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I watched this episode less than one hour ago, and the only thing I can remember is DERPYYYY!!!!!!!! So, I guess... 10/10 ? Story could have been handled a bit smoother. Perhaps too much time was spent on gags instead of Rainbow's moral dilemma. But y'know, the TRIUMPHANT return of Derpy (not to mention with more screentime than ever before), automatically earns this episode a perfect score! Season 4 is best season.

I had to re-watch this episode before stating my opinion. The reason being that I sort of didn't really have an opinion after watching it the first time. It felt a bit... empty perhaps. I think everyone had pretty high expectations for this episode. How would Scoot's non-flying be handled? Would she be able to fly by the end of the episode? Would she get her cutie mark perhaps? In the end, nothing really changed. Scoots didn't magically learn to fly somehow, it wasn't established if her condition is permanent, she didn't gain her cutie mark (as some form of emotional compensation). Her "disability" was just sort of brushed off as being of no importance. Which is why the episode felt slightly empty to me on my first viewing. None of the things that was expected came to pass. But I now realize that, of course, was sort of THE ENTIRE MORAL POINT of this episode. Her non-flying is not of any importance, as she will be special and awesome in her own way, flying or no flying. And while she looks up to RD, she shouldn't feel like she has to emulate her. (and so on, we all saw the episode) In the end, I am really happy that the writers went this route. It is a very nice and important moral lesson, and was reflected well by the lack of change in status quo. Scoots lack of flight is not a central part of her personality and character, and she should not feel defined by it. Thus, nothing that transpired in this episode regarding her flying changed anything about anything. Really well handled, and well-written. Buuut, entertainment-wise, still not one of my favorites. Ms. Harshwhinny was great in an over-the-top way and the song was pretty good. Nice to see some general RD/Scoots interaction as well. And the cutie mark troll-zoom at the end was pretty awesome MLP is subversive to the format as always.

Received my Twily and Pinkie plushies from 4de yesterday. Without a doubt the most awesome MLP merch I own! They are sooo well-made for being fairly inexpensive retail plushies. They even exceeded my expectations. Can't stop smiling when I look at them.

Here's my take on this ep: After a rewatch, I like this episode more than I did the first time, and I still enjoyed it the first time. I feel like a lot of the complaints about this episode are about how it doesn't make much sense. There seems to be a difference in how much suspension of disbelief people are willing to give MLP. Some people are very picky when it comes to stories making sense, with the argument that if world isn't believable, the characters are hard to relate to. That is true to some extent, and Dave Polsky as a writer sure makes some of the most "off-the-hook" episodes. This is an episode where RD's dreams come true. Not some bleak "realistic" realization about reality being different than one's dreams or something like that. The moral of the story involves RD's dreams coming true by her realizing her own self-worth, and her own ability to rise to a level of the ones she look up to. That is a pretty good moral about self-confidence I would say. No, it is not a plausible or logical storyline, but it is gratifying and makes the viewer happy. For example, how can one find the image of the book cover at the end of the episode anything other than super-sweet and awesome. Dave Polsky seems to be willing to sacrifice a lot of logic and "realism", in favor of underlining the moral and theme of the episode. I think it works fairly well. Some people seem to think differently. Also, Polsky writes some of the funniest gags on the show (Pinkie's red map line thing, the geeky conversation between RD and Twilight etc.) Again, this often happens at the expense of "realism" and consistency. All in all: the moral and the theme makes sense, even if the actual chain of events in the episode doesn't. Some are saying RD's depressive phase in this episode is out of character. I don't see how that is true, as her self-doubt and anxiety when she has to face her idols was made clear as early as Sonic Rainboom. As goes for most tough and sassy/nonchalant characters (or real life people), RD's attitude is partly a facade. The animation in this season is still awesome. This episode, the thing that stood out the most were all of RD's fangirl expressions. They must have had fun coming up with all those silly and adorable faces. The only thing I disapprove of is RD making the "Dreamworks Face". I heard two Wilhelm Screams this episode... Enough! It's old! You've already got the "Squee" sound as a running gag, and that is more unique (even though that is also a stock sound effect). Other than that small detail, the sound mixing for MLP is another thing that always impresses me. I don't think it gets enough appreciation. (Sorry if I come off as a bit aggressive. I don't know if I do, but this post reads weirdly to me. That is not my intention.)

This episode was pretty good. Of course there was no way it was going to be as interesting and epic as the season premiere, but there needs to be some nice slice of life breathing room after something like that. That said, this episode was sort of semi-adventureish spliced with slice of life comedy. Touching on the mystery with the box at the beginning of the episode was a nice touch to really make it clear that this is a continuous story arc. However, it was a bit annoying that no progress was made regarding the mystery box during the episode after it was mentioned. The animation is still great. This time around the cinematography really stood out, for example with the panning shots used to connect and switch between the different storylines. Well written dialog between the characters, and nice use of duos. I want more character pairings like this in the future, to explore the different character dynamics. Of course, the twist is extremely predictable, as are some other moments (like the ponies backing into each other). The whole Scooby Doo/haunted house premise is really old to begin with, but it was executed well in true MLP fashion. Random thoughts: Rainbow covering her face with her wings was just adorable. Nice detail to see that they added the monument that carried the elements at the beginning of season 1. I actually like the continuous use of Spike-slapstick. Some people are saying it's too much, but I'm a slapstick fan so I like it. And... *sigh* I gotta admit, something fluttered in my stomach at the "You don't need to put your hoof around me" line. And after reading Meghan's tweet... AppleDash is now... vaguely semi-canon? Didn't even catch the moral lesson first time around 'cause it was so bland. Interesting to see how they deal with the diary writing in the future, though. Also, is the actual Pony of Shadows that we saw at the end going to be important later? I hope so. TL;DR: In conclusion: pretty good. Nice comedy, dialog and character dynamics, but in the end there was no real depth or surprise anywhere in the story. A bit too lighthearted and by-the-book perhaps.

Haven't had time to post my opinions on this until now, but here goes: Probably the most epic-feeling episode yet. Some have complained about the pacing, but on the whole I thought the pacing was very good, probably the best of all the adventure story episodes, even though these episodes had the most complex storyline yet, with all the flashbacks and stuff. I think everyone has wanted to see those flashbacks to Nightmare Moon's banishment and Discord getting turned to stone. And to make that actually tie in with the storyline, and explain the origin of the elements at the same time is quite well done. Especially in a limited time frame. One of the things I have wished for Season 4 is a continuing storyline, ever since Meghan posted a tweet this summer saying "we are doing something different this time" (or something to that effect). I really hoped a season long story arc was that different thing, and with the box and the keys, that has now been confirmed! I am so excited about this. I do hope however, that the characters also evolve over longer arcs. For example, I want to see more than one episode focusing on Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash bonding, or Fluttershy dealing with "reformed" Discord. I'd rather have things like that spread out over the season to create more realistic character arcs. Attention to detail is very high: they actually bother to mention Cadance's whereabouts, make sure Discord is frozen in the same pose he was in Return of Harmony etc. Might seem obvious, but to me the details give away wether the team behind the show cares or not. Lines are well balanced between the Mane 6. Even though this is a Twilight-centric episode, it is important to not gloss over the rest of the main characters (especially as the entire point is that they are important to Twilight). Meghan gives good down to earth supporting lines to AJ and Rarity who are the most balanced minds. (This does however leave Pinkie and Rainbow especially with stereotypical lines suited for their character quirks. There is no real way around that though. They can be nuanced during their own centric episodes.) Daniel Ingram always gets a lot of praise for his songs, but William Anderson's score is never mentioned enough. THE SCORE WAS AMAZING. The music during Nightmare Moon's banishment especially was really really good. Animation gets better and better, the lighting during the stained glass window scene, the visual fx and camera pans during the Nightmare Moon scene, even subtle stuff like head turns and expressions seem to be more complex and nuanced. Not sure what I think of Celestia's new mouth though. I wonder if the budget for MLP is much higher these days than it was during Season 1 (are those numbers avalible somewhere?) Seeing Luna in the intro really makes me hope she gets a bigger recurring role in the show. Same goes for Discord. And I'm already three days too late for this but DAT CANE

I'll be watching it online somehow once I get home from work. I don't get the Hub here, so that's not an option. The plan is to watch it simultaneously with a friend online so we can comment on stuff live. Also, this will be my first season premiere since I became a brony, so the hype is off the charts!! Judging by the spoilers, it's going to be pure epicness!

I saw pretty much everyp... body in there EXCEPT Lyra. I actually feel bad for her when thinking about it. It's like the writers are taunting her.

Don't know what has been said of this previously... About this vague bit of info from the SDCC panel: "They are doing something that they have never done on the show before but keeping it the same pony style." Sounds to me like they are restructuring the show format somehow. I'm thinking (and hoping): Continuing storylines. There has been slight continuity before (notably the Grand Galloping Gala story arc from S1), and they have pretty much said that stuff was planted in S3 for continuation into S4. Twilight adjusting to being an alicorn and "the life of a princess" (whatever that is) is a story that can't be explored realistically within one episode (or even two, assuming the season opener is a two-parter). Character development like that needs to take place over a longer timespan. The animatics shown at SDCC indicate that the Equestria Games will be a thing in S4, I'm thinking this event will be built up towards throughout the season just like the gala in season 1. There would be so much potential for deeper character development if the show became less procedural. For example, Scootaloo bonding with Rainbow Dash despite her inability to fly is another story that would benefit from having a longer arc. Perhaps also Fluttershy helping the reformed Discord trying to adapt to normal society. The thing that argues against this is that the show's airing order and continuity becomes more locked (thus making syndication more of an issue). Perhaps the show becomes a bit more complicated to follow for very young viewers. However, they have already broken the rule of individual episodes being completely isolated and not relying on earlier episodes by having Twilight change her entire form. There will now be a direct, noticeable difference at first glance between episodes before and after Twilight's transformation. tl;dr: MORE CONTINUITY PLZ

Bought three Funko Vinyls today: Fluttershy, Rainbow & Derpy (sorry, but I don't really care about Dr. Whooves ) Also bought the Groovin' Hooves miniature set. That Octavia figure is just pure awesomeness! My wallet is now having hunger pains.

Got the Vinyl Scratch SDCC figure in the mail two days ago. I actually took it out of the box to clean it up a bit (pieces of the glittery stuff were spread around). (blind bag-Lyra present for size comparison)