Scythe

I had no idea about Nightwing and quickly looked that up, lol. I'm glad they did something with Robin. I've never read the Inheritance trilogy, either. Hmm, these may be good examples of sidekicks/lesser characters growing on their own. I really don't want AJ, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity to be treated as side kicks, or worse, forgotten. Even worse would be if Twilight stayed in Ponyville and nothing changed, making her physical changes and new title/political powers/powers for naught.

Applejack is best pony. It seemed like a good idea to c&p my response to a different thread, here. The qualities that make her great are very subtle-I overlooked them at first. She is by far the most mature out of the group and the easiest for me to relate to. She's loyal, brave, usually honest, hard-working, independent, kind, caring, helpful, athletic, down-to-earth, competitive, strong, slightly stubborn, has nerve ("I didn't learn anything!), and friends and family are important to her. She doesn't hide who she is, unless she's hiding a great secret of some kind. She's also never shown jealousy when her friends all have impressive abilities. I'd be a pit of misery if I was an Earth pony instead of a unicorn. I thought it was a huge character-building moment when Applejack planned another route with Fluttershy in Dragonshy while her other friends were going to continue on the same path. That is something a true leader does, stepping up when it is appropriate and not always the popular decision. Of course, the Apple Family Reunion showed she still has to work on her leadership skills. She is very much in harmony with herself, her family, and friends. Unfortunately, conflict creates stories. AJ's inner and outer harmony make it harder for her to have stories and grow more, compared to her less harmonious friends. I like to imagine that in the future, AJ considers the whole town her family and becomes something like a Sherriff. She could also do well as a shaolin monk, hahaha.

At first, I couldn't decide between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. They were the ponies that stood out the most. Sometime between the second and third seasons, I began to notice and really like Applejack! The qualities that make her great are very subtle-I overlooked them at first. She is by far the most mature out of the group and the easiest for me to relate to. She's loyal, brave, usually honest, hard-working, independent, kind, caring, helpful, athletic, down-to-earth, competitive, strong, slightly stubborn, has nerve ("I didn't learn anything!), and friends and family are important to her. She doesn't hide who she is, unless she's hiding a great secret of some kind. She's also never shown jealousy when her friends all have impressive abilities. I thought it was a huge character-building moment when Applejack planned another route with Fluttershy in Dragonshy while her other friends were going to continue on the same path. That is something a true leader does, stepping up when it is appropriate and not always the popular decision. Of course, the Apple Family Reunion showed she still has to work on her leadership skills. She is very much in harmony with herself, her family, and friends. Unfortunately, conflict creates stories. AJ's inner and outer harmony make it harder for her to have stories and grow more, compared to her less harmonious friends. I like to imagine that in the future, AJ considers the whole town her family and becomes something like a Sherriff. She could also do well as a shaolin monk, hahaha.

I thought most people were upset with Mass Effect 3 because they felt their decisions didn't matter much in the end. That's the exact same problem I have with the MLP season 3 finale. --- Sure, you can have one seriously powerful character surrounded by weaker friends. Batman has Robin, Superman has Lois, Hercules had his wife that he accidentally killed, Gilgamesh (1/3 god) had Enkidu, the X-Men have loads of normal friends we never hear about, Master Chief has cannon-fodder... Hmm, maybe you have a point. No one really cares about Robin or the sidekicks.

I like the idea of Twilight rewarding and helping her friends, that should be an episode. Of course, it would probably end up being that she gave them what she thought they wanted, but what they got was not what they wanted or needed and they become miserable. Twilight learns another valuable lesson about affecting other ponies' lives. Similar to the finale, except Twilight is making a conscious effort with good intentions. I've started thinking about future episodes, too. There really isn't much Twilicorn can do if she stays in Ponyville, worthy of her new title and newly created magic power. Maybe problems and villains will be considerate enough to come to her. In Ponyville: -The writers could have her explore Tartarus, which seems to have an opening somewhere near Ponyville. It might be a bit dark for a TV-Y show, but maybe Tartarus is secretly a happy place. I'm reminded of another show for little girls: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. -She could replace Mayor Mare and plan out the most efficient, 1000 year growth and fiscal plan for the town. Traveling Abroad: -Twilight becomes the newest Vigilante-Ambassador-Wandering Hero. Her friends join her, occasionally. Rarity's fashions and brand name grow out of style when she leaves so she hires stressed underlings, Rainbow Dash loses her job after too many absences, Fluttershy redirects her wildlife rehabilitation efforts to the soon overwhelmed local veterinarianss, AJ's farm and Granny Smith are fine unless Big Mac gets hurt and hopefully she won't have debilitating nostalgia, and Pinkie Pie loses her job after too many absences (probably wishes she kept a clone alive). -Once her friends are freed from their other obligations, they join her as sidekicks or comic-relief. Twilight assures them they are equals, but her friends are constantly being captured or injured by villains and getting in the way. -Most of the episodes focus on new species, places and supervillains of the week. Twilight uses her intellect, power, and new abilities to solve problems, some caused by her friends. -They travel through time and space and visit alien worlds, bringing Equestrian values to the heavens' heathens. Well, hopefully the next season is full of less-depressing episodes.

Not a fan of mysteries? It would truly be redundant if they used the same plot or location or investigators. Mystery is just a style. That was one of my favourite episodes! I loved the buck teeth and how Scully saw Mulder as lazy, but he saw her as kinda whiny.

That'd be a fun episode to watch! It'd be perfect for a mystery episode. It also has the potential to uncover some quirks we may have never known existed.

I'm still bothered by the inconsistencies. I'm not entirely convinced on how a cutie mark is paired with destiny (support free will today!). Just because Rarity has a talent for gem finding and artistry does not mean that she was destined to be a dressmaker. She might have been a sculptor. Rainbow Dash's speed doesn't mean she was destined to be a weather pony. She could have been the fastest thief alive, or a vigilante. Applejack's love of family is not necessarily related to the farm, but to her family. Home is where your heart is, after all. Fluttershy's talent with animals could have her travel far and wide to discover and protect animals akin to the Crocodile Hunter, RIP. Pinkie Pie's ability to entertain could lead anywhere other than Ponyville and have nothing to do with being a baker. I suspect and hope cutie marks just represent talents discovered at a young age.

I never really thought about how the Changelings being left as an evil race went against the values of MLP. Hmm. I want to see an episode that shows the good sides of Changelings. Actually, I want a future Changeling episode, anyway, even if the comics featured them (as chaotic evil).

Yet another review, as if there could ever be too many. Twilight performs a spell that mixes up her friends' cutie marks and thus, their destinies. Together, they fix things. The elements change only Twilight into an alicorn. She becomes a Princess, too. There's suspension of disbelief, and then there's this episode. If you can change destiny, there is no destiny! Destiny is a horrifying concept. If everything is predetermined, you never chose anything-you only had the illusion of choice; your whole life was already planned out for you. You might as well live in the Matrix. Now, the episode did say Twilight created new magic. What kind of new magic? Is there something better than friendship or Shining and Cadence's romance bomb? Did Twilight somehow rescue her universe from destiny and now everypony has free will? Did she create the magic of choice? This will be one of my favourite episodes if that's the case. I think a body-swap would have worked better for this episode. Changing destinies (and possibly the time-line) makes me glad this episode was a musical, as the oddities would be hard to mask otherwise. How far back do the effects of Twilight's spell go? Just how much history is affected? Why wasn't her memory/history affected as well? Why does she keep her magic talent? Did Rainbow Dash ever perform a sonic rainboom? How did they defeat Nightmare Moon? How did they survive the parasprites, Discord, or the sleeping dragon's smoke? If the spell's effects were in the present, that's some serious mind control for the main 6 and everyone who ever knew them. I hoped each pony would gain the talent of the cutie mark they received in the present and yet keep their personalities. Instead, they didn't receive new talents and lost their personalities. AJ should have had Rarity's talent to locate gems and be rich, even if her fashions failed. Rainbow Dash should have figured out how to feed animals and use them for pranking. Pinkie Pie-why is she on the Apple Farm? Is she the hired help? How is she not fired? Why did they let her kill everything? AJ's cutie mark was about FAMILY... Fluttershy's natural shyness and not making ponies happy would probably have driven her to being even more of a recluse, moving, or using her sewing talents instead. Rarity should have had RD's lightning-fast speed. If one unicorn could control the weather instead of a pegasi team, why didn't the town hire one more competent? So much for a unique pegasi ability. What do their current switched jobs have to do with destiny? Together, the main 6 rediscover their talents/'destinies' and use the Elements. Only Twilight becomes an alicorn. Apparently her destiny was to CATCH ALL THE RACES! Tune in for next season when Twilight collects changeling and mule races! Because, of course, ascending and being powerful means becoming part of more races. (This is Discord's secret, hahaha) What is Twilight a Princess of? Will all ponies one day ascend to alicornhood? What about the other races like gryphons, donkeys, minotaurs, etc- do they have an ascended form? What I learned from this episode is that if you screw up badly enough, bring things back to the way they were, and if your friends still love you, you will become more races and a ruler of something! I did like the songs. I was looking forward to hearing Celestia/Nicole Oliver sing. I didn't like the story. It felt like when I watch Dora or Backyardigans with my nephew and cringe the whole way through. 3/10. 1 point for having ponies in it, 1 point for having M. A. Larson write it, and 1 for Celestia singing. This was the worst episode of MLP I've ever watched. I'll still re-watch the old episodes and I'll give the new season a chance to explain things. I haven't felt this disappointed in a cartoon series since I downloaded Gargoyles a few years back and enjoyed the first 2 seasons only to find the 3rd season unwatchable. I have hope that MLP can save themselves from whatever happened to ruin a cartoon like Gargoyles. I know this review won't change anyone's mind, but it certainly felt good to get these thoughts out.

I'd love it if they got their cutie marks (what a term, blech) at the same time. I would love it even more if the show writers made it something we didn't expect, like a triforce or something. It'd be great if their special talents weren't the ones we thought were obvious (scooting, singing, craftsmanship), but were something else extremely fittng that took more time to develop. That would be why they were blank flanks for so long.

lol I should look for that, then. I wonder what the new Magic is? Maybe it has to do with that extra star on her bum. I'd like to think Friendship is the highest form, but I can't forget the magic Shining Armour/Cadance performed to blast away changelings. Now, all Twilight needs is to study that love magic. lol.

I like Rainbow Dash. I also think she's the epitome of a pegasus, if that Hearth's Warming Eve play had any merit to it. She's brave, strong, practices and works on her dreams, she's a leader, she was willing to give up her dream when the costs were too high, challenges herself (vs Applejack), and she's very honest. I really liked her when she woke Fluttershy for cider, when she could've just left Fluttershy and had more cider to herself. She needs to think quickly, being a speedy daredevil. Unfortunately, this probably is what makes her judgements sometimes a bit rash. 'Are you a spy?!' I'm happy she's reading. I hope the future episodes will develop her more. Finally, a thing that really irks me: I don't understand why it was Cadance that needed to save Spike and the Crystal Heart. Rainbow Dash saved Rarity and the Wonderbolts in Sonic Rainboom, had Fluttershy help her save Spike in Secret of My Excess, and again with Fluttershy caught Twilight in the series pilot. What was wrong with the fastest pegasus alive?

Maybe Starswirl became something else (other than exploded to bits). If he did, I hope we get to find out, lol. If friendship really is magic, being a princess shouldn't just be for unicorns. Isn't Pinkie Pie friends with everyone in Ponyville?

Killing the other Pinkie Pies was definitely the darkest moment to me. Why couldn't they be sent off somewhere else? They could have been a roving band of entertainers or something.

I bet Twilight will be sent with her friends to bring harmony and diplomacy to other nations and their planet. They'll go on more adventures, meet more creatures and solve their problems, stop a few wars, accidentally start a few wars, and things like that. If they got rid of her new powers/status/wings, they'd better have a good reason for rendering that last episode pointless as a stage of growth. (It was all a changeling dream...) I can't see the status quo happening, Great Power requiring Great Responsibility and all. It'd be madness for a super-powerful, now famous leader to stay as the librarian in a small town. Hmm, if she does go on adventures, it won't be easy for any of her friends to join her on a whim, except Spike.

A Canterlot Wedding is my favourite episode, especially the second part. Cadance the Bridezilla, Twilight being abandoned was extremely sad, the caves filled with mirror-like crystals, This Day Aria, the battle, the changelings, Queen Chrysalis, Princess Luna made a few appearances, someone else saved the day, and more!

I am hoping that Twilight's friends will become alicorns, too, at some point. Then her powers of friendship will last forever! Bwahahaa! Plus, if Twilight's friends were alicorns, too, they would balance each other out. I feel sorry for Twilight's friends. Even though they were right beside her learning about friendship, they don't get to become alicorns. I guess they just don't understand friendship as much as she does-but why not?

I would be fine with Twilight as a Princess if I had answers for a few burning questions in my head. WHY did she need to become 2 more races? I think I remember reading Lauren Faust saying alicorns are made of all 3 pony types. If she did something spectacular as a unicorn and is being rewarded, what is the point of making more races part of her? When does it end? Is that what happened to Discord? The more races your body is made of, the more powerful/ascended you are? Are manticores and griffons naturally more powerful than other things? I agree with MadPointer, here. What is she a Princess of? She may have experience in leading her friends, Winter Wrap Up and a few other things, but what does she know of diplomacy between warring nations or how to run an Empire well? If Celestia and Luna are immortal, why would they need another Princess? Are they both planning on going somewhere? Are they aliens returning to the mother planet? If they are good and just rulers, why change the status quo? Are they bored? Is Twilight the Princess of being a powerful defence force? That reminds me, I really feel sorry for those poor Earth ponies in the Crystal Empire that lose one unicorn leader, only to gain an alicorn and a unicorn. Earth ponies don't get to govern themselves, I guess. SssSslaaavesss. If Twilight has a few more things to study, how much time will she have for a social life? She couldn't have learned everything from her bookish upbringing.