My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:: READ POST 11156/PAGE 558

[CoffeeGrunt]

Some of my friends are upset about Derpy because they feel she's being depicted as an insult towards the disabled.

Implying everyone who's mentally disabled is cock-eyed, has a muffled voice, and constantly breaks things.

I seriously want to take everyone attempting to be "politically correct" and slap them, sometimes. Feminists come off as feminine supremacists, people who try to protect a group often end up insulting it, (you can't expect a guy in a wheelchair to work, he's too weak and helpless. Or, this kid is born with autism, therefore you can't expect the same from his as others from his class.)

My little brother has autism, and the thing that pisses me off most is the teachers telling him he doesn't have to worry about doing well in school, because he's "special needs."

Well fuck, Miss. Great way to build a kid's self esteem to head into the world of work. I'm sure there's several success autistics out there who beg to differ.

[Snatcher2047]

When it was said that Derpy would have a bigger role in Season 2, I was hoping that it just meant what we saw through the first half of the season, just her popping up for a few seconds at a time and not saying anything. I just felt she was one of those things that was better in small doses. Now I'm actually kind of interested to see where they go with her. I'd love to see a buddy-comedy episode with her and Rainbow Dash.

[gato]

MY NOT SO LITTLE REVIEW: Overanalysing is chimicherries cherrychangas chimicherrychangas!

Did anypony heard that? Never mind, that was just the sound of my skull and brains exploding because of this episode.

Episode 40: The Last Roundup.

Chapter:

The episode starts with Applejack being... Hatless... HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASBRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOHWAIT- Applebloom is wearing the hat... Never mind. n_n

So AJ is training for a rodeo that will take place in Canterlot, apparently, she has won this competition many times already so her family is quite confident that she will be able to take the first place again...

It seems like the rest of Ponyville also thinks the same, since they are pretty much preparing a celebration in her honor... Uh... Rainbow is doing the decorations.... Wu..... Bwa..... Did she just?....

OMGAAAAAAAAAAAARGARBLEBLKLAHFAKNCBUIBHAOÑCNHUIOÑNAYIFGXNÑQDHAJKBFAHJRK"NÑOJIOAHEUIÑBNUIGHSDQBEÑAUIXGHQBDIÑHSDQYDGALHSBQGLYAULAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111!!!

...

Ahem...

...

The ponies are really confident about AJ's success, and they make a great effort to show their appreciation for the will be prize money that will be donated to help fix the town hall (Oh mayor... You so crazy!)... You know, after watching Mare-Do-Well this makes me think the whole town is falling apart. >_> (or at least the public buildings... OH MAYOR... YOU AND YOUR BUDGET MANAGEMENT... SO CRAZEH!). Anyway, with the promise of coming back with some money for the town and a nice amount of blue ribbons in her bag, Applejack leaves Ponyville.

A week later, the ponies meet at Sweet Apple Acres to prepare a surprise party for AJ... Except that she doesn't show up, in her place there is just a mail pony with a telegram (and it's his birthday!!!! yaaaaaay!!). Twilight reads it and... What?... Applejack is not coming back?... But she loves Ponyville! And the farm! And her family!... After some screams of OOC and some manly tears the rest of the mane 6 decide to go looking for the lost farmer.

A search montage latter, a mare informs them she spotted Applejack at Dodge Junction, they decide to go to look for her. They indeed find the apple farmer there, and discover she has been working for somepony who looks like a western "madam" (is this the right word?) who apparently needed somepony with quick hooves and a strong back...

...

Of course we are talking about an orchard.... Yeah... No way we would be talking about another thing right? I certainly can't think of any other profession, not at all!

...

The point is AJ is working in a cherry orchard, she tells the mane 6 she just wanted a change in scenery and decided to start there but our heroines don't buy that and decided to go with her and try to find out what's really going on here.

They keep questioning AJ but the farmer obviously doesn't want to speak about whats going on, running out fo options to make the farmer talk they decided to use her secret weapon...

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNN

So yeah, they are going to use Pinkie's motor mouth to talk AJ into submission, and it works! They force her to Pinkie Promise (wasn't called Pinkie Pie Swear? Oh well) she will talk after breakfast...

Except she doesn't and tries to flee from the dodge as soon as she can! this kind of upsets Pinkie... Just a bit...

So the chase begins! Applejack sees her friends are coming for her and quickly rides a cart and tries to escape... WHY!? I bet she could go even at a similar speed by herself!... Anyway, her friends then decide to take a carriage for themselves (remember kids! Stealing is bad! :V) and start chasing her... WHY!? I bet Rainbow could have been faster by herself... Oh well, I guess Pinkie needed to go because she was going berserk about the broken promise, and Fluttershy was going because somepony else had to pull the cart with Rainbow (and execute later that brilliant and now that I think about it quite obvious maneuver to catch up with AJ), And Twilight probably deduced they would have to try to convince AJ together, strength in numbers and whatnot, And Rarity was going because... Well, why the hell not?

The point is, they chase AJ around the dessert a bit, it's a really interesting scene despite the nonsense of seeing a pony fleeing in a pony carried wagon while being chased by another one of those things... They keep quarreling until Pinkie jumps and gets in AJ's vehicle, and than starts demanding for an apology (because, really, I'm sure none of us were thinking about Pinkie reacting in a violent way), after clearing some things up (completely ignoring the reason they were chasing Applejack in the first place), the pink pony just jumps down the wagon and takes Rarity with her. XD

Now only 3 ponies remain, AJ decides to take some risks and crosses a railroad just before the friendship express goes through it, successfully blocking the way to the others! Of course, she forgot Fluttershy and Rainbow can fly. :V

The stubborn farmer won't give up anyway, she starts running on her own when she finally get's caught by a quite frustrated Rainbow Dash, Dropping a bunch of ribbons on the way... After all the blatant evidence Applejack confesses she didn't get to win a single blue ribbon, and therefore, she didn't get any prize money (you would think a national contest would at least give you some money for getting second but eh)... She was ashamed of it, and decided to work on the cherry orchard to not come back empty hoofed...

Her friends comfort the apple farmer and convince her that being there with them (and ehr family) is more important than any money, and a hole in the roof of the town hall would be nothing compared to the hole in their (and her family) hearts if she didn't come back (That's because you don't work there! ¬¬)...

AJ decides to come back and recieves a group hug from her family... All's right with the world... <3

...

Wait, aren't they forgetting something?

...

Oh crap! They forgot to tell Cherry Jubilee they were quitting their jobs! D:

Characters:

Twilight! She didn't have a lot of action in this episode but at least we can see she still is a bit tactless like in the previous episode.

- Mail pony: Oh boy! Somepony remembered my birthday!

- Twi: ಠ_ಠ *takes letter and closes the door*

- Mail Pony:

At least Pinkie gave him some cake. (a really nice gesture that didn't go unnoticed by most of us).

Also:

You still can't be my pet, Twi.

(wonderful and delicious context)

Rainbow... Well for starters she had to put up with Derpy.

Atter that she was one of the most active members of the group when it came to "actions" (I feel so redundant for saying that), she was the first one to suggest they were being too nice and used Pinkie as a weapon to break Applejack's silence, she pretty much scolded Fluttershy with her eyes when she stopped the chase because of a bunny who was crossing the street (and with many reasons, they could have just jumped over it), and of course, she doesn't stop the chase when Rarity and Pinkie fall from the cart either...

Now there is a lot of talk about Loyalty on the net but it's quite obvious that in that moment Applejack was the biggest priority... I'm a bit surprised she forgot to go get them once AJ decided to go back to her home, but it's not like she was the only one to forget about them anyway. :V

I also find interesting how she does seems to have a taste for the dramatic/hammy (going from previous episodes) but she doesn't like zappy things (or at least she doesn't want people to find out about her being moved by such moments)

Applejack! I can't shake the feeling she also got a bit over-hyped about her performance at the rodeo, I mean, she pretty much told everypony she would come back with a lot of blue ribbons... And you can see how that went...

Anyway, she tries to hide her "failure" to Ponyville and decides to work in a cherry orchard in order to get enough bits to repair the town hall, when her friends arrive she pretty much lies to them (SHOCKER!) and tells them she just wanted a change of air... And you can see how that went (they didn't buy it)... After that she tries to outright avoid the topic at all, and this is where her little stubborn nature start to kick in... She pretty much ends up risking lives in her desperate attempt to avoid confronting her friends.

You know, this pony's honesty bites her in the back a lot of times, not only she is an awful liar, but most of her stubborn streaks are because she just can't go back on a promise. (Applebuck Season is another nice example of this little behaviour of hers)

I think this is often called "Honor before reason".

(And despite that she was quite clever about how to avoid breaking a Pinkie promise)

Pinkie stole the show, but I don't feel it was because of her berserk moments, what I actually loved were all her little gestures and jumping and bouncing and joking around, I love how she spend a lot of time practicing her "SURPRISE!" scream for AJ's party and ends up messing up her timing , I loved how she gave some cake to the poor mail pony, I love how the ball she was riding deflates when the rodeo clown told her he haven't seen Applejack, II love how she temporally forgets she wanted to go to the bathroom after finding AJ and how quick she went out of the outhouse to ask for some snacks. She was awesome when it came to comedy...

Now back to angry shenanigans! You know, I've never noticed this but there is (or was) some serious lack of fics/comics/other fan media dealing with the subject of Pinkie promises... We really didn't have any fanon or anything of the sorts to answer what happens when you break one of those... And now we know Pinkie goes all psycho (demanding for a friendly apology)... I wonder if we are going to see more of that (be it canon or fanon).

As a side note, I wonder if it's true that Pinkie spend some time working in a kumquat orchard. XD

I don't know why, maybe I'm too freaking biased, but I loved what little I saw of Rarity here.

I loved her little dramatic gestures, or how she was cleaning (I think) herself after searching for Applejack at the rodeo... Or asking AJ if she felt insulted when she insulted her. (her hair... Mane?... Fur?).

But what I liked the most was the ending (I guess I like to watch Rarity suffer XP ), her ladylike mannerisms ALMOST broken when we find her dirty, with her mane messed up and pretty much having to deal with Pinkie all the way back to Ponyville (or the dodge)... Do i need to remind you AJ didn't last 2 minutes against the pink one? That's some patience right there... (the little faces she does in this final scene are so funny XD)

I also find interesting how she promises fabulous and dignified revenge against Dash... I mean... How did she knew it was Rainbow's idea to leave them behind? Maybe she has a specially trained sense of hearing (for gossip, obviously).

And speaking of revenge:

This is most likely not true, but you will be able to sense my multiple fangasms if such a wonderful and hilarious continuity nod happened

And Fluttershy once again showed us that she is quite capable of some extreme physical feats if she has the right mindset... Sometimes I wonder if she is actually able to do this or she pulls all of this feats out of sheer willpower. (since she got pretty tired after all that running, hitting, jumping and flying)

Also, it seems like she had her first encounter with the brony community:

I mean look at her! LOOK!

And of course, I couldn't let this little part of my review end without mentioning Derpy! First of all it appears she has some relationship (NO, NOT SHIPPING!) with Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus seems to know her enough, maybe they are good friends, maybe they both work in the weather patrol, she was playing with some clouds after all...

Thinking about it, who had the brilliant idea of let Derpy do something like that? Or maybe that's her work, maybe there is some magical reserves of energy in those black clouds and Derpy was just letting it out, causing some (unintentional) collateral damage in the process.

Speaking of damage, this grey pony seems to cause a lot of it, she pretty much breaks everything she touches! , maybe (like I've said before) Ponyville is falling apart (they really seem to need that money to fix the Town Hall), or maybe Derpy's special talent is destroying things and the bubbles symbolize the fragility of everything that surrounds her! Or maybe she is just really hard and heavy (which would make a lot of sense considering her dangerous job with the storm clouds).

But that's all fanon, the only thing we seem to be able to confirm in canon is that she is hilariously clumsy. XD

We've also heard her voice for the first time, and I actually like it, I would like it more if it weren't so slow... Eh, I'll have to deal with it... This slow voice isn't so bad anyways, now I feel like I can ship her with Big the Cat.

tl;dr:

This episode had lots of memorable moments and I had a hard time picking one of many possible pic's I've selected to post here, but this little comic makes a perfect job describing mine (and I guess many other) reactions to this episode.

Fantastic episode, easily one of the best in the whole series (way up there with Lesson Zero, Briddle Gossip and my absolutely not biased choice of Dragonshy)! Almost every single scene was hilarious, each mane character had it's little share of spotlight (the less favoured being Twilight and Applejack, because this was supposed to be her episode) and I've learned a new word! yay!

ps: I feel I shouldn't have made this post today (too freaking tired), I might have to do some edits later... heh... I guess I'm a little stubborn myself. *goes to post at the "30 days of gaming" thread*

Edited January 23, 2012 by gato

[Celestia]

edit: bleh

Edited December 22, 2013 by ElementofChaos

[Your Vest Friend]

My little brother has autism, and the thing that pisses me off most is the teachers telling him he doesn't have to worry about doing well in school, because he's "special needs."

Well fuck, Miss. Great way to build a kid's self esteem to head into the world of work. I'm sure there's several success autistics out there who beg to differ.

Good grief, that teacher would be getting a swift punch to the mouth if she said that in front of me. I have an older sister who's a classic autistic (ie mentally impaired severely) and she managed to get a B in her Art GCSE, I know several higher-functioning Autistics and some others with Down's Syndrome who are perfectly well adjusted to education and life.

...Hang on, this isn't ponies. Whoops, I'm getting off-topic.

[PeanutButterDimond]

The whole "Derpy depicting the mentally challenged" thing is really pissing me off.

1. Just because someone speaks slow doesn't make them mentally challenged(I had a kid in my math class who spoke slow and he was almost impossible to hear. He was the top of the class ALL year in math, which I always struggle with, and did well in other subjects too).

2. Accidently breaking things by backing in to them and sitting down doesn't make you mentally challenged(If that was so, I would be the most mentally challenged person on earth. I knock things over on a constant daily basis)

3. It's a show about candy coloured ponies. If characters like Ed(From my memory, didn't Ed get to the point where he could barely speak coherent sentences?) and Goofy are okay for kids shows then Derpy should be NO problem.

But this isn't a thread about handicapped people and political correctness. This is a thread about ponies!

I have to admit it was so weird to hear Rainbow Dash say "Derpy" in the show but now after rewatching it about fifty times, it sounds very natural. I really a so glad that they made a Derpy scene. They captured her perfectly. Clumsy, silly, bubbly and yet very friendly. She's pretty much fanon Derpy from head to hoof.

I must say that I absolutely adore her voice. It's so happy yet a little silly. Props to Tabitha on that. Seriously, she has serious range.

It does kind of bother me how some people complain that she isn't portrayed how they want her to be.

Edited January 22, 2012 by PeanutButterDimond

[Snatcher2047]

I must say that I absolutely adore her voice. It's so happy yet a little silly. Props to Tabitha on that. Seriously, she has serious range.

I've watched that scene at least a dozen times now and I can't help but giggle every time I hear her say "My baaaaad..."

[PeanutButterDimond]

I've watched that scene at least a dozen times now and I can't help but giggle every time I hear her say "My baaaaad..."

The one that always gets me is the last line.

"Yay Applejack! Wooohoooooo!"

[Ashley Marsh]

It does kind of bother me how some people complain that she isn't portrayed how they want her to be.

And that what annoys me most about some pony fans. The show is the definite defination for everything in the show, especially characters and the show COMES ABOVES any fan portrayal. No if's, no buts.

[Ruby Havoc]

Year late impressions of Season 1: Now that I've watched about 26 episodes (from about late at night to early morning, I watch about 5 to 6 episodes) I've come to the conclusion that this show is very colorful, the characters are nice to watch, it's colorful, it makes me smile and chuckle, and possibly something else.(I've also realized that I still can't stand when some breaks into song for longer than 30 seconds. It's just one of those things for me.).

Now how many more episodes do I have watch before I'm caught up?

[Your Vest Friend]

Year late impressions of Season 1: Now that I've watched about 26 episodes (from about late at night to early morning, I watch about 5 to 6 episodes) I've come to the conclusion that this show is very colorful, the characters are nice to watch, it's colorful, it makes me smile and chuckle, and possibly something else.(I've also realized that I still can't stand when some breaks into song for longer than 30 seconds. It's just one of those things for me.).

Now how many more episodes do I have watch before I'm caught up?

As of now, 14.

Edited January 23, 2012 by VEDJ-F

[CoffeeGrunt]

@Torcano

Take it from someone who knows, the music grows on you...fast.

[Dr. Mechano]

You know, honestly, I can understand the complainers' point. Let me make this clear: I like Derpy, and I think she's a perfectly innocent "klutzy" character that isn't intended to be mentally disabled, regardless of the word derp's origins. However, I'm not going to act like these people have no grounds to be offended, and I can definitely see how they might see Derpy as an insensitive caricature of the mentally handicapped.

The fact is, to them, we're comparable to the people in the 1930s who laughed at blackface cartoon characters, which were similarly thought to be "harmless" jokes of their day. Nowadays, stuff like that obviously doesn't fly, and for good reason; It's racist and terrible. And what I'm wondering is if history is going to look unkindly on us for finding this sort of character hilarious; Fifty years from now, are the people who laughed at Derpy going to be seen as unenlightened bigots? As someone who likes Derpy myself, it's something I've thought briefly about.

Now, understand this. I don't believe Derpy was ever intended by Studio B to be mentally disabled, despite some fan portrayals going into that territory. However, the combination of her name, clumsiness, being seen as unfit to work by Rainbow Dash, and slurred speech all definitely leave some unfortunate implications that- even though probably unintentional- do create what looks like a parody of the disabled.

So despite my liking Derpy just fine, I want to say that the people complaining about her don't do so without reason. I'm not shocked or bothered that they don't like her, and I don't really think they're overreacting. I think their interpretation of the character is fundamentally different than mine, but they're acting appropriately based on that interpretation.

So yeah. I like Derpy, but I totally understand why some people don't, and I respect those reasons.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Dr. Mechano

[PeanutButterDimond]

Good point, Mechano.

Anyway, here's the extended version of the Italian MLPFiM theme.

http://www.animenocensura.org/video/video.php?act=video&id=1189

Maybe it's just because I love anime openings(And this really reminds me of them) but I love this opening. Seriously, it blows the US one out of the water.

[Jeffhog]

So, where do I apply for joining the herd?

[Your Vest Friend]

Good point, Mechano.

Anyway, here's the extended version of the Italian MLPFiM theme.

http://www.animenoce...t=video&id=1189

Maybe it's just because I love anime openings(And this really reminds me of them) but I love this opening. Seriously, it blows the US one out of the water.

Italians do know how to make good openings, I've seen that much between this and Dexter's Lab.

And is it me, or were there clips in there from episodes we haven't seen yet?

[Phantomime]

So, where do I apply for joining the herd?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy1v3CfrOto

Good quality version of Season 1. Where I saw them. After that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqpVtaczf_8&feature=related

Quality version of season 2 is on this channel.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Phantomime

[Jeffhog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy1v3CfrOto

Good quality version of Season 1. Where I saw them. After that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqpVtaczf_8&feature=related

Quality version of season 2 is on this channel.

[Celestia]

So, where do I apply for joining the herd?

[Jeffhog]

Wait, you're supposed to apply? D: Is there some sort of process I don't know about in joining fandoms?!

[Phantomime]

Oh, in that case I need help with that too.

[Celestia]

Hmmm, well, you could seek out communities and fansites and such. There's a few big ones I know about.

http://www.equestriadaily.com/ Good site for pony news and fights over who is best pony. If you have no interest in fanfiction, there's a No Fanfiction Mode button. Currently Derpy is atop said button being adorable.

There's PonyChan, although I don't have much experience with that site--haven't even posted there--but I've heard a lot of bad things recently.

Ponibooru for pony images (if you don't feel like searching dA, plus Ponibooru has images from all over, and USUALLY has sources). I think it automatically filters out images that are rated Explicit if you don't have an account on there, although you can change settings to filter out Questionable as well (or just go without any filters...if you dare!). If you want to filter out more specific stuff, you'll need an actual account.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1njTTTPv1Of4yHd6igFCNCB9JyXOhH4IHENwnt55zIWc/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1 Here's a list of all the tumblr ask blogs if you're interested.

There's a lot of awesome Youtubers, such as those who make remixes, or even some who make original songs! For example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sryqaS07WaU&list=FLvJzDYzasIymOP3I5dRiIVg&index=3&feature=plpp_video

Or this:

If you can't tell, Pinkie's my favourite. >_>

Most importantly, if you need a reaction video want to see a clip from an episode: http://www.youtube.com/user/kyrospawn

[Emperor Robrainiac]

Well then, I'm interested the next episode... Too early to discuss I know. But I'm getting a strange feeling that the FlimFlam brothers in the upcoming episode will be a parody of the Mario Brothers... CALLING IT!

While this episode did give some more development for Applejack, I may be in the minority that thought it wasn't enough to catch my interest. (Then again, I may have been blinded by a Derpy Hangover, so I don't know.)

I'm gonna be really honest here (lol, honesty, Applejack, lol) Applejack is probably the least interesting one of the main six... In my opinion anyway. So here's to hoping that there will be more Applejack centered episodes, because I really do want to have more appreciation for her.

Edited January 23, 2012 by the ORIGINAL recolor

[Shyanne Firefox]

Good point, Mechano.

Anyway, here's the extended version of the Italian MLPFiM theme.

http://www.animenoce...t=video&id=1189

Maybe it's just because I love anime openings(And this really reminds me of them) but I love this opening. Seriously, it blows the US one out of the water.

[Celestia]

Well then, I'm interested the next episode... Too early to discuss I know. But I'm getting a strange feeling that the FlimFlam brothers in the upcoming episode will be a parody of the Mario Brothers... CALLING IT!