My Rise and Fall: How I succumbed to MAGICAL FRIENDSHIP

[Aldurin]

Originally Posted by rpgdemon

I pretty much feel obligated to not change my avatar.

I think rpg needs to be "sent to the cornfield apple orchard."

[rpgdemon]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

Rarity is offended by the notion I've suggested that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are both fantastic ponies? Is she that incapable of supporting her good friends, to hold such a petty grudge?

You see, this is why Rarity is my least favorite pony! Such arrogance! Such self-centered demand for center stage, even at the expense of her presumed friends!

Fluttershy's my favorite, too. But Rarity isn't that bad.

[The Kneumatic Pnight]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

Rarity is offended by the notion I've suggested that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are both fantastic ponies? Is she that incapable of supporting her good friends, to hold such a petty grudge?

You see, this is why Rarity is my least favorite pony! Such arrogance! Such self-centered demand for center stage, even at the expense of her presumed friends!

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by rpgdemon

Fluttershy's my favorite, too. But Rarity isn't that bad.

Nah, she isn't; she's my least favorite pony but saying she's "my least favorite pony" is like saying that Raphael is my "least favorite ninja turtle;" while technically accurate, I still love even the "worst" character from those two shows considerably more than most other characters on other shows. Admittingly I was close to feeling more ambivalent about Rarity in light of "Sonic Rainboom", but she redeemed herself sufficiently with "A Dog and Pony Show" for me to feel comfortable liking her again.

I just like exaggerating my Rarity "hate" here because it's fun

[rpgdemon]

The Sonic Rainboom thing actually is one of the things that bugs me with the show. It does that thing where they introduce/hyperexcentuate a character flaw for one episode, that wasn't really there before. It makes all the ponies have an episode where they just look bad.

[Fenris]

IMO Rarity has always had a touch of vanity about her. Not nearly to that extent, but she's always been the vainest of ponies.

[rpgdemon]

Originally Posted by Fenris

IMO Rarity has always had a touch of vanity about her. Not nearly to that extent, but she's always been the vainest of ponies.

Totally. But that's what I mean about bringing the flaw to the extreme.

[Fenris]

In her defense, those were totally fabulous wings.

[The Kneumatic Pnight]

Also: it's not just, that but also that Rainbow Dash was much less brash and fake-self-assured as usual, which makes sense, but I don't think is particularly well characteristic.

Or, to clarify, if Rainbow Dash had kept up the Best Pony Around act a little more and Rarity had made some cursory attempts to see if Rainbow Dash was okay with everything then it would have been a much more characteristic episode and Rarity wouldn't have looked as bad.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by The Kneumatic Pnight

Also: it's not just, that but also that Rainbow Dash was much less brash and fake-self-assured as usual, which makes sense, but I don't think is particularly well characteristic.

Or, to clarify, if Rainbow Dash had kept up the Best Pony Around act a little more and Rarity had made some cursory attempts to see if Rainbow Dash was okay with everything then it would have been a much more characteristic episode and Rarity wouldn't have looked as bad.

But I mean, every pony has an episode that skews their strengths and weaknesses a bit negatively, and every pony has an episode that skews their strengths and weaknesses a bit positively. Insofar as their respective strengths and weaknesses remain constant, this really isn't a problem for me at all. It's just good writing.

Think about it this way: You're a genuinely good person, I imagine. But you still have bad days where your weaknesses really overshadow your strengths, or where you're given something that initially seems like a gift and you let your newfound power or position go to your head. Same with me: I'm generally a good guy but anyone who's been on NPF lately knows I have my share of bad days, days where my weaknesses really come out to the forefront.

I like that about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I like the fact that Rarity's characterization appears consistent to me despite the fact that she's arrogant and prissy and fairly self-centered in one episode, and in the next she's cultured and generous while the other ponies are demanding and insensitive. Rarity's characterization remained the same, but in surroundings where she was more familiar (crafting clothing, for example) she was comfortable and her strengths shone, whereas in unfamiliar settings and in moments of sudden recognition in a field that did not match her specialty, her weaknesses seized her and she enjoyed herself a bit too much.