Who's your favorite pony?

[Firewind]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

It's Daring Do next to Big Mac

[Armando]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Looks like someone at The Hub liked Dusty's Dos Equis spoofs.

[Firewind]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Eh. "Forges personal bond for the first time since childhood" is where the two go their separate ways. Unless you're one of those people who ships Twilight with everypony. Also, when did Twilight's emotions every get the best of her powers? I don't remember that episode.

[Armando]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Also, when did Twilight's emotions every get the best of her powers? I don't remember that episode.

During the entrance exam for Princess Celestia's school.

Also, Fighting is Magic got a Cease and Desist. I'm so disappointed.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

During the entrance exam for Princess Celestia's school.

Fair enough, though in that case they should've put it before the clearly faulty part where it equates Twilight's friends to Anakin's love interest.

[Firewind]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

What it means is that Spike and Trollestia are the only friends and thus personal and emotional attachments she ever had before meeting the rest of the Mane Six.

[Nandito]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

On an unrelated note; something disturbing has occurred to me...



The hell happen to Pinkie's straight mane? We haven't seen it since the first episode of Season 2, and that was still technically a Faust episode. It's as if everyone from the new team has forgotten that silky smoothness. We've already seen she doesn't have to go "Pinkamena" on us for it to happen; simply getting it wet causes it, and Pinkie has been certainly drenched throughout the episodes. Now it's always just limp, subtle curls.

I will not stand for this!

[Firewind]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Because it's Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie's hair will always be exactly how Pinkie Pie wants it to be.

[Armando]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Also not even a salon-grade hair dryer can keep her hair straight.

[Firewind]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

[Armando]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Damn. I really appreciate the fact that the artist went out of their way to emulate Ken Sugimori's art style.

I really like the cover for the Twilight Sparkle mini-series

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

Fluttershy aiding a troubled Doctor Hooves

[Firewind]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?

So I'm going to be discussing the series finale. If you've not seen it yet then, well serves you right for looking in the MLP thread the day after a new episode aired

Compared to the other series finales of this show, I found the new episode highly disappointing.

First of all, with all of the things going on the the episode, it really deserved to have more than a single episode dedicated to it. While it fits in to the series overarching theme of change and the mane six achieving major goals well, the fact that it is all crammed into a tiny 20 minute episode means that if I'm honest, the whole thing felt more like filler and even having watched it multiple times, I still haven't a clue what the fuck was going on in some parts because they never really did explain a number of important things.

First of all, it seems odd that all the other weather pegasi wouldn't try to fix Rarity's messed-up weather. The same can be said about the Apples not helping Pinkie Pie on the farm, the Cakes not helping Fluttershy with her parties and everyone ignoring the fact that animals are trying to cook and eat Rainbow Dash. The Apples ignoring Applejack is really weird because they do suddenly decide to help out once Applejack decides to pitch in and gets her Cutie Mark back.

Second, the Mane Six instantly seem to have forgotten all about each other and how much they care about each other. Instead of actually pitching in and helping out each other when everyone's Cutie Marks are switched, which would have resulted in things resolving themselves, we are treated to Twilight having to force everyone to remember that they are friends... It's even more annoying when you remember that Rarity and Applejack both have family in Ponyville that can help them out! Dash and Fluttershy are also really close (they've known each other since they were Fillies and several episodes do imply they they love each other like sisters) and never thought about helping each other out, and Pinkie has the cakes as her surrogate family who again, don't lift a finger to even help her out! Instead of Twilight just getting everyone together to help them get through this, she kind of has to drag them around and force them to help each other. Well that is what goes in on the background while they use a song to breeze through the entire plotline in less than 2 minutes.

Third, it is never actually explained what Twilight's Ascension actually means, we're just treated to a vague Yoda-esque phrase from Trollestia and are forced to accept that. This is a massive event that is the culmination of the life's work of Twilight and a hell of a lot of work on the part of Celestia. This should have been a MASSIVE event. Instead we get a 5 minute montage and two more musical numbers that don't show us what is actually going on, they just vaguely explain events in a pretty anticliamtic and unsatisfying way.

Fourth, It is rather disturbing that Twilight can accidentally swap a pony's destiny and force her to not only live a life that is both unrewarding and unhappy, but also make them think that that is the only thing that they have ever done. The implications of ponies being forced to do what their Cutie Marks tell them and Twilight having the power to basically swap them at will is pretty horrifying and the implications of this, again are never actually explored because the writers wanted to breeze through it with a song.

The songs are another bad thing about the episode. Seven songs are forced into the episode and they do little to actually show us what is going on. They just tell us what is going on and we aren't treated to the conflict being resolved, they just sing about it and it sort of happens in the background. They could have devoted an entire episode to Twlight resolving the effects of Starswirl's Unfinished Spell and then ended on a cliffhanger when Twilight gets the Ãœbercharge that causes her ascension, then spent the next episode on her coronation and the implications of this change. Instead both plotlines are hacked apart and cut into minimalistic chunks with a ton of songs between them which just makes the entire thing feel unfulfilling and a waste of two perfectly good and extremely interesting plots.

Comparing this to Wonderbolt Academy where Dash fulfils her life dreams of joining the Wonderbolts, Pinkie Pie having an existential crisis that results in some major character development in Too Many Pinkie Pies and Fluttershy turning Discord Chaotic Good in Keep Calm and Flutter On (An episode that really did need to be a two parter as well), all of the episodes we incredibly good episodes because we saw the characters go through a major change in their lives and go through a lot of character development. By comparison, Magical Mystery Cure feels like a filler episode purely due to how little the episode actually explores Twilight's ascension or even the first plotline of everyone's Cutie Marks being switched. They really did waste a pair of perfectly good plots by making the rookie mistake of cutting it all down to fit into 20 minutes. Keep Calm and Flutter On wasn't horrible with this, the episode was still well written, but it was a legitimate concern about the episode. Magical Mystery Cure blasts through the plot and leaves very little truly resolved.

[Armando]

Re: Who's your favorite pony?


I'm guessing the implications of Twilight being a princess will be revealed in the Season 4 intro.

I imagine no one bothered to call the others because none of the others are qualified to help. Who else could run Carousel Boutique? At best Fluttershy, but she only knows how to sew, not design. Sweetie Belle always makes a mess of things and it's not clear what Rarity's parents do. Unless their Cutie Marks involve fashion, odds are they'd fare no better than AJ. We know the Apples have their own chores around the farm - remember when Big Mac got injured? Helping out Pinkie would mean neglecting their own. It's never outright stated Ponyville has more than one weather pony. Winter Wrap Up and Hurricane Fluttershy are exceptions because the entire town gets involved, but they still needed Rainbow Dash's leadership, implying the other pegasi aren't qualified. The Cakes are mere bakers; they don't share Pinkie's talents for parties or entertainment. And RD almost getting eaten...you got me. I think they just played that one for laughs (and laugh I did.)

I don't think it's exactly fair to compare this episode to others if it doesn't stand on its own. That'd be like comparing one half of the two-parters to self-contained episodes. That said, moving the plot in such a weird direction means I'm more cautious than usual about Season 4. Still, the last time I thought they were jumping the shark we got A Canterlot Wedding, and that's probably my favorite season finale.