For the curious, "Vanilla Rose" was the name I gave the Mayor in a couple of my stories: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/03/story-memor... http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/03/story-lunas...

These are early 2011 fare, so that should be an indicator of the age of the dictionary the article references.

On Past Sins in print: Something the authors (and anyone involved in this project) need to realize is that attempting to sell a derivative work based on someone else’s intellectual property is a damn good-and-fast way to get yourself sued. DO NOT DO THIS, even if the books are being “sold” at cost. As soon as money changes hands, Hasbro’s lawyers will no longer have any reason to turn a blind eye, and if they do get wind of this, they won’t.

Go ahead and generate some e-books in the planned formats, then let individual readers have print copies made for themselves.

To all blogponies participating: What is your absolute favorite thing about running/moderating EqD? Conversely, what're your biggest peeves with it (and don't say SO MUCH E-MAIL. We all figure that's a given at this point)?

To Phoe: Assuaged? Assuaged.

Assuming I end up in Equestria as a pony, the first minute on four hooves reveals an indecipherable cutie mark on my flank—such as a washcloth on a stick, a decorative bowl of raisins with a mouse sitting in it, or perhaps a silhouette of Janet Reno—from which I simply can’t derive a special talent. Confused, I wander through Ponyville, asking anypony who’ll spare the time to have a look and give me their opinion, which is misconstrued as an indecent proposal by many, and it isn’t long before I’m “escorted” to the outskirts of town without the chance to plead my case.

I sit at the side of the road on which I’m dumped, staring at the unsolved mystery on my butt until I start to get hungry. Since, y’know, herbivore now, I elect to snack on whatever grass or flowers are growing in the area, only to discover I’m allergic to about three-fourths of Equestria’s flora. With my face and extremities starting to swell, I stumble around in a panic, hoping there’s a clinic nearby, but end up tripping onto the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres, and all too close to the CMC’s clubhouse.

The trio—their imaginations hyped up to extreme levels by a stack of zombie apocalypse comics Scootaloo borrowed from Spike—mistake me for the walking dead as I bump into tree after tree with my eyes swollen shut. There’s a whole lot of screaming (and clucking) which brings Applejack to the scene, and she wastes no time in defending her little sister and co. by bucking me square in the agates. The adrenaline rush from the assault wards off the anaphylaxis, but causes severe internal damage, effectively rendering me a gelding.

Once all “misunderstandings” are eventually cleared up, I become a lethargic shell of my former self, and spend the rest of my days bedridden in a hospice, bloating to gargantuan proportions on a steady diet of crabapples, fried eggs, and wheat toast (the only foodstuffs available I’m not allergic to). I suppose ending up in this situation would make perfect sense if my cutie mark was that washcloth on a stick, but it turns out to be Janet Reno after all.

Has there ever been any discussion, amongst yourselves or with the community at large, about expanding or revising the fic genre list? For example, trading in "Grimdark"--or "Dark" as it stands now on the submission form--for a handful of selections that aren't so overencompassing, such as "Drama", "Suspense", "Thriller", and "Horror"?

Lend me your eyes for a moment, folks. I caught Coder's explanation of things during a livestream recording of a Bronyville segment last Saturday (I think it was recorded for the May 23rd show instead of the 16th), and there's considerably more to this project than just putting together a commercial to say thank you to the producers and creators of FiM.

On the commercial itself, it’ll contain a call to The Hub's viewers to make holiday donations to specific charities (which are still being decided upon, as far as I'm aware). Depending on the viewers' reaction, this has the potential to generate a lot of donations from outside of our fandom and could be huge for the charities named. If people are concerned about whether or not this would be a waste of money, this part could result in serious gains for charity; hopefully, in amounts greater than what’s been raised to produce and air the ad. Of course, there are no certainties in life, but in my mind, this is something that’s definitely worth the shot.

Beyond the ad is TBTYF Inc’s pursuit of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. If successful in that endeavor, then any charity campaigns run through them can be tax-exempt, which is not only a big deal for potential donors, but can also be a boon for the other Brony charity organizations (or, just organizers) out there who haven’t the means to pursue that status themselves. By partnering with or running donations through a 501(c)(3) non-profit, more doors open up to more donors. And of course, 501(c)(3) corporations’ tax records are publicly available upon request, so if anyone has misgivings about how TBTYF is handling themselves, they’ll be open to a higher level of scrutiny than any private organization. For the causes the fandom chooses to champion, having a non-profit like this as a primary funnel-point would be a win.

Regardless, it’s perfectly understandable that so many Bronies think the ad is, on the surface, a bad idea. One of the more frequent complaints I hear about us is that we “like to blow our own horn too much,” and there are definitely those who will view this as such horn-blowing taken to the extreme. And yes, there’s going to be critics coming out of the woodwork with the usual myopic view of things to grate upon our nerves, but seriously . . . do you really think it’s going to hurt anything? Personally, I have no problem with the concept, hope that the ends more than justify the means, and am eager to see how it all pans out, but that’s just me.

A suggestion: keep your eyes and ears out for Coderbrony on Bronyville and/or Everfree Radio, and listen to what he has to say about the project. The more info one has before making a judgment call, the better.