Veylon

The lack of an antagonist was actually one of the things I liked best about the episode. If you want to have an episode about a character overcoming their fears, it's simple and obvious to create a bully or naysayer to constantly mock and harry them and who can be shown up at the end. Not having one freed up a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent in pointless confrontations and put it to good use by focusing on the character that the episode is actually about.

Assuming that civilization doesn't collapse, the information about Bronies will still be out there in the future. There will be things brought in to the future equivalent of Antiques Roadshow, there will be reams of data floating around, there will pieces of art and other fan-made stuff. As to whether anyone besides the odd obscure historian will care will be hard to say. There are plenty of Americans today who don't know about the Great Awakening or who Eugene Debs was or even what Iran-Contra was about. So I find it hard to believe that the average somebody born today would know about Bronies when they reach adulthood, let alone a generation past that. Of course, if Bronyism builds into something else, then it'll be guaranteed a minor place in history as the thing that caused this other thing, like the Maine or 1930's German politics or Commodore Perry. But I don't think that's terribly likely.

Well, that would certainly help out the Princess Gap that Hasbro's been trying to close with Disney. Other than that, this is pretty much unconscionable and unjustifiable. There's probably a toy pack on the way. However...somebody (I forget who) had the notion that the Mane Six in Equestria Girls ought to transform into Ponies for the battle sequences. I was pretty enthusiastic about the idea, but there was a voice in the back of my head critically pointing out that some of them weren't exactly combat ready. But everyone being Princesses would solve this flaw, as well as making the fighting even more flashy and chaotic than it would've been already. So, in the context of the Mane Six needing to transform Sailor Moon-style in Equestria Girls, I approve of them all being Princesses. Otherwise not.

Oddly, this is one of the main reasons I'm against Twilicorn. Not because I don't want to see a new and original story arcs (I'd love to), but because I don't think that new story arcs will be done, despite Twilight's new status almost requiring them. Yes, I know it's a fairly weird wedge position to take, but that's where I stand. Maybe the new season will swing me around. Sadly, I don't know any little girls and thus have no insight on where that demographic stands in regards to the transformation. My hunch is that most of them either liked it or don't care.

Idealists tend to make for some of the most formidable villains. They can't be bought off, intimidated, or easily reasoned with. They've got an all-important mission to fulfill and are going to do their damnedest to do it. In their own eyes, they are the heroes.

I always figured Celestia latched on to Twilight as a student so that the power she demonstrated would be used for Equestria rather than against it (shades of Sombra). And because, well, Twilight's more than a little insane under pressure. Keeping a close eye on her so she didn't get out of control was probably a good idea. The whole scenario of dumping her off in Ponyville in hopes of defeating Nightmare Moon in just the right way always struck me as quite the gamble. But then Celestia's a leader and gambling with everyone's lives is what leaders do. I also tend to view the alicornizing of Twilight as something that was innate to her; it was never up to Celestia to decide whether or not she got to be one. I'm sure Celestia can decide who can be a Princess, but the two aren't quite the same thing. I really haven't seen Twilight given much in the way of responsibility. She studies a lot, and on the side hangs out with her friends. Celestia calls her up for a crisis, but there's none of the day to day stuff. To be sure, she chooses to pick up responsibilities on her own, but nobody told her to do them. Which is fine; Twilight's scholarly skills would be wasted on politics or bureaucracy and it's probably better for her growth if she's doing good things by choice rather than being ordered to. As far as I can tell, most people are upset about the alicornizing because it separates her from her friends in several different ways, whereas I always expected her eventually leave and go do whatever Celestia's been training her for. Or at least graduate and pick up a career. I hadn't thought metamorphosis and ascension to royalty were in the cards, but they're pretty much the same thing.

I'm kind of surprised they haven't already done the Rashomon thing. Although the Mane 6 are probably enough as is, if they're also doing the mystery solving thing, it could be funny to see the world through the eyes of an oddball like Trixie or Iron Will or Discord or Lightning Dash or somebody. A mystery also allows them to do the Scooby Do thing where Rainbow Dash keeps jumping the gun and fingering (hoofing?) the wrong former antagonist. Which could naturally segue into them giving their version of events.

I'd kind of like to see her parents again. Maybe there could be an episode where she goes with them on some kind of family trip or something? Or maybe helps them out with something? If there's going to be another episode that revolves around dressmaking, it ought to involved Princess dressmaking, though I don't know how enthusiastic Cadance would be after what Rarity did to her hair. Or, heck, she could be involved in the setting up of the next Galloping Gala. But there really should be an episode where she is actually generous. We haven't seen that quality in her since....ever?

The point of her act was to draw out the egos in the audience and humiliate them in front of their peers. It's the main event of the show. Audiences love this stuff because they get the schadenfreude of seeing people who've always thought very highly of themselves get put down. There's got to be plenty of ponies in Ponyville who've secretly wanted to see Rarity have a fashion disaster inflicted on her or see the ever-boastful Rainbow Dash made a fool of. If Twilight had gone up there, Trixie would've pulled a fast one or two on her as well. Her only real sin is continuing her stage persona offstage. So, I was kind of baffled at how hostile everyone was to each other in Magic Duel. Granted, Trixie can be a jerk, but I'd think the Mane Six would at least try to be nice to that pony who didn't really do anything to them.

The bar for Mary Sue-dom has been lowered to the point where it's practically on the floor. My overarching criteria is: Do they screw up? Does it have consequences? Are they called on it? Twilight has screwed up multiple times and been called on it. So she gets a clean bill of health from me so far. We'll see how much things change in Season 4. Celestia's is much closer to Mary Suedom. Her only real major screw up was with Chrysalis. Canterlot was promptly plunged into chaos. Unfortunately, she hasn't been called on it. We've seen her decline to take action when it might have been useful a few times, but no harm was done (which adds Mary Sue points). Cadance is definitely Mary Sue. Everyone likes her, she's never done anything wrong, and anything bad that happens to her is someone else's fault. Of course, she might not stay a Mary Sue if she gets some character development. I'm still hoping to hear that she was a Bridezilla and that's why nobody noticed that she'd been replaced. Nobody else accused of Mary Suedom is a major character, so I'm not going to bother caring whether or not they qualify. It doesn't matter.

Technically, it was love they used to inflict injury upon the Changelings. Completely different. Also, I think that "proving" that Changelings can be good runs the risk of producing an episode where one good Changeling (often an outcast) is found which only confirms the idea that Chaotic Evil is indeed the default alignment of the Changeling race. Personally, I'd be happy with an explanation of the Changelings' actions from their point of view. At some point it must have seemed like a good idea to storm Canterlot en masse. I mean, they did it, after all. We can't very well absolve them of all blame. Otherwise, we're taking away the very individuality that we're trying to give them. To be a person is to be responsible for one's actions. If there's going to be a redemption story, it should be done with the understanding that not all Changelings are in need of a redemption story. Some are good and some aren't, and the focus should be on those who aren't, but facing enough doubts to be swayed.

G4 is basically the same as G1 except with better writing, voice acting, and aesthetics. Tirek and Grogar are easily in the same realm of "scary villain" as Chrysalis or Sombra, which is why people keep bringing them up.

Nice! I'm glad somebody else noticed this to. Yes, Twilight has no formal rank, but as Celestia's personal student or apprentice, her informal rank is sky-high. And thus her leap to Princesshood is, in practical terms, not as high as it might seem.

Minions tend to be annoying and take focus away from the villain and heroes. Maybe that's why the villains in this show seem so serious; they don't have a sidekick yukking it up every couple minutes and incompetently making a mess of things. I guess it's one of those things you don't really notice when it isn't there. Geez. What would the opener have been like if Nightmare Moon just hung around the Everfree Castle the whole time and kept sending Midnight to set up traps for the Mane Six, only to smack her one each time because they didn't work? Over and over again.

Yes, this would be the Greek myth kind of gods. It's only because most of us have grown up under Monotheistic traditions that we have such high standards for godhood. Ponies don't expect her to be all-knowing or all-powerful, though she's surely much more powerful than any mortal pony. And that's enough.

It's worth remembering that Celestia and Luna (but mostly Celestia) aren't just political figures, but also demigods and spiritual leaders. You can't just have a palace coup and call things good. Celestia is going to be far more effective at raising the citizenry en masse than any demagogue. She's virtually their goddess; they swear by her after all. Really, if the Royal Guards were going to turn against anyone, it'd be Luna. Just about all of them joined before she came back, they've taken an oath - and probably take it very seriously - to protect Celestia, and know that Luna is Nightmare Moon and therefore one of the greatest possible threats to their beloved leader. Yes, Celestia welcomed her sister back, but it'd be fairly easy for would-be traitors to imagine that they are protecting her from herself, that they need to remove this threat to her for own good, even over her protestations. So this would be a plot of the Old Guard who have put decades into the status quo, want to see it restored, and see themselves as Celestia's most loyal and faithful guardians.

This is the headcanon I'm going with. Except the "turned on their masters" part. But, like pretty much everyone else, I'm assuming they derive their legitimacy from Discord's defeat.

In hindsight, it's obvious. But otherwise.... Remember, Celestia and the other palace ponies have been dealing with Evil Cadance for...days? Weeks? They're used to her acting like this. For any outsiders, it would be very tempting to peg her attitude as a case of Bridezilla and assume that she'd calm down after the wedding. For all we know, Chrysalis was merely imitating Cadance's behavior. There's also the issue that Twilight tends to fly off the handle in certain situations; usually Celestia-related, but apparently other things close to home as well. And her friends know Twilight. She's scared and overexcited, but it'll blow over once the wedding's done and Cadance reverts from Bridezilla mode. Granted, they could've offered some reassurance and support to help keep her from flying off the handle during the wedding. And she really needed their support as she doesn't handle this social stuff well at all. Heck, maybe they should've offered to go grab the Elements for the wedding so that they could do something if she really did turn out to be evil. But really to give Twilight some moral support so she could relax a little. As well as keep an eye on her.

I'd assume that they'd go the serious situation route. If you've got ninety-ish minutes to fill with pony, there'd better be a plot weighty enough to use all that. So this is where you dial everything up the elevens because, heck, who knows if there will ever be a MLP movie again? Otherwise...what? Do we watch Rainbow Dash at Wonderbolts camp? Do we have a Rashoman-type story where the ponies try to remember what happened at one of Pinkie's parties? Do the CMC get their cutie-marks? Does Twilight get Princess training?

Oh come on guys. For all you know, you'll like Sunset even more than Twilight! More seriously, I really do like her design. If and when I get around to writing fanfic, I'll have to be sure to include her. I kind of envision her as being more extroverted and energetic, offering an alternative approach to magic from Twilight's more scholarly methods.

About the only background characters we know enough about to have an episode are Big Mac, Cheerilee, and Zecora. So, yeah, you could do an episode exploring one of them. But doing something on Octavia, Lyra, Vinyl, or one of the other deep background ponies would be pretty tough.

I really don't think that backstory is a good enough reason to bring back any of the antagonists thus far. Especially when there are plenty of other, more reasonable excuses to shoehorn them into an episode. There could be an "Enemy Mine" situation where they have to work together with someone they don't like. There could be a case of jumping to conclusions where the Mane Six just assume that the antagonist from a prior encounter is behind whatever mischief is going on simply because there's bad blood between them. Or they could just happen to be the same area due to having a common interest with one or another of the Mane Six. It wouldn't be unreasonable for Flim & Flam to be at a Exposition or Lightning Dash to enter a race.

It's still last winter, at least in the Arrowhead region. We traditionally celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Easter by shoveling snow around here. Usually things thaw out around the middle of April or early May.

I view Celestia and Luna as created beings, sort of magical golems created to raise the sun and moon so that hundreds (thousands?) of unicorns could be freed of that task. They created other alicorns for other purposes back in the day, but they are all gone now. Cadance is the result of a failed genetic safeguard that keeps those with pegasus and unicorn heritage from manifesting both a horn and wings. So she's a mutant. Twilight has managed to use the Elements of Harmony to temporarily assume the roles of one of the missing alicorns. And by "temporarily" I mean "for the entirety of her lifespan". Celestia became a Princess after the Nightmare Moon incident by virtue of declaring herself one. Luna is a Princess by virtue of being Celestia's sister. Cadance and Twilight are Princesses by virtue of Celestia saying so. Prince Blueblood is a Prince by virtue of being the current heir to the (now defunct) unicorn kingdom once ruled by Princess Platinum.