ShadowPhoenix

Oh my, Discord was at his funniest and greatest this episode. The sheer volume of visual and logical gags and quips was sustained throughout and it is heartwarming to see that Fluttershy's friendship with Discord genuinely stems from how she relishes his chaotic nature and his personality. The narrative with Discord fading away also took care to avoid retreading Accord from the IDW comics wherein this episode, he embraces convention rather than absolute order. The pacing was tight throughout the runtime and there was a clever repetition of themes such as the singing ginseng, staircase, piñata, the usage of multiple selves and the Fluttershy suit. The fact that Fluttershy could predict what Discord would be natural is a testament to how their bond has grown. I've never enjoyed a Discord-centric episode so much, and it was greatly aided by the fact that his motivations for once tempered and reasonable. This is the best episode of the season for me for how effortlessly it runs but since The Perfect Pear is next, it may slip into number two. Oh yeah, Pinkie Pie has been fucking amazing in her appearances this season.

Twilight hasn't gotten a solo in a long time and she needs one, even if she customarily receives greater billing in the group songs: Best Friends Until The End Of Time, Let The Rainbow Remind You, Friends Are Always There For You etc. I really loved her voice in The Failure Song, Morning In Ponyville, I've Got To Find A Way and she should get more. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack need more solos too.

Sunset is honestly a weird one. Is she honestly going to remain in the human world forever? Kind of discards her apprenticeship under Celestia to relive High School of all things. It might never happen canonically within the show's timeframe but she, as a legal adult, will have to graduate with the Humane 5 one day.

Dear God, I'd rather advocate Applejack as a Princess and Applejack would NEVER accept it. Disregarding the episode, SPIKE would make for a much better Princess. Seasons 5 and 6 barely handled Twilight's ceremonial duties with much significance before Flurry Heart was shoehorned. Also if Princess Starlight Glimmer became a thing, Equestria's ruling class will have basically transformed from a diarchy (which it is how it's supposed to be) to an oligarchy where Cadance, Flurry Heart and Starlight would all be related to Twilight which would be unsettling in terms of power.

I am certain they're dead. The writers know to deftly skirt around topics that may be considered too "mature" for children and have mastered ambiguity. Although the word 'dying' has been dropped a few times, they expertly substituted the death for a loved one back in Tanks for the Memories but still managed to impressively bring out the full emotional resonance of the implication with Rainbow Dash/Tank. They remained cautiously neutral with Scootaloo in Flight To The Finish and more recently, Parental Glideance. They danced around the concept of suicide with Trixie and the Manticore in No Second Prances. They will not derail six seasons worth of hints and explicit confirmation from Lauren Faust at one point because if Applejack's parents showed up suddenly for whatever ass-pull of a reason, I suggest the Apple Family sever ties with them and have Granny Smith remain custodian to Apple Bloom, Applejack and Big McIntosh. Aside from the flashback to how the parents met, in the show's vein of doing things (which is also wise from a storytelling point, because ambiguity can lead to a lot of emotionally-charged moments and the slow-burn allows for future expansion), their final scene in flashback should hazily suggest their cause of death which I think will most likely be in a freak accident or illness. The kids may pay tribute with the line, "I miss you" and it should likely be a good episode.

Oh, I flat out love her. She brings spirit and life to the show, has a bold and genuinely awesome personality and along with Rarity, is the most nuanced of the Mane 6, which tends to show in her episodes. I especially love it when Rainbow is paired up with Twilight, and especially Rarity.

Lol, there is no way Sunset Shimmer is above Starlight Glimmer in magic. Just look at Sunset's ham-fisted farce of a theft in EQG1 and her subsequent "evil" plot which has to be the single thought-out worst villain scheme in all of MLP:FIM, worse I say, than Principal Abacus Cinch. It is true that she was a one-time protêge of Celestia but she was also booted and it was also not her fate to be an alicorn whilst Starlight outstrips her friend Sunburst whose real speciality is in magical lore but was accepted into Celestia's academy nevertheless. Starlight came extremely close to accidentally destroying the timeline and reducing Equestria to a barren wasteland, not to mention her quick mastery and cross-application of a wide variety of spells that allows her to keep pace with Twilight, even if she received a power boost from Starswirl's scroll and Twilight seemed to be holding back. Starlight also can sustain self-levitation. Every single time Sunset saves the weaker human world in EQG, she does it with the help of the Humane 5. Oh yeah, Rarity is far above Trixie as well. She fires lasers beams, can magically manipulate multiple objects, transmutate or prettify entire objects and is far scarier with Inspiration Manifestation than Trixie is with the Alicorn Amulet. Trixie is all smoke and mirrors. Starswirl The Bearded Twilight Sparkle (unicorn)/Snowfall Frost Starlight Glimmer Clover The Clever Sunset Shimmer Moondancer and the other Celestia's School For Unicorn Graduates/Rarity Everypony else (Unicorn)

No, the first part is premiere, world-building and character-inroducing gold. The second part is way below the show's standards as we've some to see. But yeah, because of the second part, it is overall the "worst" two-parter but Friendship Is Magic, Part 2 is much better than the customary once-a-season dud such as Owl's Well That Ends Well, Dragon Quest, Spike At Your Service, Simple Ways and Princess Spike.

Well, Flurry Heart was handled much better. At least, the dampening spell on her magic back in The Crystalling was not discarded. I liked how her disposition is noticeably different from the standard baby template as in Baby Cakes and she only threw one tantrum in the entire episode. All the other magical outburts were more due to the lack of self-control, which is perfectly understandable given her age. The rest of the episode flowed naturally from the instant they left the castle - Twilight and Spike's constant sprint with the pram - the wonderful appearances by Redheart, Spearhead, Pound and Pumpkin and Cheerilee. I think Twilight was very clever in occupying Flurry while they were on task and when they were playing near the end. I believe she was being a little too hard on herself because she was admirably patient throughout the entire episode, and what with her, Spike, and a motley of sick foals being suspended in the air, it was only natural for her to snap at Flurry in order to force her to set them down before one of the foals fgot hurt. The only real criticism I can levy here is that once again, Twilight seems to delve too much into extremities. I know that she is excited to see her niece, but her having to constantly declare that she is the world's best aunt, particularly at the beginning of the episode, or that Flurry is her favourite (and only) niece is an off-putting misrepresentation of her characteristic enthusiasm. I've noticed in recent seasons, these kinds of declarations make it seem as if she always needs to strive towards some kind of paragon in everything. It does not seem natural that that, moreso than her status as an alicorn princess of friendship, has made her feel a little different since Starlight started being her student (or maybe since Sci-Twi's first appearance). It's hard to accurately verbalize, but that particular aspect of her seemed to pop up from nowhere and has overstayed its welcome. It makes her seem corny, especially in last week's "team-building", when I thought the whole point was for them to have relax and have some lighted-heart fun for a change. Anyway, other than that, Twilight, Pinkie and Spike were still gems this episode which exceeded expectations.

If the two episodes aren't two parters, why is there a need to air them on the same weekend? Is Trixie a permanent fixture of Ponyville now? That aside, great start. The show is steadily incoporating even more self-aware humour and the dialogue from all is cleverer than ever and Spike somehow stole the show. Celestia's revelation was emotional as they addressed that she did indeed monitor the Mane 5 prior to Twilight moving to Ponyville. It was a bit weird seeing the five embrace if they were not close friends at this point of time. Ending the episode with the Pinkie vacuum was a nice way to reaffirm the slice-of-life nature of this opener. All Bottled Up was more than a little weird. It was good nonetheless, but it bugged me how Starlight's anger seemed to resurface from nowhere except possibly the Season 5 two-parters. She has not been prone to anger in a really long time and perhaps she gets angrier at Trixie more often because they are now more fully fleshed-out friends. As usual, some of the Mane 6 get nearly inconsequential roles in the storyline, and it was Rarity (who did not even speak the first episode), Applejack and Fluttershy this time. I thought the song had to be the most out-of-place song ever until I realized it was satirical which is I suppose, clever in some sense? Starlight herself was a gem this episode though.

I like all the episodes and seasons. The overall quality of the show is getting better. Season 3 is better than Season 2. Starlight Glimmer >>> Sunset Shimmer Derpy's voice from Slice of Life is better than The Last Roundup. Discord episodes are usually less interesting. Sci-Twi does not deserve alicorn wings, even in magical manifestations. Ever since a Twilight has been in human form, their romantic endeavours with Flash Sentry and Timber Spruce simply take up time and feel pandering and tacked on. Applejack needs an episode that does not revolve around her family or Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight & Applejack - Applebuck Season Twilight & Rainbow - Testing Testing 1, 2, 3, Top Bolt Twilight & Rarity - NIL Twilight & Fluttershy - A Bird In The Hoof, The Hooffields And McColts Twilight & Pinkie - Feeling Pinkie Keen, It's About Time, MMMystery On The Friendship Express?, Trade Ya!? Applejack & Rainbow - Fall Weather Friends, Castle Mane-ia Applejack & Rarity - Look Before You Sleep, Simple Ways, Trade Ya!, Made In Manehattan, Applejack's "Day" Off, Applejack & Fluttershy - Bats!?, Viva Las Pegasus Applejack & Pinkie - Pinkie Apple Pie, Hearthbreakers Rainbow & Rarity - Sonic Rainboom?, Rarity Investigates! Rainbow & Fluttershy - Hurricane Fluttershy, Trade Ya!, Flutter Brutter Rainbow & Pinkie - Griffon The Brush Off, The Lost Treasure Of Griffonstone Rarity & Fluttershy - Green Isn't Your Colour, Castle Mane-ia, Rarity & Pinkie - The Gift Of Maud Pie, Spice Up Your Life Fluttershy & Pinkie - Buckball Season Alright so, the Applejack & Rarity needs to be dialled down because this isn't even counting the episodes where the two of them are part of a triad such as The Cart Before The Ponies or P.P.O.V. or EGQ 4 while Twilight & Rarity seriously need to share a spotlight together otherwise the closest the two come to having an episode together would be Gauntlet of Fire. I really enjoy the dynamic between Rainbow & Rarity because unlike Applejack, there never does seem to be a barb between the two in their interactions and you can tell the two have a really close friendship and accommodate the other's preferences. I think it's a boatload of cute whenever Fluttershy & Pinkie are together because how intrinsically nice the two of them are and the Twilight & Pinkie pairing never gets old no matter how many times you repeat it. Applejack & Rainbow is a recipe for comedy and not-so-subtle burns because of their friendly rivalry so I hope they get more showings.

Lol, she didn't even speak in Spice Up Your Life or Top Bolt but other than that, I'll admit, this season's musical and Every Little Thing She Does and the finale went to her. She seems to be playing a significant in the upcoming All Bottled Up but if she is to appear in the Movie, she cannot simply be written off although she does play a role, it is most likely that she will be incapacitated by the Storm King or whoever/put out of focus since the Mane 6 are travelling beyond Equestria.

The premieres and finales have always been strange in the sense that while you can normally count on them to crack the top ten for each season, the second episode is almost always better than the first. The only times where I think this has been the exception include Friendship Is Magic, where the first half is far superior to the second because of the character showcases and set-ups and surprisingly To Where And Back Again, where I believe the first half barely edges out the second which really is no slight because the second half was a very enjoyable, if not unorthodox outing for the secondary characters. Summarily though: Favourite premiere: The Return Of Harmony, followed by The Cutie Map Favourite finale: The Cutie Re-Mark followed by Twilight's Kingdom

Being my favourite show, I will normally enjoy what I just watched. Afterwards, I may revisit certain scenes or moments that I thought were funny or resonated in a certain way before going straight to listening to some reviews on YouTube and browsing these forums to get the general consensus of that particular episode.

You cannot be serious. What about Spike At Your Service? Dragon Quest? Owl's Well That Ends Well? The Mysterious Mare Do Well?

Conservatively speaking, tied with Season 5, if not better, in my honest opinion. Across the board, I think Season 6 has the better average given that I think every single episode in 6 was better than What About Discord?, The One Where Pinkie Knows, Make New Friends But Keep Discord, Appleloosa's Most Wanted and especially Princess Spike but 5 definitely has better two-parters and there is nothing quite like Tanks For The Memories, Crusaders Of The Lost Marks and Amending Fences in 6. At the same time, 6's string of experimentation such as A Hearth's Warming Tail, The Saddle Row Review, Stranger Than Fan Fiction, P.P.O.V. (Pony Point Of View) etc. I think 5 felt more unique in the form of episodes such as Slice Of Life, Rarity Investigates!, Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep?, Brotherhooves Social etc. because it was quite an improvement/shift away from Season 4 but 6 unequivocally has the more complex and rewarding stories, evidenced by Viva Las Pegasus and Top Bolt, both which are stronger than the map episodes of 5 and the same argument. 6 showed Fluttershy, Discord and especially Spike better. 5 also lost quite a bit of momentum nearing the end but also had more focus on Rarity and Pinkie Pie. All in all, Season 5 set a very high bar and even if you believe Season 6 did not hit it, it can't be far off as it certainly better than Season 4 as the show has visibly matured. The funny thing is that although 4 is better than the seasons that preceeded it, people seem to forget that it has many more episodes that are considered middle of the road, such as Daring Don't, Trade Ya!, Equestria Games, It Ain't Easy Being Breezies, Rainbow Falls, Power Ponies, Three's A Crowd, Simple Ways and Somepony To Watch Over Me, simply counterbalanced by otherwise extremely strong episodes. Although many would disagree, 6 is better simply by virtue of consistency, considering that the only episodes near the least impressive standards of 4 are The Cart Before The Ponies, 28 Pranks Later and Applejack's Day Off and by quite a stretch Newbie Dash and On Your Marks. I know it's been only two years but I think that nostalgia for 4 is affecting perception of 6, not unlike how back in 2014, people argued that Season Two was better than Season 4 when in reality, Season Three was objectively better than Two, so the same argument can be applied now.

I will admit, I always thought that Applejack and Twilight shared a pretty close relationship, out of all her friends, Twilight might be closest to her given their interactions. Apple Bloom and Tender Taps sounds good but what would REALLY be interesting if two of the CMCs ended up together, doesn't even matter which two. For straight ships, I think at this point in time Starlight X Sunburst and Sky X Vapour blows the others right out of the water, even Cheerilee X Big Mac. I hope the cliché ships such as Applejack X Rarity, Fluttershy/Applejack/Pinkie/Soarin X Rainbow Dash never happen. That's boring. If I had to really choose, it would be either Applejack X Twilight, Twilight X Fluttershy (this one is unbelievably adorable) or Rarity X Rainbow given how underrated it is.

Twilight Sparkle/Applejack Twilight Sparkle/Rarity Twilight Sparkle/Pinkie Pie Applejack/Pinkie Pie Applejack/Rainbow Dash Rainbow Dash/Rarity Rainbow Dash/Fluttershy Rarity/Fluttershy Fluttershy/Pinkie Pie At the current rate, we have enough Map Episodes to sustain until Season 9. Good. My belief that show will only get better with each passing season and move at the appropriate pace is unwavering. Anyway, for Season 7, I think that my preferred pairings that would avoid overlapping would be 2, 5, 9. Out of all the Mane 6, I think that Twilight and Rarity's dynamic needs the most focus out of all the remaining pairs as I don't think they've ever shared the spotlight together as they when they do interact, it's mostly to support Spike, something involving Rarity's business, or for either to make placatory/appreciative comments during two-parters. I just find it weird that Rarity and Pinkie Pie (the strangest pairing, IMO) have interacted far more than Twilight and Rarity have on a personal level. Seriously, they were both unicorns at some point, that's common ground, come on already. It's been some time since Rainbow Dash and Applejack have truly got an episode although people think otherwise simply because of their similar countenances (Fall Weather Friends), Applejack is strangely usually always veering towards Rarity (I'm looking at you, Legend of Everfree). I think Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie would simply be great together (Buckball Season)

Best (A Very Close Race) A Hearth's Warming Eve In terms of sheer musicality, A Hearth's Warming Eve edges out even Crusaders Of The Lost Mark. The music in this episode is genius, particularly Say Goodbye To The Holiday, The Seeds Of The Past and Pinkie's Present. What elevates this episode above the rest is its unparalleled atmosphere, detail and setting while it simultaneously gives us the adaption of A Christmas Carol, while reintroducing Hearth's Warming Eve after Hearthbreakers' excellent distillation of its essence. Starlight Glimmer has believable parallels with Snowfall Frost who is a very sympathetic adversary, and her journey is well-accomplished. The spiritual representations were chosen perfectly and the pacing flawless. It is simply the best musical and set-piece yet has done that fills you with an unexplainable euphoria no matter how many viewings. Viva Las Pegasus Utterly clever, to put this episode succinctly. Top Bolt comes very close but this is the best Cutie Map episode because of how it is framed. Gladmane's modus operandi is nuanced and raises questions about abusing friendship/amity as a falsehood to achieve one's ends. The flawless dynamic of Applejack and Fluttershy is complemented by Flim and Flam, whose appearance is necessitated as the only way to out-gambit the conman. The episode throws a curveball as Applejack and Fluttershy's rationale and approaches are both instrumental to solving the problem. The Saddle Row Review An experiment gone right. The multiple perspectives, time-jumps, focuses were handled impeccably. Comedic timing strengthened the style of this episode along with basically Castle Sweet Castle in reverse, another sign that the Mane 6 know how to adapt situationally and that nothing is absolute in what they learn (that's good). Top Bolt Sky Stinger and Vapour Trail's relationship, along with Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash's interactions elevate this episode, along with an improved Wonderbolt showing because this episode is extremely relevant. It is a hard truth that everyone grapples with sometime or another. The notion that you have to stop shielding someone you love or that you have been shielded can be devastating and the dual nature of Twilight and Dash's justifications mattered because both have real repercussions To Where And Back Again - Part 1 Apart from Friendship Is Magic, Part 1, I think this is the only time Part 1 outdoes Part 2 in a two-parter. Starlight's character arc throughout the season got a satisfying payoff and basically carries the episode as she took charge, coupled with her developing/hilarious dynamic with Trixie. Though Thorax and Discord are more prominent in Part 2, their appearances here were memorable as well. There better be a brilliant fucking explanation about how Chrysalis managed to silently abduct Celestia, Luna, Cadance, the Mane 6, Shining Armour, Flurry Heart or I hope they never reveal it. Chrysalis made a menacing showing and the stakes were high and it set up Part 2 like no Part 1 has ever done before. "Worst"/Least Impressive (Yeah right, this season is fucking awesome, nothing glaringly unenjoyable about the 5 below) Applejack's "Day" Off The Cart Before The Ponies 28 Pranks Later The Gift Of The Maud Pie On Your Marks

Is this because One Bad Apple, Bloom & Gloom and On Your Marks were all the fourth episodes of their seasons? There was one idea I heard earlier today that I thought might be interesting. Introduce another two parter somewhere in the season as there are certainty stories that carry enough gravitas are complicated enough that would be better served across the course of two episodes. For the obligatory musical episode next season, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity or Fluttershy should get it. As Twilight and Pinkie kind of already had theirs, as did Starlight Glimmer and definitely the CMCs. Magical Mystery Cure, Pinkie Pride, Crusaders Of The Lost Mark and A Hearth's Warming Tail have all been among the show's best so there's no reason to expect anything less than stellar. For the next three map episodes, out of the nine remaining pairings, I would like the next three to be Rarity/Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash/Applejack and Twilight Sparkle/Pinkie Pie. I want an episode featuring Cadance properly as there was this moment in To Where And Back Again where I thought she had avoided capture but then the show fell into its bad habits. I do not ever want to see Luna and Celestia being captured again, they are supposed to be most powerful ponies in Equestria. If there is one thing The Crystalling demonstrated, it's that they can occupy an active role. If not, simply remove them altogether from the stakes, as the masterful The Cutie Re-Mark and The Cutie Map demonstrated. Perhaps there'll be some build-up to the movie, maybe not but for the other standard episodes, I know that they'll continue the upward trend of making the stories more varied and nuanced (See the entire of Season 6 for reference, particularly Viva Las Pegasus and Top Bolt). Celestia needs an episode. Zecora needs to be shown. Don't make Starlight an alicorn, although she is still more deserving of it than Flurry Heart.

That's kinda depressing... really? Oh yeah, Season 7. YES! Best news I've received all week. There's really nothing quite like MLP. It's something special, even after all these years.

I genuinely think that the show is getting better. Every season has been better than the last. Season 6 is at least on par if not better than Season 5 because the writing is getting more nuanced and subtle. Spike has never been treated better before this season and the map episodes are also better. Twilight Sparkle needs a showing/episode that's just her. No apprenticeships, no friendship duties, no coronations for Alicorn babies (still trying to wrap my head around that), no sudden shoehorning of alicorn power-ups for Sci-Twi even though she's been in two less adventures than the other Humane 5 and it's her pony counterpart who should have alicorn status. Ever since Amending Fences and for most two-parters, its becoming increasingly difficult to fathom the exact focus of her story Starlight Glimmer is more interesting than Sunset Shimmer (who is already very interesting on her own) No sea-ponies please, not even the movie... I don't like RariJack which canonically never happens but I swear they like nothing more than to pair those two up whenever possible, especially in group shots (Legend of Everfree) for seemingly no reason at all

S1: Sonic Rainboom S2: Hurricane Fluttershy S3: Sleepless In Ponyville S4: Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2 S5: Tanks For The Memories For Season 6, until everything finishes airing, it's a toss-up between A Hearth's Warming Tail, The Saddle Row Review, Viva Las Pegasus and Every Little Thing She Does. I have a very good feeling about the upcoming Where The Apple Lies and the finale To Where And Back Again. Edit: Oh snap, I realize that Rainbow Dash is a major player in 4/5 of these episodes I stated. Maybe it's just her. S6: To Where And Back Again - Part 1