Sir Wulfington

You're lucky your dad's so cool with it, I'm still in the closet about it, no one in my family knows. And it'll probably stay that way forever

Doesn't look like discord at all, instead, it looks shockingly similar to this lovely fellow..... The resemblance is too similar to be a coincidence. This HAS to be Tirek!

Thanks, sounds like a solid episode even tho the moral is ripped right out of Hurricane Fluttershy, but oh well.

So anyone wanna recap for me please?

Wait wut? ugg I wish the damn stream didn't break for me ><

Stream broke for me early on, from what I've been reading in chat, Spike's an idiot again and episode sucks.

I wouldn't say people's definition on acceptable logic for fiction varies....ok, well, there are some people who won't accept anything that isn't exactly like real life, but that's silliness (like some people would say the entire show can't work because talking candy-colored horses makes no sense. The way I see it, unless they're biological design and or the environment they live in make it so that it is literally impossible for them to survive at all, than we should just buy it. Maybe some deity made them, or they just spawned out of nothing. Or maybe they're the result scientific experiments by an alien race). Some people come across something in a story and think it's acceptable logic, only because they haven't thought hard enough about it to realize it doesn't make sense, not even within the confines of the fictional settings logical rules. Conversely, one might think something is a plot hole, when there's a perfectly valid explanation for it if you just think deeper. Also, I don't see how what I want for the show (which is it to be coherent and consistent) would ruin it. Sure, I guess certain episodes may not exist, or have to be changed dramatically (the resolution of Bats! was absolutely absurd and nothing could possibly make sense out of it), so I suppose I can get why you'd be against it for that reason, but that would make the show better, because its quality would be raised as a result. If the premise and or resolution of your story is illogical, than it should be scrapped.

I like your first theory, tho for the other one, Principal Celestia might have just said that line because she learned of Equestria via what Sunset Shimmer said about wanting to take over it, and after all the crazy shit that happened in those last few minutes, she didn't question that worlds existence.

Yeah, and also, If it's gonna be "a mystery OoooOOooOOOoooOO!!!", than they should have a plausible explanation in mind, at least one, so that the audience could possibly make sense of it.

I suppose I managed too, but as I said in my OP, I really don't feel like the authors made it intentionally "mysterious". This isn't like Dark Souls were the story is basically not even told at all and you're supposed to fill in the blanks with clues you can find throughout the world (item text, npc dialog). I believe they just didn't think it through. And I really hate feeling like I have to justify poor writing, when the actual writers should be making sure their story is coherent themselves.

I'll say this before I start, I get the feeling that the writers themselves didn't think this through, and that I'm only luckily able to cover up these holes for them. Anyway, these plot holes will adress: -How Sunset knew about what the element of harmony would do in another world and how she knew where to find it - why the element of magic turned her into a demon and gave her powers - why she though an army of teenagers would help her take over Equestria - why the elements of harmony worked at the end when only the element of magic was present - And why the school let Twi attend when she never applied So let's solve them in that order, first: 1. Let's say, long ago, Celestia had another protege' like Sunset and Twilight, who craved power. Around this time, they had just figured out how to enter alternate realities. At some point, somebody, within earshot of the protege' (either speaking directly too or he or she was just in the same room at the time) questioned out loud that they wondered what would happen if you brought a magical relic like the elements to another realm, if perhaps in an alternate reality, an element could be used by someone who is not their true bearer. The power-hungry protege' thinks to him or herself "hey, that might actually work". So, somehow, this pony steals one of the elements (perhaps the elements weren't as well hidden or guarded back then because the princesses may have trusted their subjects better back then, or at the very least, perhaps they left it out in the open in their castle but guarded by...guards, and somehow, this protege' managed to steal one and run through a portal before getting caught. How? I don't know, it may have been possible), let's assume it was the element of magic, and makes off for another realm. He or she then puts it on, transforms like Sunset did, then tests out what they can do with the power of the element. They learn that they have the power to bend others to their will (among other things I assume), and than try to take over either that world or Equestria. Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna find out an element is missing, figure out which world the protege' went through, said protege' tries to kill them like sunset tried to kill Twilight, only to find that the sisters are shielded by some magic, the element's power returns to them and the power of the elements are activated (somehow) and they defeat the protege' like Sunset was with the magic of fwiendship. How this last bit makes sense, I'll explain later in this post. So anyway, they write down in a book what happened, Sunset eventually reads that book (said book containing visual depictions of the elements, this parts important) in the future, hence how she comes up with the plan. But, either knowing ahead of time or finding out afterwards that the elements are effectively inert and the magic element is missing. So, she gives up on that plan, eventually she goes into the human world. Some point later on, she comes back to......see what's been going on in her home world while she's been gone. (fuck it I can't think of any other reason why she'd return, I've thought for days and days on this one) She see's Twilight with her crown, recognizes the element of magic in the crown, remembers the book from before, decides to steel the crown. So she goes back in the portal till night time, than she comes back, yada yada steals the crown. 2. She thought her army of teenagers would work possibly because she expected the royal guards would be reluctant to harm what are effectively civilians (I would assume they'd turn into ponies if they went through the portal and appear like normal equestrian residents....with glowing eyes.....and zombie-like behavior. But not just that, she had super powers thanks to the element of magic "more power than I could possibly imagine" or whatever the fuck she said. And seeing as how she could turn snips and snails into demons, it's possible she could turn the other students as well. No, they'd be unwilling, but make them demons+mind slaves, and there you go. So it wasn't as simple as "Ima use teens to take over an entire kingdom HURP DURP". 3. Why the fuck the elements power worked in the other world with only one of them physically present. Well here's my theory: When sunset tried to kill Twi with her magic blast, it failed, because it recognized her (and her friends) as the true bearers, so it would not harm them. In doing so, this being it's only way of being able to tell (if they aren't harmed by the magic than they're the real element bearers..otherwise they're dead), it betrayed Sunset and transfered it's power back to Twilight. Why did they all do a combined element-blast when only one of the elements was physically present, as I said above? Well.....only one, or at least the magic one, is necessary if that world's and or Equestria's element bearers are there together. Why? Fuck it, shit just works differently in that world, I give up. Let's just go with that and call it a day. And finally 4. Why school let Twilight attend when she never registered. I dunno, either we accept that she did that offscreen (which I don't know if something like that is acceptable in fiction) or for whatever reason that school just lets any kid walk in and attend classes. Why? I don't know fucking know....ugg. Or maybe there's so many students there that they just mistook her for one of the many other multi-colored freaks.

....What were they thinking? Reminds of this infamous video Those costumes are just hideous, if they wanted to advertise for the toys (which they clearly were as the boxes of EQG dolls were shown in the vid), why would they use those? I just....I don't get it. Than again, yeah, the dolls were terrible themselves, and they were apparently a smash hit, so.... Edit: HOLY SHIT, I said costumers when I meant costumes, I seriously hope no one thought I meant customers Also guys apparently the other mane 6 had the honor of having costumes made of them:

Trust me, that's nothing compared to the infamous Squidward toenail scene. How THAT got on the air, I have no fucking idea.

Why don't those writers ask the writers that can write those characters well for help then? And just because lots of "good" shows have bad episodes, doesn't mean we should just accept that it as something that can't be avoided. Maybe the problems is that writers are sometimes forced to hammer out episodes even when they don't have any good ideas. Or something that would make sense. This problem definitely effects MLP because of it's toy-selling status, I'm certain things like EQG and Twilicorn were created for the sake of selling toys, not because the writers actually intended for those to happen.

You're right, there have been logical errors in the past episodes as well (I'm currently going over the earlier episodes to find out if there's any serious problems in the writing), stuff that went over my head back then because I originally just watched, and didn't look out for holes in the writing. Since S4, I do, not just for this show, but for any work of fiction. It's because of the fact that I've learned of plot holes that I never noticed that I've become more alert to such things. But I think the show has lately gotten even more inconsistent, or at the very least, they've been far more noticeable, not simply because I'm actively searching them out now. It's certainly gotten more boring, in my opinion. You're right, it's just a tv show. But that doesn't mean the writer shouldn't make sure everything makes sense within the established sense of logic in his or her fictional setting. I've seen the nostalgia critics "Is It Ever Okay To Nitpick?" video, and I strongly disagree with it. He says that my anger at plot holes and such is not about said plot holes and such, but because the story failed to keep my from noticing them. Well what happens if it's impossible to not notice because it's so painfully obvious? Or if I get a case of fridge logic after it's over? Just because I didn't notice doesn't mean it's good writing, if it exists, and ruins the believability of the story, than the story is bad, whether I notice the problem during or after the story's over. I don't understand the mentality today with so many people, that holes in the writing don't matter, shouldn't all authors be expected to write a believable story? Not one with logical fallacies that shatter that any sense of believability? It feels like more and more people are ceasing to care about quality writing in favor of mindless entertainment, and all it can possibly do is encourage writers to not give a shit about the quality of their work, because all it needs is "action!" and "feelz!" and the masses will just eat that right up. It's really fucking sad. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to eat a delicious steak and mashed potato dinner if it's served on a plate made of fecal matter. And I don't "stress" over these things, I keep track of what happens in a story to make sure it comes together to form a coherent narrative, and if it does, I'm glad, if it doesn't, I declare it shit and move on.

Well I forgot to add that there are other things that can justify an "OOC" moment, a character could be written as kind, but get really angry in one episode and act mean (like in Putting Your Hoof Down), and some people will say its OOC. I, on the other hand, see it as depth, it's understandable that a person would say or do unsavory things if they're angry enough, even if they would never do it otherwise. Such a person, however, would be remorseful when they've calmed down and realized what they've done (again, like in Putting Your Hoof Down). I've Heard that people crucified Fluttershy for that episode, because she acted mean, which I don't understand. So it's not just magical influence, mood, of course, can play a role in causing someone to not behave like they normally would. And I agree that having multiple writers can screw up a story, but it doesn't have to. If they have someone keeping track lore, character personalities, etc. and making sure it remains consistent (save for stuff like character development), than it'd be fine. But it's obvious at this point that the writers at DHX don't, probably because they don't care. I think they just do whatever they feel like over there, even if they're contradicting what other writers on the team have written, which is really, really bad.

OOC can work, but there needs to be an understandable reason for their change in behavior. If a character does something abnormal for their established personality, it needs to be due to either some in-universe cause that's causing them to act bizarre. For example, you've made a character who literally fears nothing, but knows when to back down from a conflict because he's not foolish. He won't let someone push him around, or walk all over him. Than, in one episode, somebody cuts them in line at a restaurant and they're response is "oh, that's okay, you go ahead" clearly out of fear of this individual. No explanation is given, nobody in the story acts like this is unusual. That is an out of character moment. A way of fixing that would be to have other characters (his close friends for example) make a point that he's not acting like himself, and they try to figure out why. They find out that he's been afflicted with a magical curse that makes him the exact opposite of his true self: a cowardly doormat. Then they try to find a way to cure him blah blah blah. That's how you make a character act OOC without it being bad writing.

Too bad that wasn't the moral, it almost was, but then the writer did a copout and decided to have them be friends anyway for a completely illogical reason.

I've heard this line more than enough times. Often when someone tries to justify a case of poor writing in the FIM, they'll defend it by saying it doesn't matter because it's entertainment for kids, so it doesn't need to be intelligently written. First, this isn't just a show for kids, Lauren Faust (as seen in the quote I'm about to link) herself said that the show was meant to appeal not just to kids, but to their parents as well, to people of all ages. Even if it was meant for children, it does not justify OOC moments, plot holes, contrivances, inconsistencies, etc. Was not a part of the reason this show was made was to provide a good tv show for little girls, because for the most part, or entirely, shows for their demographic were terrible? By saying "it's just a kids show" in defense of bad writing, you make the assumption that all kids are either too dense to notice even the most obvious of logical errors in a story, or that none of them care. Surely, there are kids who do pick up on problems in writing, and are bothered by these things, maybe not to the extent as older viewers, but I'm certain they exist. Tho as I said above, this show isn't just for kids, it's for everyone. Parent's who watch these shows with their kids would surely rather quality entertainment and not brain-dead bile. Just because your main demographic is children, that does not give you the excuse, as a writer, to not try. You should always make sure your work is devoid of plot holes, characters acting OOC without good reason, retcons, inconsistencies, and of course, ultimately make your story entertaining. Saying "it's a kids show, so it doesn't need to be good" is effectively saying that kids tv shows should just remain terrible, and that's a belief that I'll never agree with nor support.

It's amazing how some fans will sell plushies for hundreds of dollars, but these folks sell em for under 30 dollars. Either these are low quality, or some people are seriously overpricing their product. Or using overly expensive material.

Background characters don't get toys, silly (I'm kidding please don't crucify me!)

Well I think it'd be going against the entire point of EQG's anyway, which is to appeal to the "high school" cliche, to compete with the likes of Monster High. If they made it against college, I don't know who they'd be trying to compete with....unless theirs a popular college show for little girls that I'm not aware of.

Yeah, but I have a feeling they'd rather just shoehorn in the pony Twi to make people more likely to watch. Or they'll think that most people won't care because they're basically the same characters only human. But they're not technically the same, is the problem, since they're alternate universe versions of the show's characters. Ugg, you know what actually I wouldn't mind this show phasing out FIM because, as I've said recently, I'm of the opinion that the show should end sooner rather than later before it takes a nose dive into irredeemably bad territory. Than again EQG is technically a part of the show's canon so I'm not sure if that would really help if they're just gonna continue it into another series that could potentially destroy the continuity (implying that hasn't already happened, I'm still lazily scanning the episodes and movie for something I may have missed). edit; actually, this won't be taking at the high school, since it's titled "Equestria Academy", and the school they went to in EQG was called "Canterlot High". So.....college?

There you go, it can happen. I wouldn't imagine, if this to occur, that Equestria Academy would last very long after the end of MLP FIM, tho the higher ups at hasbro may disagree, I don't think it has the material, based on it's setting, to go on past a season or two. I mean, seriously, how much could they possibly do with EQG's generic high school setting? And tho hasbro may believe that the vast majority of bronies would keep watching that show after FIM sinks, I really doubt it, I'm sure a HUGE chunk of the fanbase would be gone after FIM ends, and wouldn't stick around for "My Little Humans, High School is Magic". Speaking of this new show, what the hell is gonna be the justification for it? Assuming Twilight from Equestria is the star, am I supposed to believe that she'll regularally visit the human world and go to high school even tho she's a grown adult mare? And what about the 30 moons thingy? She'd have to live there whenever she visits for lengthy while, and if the comics are to be believed (Sunset being an adult when she went in while Twilight was a filly), a short amount of time there could be several years in equestria (unless ponies grow up REALLY fast). So......dahellisdisgonnaworkhasbro? Unless it's not pony twi, which would mean they expect people to be interested in the Humane 6, which COULD work, but I feel like they'd be more likely to contrive a reason for pony Twi to go to the human world to attend high school.....which doesn't make a shred of sense.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they got to a point where they decided an EQG tv show would be more profitable than MLP, due to ailing popularity of the latter, and they might not even have time for both of them on the air. And they did say they planned 5 more years of the G4, and unfortunately, EQG is a part of G4 so.....like I doubt they would do it, but at the same time, it really wouldn't be a shock. I mean there's only so many plot decides they can shoehorn into FIM to make a new Twilight Sparkle doll to sell. Basically I can see them getting to a point where they find EQG to be more profitable as a series than FIM, but that would only be because they'd have run out of toys to sell for FIM and the show would no longer be netting them enough profits via ad revenue from being on tv to justify keeping around alongside a "fresh"(and those gigantic quotation marks are there for a good reason) new series with the same animation, VA's, and characters. And than eventually G5 will come out and a new era of ponies will begin....hopefully a consistently good one.