, ponies invent for the same reason humans do: necessity.

Ponies are capable of running at high speeds for extended periods of time and can pull wagons, so automobiles are not an automatic necessity like today. However, trains offer a means of crossing large tracts of land faster and with more security than going out in the open, plus they can pull freight and needed supplies to distance towns, thus allowing ponies to spread out more. Computers will probably reach the same levels as our own someday, but they will be designed to fit the needs and methods of control a pony is capable of performing, and thus probably wouldn't resemble a real-world device that much. Electricity is a useful technology, but since magic is commonplace, it's nowhere near as widely-spread as it would be in the real world.

Of course, all of this is merely speculation. There's no solid time frame for the show at this point, so our point of reference is limited. But I guess what I'm saying is that, as long as you can justify the inclusion of a certain piece of technology, then there shouldn't be a problem including whatever it is in a story of yours. If you want Twilight's basement device to suddenly be able to solve for pi, then that's fine as long as it serves the needs of the plot and doesn't fly in the face of what had come before and since.

...So let's kick back and get some sleep, shall we? This is going to be a long hiatus.

Sorry, but I need to get this off my chest.

As those who have read my reviews know, I enjoyed Season Three of FiM, don't think the show is going downhill, and would love to see how Season Four develops things from here. I have flat-out admitted to enjoying "Magical Mystery Cure," despite all the dread and hatred directed towards the Alicorn Twilight idea. A lot of people didn't like it, but I figured I'd just go on enjoying the show and chilling with the fandom until Season Four started.

...That was my mistake...

I knew the change wasn't a popular or liked one, and that the season was contentious, but I hadn't figured just how vehement the backlash would actually be. I assumed it would be a quick flash-in-the-pan, or something low-key like the dislike towards "A Canterlot Wedding," but instead it's still freaking going all over. People are still tearing into Season Three, lambasting McCarthy and the remaining members of the team as horrible hacks who are useless without Faust and Renzetti to guide them along. Just about every episode of the season makes the very top of someone's worst episodes list, and they cannot bear to hide how and why they hate it so much. And if anyone tries to counter, they're met with demands for hard evidence that the show's writing isn't terrible, or that the voice acting isn't phoned in or incorrect, or that the animation hasn't slid downhill.

But hey, that's negative criticism for you, right? Well, two things:

The first is the reaction to MMC. Like I said, I liked the episode despite its flaws, but what I didn't know going in was that enjoying it only marked you as a McCarthy apologist. And just when it seemed like things were finally cooling down, someone would do something and the flames would shoot right back up. I have seen everything I enjoyed about the episode ripped apart or rendered meaningless in a sea of accusations, criticisms, and broken dreams, and there was nothing I could solidly offer as a counterargument other than that I found the episode enjoyable.

The second was that every flaw people said proved that Season Three sucked was something I could find in the earlier seasons. Twilight is stealing the spotlight? Season One, full stop. Characters are OOC in an episode? Their mannerisms change from one script to the next. No buildup to the finale? Season Two. Bad writing? All over the place. So when I started looking back on the show, I didn't see the wonderful series I enjoyed, but instead a mess of plot holes, amateur mistakes, and general incompetence. All three seasons. And when I get really low, it's even worse.

So...I don't know anymore. I think I might actually be broken this time. If you wanted to know why I moved Saturday's post to tonight, this was why; I was ready to delete the whole account and move on. I'm a little better now, but...seriously, was ruining the entire show worth proving that Season Three was a travesty? Why was I even so committed to this show to begin with?

Sorry. I just need to get this out in the air.

So...today, we're talking about Trixie. Oh, joy.

---

The Great and Powerful Trixie is a traveling showmare, specializing in stage magic and tricks to delight her audience. Unfortunately, she also has an ego that can dwarf continents, and does not take heckling well at all. So when she stopped in Ponyville, and Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity chewed her out for being a braggart, she responded by concocting a story about defeating an Ursa Major, and then proceeded to humiliate all three at various challenges. This won her the adoration of Snips and Snails, a pair of bumbling colts, and the ire of Spike, Twilight's white knight. So when the dragon told the fanboys that he wouldn't believe that Trixie could defeat an Ursa Major unless he saw it himself, they decided to bring one into town. Within a short time, the Ursa Minor was returned to its den by Twilight, but not before Trixie's wagon was destroyed and her reputation ruined. The mare refused to learn her lesson and ran off into the night.

It wasn't until Season Three that we finally got an update on her status. After fleeing, she tried to start her career back up, but news of the Ursa Minor incident had rendered her a laughingstock. Finally reduced to life on Pinkie's family's rock farm, she decided to save up her bits and get revenge on Twilight Sparkle for ruining her life. Said plan, however, involved use of the Alicorn Amulet, and before long her plan transformed into a Caligula-esque nightmare reign of Ponyville. Unable to defeat her in a blow-to-blow match, Twilight instead sought the help of Zecora, who aided her in clearing her mind and finding an alternative solution to the issue. With the help of her friends, some disguises, and a little sleight-of-hoof, she tricked Trixie into thinking that she had an amulet more powerful than hers, and when Trixie removed the Alicorn Amulet to put the new one on, Dash disarmed her and threw the cursed artifact away.

Trixie was last seen providing fireworks for Twilight's show for the Saddle Arabian ambassadors. Now depressed over the whole situation, she asked for Twilight's forgiveness...but upon receiving it, immediately reverted to being her usual boastful self before running off once again.

---

Out of all the antagonists in FiM, Trixie sits just behind Discord in terms of popularity, and it's easy to see why. Her boastful attitude and inability for her skills to match her words makes her a good counterpart to Twilight Sparkle's more humble and powerful persona. When Trixie was just a fraud, Twilight overpowered her with magic, and when Trixie was more powerful, Twilight defeated her using stage magic techniques. A character like this is something fandoms love to pick up on and utilize, and Trixie is no slouch in that department.

The one overriding canon trait of Trixie is her ego. While being a showboat and loudly decrying hecklers is a part of showmanship, she was still a condescending jerk even off stage, and only reluctantly fought against the Ursa Minor when it meant losing her reputation. Still, what many fans picked up on early on is that Trixie wasn't totally at fault; AJ, Dash and Rarity really didn't even let her get started before calling her out on being a showoff, nopony else in the crowd was booing, and they didn't have to try and jump on stage and outstage her. (You know, the same thing they were complaining about Trixie doing.)

Still, the most lasting impression from “Boast Busters” was how it ended. Trixie ended up losing her home because of this incident, and when she darted off into the darkness, fans quickly picked up on her being a sad pony who ate pinecones and wasted away in the Everfree Forest somewhere. But then “Magic Duel” happened, and we got to see just how damaging the Ursa Minor incident was. Trixie's exposure as a fraud had left her career in shambles, to the point where she had to abandon performing and take up a job on a rock farm. It's actually really depressing to see somepony, even a jerk like her, fall that far over something two dumb colts did because a petulant dragon suggested it.

At the end of “Magic Duel,” however, Trixie is ultimately forgiven by Twilight and allowed to leave, with no arrests or charges filed. And yet, even when she's apologetic, she's still boastful and a tad full of herself. Because at the end of the day, that's the kind of pony she is. Even when she's no longer seeking revenge or conquering towns, she's still prideful and arrogant. That doesn't make her a bad pony, though; it's what she does outside of that that determines the second part of her alignment.

Trixie's power level is a bit hard to pin down. Many fans seize upon her as the second most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria, and thus inflate her abilities to be a match for Twilight's own. But given what we're shown, Trixie isn't really all that talented at magic itself. What she is good at is putting on a performance. Her magical talents include the ability to conjure flowers and fireworks, create pictures with pyrotechnics, and perform a small number of other tricks, like summoning tiny storm clouds and turning manes into green rats nests. Outside of the stage, however, her skills are ultimately weak and ineffectual. When she was wearing the Alicorn Amulet, she was able to perform spells even Twilight had yet to master, but the minute it was removed her power dropped like a stone, going from shooting waves of agony to tickle rays. So in the end, I really don't see how Trixie can actually compare with Twilight's magical ability.

Also, Trixie does not distrust wheels. That was her under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet.

---

When it comes to shipping, there is only one pairing anyone needs to know about: Twixie. Twilight and Trixie shacking up has been the delight of many a shipper since she made her first appearance, and that trend does not look like it'll be broken anytime soon. A rainforests' worth of pages have been churned out steadily ever since, detailing everything from the two reconciling to making sweet, sweet love to each other. There are even more than a few art tumblrs dedicated to their pairing, ranging from the good (“Twilight and Trixie”) to the utterly insane (“Ask Twixie.”)

But like I said before, all of that is irrelevant since Kindness' Reward has not been erased from history yet.

---

Trixie is one of the most popular characters in the show, with reams of fanon backing her. She's been everything from an evil overlord to a runaway orphan, and those many facades are almost guaranteed to never disappear, no matter what happens to her on the show. In many ways, quite a few fans have fallen in love with who she could be over who she is, which is a loudmouth jerk who mostly got by because the other ponies in the episode were even worse. Perhaps if she gets an appearance in the comics or another episode, then we'll get to see more sides to her than what's been presented, but until then, she's just another general villain who got a huge fanbase.

The previously scheduled post for Monday (the review of shows on the Hub that are not original programs) has been put on hiatus until further notice. IN the meantime, tomorrow's update (which may come at night) will be what was scheduled for Saturday before I blew my top.

Just thought I'd let those interested know.

Because I am seriously not feeling it. At all.

Spontaneous Blog Post because...uh...because.

As a few of you know, I do go to TV Tropes from time to time. And one of the things someone mentioned in the pony thread of their today was "Accusation Fics." To put it simply, they're either Fix Fics (stories that attempt to change the canon so that it fits the author's perception of the work better) or Revenge Fics (stories that are about blasting characters the author doesn't like) that work by setting up one specific character as being at fault for the situation and then going to town on deconstructing the canon and showing how things would have proceeded in the author's vision.

Why bring this up?

A) I knew about these things for a while, but never knew they had been given an actual genre.

B) Because I need to get something out of my system about these things.

There have been quite a few examples of these particular stories in the pony fandom, usually coming from episodes and plot points that are considered contentious or upsetting by a large portion of the fanbase. In fact, the first real explosion of these things occurred after "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well," and a few were around even by the end of the first season. But the MMDW one were the first of these stories to truly catch my eye...and my ire. You see, there's a small problem with writing a story such as this, and that's the risk of looking for a scapegoat for everything that happened rather than trying to be logical about it. The one I truly came to detest was What's Eating Rainbow Dash?, mostly because quite a few fans back then were looking for some kind of release after that episode and decided to have that story's babies. It has some good ideas, such as Dash's public shaming not ending simply because MMDW was revealed and the friends having to deal with the consequences of their actions. The problem was that all the blame for MMDW is heaped on Twilight; she came up with the scheme, she was unaware of its consequences, and everything that happened was her fault.

Quick, point me to anything in the episode that said that Twilight was the mastermind behind the whole thing.

And for an inversion of this, we have the many, many stories of this ilk set during or just after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding." Almost all of these deal with the infamous moment where Twilight's brother tells her off, her friend abandon her, and Celestia scolds her. (And then she gets melted through the floor into a crystal-filled dungeon by a disguised bug-pony queen, but that's neither here or there.) The idea of Twilight's friends just up and leaving her was a tough pill for many to swallow, so along came the fics. Some tried to address the issue in a fair way, which showed that neither side was totally in the right. But still others opted for the lazy route and made Twilight out to be a saint besieged by traitors and false friends. Bitterness especially comes to mind, as it has Twilight reject Applejack's apology, kick her friends and family to the curb, and storm off because they didn't instantly believe the ramblings of a pony who had spent most of her time up to her accusatory spiel behaving like a jealous psychopath.

...Just saying that Twilight wasn't exactly in the clear in that episode.

So why bring this up? Well, with the incredibly polarizing MMC upon us, yet another wave of these things seems inevitable. There's already one or two (now thankfully relegated to the dustbins of Fimfiction's archives) that say Celestia was a monster who ruined Twilight's life and cursed her with immortality to satisfy her own selfish whims. Further stories about Twilight's friends abandoning her because she's now too special or has become a Canterlot snob seem inevitable given this fandom. Some of you guys might even be writing one of these right now.

But before you pick up that pen, here's some small tidbits from me:

A) Don't let emotion override your thinking. A lot of these stories can come off as being written in the heat of anger, and that is never a good thing. When people get mad, they don't think straight, and can say and do things without considering the consequences. Likewise, you might write what you think is a fair opinion of the piece, only to have all of your issues attached to a character you dislike simply because you dislike them and want an easy way out of the situation.

B) Be realistic. The core concept of this genre is to explore the ramifications of what would happen if someone got called out for their crap, so you have to keep the events grounded as much as you can considering the source material. Going off on a wild tangent about how Twilight being rejected turned her into a serial killer overnight simply doesn't work.

C) Above all else, know what you're getting into. The above three episodes are contentious not because everyone hates them, but because people have differing opinions. So when you write about how horrible Applejack is for not accepting Twilight's help because she's a princess, the part of your audience that hates Alicorn Twilight will love her getting called out, while the part that doesn't hate her will find Applejack to be stubbornly obnoxious. Things like that tend to get very ugly, very quickly, so make sure to have fireproof clothes on at all times.

...Well, that was a waste.

Blogger: http://blogofpony.blogspot.com/2013/04/thoughts-on-pets.html

We've looked at a lot of characters, haven't we? The Mane 6, Spike, Trixie, Celestia and Not-Celestia, and so forth. But you know who we haven't talked about? At all? None other than those lovable critters, the pony's pets. And since they're technically characters in their own right, why not take a look at them and see if there's anything to mine?

---

Winona

Applejacks' loyal Border Collie was the first pet to appear in the series, and also one of the least developed. There is very little to say about her that can't also be said about Applejack. She's a loyal, hard-working canine with a talent for herding and lots of energy. In fact, that's really the only defining thing about her in “Just for Sidekicks;” she needs a lot of exercise or she'll start running around wild. That said, AJ loves her little doggie dearly, and she's quite fond of the belly rubs the farmgirl offers.

This also extends into fanwork, since Winona stories either tell how they got the dog (usually involving parents dying) or how she dies. Old Yeller, when will you stop ruining dogs for us?

---

Angel Bunny

Out of all the pets, Angel has the most appearances and is the most developed as a character. While Fluttershy has many animals in her care, Angel is the one closest to her, and thus the one she spends the most time with. Unfortunately for her, Angel has exactly one defining characteristic: he is a massive flankhole. Unlike Fluttershy, he is aggressive when upset, will mess up your day if you offend him, and will slap you in the face if you don't give him what he wants. Even the other pets detest him.

Angel's appearances tend to go a bit back and forth on his behavior and attitude towards Fluttershy, but a few common threads have popped up. She treats him like a small baby, spoiling him and capitulating to his every demand, although she now has some set limits after the Iron Will incident. He, in turn, is rather rude and willing to smack her, but also has a soft spot for her. Indeed, his best moments are him using his aggressiveness to try and help Fluttershy overcome her social anxiety, from encouraging her to admit to wanting the Gala ticket to coaching her attempts to improve her flying skills.

---

Opalescence

Opalescence is Rarity's cat, much to her eternal suffering. Like many fictional cats, Opal pretty much does what she wants, from sharpening her claws on any surface to taking naps wherever she's comfortable. She also has a favorite toy mouse, and will gut you if you so much as look at it the wrong way. Unfortunately, she's also a bit on the sadistic side, gleefully acting like a sociopath to everypony and everything if they get too close. The only pony who can even take her to get groomed without getting swiped by her claws is Fluttershy.

Unlike those other cats, though, Opal has a very real reason to behave this way. While Rarity is a great business owner and fashion designer, she leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to taking care of a cat. She frequently shoves Opal around during her work, steps on her tail, and spoils her to the point where the exact temperature in a room is of the utmost importance. Even worse, she seems to show no sign of recognizing the effects of her treatment, instead either ignoring them outright in favor of her work or brushing them off entirely. If you were in the same situation, wouldn't you be a little grumpy too?

Or Opal's just a jerk. Either one's possible.

---

Gummy

Gummy is Pinkie's pet baby alligator, and thankfully has not grown its own teeth. (Or it's had them taken out.) His favorite activities are standing around, occasionally wiggling his tail to show he's alive, and ruthlessly trying to much on Pinkie's bones. Fortunately, his lack of teeth and tiny size mean he's not much of a threat just yet. (Seriously, if you've never dealt with an alligator, those things are not cute and cuddly. THEY WILL END YOU.)

Gummy's most endearing characteristic, however, is his total apathy for the world around him. No matter what happens, Gummy will always just stare blankly ahead. Sometimes he might bite into something, but for the most part he shows absolutely zero emotion. Perhaps this is a coping mechanism for dealing with a sugar-high owner, or perhaps he's mastered the ancient art of Alligator Fu and has achieved a zen level of inner peace. Either way, he's only shown emotion in “Just for Sidekicks,” and in both cases it was regarding Angel's actions. So in the end, even Gummy can be filled with righteous fury.

---

Owlowiscious

Twilight's pet owl, Owlowiscious began dwelling in the library as thanks for rescuing a scattered assignment for the future Alicorn Princess. He quickly proved to be an extremely capable helper, driving a wedge between him and Spike that only went away once Twilight realized what was going on and explained that the dragon wasn't being replaced. Since then, he has basically served as an additional assistant to both Twilight and Spike.

Owlowiscious did not have much of a character in the canon (his introduction was mostly about how awesome he was and how jealous Spike was of this Hooty Sue), outside of perhaps the running gag of people mistaking his hoots for “Who?” In “Just for Sidekicks,” however, he was given a bit of a nonverbally snarkier edge when dealing with Spike's gluttony and lack of self-control, so it seems he's inherited a few of Twilight's qualities. Also, he does not put up with Angel's crap at all, going so far as to threaten to eat him when he started insulting Spike.

---

Tank

The last of the Mane 6's pets to be introduced, Tank is a recent addition to the Rainbow Dash household. Originally, Dash wanted a pet that could reflect her surface qualities of flying fast and looking cool, leaving the tortoise out of the equation. But after showing how he reflected her inner qualities (determination, loyalty, and tenacity), Dash realized the tortoise was right for her...after she had him strapped into a propeller contraption, of course.

Being a tortoise, Tank is pretty slow. (Indeed, early fanon actually gave Dash a pet turtle just on the basis of it being an obvious opposite.) His propeller lets him fly about faster, but he's also not all that skilled with it and tends to slam into walls, wells, beds, and heads. Throw in his incredibly hard shell, and you can see why this might be a problem. Still, Tank is a trooper, and no matter how many times he gets knocked down, he'll get right back up. And for how exasperated she can get with him at times, Dash still adores her little tortoise, even if she'll only occasionally show it in public.

---

Philomena

Philomena is Celestia's pet phoenix, although she has a bad habit of not telling anypony what kind of bird it is before hauling it off to social functions. Much like her owner, Philomena has a bit of a playful side, but will fall into line once Celestia puts her hoof down. And just like other phoenixes, she eventually looses her feathers and dies, only to burst into flames and then rise from the ashes at the peak of her physical condition. It can also be assumed that she has access to fire-based magic, including a blinding flash to paralyze foes, but these seem to only be usable when not molting into oblivion.

Besides that, there is not much to go on, other than Philomena offering another sign of how ancient Celestia truly is.

---

Peewee

The last pet, and the only one to be taken out of the show. Peewee is a baby phoenix, hatched from an egg Spike took during his attempt to ingratiate himself with some teenage dragons. This seemed to be a good match, since Spike is also destined to live for a very long time. Unfortunately, it seems Spike wasn't quite ready for a pet, and Peewee was returned to what we can presume to be his parents. All this was handled using a series of pictures, including Spike trying to feed Peewee ice cream and getting it onto Twilight. Could Peewee return? I don't see why not.

---

So what about the pets? What makes them such a special part of the show? Not much, really. They're mostly there to provide animal sidekicks for the ponies, as well as to promote the toy packs they come with. (Although since the toys change so quickly compared to the show's production, they rarely line up accurately.)

But despite their limited appearances, they do have some sense of character to them, along with a few hints of at least some kind of sentience. The animals are capable of thinking and acting for themselves, can often perform tasks well outside of any real-world possibility, and show a great deal of empathy and understanding for the situations going on around them. This makes them capable supporting characters in many stories, and if given enough care and attention, love and affection, and breath mints, possibly staring roles as well.

The other thing about the pets is that they frequently shadow their owners' traits, or stand as a counterpoint. For example, Tank is a solid reflection of Dash's finest virtues (her steadfast loyalty and determination), while Gummy is the antithesis of Pinkie Pie's behavior (he is utterly serene and uncaring while she's hyperactive and focused on everything at once). In many ways, they help strengthen the ponies by serving as a contrast, which in turn teaches us more about them and the kind of people they are.

That, and they're just cute.