Community soapbox time, where opinions from around the fandom are dropped down below for you all to discuss and debate! Expect these posts normally when not late every Tuesday at 2:00 PM MST And now Saturday at 2:00 PM MST. To submit your own, see this post. Note: These soapboxes do not at all reflect the ideas of EQD. They are an open forum for anyone to post whatever crazy theory they want.
Headlines for the week:
- The future of MLP and IDW comic influence
- Content Creators: The Lifeblood of the Fandom
- Should My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic be ending now anyway?
- On Dragons and Changelings by Energetic Rider
- The bad solutions to fixing the movie's pacing problem
And get your soapboxes below!
The future of MLP and IDW comic influence
By: Nightmaremuffin
When the topic of a Generation 5 (or g5) is brought up, many in the fandom speculate that it should take place in the same world of g4 to continue the majorly untapped potential of worldbuilding of Equestria, and that the next gen would most likely be colts and fillies born of the Mane6 of g4. One thing is certain- every generation of MLP has undergone a completely new art style and cast of characters. However, no new generation has been born as a “what if?” scenario while still keeping familiar characters. IDW’s MLP: Deviations, featuring Prince Blueblood does that- and while a mere comic spinoff, I wonder of the same could be done for a new pony generation- giving us a spinoff gen while keeping familiar faces from g4 and retelling a story from the beginning. This could easily throw back to “The Fall of Sunset Shimmer” comic, and focus on Sunset, telling a ‘what if she had become like Twilight of g4?’ story in g5, not only giving fans of hers their wish fulfillment of series screen time, but also a main role and tutelage under Celestia as a pony.
Content Creators: The Lifeblood of the Fandom
By: Pink-Pone
I think it’s safe to assume that we all love MLP. Some take their enjoyment to the next level and create content surrounding it, via art, music, fanfiction, animation, plushies and more; even creating websites like EQD to showcase it! Truly, this fandom excels at putting time, effort, creativity, passion and love into its content. Now, I’m not here to rant about why Starlight is so amazing/terrible, or how the show’s ending and we're all doomed. None of that clickbait drama nonsense. I’m here to acknowledge these wonderfully talented people who take time out of their schedules to give us something to enjoy. Remember that gorgeous artwork you saw the other day that made you smile? That artist probably spent countless hours in front of a computer screen, hoping their work would do just that. Remember that hilarious pony video that got a good chuckle out of you? Someone also spent a good chunk of their time making it. Remember what a blast that last pony convention was? It’s insane how much work goes into those things, and I want to give props to the people who make those amazing experiences come to life. SO THANK YOU! For every single contribution you guys have made, big or small.
Should My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic be ending now anyway?
by BramtheBrony
“Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long.”
This is what the Tenth Doctor says in the Doctor Who episode “The End of Time Part 2.” This is how I have felt about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for the last year or two; sometimes I think the show’s gone on too long.
I remember back in 2012, when I first became a Brony. Things were simpler back then, when the show had only two seasons. Ever since Season 2 it seems they’ve felt the need to make a major change at the end of each season. (Listing them all would go farther beyond the word limit than I already am.)
And then there’s the whole Equestria Girls spin-off franchise, which did not exist back during Season 2.
In addition, Twilight has been an alicorn longer than she had been a unicorn. And her castle has started to have been around longer than the Golden Oaks library.
This is why I wonder if the show has been going too long. I mostly feel this way when watching Season 1 and 2 episodes. But it should be noted that when watching my favorite post-2013 episodes (which included several from Season 7!), I feel better of how long the show's been around.
And it should also be noted that despite these thoughts, I still feel sad at hearing of the alleged imminent cancellation (which we wouldn’t know about if it wasn’t for NOSEY HOOLIGANS, but I may save that matter for another soapbox…)
On Dragons and Changelings by Energetic Rider
By: EnergeticRider
No, it's not about shipping those two (though could be an interesting topic). I just want to point out some similarities between the species. Both have their physical state tied to emotions. You know, changelings literally feed on love (known after Canterlot Wedding) and Spike momentarily grows after becoming greedy in Secret of my Excess. However, upon these well-known facts, a couple of suggestions can be deduced.
First - have you ever thought why changelings initially all black and have holes? I saw some theories about that (including Crysalis being crippled in a fight with Celestia). But I think the answer is more straightforward. "Transformed" form IS changelings natural form. But because they don't share love and feed on it in the most unhealthy way, their body loses color and in extreme cases literally eats itself, so the holes appear. You can compare it to a scurvy when teeth deteriorate if organism lack vitamins.
Second - dragons. Did it ever come to anyone that Spike's momentary growth can be not an exception, but norm? What if ALL dragons age depends on their attitude and not the other way around. We saw in the show that big adult dragons are all cranky and grim. Spike is lighthearted and naive and for seven seasons he hasn't grown a bit. And teenage dragons like Ember and Garble have some of that attitude, but still capable of having fun. If dragons' look and size are indeed tied to their "inner age" that would explain it all.
The bad solutions to fixing the movie's pacing problem
By Hoploo
If there is one common complaint about the movie, of which I cannot help but agree with, is that the movie's pacing is wonky. Characters & concepts lack the time they need, the Mane 6 were horribly unbalanced, and a good few sections of the movie feel like they're on fast-forward. This is a criticism of the film of which I cannot deny, however what I can are the bad solutions proposed by others.
The first of which, a pipe dream, is to just make the film longer, however that would be a financial nightmare to deal with, so I would advise against something like that.
The second, however, is the solution that many of the movie's characters should be cut in the interest of fleshing others out. This solution is a plague. It completely goes against the theme of the movie, of which is that friendship can be made in found in all places. If Capper, Celano, or the Seaponies were to be razed, that would hurt the point of the film, and make the world feel emptier. One can dream up many mathematical solutions to balancing out screentime, but cutting characters is not the solution.
