DM: So you're serious. You want to make your own event.
Rainbow Dash: Yep. And I already have a great name: The Iron Horse Competition!
DM: Pony.
Rainbow Dash: Aww, really??
DM: If you're going to call it anything, call it the Iron Pony Competition. Not "horse."
Rainbow Dash: What's even the difference, anyway?
Twilight Sparkle: Actually, I was getting lost on Wikipedia a few weeks ago, and it turns out there are distinct but nuanced differences between ponies and horses!
Rainbow Dash: Oh, great. HERE we go!
Applejack: Be nice.
Twilight Sparkle: Pony, referring to the equus ferus caballus, derives from the old French poulenet, which is different from the modern meaning of pony, that being...
I had a much more long-winded note here referencing that one xkcd comic about Wikipedia in regards to Twilight, then suggesting Twilight might follow xkcd pretty closely among webcomics. Which led me to two shallow Mane Six matching game questions: "What pony to what website?" "What pony to what webcomic?" I ran out of steam shortly after, so I scrapped it and left it at that.
But wait! One last piece of news about EFNW, I swear. Actually, it's the same news, but now they're reporting it! The staff like to announce the community guests in batches to avoid clogging up their newsfeed with each individual small-time guest. I was given confirmation right before I went on my Arizona trip and was told it would be officially announced around this time. So in case you feared there was an error or I was being misleading, there it is! Now I'll shut up about it for a month, for reals.
Notice: Guest comic submissions are open! Guidelines here. Deadline: February 20th.
Wikipedia and TVtropes are like the time-wasting black holes of the internet. You go there for one thing and end up spending 3-4 hours clicking on links. Good times though. XD
Ponies have a better strength-to-body ratio, making them excellent for carrying stuff. My D&D wizard had a pony familiar... except she HATED being used as a pack-mule. Seriously, she kicked everyone who thought of her that way. My wizard got kicked once!
Raxon are you secretly me. we both know of Gathcha Force we both use Watch cartoons Online (admittedly for different shows butt..) also Drank the koolaid >.> DAMMIT RAXON GIVE ME MY LIFE BACK :/
It's a weekly event at least for me to crash a computer opening tabs on TVTropes. At least I don't try to read every article anymore... Accepting that the sum of all human writing is too much to read isn't easy.
I don't normally go to the sites all that often. But when I do, I usually have the strength of will to stop looking at those after the first hour of traversing them.
I have actually used TV Tropes to brainstorm some ideas for characters before and they've turned out well enough, so I don't think of it as time wasted in that regard.
One trick to spending less time on TVTropes (think of it as "concentrating your time on the most valuable bits" if you want): don't scroll down to the examples of any page beyond the first. Just read enough of the other pages' descriptions to get the gist, then close the tab (assuming you opened the page in a new tab) 'cause you're done with it. This kind of trick often works with other wikis (including Wikipedia), though there is usually a less clear line.
Yeah, I managed to spend about six straight hours one time on wikipedia without getting sidetracked. The nanostructure construction of stealth materials used on things like jets to disrupt electromagnetic waves is actually very interesting.
TVTropes is the only reason I found this comic. I used to spend a lot of time there, though. Fourteen hour night shifts on heavily restricted internet meant that it was one of the few sites I had to kill time with.
I found this comic through the first "Story Time" youtube video Spud put out. Ironically, I wasn't looking for either ponies or DnD when I found it, just some more Touhou music to listen to...I think. I know it was music related and I was into that stuff at the time, so I'm just assuming as much.
Though it is interesting (to me at least) that you found this through TVTropes. Wonder how many of us found this that way...
I did. Stumbled across the page twice, later decided, "That actually sounds pretty fun; I should read it," but couldn't find the page again.
When I did, though... Happiness.
While I get that AJ is a nice person...pony...(insert correct nomenclature here) I can't help but feel that she would direct that niceness into gently telling Twilight that no one needs to know the dictionary-defined stereo instruction differences between ponies and horses.
That, and every time I hear "Iron Pony Competition" my mind goes first to "Iron Chef" rather than an athletic event WITHOUT large knives.
The host would likely be somepony famous, or at least a noblepony (I would say Celestia, just because of random principle I seem to notice), the Iron Pony would either be Pinkie, colored iron, or Applejack, with Pinkie wondering why she doesn't look like iron.
Salivating? Y'know, when the mouth starts producing saliva? Just the thought of AJ & Pinkie in a culinary duel makes me hunger for the inevitable tide of baked goods.
If it was a light competition - friendly, maybe a fundraiser or just to show off - Twilight would be willing to host, especially once she's an alicorn. (Something official she can do to live up to being a Princess.)
If it's a more serious competition, the nature of the seriousness may well suggest a host. E.g. if it's versus some monsters who want to eat all the ponies in Ponyville and got talked into letting the ponies show they're better at making food than being food, Discord might host (and cheat in the ponies' favor - possibly to the dismay of the ponies).
Twilight is too close a friend to them. To lighten the pressure, I'd say get some judges that aren't best friends with the chefs. It would be a good opportunity to bring up some backgrounders to the scene. ;)
So Twilight's player is one of those pseudo-knowledgeable people whose only knowledge of any subject comes from Wikipedia. That... actually makes sense and kind of fits Twilight's character from the show, too.
It's important to be able to synthesize multiple works into a fuller picture, too. Even today, Wikipedia is only a window into the topics for modern nerds. It's much better to then go and fit more experienced sources to fill out the picture afterwards.
TVTropes also leads to a lot of writing - for me at least. I can't resist stopping and adding my own examples to whatever trope I'm reading.
So what webcomics WOULD the characters read? I suspect Darths and Droids for the GM, Excel Saga for Pinkie (not a webcomic, but perfectly matches her anyway and is available online). I'd think RD would be a fan of Order of the Stick (and particularly Belkar) except that it's probably turned too "Cerebus" for her by now.
I imagine Fluttershy as reading Gunnerkrigg Court. I'm not entirely sure how she was first introduced to it, possibly during one of the City Face stories?
Regardless, she simply cannot stop herself from reading as she cares too much for the characters.
Rarity? I consider a fan of Lackadaisy. I suspect Pinkie introduced her to it and now Rarity's in love with the costume and character design (as well as 4/5 of the cast)
Twilight: Freefall. It's so intelligent and reasonable.
Rainbow Dash: Grrl Power. Lots of fights and superpowers.
Fluttershy: Cucumber Quest. It's so cute and sweet!
Applejack: Keychain of Creation. It ain't pretty, but it's got heart.
Rarity: Solstoria. It's all so beautiful, with an elegantly woven tapestry of colors!
Pinkie Pie: What Nonsense. It's a story about a bunch of silly people who become friends! Hee hee!
I like your reasoning. ...And Keychain of Creation has been on an indefinite hiatus, but Applejack has a farm to work on and can't spend too long looking at comics anyway.
Trixie strikes me as a Reddit user. As I recall, though, she's played by Natalie, who... doesn't. Then again, she plays Cards Against Humanity online, so anything goes.
Curiously enough, I paid a visit to a zoo recently, and they had on display a "Miniature Horse". Which, at first glance I thought of as a Pony. But no, it was specifically labeled as a 'Miniature Horse' instead.
Yep, completely different breeds. Ponies and horse are differently proportioned, and miniature horses are proportioned like horses, but even smaller than the average pony -- they can't be ridden by any but the smallest children.
The staff like to announce the community guests in batches to avoid clogging up their newsfeed with each individual small-time guest.
Ha! I knew it!...*Ahem* I mean, it's nice to finally see your name up there, Spud. I'm glad your excited about it. I think you've more than earned this.
Oh and by the way Evilbob, I sent you a PM. Not sure if you got it or not.
Oh hey, you're gonna be bumping shoulders with some other stuff I'm familiar with, in that batched announcement... and, to be fair, some of the only ones I recognize out of the entire community guests so far.
If you get the chance, I would totally suggest talking with David Silver (Ponyfinder) because RPG ponies.
In regards to the author's note, there is a very good reason that TVTropes has the trope page, "TVTropes Will Ruin Your Life" and it isn't just because you'll suddenly see and speak in tropes.
A part of me wishes that it was the Iron Horse competition so it could fit to the Iron Man music better.
"I am Iron Horse running over fat kids in my van..."
See what I mean?
Oh god, that XKCD comic is even worse if, instead of Wikipedia, you're browsing TV tropes. I got lost for HOURS on that site with a dozen open tabs trying to understand and cross-reference a few unclearly named tropes.
But wait! One last piece of news about EFNW, I swear. Actually, it's the same news, but now they're reporting it! The staff like to announce the community guests in batches to avoid clogging up their newsfeed with each individual small-time guest. I was given confirmation right before I went on my Arizona trip and was told it would be officially announced around this time. So in case you feared there was an error or I was being misleading, there it is! Now I'll shut up about it for a month, for reals.