Here's the thing.  The blue box containing Rainbow Power was supposed to be the ultimate solution to the Tirek problem.  But then, the writers deliberately abandoned it for the sake of giving Twilight the other princesses' alicorn magic, even though that kind of thing would inevitably fail.  Which was why I was thankful that the Rainbow Power box -- and the real magic, that of friendship -- was eventually brought back...

There was one key missing. Until Twilight found something that represented her element, they weren't going to open the box any time soon.

And they weren't going to jump to that immediately, thank you very much—otherwise the plot would have no conflict at all. The point is to show that the magic of friendship is more important than power, and to express that you need to show what happens when you have power.

...And yet people cared more about Twilight's one-on-one fight with Tirek than the Rainbow Power scene in the climax.  The fact that the one-on-one magic fight between Twilight and Tirek stole most of the two-part finale was what stripped Twilight's friends of their relevancy, even when they received Rainbow Power.

So, like, you're saying it's because the fandom cared more about the fight scene means that Twilight's friends are irrelevant. You're sure putting a lot of basis on the fandom instead of the real story, eh?

They did not "deliberately" abandon the box for the fight scene. Twilight didn't have her key yet. How could they open it without all six keys? And Tirek was in the way of the sixth key. Also, Twilight was pretty pissed off because Golden Oaks Library got destroyed... y'know, that happened?

 

You don't seem to have paid any attention to the plot other than finding some way to put Twilight down. Shame on you.

Right now, people care more about the fight-scene between Twilight and Tirek than they do the Rainbowfied Mane Six fighting Tirek.  The former was better written and paced, while the latter was rushed and instantly resolved.  But the way I see it, those people are unintentionally implying that they want Twilight's friends to be useless and even outright killed, and that Twilight alone should become the most godlike Mary Sue in the universe.

Right now, people care more about the fight-scene between Twilight and Tirek than they do the Rainbowfied Mane Six fighting Tirek.  The former was better written and paced, while the latter was rushed and instantly resolved.  But the way I see it, those people are unintentionally implying that they want Twilight's friends to be useless and even outright killed, and that Twilight alone should become the most godlike Mary Sue in the universe.

Frankly, I and many other people, Twilight Sparkle fans especially, support Twilight's decision to risk Equestria for her friends, as she needed their help to defeat Tirek and she knew this, which is why she chose to give up her power in exchange for her friends. However, your problem seems to be with the fandom rather than the show itself. Just because the fandom likes that scene a lot doesn't automatically mean that Twilight thinks her friends are irrelevant. They're two completely unrelated issues. Have the amount of car accidents increased because people like apples? No, and that argument makes just about as much sense as what you're arguing.

Right now, people care more about the fight-scene between Twilight and Tirek than they do the Rainbowfied Mane Six fighting Tirek.  The former was better written and paced, while the latter was rushed and instantly resolved.  But the way I see it, those people are unintentionally implying that they want Twilight's friends to be useless and even outright killed, and that Twilight alone should become the most godlike Mary Sue in the universe.

Why would you think that? I loved the fight scene, it was really cool to me. I like Twilight, but her friends are just as important as her. I didn't want any of them to be killed. Rarity is my favorite, and I don't want Twilight to be a Mary Sue.

 You think this just because they liked the fight scene? That's a ridiculous assumption. The characters in this show are the main reason I love it. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good fight every now and then.

Well, to be fair, Twilight didn't win the fight. She tried, but she still got beaten and bruised, and her home got utterly annihilated. It also illustrated that Twilight is unable to fight alone. I don't understand how she managed to stay standing for so long, though; even with all alicorn magic, Tirek had the entire population's power under his control. She should've gone down sooner than she did.

I liked the Rainbow Power scene more, because I mean, it's straight out of a magical girl anime. IT WAS AWESOME. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the one-on-one fight as it was nicely animated and had some good action. I think that the initial battle was Twilight overestimating herself, or at least being too caught up in her own emotions to realize that she can't single-hoofedly save her friends and Equestria, even if she wanted to.

Also, @everything that's already been said, well put.

I said this on your last blog post, and I don't want to get into it again, but the narrative is not treating Twilight's friends as disposable, you are. Please step back and take a look at the fact that Tirek was only defeated when Twilight and her friends used their combined efforts to open the Harmony Box.

Holy shit there's just no pleasing you is there?

I said this on your last blog post, and I don't want to get into it again, but the narrative is not treating Twilight's friends as disposable, you are. Please step back and take a look at the fact that Tirek was only defeated when Twilight and her friends used their combined efforts to open the Harmony Box.

I know I've beaten this dead horse (no pun intended, again), but I would be able to appreciate this scene, if others appreciated it as well for its friendship motif.  Alas, more people would rather the Twilight/Tirek duel, because it's violent, over-the-top, and DBZ-style stupid.

I know I've beaten this dead horse (no pun intended, again), but I would be able to appreciate this scene, if others appreciated it as well for its friendship motif.  Alas, more people would rather the Twilight/Tirek duel, because it's violent, over-the-top, and DBZ-style stupid.

1. How do you know for sure why people like it?

2. I don't know much about DBZ, but I think you're in the minority on the "it's stupid" view.

3. Other people's enjoyment of the scene should not lessen your own, that's not fair to the piece of media represented.

4. Generally, DBZ's fights are viewed as a strength, not a flaw, and it has greatly influenced all other anime.

5. Faust stated in an interview that MLP had been inspired by Magical Girl animes. When combined with 4, you see the point.

6. Despite people claiming that the scene was violent it really wasn't. There are only two true acts of violence in it: Tirek tosses Twilight to the mountain and pushes her through, Twilight retaliates and Tirek get smashed into the ground.

7. The friendship motif is there like you originally said you wanted, so what's the issue?

1. How do you know for sure why people like it?

2. I don't know much about DBZ, but I think you're in the minority on the "it's stupid" view.

3. Other people's enjoyment of the scene should not lessen your own, that's not fair to the piece of media represented.

4. Generally, DBZ's fights are viewed as a strength, not a flaw, and it has greatly influenced all other anime.

5. Faust stated in an interview that MLP had been inspired by Magical Girl animes. When combined with 4, you see the point.

6. Despite people claiming that the scene was violent it really wasn't. There are only two true acts of violence in it: Tirek tosses Twilight to the mountain and pushes her through, Twilight retaliates and Tirek get smashed into the ground.

7. The friendship motif is there like you originally said you wanted, so what's the issue?

1. It's because the Rainbow Power scene reeked of Deus Ex Machina, while the Twilight/Tirek fight was more suspenseful and better paced.

2. I'm not the only one who believes DBZ is the dumbest thing on Earth: http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=245

4. Dragon Ball's fights were better than DBZ.  The former had more variety and were shorter.  The latter just dragged for too long and were all repetitive.

7. Again, people hated the Rainbow Power scene because it instantly resolved the conflict, unlike the Twilight/Tirek fight because it was more intense.  But the way I see it, by saying something like that, are they also unintentionally implying that Twilight's friends are better when they're useless, and Twilight herself is a Mary Sue.