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Dark Qiviut

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  1. Dark Qiviut
    Haven’t you ever felt like giving a fair review for episodes or movies that were the most nostalgic to you? That’s me as far as Friendship Is Magic, Parts 1 and 2 are concerned: They were the first two episodes I watched, and they officially made me into a brony. They’re not in my top ten, but they’re instilled into me, because without watching it, I wouldn’t have noticed the show. But because these reviews are intended to be thorough and fair, that’s what I’ll do.
    (But expect me to want to fill a shot glass later… )
    Back in 2009 or 2010, Lauren Faust was assigned to reboot a franchise with a history of being almost run down to the ground. Generations 3 and 3.5 are very infamous for their poor writing, poor production, superficial conflicts, one-note characterizations, and lazy storytelling as a whole. Combined with Tales and the short-run Generation 2, My Little Pony was on life support as much as Spongebob Squarepants is today. But on October 10, 2010 (the debut of The Hub), My Little Pony was rebooted in a whole new world and completely different art style via the first half of the pilot. Twelve days later, Part 2 aired, completing the two-part pilot and introduction to Generation 4, titled Friendship Is Magic. Using Flash to DHX’s and Top Draw’s advantages, Faust’s pilot is an intro with a very wide range of characters and conflicts in the most imbalanced quality of all the two-parters.
    Strengths:
    The intro to Part 1 is a fantastic hook to bring people in. I don’t know about you, but it’s personally my most favorite moment in Part 1 because of the original twist that invites the audience into the world of Equestria. Typically, fairytales open the book to reveal centuries-old handwriting to demonstrate its age and timelessness. But "Once upon a time" was the only text. Instead, the audience is introduced to a unique art style. Akin to the ancient Greek artwork, the script delivered several key details to the viewer immediately:
     
    a. An important conflict occurred a long time ago. As Princess Celesta tells the story of herself and younger sister Princess Luna, you can tell Luna’s transformation to Nightmare Moon was serious, and Celestia had to act. By using the word “sister” to describe the younger alicorn and telling in the story calmly while using the pictures, Nicole Oliver is telling the story neutrally, but showing the difficulty of the ordeal then and now.
     
    b. Majesty is bestowed upon you the second the animation opens the storybook. Ancient Greek art is widely remembered for its very distinct style of flat shapes, and they’re among the most sacred and beautiful art ever to be discovered. On the other hand, it’s not the rich colors you see. Instead, they’re very pastel, warming the atmosphere gently as the script carried over into the true art style of the series.
     
    c. The connection between Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia was cordial, serious, and close. Evident by the intro transition from Oliver to Tara Strong’s voice. After the audience found out Twilight was Celestia’s most faithful student, it was obvious the transition was no accident; it foreshadowed their teacher-student relationship at the time, their closeness in particular. This doesn’t come until Part 1, Act 1; but some of the vocabulary is very rich, leading to some humor with the younger Spike. “Precipice,” “on the brink,” and “imperative” are not common in family television, informing parents that this show doesn’t talk down to its audience, something bad “kids’ shows” tend to do. Each main character outside of Twilight and Spike was given sufficient time to be introduced. None of them lasted too long or too short. The appropriate length not only progressed the story, but also introduced the ReMane-ing Five with some depth but without spilling the beans, something you see in plenty of anime.
     
    Pinkie Pie: The surprise reaction, zipping away, and then preparing the party in the Golden Oaks Library set up the basic ground of both her character and Elements she bore in Part 2's conclusion. When looking at the character development she received since then, her hyper talk made sense and was quite funny. It gave her comedy and eccentricity instead of stupidity.
     
    Applejack: The positives of her character were established very early: a desire to meet new friends along with panache, honesty, and strength. Besides Dash, she was the most athletic pony of the Mane Six, and that hasn’t changed. Like Rarity and Dash, she was a hard worker who cared for her family, yet loved her job simultaneously. She had plenty of pride and wisdom to pass around.
     
    Rainbow Dash: How she was introduced to the audience was extremely funny. When Spike indicated her duty to clear the clouds, there was an obvious clue that she was going to “drop by” (or, in this instance, ram by ). At the time, she was eager to please, but brash and extremely immature due to her giggling, laziness, and bragging, though the latter is rather justified from her excellent athleticism. Like Rarity’s generosity, her loyalty was foreshadowed in Part 1, too, when she told Twilight and Spike she “never leave Ponyville hangin’.” Her athleticism in Part 1 and passion in the field were exploited in several other episodes like Sonic Rainboom, The Best Night Ever, Hurricane Fluttershy, and Wonderbolts Academy.

    Also, there was great chemistry between Dash and Twilight. Their dialogue and characterizations bounced off each other, allowing the jokes and pace to tell the story itself. Twilight's deadpanning and arrogance in response to Dash's casualness create tension and foreshadows the relationship they shared throughout the series, boiling over in Testing Testing 1, 2, 3.

    Rarity: Unlike the previous three, her dialogue was the most formal. Despite using contractions, her sentences tended to be complete and regal with plenty of flair in her accent. Even before her “trial” in the Everfree Forest, her generous spirit was exposed when she sacrificed some time decorating Town Hall in order to fix (and fail to improve) Twilight. Nonetheless, her first impression was one of the weakest and needed to complete her trial to give the viewer a solider grasp in personality.

    Fluttershy: Right away, you can tell Fluttershy was much closer to her animal friends than other ponies. Although she never said so, you can assume that she knows these animals, understands them, and is very sensitive because she doesn’t want to say the wrong things. Her shyness to others and care for the animals are important themes in the pilot and overarching narratives throughout the series (sometimes crisscrossing).

    (And, Fluttershy, don’t expect anyone to screw a baby dragon anytime soon. [upon clicking the link, keep your volume down so your eardrums don’t burst. ]) Not everything about the immediate world of Equestria was explained, notably a unicorn’s magic and a pegasus’s relationship with the weather. You had them doing them, and just by the laws that apparently exist at the time, it makes sense. But it also works that they don’t explain it because, after all, it’s a world they’re accustomed to; blabbering about it here would’ve been pointless and, thus, treat the audience as idiots.

    But it gets brownie points when Pinkie shot down Twilight's observation of libraries remaining quiet. All in a way Pinkie would say and do. XD In the four seasons of Friendship Is Magic, this is the only time a villain’s backstory was given thorough explanation. Part 1’s intro was dedicated into explaining Luna’s transformation into Nightmare Moon, and then the rest of the episode built up her return. One of FIM’s biggest quality flaws was the lack of subtlety, but it existed everywhere in Part 1, from Twilight’s fear of NMM’s resurrection to the corrupted alicorn's illusion in the hourglass as Twilight recites the letter Spike’s writing. As far as character design is concerned, Nightmare Moon is absolutely gorgeous. The mix of blue (especially the sapphire armor) perfectly balance each other; along with her mystical mane and perfectly curved helmet, she looks and appears threatening. The hints of purple (the wings, cutie mark, eyelid) and green (eyes) makes the deep blue coat not so overbearing. And the cat-like eyes create a sensation of deep anger that was ready to boil over and collapse on everyone around her. The concept of the stakes is tremendous. When you think about it, no one in Equestria can survive exclusively at night. Firstly, not every animal is nocturnal; there are thousands of diurnal critters, and the nocturnal creatures have a sleep pattern to follow.

    To worsen the matters, every single plant relies on sunlight to generate food, and without the sun, the plants die. Without the plants, there’s no food. Without food, everyone starves. It’s a perfect case of attempting mass murder. All in a fit of jealousy that resulted in concentrated rage.

    The Everfree Forest is unique and creepy. Even without the background music, the visuals are enough to scare the shit out of you if you dared to step foot, and Dash’s story doesn’t help matters, either. Speaking of the forest, besides Derpy (thanks to an animation error in the background), an introduction to a great and memorable character:

    Steven Magnet!
    In what is his lone appearance, he has plenty of life. His personality is very flamboyant, vain, melodramatic, but caring. A perfect foil for Rarity and the element she subsequently represents. Even if it wasn’t the case, Magnet is absolutely hilarious. Lee Tockar did a great job voice acting there.

    BTW, YouTube, for the first time, your Transcribe Audio feature created something useful for a change! Thanks for helping give the sea serpent his canon name. XD The comedy is top notch. Here, no one is safe from the occasional cartoonish slapstick. Spike, of course, is the victim of plenty of it (which became more glaring in future seasons). The same goes for Twilight every now and then, like when she got rammed by Dash and Fluttershy. This pilot showed several moments where the characters were very cute.

    But this…

    Cute, cute, cute! However, one thing about pilots is how unpolished they tend to be. When looking back, the flaws look much more glaring because later seasons are usually more sophisticated. This is exactly the case here:
    Unlike the other seasons, season one was under the microscope of two ratings: the one required by their specific governments (in America, TV-Y) and E/I (Educational/Informational, which you can read about here). Beyond Hasbro’s mandates, FIM really shows how much the pilot hindered its potential in a big way.
     
    Although there are great stakes on the line, it doesn’t feel that way. Each trial was so tame, it could’ve been anything. With mild tweaking, they would’ve fit every other character. If Faust and DHX pushed the line even more, then it risked violating the strict E/I guidelines, and who knows how Hasbro would’ve reacted. I’ll dissect their executions later. One of season one’s biggest problems that’s been popping up among recent marathons is lackluster aging. The pilot is no exception.
     
    a. When listening to The Laughter Song the first time, Pinkie’s joy is abundant in not only her voice, but also the visuals and animation like hopping, appearing out of nowhere on screen (forcing you to wonder where she’ll be next), and the teary laughter. It started slowly and then crescendoed into the chorus, ending NMM’s Snow White-esque horror scene.
     
    But then listen to it again while watching the animations. There’s a distinct lack of polish in the meter’s execution. To extend the length, Pinkie had to shout and extend her first set of lines, and that becomes rather tacky. And for a song intending to be very cheery, the visuals are quite conservative. Of course, this was a brand-new medium DHX was using, and it was a pilot, but they’re plain and don’t get interesting until Pinkie laughs at the tree in between song. Two-minutes or not, the hook arrives way too late.
     
    b. Some of the animation itself is pretty lackluster. In one scene, Apple ponies were handing off various items to Twilight. They didn’t show proper physics in its inertia, making the scene rather stilted. Secondly, the churning in the river is very repetitive and doesn’t offer variety to make it inherently interesting.
     
    c. Applejack’s voice back then is a pain in the eardrums to listen to. For most of its running, her voice is deeper, more mature, wise, and rather aggressive. Here, it’s way too high-pitched, which makes her appear very immature and, thus, doesn’t fit her character. Well, at least not anymore. In especially the second part, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony are as subtle and being smashed by an anvil, and it’s this where Part 2’s quality plummets. By the time Act 1 is halfway done, the audience immediately knows not just who the Bearers are, but also the specific Elements each of them bore.

    Take the passage Twilight read while in the library (emphasis mine):
      As Twilight recited the elements, the animation scaled back, revealing the characters in order: Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, AJ, and Dash. The order and corresponding animation are no accidents. The story knew who they are and wanted you to know it. In the midst of rushing the script, the fundamentals of foreshadowing were thrown out the window, which is a shame because they did a great job building up Nightmare Moon's revival in Part 1. By blatantly revealing who bore the Elements of Harmony, the rest of the conflicts and resulting climax become pointless. Despite good vocabulary and a variety of characterization, the dialogue is often very forced. So little of the Mane Six's dialogue sounded organic and relied on specific jargon to separate them. When it didn’t, each of them hammered in their respective elements to the audience and relied on naivety from Twilight and the others to force the plot along. Nightmare Moon had a great backstory, but her lines were extremely clichéd and amounted to the manufactured “I’m evil” bullshit in thousands of media.
     
    However, the moment where the corn really became burnt beyond edibility was Twilight’s speech of friendship to Nightmare Moon as the Elements were finally revealed. None of the trials were that effective, and Twilight treated them as such. It was way too preachy and hammered in the main moral of the entire series.
     
    One of the few characters to actually have an organic voice was Spike. Whatever he said and thought felt natural, and his deadpan comedy really balanced out his kid side. Speaking of the trials…
     
    a. They don’t effectively prove the stakes and urgency of NMM’s terror. When you think about it, the EoH’s purpose is to prove they can bear them in case there’s a very big evil out there. But with so much on the line, how do they get it? Through very simple trials that don’t put them in any grave danger except the first.
     
    Speaking of the first trial…
     
    b. Applejack was unnecessarily stupid. Telling Twilight to “let go” and fall down the cliff is possibly the dumbest thing AJ’s done throughout the series because it makes no sense. Even if AJ apparently knew Dash and Fluttershy were waiting to catch her, it was an extremely risky idea. Celestia forbid Fluttershy or Dash lost grip; Twilight would’ve been dead, and Applejack would forever live in guilt. The odds were stacked against the cowmare, and she can’t rely on it all the time. It would’ve been much better if Applejack pulled Twilight back on the cliff and wait for Dash and Fluttershy to help them down. Then again, doing that would’ve caused the trial to fall apart.
     
    c. The Elements are really hammered in and, like I wrote earlier, had to rely on the characters acting naïve to fully realize it.
     
    i. Applejack told her the “honest truth.”
     
    ii. Fluttershy told Twilight (after pulling the thorn out), “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”
     
    iii. Pinkie guffawed at the trees and ended the song with “laugh.” Hell, the song is titled The Laughter Song.
     
    iv. Rarity never mentioned the word “generosity,” but showed it very bluntly by slicing most of her tail off.
     
    v. After Rainbow Dash declined to join the Shadowbolts, the future Bearer of Loyalty exclaimed, “See? I'd never leave my friends hangin'.”
     
    vi. Finally, Twilight repeated the word “spark” to revive the Elements of Harmony. (The fact that the ReMane-ing Five left Twilight all alone was unbelievably dumb. Firstly, they admitted the Everfree Forest was treacherous, and Nightmare Moon stalked them throughout the journey. Secondly, it was designed to be a plot device so Twilight can battle on her own until her friends showed up.)
     
    If none of them were that oblivious, then they would’ve realized it the second Dash passed her “test” at the most. Like what I wrote before, Nightmare Moon’s backstory was fantastic, and her desire to be beloved was believable. But aside from that, she’s a very bland villain. Yes, she’s very active, constantly on the prowl, manipulative, and murderous; but it was poorly represented and realized from how her personality was identical to that of a classic fairytale.
     
    Instead of the typical archetype, why not change her character? Luna became Nightmare Moon as a result of unadulterated jealousy, so anger's clouding her mind. Instead of having her personality be predictably evil, how about making her evil, yet angry and think she’s doing the right thing. That in her jealousy and resentment over her older sister, she feels she’s doing such an evil deed for the greater good of Equestria. By having Equestria summoned into eternal night, she’s giving her moon and those she watches justice. Give her convincing delusions, and the only way for the Mane Six to defeat her isn’t by blasting the Elements of Harmony against her will, but the foundation that just because ponies sleep before the moon doesn’t mean they don’t love or respect her. Gradually build it up to make her become good again. You don’t demand respect. You earn it. PaleoSteno described Part 1 as “rapid fire” and Part 2 as even more so. Well, he couldn’t be any more correct. Despite Part 1 being somewhat fast, it didn’t feel fast, and it set the stage of the second half. Unfortunately, Part 2 really dropped the ball by only spending a small amount of time juggling between the tests. Just as one character faced a test, it was over. The only one where the character spent the most amount of time on her test was Twilight’s Element of Magic.
     
    Originally, Faust intended to have the Mane Six be rewarded for their Elements over a season through an adventure arc. That would’ve been a really good idea, because it retains the stakes, explores the characters, and proves their worth more organically. On the other hand, the arc would’ve robbed season one of the well-done slice-of-life episodes Friendship Is Magic is renowned for. So you win some, you lose some. If Nightmare Moon was to be a formidable foe, she wouldn’t just stand in one spot as Twilight recited her speech. She would’ve acted and tried to stop it. By standing there and doing nothing, she looked very, very weak. Stationary villains as they downed the Skittles have been a very common problem throughout the series (the only one making some sense being Discord due to his pride and ego), and it started here. The pilot only gives the audience clues of Celestia’s whereabouts. Through Mayor Mare’s Sleeping Beauty reference, NMM’s threats of never seeing Celestia again, and Celestia reappearing once the sun rose, you’re clued that she was locked in the sun like her sister when locked in the moon. However, these are only clues. Her role (or lack thereof) as far as her location was never given a ton of clarity, leaving the audience to rely on headcanon to fill in the plot holes. Overall, though, there is an obvious, gigantic, intangible strength in this pilot, something the audience was able to conclude through its nuances.
    It has a lot of heart.
    The vocabulary, variety of characters, graphics, elegant storytelling simplicity, musical score, and humor proved that Faust, Renzetti, and the rest of the crew cared a ton for its audience. Albeit a severe lack of refinement, they obviously tried and succeeded to capture the hearts of many and made plenty consider trying. After over a decade of crappy TV from the franchise, the pilot was a breath of fresh air, resulting in the possibility of improving their craft and delivering great stories in the future. By its track record, they obviously succeeded, but it wouldn’t have happened without the success of the pilot.
    One generation ago, My Little Pony was a laughingstock. A franchise with a great original concept became heavily operated under Hasbro’s microscope simply to pander to young girls’ guardians. But on October 10, 2010, under Faust’s leadership, Friendship Is Magic, Part 1 was released, followed by Part 2 on October 22. The pilot commenced the fourth generation of My Little Pony, leading to wonders over what the franchise will reveal to what is later the brony fandom.
    Subjectively, this is my most nostalgic FIM episode because these episodes led me to the show and becoming a brony altogether. (Winter Wrap Up, on the other hand, is where I proclaimed it really took off.) But through an objective eye, FIM1/2 is not that good at all. Part 1 was decent, but Part 2 is easily the worse half because of its obvious storytelling shortcomings. Overall, it’s the weakest two-parter of the entire show. Nevertheless, the heart the pilot displayed allowed the show to stick around and eventually improve into the pop culture conglomerate today.
    Source: S01:E01+E02 - Friendship is Magic
  2. Dark Qiviut
    Following two grand episodes in Rarity Takes Manehattan and Pinkie Apple Pie, Corey Powell was challenged to write the official script for Rainbow Falls. This is the second time Rainbow Dash is the central character this season (Flight to the Finish doesn't count, for she was secondary). Along with Fluttershy and Snowflake (Bulk Biceps officially), Rainbow Dash's trials to qualify for the Equestria Games with her team hits a grinding halt via a very lazy mess.
    Strengths:
    Derpy returns. Without question, the best part of the episode. She doesn't speak nor does she have a name, but she's an integrated part in the third act and treated as one. And she has the lovable wall eyes that make her her! Very beautiful scenery of the village and waterfall. You can tell the animators paid close attention to the structures of past Olympic Games, both the winter and summer, by the housing and placement. The animation has little to no hiccups. There was some little bits to make the characters act natural, like the flick of the mane from a sharp turn of the head. Of course, the Friendship Express had somewhat awkward rotations as it clickery-clacked down the track, but that's mere nitpicking here. Griffons return for the first time since Season 2! Unfortunately, they're there as unspoken cameos, but there needs to be more about them, as FIM's form of Earth is more than merely Equestria. Fluttershy's character development was actually recognized. Instead of just being Timidshy all the time, the character development she received from past episodes is put into some use.
     
    Keyword being "some." Weaknesses:
    Continuity issues are all over the place. Instead of just picking a couple, let me give you a fuller list: Snowflake has trouble flying. This character was seen flying in Hurricane Fluttershy with the rest of the pegasi, pretty much without issues. But then we see him again in Wonderbolts Academy. He was one of the select few to successfully participate in the military camp. He responded and despite screwing up, showed his worth by kicking plot and flying well throughout! In this "episode," Snowflake has so much trouble flying, Scootaloo would be a better candidate!
     
    And to make it even stupider, how the hell would this dumbassery contribute to the plot? By making the Wonderbolts and every other pony, minus Fluttershy, look better?
     
    Speaking of Fluttershy… Fluttershy's fears are incredibly inconsistent. You have her boldly try out for the EQGames. That's fair. But then when she reacted to "Pinkie Pie's" cheerleading out of fright, then there's inconsistency. Not to mention this is never explained properly. It's there simply to be a gag to fill in time.
     
    Then again, Fluttershy participated in the tornado because it was her civic duty on behalf of both Ponyville's and Cloudesdale's behalves. Here, this is apparently a volunteered competition. This is nothing like what happened there. It's basically the jousting competition, only on a much larger scale. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of characters will be attending and watching her and everyone else compete, so to see her nosedive when she doesn't care a ton about extreme flying beforehand becomes rather contrived. Spitfire didn't need to be retaught about the loyalty and being pushed to the right direction.
     
    Firstly, being a Wonderbolt is one of the most prestigious honors of any pegasus. The main purpose of being a Wonderbolt is to be the best, overcome pressure, and be proud and loyal. You're showing how amazing you are physically, psychologically, emotionally, and virtuously. You must show some integrity, also.
     
    What does this have to do with the continuity lapse? There's a difference between being incompetent and being vindictive and betraying your damn badge AND your own tag-team partner!
     
    Not to mention, Spitfire already learned firsthand about loyalty and recklessness. If she (and Fleetfoot, by association) had any damn intensity, integrity, and intelligence, she didn't need to have the concept of loyalty rehashed in front of her face. She learned that lesson the hard way after Rainbow Dash stomped the wingpony pin on her desk and stormed off. In fact, she admitted passively to learning that lesson right after Soarin' jammed/dislocated/broke his wing.
     
    And for that matter, the Wonderbolts, who were explicitly stated by Dash herself and a background pony named Dizzy Twister (by the fandom) to be the best fliers, chose to lie and abandon their own friend and teammate (who was medically cleared to practice, mind you) in favor of a much weaker, less inexperienced flier.
     
    Speaking of the Wonderbolts… The Wonderbolts are a militia and aerial demonstrators modeled after the Blue Angels. They're not a sports team. They have no business being there other than to artificially create conflict. Rainbow Dash's purpose was to get her team to quality for the aerial relay. As the de facto captain, her job was to lead the team. There was no good reason for her to decide to abandon them in favor of a couple of out-of-character, villainized Wonderbolts. If Rainbow Dash had an ounce of intelligence, she would've scolded them for even thinking of pulling such a stupid stunt and said, "Hell, NO!" to their faces. Hell, Rainbow Falls lapses in its own continuity rules.
      By the end of the episode, five teams qualified for the Equestria Games.
     
    And "teams" was specifically mentioned. No matter who or what species, the first four qualified, period. Either the animators or writer screwed up, but that mistake is so easy to catch. How that error was overlooked, even after the script was locked, is beyond me. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity are all absolutely pointless. They each have smaller subplots simply to garner humor. Unfortunately, none of their roles are investing, and when they get involved, they're all incredibly out of character.
    Applejack: Apples, apples, apples. And when she performs a trick, she screws up. Her life doesn't center all on apples and apple-related products. Outside of Rainbow Dash, she's perhaps the most athletic member of the Mane Six because of her very powerful legs and back.
    Pinkie Pie: Simply an obnoxious cheerleader just to drive the audience and rest of her friends batty. Remember what I wrote in my review for Rarity Takes Manehattan?
    It hasn't changed, and to see Pinkie's "character" reduced from the offbeat three-dimensionality in Pinkie Apple Pie to the flanderization seen here is staggering. Rarity: Without question her worst role this season, and she's completely out of character. In Daring Don't, she's a background pony. In RF, she's a tertiary character, along with Pinkie, AJ, and Twilight. Her uniforms are so poorly designed, Hoity Toity would've given her a ripping so bad, Gordon Ramsay would look tame in comparison. The designs are such a ginormous retcon from Suited for Success and the rest of the episodes she influenced (including Green Isn't Your Color and Rarity Takes Manehattan), it made watching those episodes feel pointless briefly.
    There was no need for her to tag along and design the dresses at the village. She could've spent her time at Carousel Boutique, plan out her dresses there, design them, and then ship them off to Dash, Fluttershy, and Snowflake while they're training for the trials. Then at the trials, she could show up and watch them qualify.
    Lastly, the scene where Rarity steals away with the dropped horseshoe was unlike her. If she was truly generous and in character, she would've picked it up and toss it back to them so they can continue practicing. By taking it away, the trio had stop practicing and then wait until she returned with the gaudy design. With time not on their side, it made her look selfish and stupid. Instead of being treated with some integrity, her actions and choices are played for cheap laughs, disrespecting her character in the process.
    Just because a character is operating within her element doesn't mean she's in character or believable. It's how she's executed. In Rainbow Falls, Rarity isn't there. It's a completely different character disguised as her.
    Two things:
    a. If you pay attention, you'll notice a very familiar track as the village and falls were explored.
    That track came from Wonderbolts Academy, which has a very military atmosphere.
    b. At one point, imagery from Sonic Rainboom (a sudden flyby of a Derpy recolor) was borrowed into the scene, and then you have basically the same well-known background ponies as pegasi, like Dr. Whooves, Berry Punch, and Bon Bon (with a different mane and tail style).
    The recolors are, well, okay on their own. If this was a standalone episode, you can toss it all aside. And the show does reuse tracks quite often. That's okay, too.
    But Rainbow Falls is situated in between two major arcs: the Equestria Games and Chest of Harmony. By using such obvious shortcuts, it gives a feeling that the animators and Anderson aren't so invested in them. This isn't some low-budget B-animation like Scooby-Doo and pretty much every Hanna Barbera cartoon two generations ago (at least not anymore), nor is it a mere standalone episode that has nothing to do with a season-long plotline.
    DHX and Top Draw are investing some of their time and Hasbro's money into these three storylines (the refurbishment of the old castle the third). Top Draw and/or the storyboarders should've used that time to make interesting background characters with different palettes and manes/tails. Anderson, for the matter, should've composed a brand new background track rather than have his Wonderbolts Academy piece recycled.
    The biggest annoyance between the two, though, is the recycled track. It was there specifically for the atmosphere and relationship Dash has with the military. When you're reusing music with a very specific purpose into a scene with a completely different feel and message, then it becomes extremely contrived.
    And the worst part is that track is repeated at other points in the episode in a higher pitch when 'Shy and Snowflake embarrass themselves. That really contradicts the whole atmosphere and sucks the humor out of the scenes.
    There is way too much exposition in this episode. Instead of showing all of the moments and actions most of the time, a character tells another, sometimes to their face. That zaps the attention right out of it and makes the scenes a chore to watch.
    And by using such exposition, it tells the audience about one of the biggest story flaws all season: the pace. Because there's so much of it, the pace becomes very wonky. Most of the time in Rainbow Falls, the pace is so slow, the moments tend to crawl, and the obnoxious side-stories only worsened this issue. Then when it gets to the third act, Fluttershy and Snowflake find a quick replacement in Derpy. As fun as she is, you're not going to find a replacement on short notice that easily.
    Two extremely painful moments of exposition are as follows:
    a. Dizzy Twister and then Rainbow Dash telling her partners about how great the Wonderbolts are, the latter telling them how much she likes them. Despite showing incompetence to create gags, the 'Bolts' greatness and Dash's idolization of them are a running theme since the pilot and was told and shown to the audience each and every time the subject came up. Rainbow Falls wasn't the Wonderbolts' grand return from season one or the pilot. You don't need to remind the audience again; they're not stupid. Let the visuals and tricks explain it for them instead.
    b. After Soarin' was saved, Fluttershy jogged up to Dash and said this:
    You don't need to remind the audience moments after it all happened. It would've been much better if Spitfire, Fleetfoot, or Dash asked Soarin' if he was okay. It's out of character for Fluttershy and degrading to viewers young and old. This episode has some of the worst contrivances this season. The recycled music just turns your head and makes people wonder how much care the people in the back put into their post-production. But there's much worse than that.
    There's no reason for Snowflake and Fluttershy to actually be on the aerial relay team. Yeah, sure, Thunderlane and Helia exposited that ponies can only compete in one event, but there are two major issues.
     
    a. In real life, Olympians are allowed to compete in multiple events. You don't need for the ponies to be confined to just one unless you handwave one of the most known rules in the Olympics.
     
    b. The story explained how those ponies couldn't compete. There are multiple pegasi from not just Equestria, but Ponyville altogether. Take a look at how many pegasi it took to create the tornado in Hurricane Fluttershy. Surely, there are other pegasi in Ponyville who are better qualified for the aerial relay race than Snowflake and Fluttershy (both of whom should be somewhat competent fliers, anyway).
     
    And on this matter, Helia and Thunderlane were competing in the aerial sprinter qualifications. Because they're much better fliers than Fluttershy and Snowflake (who, by principle, is damn good enough to try out for the Wonderbolts!), surely they would be better than them.
     
    The only reason they weren't with Rainbow Dash was simply for comedy, plugging in the entire Mane Six without necessity, and to provide out-of-character conflict and "humor."
     
    Even if the episode wasn't fixed elsewhere, if Snowflake, Fluttershy, and Derpy competed in the sprinters competition and Helia, Thunderlane, and Rainbow Dash in the relay race, then after treating the conflict, characterization, and humor with competence and intelligence, you would've given Rainbow Falls a smidge of believability.
     
    Now that she's an alicorn princess, couldn't Twilight compete in the trials rather than be stuck in the middleground as an idiot? More about this later… To continue ragging about Fluttershy and Snowflake, it's so obvious that they wanted nothing to do with the Games. Until the qualifying race, they showed little care and focused more of their time leisurely with the others. They were there simply because the script mandated them to. The Wonderbolts, specifically Spitfire and Fleetfoot, are villainized. Instead of suggesting Dash to try out for the Cloudesdale team, they manipulated her into confusion. It only worsened after Soarin' admitted that Spitfire and Fleetfoot blatantly lied to Dash and him so Dash competes in the Games instead of him.
     
    More about this later. The flanderization of AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie, all that I explained earlier. The fact that the Wonderbolts showed up to practice at the Games when they're not designed for sports. Again, already grew very annoyed at that. Because Rainbow Dash's partners are so absentminded and inept in their practices, they suffer some consequences from their poor work and stupidity. But all that did was make the slapstick and consequences extremely forced and cringeworthy to watch.
     
    And they didn't slightly get better. They started off badly for no good reason and only worsened. They couldn't do a wing push-up (for Snowflake, he had a good reason, as his wings are too small), fly through a relay ring, pass the baton, or even hold onto the baton. Then when they're not practicing, they tend to look really stupid, like playing with the Apple Brown Betties and donning in Rarity's embarrassing uniforms.
     
    Part of the conflict would've looked so much better if Fluttershy and Snowflake started off slow early and then improved. That way, it would've made the choice between joining Cloudesdale and Ponyville a bit more difficult (and even then, it still wouldn't have made this episode any less dumb). The sequences during Act 2 only plodded the plot and were a complete waste of time.
     
    Spitfire and Fleetfoot commended Rainbow Dash for her effort at the academy. Yes, part of their commending had to do with saving Soarin' from a nasty fall, but several other background characters from WA are there: Thunderlane, Cloudchaser Stormwalker, Raindrops, and Snowflake himself. They're recognizable and could've been chosen other than Dash. The fact that they only sucked up to Dash alone is quite jarring and makes them look more manipulative. Starting from Act 2, the ending of the episode got predictable extremely fast. Even with the stupid and out-of-character slapstick and Derpy featured as well-done fanservice, you could easily predict that Rainbow Dash was going to be swayed into joining the Cloudesdale relay team (or even the Wonderbolts because she idolizes them so much and proved her worth last season), only to be befuddled, don't know which team to choose, stay on Ponyville's squad, and finally qualify at the end. Chances are you won't really get the smaller bullet points and the ways they're shown, but the bigger points are easy to guess correctly.
    Before anyone here uses the insulting "the show's for kids; they can be predictable" excuse, this show has a measurable quality regardless of audience where tropes that are usually predictable get shot down. Even when the ending could be predictable, it's altered to freshen the experience. Look at episodes like Hurricane Fluttershy, Party of One, Suited for Success, Green Isn't Your Color, The Best Night Ever, Wonderbolts Academy, Pinkie Apple Pie, and Pinkie Pride.
    Products, more specifically television productions, require the audience to be attentive. Twisting the trope captures the interest of your audience and sends a message of the overall quality of the product. Having tropes being written down the letter via predictable clichés and outcomes is discouraged in the show, and excusing it is disrespectful to the product. There is a reason why the fandom sustained in size, one of them being the high-quality storytelling you tend to see in the show. Seeing something like the outcome being this obvious is extremely disconcerting and contradicts My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic's subliminal mission statement.
    For that matter, children's television needs to be put under higher standards, not lower, to prove to people old and young that children aren't stupid. Lazily excusing the game-changing flaws regardless of which episode you're watching and critiquing means you're treating the children with lesser intelligence. Also, using the show's primary audiences (families as its market, the kids' guardians as its target) to handwave such issues means you're calling Friendship Is Magic — and every other product, by association — inherently weak and stupid.
    If an episode is written where the ending is so predictable that you don't need to watch the rest, it sucks the investment out of the viewers and makes them want to change the channel. Episodes with such predictability like this one don't expand the brony fandom; it stagnates it. So for Rainbow Falls to drop the horseshoe so quickly talks down to its entire viewership.
    Besides Soarin', pretty much the only character beyond Derpy with in-characterization (for the most part), the rest of the characters are unrecognizable. What they said, acted, and responded was completely unlike them. Snowflake, Spitfire, Fleetfoot, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash aren't in character one iota. Let me break them down.
    Snowflake might've been a stallion of few words and the "YEAH!" gag, but he still had a lot of personality. He was proud, competitive, and kind. If you were going to give him a duty, he would do it, and he tried whatever he could to make sure he succeeded. The fact that Wonderbolts Academy accepted him provided some background to his capabilities, athleticism, and intelligence, and Spitfire treated him (and the others) respectfully.
     
    Rainbow Falls spat whatever competence he had to the ground and turned him into an incompetent dope. Flying is a struggle. He screams all the time. And whatever he says and does makes him look stupid rather than absentminded. Compared to his previous appearances, this is a completely different character. Along with Fleetfoot, Spitfire turned from a kind, competitive Wonderbolt with a military edge into a manipulative, antagonistic jackass. Before some of you excuse about Spitfire's competitiveness and behavior akin to Wonderbolts Academy, the comparison is apples and oranges. In The Best Night Ever and Hurricane Fluttershy, she showed kindness and loyalty to the crown and Rainbow Dash. She had a very kind personality despite somewhat of a competitive edge. Wonderbolts Academy dispelled that in favor of the drill sergeant, but she was like this for a very good reason. The fact that she pushed everyone neutrally showed respect to the cadets and demonstrated some form of integrity.
     
    Meanwhile in Rainbow Falls, she and Fleetfoot decided to lure Dash into joining the team and being a Wonderbolt. They aren't asking her to consider joining after the trials and Games are over. During practice for qualifications, they wanted Dash to join and, pretty much, have Ponyville not just fail the relay, but also get potentially disqualified.
     
    And this is where Fleetfoot also gets hit under scrutiny. Until Big Mac's two-part comic and Rainbow Falls, her personality was very up in the air. But the fact that she's a Wonderbolt is a testament to her sacrifices and trust she has with Spitfire and Soarin' and vice-versa. So to see that pushed that to the extreme is way too far, even for her.
     
    (In case you were wondering, her role in the two-story comic with Big Mac was stupid because she reinforced the misrepresentation of the Wonderbolts and overall incompetence.)
     
    Then there's the icing on the cake: them lying to both Dash and Soarin'. As I wrote earlier, being a Wonderbolt is about displaying athleticism and integrity. Fleetfoot and Spitfire betrayed their honor by deciding to attempt to lure Dash into the Cloudesdale relay squad. If they were true friends, they wouldn't blatantly lie to Dash and Soarin' and be forced to relearn what loyalty is. They're so out of character and out of line as Wonderbolts, you could have them written out as a completely different team. They're there simply to build up tension, since Dash idolizes them so much, but the lazy characterization is a gigantic slap to the face of the show.
     
    Moreover, the entire resolution is idiotic. Lying betrays one's trust, especially with one so blatantly evil. By manipulating Dash and lying to her and Soarin', they betrayed their statuses as Wonderbolts and severely embarrassed Cloudesdale. It's ridiculous for Soarin' and Dash to forgive them without as much as a bat of the eye. Dash quit the academy because the reckless abandonment was all but enforced, nearly killing her friends in the process. This is the second time that the Wonderbolts betrayed Dash's word.
     
    The fact that Dash still looks up to them is mind-boggling (and, quite frankly, unfaithful to her morals). You also don't betray your status as a military commander and not get severely punished for it. It makes no sense for Soarin' to immediately forgive his friends for willing to fracture a tight friendship.
     
    It's one thing to be incompetent at times. It's another to recycle the Shadowbolts segment during Friendship Is Magic, Part 2 and The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well with a spread-out conflict, the "superhero" subplot cut, and dumb dialogue added. Rainbow Dash's portrayal is completely backwards. All of the character development she received up to this point is retconned, and the Bearer of Loyalty is written as if she had never experienced any of the conflicts from previous episodes he starred in. Instead of being a smart pony who learned how to compete wisely and stay true to her ethics, they never showed up until the last three minutes.
     
    For one, she was much more arrogant here than the rest of season four. Notice in the rest of the episodes prior, her cockiness was much more toned down, Power Ponies being a slight exception. (Bats! doesn't count, for she was more focused on drinking the apple cider rather than her own abilities and ego. Daring Don't is about Dash willingly putting her own abilities aside, clouding her judgment and doubting her own strengths.) Here, she's focused on wanting to qualify for the Games, not exactly for Ponyville, but herself. In the very beginning, she said this:
      This only continued via her assuredness that she'll qualify even if Snowflake and 'Shy screw up, her smug attitude and face on the train ride to the village (as well as her continuous guarantee that Ponyville will qualify despite evidence to the contrary), and willingness to prepare for the trials with Spitfire and Fleetfoot even though her Ponyville teammates were struggling.
     
    Then there's the obvious manipulation from the Wonderbolts. After Soarin' was transferred to the hospital to have his wing examined and bandaged, they manipulated her into working out with the Wonderbolts in such a conniving personality, especially from Fleetfoot. Dash has a past history of knowing and understanding suspicious actions, especially if they contradicted her fidelity and ethics, with an exception being The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well because she was portrayed as an egotistical moron. If Rainbow Dash learned every single one of those lessons, including Wonderbolts Academy, Sonic Rainboom, Hurrine Fluttershy, and Flight to the Finish, she would've asked some curious, severe questions for their attitude and say no at most. At the very least, she might've said, "I'll think about it" and continue coaching Snowflake and Fluttershy.
     
    The thing about Rainbow Dash is how much she matured since the pilot.
     
    In Season 1, she was the breakout character and received tremendous character development that made her much more than plain boastful and egotistical.
     
    Season 2 flanderized her until around the halfway mark and took advantage of her growth, tenacity, and element in Hurricane Fluttershy.
     
    Last year, Rainbow Dash was one of Season 3's biggest improvements. Gone was that character derailment in favor of a proud, cocky, yet extremely intelligent and loyal pegasus. Two episodes, Sleepless in Ponyville and Wonderbolts Academy, marked a significant evolution of her character, from the immature, arrogant, egotistical tomcolt into someone who can guide and lead.
     
    This season's Flight to the Finish enforced that growth. While she was still jubilant and excited, she wasn't that boastful and showed much more concern for the Cutie Mark Crusaders than her own capabilities because she wanted them to carry the Ponyville flag for the Equestria Games. Did she want them to win? Definitely. But she wanted them to win in their own unique way; if they didn't, then she would be proud of them, anyway.
     
    In Rainbow Falls, the continuity of her very own character development was completely ignored. Her increased, out-of-place arrogance and selfish desire to work with the best team while being clouded under a ball of stupid was absolutely unlike her. The fact that Dash even considered joining Spitfire and Fleetfoot while knowing doing so would cost her friends a chance to compete in the Games betrayed her character.
     
    To make matters worse, until the end of the episode there wasn't any guarantee if Ponyville would qualify for any other event at the Equestria Games. If Ponyville didn't qualify for any other event, then Ponyville is out of the running. If Dash elected to join the Wonderbolts, then she risked being a gigantic goat. Dash (and the script itself) didn't consider this, which left out a lot more potential for an even greater dilemma and resolution for Dash's poorly constructed conflict.
     
    Like Rarity Takes Manehattan, Rainbow Falls tests her loyalty. But this scenario and Rarity's main quality being tested in Rarity Takes Manehattan have a very clear difference.
     
    In RTM, Suri Polomare — a brand new character in the series — vindictively took advantage of her generosity by plagiarizing her entire line, causing her to get upset and consider if doing so is just pointless. It was extremely believable and realistic of her to abandon her quality because her trust was deeply severed, both emotionally and creatively.
     
    RF's test of loyalty lacked in any form of believability. In order to drive the test of loyalty home, the episode relied on Dash's broken characterization and questionable logic from the Wonderbolts that would've made her very cross if she was truly in character.
     
    Speaking of broken characterization, the sequence where Dash wheeled herself before both the Ponyville and Cloudesdale teams is unbelievably STUPID!
     
    a. It only reinforced the idea that Rainbow Dash had absolutely no intelligence in the episode. Quite honestly, she would've been much more devastated if she can't fly again.
     
    b. It's a plan that can easily be caught. Unlike Rarity, who can be a really convincing drama queen, Dash's acting was so terrible, it was cringeworthy. But to make it even worse, everypony bought it. Not just the rest of the Mane Six, but Spitfire and Fleetfoot, as well. If they had any bout of intelligence, they would've been very suspicious and get her checked.
     
    c. Her plan is so transparent that without handwaving, it would've been over before it got any further. She would've been sent to the village hospital and have her body parts X-rayed. Once the doctors reveal that none of her bones were broken, her plan is ruined, and she would be extremely embarrassed in front of everyone.
     
    (The fact that Soarin' was cleared to continue practicing made the entire hospital scene even more ridiculous. Once the doctors X-rayed his wing and found out it was healed, then he would begin some rehabbing before being medically cleared to practice with the Cloudesdale squad. He wouldn't remain stuck in a hospital bed with his wing splinted and bandaged.) Twilight's characterization as the middle-mare was absolutely deplorable. When Dash considered joining the Cloudesdale team, she said this:
      There are so many better reasons to question her motives. By joining Clousedale:
     
    a. Rainbow Dash disappoints and betrays Ponyville, as the only reason she brings Fluttershy and Snowflake along is to qualify Ponyville for the aerial relay.
     
    b. She betrays Scootaloo, who looks up to Dash and uses her ambitions and support as motivation to help herself, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle become the flag-holders for the Games. If no other team from Ponyville qualifies, then the training to wave the Ponyville flag at the Games is for nothing.
     
    c. The whole trip to the village becomes all for naught.
     
    d. Snowflake and Fluttershy train for the relay team and practice out of Dash's support and guidance. You don't play games with other peoples' trust.
     
    e. Dash can kiss her values, integrity, and moral goodbye, and the subsequent guilt will forever haunt her.
     
    Compared to those five reasons above, Twilight's reasons are small and not very good. With all of her development to this point, Twilight should know better and understand what it means to understand the magic of friendship. If she gave those five reasons instead, then she would be reasonable, sensible, and honest without behaving pettily simultaneously. Instead, her guilt tripping contradicts what she has learned and, by virtue of being an alicorn princess, disrespects the crown.
     
    Nice going, Twilight. The moral is very clunkily written. While it's an obvious one that any sensible person should believe in (working with your friends is more important than winning with someone who plays dirty), the poor execution of what is an interesting premise disserved the path leading to the moral.
    If it weren't for such bad writing, the episode would've been over during the middle of Act 2.
    Written by Corey Powell, Rainbow Falls is the second episode to focus on both the Equestria Games and Chest of Harmony. With RF overlapping two of the three overarching plotlines this season, there was plenty of potential to weave them. The Games could've also been a good way to test Dash's loyalties with there being so much at stake. Instead, the Mane Six, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot were incompetent, stupid, and/or out of character. Rainbow Dash suffered from extremely terrible characterization the most because she was the central character, and the Wonderbolts being there contrived the plot. Combined with major continuity issues, sloppy writing, extremely forced/repetitive humor, and an abundance of plot holes, Rainbow Dash is not just my most hated episode so far (more so than Just for Sidekicks), but also one of the worst episodes in the entire show.
  3. Dark Qiviut
    Last time I posted about my fixfic concept, I announced that Draft #2 was done and I was going to return to the basics. Rather than completely go forward, I want to take the issues that I discovered while looking back and fix them. A good project doesn't get finished in one go, and I want to make it good.
    Earlier this year, Parental Glideance introduced us Rainbow Dash's parents: Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. This episode shows how families don't have to have a naming convention in order to officially be family. Previously, it was speculated that many families (specifically parents) needed one, either as a prefix or suffix, even though there might've been exceptions (ala Twilight Velvet and Night Light, Twilight and SA's parents). PG's leeway gave me an idea on the family names.
    Originally, Sunset's family (all OC's) was narrowed to a Shimmer surname. As structured in Drafts #1 and #2, her family was like this:
    Mom: Sunrise Shimmer
    Dad: Dawn Shimmer
    Brother: Solstice Shimmer
    I decided to change that. Their new names are as follows:
    Mom: Venus Sunrise
    Dad: Dawn Shimmer (still the same name)
    Brother: Summer Solstice
    Moreover, I decided to do something that I haven't done in years: draw the characters. This is where I envy the artists. I don't know how much they practiced, but a good chunk can draw ponies regardless of the pose. Drawing has traditionally been a struggle for me. Twenty years later, I still can't draw a realistic thumbs up!
    (Thank God for painting nature landscapes. Unless you're Picasso, everyone's gonna notice that one square eye.)
    After watching a few amazing tutorials, I decided to give myself a stab at drawing Venus and Dawn. After I was done, I scanned them and vectorized them in Illustrator.
    Here's the result:

    (Link to the drawings and credits.)
    Dawn's on the left, Venus on the right.
    Not bad after not working on any pony drawings, period, for over four years.
    Their bios remain the same:
    Dawn: a stay-at-home dad. Venus Sunrise: a lifeguard during the warm and Summer months. The Shimmer family lives in Grazewood, a small village along Equestria's west coast. Their two-floor home's perched at the top of a hill southward, with a patio and each of their bedrooms facing the ocean, providing an excellent view of the sun as it sets. Venus and Dawn raised Sunset, but five years after Sunset ran away and seemingly put her Equestria past behind her, Venus gave birth to a colt, Summer Solstice.

    After Sunset reunited with her Equestrian family eleven years later, she was able to successfully mend her relationship with all of them and became close with them, especially Solstice. Before moving on to Solstice, Caveno, and others, I'm gonna practice first.
  4. Dark Qiviut
    I only watched this episode after Canada released it, and I haven't budged. This episode is an effin' mess.
    The characterization is really poor, starting with Rarity:
    Rarity is a strong and intelligent businesswoman. Remember, she runs and owns three fashion boutiques: Canterlot, Manehattan, and Ponyville. An in-character Rarity would not only understand what she's doing, but also preplan everything before setting it forward. So, why would Rarity plan the fashion show before all three judges signed on to this contest? This type of act comes across as someone who doesn't know what she'd doing?

    Speaking of not know what she's doing, it's still contrived to choose Applejack out of thin air. She claims it's because she understands practicality/functionality better than the others. But Applejack doesn't have any fashion sense; her only vision of fashion is if it's good enough to wear. Kinda ironic considering Faust's original pony design of her had her wear plenty of clothes. (Speaking of which, Apple Bloom's tied-down hat is so stupid. Given her history of watching Applejack buck those apples, she oughta know that it wouldn't work. Wait, if that didn't happen, the plot would probably fall apart, and DHX would have to come up with a cleverer way to approach it.)

    On top of that, she didn't give AJ any chance to study practicality or warn her to study the clothing's quality. She agreed to take part, and the contest begins the next day. This lack of advanced planning and studying makes Rarity look really incompetent. As if she has no idea what she's doing. That's not her.

    Also, it makes no sense for Rarity to understand how crucial functionality works. (She wouldn't be okay with the disco ball dress; the costume looks really uncomfortable to wear and walk in.) Yes, fashion is treated more as an ancillary possession rather than a mandate, but functionality. Episodes like Suited for Success, ACW, Suite & Elite, Boutique, and Rarity Investigates! show how much she gets it. For her to not comprehend it degrades her character. Two of the three fashion designers sound like complete caricatures. Inky Rose was fine. Starstreak is over the top with his obsession with futuristic trends.

    But Lily Lace… *plugs my ears* Stereotypes are a complete bane in this show; Lily Lace is the valley girl stereotype. Her literally obnoxious drawl and voice don't work as a joke, because her valley girl accent IS the joke. You need some context behind it. If not, your joke is shallow and, thus, becomes cringeworthy. Her voice is faker than Shadow the Hedgehog. Even though Coco Pommel wasn't seen in the episode, she, too, is out of character. That disco ball costume makes no sense in any way, including practicality/functionality. Rarity put her in charge of the Manehattan boutique because of her strong creativity and fashion sense. The disco ball doesn't feel like work she'd do with a straight muzzle. Applejack…what the hell happened to her?!

    Despite Rarity not providing much sense with Applejack being a judge, one thing she understands about her friend is how she can be honest while simultaneously caring about other pony's work and feelings. Her initial comment sharply criticizing Coco Pommel's disco ball dress makes sense, because it's absolutely absurd.

    Afterwards, her characterization goes completely down the toilet. She bashed Inky Rose's dress for being too black, because it's completely depressing. If she criticized her choice of color because the pony within it would get really sweaty, then it'd make sense.

    Then he bashes Inky Rose's dress because she intentionally put holes in her fabric as she's making them. Lots of clothing intentionally has holes. Her manufacturer wouldn't be able to make her favorite cowcolt hat without one. Then she bashed Lily Lace's original draft of her dress because it could get dirty.

    As for her worst moment, where she destroys Lace's feather stitching on her hat, let me initial comments describe it: An in-character and likeable Applejack would understand how important their hard work is and respond accordingly. She understands tact. She's NOT abusive! Her decision to destroy Lily's hat and be proud of it is by far her worst moment of the entire series.

    And on top of that, she stereotypes the art of fashion as pointless and useless. HELLOOOOOO!!! Applejack understands how important fashion is to Rarity, Coco, and many others. Even though she can't critically study fashion and color theory to save her life, she knows others can and listens to them. If she truly respected Rarity (on top of that damn hat), she'd give fashion a long, critical introspective why it's so important to Rarity, Coco, and many others. Look at episodes prior, and look at how much the Mane Eight (then Mane Six) grew. Both AJ and Rarity understand each other and respect each other.
    AJ, fuck your opinion!
    Remember what I wrote about Sunrise's argument with AJ?
    I still stand by that. Applejackass needed to be shown and told directly to her face that she was being abusive, because she was too stupid to figure out the lesson ahead of time.
    On the other hand, is the way it's handled really necessary, particularly for a show that's supposed to teach valuable lessons (of friendship) to impressionable kids? Absolutely not.
    When Friendship Is Magic gets really good, it creates a welcoming, uplifting atmosphere. Each of the Mane Eight are welcoming characters who are supposed to be role models to children. Episodes like Lost Mark are really, really amazing, because they shoot up. The audience is treated as intelligent beings. They could've done a "Turnabout Is Fair Play" scenario, but they don't. The Cutie Mark Crusaders care about Diamond Tiara's well being and want to help her. Their actions mark a complete sense of maturity beyond nearly everyone's years. Their ability to be selfless and care about their nemesis, especially when she's at her lowest point, is crucial for this show. The way this scene is completely written shows Rarity at her worst. Rather than show her how her words affected her and tell her through her pain how hurtful AJ's words are, she thought it was a good idea to play "eye for an eye," as if she wanted to get back at her. FIM is well above teaching lessons through pure spite. When they try this shit, the episode's quality hurts.

    It also really hurts when Strawberry Sunrise is an unlikeable bitch herself. @Ganondox pinpointed the problem — Sunrise accused apple farmers like Applejack of selling apples to either intentionally poison her or rip her off. That's really cruel, and by how coolly Rarity reacts to the argument and Sunrise's vile stereotypes of apples, she knows this. That puts Rarity as part of the problem, even though the episode completely portrays her here (and the rest of the episode) as completely in the right. Rather than playing their best off each other, Rarity and AJ act like they can't stand each other. Their terrible approach to friendship here further accredits Rarity's and AJ's backstabbing each other in PPOV. The only way for this plot to work is by disregarding blatant continuity. This episode as presented only works if you disregard episodes such as Suited for Success, ACW, and their sense of maturity leading up to this point. Season seven is not the time for Applejackass to finally learn a lesson about tact. If she didn't know at the time, then why the hell did she become the Bearer of Honesty in the first place? It wouldn't have chosen her if she wasn't a good pony.
    There were some good moments here. Rarity randomly jamming to the guitar (and Pinkie's hair straightening in response) is randomness done correctly. Pinkie Pie is completely in character and likeable here. When AJ learns her lesson, she's contrite and works to make things right. Unfortunately, those things can't save Honest Apple from being a terrible episode.
    Now, is it worse than Hard to Say Anything? Very hard to tell. Originally, I said Honest Apple's worse, but Hard to Say Anything is pure trash all the way to the end. Right now, it's a coin toss.
  6. Dark Qiviut
    *sigh*
    Man, oh, man, Hard to Say Anything is unadulterated shit. A failure of epic proportions not seen since PPOV.
    Where. Do. I. Even. Start?
    Anyone can write a good episode. Becky Wangberg is so exception. One big problem with bringing in new writers is sometimes they don't get the characters, the worldbuilding, and theme molding. Hamilton knew what he was doing and clearly researched the series. Wangberg didn't do enough, and it showed.
    You can actually count the number of times the CMCs have been out of character at any point in the series. If you take the comics into account, the Holiday Special is their worst. Is the characterization that bad here? Thankfully, no. But is their worst in the show in a long time? One hundred percent. The CMCs were absolutely clueless in not only what they're doing, but also how they're doing. When they realize Big Mac on a crush on Sugar Belle, they all believed it was literally a good idea to follow the classic fairytale tropes and outcomes. They're fairy tales for a reason, yet they treat the novels like a how-to instruction book. Naïve they can be, but they're not stupid. How they're unable to separate fiction from reality's beyond me.
    More mind-boggling is how every time they screw up, they perform an even dumber idea, which worsens the matter worse and pisses off Sugar Belle even more. They may always have the best strategies (or the best common sense), but they're all smart and clever in their own way. There's also a great sense of maturity beyond their years. Lost Mark, anypony? Well, this maturity is missing. This isn't the CMCs. This is a generic group of caricatures in disguise. I don't know which performance is worse, this or The Show Stoppers. More about them later.
    To hear Big Mac actually speak way more beyond the clichéd "Eeyup" and "Nope" is a long-awaited surprise. That doesn't mean he's still in character! Big Mac may be only a stallion of a few words, but he's still very intelligent, caring, and observant with some dignity. Why the hell would he subscribe to the CMCs' stupid plan on copying the fairy tale clichés to woo Sugar Belle over Stereo Pop? My mind boggles that he'd think at any point that it was a good idea to follow that book o' fiction. Hell, at least once, he questioned their ideas, but gave in. You can have a crush and still retain some common sense.
    The Cutie Mark Crusaders tell Big Mac to go back to her and ask was their best idea prior to the end by a long shot. They still could've done the same after Feather Bangs barged in and suddenly became the episode's antagonist. More on him later.
    But after all the shenanigans, Apple Bloom finally realized…
    Why is this such a big problem?
    This is something that any of them should've figured out a long time ago, especially Big Mac. He's smart enough to know that Sugar Belle might've wanted or needed something that could be beneficial. Rather than immediately going to the storybook, they should ask Big Mac why he had a crush on her and what would be something most beneficial to her (and, by extension, everyone else in the town). This should've been the case for Apple Bloom, who knows him better than the others. Why didn't this come to her mind in the first place? Because if any of the CMCs didn't go to their stupid scheme, this whole plot would've been resolved by the 11-minute mark, and we'd have to have another one to fill the rest of the time frame. The one line makes all four look even dumber than they were during Act 2. Now, to talk about the elephant in the room:

    Rather than re-write it, let my initial reaction tell the story:
    Now to go over the last sentence in full:
    Big Mac's big kissyface is a pure grossout shot. The audience is supposed to laugh at how big, long, and plump Big Mac's forced kissy face looks. What makes it even more disgusting is the closeup of his lips and how Sugar Belle looked at from the corner of her sleepy eye. Seeing swollen, close-up lips protruding from straight on is disgusting, not funny. Sugar Belle's expression is the cornerstone of why the sexual harassment implications exist. She's completely unaware of not only his advances, but his presence, as well. There's no inclination of her realizing he's there nor wants him there. She just wants some peace and quiet.

    Compare that shot to this panel from FIM #25 (The Good, Part 1/2):


    In the old forums, IDW editor Bobby Curnow admitted that T3's supposed to be a Western parody. Rarity's and Twilight's expression don't suggest parody, but assault. Longhorn's terrorism isn't played for laughs at any point. How is the audience supposed to not take it seriously? A possible way to make this a parody is to treat it as one, like Tumbleweed and the crew immediately playing mindgames with Longhorn in a Bugs Bunny-Yosemite Sam kind of way. If Tumblweed's flicked to a poll, he jumps off the poll (with some cartoon physics, like warping the wood like a spring) and kicks his ass.

    If Sugar Belle showed any awareness of Big Mac's advances and presence, then the parody could work. Something like pretending to sleep, teasing Big Mac with a joke-y line like "Pass me the sunscreen" or "I know you're there, Mack-y" would help shape the parody together better? Why? Because it suggests consensuality among both side, fixing the implications in the process. For those who suggest either the implication doesn't exist exist or it's okay because the humor was at Big Mac's expense:
    Watch the scene in full. Pay attention to how Big Mac behaves and how Sugar Belle reacts. All of this helps shape up the implications. Big Mac being the butt of the joke doesn't make the implications disappear. To tell me otherwise suggests that I should turn off my brain. Two words: never happening.
    While Hard sucks, it had a decent start. But when Stereo Pop (screw "Feather Bangs"! The other name applies better) appears, the plot sinks.
    And Stereo Pop himself is nothing but an episodic accident.
    As a character, what character? As a personality, he has as much dimension as Flash Sentry: almost none. There's nothing engaging or charismatic about his character. Each line he spews is flat and stilted. Nothing he says represents anything a realistic person would say. Outside from being a contrived antagonist (more on this below), his whole purpose is to be a 100% parody of Bieber…back in his early days as a singer. His haircut, suave behavior, and song all scream early-days Bieber more specifically and stereotypical interpretations of boy bands back in the 1990s and 2000s.

    And the jokes surrounding him suck. Why? Because this whole thing is surrounded by dated pop culture references. There's no effort being put into this joke, and every skit related to him (from the voice to hair swaying to the autotune in his song) is one-dimensional.

    Not even his intentionally phallic cutie mark (there's a reason why his tail covers most of it most of the time) is funny. It's just "it's an erect penis mark. Laugh." Jokes don't work that way.

    Pop culture jokes in themselves are really, really difficult to get right. Why? Because what could be cool and funny today could become tacky tomorrow. There's no one right way to make a good pop culture joke, but the better techniques that I've seen are to make sure the core of the joke isn't the pop culture reference, written with enough effort to make it timeless, or keep it really subtle to the point of the audience not having to get the reference at all to make it work. This joke fails. Clearly he's written to be an antagonist, yet they never properly build him up to be an antagonist. I don't know what went on behind the scenes, but it feels like the writers were reminded that a conflict's needed, and they plug him in very suddenly to fill this in. We never heard of him at any point in the show, and you can educationally guess that he won't appear again.

    The ending where he admits to be nervous around others…that was the best part of the whole episode. Why? Because it gives him some character. Unfortunately, it's too little, too late. To have this swerve happen in the last thirty seconds is nothing but laziness just to make the audience sympathetic. It's a major insult to the story! As a whole, Stereo Pop contributes nothing but the nosedive of its quality and can be written out entirely.

    If he wasn't in this episode, this episode would be a thousand times better! On second thought, to compare Stereo Pop to Flash is an insult to Flash. Even though Flash is a stereotype, at least he feels like a genuine character at times! There's nothing genuine about this piece of shit!
    On top of that, this whole episode directly contradicts the continuity of the show. In Hearts & Hooves Day (which this episode directly references), the CMCs state how it was bad for them to force romance between two ponies. They're doing the very same thing here, only without the love poison and with Big Mac as the vessel. Like RF, they're referencing continuity they shattered. DHX's blatant disregard ruins the moral's weight.
    Lastly, one important question. How long did Big Mac's have crush on Sugar Belle? When did it begin? The episode hints that it began that week, but you only truly get to see the part where Mac's crush developed. What would help really improve this episode is if we get to see Big Mac's crush develop from beginning to end.
    Another problem is other than the bedroom eyes in Act 1, Sugar Belle never reciprocates it until the end. When you have the mutual admission happen this quick, the pacing feels rushed, and the weight of the crush falls flat. DHX, you've sucked at writing romance since the very beginning, and you suck here. STOP WRITING ROMANCE!
    It's very clear that Hard's attempting to parody fairy tale tropes, much of which seen in Disney classics. Note the word "attempted." If you're going to write a good parody, put in the effort to write the jokes correctly and avoid horrendous implications.
    What movie parodied them well?

    This whole movie's a fairy tale parody. But it knows what they're doing. Hell, they write the love's first kiss parody correctly!
    As a whole, the episode is a mess and clearly the first bad episode of the season.
    This whole episode would've worked much better if it was completely retooled. Here's an idea of mine below:
    After Applejack can't make her apple delivery due to being under the weather, Big Mac takes over her job by bringing the shipment of apples to Sugar Belle's home, where they meet for the first time. He and Sugar Belle exchange acquaintances and pleasantries, and Big Mac wonders what's going on with him. He wonders what feels funny.

    Sugar Belle begins to feel the same. Over the rest of the week, as Applejack recovers from her cold, Apple Bloom feels suspicious about Big Mac's continuous adventures to Starlight's old village. They know something's funny with Big Mac and try to figure out what.

    The other ponies from Our Town notice the same with Sugar Belle, as she's been jotting recipes for killer apple treats, something she hadn't done before.

    But they both keep it a secret. One day, Starlight decides decides to make a visit to her old village, where she's shocked that apples are stored and organized outside Sugar Belle's home.

    Suspicious, she knocks on her door, and she answers. Soon, they rib each other. Not long after, she discovers interesting recipe titles, all related to the McIntosh apple that's grown so much in the SAA orchard. Starlight eavesdropping the titles upset Sugar Belle, and she reveals to having a crush on Big Mac. She asks Starlight not to tell anypony about it, which she promises.

    Back in Ponyville, Apple Bloom prodded Big Mac after noticing a behavior change, and he reveals to her about his crush on Sugar Belle. She promises not to tell anypony, either. Silence for the next couple of days, but Starlight spent a portion of the second day continuing to be re-acquainted with the village and had a little gossip talk with Sugar Belle as they co-planned a recipe. She asked Sugar what she liked about Mac, and she explained about his wonderful personality, including the ability to care and help. When Starlight asked what would mean a lot to him, she isn't sure. Starlight explains a bit of his family, and what they do to transport items. Here, Sugar Belle recalls how  some wagons were falling apart and getting beaten up and has an idea of giving him (and the rest of the family) new ones. Fortunately, Starlight knew of a neighborhood carpentry, and they agreed to go there tomorrow. Starlight decided it was time to leave, but Sugar Belle invited her to stay for the night.

    That evening, Big Mac's hard at work designing a brand-new display shelf and counter for Sugar Belle. The structure would have three tiers to place her baked goods and an icebox underneath to store refrigerated fruits, vegetables, and other perishables. Apple Bloom watches from the doorway. Next day, both of them visit a carpentry near Town Hall, and came up with a brand-new wagon design for Big Mac. The wood was smooth, nailed, and polished. Sugar and Starlight painted his wagon with yellow on the wheels, green on the side, red bed, and orange straps. It was also sturdier, squeak-free, and easier to pull. Just in case, there's an attachment for extra goods. The other orders will be coming the next day.

    Big Mac and Apple depart SAA for Sugar Belle's house and encounter many troubles, from treacherous roads to collapsed trees to his wagon ready to fall apart on the next stop or bump.

    Starlight and Sugar Belle arrive at SAA, but AJ reveals he and Apple Bloom weren't home. He and Apple Bloom left. They knew where he was going and followed his tracks. They journeys several miles till they approached near the arid village. CRASH!!

    About 300 yards away, they see Big Mac and Apple Bloom standing in the middle of the road, their wagon destroyed, and both of them trying to keep everything in the same pile.

    Sugar Belle helps clean up the mess and puts their supplies on the bed of the new wagon, which she gave to him. It was a gift since he needed it. Big Mac thanked her and revealed that he was headed to her house to help renovate her pie shelves. She hugs him and thanks him with a kiss on the cheek.

    At the village, all four construct her new shelf and icebox. She really appreciates what he did and thanks him. And with a small nudge from Starlight, she reveals she has a crush on him and asks if they can go on a date. Blushing, he accepts, and they share a nose nuzzle.

    To conclude, AB and Starlight walk away with them both splitting the lesson.
  7. Dark Qiviut
    Back in 2015, after conversation with The Coffee Pony on Skype, I decided to revive my idea to give the Equestria Girls franchise a full-blown rewrite under my own vision, which I conceptualized in 2013. Although I really steamed forward with two drafts, I stopped in the middle for nearly a year while only peaking only a few updates here and there.
    For those who’re reading about it for the first time, here’s the full synopsis:
    If you want to read the process, feel free to read them all. I recommend going in order, though.
    A really good thing about drafting these stories is that you can come up with ideas and not be conservative like a modern-day Republican about it. Have an idea? Put it down! If it works, great! If not, no problem. Go back and find a new one.
    Spending hours on this draft was an experience. I haven’t written a fanfic of any size since 2012, so this was a good way to get that rust. At the risk of being hypocritical, I’m not a big fan of having my work criticized. Your work is your baby, so it feels natural to protect it no matter the cost. Even the softest constructive criticism can sting like hell. That’s me in a nutshell. While much of the feedback wasn’t public, it doesn’t change the fact that it was very valuable, both the praise and concrit, and helped me want to improve upon the idea.
    Simultaneously, it’s even more difficult to observe your own work and pick apart the very problems. Sometimes when writing fanfic, you work in a vacuum. You get so caught up in what you do that you don’t actually see the flaw until someone points them out for you. To go back several months later gives me a fresh perspective of what I did right, wrong, and how to make it better. Yet, often, your harshest critic isn’t an unsolicited reviewer, but more often yourself, so you get to think whether you’re really overthinking it.
    So, what problems did I come across?
    Sunset’s growth from getting trapped in Pedestria to who she became today’s mostly confined in exposition. When you’re trying to create a very believable world and conflict, telling what happened wither via prose or character dialogue doesn’t help. Exposition goes through one ear and out the other. You need the audience to visualize what’s going on so the audience can believe everything they’re reading. Just because Sunset Pie Shimmer and Pinkie Pie are closest doesn’t mean she can’t be so close with the rest. For the first half of my latest draft, she showed to be close to Pinkie only while being somewhat distant of the rest. Hell, the rest don’t have an impact until after she returns to Equestria for the first time.

    What I want is for the audience to believe Sunset’s as much a part of the family as the others. This direction doesn’t cut it: If you’re gonna treat much of the family as an afterthought, what’s the point in them existing at all? The repair of Sunset’s and Celestia’s relationship was too rushed. You had chapters highlighting the strain (along with Sunset calling her a monster for violating her, running away from her home after her secret past was found out, glaring at Celestia during an important meeting with everyone, and kissing Luna on the cheek to reassure Luna and spite Celestia), but it changed in one chapter midway. It’d take three chapters for their relationship to fully mend.

    This isn’t like what happened with Starlight, who was both a villain and crying for help at the same time, and needed someone to be treated as an equal to see the error of her ways. Sunset’s feeling of betrayal runs well beneath her skin to the point of not wanting to return to Equestria, both because she saw herself as an embarrassment to the Shimmer family and (during their first encounter since running away) realize that her dad Dawn Shimmer and mom Sunrise Shimmer had been raising a brother (Solstice) five years after leaving. It’s gonna take time to repair suppressed heart-deep pain. Way too much crying.

    a. Both Sunset and Pinkie following their big fight.

    b. After Sunset calls Celly a monster one chapter later.

    c. After Pinkie and Sunset reunite.

    d. During a hug the night after reuniting.

    e. Dawn and Sunrise after meeting Sunset for the first time in 11 years.

    f. Later that chapter, when Sunrise admits she can’t look at the sunset because it reminded her of her daughter too much.

    g. After Sunset admitted to two close friends (OCs named May Z. Acres and her sister May Flour) that she still hates Celestia.

    h. A couple of chapters later, Celly and Sunset quietly tear as they embrace.

    i. At the end of the second-to-last chapter after discovering the rewritten spell worked.

    j. The very end when everyone surprises Sunset with a celebratory party in the CHS gym.

    And there’ll likely be even more than that.

    As you can see, at least ten scenes of characters crying. When characters’ first instinct is crying, it makes the emotion and characters very one-dimensional. Everyone responds to emotional events in their own way. Relief, despair, sadness, fright, and happiness can be relayed without shedding waterfalls of saline. And I’m sure no one wants the characters to fry readers’ comps as they read the fanfic. Although I can critique what makes jokes work or fail, I suck at writing jokes.

    Here’s an example of what I mean:
     
    Two major problems with this joke:

    a. It’s OOC of Twilight. To intentionally distract Pedestrian!Dash (who she doesn’t know at the time) while she attempts a free throw makes her mean and cruel.

    b. Applejack and RD are completely oblivious to what caused it, where her voice came from, and her presence. This makes them look like OOC idiots.

    When it comes to fanfic, my strength is slice of life while keeping everything mellow. Drama is my second-biggest strength. Humor isn’t. But it wouldn’t be FIM without some cartoony comedy, and the humor can make the drama more impactful. (See The Force Awakens.)

    In short, try to make the humor make more sense and in character of the characters. And since FIM and EQG run on some levels of cartoon logic, don’t be afraid to bend the rules when necessary. Cut down on the tangents. Conversation never operates in a straight line. Tangents can and will happen, and I want dialogue to feel real, hence my insistence of originating my dialogue in script format. With all the prose out of the way, I can focus on the meat of the story and then work the prose in later.

    But when many dialogue scenes have them, the tangents can become predictable and kill the mood. In the span of a few chapters, I came up with three scenes containing with tangents, one of them with two found here. The last one (supposed to foreshadow Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? in season five) doesn’t add to the story or the scene itself. It’d work just as well, if not better, without it.

    In short, be more careful not to go off-track too often. Pre-plan my worldbuilding. As I developed my second draft, I also had to begin focusing on creating the piece of lore in order to tie it together. Remember, this isn’t the only chapter in the D’EQ-verse. Rewrites for RR, the Holiday Special, FG, and LoE will also be a part of the story, and I may add in the three 20-minute specials. In order for everything to even make sense, my background must be pre-planned. That’s the problem. I didn’t pre-plan it very well, and the more I wrote down my lore, the more complicated it became. When you have to plan your lore, you risk creating plot holes that you must solve. With there being four TV movies, some comics, short stories, and three TV specials, having lore and a timeline be constructed on-the-fly may do more harm than good for my rewrite.

    One goal I want to be consistent: No Pedestrian can become bearers of Equestrian magic or trigger Equestrian magic of any kind without a plausible reason.

    So, ideas to fix this problem:
    Write my chapters as bulleted points. Get what I needed in my chapter to go from Point A to B.
    Write a timeline of events. Lore’s very important in my EQG1 fixfic, and it’ll be doubly so for my RR idea. Later on, Equestrian lore become less central to the story. The timeline of events will also give me a guide to come back to in case I forget about my worldbuilding concepts and logic.
    Spending months and hours on draft #2 was a blessing. It helped me put my ideas down and in public. It allowed me to look at what succeeded, what failed, and how to hopefully correct them.
    This’ll be a big job, but I feel I’m up to the task.
  8. Dark Qiviut
    Each episode contains the following five choices in the poll:
    I HATE IT! >__< I dislike it! …meh… It like it! I LOVE IT <3 Over the seasons, the choices (usually the first and last) were personalized to add a bit of flair, usually by an administrator.
    But because episodes have been released early in Canada, I chose to upload the threads so people can comment on the episode in a thread rather than just a status update. In addition, I decided to personalize them all with show references and jokes to make the mood lighthearted.
    However, creating amusing, cute, or funny poll options is a really hard task, and repeating a joke means you're running out of ideas. In short, I can't do them alone. I'm gonna need some of your help in creating them.
    They can be any episode, but right now, I'd prefer only the next four:
    Discordant Harmony The Perfect Pear Fame and Misfortune Triple Threat You can make as many amusing options as possible. The only thing I'd like to ask from you is to avoid character bashing.
    P.S.: This blog will likely be periodically updated and bumped when we get closer to future episodes.
  9. Dark Qiviut
    Honestly, this episode is a lot more impressive than it should've been. The synopsis and theme alone sound like an accident waiting to happen, but DHX actually pulls it off quite soundly.
    Twilight and Spike are at their A-game. Spike's the straight man who has to remind Twilight of her schedule, and Twilight not only tries to listen to Spike and her checklist, but also take care of Flurry Heart. Clearly, she loves her niece. A lot of the actions seen, including Twilight playfully blowing on FH's tummy, are common.
    One problem with Baby Cakes is how clichéd and dull the plot is and how generic the Cake twins were. Flurry Heart has plenty of personality. Even at her age, she's incredibly intelligent, yet she still can't deduce very complicated thinking, like finding an extra balloon rather than split it (thanks, @Jeric ;)). Sure, she had a tantrum, but it was quick and with reason. When Twilight isn't laying with her, she feels left out. And when her whammy's missing, she freaks out and searches for it in a major panic.
    Shining, Cadance, and Spearhead are awesome. SA and Cadance show very clearly how much of a royal pain it is to take care of a baby through their tired eyes, split hair, and slip ups. Spearhead has that classic surfer/casual dude accent and archetype, but to echo @Batbrony, he's incredibly likable and not stereotypical. He really enjoys art and how art, especially modern and abstract art, can bring out emotional responses to people. He understands how individual art is and relishes it.
    I'll echo J in a chat between he an I on Discord. Based on how the beginning was written and Spike reacted by how his friends's names sounded similar, it may be implied that the writers were probably trying to convince the viewer that Spearhead was going to be generic and flat. This can create an initial impression of who Spearhead is. But then, you get hit with, well…"a whammy." If that's true, clever.
    Spike is the victim of some slapstick, but unlike many episodes before it (including Newbie Dash), it was quick, he clearly showed no pain, both he and Twilight were equally victimized, and Spike does get his moment at the end.
    The two morals are great, too. "Spend quality time with those you love," and "don't ask to babysit on short notice."
    The two issues here are some pacing (particularly in the climax after Twilight yells at her) and the fact that Twilight brought her to other sick foals at the hospital. They're small, but noticeable.
    Other than that, great ep! Keep it going! ^^
  10. Dark Qiviut
    Well, things have changed. If you click on the link, notice how the bottom paragraph's crossed out now.
    The more I think about it, the bigger the issues surrounding the conflict come up.
    What helps create an engaging story is not just the conflict in itself, but also the depth of the conflict. When you have both sides being right and wrong, you help create interest for the viewer. Fluttershy is very assertive here, which she should be after the people she hired turned their backs on her. Yet, her and everyone else being in character doesn't make an episode or story good in quality. There are some huge additional problems with the conflict.
    It's extremely bare, if not nonexistent. Even though the pacing is really slow (which I'll get to), there's almost no tension here. Whatever tension is there is wiped away because the antagonists are one-dimensional, stereotypical, or both. When there's no tension, you tend to feel annoyed or cross at the antagonists if they do something bad just for the sake of it.

    If you're going to make an antagonist a really big dick, add another vessel to enhance that conflict. Two episodes do this right: Rarity Takes Manhattan and The Main Attraction.

    In RTM, Suri plagiarized Rarity because she believed that the only way to make it to Manehattan is to take no prisoners. Rarity was visibly shaken and took it out on her friends even though they did nothing wrong. Why? Because she feels psychologically and emotionally betrayed. Rarity's feeling of betrayal and lust to get back at Suri adds depth and tension to the conflict, catapulting when she realizes her friends weren't there and believes her actions cause a fallout. Moreover, there's a small B-plot with a lot of visual storytelling: Coco visibly regretted being involved in Suri's scheme in every scene she was in leading up to the ending.

    Svengallop is Equestria's biggest jerk, and Applejack has to prove that he's manipulating Rara. But even though he's self-absorbed, he helped her rise to stardom, and Rara gave out valid reasons to believe him and stick with him directly to AJ. It took AJ's stubborn instincts and help from her friends to catch him in the act.

    Both episodes spend their time developing their conflict from the beginning to the end. That doesn't happen in FLI. She hires ponies to help her develop the sanctuary, and when she isn't looking, they go behind her back, and leave after getting caught a few minutes later. Conflict goes in and out. The pacing is really sluggish. When does the conflict begin? About eight minutes in. Remember, each FIM episode is only 22 minutes long. Beginning the conflict more than one-third of the way through is really late. And it's not like they're stuffing in so much detail in the beginning, either. The story leading up to the conflict is extremely straightforward and took plenty of time preparing itself. When your pacing is that slow, then people are gonna get bored. When people get bored, they may stop, fast-forward, or change the channel. No good episode can dawdle to a sterile conflict. I'm not sure if that truly happened here, but the final product feels over-edited. It's so one-sided when it shouldn't be. Fluttershy is portrayed to be one-hundred percent in the right the entire time, when she should've borne some responsibility for this mess. Fluttershy met them together only once to explain what she wants. Then when she and Hard Hat talk together, they spend no time planning or preparing a blueprint. She gives them her ideas and vague guidelines, and that was that. For Dandy, the same thing with the colors she expects. She doesn't talk a lot about what type of patterns she wants, what type of material she wants, whether the material will be safe for the animals. For Wrangler, Fluttershy could've talked with her about not just the cages, but the size and height to keep them all safe and not worry about them running away prematurely. Fluttershy can work with Wrangler alongside Twilight and even Starlight (and perhaps Sunburst) into creating enclosures that can potentially repel Everfree creatures humanely. If she worked with Hard Hat, Dandy, and Wrangler and took their time conversing with each other, then they could've cooperated with each other better and understood Fluttershy's expectations and standards.

    This episode feels like it's trying to ride Suited for Success's coattails, this time in the client's point of view instead of the freelancer's. Unfortunately, the primary moral of sticking true to your creative vision even if others try to get in your way doesn't work here. What if Fluttershy has conceptual flaws in her sanctuary? Is everything safe for the animals, and can the sanctuary keep dangerous fantastical animals out? How can you plan it so you have the right measurements, acres, height, and area? Can they test it? Since these animals have some level of sapience in it, and Fluttershy can communicate with them easily, she can ask the animals for advice and be the middlemare to build the best sanctuary possible. There's no such thing as a perfect project. Everything can improve. Because of its shallow, sluggish conflict and Fluttershy's careless mistakes that any responsible client or contractor should pay attention to, the theme and moral they're trying to teach really ring hollow. After sitting back and thinking about the episode, the flaws become more and more exposed. It did many things right, yet has some major issues with the conflict, both in its plausibility and weight. If one of your most important parts of telling a story has major issues, then your whole story begins to collapse.
    Is Fluttershy Leans In bad? No. But is it good, either? No. It's the weakest episode conflict-wise since AJ's "Day" Off, and I would even say FLI's a little worse. At average, it's the worst episode of the season so far.
  11. Dark Qiviut
    Fluttershy was absolutely on point here. Since her disastrous performance in Rainbow Falls (then again, everyone there was disastrous ;)), her characterization has gradually improved with little flanderization and/or out of characterization. Even in bad episodes like Flutter Brutter, she was the highlight. While she was still sweet and caring, her entire goal for this project is to care for and respect the animals and will do everything in her power to make sure they were given the proper treatment.
    While those "experts" had their vision, it was clearly not the one she was looking for. No, she's a very bad blueprint planner, but she clearly has a pictorial idea of how she wants the sanctuary to be developed. Not only does she clearly understand how the animals behave. She understands they need the right habitat to thrive, rehabilitate, and survive. All three "experts" clearly betrayed her by not only doing what they wanted, but doing it right behind her back, even though she flat-out said "No!" Three words: "No means no!" While it was surprising to hear her shout and yell at them, she's well within her right to do so.
    There was some criticism of Fluttershy for hiring Hard Hat, Wrangler, and Dandy Grandeur and for the RM5 for recommending them to her. That criticism makes no sense. Like a building itself, animal sanctuaries require design and construction. According to her friends, they were experts in their fields and worked with them during their spare time, so Fluttershy trusts their instincts. The construction worker would plan and build the sanctuary. The interior designer would lay out the sanctuary and make the enclosures fit in each of their environments. The wrangler would help build the fencing so no animal can either escape or invade in other animals' spaces. In short (and credit to Maud Pie for this), the three occupations make a whole lotta sense. Unfortunately, each of their recommendations are reliant on word and mouth. While it's understandable in Fluttershy's point of view, having flashbacks of these three showing showing us how well they craft their work can lend in some extra credibility to their work. How? When people see how well they work, then we as an audience can believe them better and trust AJ's, Pinkie's and Rarity's advice. All of the characters were never even heard of until here, so this doubles the important. Moreover, when the audience can see how well they work, yet betray Fluttershy's vision, that betrayal can sting more to the audience.
    It's a little detail, but it's also important. One big flaw from last season is how Starlight wasn't treated as an actual part of the cast, but was thrown in whenever the episode needed her. Even if she didn't have to speak and could be included as some cameo like Dungeons, she was absent. Here, she was directly involved in building the sanctuary. Little details like these further establish her as an organic part of their world.
    As I think about this episode, some issues definitely crop up.
    The biggest one is how simplistic the plot is. If you read G. M. Berrow's books, simplicity in plot is what she tends to write. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well in a 22-minute plot, which makes the conflict drawn out overall and overlooked on some key things, particularly in one scene. Like any form of construction, building a sanctuary is really complex and requires a lot of planning. Despite clear understanding of how Fluttershy wants the sanctuary laid out, there's a big difference between drawing a landscape and designing/planning one. There's no blueprint in the literal construction of the place. She showed Hard Hat the drawing and notes, told him very clearly what she wants and doesn't want, and it was off from there. When you don't have a blueprint, nothing truly gets done, much less get started, and you risk major mishaps along the way. It's very important in any job to have clear and concise direction and communication. Clarity on both sides was semi-absent. The conflict would be given much better justice had there been some development of a blueprint for the sanctuary. Sadly, DHX skips over this really important level of detail, and it hurts the conflict. Credit goes to EQD's Seraphem and Sirius Face for pointing this out.
    The language of "sanctuary" could've been clearer, too. Traditionally, animal sanctuaries are built so they live there for the rest of their lives. From what Fluttershy suggests to the audience, no one in Equestria has done this type of project before, which is why it's treated as so ambitious. In real life, sanctuaries exist throughout. Now, before we get further, not all sanctuaries are equal. Some sanctuaries are treated as rehabilitation centers or temporary homes for animals, where the wild is treated and will either be released or relocated to a new home. Here, the show exclusively treats an animal sanctuary as a physical rehab place, and as the animals here show some level of sapience, it makes sense. Could've been better if there was…I don't know…another word or phrase.
    Fluttershy's goal is very sudden, too, but it's more of an issue with the show itself (in particular its on-the-fly canon) rather than the episode itself, so I hold nothing against it. That said, she does show some understanding of building the right environments for specific animals, as evident by Bats's ending, so there's some credit to continuity here. It could've been a better if it was hinted early in the episode to lead her goal in better.
    While there are some issues here, it doesn't change the things it does right. As far as character and progression is concerned, this is some of Fluttershy's best characterization. She had the right idea on what the animals need and is absolutely in the right to call out the people she hired for betraying her word. And despite not having a blueprint, she does know what she's doing, and she's assertive without crossing the line. It's a good episode, but could've done better if the plot was quicker.
  12. Dark Qiviut
    Starlight and Maud were the highlights here, without question.
    After really bad performances in Every Little Thing and To Where, this is Starlight's third consecutive good appearance, and her growth continues. Trixie's and Starlight's friendship's very energetic, but Starlight's and Maud's friendship is very casual. You can tell she's grown a lot since she first arrived in Ponyville one-plus season ago. More self-assuring than before.
    Maud was really good, too. One of her better performances of the show. Her anti-humor was dry when it needed to be, but sincere and serious when it needed to be, too. Maud isn't nor should be merely a vessel for dry humor. She should be more than that to round out her character and not make her one-note.
    Their bond was fantastic. Something about Maud Pie the episode that clicks poorly is how much the RM5 tried to get acquainted to Maud, but never do, and try to force a resolution out of it. There was never any genuine growth nor understanding between Maud and the others. When Maud is with a ReMane character, there's some sort of friction. There was a little bit of friction to start here, too, but what this episode does right in comparison to the S4 episode is how the between Maud and Starlight evolves over the course. They have something in common, and, no, it's not the kite. It's how Starlight and Maud not only listen to each other, but understand each other, too. They can imagine the other's point of view — see in each other's shoes. Maud's reasoning for being so close with rocks is very personal, which the show didn't do until today. I'm not sure why it's the case. For a show writer's point of view, could be because Maud's passion for rocks is mostly gag-centric. But for a canonical point of view, it implies that Maud will only do it to those who can relate to her, which Starlight shows.
    That said, this episode could've done more to help Maud get better acquainted. Remember, she only became friends with one Ponyville resident. Ponyville's a pretty big village with all sorts of personalities. There are a lot of characters that she can acquaint and have something in common if you can arrange the time. Unfortunately, RSF doesn't delve into that, and it leaves Maud's transition into Ponyville only half-full.
    Pinkie's obnoxiousness is understandable. In the beginning, she's super-excited because her sister officially became a doctor, which is very difficult to do. And it's understandable why she butted into Maud's business when trying to explore Ponyville and bonding with others in Ponyville. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact how nosy and obnoxious she is. Sure, she may not be completely observant, she's still very sensitive and should understand how Maud needs time to adjust to Ponyville. She should remember how butting into other people's business caused a great deal of problems: Look no further than A Friend in Deed. Rather than try to force a friendship, let it build. Yes, the lessons are different, but the secondary theme remains. Furthermore, her actions suggest that Pinkie doesn't completely trust Maud, even though they're supposedly very close. It's like the episode doesn't completely understand Pinkie. This semi-break of continuity hurts Pinkie's character and bogs down the episode.
    The moral itself — "There's no one true way into making friends — is fine. However, this episode feels like there could be an entirely different moral with maybe a more direct theme. Remember the theme of this episode: Maud is trying to decide which place to move to, the Ghastly Gorge or Ponyville. But there's also a side-theme of Pinkie trying to convince her to move to Ponyville over the Ghastly Gorge. Perhaps the theme of the episode could be only trying to convince Maud to move. But rather than Pinkie getting in the way, she just watches from afar and hopes everything moves swimmingly. Use Pinkie's growth over the seasons, her instinct, and trust of Maud to help forge friendships and influence her decision to relocate to Ponyville.
    Is it good? No. But is it bad? No. It's above-average.
  13. Dark Qiviut
    Note: This review is for season 6 as a whole. Prepare for some rearranging and unapologetically unquoted copy-and-pasting.
    ---
    So, with season seven arrived, and since I did two others (one for S5, the other for S6's first half), why not for the entire season?
    Episodes
    Bottom-6:
    Newbie Dash: Easily the worst episode of the season and one of the three worst of the series. Rainbow Dash’s far more rational than to willingly force Scootaloo to take part in a task she should know she can’t do. On the other hand, she had every reason to feel the way she did; she’s incredibly sensitive to what people say and think about her, and for her idols to induce a trauma-triggering insult makes her feel justifiably hurt. Unfortunately, the script makes fun of her and shoots her down every time she becomes hurt. Once more, the Wonderbolts are assholes; when they call her “Rainbow Crash,” they don’t hint friendly banter, but nagging, which in turn worsens the training for the event. Ever single “nickname” was incompetence-laden and not verbally pleasing. Lastly, the moral of tolerating and embracing hazing (which governments have cracked down because people sometimes died in them) “because it’s good fun” is one of the worst of the entire show.
    On top of this, this is a milestone episode: Rainbow Dash officially joins the Wonderbolts. Joining the Wonderbolts has been her lifelong dream, which she stated midway in FIM, Part 1. It’s a major change in the status quo! If this was a common slice-of-life episode, then the quality of the writing won’t sting. But this is like Equestria Games or Spongebob’s Truth or Square: Newbie Dash reminds the audience that she’s joining the Wonderbolts and how important her dream is. You can’t separate it from this torture porn. You can’t skip this episode, because it concludes an arc.

    Magical Mystery Cure is nowhere close to this level of quality, and I eventually grew to appreciate and respect it more thanks to this trash.
    PPOV:

    What — the — hell? What do I have to say about this piece of shit! The characterizations of Rarity, Pinkie, and AJ are abonimable; even though they're angry at each other, they each crossed the line when they blatantly lied to both Twilight and Spike about what happened while giving the other two really mean characterizations. It was played really seriously that they may no longer be friends. Well, if they shit-talked about each other behind their backs, I don't know. Twilight's conclusion for this entire conflict is also hamfisted and doesn't actually solve what happened.

    PPOV has some of the worst characterization in the show; no one is worse than Applejack. She completely betrays her biggest quality as a character by bastardizing Rarity as an uptight diva and, to make it worse, Pinkie Pie as an idiot who can't tell what's the sky or the ocean. She may not always be the most honest, but at the very least she respects them! She's so out of character here. So pathetic. A reinforcement of how low she was written. She's much worse here than in Somepony.

    For a long time, I said Rainbow Falls is the worst written episode of the show, and maybe it still is. For now, thanks to its awful characterization, sucky "humor," and the most half-assed resolution of the show, I argue PPOV's worse.
    28 Pranks Later:

    Only watched the first few minutes, and I'll never watch it ever again.

    Clearly, the people who worked on it had zero idea why Mare Do Well is objectively awful. It's like DHX looked at a couple of comments, added zombies to interest people, and that was it. Sure, they called her out at the castle, but it wasn't fully because of how cruel she was towards Fluttershy, but because her jokes were simple and "lacked effort." Dash's extreme jokes were partly their responsibility for encouraging her to do them and then just letting her perform them without any effort to stop her!

    Rainbow Dash takes part in the worst opening of the entire show. She pranks Fluttershy with dialogue suggesting she knows quite well that Fluttershy hates being pranked. This isn't like Mare Do Well, where she states, "I hate being alone" after the RM5 were cruel pieces of garbage. Not here; she's so out of character, I could fail this piece of shit even if the rest was good. But nope! Everyone in Ponyville decided that it was best to scare the bejeezus outta her by making her the victim of such an elaborate prank and make it so real that it'll scare Dash witless. What's more disgusting is, like Mare Do Well, the RM5 (and all of Ponyville here) are the GOOD GUYS! We're supposed to cheer when they scare her! This isn't something "true friends" will do! In my opinion, this zombie prank is crueler than MDW, because everyone went into such depth into it and carefully crafted it.

    And to make THAT worse, there's a really offensive "eye for an eye" moral (worse than MDW's), explained later in the review.

    This episode rips off MDW and is worse than MDW.

    I won't cut it any plainer. This garbage is intellectually offensive and potentially harmful to children. It deserves censorship.
    To Where and Back Again:

    MMC isn't good, but is nowhere near as bad as the haters make it out to be. To Where is worse.

    Starlight's reason for choosing Trixie over Twilight is out of character. She saw Trixie as a closer friend than Twilight even thought Twi and Star have much closer and better chemistry. If Starlight chose Trixie to move away from her level of comfort and feels more comfortable spreading to broader goals, why not. Her reasoning makes no sense.

    This whole two-parter is dependent on the rest of the season to show how far Starlight, Trixie, and Thorax have grown. Unfortunately, Starlight only took part when the show dictates it (including having her involved centrally in three — including the two-parter — following Tail), and Thorax and Trixie were each in one. TWaBA depends on their growth throughout the season and tries to convince the audience that they developed leading up to it, but they had little growth, no growth at all, or were poorly written leading up to it. Secondly, DHX tells the viewer that Starlight changed; she's NOT the character for DHX to stick to their "I-choose-to-follow-the-arc" habit. Unfortunately, she was written both poorly not written into the eps at all sometimes.

    Lastly, the other season finales showed how the main characters were kidnapped. Not only did DHX not show it here. There was ZERO explanation to how. Their kidnapping drives the entire story. What's the glue that holds the kidnapping and rescue missing together? HOW they're kidnapped. When the glue's missing, everything falls apart. This huge plothole greatly affects the story quality and is its biggest flaw.

    In short, show, don't tell.
    No Second Prances:

    This isn't unorganized, but it does have big problems, particularly in charcterization. Twilight and Trixie were on good terms after they split up in Magic Duel, but Twilight acted really out of character when she tried to sabotage Starlight's friendship with Trixie. Being very worried I can get behind, but there's no reason for her to get in their way and try to break them up. Then, you had poor characterization around, from Mrs. Cake freaking out at Starlight in Sugarcube Corner, Starlight forcing Big Mac to speak against his will (that "joke" sucked badly), and Celestia visibly acting like she doesn't want to be actually at Twilight's castle when she's much more polite than that. Confalone usually writes pretty good characterization, so poor characterization really sticks out.

    The climax implicated that Trixie was attempting to kill herself, while Twilight and Starlight watched. Guys, she’s attempting a trick she can’t do on her own, and she’s not in the right of mind. Do something the second she tries to enter the cannon!
    Flutter Brutter:
    There aren’t many episodes where it becomes very difficult for me to sit through at any point. Flutter Brutter eclipses Princess Spike as the most difficult. And the biggest reason is because Zephyr Breeze takes everything that I hate about a character and amplifies it. He’s a complete creep towards Dash, obnoxious, a combination of the diva and freeloader stereotypes, completely destroys his parents’ prized possessions with complete disregard for importance, and manipulates her friends just to get out of very simple tasks.

    Despite being a major hate sink, the episode flip-flops its tone to suggest that he deserves sympathy. If he was supposed to be so hateable like what some claim, then why did they write him to be sympathetic in the second half? If he was likable, not a stereotype combo, and actually tried his best to succeed, then his efforts when he does succeed will feel far more rewarding. On top of that, the morals (fearing failure and fearing his or her first step towards doing something) are fantastic, but attaching a freeloader stereotype to it to suggests that everyone who lives with their parents are as lazy as him when in fact it’s not even true. And the overall quality of this episode is such a shame because Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are excellently characterized.
    Dishonorable Mentions: Stranger Than Fan Fiction, The Cart Before the Ponies.
    Top-6:
    The Times They Are A Changeling:

    The one big problem this episode has is the exposition, often coming in some awkward places. But everything else is done so right.

    Spike's strong, flawed, boastful, vulnerable, and brave when needed to. The episode hammers in how he's "The Brave & Glorious" in response to his heroics in TCE and Equestria Games (sometimes to a fault), but that doesn't change how he not just actually lives up to the title, but challenges those when he's confronted. During a series where his character comes at the expense of story quality, this was the second in as many where he was in character and likable.

    Thorax is fantastic, and in a show where the males are traditionally stupid, evil, jackasses, or many/all of the above, it's a refreshing change. But that's not what makes him a character. Like Spike, he has the strength, kindness, vulnerability, and anger when he has reason to.

    "A Changeling Can Chang" = S6's best song.

    And more importantly, this is an episode where, like Bridle Gossip and Dragon Quest before it, racism or xenophobia is the central theme. However, unlike those two, Times succeeds in every way. Due to past experiences, Cadance, Twilight, and especially Shining Armor have very real reasons to be wary of and hate changelings. (Only God knows what Chrysalis did with SA while Cadance was locked underneath Canterlot. *shudder*) Their hatred for changelings is treated as wrong, but the episode also sympathizes with them. Unlike DQ and BG, everyone came out of it for the better.

    Spike's best characterization as a character in the entire show. Best Spike episode, bar none.
      A Hearth's Warming Tail:

    Of the episodes in this list, it has one of the thinnest (albeit serviceable) stories, and one told parodied time and time again: A Christmas Carol. But FIM isn't merely a storytelling medium. It's a visual and sound medium, too. AHWT takes serious advantage of it with its amazing songs, incredible animation, humor when needed, and excellent set design. Applejack, Pinkie, and Luna are excellent choices to represent the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, respectively. Each song tells a story in themselves and helped progress the episode smoothly, especially Luna’s Future.
      The Saddle Row Review:

    Compared to the more-heavy-handed works over the past three seasons, this was a huge change of pace and the status quo. TSRR forgoes the traditional FIM formula and parodies the traditional reality TV format by cutting the story into the ReMane Six and Plaid Stripes answering questions from Buried Lede, who in turn writes a review for Rarity’s Manehattan boutique branch, Rarity for You. The sharp dialogue, lighthearted tone, and excellent timing of their jokes makes this episode one of the funniest of the series. To read more about my analysis of the comedy and dialogue, click here.
      The Fault in Our Cutie Marks:

    On Your Marks was a good follow-up to Lost Mark, but it didn't quite set up what the CMCs could do in their journey of helping others get the Marks is. Fault did that and did it very well. Everyone was REALLY good. Twilight was good as a tertiary character. But the CMCs continue to show why they're some of the best and the most consistent characters in the show. They try to help Gabby, but worry about disappointing and hurting her, because she seriously wants to get a Cutie Mark even though griffons can't. But they were able to tell her the truth, which in turn made all four come out of it for the better.

    Gabby, BTW, excellent.

    This episode establishes the lore that griffons never get Cutie Marks. But DHX decides to double down on it by not giving Gabby one. Sometimes FIM will stretch or break its own continuity for the sake of the story, but they stuck to their rules and created an excellent solution (craft her a tangible one).

    And the main moral — "There's no such thing as not being capable of having a lifelong goal or dream" — and secondary — "Not visibly showing their passion doesn't mean they don't love it" — are excellent and clever responses to their own lore and Ed's story theme.
      Gauntlet of Fire: The three main flaws in this entire episode are Garble still being a stereotypical (albeit much more threatening) bully, Celestia and Luna being plugged in as mouthpieces for exposition, and thrusting in Twilight and Rarity to merely be the vessels to force the audience into a reaction. Aside from that, the rest of episode easily overcomes the three flaws in many ways, particularly four huge strengths.
    Dragon Quest destroyed dragon lore, but GoF fixed it by making the dragon race competent and not a sexist representation of society.
    Spike, Ember, and Torch are really well written here. Instead of writing Spike as that usual “Spike-is-a-buttmonkey/idiot/scapegoat” role, Lewis and Songco treat him like an intelligent, competent character and use his strengths to both win the tournament and bridge the relationship between ponies and dragons.
    Neither concept of masculinity nor femininity are written to be better or more important than the other. Princess Ember and Spike have qualities considered “masculine” and “feminine,” respectively, but both sides of the conflict are treated as equally valid, and characters can still keep these concepts while still developing and understanding the other side.
    Instead of treating Dragon Land as being completely inferior than Equestria, the ponies and dragons are written to being able to understand and learn from each other.
    Viva Las Pegasus:

    Outside of The Cutie Map, all of S5's Map episodes were poor. S6's Spice Up Your Life has both a really good (Pinkie) and insulting (Rarity being completely OOC, Zesty = straw man).

    Fortunately, the other two Map eps this season are very good. This one, though, is the best.

    Flim and Flam? Hilarious.

    Gladmane? Hilarious and smart.

    The stars, though, are AJ and Fluttershy. One big problem with previous Map episodes is (with the exception of Griffonstone) one or both of the characters were flanderized, OOC, or pointless until when the time was right. Not here. Both AJ (easily her best episode of the season) and Fluttershy were on point. Even though they had to solve a friendship problem, their characterizations weren't sacrificed for the sake of the story. Burke and Wyatt understood them and took advantage. Secondly, they solved their friendship problems by predominantly using their strengths over their weaknesses, a refreshing change of pace.

    Sometimes when the villain is defeated, it's because he gloats like an idiot. Here, Gladmane gloats, but with reason. Flim, Flam, AJ, and 'Shy tried to dupe him into revealing his con, but he outwitted them. Fortunately, Fluttershy has Plan B: activating the intercom. Very nicely done backup plan. XD Honorable Mentions: On Your Marks, The Crystalling.
    S6 episode ranking (in order):
    The Times They Are a Changeling: A A Hearth’s Warming Tail: A The Saddle Row Review: A The Fault in Our Cutie Marks: A- Gauntlet of Fire: A- Viva Las Pegasus: B+ On Your Marks: B+ The Crystalling: B Top Bolt: B Dungeons & Discords: B Where the Apple Lies: B- The Gift of Maud Pie: C+ Every Little Thing She Does: C+ Applejack’s “Day” Off: C Buckball Season: C- Spice Up Your Life: C- The Cart Before the Ponies: D+ Stranger Than Fan Fiction: D Flutter Brutter: F No Second Prances: F To Where and Back Again: F 28 Pranks Later: F P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View): F Newbie Dash: F ---
    Top-13 episodes (in order, updated):
    The Best Night Ever Crusaders of the Lost Mark Amending Fences Sisterhooves Social The Cutie Map Party of One Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 Pinkie Pride Suited for Success Lesson Zero Sleepless in Ponyville The Times They Are A Changeling Flight to the Finish Honorable Mentions: A Hearth’s Warming Tail, The Saddle Row Review, The Cutie Re-Mark
    ---
    Bottom-13 episodes (in order, updated):
    One Bad Apple Bridle Gossip Newbie Dash Dragon Quest P.P.O.V. The Crystal Empire Rainbow Falls 28 Pranks Later Princess Spike The Mysterious Mare Do Well Owl’s Well That Ends Well The Show Stoppers Putting Your Hoof Down Dishonorable Mentions: Boast Busters, Appleoosa’s Most Wanted, Trade Ya!
    Moral
    Bottom moral:
    28PL: If one person acted cruel to you, it's a-okay to be more cruel back.
    When judging it on its own merits, MDW's moral of not gloating of your successes is fine, but is botched by poor execution. You can't do that here. 28PL glorifies people's lust for revenge and encourages people this. This moral alone is bad enough. FIM is supposed to teach kids lessons of friendship! Celestia forbid some kid takes this to heart and does something they'll regret! Newbie Dash's moral of hazing was awful, but is mostly accidental. Here, they're explicitly okaying the idea of revenge!!
    Fuck this moral!!!
    Dishonorable Mention: Even if what he or she says insulted you or hurt your feelings, as long as it’s in “good fun,” everything is okay (Newbie Dash).
    ---
    Top moral:
    Flutter Brutter: Sometimes the hardest part of your idea is your first move. You don’t know where it’ll go or if you’ll like it in the end. The fear of the unknown is real and valid.
    In the beginning of a Joy of Painting episode (originally thought to be from the 17th series, it’s actually from the early minutes of Snowy Morn in the 19th), Bob Ross decided to let go of his realistic approach to landscape painting: Often, people don’t know what to do before laying that brush on the canvas. The purpose of the painting is for people to relax, enjoy painting, and not be afraid to use your imagination. Their give is fearful, which represses their ability to lie out their ideas. It’s normal to have this fear. It seems like Zephyr not only feared failure, but also the unknown.
    Honorable Mention: If you have a passion, pursue it. There's no such thing as not having a lifelong future (Fault in Our Cutie Marks).
    New characters:
    Characters that appeared on screen prior to S6 (even when in the background) don't count, so no Sunburst, and so on.
    Bottom-2 new characters:
    Zephyr Breeze: Outside of Sunset and Radiant Hope, the series's worst character, period. Quibble Pants: A stereotype of "like-the-old-hate-the-new" superfans. Later, his intelligence is removed just to hammer in some humor and (even after all the blatant proof that this is very real) STILL believed that Cabaleron and the temple he and Dash were trapped in were still part of the con experience. Halfway through, they write Quibble (who's pretty intelligent) out of character. Dishonorable Mentions: Zesty Gourmand (A stereotype of critics and a straw character), Mr. Stripes (Sleazy and cookie-cutter, albeit funny, landlord).
    ---
    Top-4 new characters:
    Thorax: I already summarized why he's such a good character earlier, so I'll do it again. What makes him such a fantastic character is he's likable, three-dimensional, and human. He has his strengths, flaws, strong personality, and so on. Give people a good character, and they'll root for him. Princess Ember: An embodiment of a character with qualities society calls “masculine,” but not a character written to be flat or a stereotype of “masculine” people or characters. Despite not featuring any of the physical qualities of a leader Torch expects, she’s a dragon with intangible, tangible, and mentally strong qualities. People male or female can relate to her conflict and desire not to let her species/culture down. Gabby: Absolutely adorable. But despite being able to be great at everything, she's not a Mary Sue. Why? Because despite being good at everything, that isn't what her goal is. She wants to get her Cutie Mark and help spread the Magic of Friendship to whoever she bumps into and wants to hear. To her, a CM is a mark of not just pride, but evolution, too. Sky Stinger: He is a much better Zephyr Breeze. Is he cocky? Absolutely. But why is he cocky? Because he successfully achieved amazing goals to qualify for the Wonderbolts Academy…while having had no idea that Vapor Trail (a better flyer than him) directly impacted his performance. But when he was forced to face the truth, his whole world crumbled. But when he thought his dreams were over, he still worked hard in the Academy to exceed expectations. Honorable Mention: Vapor Trail, Tender Taps, Angel Wings, Coriander Cumin.
    Mane Eight (Spike and Starlight count):
    Bottom M8 character:
    Applejack. ADO was an all-around-average episode, but when she revealed her tedious method into feeding the pigs, she looked really dumb and incompetent. For the rest of the season, she went downhill. Each of the adults suck royally in Cart, but AJ was the worst by her blatant flanderization (constant focus on tradition), acting like a complete idiot, and treating Apple Bloom like shit. And if that's worse, she was one of the ponies responsible for convincing AJ to "put more effort" into her pranks. And to make THAT worse, she blatantly lies to Twilight with sexist/classist and ableist interpretations of Rarity and Pinkie, respectfully. Some of her worst appearances in the entire show come from this season, PPOV being the worst of all-time.
    Dishonorable Mention: Rainbow Dash.
    ---
    Top M8 character:
    Spike. Give me less episodes with higher-quality roles than a character who surfaces so much with more average or poor roles. Spike’s lone bad role this season was his usual buttmonkey status in Newbie Dash. Other than that, he had his best season. The Crystalling, Gauntlet, Tail, Times, and Dungeons & Discord are all episodes with respectable roles at worst and excellent roles at best. Gauntlet and Times are by far his best roles and best episodes of the entire show.
    Honorable Mention: Fluttershy (the only other solid character that season).
    ---
    Full M8 rank (in order):
    Spike Fluttershy Pinkie Pie Starlight Glimmer Twilight Sparkle Rarity Rainbow Dash Applejack Moment:
    Bottom-3 moments:
    The Wonderbolts reveal to insulting her out of “good fun.” Seriously? Seriously?! The Wonderbolts pull this shtick on her, rub it in her face to remind her not to screw up, and they had no idea that the more she heard it, the worse Dash became. And at the end, they reveal that they do it to everyone. Protip: Just because everyone does it and others have worse insults than “Rainbow Crash” doesn’t dismiss the Wonderbolts of their insolence! Even if you’re a part of a fraternity, you’re entitled to not tolerate abusive subcultures. Yes, the WB are a military, but guess what? I don’t give a damn. The fact that the WB revealed this and the moral implicating a tolerance for hazing is dangerous to kids! Zephyr destroys her parents' prized possessions. If there's one moment to officially call Zephyr become the show's worst character, this is it. He destroyed his mom's flowers and father's cloud collection without any shame. All he cared was lying his lazy ass on the couch without even doing as much as readjust a picture frame. Simply destroying an heirloom accidentally can trigger lifelong guilt. To repeat it, Zephyr destroyed them intentionally. Rainbow Dash pranks Fluttershy. To repeat from earlier, RD targeting her completely contradicts continuity dating back to Griffon the Brush Off (Pinkie reminding her not to prank her, which Dash listened). 28PL not only didn't give a shit about continuity; it doubled-down with dialogue by Dash suggesting that she KNEW her friend hated being pranked and went after her, anyway. Dishonorable Mentions: Starlight and Twilight watch a suicidal Trixie enter the cannon moments after breaking their friendship up, Quibble Pants states that the tiled organization is something only "a true fan can appreciate," Applejack lies to Twilight and Spike about the ship accident, Fluttershy's rant (while giving the audience grotesque facial expression) in Buckball Season.
    ---
    Top-3 moments:
    Spike standing up for Thorax. The little dragon had such an amazing season with such great moments, but this one tops them all. Think about how important this is to him as a character. Equestria and the Crystal Empire royal family hates the changeling kind for understandable reasons, but Spike not only befriends one, but also stood up for him in front of Cadance, SA, Starlight, Twilight, everyone. He willingly sacrificed his reputation to stand up for him and do the right thing. "NO SPOILERS!" TSSR is a comedic genius. Rarity's hilarious line foreshadows the rest of the episode's hijinks. The CMCs tell Gabby she can't get a Cutie Mark. On the surface, this moment is completely crushing to Gabby. She seriously believed she was going to get one, only to find out the hard truth. This moment is heartbreaking, but it's heartbreaking for the right reasons, and the heartbreak helps lead to the excellent moral later. Honorable Mentions: Vapor Trail tells Sky Stinger the truth, Spike interrupts his tale to continue searching for Sunburst, Fluttershy outs Gladmane, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie join "Guys' Night" to conclude Dungeons.
    What I want for Season 7:
    Stop shitting on AJ, Rarity, and Dash! Nuff said, McGreevy!
      Better development for Starlight, and don't do it a couple of times within about eighteen episodes. Remember, she's a good guy now and part of the mane cast. Skipping several episodes and hoping the audience will buy into thirty seconds of vocal babble only treats the audience (including kids) like kids. Don't.
      Steer clear from the stereotypes, and better research your material. To C&P from my S5 review: And as for researching, please understand your implications! I dictate it far too often why unfortunate implications hinder this show to the point of it being part of my reputation here.
    As always, less dogshit episodes and more awesome ones instead. More quality consistency, please!
    More attention paid to the pacing. Crafting good exposition is a work of art. DHX, you ain't that good at it. We as people are more programed to pictorial visuals, so they have more inherent impact than words. To show us respects kids and the medium of animation as a whole, and it helps impact the pacing, too.
    More good new characters. Like every season, there are poor new characters. However, season six didn't have that many. Whatever characters were introduced, they were perfectly fine for the most part. Sunburst, Tender Taps, Ember, Gladmane, Vapor, Plaid. Even Flurry Heart's decent. More good new characters, the better this show will be.
    More episodes of the characters at their best. One huge change of pace in Season 5 was its lack of reliance of the characters overcoming a flaw within themselves. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, the CMCs, AJ, and Twilight all used their best qualities as dominant vessels in the conflict to solve a problem. When the episode isn't good, they're the highlights. Gauntlet and Viva did that, too. Each of the Mane Eight have strengths; put them into good use more.
    Verdict:
    While S5 is the crème de la crème (including three of the five best episodes), S6 is among the bottom. Personally, I have S6 a little below S3 as the worst. There are three really great episodes, but none of them are among the ten best. Meanwhile, when S6's episodes got bad, they were REALLY bad. Many mistakes from last season weren't just repeated. New ones were added, including ripping off older episodes with a lack of understanding of why they worked. Newbie Dash: the worst status quo masher of the series. Lots of characters feel less developed and become more flanderized and/or OOC, Rarity, Dash, and AJ the worst offenders. Such a shame, too, because it went off to its best start since Season 2. Overall, a disappointing season. Hopefully, season seven fixes things.
  15. Dark Qiviut
    Note: This contains spoilers for season 7's preview, found here. Read at your own risk.
     

     
    Many users here know that Starlight's one of my favorite characters. To this day, I stand by her reasons for which she eventually became the way she was in Re-Mark, the need to have her become a student rather than be sent to jail, and The Crystalling for being a good start to her arc. However, after The Crystalling, Starlight just didn't have a very good season six. Lots of people were turned off by her and rightfully so.
     
    There are three really big problems surrounding Starlight.
    After The Crystalling, DHX returned to its old habits of writing their season arc when it needed to. Ever since season one, DHX has had one successful season-long arc: Starlight's vie for revenge. Twilight's ascension was marred by a terrible premiere. Season four's key arc has two really bad episodes (Breezies, RF) and a finale marred by the Idiot Ball. You get the drill. But the show was able to get away with it at some capacity, because you didn't need to have half the season be confined to an arc.
     

    But season six was the WORST time to return to it. She wasn't merely a secondary character anymore. She became a Mane member. You're adding someone completely new to the wheel. Thus, it's DHX's job to present her as likable, approachable, and (because one of the show's primary demographics is children) a role model to the audience. After Tail, Starlight dropped off the map aside from six episodes, two of them cameos, two the finale. If you don't use her more, then how will you make people care? The last two episodes she starred in painted her in a really bad light. Every Little Thing She Does is clearly inspired by Lesson Zero, but like 28 Pranks Later, it doesn't understand why people loved it it. Most importantly, one piece of detail: how to make her sympathetic.
     

    LZ: Before Twilight cast "Want It, Need It" on the CMCs and everyone else in Ponyville, she spiraled out of her control and clearly wasn't in the right mind. She was at her lowest point in the episode (as well as the whole show) up to this point.
     
    ELTSD: Starlight was clearly in control of herself and decided to hypnotize her friends — who have no chemistry with SG whatsoever, yet we're supposed to assume they get along — at the first possible outcome. All with a smirk on her face. She performed a tactic usually by antagonists, but we're supposed to see her as the good guy. She didn't get to her lowest point until the end of Act 2. You're NOT going to get people to like her if she appears in episodes far apart AND have her perform villainous tactics in her return. Why? Because to the audience's minds, she comes across as slow to learn and too dangerous to be around with. If she's capable of casting nasty spells in the right mind, what would happen when she's not?
     
    And in To Where and Back Again, the audience is supposed to be convinced that she's changed. Unfortunately, the writers tried to convince us she changed through exposition. That won't do. TWaBA relies on the audience to follow season six from beginning to end and wants us to trust it that she redeemed herself. One: Show us that she changed from the very beginning of the episode and move forward. Two: Show us in many previous episodes where she not only evolved, but also where she used her personality strengths to her advantage. A two-part premiere and three self-contained episodes (with only one within a sixteen-episode stretch) won't cut it.
     
    Secondly, Starlight's motive to choosing Trixie was out of character. Remember, she chose Trixie because she believed Trixie was a better friend than Twilight. Why's that a problem? SG shares better chemistry with Twilight than Trixie, and despite Twilight being a really awful teacher, the season showed an evolution in their friendship over time. If instead SG chose Trixie because she felt she could get out of her comfort zone, then it would make sense. Why? Because it would show to the audience that Starlight has changed by believing she has the courage of her conviction to expand her horizons. @@Prince Sidon has this in his back pocket:
     


     
    Because John Cena is turning 40 next month and may retire in the near-future, Vince McMahon has been pushing for a new, younger talent. Roman Reigns is who he believes will be that new face. Unfortunately, since The Shield disbanded, he's been marred by a wooden in-ring personality and horrendous booking (including being caught in an overrun heel!authority angle), leading the audience to boo him more than cheer. Since he a damn good wrestler, that's a damn shame.
     
    There's a Roman Reigns-like parallel to Starlight. DHX and Hasbro are pushing Starlight on the audience in hoping people will like her. But when you write her as a protagonist really poorly, you won't get people to like her. In contrast, you'll only make people grimace when her name appears. And during a time where she's still really green, that paints an awful first impression on her.
     
    And earlier today, a teaser of season seven was released with Twilight "graduating" Starlight. Twilight spent three seasons and then some before she "graduated" into princesshood, but SG may be "graduating" in as little as one season. Clearly, she has a long way to go before she truly understands the value of friendship, so it doesn't make a lick of sense to rush in such a momentous party. Whether season seven's premiere will really be like this or not I don't know, but I feel very hesitant at this point.

    Obviously, most of us bronies want Starlight to be a really good character. And she can be. The Crystalling was really good at presenting Starlight as sympathetic. But if DHX keeps making very big mistakes with Starlight, then bronies will collectively sneer and cringe at her name or presence, and, in turn, many will skip it.
     

    DHX's decision to write Newbie Dash a Rainbow Dash torture porn with an intellectually offensive hazing moral is FIM's biggest stain. If DHX doesn't rebound with Starlight, it'll have another.
  16. Dark Qiviut
    A few months ago, I said I was packing to leave because of the culture of abuse plaguing behind the scenes. I had been preparing to leave, but as the abusive guard left their posts or departed from the site, my plans halted. For the past two weeks, I have been visiting this forum more and more. Today, I'm giving this place one more chance. This place has been an online home for me for far too long, and I'm not gonna jump ship yet.
     
    Now, I'm going to repeat what I wrote in that blog here. Poniverse (specifically, much of the old guard), your actions were absolutely reprehensible. They breach fandom and affect real life. To call it an "internal matter" suggests you have something to hide. You were a lawsuit waiting to happen. The lack of transparency makes it impossible for me to trust the administration as a whole. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" applies here. Poniverse, even though the old guard's gone, hold yourself accountable, or another exodus will likely happen again. This time, I won't stick around.
  17. Dark Qiviut
    There's several degrees of mediocre and -20 degrees of awful. Since Wonderbolts Academy, Dash episodes have become Spike episodes. The only difference is Gauntlet of Fire is objectively good. Daring Don't, Rainbow Falls, and Tanks for the Memories are pitiful.
     
    Newbie Dash easily competes with No Second Prances as season six's worst episode and may be the worst one after this season's done with.
     
    What went wrong?
    Rainbow Dash's sense of maturity is completely nonexistent. One of her best traits is the ability to put her pride aside in favor of doing the right thing. WA is her best performance, because it put out the best in her from the middle onward. You knew it was about to come. Instead, she's become a very flanderized shell of herself with a monumental ego that has to be pegged time and time again. She marginalized her very own integrity by shooting it off early, embarrassing herself in front of the Wonderbolts, and being incompetent. Simultaneously, who can blame her? The Wonderbolts used a nickname that scarred her, and — what else is new? *eyeroll* — the Wonderbolts themselves were complete assholes! This is the third time that a group that she idolized acted like jerks in which she would want nothing to be a part of, yet she blows it aside. Consider Dash's history of when her confidence shatters. She wants to impress, but the more she gets hit with that insult, the worse her confidence gets, and the more she tries too hard. The dialogue is a mess. So much of it is contrived exposition. Again, when you exposit, you ruin the impact of the message and the overall. Show, don't tell, especially in child-friendly media. Take a good luck at how much the terrible dialogue ruined Rainbow Falls, Trade Ya!, EQG1, and McColts. The humor is a mess.
     

    The Spikabuse wasn't funny then and sure as hell isn't funny now. DHX, do the fandom a favor and knock this shit off!
     
    Pinkie Pie is flanderized again. *thumbs down* She's more than this.
     
    We're supposed to laugh at Rainbow Dash impersonating her friends, but it really failed. I don't know if the humor was in response to Dash's Twilight impersonation from Griffonstone or not, but whatever the case is, there is a huge difference between 'em. In Griffonstone, the joke worked because Dash was agitated when he impersonated her. In Newbie Dash, she impersonated them because she genuinely wanted to impress them. Consequently, Dash's impersonations in the latter comes across as cringeworthy and stupid, not funny. Jesus Christ, the moral. What the hell?!
     

    First off, let's talk about hazing, specifically rookie hazing. It's a very common tradition in many fields to "haze" newcomers. Hazing, for that matter, has had so many controversies. Some teams will haze rookies because to them, it's good ol' fun. But not everyone receives hazing very well because what comes across as good ribbing to the veterans can come off as bullying to the rookies. And when you look at the news articles of investigations related to hazing, the resentment is very valid. For several years, hazing has been on the news for really, REALLY bad reasons. People have been bullied, hurt, and killed by people who use these hazing rituals. A lot of the time, hazing deals with abusing someone under the context of "good fun" or "tradition." The abuse ranges from being taped up to a wall or pole to paddling to being raped. There's a movement to ban school hazing and some governments criminalizing hazing. Why? Because to haze is to bully, and it's not okay.
     
    What made this moral reprehensible is how Newbie Dash tolerates and embraces hazing.
     
    Why?
     
    "Because it's good fun."
     
    BULLSHIT!
     
    Rainbow Dash has every right to feel insulted and not take "Rainbow Crash" lightly. It doesn't matter if Spitfire or anyone else took their insult in stride. Not everyone does, and they have every right to say no. By being complacent, the episode tells the viewer their feelings towards insults don't matter. Words can hurt, and words can kill. Rather than ignoring it, be aware of it. Just because it's a common thing in the Wonderbolts's culture doesn't mean it's okay. Despicable moral!

    In short, this episode is garbage!
     


     
    Source: S06:E07 - Newbie Dash
  18. Dark Qiviut
    Opinions are like fingerprints. Everyone has at least one, and they tend to be unique. They can be popular, unpopular, or controversial. That I don't care about.
     
    But if there is one thing that royally gets my goat is this perception that he or she is entitled to his opinion, especially when this said person is saying something poorly informed or ignorant (i.e., homophobia) as a means of being free from persecution. To echo the quote from my signature:
     
    Just because you express an opinion does NOT give you the freedom of criticism. It does NOT give you the freedom of being persecuted. It does NOT give you the freedom of people calling your logic a bunch of garbage.
     
    I'm a debater by heart, and have been since I first published this essay more than three and a half years now. When I see someone giving an opinion, I follow this guideline (copied-and-pasted from my rebuttal to a homophobic brony's white knight):
    Does the opinion have logical, common sense reasons behind it?
    Can you back up your opinion with evidence from reliable sources?
    Is the opinion very clearly organized?
    Does the opinion NOT contain blind prejudice, and does the opinion not use some kind of element like an excuse to mask common sense?
    Is the opinion, after gathering all of the evidence, based on a logical, clear conclusion?

    If you follow this guideline completely, then chances are you have a GOOD — or should I say well-informed — opinion. And this is what I respect: an opinion backed up by a logical argument. If you don't, then chances are you have a BAD opinion.
     
    Then there is this fallacy of how people blindly believe their opinions shouldn't be challenged. If you're going to express your opinion, regardless of whether it's popular or not, expect people like myself to see it backed up. If you don't (or if you back it up poorly), then regardless of whether they agree or disagree with you, you're open to getting your opinion challenged and criticized. Respect of an opinion is a privilege only. Display ignorance or stupidity in your opinion, and my respect of your opinion is quickly LOST. In the U.S., your opinion doesn't force the government from throwing you in jail, but it doesn't guarantee you freedom from public persecution.
     
    To put it bluntly, not all opinions are equal.
     
    And that's the code I follow. Respecting people's opinions blindly insults my intelligence. Give me an opinion followed by a good argument, and I'll respect your opinion. But give me poor logic to back up your opinion, then I won't respect your opinion.
     
    Of course, depending on the subject and whether it follows the topic/forum rules or not, I may or may not challenge or critique it openly.
  19. Dark Qiviut
    Nobody took the Trump campaign seriously, and the Clinton campaign made several key mistakes.
    Calling Trump supporters "deplorables." This is her "47%" moment. Here's a tip. If you're going to try to get people to vote, NEVER insult the other side! Romney's comment about the 47% helped decide the election, and her comment ignited a sleeping giant. Taking the Rust Belt states for granted. The Clinton campaign assumed they had Michigan and Wisconsin in the bag. They didn't. And when they realized it, it was too late. Trump's campaign persisted in getting his message out to the Rust Belt and made late stops in these battleground states. When you work overtime there, you imply to them you care. She took the young voters for granted. What was the theme of this whole cycle? Washington needs to change the status quo. Like it or not, Clinton resembled more of the same, and it's not hard to see why. Bernie Sanders ignited the young vote because he wasn't afraid to admit that this country should do better, and he was the best candidate out of everyone out there. Young voters have every reason to be apathetic against Washington. Taking Independents, the largest voting block, for granted. If you're going to try to get people to vote, you must get Independents to vote for you. Trump convinced Independents to vote for him. Even with his blatant nationalism, his message resonated with them. Clinton didn't do that. Her skeletons were exposed. What she didn't wasn't criminal or illegal, but the fact that her email security was that damn poor tells people she's detached from modern technology and has trouble with security. In turn, this implies she can't keep America safe. "It's the economy, stupid." Trade hit blue-collar voters hard, and many believe trade cost them jobs and growth in the places they live in. Trump claims to be anti-TPP (though Pence is pro-NAFTA), but Clinton was for the TPP until later in her campaign.

    If anyone here is going to scapegoat third-parties and young voters/millennials for being apathetic about the election, don't! You'll repeat the same mistakes as Bob Dole, Kerry, McCain, and Romney. Focus why Trump succeeded in areas where she failed. Again, is he better than Clinton? Not even close. But does it mean he can't sell himself as better than her? No. Trump was able to rally people into voting for him and excite them. His campaign team sold the idea that Trump can improve America better than Clinton. The purpose of a campaign is to sell a message. Trump sold his message better.
     
    Clinton's campaign repeated the same mistakes as Romney during his campaign. Like he, they cost her the election.
  20. Dark Qiviut
    Have you read the posts by my friends PonyLaces and The Coffee Pony below?
     
    Because this is the same for me. Poniverse's massive corruption and treatment of its people over the months disgusts me. There's no way I can support a place that treats people like property and feel comfortable coming. We are people, and we deserve to be treated with respect. Abuse deserves no tolerance. Once I back up whatever important stuff there is, I will depart, and I will not return.
     
    The MLP Forums have been a home of mine for about 4.5 years now. I had fun, laughed, fought, made rivals, and made friends. Everyone here knows my opinionated style in commentating and matter-of-fact approach to reviewing/analyzing. Will I apologize for it? No. I don't regret it. But I know there's a bunch of really good people, and I know that despite debating and arguing with them occasionally, a good 99.9% of them are good people who try their best.
     
    I also have my morals. My moral code matters. My friends matter. My friends are people I love, and I'll be damned to see them hurt. If a forum clashes with my morals, then I have little to no desire to compromise my morals. The MLPF and Poniverse clash with them, and I see no hope in sticking up for a sinking ship.
     
    My contacts/usernames are the following:
    Twitter: @darkqiviut
    Skype: darkqiviut
    Discord: darkqiviut#1635
    Tumblr: darkqiviut
    EQD Forums: Dark Qiviut
     
    It's been a fun ride, but it's time to pack. See ya!
  21. Dark Qiviut
    Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of my most nostalgic films, and part of the reason has to do with Gene Wilder, who passed away earlier today from complications of Alzheimer's Disease. Wilder's Willy Wonka is so charismatic: wishing for love in the world through his losing sense of optimism.
     
    One of the most gripping scenes of the film is the famous office scene.
     

     
     
     
  22. Dark Qiviut
    Trolls and idiots on Twitter believe being suspended and banned from there violates their freedom of speech.
     
    Protip: It doesn't. It isn't a government agency; they have specific rules to follow, and the website has a huge infestation of unchecked hate speech, bullying, and other forms of communication that make others feel unsafe. Twitter can't prosecute you, but they can take your tweeting privileges away as punishment. Twitter must come down harder on bullying and hate speech. Unless Twitter takes control of this bullying culture there, it'll be like Tumblr and slowly die.
  24. Dark Qiviut
    A few months ago, I posted my tops and bottoms of season five. Please read if you have the time.
     

     
    Season 6’s first half has concluded. As a result, time to list the tops and bottoms up to this point, each of which may change once the season finale (likely) airs in the fall. Because we’re only twelve episodes in, the lists/categories are much shorter, and the full list is subject to change.
     

     
    Episodes
     
    Bottom-3 episodes:
     
    3: No Second Prances
     
    If not counting Manehattan Mysteries, NSP has easily Trixie’s best characterization in the series. Starlight Glimmer’s path to comprehending the Magic of Friendship progresses, initially for the worse and later for the better. But there are three problems here, two of them related to characterization. Twilight and Celestia are really out of character here. Celestia has manners, so to visibly act like she wants nothing to do with Twilight’s party or anyone else there is incredibly rude of her. Twilight’s reserved judgment and lack of will to trust Trixie is fine, but given how she and Trixie parted on good terms, there’s no reason for her to sabotage their friendship together. The climax implicated that Trixie was attempting to kill herself, while Twilight and Starlight watched. Guys, she’s attempting a trick she can’t do on her own, and she’s not in the right of mind. Do something the second she tries to enter the cannon!
     
    2: Flutter Brutter
     
    There aren’t many episodes where it becomes very difficult for me to sit through at any point. Flutter Brutter eclipses Princess Spike as the most difficult. And the biggest reason is because Zephyr Breeze takes everything that I hate about a character and amplifies it. He’s a complete creep towards Dash, obnoxious, a combination of the diva and freeloader stereotypes, completely destroys his parents’ prized possessions with complete disregard for importance, and manipulates her friends just to get out of very simple tasks.
     
    Despite being a major hate sink, the episode flips its tone upside-down to suggest that he deserves sympathy. If he was likable, not a stereotype, and actually tried his best to succeed, then his efforts when he does succeed will feel far more rewarding. On top of that, the morals (fearing failure and fearing his or her first step towards doing something) are fantastic, but attaching a freeloader stereotype to it to suggests that everyone who lives with their parents are as lazy as him when in fact it’s not even true. And the overall quality of this episode is such a shame because Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are excellently characterized.
     
    1: Newbie Dash
     
    Easily the worst episode of the season, and the rest of the season will have to do a lot to get this bad. Rainbow Dash’s sensitivity to the trauma-triggering insult makes a whole lot of sense, but she’s far more rational than to willingly force Scootaloo into taking part of a task in which she should know she can’t do. Once more, the Wonderbolts are assholes; when they call her “Rainbow Crash,” they don’t hint friendly banter, but nagging, which in turn worsens the training for the event. Ever single “nickname” was incompetence-laden and not verbally pleasing. Lastly, the moral of tolerating and embracing hazing “because it’s good fun” is one of the worst of the entire show.
     
    On top of this, this is a milestone episode: Rainbow Dash officially joins the Wonderbolts. Joining the Wonderbolts has been her lifelong dream, which she stated midway in FIM, Part 1. It’s a major change in the status quo! If this was a common slice-of-life episode, then the quality of the writing won’t sting. But this is like Equestria Games or Spongebob’s Truth or Square: Newbie Dash reminds the audience that she’s joining the Wonderbolts and how important her dream is. You can’t separate it from the episode.
     
    Dishonorable mention: Spice Up Your Life.
     
    ---
     
    Top-3 episodes:
     
    3: Gauntlet of Fire
     
    The three main flaws in this entire episode are Garble still being a stereotypical bully, Celestia and Luna being plugged in as mouthpieces for exposition, and thrusting in Twilight and Rarity to merely be the vessels to force the audience into a reaction. Aside from that, the rest of episode easily overcomes the three flaws in many ways, particularly four huge strengths.
     
    Dragon Quest helped destroy dragon lore, but GoF changed that by making the dragon race competent and not a sexist representation of society.
     
    Spike, Ember, and Torch are really well-written here. Factually, this is Spike’s best role in a Spike-centric episode: Instead of writing him as that usual “Spike-is-a-buttmonkey/idiot/scapegoat” role, Lewis and Songco treat him like an intelligent, competent character and use his strengths to both win the tournament and bridge the relationship between ponies and dragons.
     
    Neither concept of masculinity nor femininity are written to be better or more important than the other. Princess Ember and Spike have qualities considered “masculine” and “feminine,” respectively, but both sides of the conflict are treated as equally valid, and characters can still keep these concepts while still developing and understanding the other side.
     
    Instead of treating Dragon Land as being completely inferior than Equestria, the ponies and dragons are written to being able to understand and learn from each other.
     
    2: The Saddle Row Review
     
    Compared to the more-heavy-handed works over the past three seasons, this was a huge change of pace and the status quo. TSRR forgoes the traditional FIM formula and parodies the traditional reality TV format by cutting the story into the ReMane Six and Plaid Stripes answering questions from Buried Lede, who in turn writes a review for Rarity’s Manehattan boutique branch, Rarity for You. The sharp dialogue, lighthearted tone, and excellent timing of their jokes makes this episode one of the funniest of the series. To read more about my analysis of the comedy and dialogue, click here.
     
    1: A Hearth’s Warming Tail
     
    There are two minor weaknesses here: the story is very bare, and the pacing early was rushed. Yet, compared to the rest, it’s so small. FIM is more than a storytelling medium. It’s an animation and sound medium, too. And the animation, music, and set design compensate the story. Applejack, Pinkie, and Luna are excellent choices to represent the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, respectively. Graphics/set design is well crafted and gorgeous! Apparently, so much time was spent on perfecting the complex animation and special effects, and the time was definitely well spent. And oh, my God, the songs are amazing! Each of them told a story in themselves and helped progress the episode smoothly, especially Luna’s Future.
     
    Honorable mention: On Your Marks.
     

     
    S6 episode ranking (in order):
    A Hearth’s Warming Tail: A The Saddle Row Review: A Gauntlet of Fire: A- On Your Marks: B+ The Crystalling: B Applejack’s “Day” Off: C The Gift of Maud Pie: C- Spice Up Your Life: C- No Second Prances: F Flutter Brutter: F Newbie Dash: F

    ---
     

    Top-13 episodes (in order, updated):
    The Best Night Ever Crusaders of the Lost Mark Amending Fences Sisterhooves Social The Cutie Map Party of One Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 Pinkie Pride Suited for Success Lesson Zero Sleepless in Ponyville A Hearth’s Warming Tail The Cutie Re-Mark

    Honorable mentions: Flight to the Finish, The Saddle Row Review, The Return of Harmony, The Cutie Mark Chronicles
     

    ---
     
    Bottom-13 episodes (in order, updated):
    One Bad Apple Bridle Gossip Newbie Dash Dragon Quest The Crystal Empire Rainbow Falls Princess Spike The Mysterious Mare Do Well Owl’s Well That Ends Well The Show Stoppers Flutter Brutter Putting Your Hoof Down Appleoosa’s Most Wanted

    Dishonorable mentions: Trade Ya!, Daring Don’t, Boast Busters
     


     
    Moral
     
    Bottom moral:
     
    Newbie Dash: Even if what he or she says insulted you or hurt your feelings, as long as it’s in “good fun,” everything is okay.
     
    Everything about this episode was tied down to the Wonderbolts hazing Dash “in good fun,” Dash feeling emotionally hurt by it, and later accepting it on hurtful excuses. You’re entitled to not participate in an activity or culture if you feel uncomfortable about it. It’s okay to tell your peers, “Your culture is destructive, and it makes me uncomfortable. Please keep me out of it.” No one is entitled to be bullied! Even worse, this episode centers on hazing, which some municipal governments outlawed because people were injured or killed. Many attempted suicide because the psychological scars from hazing haunted them. These “rituals” ranged from being beaten up to raped. This moral invalidates her feelings and says that hazing of any kind is okay. It’s not okay and not worthy of any false praise!
     
    Dishonorable mention: N/A
     
    ---
     
    Top moral:
     
    Flutter Brutter: Sometimes the hardest part of your idea is your first move. You don’t know where it’ll go or if you’ll like it in the end. The fear of the unknown is real and valid.
     
    In the beginning of a Joy of Painting episode (the 17th series, IIRC), Bob Ross decided to let go of his realistic approach to landscape painting because often people don’t know what to do before laying that brush on the canvas. Their give is fearful, which represses their ability to lie out their ideas. It’s normal to have this fear. It seems like Zephyr not only feared failure, but also feared the unknown. Unfortunately, Zephyr’s so horrendously executed that the moral itself loses its weight.
     
    Honorable mention: Working hard and trying your best doesn’t mean refusing to spend quality time with others (A Hearth’s Warming Tail).
     

     
    New Characters
     
    Characters that appeared on screen prior to S6 (even when in the background) don't count, so no Sunburst.
     
    Bottom new character:
     
    Zephyr Breeze. Worst. FIM character.*
     
     
     
     
    Dishonorable mention: Zesty Gourmand (stereotype of critics).
     
    ---
     
    Top new character:
     
    Princess Ember. An embodiment of a character with qualities society calls “masculine,” but not a character written to be flat or a stereotype of “masculine” people or characters. Despite not featuring any of the physical qualities of a leader Torch expects, she’s a dragon with intangible, tangible, and mentally strong qualities. People male or female can relate to her conflict and desire not to let her species/culture down.
     
    Honorable mention: Tender Taps.
     

     
    Mane 8 (includes Spike and Starlight)
     
    Bottom M8 character:
     
    Applejack. Newbie Dash is one of the worst episodes of the entire show, but it’s less to do with Dash’s characterization and more with everything else. Thus far, AJ’s had only one prominent role in an episode: Applejack’s “Day” Off. Here, she was fine in the first half, but when she revealed her tedious method into feeding the pigs, she looked really dumb and incompetent. ADO is as average an episode as FIM ever had, but this was a bad look on her.
     
    Dishonorable mention: Rainbow Dash.
     
    ---
     
    Top M8 character:
     
    Spike. Give me less episodes with higher-quality roles than a character who surfaces so much with more average or poor roles. Spike’s lone bad role this season was his usual buttmonkey status in Newbie Dash. Other than that, he’s had his best season. The Crystalling, Gauntlet, ADO, and Tail are all episodes with respectable roles at worst and excellent roles at best.
     
    Honorable mention: Starlight Glimmer.
     
    ---
     
    Full M8 rank (in order):
    Spike Starlight Glimmer Fluttershy Pinkie Pie Rarity Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash Applejack


     

    Moment:
     
    Bottom-2 moments:
     
    2. Starlight and Twilight watch Trixie enter the cannon. The worst part of these implications occurs after falling out. Starlight Glimmer knows that Trixie isn’t in her right frame of mind when she presses on with the trick knowing she can’t do it on her own. Meanwhile, both Twilight and Starlight sit and watch. Trixie’s life’s in danger! Help her before she tries a trick that’ll kill her!
     
    1. The Wonderbolts reveal to insulting her out of “good fun.” Seriously? Seriously?! The Wonderbolts pull this shtick on her, rub it in her face to remind her not to screw up, and they had no idea that the more she heard it, the worse Dash became. And at the end, they reveal that they do it to everyone. Protip: Just because everyone does it and others have worse insults than “Rainbow Crash” doesn’t dismiss the Wonderbolts of their insolence!
     
    Dishonorable mentions: Zephyr destroys her parents’ prized possessions; Zephyr’s tantrum in the forest.
     
    ---
     
    Top-2 moments:
     
    2. The Cutie Mark Crusaders disband for the day. Apple Bloom struggles to find any hobby she can enjoy while not being with SB or Scootaloo. Her belief that the CMCs were no more pushed her into trying something interesting. Dancing (and helping Tender Taps earn his Mark) was a turn of events to help her grow more into her own. None of this would happen if session wasn't dismissed.
     
    1. Spike interrupts his story so he and Starlight can locate Sunburst. The little dragon doesn’t have a very positive record, but his role firmed here. It marked how much he grow, how proud he is of his job, and most importantly, how he and Starlight began to forge a close friendship.
     
    Honorable mention: Sunburst reveals to not being a wizard; Rarity’s “NO SPOILERS!”.
     

     
    What I want for the second half of Season 6:
     
    This is what I wrote for my Season 5 review:
     

    What I wrote applies today. But here are more.
     
    Higher quality roles for Twilight and Applejack. Twilight’s out-of-characterization in No Second Prances really hurt the episode and damaged her credibility as the Princess of Friendship. AJ in ADO was smart in one role, stupid the next, stretching her very thin.
     
    More insight to the Twilight/Starlight dynamic. Starlight may be TS’s pupil, but the relationship between them hasn’t evolved so much. Currently, it’s still at the fringe. Starlight’s friendship with SG’s more developed than with Twilight.
     
    Better execution of the serious and gray material. Spice Up Your Life, No Second Prances, The Crystalling, On Your Marks, Newbie Dash, Gauntlet of Fire, and Flutter Brutter are all considered the more serious episodes this season. Only three of them (The Crystalling, On Your Marks, Gauntlet of Fire) are good. Whatever the quality, the ideas within them range from decent to great, but there’s little polish. More consistency in the quality.
     
    Continuation of Spike’s character. After five seasons, it looks like the show finally has consistent characterization and use for Spike. I believe it has something to do with Haber (who wrote Spike well in the past, including Simple Ways, Friendship Games, and Re-Mark). His earlier Spikabuse status is kept to a bare minimum, and it hopefully finally goes away in the second half.
     
    More exploration of Equestria outside of the usual places. Its theme is Exploring Equestria. The areas explored: Manehattan (twice), Canterlot, and Dragon Land. Dragon Land is the “newest” land explored. Thus far, season five follows the theme better than here.
     

     
    Verdict:
     
    Season five is my favorite of FIM and may be the best of the show. So far, season six is a disappointment, and it’s either tied or just under the fourth as second-worst season so far. Ones like The Saddle Row Review, A Hearth’s Warming Tail, and Gauntlet of Fire are excellent, but ones like No Second Prances, Flutter Brutter, and Newbie Dash really hold the season back. Unlike season five, there are lot of early changes to the status quo, but if you’re going to break it through, then execute it well. So far, the executions are very inconsistent with Newbie Dash being easily the worst of them all. Now, does this mean season six is bad right now or won’t get better? No. S6 is average, and the second half could improve it. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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