Something I wonder about is if some of the sequels aren't exactly original ideas. And no, I'm not accusing the show of copying from other shows (though it may have). What I am saying is, perhaps those who worked on the sequels borrowed from the original movie for the entire cores of the plots. One I have noticed as possible is quite a stretch while the other two seem a bit more down to earth. Littlefoot's mother says that the Great Valley has more food than they could ever eat. Could that not possibly be what inspired the fifth movie? She also says that the Great Valley has more water than they could ever drink. A possible line used to make movie three, perhaps? And here is the farfetched one. When she said some things you see with your eyes and others your heart, that might have been what inspired movie two. At first, the kids, even Littlefoot, saw Chomper with their eyes; they saw a meat eater. Then they learned to see him their hearts; they saw a friend. Does anyone else think it is possible that at least some of the sequels were directly inspired by what started it all?

The Way Things Are

   I am a grain of salt. How can I think, you might ask? Well here, allow me to explain: I just can. That is all you need to know (and all I happen to know on the subject). So let’s begin with a little biography of my life. I was born in a rock bed beneath the earth along with my trillions and trillions of brothers and sisters. Which are the brothers and which are the sisters? How should I know, I’m just a grain of salt! I was dug up by a scary half stick, half robotic duck (and oddly, the metal bill on the end clinked instead of quacked). So then, I was kidnapped, or saltnapped, rather, and taken to a prison camp in southern Florida. Encased in a tall, magic, invisible force field with air holes on top, we were all terrified, but we stuck together as best we could.

   Slavery. That’s right, slavery! And we were sold into it, at that! We, still locked away, were sent to guard the Great Table Plain. We never got breaks either, just had to stand there bunched up and making sure nothing happened. We couldn’t do anything or tell anyone if something did happen, but that didn’t bother us. What did bother us though were scary aliens that paraded the camp like they owned they place! One had long, blond hair and wore a strange covering over even stranger covering. I’ve listened to their language and finally deciphered what they were called. I learned through the language that the innermost piece was called a “Doyoulikemydress,” as she would touch it then say that every day. The outer one was called an “ay-perin.” The latter is hard to pronounce, so I don’t really try. Practice makes perfect, mind you, but I never practice things. I’m only a grain of salt, after all.

   A taller alien often came into the camp as well reading a large white piece of wind (as every time I heard the wind, it moved) covered in ant tracks. Apparently, the air fell asleep outside one day and ants walked all over it. He had short brown hair and even shorter still on his chin. I knew the crumbs of donuts preferred the shortest hair because they always chose it as a hangout spot instead of the other. I tried asking the crumbs what it’s like in there before I remembered I’m only a grain of salt so can’t talk. How can I hear and see though? The answer is remarkably simple, so I can’t imagine why you’d even wonder. The fact of the matter is- I just can. Do you question why fish swim instead of ride motorcycles down memory lane or why wolves howl at the moon when it’s really the sun that causes problems? No. Why? Because you know they just can. It’s the same with me.

   Then we have the evil, evil aliens. Yes, I said evil twice. The reason is that they are more evil than what I could call simply an evil alien. They draft my poor family into strange territories and never check up on them! Just the other day, my poor sisters Bonnie, Betty, Bailey, Barbie, Bella, Bambi, Bessie, Bertha, Brandy, and Alexandria were shipped off to Linguini Lagoon, and my poor brother Mitzleprinnicus almost escaped one day during an earthquake brought on by their grubby appendages, but he got flipped with a flop into Flapjack Field, never to be heard from again.

   The thing is, though, the big aliens ship us off too. So then, why were the little ones evil and eviler still? The noise. Oh, the noise! The devil himself could not conjure more dreadful incantations. The spells inflict a painful sensation in every way, and I hear it so much that I can recite them. I may try one on my cousin Mildred. She called me fat last night. The parts I know so far go something like, “Iwantmoresugar-waaaaah!” “HestakingmysugarMOMDAD!” (can’t forget the extra emphasis on the end) and “Iwantmoresugartoo!” While they all cause the same effect, it seems that only certain aliens can cast certain spells and only at certain time periods, as the female is the only one who uses the first two, and the third is done only by the male and ONLY after the girl casts the others. Powerful wizards indeed. I declare them my mortal enemies.

My remaining brothers and sisters huddled together for warmth every day and night, fearing where our destinies might take us. How does a grain of salt have fear without a brain? I am more than happy to begin the whole story, but you’ll soon find out that I don’t need to finish. I simply- There, you see? By now, your brains are filling in the word “can” from repetition. We all wanted to break out of here, but there with three problems: One, we couldn’t break out of our prison unless one of the aliens carelessly shook it. Two, the internment camp was just so big. Without a map, we might get lost in Counter Creek, stepped on in Tile Territory, or worst of all, banished into the Den of Disposal in Sinkville, never to return, and I’d really, really prefer to return. The third issue, and probably the most prevalent of all, was that we can’t move, and that makes any sort of escape a little tricky. Why can’t we move? I suppose there are a few reasons, such as lack of legs, lack of muscles, lack of energy, and so forth, but the main one is likely that we’re only, say it with me now, grains of salt.

One day, however, my journey of life became clear. There was no purpose or reason for it; it simply happened, but it was my destiny, and by golly, I was going to live it. Here is how it happened: One day, the male evil, evil alien heated up a frozen pretzel. How did I know it was called that? There are some things a grain of salt simply knows deep inside, while other things have to be learned like all creatures. Anyway, he took it out and, oh, I shudder to even say it, he poured me and a great deal of my family right onto it! The nerve! The audacity! The inhumanity of it all! We are small and humble TABLE SALT, good for eggs, steak, chicken, and some other things. The alien completed neglected to use the PRETZEL SALT, which is good for, you guessed it, pretzels. I felt like a fish out of water on that thing. How did I know what a fish out of water feels like? I just- had a dream about it one night. Now get this! He gobbled up every member of my family he brought out- except me! The larger female told him to hurry to the bus, so he shoved the last bit of the pretzel into a dark void on the side of his doyoulikemydress and forgot all about it.

   On the bus were many evil, evil aliens, as all I heard where those dreadful incantations. I heard a new one and learned it pretty fast, if I do say so myself. It went, “Ihavetopee.” That was easy to learn because it has a nice ring to it, even though it gave my headless body a headache. How did it give a body with no head a headache, you might ask? It just did. That’s all I can tell you. Back to the story of my destiny though, I could hear the evil, evil alien talking. He said that he was going to put a frog in a girl’s desk. Why? Who knows? I guess the frog asked to be put there. So the boy runs to his class, jostling me about in such an uncanny manner then reaches into his other pocket to get the frog. I looked up and saw him opening the desk and putting her in. In all honesty, she was rather cute- love at first sight. I was going to say that to her but I didn’t have a chance with a girl like that. She made a ribbit sound which I think means, “Hey cutie,” so I blushed. At least, as much as a grain of salt can. With an abrupt closing of the lid, however, the frog was gone, and my heart squeezed and ached until it broke. Therefore, I am a grain of salt with a broken heart had it existed, and I would have cried if I had tears.

   Now then, more aliens piled into the room, and eventually, one sat at the desk my beloved was in. She reached for the desk lid, and my nonexistent heart nearly stopped. Opening it, she made the most unusual sound. It went something like, “AHHHHH!” The alien, mind you, not the frog. She jumped up and did a little dance around the room until a bigger alien asked what the occasion was. Then it happened. She said a vile toad was in her desk. Oh, you are DEAD, alien! How dare you! How- DARE- you call my sweetie vile! And a toad too? Ooh, now that was the final bit of icing on her cake of doom. The aliens from my prison camp were no longer my mortal enemies. SHE was now. She will pay for insulting my beloved. Then, to my horror, the biggest alien in the room came and took that beautiful creature and through her out the window. I gaped in disbelief how these creatures can treat things like they’re worthless. I will become an avenger to stop this villainy, once- and for all! First, though, I need to find some way to actually move.

   I soon learned it was hopeless. Without legs, I could not budge a millimeter or do anything that involved revenge in the slightest. All I could do was spread the word in hopes that these atrocities never happen again. You there, you listening to my story, hear my words, and hear them well. I am helpless, but you are not! I learned in class today about writing bills for new laws. You MUST write some down for me. Go, go, get a pen and I will wait. I can’t exactly see you from this black hole, but I will assume you did exactly what this poor grain of salt asked of you. Write out these laws and send them to the white house: One, grains of salt and frogs are to be declared equal American citizens so that we can’t be locked away or tossed out of windows. Secondly, child wizardry is to be outlawed. Those dreadful spells the little aliens cast are wrong, just wrong. If they don’t comply, they are to be spanked most severely. Third, all grains of salt are to be given legs. Finally, and most importantly, only pretzel salt is allowed to be put on pretzels.

Everyone has a voice, and they need to be used to stand up to injustice. If a grain of salt can make a difference in this world, so can you! Thank you so much. Now send that in!  Wait, never mind, I just remembered. You can’t hear a word I’m saying because- I’m just a grain of salt. Why was I born a grain of salt? Why can’t I move or speak? Why am I treated like I’m worthless? Why did Mildred call me fat? Excellent, excellent questions those are, and I have an excellent answer to accompany them. Here’s the scoop (no pun intended): It’s just the way things are.

http://vimeo.com/35242409

Password: Wise

Who didn’t have them? Surely everyone at some point perceived something as a child that upon getting older or advice proved to be wrong. This could prove to be a rather humorous thread.

When I heard, very young, that diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin, I had the crazy idea that if I took insulin every time I had a sugary food, I could never diabetes, as the extra dosage would always see to it I had enough when needed. (Yeah, I was even complicated as a child. )

My parents always told me that fresh food tastes the best. Now, being Italian, my father is a big pasta preparer. We have it numerous times a week. Anyway, my father prepares it two ways without using sauce: butter or chicken broth. Now as a child, I did not notice a visual difference between the two, and I loved the chicken broth kind but not the butter kind. Therefore, I thought every time he used chicken broth, it was fresh, and every time he used butter, it was not fresh. (In other words, I thought it was made with the same stuff each time, just mixed up freshness with a differing of ingredients.) I would always say, “Hey, this isn’t fresh,” when he made it with butter when my father would insist it was. Years passed before I learned the difference.

You know how people say, “What’s the magic word?” when they want you to say please? As a child, I didn’t know that. I don’t recall it well, but my mother told me that, when I would be asked, I would say, “Abrakadabra,” and the people would laugh until they got me whatever anyway.

Anyone else have things they saw differently or didn't understand as a child he or she would like to share?

Two Clouds and Four Drops of Rain

   Five good friends were playing together under the bright circle. Kicking a pinecone around, branches and flowers blowing in the breeze, the nearby Thundering Falls showering down in all its glory, and the grownups grazing and socializing with each other all created a rhythm that carried the day with warm smiles and joyful hearts. Neither team was winning, being all tied up, but that made no difference to them. Each side achieved ultimate victory every moment by having fun. The children’s laughter caused an occasional, tranquil glance from their loving families who couldn’t be happier at the peace that the Great Valley was experiencing.

Climbing the mountain…

   Exhausted but grinning from ear to ear, the kids plopped onto the ground and looked up into the sky. They only saw clouds, but they noticed so many things. A swimmer treading water and splashing gleefully, a tree star blowing in the wind, and two flyers hugging were only a small portion of the images that danced before their eyes. Despite lying directly on their backs, none of them got cramped or felt any sort of discomfort. They didn’t feel bored at all either. Enjoying each other’s company on the warm day in the cool grass was like a paradise. Spike didn’t leave the others for food, but thoughtfully remained by his friends’ sides, enjoying every moment of their company over any possible snack.

Almost at the top…

   “Guys, what would you like to do next? I’m fine with anything,” Littlefoot told his friends, at last sitting up. He watched as his companions straightened up with him and thought about his question carefully.

   “Would you guys like to play hide and seek?” a voice wondered.

   Littlefoot smiled and looked down somewhat. No longer did Cera force her desires and inclinations, but instead, sincerely made everything a group decision. No more bossiness, ordering around, or even being blunt. When she wanted something, she both hoped the others would like it too and asked to find out. Cera had been a dear friend of Littlefoot’s almost from the beginning, and he cared about her even before that, but with her new softness and thoughtfulness, she was like the perfect pal. With a small noise of happiness escaping his lips, he expressed his opinion.

Standing on the peak…

   “That sounds great, Cera. Do the rest of you agree?” he asked them, looking at their faces.

   Ducky just gave one, “Yep,” Spike nodded cheerfully, and Petrie flew up into the air and replied, “I agree for sure.”

   Littlefoot almost laughed at how different but good it sounded that Petrie had begun saying “I” and not “Me” like everyone else. He had always admired his flying friend’s unique way of speaking, but hearing the proper way of talking from him was pleasant as well. It was like having a new Petrie while keeping the old one intact. With everyone’s hearts the same, they got to their feet, let Cera begin counting, and started to conceal themselves. Before hiding, however, Littlefoot gazed lovingly at his home and at the wonderful friends and family he had in it. Hearing the count going up, he at last took a place behind a bush. When she got to twenty, she opened her eyes and began to search.

Looking over the edge…

   Cera looked for only a short while and found most of her friends. Ducky had been on top of Spike behind a boulder, and Petrie was nestled up in a tree. Littlefoot, however, had not yet been discovered. Be that as it may, Cera did not get mad or discouraged, but instead continued to do her best. She searched high and low, behind trees, throughout tall grass, even in a cave, but she did not find him. Sitting down and focusing her eyes, she scanned the area that she hadn’t examined much yet, and smiled when she saw the tip of a tail emerging from a bush. She walked over, the others following, and reached his hiding place to tell him the game was over.

Just noticing how slippery it is…

   The four of them continued to look at Littlefoot in utter silence. The shock was too much for them to bear, and at last, their tears broke the silence for them. Ducky and Petrie hugged each other tight, and Cera buried her head in Spike’s shoulder. They had all been sad at various points throughout their lives, but here was true grief. Their wails filled the Great Valley with great misery, and nothing could console them.

   High up in the sky were many clouds. Some looked like dinosaurs, others like plants, and the imagination provided an endless list of more. Most of them could be perceived in several ways, but two of them were undeniable in appearance. One clearly resembled a giant longneck, and another was unmistakably a little one. The smaller one drifted closer to the other until the part that looked like a head had brushed up against the side. Remarkably, there was no wind, but it didn’t matter. No one could see the two clouds anyway.

   “Why, oh why, did you show me those things? They didn’t really happen and can never happen again.”

   “My dear, sweet Littlefoot. Where I’m taking you, things like that will happen every day.”

   The clouds started to dissolve, but not before a single drop of rain fell on each of the children’s heads. Finally, just before the larger one was gone, a gentle wind blew their tears away and parted the remaining clouds to let the bright circle bring them what they had nearly forgotten.

It was a dark and stormy day. The winds blew in harmony creating a discord of broken branches and scattered leaves to decorate the streets and gutters. Snakes dove into any warm and dry places they could find, squirrels stopped gathering nuts, birds positioned themselves on branches under other limbs, and rabbits huddled together inside some bushes they could munch on until the weather lifted. A bolt of lightning struck somewhere near Ponyville, but the only trace of it to the residents was a faint flash of light and barely-audible cry of thunder. The rain poured down violently, causing all the ponies to seek shelter- save three. One little pony ran outside so he could tell his mother he'd had his bath for the day, only to be dragged back inside for a scolding, and another pony was a young adult, brightly colored with her tongue sticking as far out as could be. As she stood in the rain, she smiled with glee. Then along came a voice.

"What're you doing, Pinky?"

Twilight Sparkle stared with eyes more widened than usual, but less open than they would be if she was asking anyone but Pinky Pie why she was doing something odd. She wasn't smiling, but she was preparing to for the moment when her jolly friend would give one of her goofy answers.

"Oh, hi, Twilight!" A few moments of silence passed as they made eye contact. Then Pinky's eyes burst open. "Right, your question! Silly me, I almost forgot it!"

"In ten seconds?" Twilight Sparkle thought to herself in near disbelief with a quick rolling of her eyes.

"It just so happens," she began, matter-of-factly, "that I am standing outside my home with my tongue hanging out." Twilight grinned and was about to silently sigh and then ask why when Pinky jumped into the air as if she was struck by lightning.

"What's wrong, Pinky?" Twilight asked at once, face full of concern.

"I can't believe I lied to you!" Pinky exclaimed. She fell on her belly with an expression of agony. "I completely forgot that I put my tongue back in right before answering your question. So the truth is, I am standing outside my home with my tongue in my mouth. Oh, Twilight, please, please forgive me! I promise I'll never lie to you ever ever EVER again!" And with that, she threw herself at both her friend's feet and mercy while looking up pitifully.

"Um, don't worry about it. All is- forgiven," Twilight responded not too awkwardly. "Though if I may, why were you standing outside your home with your tongue hanging out?"

"Hee hee, isn't it obvious, Twilight?" Pinky said with a hoof over her mouth, trying not to giggle at the silly question.

"Sorry, it's been a long day. Would you please explain it for me?" Twilight prepared herself.

"Because," Pinky began, "I can't catch rainwater with my tongue standing INSIDE my home! Duh! Well, I'm done for now, so bye bye!" With that, she hopped back into Sugercube Corner and climbed up into her loft.

Twilight pursed her lips trying not to grin too widely or burst out laughing.

"Oh, Pinky…"

My Little Pony, My Little Pony,

Ahh ahh ahh ahhh…

My Little Pony!

I used to wonder what friendship could be.

My Little Pony!

Until you all shared its magic with me.

Big adventure!

Tons of fun!

A beautiful heart.

Faithful and strong.

Sharing kindness,

It's an easy feat,

And magic makes it all complete!

You have my little ponies!

Do you know you're all my very best friends?

No One in Particular

"Spike! Book!" Twilight Sparkle's patience was growing thin. Her dragon assistant usually knew exactly where the books were that she wanted, and that was why she was tapping her hoof on the library floor. If Spike usually took this long, it wouldn't have bothered her, but after being spoiled for so long, having to wait was a rather new, unpleasant experience. This feeling of dissatisfaction was only magnified by her immense excitement of using the contents of the tome as soon as possible. She nearly stomped one of her front hooves at one point but instead simply applied increased pressure on all four which Spike didn't notice. Still, in his frenzy to accomplish his mission, he most likely wouldn't have even noticed a stomp either.

His eyes scanned the shelves from atop a wooden ladder, and the tenseness in his muscles continued to increase. By this time, Spike was soaked in sweat, and he continued to perspire at a fast rate. The purple dragon was beginning to lose hope, and fear gripped his heart like Rarity finding a precious stone. He stepped down and pushed the ladder a few yards to the left and resumed his search. Twilight's eyes did not leave him, and he felt the pressure of her gaze baring through his thick scales. He grabbed one book that he thought might be it (as there was no title on the spine) but was disappointed. He glanced up but only managed to find two more books that weren't right. He put his hand on his chin and furrowed his brow as he turned slightly down and to the right. With a sudden burst of triumphant glee, his eyes widened and he released a loud, "Ah ha!"

"You found it!" Twilight asked with great joy. She nearly leapt into the air but felt that would be undignified so refrained.

"I sure did. Hang on." Spike climbed halfway down the ladder then hopped off of it. "Here," he said, holding up an apple core. "I've been looking for that for ages. Much longer, and it would've stunk up our house."

An egg could be fried on Twilight's fuming head, and indeed, steam was pouring from her ears, but with as breath a deep as she could muster, her body cooled off enough to at least speak in a somewhat-normal voice. She looked into Spike's eyes, forced a small smile, and tilted her head slightly.

Though her mouth movements seemed a bit stiff, she managed to say, "Good- work…"

"Thanks!" With that, he plopped the rest into his mouth, barely chewed, then swallowed, which arose the question in the young pony's mind of why he didn't eat it all to begin with. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she tried to recall where the book might be. A difficult task indeed, as she relied on Spike to the extent that she took very little of objects' locations to memory. Though she couldn't place the exact book, after a few minutes, something did cross her mind.

"Spike! What did you do with that book you used for a pillow two nights ago?" Her face was bright and hopeful as she asked. Surely he had taken that very book, for how else could he not locate it on the shelves?

"I rested the right side of my head on it as I slept. What else do you use a pillow for? Wait, or was it the left side of my face?" Twilight started getting impatient again. "I curled up like this," Spike continued, imitating what he does before sleeping, "so yeah, it was the left side. But wait! Maybe I turned right before setting my head down. Or maybe after? That would mean I rested BOTH sides of my head on the book! Ooh, and maybe the back as well, but surely not the front. That would hurt my nose."

"SPIIIIIKE!" Twilight screamed with a volume that shook the nearby table. Her eyes were wide with intensity and she was trembling. "Just- get- the book."

"Sure thing," he replied as he trotted off to his little bed. He arrived promptly and looked around only to bare a puzzled countenance. "Huh. I musta put it somewhere else." The entire tree suddenly shook violently and some books fell from the shelves. "Oh wait, here it is," he announced coolly, going over to the window sill. "I put it under some light to dry since it got my saliva all over it." Picking it up, he walked back to Twilight and said, "Here ya go."

"Thank- you," she uttered with the last of her strength. After a few moments of flipping through pages with the magic of her horn, she at last found the page she was looking for. She grinned from ear to ear, and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Here it is! The spell I've wanted to try since yesterday!"

"A new spell, huh?" Spike asked with interest, looking over her shoulder at the pages. "Ooh, this one looks hard to cast." After a short pause, he quickly added, "But I'm sure you'll master it in no time!"

With a quick turn to him, she replied, "Thanks, Spike. Okay, to cast this spell, I need-"

"So what exactly does it do?" the little dragon inquired, not understanding the description.

Though it wasn't what she was originally going to say next, Twilight completed her last sentence with, "-complete concentration."

"Gotcha. I'm going to go and pick up those books, okay?" he "asked," but he went to do so before getting a response.

"Sounds good," she replied at last. "Now then, I focus my magic through the tip-"

"Mm- mm mm- mm mm. Mm- mm mm- mm mm mm mm mm mm," Spike hummed gaily as he went about his work. He had several books stacked on top of each other before he began ascending the ladder.

"-of my horn. I need to apply a little pressure on-"

"I wonder what Rarity's up to?" Spike asked no one in particular as he started filling up the empty slots with books. He quickly noticed that he put one in the wrong spot and yanked it out, followed by a quick glanced back to see if Twilight had seen it. But no, she was still trying to focus on the spell.

"-my front left hoof and a lot on my front right one. My back ones need to be positioned widely apart, and my teeth need to be clenched. Both of my eyes must be open, and-"

"Oh, it's almost lunch time. What should I make?" Spike asked midway through putting a book up and turning to her. Trying to focus on two things at once, however, loosened his grip on the step, and he fell off. The last book he had to put up landed open on his head, the sides hanging over the front and back.

"Aw, shoot," he muttered unhappily.

Twilight Sparkle was too pleased with the prospect of this new spell to be mad at Spike's interruptions, but angry or not, she did want them to stop. Fortunately, his last comment gave her an idea.

"How about you go down to the cafÈ, get me a foot-long clover sub, and get yourself whatever you'd like," she suggested, eyes still on the instructions.

"You got it!" Spike ran up the ladder, put the book where it needed to be, and this time hopped off from the very top, landing with a loud thud. He bolted to the door, and after two squeaky noises, the room was quiet at last.

"Phew," Twilight said to herself, eyes temporarily at the ceiling. "Okay, I think I got this dow-"

"Wait, what do you want to drink?" Spike questioned from outside her window.

"Uh, whatever you think is good," she mumbled, eyes still fixated on the page. He gave her a thumbs-up sign and was soon out of sight.

Twilight, with a look of fierce determination, stepped back and got into position. Her glare shifted around the room, looking for the tiny creature she'd noticed earlier today. When she didn't see it, she jumped up and landed hard, causing a very tiny tremor, but it was sufficient. The fly in the room was disturbed enough to once again take to the air, and she spied her target deviously. She spread out her back legs, applied extra pressure on her front ones, kept her eyes open and focused on it, then concentrated her magic into the very tip of her horn. It was very strenuous work, as most spells could be done with a general flow of magic through the entire appendage. Trying to place all of her energy at a single point of it was like trying to stand on one hoof. After a few moments, she suddenly realized that she'd been holding her breath, so she quickly took in generous amounts of air to get her body relaxed again. With her tension gone, she continued to cast, and the highest point of her horn began to glow like a brilliant star in the dead of night. She took in one, final, deep breath, and eyes locked on the fly, she let loose the spell.

"Hiya, Twilight!"

"NO!" she screamed. Picky Pie had quietly entered her house and had gotten directly in front of her. Even with her eyes open, she had been so focused on the tiny insect that the surrounding world had gone by unnoticed. With a crack of light and loud snapping sound, magic flew from her horn and hit Pinky dead on. She was knocked into the air, and her mane scattered as if she had been struck with static electricity. When she landed at last, a tiny bit of smoke arose from her body, but otherwise, she seemed fine.

"I am SO sorry!" Twilight said at once. "I didn't see you come in." There was silence. "Pin-ky?" she asked slowly, terrified that she'd hurt her friend.

"No need to apologize!" Pinky Pie exclaimed as she hopped up and down and smiled with her eyes closed. "I feel okey dokey lokey! Still, what was that spell for anyway?"

Twilight Sparkle's face immediately grew red. The spell, in all actuality, was meant for Pinky, but if not tested, it could be dangerous. It was all going to be for a prank, as all those jokes Pinky had played on her had gotten Twilight into the humorous spirit. Still, explaining that she was planning to cast a spell on her was a very awkward thing to say. She shifted uncomfortably, and one of her front hooves slid along the ground in tiny circles.

Looking at the floor, she explained, "Oh, it's just a- personality spell," she mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Ooh, sounds fun!" Pinky shouted, jumping really high into the air. "How does it work?"

"Well, it just focuses one's personality into a very different direction than the pony would ever consider. For example, an outgoing, blunt pony might become very shy and reserved," Twilight explained.

"That sounds like the perfect spell to use as a prank on Rainbow Dash!"

"Yeah, heh heh, a prank…" she replied awkwardly. Then it suddenly occurred to Twilight. "You- don't seem any different." With that, she eyed Pinky carefully, moving her focus all around.

"Nope! I'm still Pinky Pie alright! Well, gotta go. I'm hungry. Bye bye!" With that, the pink pony let herself out and trotted down the street.

"Phew," Twilight said at once, lowering her head. "It didn't work, but at least she's not hurt. Maybe that was too extreme for a prank anyway." Twilight gently closed the book with her hoof instead of using magic and sat down on one of her chairs as she waited for Spike to come back with there lunch.

"Just what did I do wrong?" Twilight wondered. She wasn't so much disappointed that it didn't work as she was in her own inability to do it right on her first try. She was Princess Celestia's star student, and there were plenty of them that could do spells like this in one go. Her earlier excitement replaced with despair, she stared into space with nothing specific on her mind, only concern.

"You okay?"

"Ah!" she yelped, falling off of her chair.

"Gee, I guess not," Spike deduced, looking down at her.

Mane disheveled, she sighed from the ground from all the surprises, but the fragrance of the sandwich picked her lips up at once. Her worries dissolved, she resumed her place at the table to eat her lunch. Spike set a plate for them both and set the food on top of them, followed by little, blue bottles that had mineral water labels she recognized. Twilight nearly laughed at the obvious presence of the young dragon's sweet tooth, as his "lunch" was three chocolate cupcakes. She giggled as he plopped each in whole and barely chewed. Done eating before Twilight even got the chance to begin, he licked the chocolate frosting off of his lips and cheeks and hiccupped. The young pony got to work on her own food, eating slowly and carefully with extra emphasis to set an example. Spike rolled his eyes and grinned.

"There, Spike. That is the proper way to ea hic!" She quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment at the irony and turned to what Spike brought to drink. She twisted off the cap with her magic and lifted her bottle to her mouth the same way. As the cool water slid from her mouth to her throat, it erupted in the opposite direction. "Is this expired!" she exclaimed, sputtering.

"Nope! I checked the expiration date before I bought them," Spike assured her.

"Then why does it taste so, so… not mineral-ly?" she wondered, staring at the bottle.

"Oh, that's because mineral water is gross. I only got them for the bottles. I filled them with some puddle water from the storm yesterday. Rainwater is the best!" And with that, Spike picked up his bottle and gulped the fluid down greedily.

Twilight stared into space with a wide-eyed expression before coming back to her senses and laughed nervously to avoid saying something that might hurt his feelings. She really did appreciate the thought though. Subtly pushing the bottle away, Twilight finished her sandwich and decided to make conversation.

"So, do you know what the others are up to? Maybe see them on the way to get our lunch?" she asked in between bites when her mouth was empty.

"I bumped into Pinky Pie and asked her the same thing, actually. She said that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack are all out of town. Pfft."

"Heh heh, what was the 'pfft' for, Spike?" she asked before taking the last bite of her food.

"I was just thinking about how bad that would be if this was a fan fiction," he said in an irritated tone.

"A what?" she asked curiously, leaning forward in her seat to hear. She loved learning new things.

"You know, a fictional story written about something that already exists that you're a fan of. They can be so realistic, like they're really happening, but are always made-up tales. Well anyway, having four main characters conveniently away just sounds like a really lazy way of getting out of having to portray them," he explained, continuing to sound unhappy.

Twilight laughed and said, "Relax, Spike. This is real life, not some 'fan fiction' thing, so there's nothing to be upset about. I am curious though, who writes them? Maybe I'll read one sometime."

"Who writes fan fictions? No one in particular," he answered. "Anyone can."

Twilight Sparkle was intrigued by the prospect, but she felt that she'd be better at helping with one than doing one herself. They sounded like quite the undertaking. However, her thoughts were cut short by an explosion that shook the surrounding area, including her home. She jumped from her seat and ran out of the door. Looking around frantically, she saw that it had come from the Sugercube Corner. Fire and smoke were rising from the cherished bakery, and with the door closed, Twilight was very much afraid that there were still ponies inside.

Looking back inside, she called, "Come on, Spike! We have to put out the fire and see if anyone is hurt!"

Spike bolted over and jumped onto her back, and she galloped to the disaster at full speed. Both of them watched the flames eat away at the bakery in horror. Pushing her legs to the limit, Twilight moved so fast that she nearly tripped on nothing at all. When they arrived, she said what needed to be done at once.

"I'm going to get this fire out! You're a dragon so have some protection against non-dragon flames and heat. Get inside and see if you can find Mr. and Mrs. Cake and maybe any customers."

"On it!" Spike exclaimed, moving his hand to his forehead then back down to his side with a very determined look as he hopped off of her back. He opened the door quickly and went inside. The smoke was thick, and it made him cough several times, but he put his hands over his nose and started to crawl along the floorboards.

Outside, Twilight was hard at work. Her horn glowing brilliantly and her thoughts focused intently, the nearest water tower was making its way towards her location by air. It was so heavy, and there was more ground to cover than back when she defeated that Ursa Minor, so she faltered, twice. The second time, it nearly hit the ground, but she lifted it back up just in time. At this point, a huge crowd had gathered. Some were willing to help, but all of them knew the famed Twilight Sparkle had it all taken care and that they'd only get in her way there. When the water reached the bakery, she had to lift the container even higher, and she sweated profusely under the strain. She might not have found the strength were it not for the shouts of encouragement from the crowd. Finally, she tipped it upside down, and the water flooded the building. The fire went out almost at once from the flooding, though smoke still poured from the windows. Twilight was relieved, but her feeling of comfort lasted only momentarily. Spike was still inside, and possibly, the bakers too!

Without waiting another moment, despite the remaining heat and suffocating steam inside, Twilight galloped into the building. She went from room to room, looking frantically and calling out her assistant's name. Still not seeing or hearing him, she started to panic. Only one more room remained unsearched, and she bounded towards it. Heart pounding, thoughts and hooves racing, Spike was- not there. Were the flames too great? Was he burned up? She shook her head back and forth violently, tears filling her eyes and not from the steam. Suddenly, her ears perked up when she heard a small noise. It sounded like someone was sniffing, but she'd already looked in every room. There was no way for him to get to the roof, was there?

She ran back outside and looked up. Shouting all the more, she still did not get a response. Despite running all around the building, there was no sign of the dragon anywhere. Reaching the peak of anxiety, she ran back inside and decided to look in every room again, only more carefully. This time, looking more deeply into the mist, she saw Spike sitting in the very first room. His knees were up, and his arms were wrapped around them, rocking back and forth in a daze along with a blank expression.

"Spike!" she exclaimed with sudden relief. When he did not respond at all, she stepped closer, but her eyes caught something else in the process. Shrouded in the smoky room was bright red liquid splattered on the walls and floor. But that wasn't all. Twilight then saw exactly what brought Spike out of his senses. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were lying on the floor, unmoving. About to mourn the loss, she stopped short when she made a horrifying revelation. Their bodies were not burned. The room hadn't been consumed by the fire enough to reach them before she had put it out. She stepped forward only to jerk back as she gasped in horror.

The crimson color in the room came from their mouths. Both of their tongues had been cut out and placed in a neat pile beside them. There were no other wounds, so they had died slowly from bleeding to death. That wasn't all there was to see, though. On their cheeks, smiley faces were drawn with blood. She was stunned just like was Spike was, but when she had gathered herself, she grabbed Spike by the tail and ran out of there. Twilight wanted to get Spike home as quickly as possible to settle him down, but they were stopped by cheers from the townsponies for helping with the catastrophe. She grinned at them both politely and very awkwardly, but the contents of her mouth overtook her feet, so she remained before the crowd no longer. In almost no time, she was back at her home, and she set Spike in his bed.

"There, there, Spike. Shhh," she said soothingly. "It'll be alright. I am so sorry you had to see that." He did not reply, still in shock from seeing death, and a death so gruesome at that. Setting him on his side and pulling his blanket up over him, she turned off all the lights, covered the windows, and went out. She wanted to investigate the source of the fire. After seeing those corpses, she had a suspicion that it was no accident. Unfortunately, when she went inside, she saw that the bakery still had ponies all around, so she knew she had to wait until night. Deciding to read until the moon took its place in the sky, she returned to her home.

Twilight didn't want to wake Spike, so she searched for a good book on her own, eventually finding one about some simple spells. Though she knew most of them, if it involved reading and magic, she was all over it. She created a fire with her horn and read for over two hours before she heard a knocking at her door. She guessed it was Pinky Pie, as the other four were gone, or perhaps Zecora. She smiled in anticipation of who her guest might be and set the book down. When she opened the door, she discovered that she'd been wrong on both counts. It wasn't anyone she was expecting, nor was it "a guest." Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom were standing together like usual, but oddly enough, they didn't look cheerful at all. Instead, they bore expressions of pain and exhaustion.

"What's the matter, girls!" Twilight asked them at once. She didn't have to be perceptive to see there was something terribly wrong with them.

They wobbled in unison and didn't look directly at Twilight or anything really. The cutie mark crusaders seemed very sick, and what happened next confirmed it. Scootaloo opened her mouth to say Twilight's name when instead came a gushing of vomit. Apple Bloom threw up three times, but Sweetie Belle didn't lose anything. Her body convulsed, but nothing came out- dry heaves. All but Scootaloo proceeded to collapse at the doorstep, but it wasn't long before she followed her friends. Shocked, but not so much that she couldn't react, Twilight Sparkle lifted them up immediately but gently with her magic and carried them into her home. Despite the puke they were covered in, she set them on her bed. She didn't care about having to wash her sheets and blanket, only that the girls were comfortable.

Pulling her covers up over them, she went to the kitchen area to get some clean rags. Filling them with cold water, she magically carried them back to lay them on their foreheads to help them relax. Even though she hadn't carried them physically, she had still felt with her moving power that they were very hot. It was obvious they were feverish, and she knew they wouldn't get the best care here, but rather, at a doctor's office. She decided to call one for help after getting the cool washcloths on them, but when she got back, her mouth plummeted like a stone in a dark ocean, and the rags fell to the ground with soggy thuds. The girls on her bed- were dead.

She checked their pulses three times to be sure, and there was no doubt about it. Overwhelmed with confusion, shock, horror, and anguish, she fell to her knees and cried. Twilight wept bitterly for her friends and their sisters, as they would be even more upset when they find out what happened to them. When at last she opened her teary eyes, at eye level with her mattress, she saw stickers on the children's ankles. They were- red smiley faces. Suddenly, all of her previous emotions were washed away with a wave of rage. Someone had sadistically killed Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and now the same pony had just poisoned three, innocent, young girls she had cared for deeply. It was pretty dark now, so she bolted out of her house to investigate that shop for any clues.

Twilight's hooves echoed in the night, and she made no attempt at stealth. Enraged ponies usually don't. She was nearly there when she stumbled over something large and went sailing through the air, landing hard on her face. She received a bloody snout, but she was more concerned with what she'd hit. It didn't feel like something, though; it felt like- someone. She couldn't see all too well, as this was a dimly-lit part of Ponyville, so she made her horn glow and looked down. She cried out and nearly stumbled as she instinctively stepped back. Lying on the ground was Applejack's brother, dead. Upon closer inspection, she saw a large lump in his throat. Magically, she opened his mouth and pulled whatever it was out. She gazed upon a red delicious apple- with a smiley face carved into it.

"Rgh!" she screamed in anguish and anger as she continued on to the remains of the bakery. She burst through the doors, horn still lit, and began searching for anything, anything at all to find out who was behind this. She wondered if anyone else had come to investigate by now, like perhaps some guards. At first, the place seemed empty. Just then, she heard a creaking sound and nearly jumped out of her skin. Spinning around, she saw the door opening and closing. "Whew, just the wind," she said to herself with relief. However, the breeze was blowing more than just that. She also heard a swishing sound coming from overhead, like wings moving through the air, and she slowly craned her neck up. Silhouetted near the ceiling of the dark building, swinging like the pendulum of a grandfather clock, was someone she recognized. Twilight Sparkle lost all control of her body when she saw Princess Celestia hanging from a red rope, the fur around her neck severely worn away. The knot holding the noose together had- a smiley face burned into it.

She screamed, and her cry pierced the air like a dagger through the heart. She didn't care if anyone heard her now. She was too shaken to focus on any clues now. She galloped back to her home without looking back to be near her dragon friend. She'd lose her sanity otherwise. Opening the door in a frenzy, she rushed to Spike's bed. No longer worried about waking him up, she nudged him gently several times with her snout. She absolutely needed a friend right now. After nearly a minute of nudging the face-down dragon, she finally realized it. Spike wasn't breathing. She turned him over at once to see a large hole in his chest. She could see his heart protruding from it, and there was a smiley face carved into it. Twilight flew back into a wall, her eyes widened into a look of madness, and she began rocking back and forth like Spike had.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" a voice rang out in the darkness.

She snapped back to reality at once and asked, "Pinky? Pinky, is that you? Please please PLEASE tell me that it is!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Easy, Twilight! Just relax and tell old Pinky what's wrong," she said comfortingly as she came over to her friend and wrapped a hoof around her neck.

"So many- dead- my- my friends- dead…" was all she could manage to say at first. Finally, she looked up at her friend, her face full of tears, sweat, and mucus, and was beyond horrified. Pinky was smiling at her and wearing red makeup.

She jerked up and away in an instant and screamed, "You killed them!"

"Hee hee, isn't it obvious, Twilight?" Pinky said with a hoof over her mouth, trying not to giggle at the silly question.

"No, no, I don't believe it!" she exclaimed, terrified.

"Aw, don't be like that, Twilight! You should like, totally believe it because it's true. I said I'd never lie to you again, remember?"

"Then why would you…" but she was too overcome to continue.

"I dunno. I just suddenly felt like it after I left your place. Anyway, I'll see you later. I need to figure out how to do in the four others when they get back. I'm only keeping you around because it would be super-duper boring to have no one to talk to, you know?"

"You felt like this right after you left… That's it! My personality spell! It made you- AH!" she suddenly cried with her hooves over her head, realizing that all these deaths were actually her fault.

As Pinky Pie closed the door behind her, Twilight collapsed. She wasn't dead, but with all her heart, she wished that Pinky Pie was unable to get bored.

The End

I loved working in the basement. There was so much room along with very comfortable furniture. Unlike a lot of underground sections of a house, this one had no musty smell. It was cool but not uncomfortably cold, so it was my writing paradise. I sat back on the couch, satisfied with my story and prepared to close my laptop screen. My back was sore from writing it all in one go, save a small break for a snack. Stretching, I placed my hands on it and began to pull back when words suddenly appeared on my screen. I thought it was some stupid computer message or glitch, but when I read it, I froze in my chair.

"You there! Can you see these words?" is what I saw.

I assumed that I fell asleep at some point, so just to humor my imagination, I typed, "Yes, I can see them. Who's this?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle. Let me explain to you what's going on. Even though you stopped writing your fan fiction, my magic allowed me to keep going. I know magic isn't supposed to act on its own, but I think my subconscious controlled it out of grief, or something like that. But that's not important. Listen up! I felt something was wrong earlier, like this whole thing couldn't be real. I bit myself and learned it wasn't a dream, but I refused to accept this was reality. I thought and thought, and then it occurred to me after recalling what Spike said about fan fictions. That book of simple spells I read earlier had one about revealing truth, and when I cast it, I saw this entire story and discovered that it was all a creation of your imagination."

At this point, dream or not, I was feeling disturbed, but I responded anyway with, "Well, uh, what happens now?"

"I began communicating with you through magic to make a request."

"Um, sure, shoot." I leaned forward on the couch in anticipation.

"Change your story, please. This isn't realistic at all; you've ruined my life. I can't go on like this. With my magic, I am able to keep things going here without you writing, but what's the point without friends? This story was just dark and disturbing and doesn't fit in my universe at all. Things here are happy, at least in the end. I beg of you to alter this fan fiction for all our sakes."

"Now hang on!" I cried indignantly. "I put a lot of work into this story. I was just about to upload it to a fan fiction site and a forum later. It's dedicated to one of my best friends on both places, LBTDiclonius. She enjoys dark stories like this. You really expect me to change it? I couldn't think of a realistic story for this universe, so I had to go with a farfetched one. It's so much easier for me to take liberties, so long as I explain them. I wrote a The Land Before Time series with magic and dragons for crying out loud!" I suddenly froze, realizing that Twilight wouldn't understand the majority of my response. "Look, I made this as a gift to someone I care about, and I will not so eagerly erase it."

I started to move the pointer to close the document so she couldn't communicate with me anymore. I wasn't going to take this from a character of my own story. I had every right to put whatever I want into my fan fictions, and no unicorn is going to take away my freedom. But when I saw she typed to me again, I just couldn't help myself and read the text.

"That's thoughtful of you, but is a gift more important than someone's entire life?" Twilight pleaded with me. I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "I'm sure you can come up with a story eventually that she'll like that doesn't destroy me and my friends' future. I believe in you, and if you do too, I think you'll create a story that'll impress her and is happy and also realize that this story just can't remain the way it is. Please, sir, change it."

At that point, I bit my lip and gave in. I just couldn't leave Twilight and the others like that. Someday, I'll have just have to write a pleasant My Little Pony fan fiction for my friend. For the time being, though, I had a story to change.

"Alright, I'll do it," I typed on the page.

"Thank you so much! If you were here in Ponyville, I'd hug you right now!" she wrote. I imagined her having tears at this point, but she was acting on her own right now, and I couldn't see her, so I could only guess. "And before you go, I'd like to offer one bit of advice."

"Oh?" I asked with perked interest.

"Proofread your work a bit more. On page seven, you used the wrong homonym."

"What!" I thought to myself. I take great pride in my grammar. I just could not believe her. I scrolled up and began re-reading, and low and behold, I used "there" when I should have put "their." I turned red and was relieved that at least Twilight couldn't see me. "Thank you," I typed. "And farewell."

"You're welcome, and you too. And by the way, you look cute when you're embarrassed."

No One in Particular

"Spike! Book!" Twilight Sparkle's patience was growing thin. Her dragon assistant usually knew exactly where the books were that she wanted, and that was why she was tapping her hoof on the library floor. If Spike usually took this long, it wouldn't have bothered her, but after being spoiled for so long, having to wait was a rather new, unpleasant experience. This feeling of dissatisfaction was only magnified by her immense excitement of using the contents of the tome as soon as possible. She nearly stomped one of her front hooves at one point but instead simply applied increased pressure on all four which Spike didn't notice. Still, in his frenzy to accomplish his mission, he most likely wouldn't have even noticed a stomp either.

His eyes scanned the shelves from atop a wooden ladder, and the tenseness in his muscles continued to increase. By this time, Spike was soaked in sweat, and he continued to perspire at a fast rate. The purple dragon was beginning to lose hope, and fear gripped his heart like Rarity finding a precious stone. He stepped down and pushed the ladder a few yards to the left and resumed his search. Twilight's eyes did not leave him, and he felt the pressure of her gaze baring through his thick scales. He grabbed one book that he thought might be it (as there was no title on the spine) but was disappointed. He glanced up but only managed to find two more books that weren't right. He put his hand on his chin and furrowed his brow as he turned slightly down and to the right. With a sudden burst of triumphant glee, his eyes widened and he released a loud, "Ah ha!"

"You found it!" Twilight asked with great joy. She nearly leapt into the air but felt that would be undignified so refrained.

"I sure did. Hang on." Spike climbed halfway down the ladder then hopped off of it. "Here," he said, holding up an apple core. "I've been looking for that for ages. Much longer, and it would've stunk up our house."

Twilight was about to get angry, but not wanting to explode in front of her assistant, she took a deep breath and cooled her emotions, just laughing it off. She turned to Spike and shook her head with a big smile.

"Don't worry about it, Spike. It was just for a silly prank anyway. Want to go and get some lunch with me?" she asked him.

"Do I!" he replied eagerly, jumping with enthusiasm.

Before they left, Twilight Sparkle went to a window and glanced up to the sky, but it seemed more like she was looking beyond it than at it. Then, she smiled and winked.

"Twilight?" Spike began.

"Yes, Spike?"

"Who did you just wink at?"

Twilight giggled with a hoof over her mouth and replied, "Oh, no one in particular."

The End (For Real This Time)

Deep within the mighty walls of the Great Valley bright
There is room for everyone to bask in all its light.
Beautiful flowers,
Enjoying the hours,
Oh, what a place to see!
It will always be the home,
Of my loved ones and me.

The Great Valley
Oh, it shall be,
The place where I shall die.
This troubling place,
Is survival’s race,
And I keep wondering why.
There is nothing special about this spot,
And I’m not with the greatest lot.
And gee, the days can be so hot!
And though I can say much, much more,
I haven’t the time. I hear a sharptooth’s roar!

Not a lucky home at all!
It scary each and every day.
Always bump, crash, trip, and fall.
What more there is to say?

Yes, oh yes, this place will do.
The waters rise and fall.
I am happy. I am loved.
My joy will only rise.
With food to eat all around,
My hunger always falls.
I want nothing here to change.
Let life go straight ahead.

Uh…
Eh?
Romps.
Chomps.

“Very good, you’re each a talented kid!”
All of their faces blushed, so all they hid.
Mr. Thicknose ended his lesson then,
Yet they all wanted to go again!
“That is all for today,” he confirmed.
But all the kids in eagerness squirmed.
They had enjoyed this day’s teaching much.
And therefore wanted to make more of such.
But he was quite tired, so home he sent,
And to share the day, they agreed and went.
Getting home, they had much to say:
They had learned to make poems today!

Greetings, folks. We’ve had top ten characters, villains, and some more original ones, now how about another specific one? This thread is about your top ten supporting protagonists not related to a main character. (Mouthful, ah…) Anyway, I encourage people to give at least a tiny reason why they have their list the way they do (should anyone actually want to try their hand at this) but feel free to just list names if you’d prefer.

Littlefoot’s father was a character that started out ruled by logic, and that is why he hit my lowest spot. There is a saying that the lives of many outweigh the lives of few. He clearly uses his head over his heart, and that is why he took care of his large herd rather than going after his small family. I feel that his contributions to the series were very neutralized, as he answered questions but caused new ones to arise. Despite his long period without having to worry about sharpteeth, as his herd was too big for attacks to be considered, he proved to be a very proficient fighter, a great quality for a leader. At the end of movie X, we see he did begin using his heart more, as he let his son live with his grandparents even though he wanted ever so badly to have him there with him. The logical thing was to have him in the safest place with the safest company, but his love for his son allowed him to let him go, whereas it was simply doing what was best for the dinosaur world that made him stay gone before. He grew, but he takes a low spot on my list because he improved in an area that should have never been an issue for a good father.

For number nine, we get to the RPG clichÈ of a character or characters who literally do nothing to help the plot but explain how other characters should do things to help the plot- the rainbow faces. This was what made them somewhat annoying characters. Any The Legend of the Zelda: Ocarina of Time fans out there? Yeah, imagine being followed by not one, but TWO Navi’s. Ah, the image burns! Anyway, they glorify stalking, something not exactly appreciated in a movie meant for children.” Hey kids, if you find some old guy is following you, he might have food, so don’t you worry!” I understand the whole secretive thing which made them have to stay hidden, but- Wait a minute! I don’t understand the whole secretive thing that made them have to stay hidden! The common belief is that they were aliens from another planet, and if that’s correct, where they sent by the planet’s king to observe or something? Scope out their intelligence? We never find out! While some mysteries can be exciting and make us really examine logic, there is no logical answer for what those two’s story is. All they really did was turn The Land Before Time into a science fiction and make its universe a confusing mess. Other life exists outside Earth! Oooooooh! How dinosaurish that is!

Who doesn’t love Rooter? Sure, he was rude to Littlefoot at first, but upon hearing his dilemma, he softened up… And THAT is why he does NOT have a high mark on my list. He comforted Littlefoot, but only after hearing about a great tragedy. Do truly kind hearts need to see a shambling horror to reach out? “You stupid kids! Get off my lawn! /Throws rocks Never come back again. This is private property. Huh? One of them is limping? Hey, come here, and I’ll get you some lemonade and cookies.” He gave good advice that got our hero off to a great start, but Rooter needed way too much motivation to drop his rudeness. He was basically a situationally-nice character, and not so much the angelic voice of kindness and wisdom some make him out to be. Upon seeing him cry, Rooter should have been kind right then. Actually, no, he should have been nice whether Littlefoot was crying or not. I appreciated his advice, but being nice shouldn’t come at such a high price. He may have only done good in the first movie, but he should have done it much sooner and much more easily. This combination has him on my eighth position.

Whoa! Oh, sorry about that, I was sleep walking. That’s very common and highly possible. As for flying in your sleep? Uh… Guido, at number seven, certainly puts the do in weirdo. The series tried way too hard to make an original character. In fact, he is so complex that there is no way to summarize his personality. He is not shy but very shy and very brave yet very afraid and very knowledgeable while knowing very little and very sarcastic while also being very serious and good at remembering while being horrible at remembering. /Huff huff huff Couldn’t he have some defining trait rather than being a confusing mix of contradictions? He gives very generic advice and wins favor by almost saving someone. He needs a lot more than he contributes. He cheered Petrie up when the other couldn’t, and that was very impressive. He was simply there when Petrie needed it, and that strengthened him into flying well in the contest. Still, the gang went through a lot of trouble just so one of them could be a little bit more confident. What I disliked most though was his past and how it is never touched on. Sure, he probably sleep flew into the Great Valley, but why have no memory of his herd or name? Did he bump his head? He is too mysterious with an even more mysterious background for my taste. If the writers want to explain, give me a call.

Ah, Pat. A true longneck in whom there is nothing false. He is thoughtful, helpful, caring, kind, wise, and the list goes on. As for his problems- zip. And that’s his problem- he had no problem! I can picture a halo around his head as he traveled with the kids. He talks a lot, and I mean a lot, but being alone and trying to make extra conversation when the time comes is not exactly a crime. He needs that. Throw in a little arrogance, a little selfishness, a little bluntness, a little anything! He contributes a ton to movie X, but my problem is that he didn’t hinder it at all, the plot, I mean, not the characters, as he did get injured which slowed him down. It is debatable, but he might have had some pride by how he didn’t want the kids’ help when he got hurt, but it was more likely him just thinking of their safety. Also debatably, one might say he had a lack of faith by being surprised by the children’s acts of kindness, but that can also be negated by him being lonely and not used to help. Every flaw in him can be excused. He’s number six because he was too good.

A selfless character gets my number five position. What is also interesting is that she spends her movie time seeking something, so movie X was several quests, with hers being one. She also makes you feel sorry for her by doing nothing but being helpful while wanting something small she may never get. This makes her discovery of that taller male ultimately satisfying. Viewers are just going, “Yes! Now Sue can find her own happiness, not just bring it to others.” She was slightly creepy though how she joked about killing creatures. She stomps on those crocodile things often, I guess, and makes very VERY light of the matter. It would be like a giant coming home and being all like, “Hi, honey. Not much happened today. I just chopped down some bean stocks, carried some cows to our pen, and stepped on some little humans. What’s for dinner?” /Shudder I can really picture some creepy scene where she squashes one, smiles, the scene freezes, then we hear some scary music as it keeps giving sudden closer ups of her face. So she is my middle spot because she does a lot for Littlefoot, finds happiness which warms my heart, but also scares me.

Long ago on a mountain top
A might egg was laid.
If you figure out his story,
I’ll make sure that you get paid.

Just who is this guy? Is Littlefoot right about him being the lone dinosaur? He has the tail tricks. He has the long and limber neck and the shoulders broad and lean. And let’s not forget the scar. But Cera makes a good point. He couldn’t be alive after the story of him being so old. Maybe Doc is the lone dinosaur’s son. That would explain the figure and tricks, but the scar too? I’ve heard of “like father, like son,” but to get a scar in the exact same place as your father seems rather- unlikely. He’s basically a vigilante who goes about helping people, but why? Well at least his story has more logical guesses than the rainbow faces. Doc can be explained with some down to Earth explanations, but the problem remains that he brings a great mystery that is not only never explained, but is never hinted at. This is actually how the rainbow faces are BETTER. Getting beamed up strongly points to them being aliens, but Doc’s ending gives us nothing to go on when we guess about him. Maybe it isn’t necessary to understand him, but it makes viewers way too focused on his backstory when the main character of the series is actually trying to understand him! You could even go so far as to say Doc caused Littlefoot to fail big time. I mean, he spends most of the movie trying to learn about him and never gets his answer. It would be like creating a movie where the hero tries to figure out why there is ketchup on his hamburger, and near the end, we see a ketchup bottle sitting on a counter with no people around. Did he put it on while sleep walking? Did someone sneak by and put the ketchup on? Is he dreaming so there’s really no ketchup on his burger? That is how disappointing the end was when he is never explained. After saving Littlefoot three times, however, he earned spot number four.

Here I have Chomper at number three. Yes, you heard me right. I put him at number three, not one. /Ducks away from rotten tomatoes Hey, just hear me out! Sure, he is the first meat eater we see in the series that actually befriends the characters (followed by his parents and Ruby) and yeah, he enters not one but two films as a side character, but he doesn’t contribute much considering his double time in the spot light. In the second movie, it focused more on the gang’s acceptance and Littlefoot’s bond than the actual character. We don’t see any growth in movie II from him, but that’s to be expected from an infant. That only goes to make his ability to speak in movie V all the more confusing. So it’s like he grew but wasn’t able to express it until his mind could organize what he heard and saw. Confusing much? Well, yeah! He plays the saving game throughout the two which becomes sort of repetitious. They save him, he save them. While this doesn’t always happen in pairs, that’s the main impact he has and that he gets, basically neutralizing his presence. He wouldn’t have been in danger if not for them, and they wouldn’t have been in danger if not for him. It would be like spending all day tripping people then catching them before they fall. However, he does bring about some maturity in racism in the other four, as only Littlefoot was accepting after really stopping to think about Chomper. That almost made the lesson in V pointless, however, as he basically just taught them same thing, only adding how sharpteeth love their families too.  My favorite thing about him was how he tested the gang’s bond by pitting Littlefoot’s against the other four on more than one occasion. That little sharptooth really showed just how good of friends the five of them are and how quickly they can learn, so kudos, Chomper.

Littlefoot’s cousin (?) is who I place at number two. Goll-y she has a beautiful voice! /Sits and replays It Takes All Sorts ten times Huh? Oh, sorry, my review. Anyway, I love the fence she rides between causing trouble and preventing trouble. She wants to take Littlefoot alone to go faster, but that can be seen as wanting time alone with him and not having his friends there. She forgets the way and waits to tell him, but that can be seen as her hoping she’ll remember so not wanting to worry him. She never says she hasn’t seen the flower, but that can be seen as her wanting Littlefoot to have hope and that she might just figure out what they look like. There is day and night to most of her big choices, and that makes her flaw/perfection hard to determine. If I was afraid of something, I’d sure want to spend my time with my friend away from my fear. This makes her very controversial but extremely interesting at the same time. Her tolerance also is astounding, as she never gets ugly with Cera and her constant poking. Not only that, but she learns at an astounding rate. She didn’t know about being with other kinds one day, and the next, she sings a very philosophical song about it. Just- wow.

Monday: No, I’m afraid I know nothing about World of Warcraft.

Tuesday: /You all know the tune…

World of Warcraft, you are the best!
 Awesome places!
The coolest races!
You filled your pretty planet
With quests and fighting,
To keep from getting boring
And alwaaays, keep it exciting!

Who got number one as far as I’m concerned? Guess guess guess! If you guessed Strut, you are- WRONG! This is about protagonists, not, well, whatever he was. I’m talking about Mo. Sure, he should have been more serious at times. No parents want their children thinking that pretending to be in a life-threatening situation is funny. But aside from the poor example, what’s not to like about him? He is always jovial, the kind of character who really lifts your spirits and refuses to let you feel sad. What I love the most is the contrast between danger and casual scenes. When it’s fine to be so, he’s very laid back and goofy. When there is a problem, he puts on his serious face and does everything in his power to help his friends. Isn’t that the kind of friend we all want? Someone whose cheeriness puts a smile on our faces but is so serious and determined when we need it? He is also selfless, as he never ever told the gang that he saved them that first time, just like Littlefoot dropping that green food in movie I. I find his personality to be the most golden out of all of the supporting characters not related to the gang, rivaled partly by some like Ali, Chomper, and Pat. If you want a good friend who adapts to what you need, take a look at my best spot on the top ten supporting protagonists.

Thank you for reading, and feel free to agree or disagree with any of my points.

This is more of a serious game, not so goofy like some other ones (but goofiness is awesome). It works by stating a scene or conversation from the series (movies and episodes) then the next person says what he or she would do or say in that situation, followed by a new scene/conversation. This isn’t randomness, but what you’d really do if you were there. In fact, this thread is even a good way to get to know people better, you know, seeing how they handle things. If you’re a humorous person, you may handle things in a silly way. If you’re more serious, well, you get the point. I will make an example of each one to start, followed by an actual one to use. Oh, and the person must also pick what character the following person plays.

Scene:
Strut just lost the egg he was carrying after the rock slide. You’re Ozzie. What do you do/say instead of the canon version?

/Inhales deeply “It’s- fine. Don’t worry about it, just be more careful. If it happens again, I will smack you.”

Or:
Conversation:
“So, you live around here?”
“Yup. Me and my mommy and daddy.”
You’re Cera. What would you do/say at that point?

“We- are going- to die…”

Don’t forget, it’s not about adding anything. This isn’t random. It’s what you’d really do or say there. That’s pretty simple, right?

So here goes:
The swarming leaf gobblers just finished off the food in the Great Valley. You’re Littlefoot's grandfather. What are you going to do/say?

What do you think are the details behind it? All her father says is that she is to see how Chomper’s friends work together to save them all from Redclaw. Because that’s all that he said, I’ve been trying to figure out what that all entails. Here are my thoughts, and feel free to add your own:

1.   Redclaw is picking residents off because they don’t work as a group, splitting off and quarreling, allowing easy meals for Redclaw.

2.   They want to get rid of Redclaw, so they need to observe good teamwork to get him out of the picture. However, that arises the question of how Ruby’s father knew about the excellent-working-together of the gang in the first place. After Chomper met her family, what are the odds of her dad asking Chomper, “Hey, do you know some folks good at working together?” Maybe he mentioned his situation to Chomper so he just volunteered Littlefoot and the others. But if a bunch of grownups need to observe little kids to see how to work together, that goes back to my criticism on the adults of TLBT in my old  thread: http://gangoffive.net/index.php?showtopic=9500.

3.   They want to leave the area, but don’t know how to act as a team or what to do in case Redclaw stops them.

4.   Nothing especially bad has happened yet, but they want to practice good teamwork in case Redclaw causes more dire trouble.

I just wish we hadn’t had such a perplexing comment thrown at us with no explanation. That’s like me starting a thread that says, “Underbelly not giving rat, wasting hours while putting me to sleep.” All or most of you would be scratching your heads till they bled until I explained, “The Underbelly is an underground water source for the World of Warcraft floating city of Dalaran that gives an achievement for fishing up a sewer rat, but I just can’t get one in all the hours I’ve tried, and the fishing is putting me to sleep.” It took me seconds to explain that comment, so I feel that writers could have taken at least a little time to elaborate on what Ruby’s quest is all about.

I mean, do we ever see her studying or asking the gang questions? Sure, she’s right there with them, but I don’t recall any emphasis on research. Is she too busy looking after Chomper and bathing in mud to focus on her mission? My opinion is that the writers should have either went back to the statement at another time to make sense of it or made Ruby’s journey more simple, like Chomper wanting to chill with his homies in the Great Valley, yo. Mysterious can be cool, but mysteries can also be pointless unless explained.