I don't think anyone's asking for FiM to be all about sunshine and roses.  But, however some people might like to look at the Pony scene through rose-tinted glasses, I can definitely see why people were offended by it.  My jaw dropped when I saw it, just to think that Hasbro would actually allow that into a MLP show.  And no, it's nothing to do with poor little Pony and "let's write out the disabled and pretend they don't exist".  My problem was with RD's treatment of her and the way she was portrayed as, "Ha ha!  Look!  Clumsy, stupid pony!  Let's laugh at her!"  Honestly, her sole purpose in the show was for comic relief...and that's just wrong.  I'd be happy to see her appear in future episodes, but it would be nice to see her with more positive personality traits alongside her clumsiness.

As for the word Pony, it may not have originated as a slur against the mentally disabled but, as I believe someone else already mentioned in this thread, "gay" didn't have the same meaning a few decades ago.  Does that mean Hasbro should name a happy little pony, "Gay Sunshine", and throw in a few stereotypical homosexual slurs for laughs.  I think not.

Imagine yourself as a MLP-loving child for a minute - a MLP-loving child with strabismus.  At school, you are bullied and called a "derp".  You come home to relax and watch MLP and hey presto, there's your favourite character, Rainbow Dash, shouting at a pony with eyes like yours, and calling her by the same term that you hear as a slur against you on a daily basis.  Not only that, but the pony is portrayed as being ridiculously clumsy and unable to even notice what she's doing wrong.  Now can you see why that child or her parents would be offended?  Put it the other way, the child who bullies this poor little kid sees the cartoon and has it reinforced that it is okay to call someone who looks that way, " Pony".  No, it shouldn't happen.  Yes, the parents should be supervising these kids.  But unfortunately, that's not always the case.

My own sister was born with a lazy eye and was bullied at school for it.  Thankfully, with the use of eye patches, hers was sorted out by the time she was nine or ten and the bullying stopped before high school.  She still has some visual problems with that eye, but it's not physically noticeable anymore.  This was all long before the word "derp" was invented, but I know Mum would have gone wild if a character with her problem was depicted in a kids' show and named by one of the offensive terms used towards my sister.

To be honest, I am sick of Hasbro pandering to the bronies just because they're loud and boistrous.  The more they do for them, the more they whine it's not good enough.  And the loud, annoying "include this offensive character OR ELSE" bronies are exactly the type of people who AREN'T supporting Hasbro in any way and are merely watching the show illegally on Youtube.  So I'm not sure what they gain from it.  As for, "Yes, it started off as a kids' show, but now there are these adults making ridiculous demands - how nice that Hasbro are listening!", no.  Just no.  If they want to make it an adult show, start airing it in the evenings.  While it continues to air on a saturday morning, it is and will always be primarily a kids' show.  Let the adults enjoy it for what it is, they don't need constant nods towards their fanon characters.

People are writing hateful comments to Hasbro regarding Pony and how she should be kept as she is a wonderful character with lots of positive traits.  But I think they're mixing up canon with their own fanfiction. I have yet to see any of those positive traits in FiM.  Give us loving mother Pony Hooves who has a normal life and doesn't only appear to be criticised by the other ponies and give the viewers a laugh.  Isn't THAT what most of the fanfiction writers wanted?

And finally, yes, it is quite possible that Tabitha St.Germain didn't see a picture of Pony before she voiced her.  Pony is, after all, just an additional character and, in Vancouver at least, additional characters are usually cast on the spot - whichever actor who is already in the studio can do the best voice will get the part, often not knowing any more about the character than a brief one line description or the lines they have to say.  This isn't Disney.  It's just a regular cartoon recorded in an afternoon's work.

That being said, I do wonder if Tabitha knew the character was female - I never picked up that the voice was "a boy's voice", just a typical slightly slow deep female voice.  It's pretty similar to another voice I've heard Tabitha do in a different cartoon.  She might have just used the "I thought it was a boy" excuse to get all the mindless bronies sending her hate mail because (*GASP*) she didn't sound like the amateur voice actress on Youtube who'd made a video of herself as Pony Hooves.

I'm also sure Tabitha didn't mean to brush anyone off or offend them.  I've seen the reply she sent to someone who was offended by the character which was posted on LJ, but I really don't think she meant for it to come across the way those people made out she did.  I used to write to her and she is one of the sweetest people I've ever known, patiently answering my questions and encouraging me to work towards my goal.  She does write in that long-winded way, but I think she was trying to be kind to that woman (man?) - the way I read it, her "even you" comment was not aimed as a slur against the "intellectually disabled person" but at this person (and many others) sending her unpleasant emails.

Not to defend someone I haven't even spoken to for a while, but I thought that should be out there.  As someone who has endured the sharp end of the more immature bronies' tongues via hate mail for months on end, I know how easy it is to get to the end of your tether and snap back.  Should she have written snappy e-mails?  No.  But she's human, just trying to make a living and get on with her job, and suddenly she gets a bunch of nasty e-mails about something she knows very little about.  She's never been one to do the anime conventions and mix with the fans, I can imagine this is driving her out of her mind.

A long post, but that's all my thoughts on this matter.  I realise some of my opinions are unpopular ones.  Hate me if you like.  I'm more than happy to agree to disagree.

At this moment?  I'm listening to Mum's snoring!  I am music-less!

I'll probably put my Youtube music playlist on in the next half hour or so though... http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2B620B53B7C3D8C4

I'm kind of old fashioned, as you can see.  The only "modern music" I can really bear to listen to is certain Disney movies and musical soundtracks!

I'm a huge DA fan too, and that's saying something from someone who doesn't even have a TV, much less watch a lot of drama series.

I won't say too much as I'm not sure how far into the series those of you in the states are, but the second season (and the Christmas special) are even better than the first, in my opinion.

Green!

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(Uh...does Medley pass as green or blue?  She's always seemed more green-ish to me anyway!)

I hope they stick with G3.  I don't really like the G4 style, or have any interest in adding G4s to my herd, so I like the fact that I can continue to collect the Fair/ComicCon/Art Ponies.  Also, how would they fit a special design onto a tiny G4 pony?

I expect it will be G4 though - they won't want another performance like the one they got from the more immature fans following the release of the Comic Con pony last year.  Hasbro do seem to pander to the bullying crowd these days.

Yes, it's part of a doll's bedding set, made by Telitoy here in the UK.  The cover has a picture of a sleeping Bow Tie on it with smaller pictures of Blossom, Cotton Candy and Applejack above her.  I'll get a photo tomorrow if someone else hasn't already done so by then.

Oh, these were the DVDs I was asking about on the old Arena!  So there is a region 2 Tales release in English even if it's officially a Greek release!

Now I just need to track them down...

Phew,  I'm so glad that we're all back together again!  I've really missed browsing the forums and talking to my pony pals the past few days.  It's going to take a while to get used to the changes, but I love what I've seen so far!
 
I was debating whether or not to post a re-intro, then I remembered that when I signed up (six years ago now!), I wrote a two line rushed intro from an internet café...so a new forum is a great opportunity to put that right, is it not?  And put it right I shall, once I start talking, I just can't stop!
 
I'm Desirée, 20 years old and living in London, England.  I hate it here though and dream of escaping to Vancouver, Canada someday...  I am currently out of school and work, but hoping to change that this year. (It's a looong story - I was home educated and supposed to go to school at 13 or 14, but it never happened.  Now I'm battling to find an affordable way to get back on track at my age)  I'm probably going to study as a psychologist.  As someone who has battled depression and mental health issues for years with little help, I'd love to be able to do something for people with similar issues.
 
My biggest dream is to be a professional voice actress but we all know that's never going to happen...  Acting is a huge passion of mine.  I just do amateur voice acting/singing online at the moment, but I am determined to tread the boards properly before my life is through, even if it's just with an amateur dramatics group.
 
Important people in my life?  Well, I live with my parents who are just about the only people in my real life.  Besides them, my e-friends.  I've had a rough few years and my internet pals have got me through a lot!
 
Pony-wise, I've been collecting since 1993 when my sister bought me Little Rattles as a "gift for being good" while we were shopping!  Of course, soon after that, MLPs disappeared from the shops and I was heartbroken.  We picked them up whenever we found them in small toy shops etc., and I believe I had 13 G1s from new.  It wasn't until 1998 when we were at a toy fair looking for Beanie Babies (yes, I was part of the BB craze!) that I spotted a basket of eight ponies under a table priced at £3.  FINALLY, I had found a way to obtain my beloved ponies!  It was then (at age seven) that I became a "serious collector".
 
Oh yes, I spent many happy weekends pony hunting at car boot sales, toy fairs and charity shops, "saving" ponies to take to my "My Little Pony Rescue Home".  I would get particularly excited to find a pony that featured in the cartoon show (the only way I knew their names) and dreamed of finding "the three favourites" (Truly, Lancer and Lofty).  I wrote a monthly pony newsletter for my family in which my grandma wrote a story describing the ponies' antics as they searched for their missing friends, preparing a "Golden Horsebox" for their arrival.  I even made a Golden Horsebox out of a cardboard box for the pony royalty I was awaiting.   Alas, it wasn't to be.  Truly and Lofty were never sold in this country and Lancer... well, Hasbro decided he wasn't worthy of being made into a figurine. 
 
We didn't have a computer at home but I would go to the internet café once a month and research my ponies' names on e-Bay and Dream Valley until I found Debra Birge's book at a toy fair which identified most of them.  In 2005, my dad found MLPUK.com and I bought my first ponies online.  Soon I had Lofty and, despite being 14 by this time, I threw a huge party to celebrate using all the ideas I had been planning for years.  We attended my first Ponycon that November and found Truly...then I threw another party!  There I met Baggins Lover who told me I didn't need a computer of my own to get an e-mail address (yes, I was really so naive as to believe I did!), and I was finally able to join the online pony community.
 
I actively collect G1-G3.5.  I'm not a huge fan of G4s, but I do intend to pick them up if I see them at car boots and have a few that have been given to me as gifts etc.  Still not sure when or how my herd grew to over 3000 though...  Yes, 3000+.     About 1450 different ponies (not counting plushies, miniature figurines, merchandise etc.), the rest are duplicates.  It pains me to get rid of my childhood "Rescue Ponies" but I know I have to start the process soon...
 
So there it is.  My pony history.  If you got that far, you deserve a cookie!  I don't think I can have possibly left anything out that people don't already know/would want to know, but you are more than happy to ask me anything, anytime. xD

And, just for good measure, here's a photo of me (with some of my ponies) which was taken last night...
 
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(Yes, I do look a bit daft and half asleep - but it was late and I was determined to get a picture of myself after having my hair cut yesterday!)

Thanks for reading!  See you around the boards!  xxx