Brony Advice: Your Questions Answered #64, 65, 66!

#64) I'm at college and my room-mate doesn't know that I like MLP. I'm embarrassed to mention it to him, but it's a problem because I can't draw or watch ponies with him in the room...which is all the time. What advice do you have for me?

<sub>Answer: I think you should be at an age now where you should be accepted for your inoffensive interests. He probably has his own interests that could be seen as embarrassing. You're living together for the foreseeable future, and so it's not healthy to keep something to yourself that you want to be a part of. It won't be much fun spending an entire year, or perhaps longer, hiding your interest and avoiding drawing and so on.

Don't make an effort to 'tell' him: that's making it more important than it needs to be. Just do what you usually do – draw ponies and watch the episodes on Youtube or whatever. If he asks what you're watching, again, don't go overboard. Announcing that you're a 'brony' is unnecessary. Just say that it's a show that's getting a lot of buzz about it. If he insults you for it, shrug and say that you like it. If he takes it further, then he's not really being a rational human being; having a room-mate is about compromise, after all.

You could try and explain how there's a big fandom surrounding it, but it might not be necessary. While you may be tempted to try and 'convert' the fellow, you might find that it's easier to just keep your interest to yourself. If you take a rational approach, and merely say that it's one of many shows you watch, I doubt he'd think twice about it. You sound as if you're building up all these expectations for what you think may happen, but they don't seem to be particularly realistic. It's only a TV show and some drawings – I'm not sure why he'd care, being at college and all. One would assume that he has other things on his mind, like trying to bed insecure college girls or growing weed on his windowsill.

As said, don't make a mountain out of a molehill – the room is as much yours as it is his, and you have every right to draw what you want (within reason) and watch what you want (again, within reason). I'd just start watching/drawing and wait for him to make the first move. He might not say anything, and if he does, rather than act defensive, act indifferent. If he sees that you don't especially care about his opinion, because you don't jump into blind defence of the show, it's unlikely that he'll find anything worth mocking you about. His words would, seemingly, have little effect.</sub>



#65) Will Bronies eventually develop their own nation? If so, how many do you think? And what would you think its name should be?

<sub>Answer: I'm at a crossroads. I need to work out how to answer this with the regulation three-paragraph-minimum, or else it'll be the shortest answer ever. However, my dilemma comes from the fact that a simple response would be the most effective here. Alas, I'll have to begin by saying that no, bronies won't develop their own nation. Do you know what a nation is? A nation is rooted in ethnicity, in history, in identity, in race, in ancestry, in language, in values and so on, all of which come together to form a nationality. What on Earth possessed you to ask such a question? I would hope you aren't being serious. How would bronies possibly run a country? Where would the land even come from? Do you have an island in mind?

I suppose you'd like Equestria Daily's Sethisto to be President of the country? I can think of nothing worse than bronies having their own nation. Imagine it – a laughing-stock of a country, with crazy holidays celebrating ponies and an education system that teaches only friendship. You'd breed a race of kind fools. At least there would be an army thanks to the military bronies. They could defend the country from the bombs and invasions from land and sea.

I'd call it 'The Land of False Hope', because that's what it would surely be. I also like how you ask 'how many?' as if to imply that bronies could develop more than one nation. I don't believe that such a thing is possible. Where would the finance be coming from, or the trade links, or the political treaties? Where would the healthcare come from, or the public transport?

Bronies are just people. They aren't just going to break off and form their own country. You'd have to be some sort of maniac to think that a bunch of fans of a TV show would be able to go and set up a country. In ten years bronies won't even be on the mind of the internet; in twenty they'll be considered a thing of the past; in thirty nobody will remember they were even here.</sub>


#66) I love the songs in the show. Being a music critic what do you think of them? (my favourite is "Find a Pet") Give scores if you can.

<sub>Answer: For an animated TV show, they have no right to be as well-made as they are. While a few aren't anything special, there are a whole bunch that really are quite impressive. These would be my scores for the major songs:

Laughter Song – 31/100 (Inoffensive Pinkie Pie ditty; introduces her to singing)

Winter Wrap Up – 66/100 (Catchy chorus; good chance to hear all the ponies sing)

Art of the Dress – 71/100 (When taken with its second half, an underrated gem)

You Got to Share, You Got to Care – 36/100 (Wordplay at the expense of melody)

At the Gala – 73/100 (Not 'Disney-quality' by any means, but objectively the 'best' song due to its orchestration and vocal work)

Find A Pet Song – 70/100 (First duet; slow middle can be forgiven for its excellent finish)

Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know) – 68/100 (Great song; should be a minute longer)

The Flim Flam Brothers – 78/100 (Most intelligent lyrics of the show doubled with an audacious swagger; first male vocal-work makes me wonder why more haven't been recorded)

The Perfect Stallion – 41/100 (They needed a song that 'sounded' better than their Cutie Mark Crusader song)

Smile Song – 75/100 (First time Pinkie Pie sings about something meaningful; good chorus; pay-off isn't quite as good as it could be, but the road there is solid)

B.B.B.F.F. - 52/100 (Twilight sings better when she isn't sad...or when she sounds oddly auto-tuned)

This Day Aria (Cadence Aria) – 57/100 – (Over-singing unfairly compared by many to a Disney-quality song. Maybe the Hunchback of Notre Dame 2)

Love Is In Bloom – 49/100 – (Hasbro's 'complete' version with the piano intro is slightly better)

The Failure/Success Song – 55/100 (Spike does a twirl and Twilight sings well. The song fails to go beyond that)

Ballad of the Crystal Ponies – 63/100 (Fast-paced narrative-song that serves to enhance the plot)</sub>