• Pony Community Soapbox #157 - Best Pony, FiM Ending, Villains, and More!


    We need more soapboxes! Submit them ye foals.

    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 1:00 PM PST. To submit your own, see this post.

    Headlines this week:

    • Leave it to the fandom to decide
    • The Best Pony Debate is Silly
    • Villains forever?
    • Show's Over, and The Only thing we have to fear is fear itself!
    • It's not over yet

    And get your soapboxes below!


    Leave it to the fandom to decide
    By: FlareGun45

    Now that the show's over, some of the fandom have alota unanswered questions, and a large majority of the staff are just answering with "that's for the fandom to decide". I understand the reason WHY they do it. Fans get angry when their headcanons don't become canon, and they're afraid of being attacked - even though it's happening anyway. Either that or they're just kind enough to keep things open for us, and that's ok! I know they mean well on that!

    However, there are some downsides to this. There are certain story elements that are just way too good for fanfiction and deserve actual answers. Stuff like whatever happened to Scorpan, or why Chrysalis and Cozy are villainous (we got an implication for Tirek, he has daddy issues). Then we have the stuff like shipping which don't matter, fanfiction can handle THAT! :P My point is, I think the devs kinda "overdid" it on the "leaving it to fanfiction", though I'm sure Hasbro is mostly to blame since the devs DID wanna get into the zebras and post-reformation Diamond Tiara.

    In the end, it is their choice, and whatever they couldn't do, the comics can! ;) How do you feel about this? Do you agree with them? Is there at least SOME things you'd rather see answered?



    The Best Pony Debate is Silly
    By Quillfeather


    The best pony debate has been a part of this fandom since the beginning. You've no doubt heard them all: best princess, best cmc, best background pony, etcetera. However, I've seen such debates dissolve into outright hatred and name calling. I mean, we had a whole episode that was literally poking fun at the fandom and some of the debates it has, so this should show how riled up we tend it get.

    The thing I want to point out though is this: there is no "best pony." There, I said it. We all have favorites. For example, Twilight is my favorite. I won't call her "the best", but there are things I like about her, so she's a favorite. But, I enjoy many of the other characters too. We can all have our favorites without putting each other down. We all like the ponies, so let's remember that we all enjoy them for different reasons. Friendship is magic after all

    Villains forever?
    By:indiana

    I have to admit. I was a bit disappointed by that ending of the show because what I wanted to see was villains getting redemption and going back to a supposed good side that they had in their past before becoming what you already know them for. We did not get that. Instead we got a straightforward story about bad people who never change and therefore they have to be put down or locked up. Did I hate this twist? Not exactly. In the end I understand why they chose to do that kind of ending because just like in real life, there are some who simply refuse to chance their ways until the end of their days. The show wanted to show that some people will die evil and the only thing you can do in that case is to oppose them and wait for them to die of old age or in some cases even kill them yourself. If you want an example for someone who really deserved death, take Osama Bin Laden or whoever the heck did that 9/11 attack in the first place. They do deserve death for the mere fact that they have no problem killing thousands of innocent people.
    Maybe the show will redeem our evil trio in the end I hope(G5) but for now I guess this was a good lesson too that is relevant to our reality at least.


    It's not over yet
    By:indiana


    While the G4 show is most certainly over(for now), the pony show as a whole is not done yet. There will still be movies, comics, a new generation and who knows what other surprises that we don't know about yet. But for now I would like to talk about the actual ending of the show. Not what happened in the ending but the fact that it ended and why it ended. A year ago I was a strong advocate for the show going on for even 10 more seasons if possible. That was my greedy side asking for more of what I already loved so much. And to be fair, the show could have went on if it really wanted to. Now I heard again and again that the show had to stop on a good note because people did not want it to go the Simpsons route and crap like that. I firmly disagree with that kind of reasoning. The show could have continued and still be good if they really wanted to. So why did it end? We keep being focused so much on the show itself that we forget about the people behind it. The voices, the animators the writers and the producers. They were burnt out. They needed a break. I think this is the real reason why the show stopped. The people behind the show needed a change from doing the same thing for 10 years straight. G5 has different animators, different writers, different everything probably and that is not a coincidence. It's because the staff needed a break. Now, do I think that G4 will be back? Probably but not too soon. Maybe in about 5 to 20 years because of the nostalgia factor. It happened to Sailor Moon, Dragonball and other extremely popular shows from the past so I could bet it will happen again. But for now I have to say a sincere thank you to the G4 staff. Thank you for all you have done so far and for saving my life. You really deserve that break. Enjoy.


    Show's Over, and The Only thing we have to fear is fear itself!
    by Feather Data

    Yes, the show has indeed ended. However, that does not mean the fandom is over.
    I have been seeing many Bronies all over the fandom who are now depressed and upset the show is over. Many of them said that the show had saved their lives. And without it, the fandom is nothing and is gone!

    Well, as I quoted FDR in the title, worrying about the show/fandom ending is only going to make your problems worse for you in the end.

    Also, I truly believe that this fandom will live on for centuries, even millennia! At least, until the end of time.
    Our fandom has carried a huge legacy and phenomenon throughout this past decade. I truly believe that we will be taught in history books in various schools and colleges around the world! We Broke gender stereotypes like they never existed at all! We helped various charities, and we made lots of friends! That is why I believe we will see pony conventions for decades, and our children will see them as well, until the end of the world!