FLUTTERSHY IS BEST PONY

Was there really any doubt?

...

Rainbow Dash - agile weatherpony, athlete, enthusiast of fine literature, and...RAILFAN?

Nope, just a McDonalds' pony, a fence, and a pain-in-the-haunches kind of autofocus which makes me so frustrated I could just scream! *eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!*

Fillmore and Western, Here's your chance!

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/03/episode-announcement-mmmystery-on.html

Sounds like mystery episode taking place on...a train?

Well, time to hand this one off to a tourist railroad--the Fillmore and Western, to be exact. Having perfected the "Mystery Dinner Train", having close ties to Hollywood, and a scenic rail line with a ready-to-run steam locomotive (F&W #14), they could easily bring ponies to the real-world rails.

Here's a shot of FWWR #14 in action, hauling a charter train:

All they really need is some modified station signage to ponify the line (Piru = Ponyville, Fillmore = Fillydelphia, the list could go on!), some ponified pullmans, and plenty of costumes...and they'd be in business!

Hey, if they're looking for a car attendant...sign me up!

The Equestrian Scrolls Predicts a Potential Love Triangle.

Oh my gosh.

I've heard rumblings of this storyarc from the greats ever since the days when Hasbro decided to re-brand the pink castings of Celestia as "Princess Cadence" and sell some kind of wedding playset with "Shining Armor".

Long story short, for a while Hasbro was producing figurenes of Celestia using a rose-pink plastic--now, of course to devoted bronies, this is heresy. I, on the other hand, would regard it like a variation of a Lionel 6464 boxcar or SP Caboose--nothing out of the ordinary, just a bit rare. However, enough people pressed Hasbro to make more authentic figurenes so...yeah. Just sell off the last of 'em, or have an idea for this brilliant marketing move--make more, re-brand, and add something with plenty of play value and new trinkets.

I guessed the screenwriters down at Studio B would be cooking up a brilliant introduction to the characters. And suprisingly, deep in my subconscious, I sensed an iminent love triangle storyarc.

Now, if these fellas at Equestria Daily predict that my OC is the dragonborn, I'll take them seriously...

FUS RO DAH!
(If I have the Thu'um within me, you should be thrown backwards now...)

MY ORIGINAL CHARACTER

ASBEL IS BEST PONY. 'NUFF SAID.

Made with ponycreator: http://www.generalzoi.deviantart.com/

What? Phase V Amtrak colors? Yes, I am a bit of an Amtrak aficianado as well...no worries, Amtrak has a number of ex-ATSF switch engines. (Primarily CF7s and SW1500s)

From the Desk of ATSF Asbel: GO AHEAD, COME AT ME (HAS)BRO! CANONIZE MY CHARACTER!

WRT Derpy Hooves: "We Put Her On The Map"

Spread the word, everypony. Spread the word that Derpy (along with fan relations to Hasbro) is in peril of fading away.

http://www.savederpy.com/
For individaulity, for endurance, and for being able to smile and laugh despite struggling. Hang in there!

EDIT: Something lighthearted for everypony reading this: http://equestria.fadri.org/comics/034-Offensive.jpg
[ATSF Asbel guarantee: Pre-read this one, nothing incredibly vulgar. Just an un-derped Derpy Hooves pointing out some hypocrises.]

A couple "Save Derpy" Petitions

Help us save our favorite mailmare!
http://www.change.org/petitions/save-derpy-and-hasbros-creative-process
http://www.change.org/petitions/hasbro-studiosthe-hub-return-derpys-scene-in-the-last-roundup-to-normal
http://www.savederpy.com/

Did they just...

Here's my original take on the Derpy Hooves "removal":
Well, some whiny viewers of MLP apparently must have threatened to take Hasbro to court or something because of the whole thing with Derpy Hooves. So therefore Hasbro decided to go back, ALTER THE ANIMATION, AND RE-DUB THE SCENE, eliminating Derpy's name and crossed eyes. Seriously. The only people they made proud are the anime butchers who work for 4kids...

Not kidding though. They removed Derpy.

From my recollection, Snips and Snails both fulfill more of the archetypes of a mentally handicapped individual. I mean, when your "talent" is being mentally slow, that's actually crossing the very same boundary.

Derpy also serves as an expression of the individual who may be deficient in some areas but is still an endearing, well-liked member of a social community. By making her conform, Hasbro sent a worse message: ableism (the act of discriminating against someone based off of mental capability) is socially acceptable.

I've fought for mental equality on other accounts and pages before. I'll admit, though, I didn't even know what I was talking about. I also couldn't grasp its meaning.

This however, hits home. I can't say for certain what kind of impact it has, but it muddies the waters a bit for my fellow bronies and I.

LINKS:
Comparison of Original and Edited scenes
BaldDumboRat's response
SaberSpark and PaleoSteno's response

This Figures For An ATSF Fan...

I was half-expecting to get Twilight Sparkle, considering the fact I'm a more analytical brony.

Also strange that my two picks for best pony, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, are almost polar opposites on said chart--I register second-highest for Twilight's entry while for Fluttershy's I am about 50% below average. This is quite strange considering her reaction to unfamiliar individuals is much the same as mine.

My theory to how this quiz works: each question has responses which are linked to particular ponies' traits, behaviors, or personalities. At the end of the quiz, the results are tallied up and are measured towards a character.

To take the test, click here!

Sweetie Belle Derelle!

This blog has been Derelle'd!

Animation Appeal and Gen. IV Ponies

So the other day I studied the twelve fundamental principles of animation, a set of techniques devised by Walt Disney in the 1930s to assist in making fluid, appealing animation. One of the traits, "Appeal", pertains to character design. As charisma is important with actors, appeal breathes life into animation.

Now, the latest generation of "My Little Pony" seems to have taken the appeal to its target audience, prepubescent girls, and broadened it. In previous generations, the character appeal has been meant to target one audience.

I somehow ended up with some Generation III merchandise, and while is has many elements of the Generation IV artwork and character design, I clearly can tell I was not the intended recipient of its "appeal". Heart-shaped highlights, strongly vivid colors, and strong bright colors, along with typical American animatics and such applied.

Generation IV artwork, on the other hand, takes stylistic traits from 1990s videogames such as Animal Crossing, "moé" anime traits (while the eyes are large, they do resemble those of say...Elicia Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist, intended to be one of those "KAWAIIDESU!!!111" kind of characters), and of course by lowering the bright polychromatics a bit, as was done with Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. (Lauren Faust, creator of MLP:FiM, also worked as a storyboard / conceptual artist for the aforementioned series).

At the same time, the characters / scenery / imagery still maintained its solid drawing style, implying a sense of dimension. Subtle details, such as secondary action and overlapping action, abound in the animation, indicating a sense of physics not obtained with much modern animation.

All in all, character appeal, physics, and an attention to detail make it one of the most widely-appealed MLP series-es of all time.

Confound these Ponies!

Yep, another brony blogger, another railfan blogger, and another point at which Equestria and the real world collide.

So let the randomness begin!