thewookie5

Fluttershy may be the kindest pony, but she certainly seems to be the most likely to "swear" when angry.

Pinkie herself creates 2 clones. And if there is some kind of deterioration caused by clones creating new one, then it is extremely possible that the 2 which were copies of the base Pinkie would of been smart and capable enough to get away and reinvent themselves. The 1st clone I'll call Pinkie 2, actually showed signs for actual competence aside from basic "fun" related emotions. Upon realizing the other clones were causing a nuisance she may have decided to flee before her "friends" would try to fix the problem. Along the way she'd come across Pinkie 3, the other direct copy, and decide to set off together for needs of support in trying to become a "pony" Pinkie 3 is a bit less refined since she didn't experience quite the same immediate mental exercise thus if Pinkie 2 is 95% of Pinkie, Pinkie 3 is more like 85 to 90% and retained a bit more of the FUN basis of being. Thus she becomes a dancer, dyes her mane reddish, and uses her party pony background for dance related activities. Pinkie 2 is the closest to the original but is a tad more paranoid about what happened so she avoided party related careers and became some type of journalist. She'd be organized enough and seems rather smart so it'd be very possible. Thus the pair head to Manehattan to start anew. Pinkie Pie, the original, does know who they are in the episode but decides not to do anything since they are living their own lives now. She may have even known the one was behind her the whole time.

Because the comics I'd say Sombra could, since he's kinda reformed in the comics. His pseudo-girlfriend/wife/best friend Hope would be considered pretty evil as well but she seems hellbent on helping Sombra, world be damned. So if Sombra stays good she'd likely follow. I guess they can be a somewhat corrupted couple. Tirek, I doubt at this point of his life; he may have at an earlier point in his life however. He did seem to care for his brother and his eventual "betrayal" seems to have been the final straw in his remaining morality. Chrysalis does "good" but its a very loose term of good. She does try to take care of her subjects, but cares for them akin to that of Hitler, Stalin, Mao.... etc. Not to mention she seems to be a cold hearted sadist.

Why not to either of them, both have their merits.

That is downright terrifying. Flim&Flam are fans of the Empire of Japan's flag designer. It likely did but if you remove the fact Sunset likely wouldn't have the slightest idea how to get her hands on the Element. Thus if she still left Equestria she'd of just continued her reign of pseudo dictator through high school. I don't think there's a direct influence between the worlds its more "similar" but not directly tied. As for Starlight being redeemed, I think the ending song was more or less a time skip of some amount thus making it more believable. Her backstory was understandable to some extent, we did see how Apple Bloom became isolated briefly after Twist got her mark. Now make Twist "vanish" and give Apple Bloom potent magical ability, the idea that she'd become obsessed with Cutie Marks isn't ridiculous and unlike the CMC, she despised them due to her past. The Alternate Timelines were really cool. I'd imagine in the Sombra War timeline, Celestia had to either kill or re-imprison Luna, and Discord may not of broken out. With Twilight never being brought into Celestia's school, Shining and Cadence likely never meet, thus Chrysalis doesn't launch her attack. The Chrysalis one was awesome too, Resistance Zecora!!

Was this episode a fan service...... yes, very much so. But it was done well in that it furthered our knowledge of Equestria and more specifically Ponyville. Typically fan service episodes fool around with gags around the main characters, for instance if they made an episode in which Twilight and Pinkie go nuts, Rarity whines, Applejack tries to lie, and so on. In this case they made the episode worth watching for the mere sake of world building long with it being entertaining. Philosopher Gummy was hilarious. The Doctor scenes were comical, especially with Derpy. Derpy, what a way to return to the limelight! Canonized muffins. The other references and gags were great too. Best conversation though is a tie between Celestia and Luna's squabble over the gift, and Octavia talking with the CMC over what the situation was. All in all it was just really enjoyable.

I like this idea a lot, gives the imagine of a Holy Roman Empire-esc Federation. I get the sense that the Kingdom of Canterlot and Equestria are somewhat synonymous in usage but is like a reverse of calling Great Britain, England. The Kingdom of Canterlot is likely by far the most powerful within this Confederation thus is also just merely called by said confederation name. This Griffon Kingdom, and the Crystal Empire are merely states within the confederation. However there are likely other small kingdoms within the confederation along with non-confederation states.

As someone who loves history, especially the WWII era, this episode was awesome! I see plenty of the people above want to dismiss the idea that it takes shots at Communism, or even represents Communism at all; but it does a very accurate interpretation of Communism in social terms. Why some of you may claim it only references cults is because in some ways the idea of Communism on a social level was a bit of a cult. Why do I say this, well for starters just look at the village; it appears quaint but is extremely uniform without any expression and from afar looks like a military prison without a fence. The whole song not only gives the vibe of a military march and the lyrics scream of propaganda. Not to mention the marching part, which along with the continuous showing and displaying of the = sign, gives a really Soviet/Nazi film image. The whole loudspeaker propaganda/brainwashing thing is a common trope of dictatorships take these lines for example, In sameness, there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie. (This one especially yells Communism) Free yourself from your cutie mark. Choose equality as your special talent. Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail. Be your best by never being your best. Conformity will set you free. Accept your limitations, and happiness will follow. The fact the first thing upon Fluttershy's "conversion" being to rat out dissenters is very Soviet Union-esc in how they actually inspired children to report on their own parents. And Double Diamond's role practically is that of the NKVD/KGB trying to root out any dissent in the ranks. Obviously there's cult-like behavior as well, but what I'm trying to get at is that Communism in the social sense is very much like a cult where the idea is to indoctrinate and suppress individuality.

Yes, I believe Celestia fell in love with the alternate version of Sombra. However I don't think its that he was the exact opposite but rather a deviation. For example he never became a power hungry tyrant , instead he was merely a tad manipulative king whom never was consumed by his own power. What I think would really make things interesting is if Celestia had a thing for Canon Sombra prior to his fall, thus when she met another one which never fell, she jumped to the opportunity. However (alt) Celestia also liked said Sombra thus due to his relationship with our Celestia, (alt)Celestia turned bitter and eventually a more evil alter-ego and later dragged (alt)Luna with her. Thus Celestia inadvertently caused the whole problem.

Weakest thus far of the season but it was no doubt fun to watch. Pinkie painting the travel line was hilarious, and all the fanboy/girl moments were priceless. I almost see Twilight and RD frozen during that initial fight scene due to being their favorite action/adventure hero doing her thing. The rest I'd assume were waiting on their judgment seeing as they don't know about the series a ton. Daring Do seemed very recluse, almost Batman/old Indiana Jones styled. Likewise though she has RD's ego, just quite a bit older. The marriage joke was fitting, especially how she said it. The show seems to have become slightly more adult in nature, while still being a kids show. If Season 1 was for 6-10 year old girls, it seems to be going up to 12 at very least based on the violence. Daring got her leg snapped, which magically seemed to heal, by her captor's henchman along with the death trap for Daring just to name two. The only other thing I wished to have seen was RD mentioning that she was the Element of Loyalty when Daring talked about trusting people. Then at the end Daring Do, having an epiphany that the 6 following/helping her are none other than the Element bearers including the newest princess.