Wind Chaser

It is a particularly strange occurrence as there is no other indication of gasoline, diesel, or natural gas power in Equestria, and the design looks like a Seastreak or New York Water Taxi ferry built in the 90s or 2000s. There's no fumes of any kind coming off the boat so I assume...magic?

In the Generosity song, Rarity is seen riding a ferryboat, which strangely enough looks very modern even against the anachronistic hodgepodge Equestria normally is.

It's all fine that the stories are promoting such messages, but it comes off as sort of empty when the visual style and premise suggest the opposite. Of course there are the aforementioned character design, but even if the band analogy worked, there's still the fact that Pinkie Pie seems to have been the only character known to have a diagetically acknowledged passion and talent for music. Most other instances of Mane 6 characters singing was only for the purpose of plot and entertainment value and is not diagetically acknowledged in the show. Additionally, as far as EqG goes, it really contributed nothing except a stock plot with some Equestrian background thrown in to tie it in with the FiM franchise. As a plot allegory and as far as entertainment value, Rainbow Rocks works on a number of levels. It's great that the Mane 6 all learned a new talent and put it to use when duty called for them to do so. However, if you consider it in relation to the rest of show canon, it does come off as a bit conformist because characters who did not all have this interest all suddenly have to hone their skills at this one talent whether they liked it or not because the plot said so in pursuit of more toy sales. I'll admit to being biased because of the blatantly commercial background of the movie even if the writers did what can honestly be described as nothing short of a great job. However, I will say it could have been a lot worse as far as that goes; they could have gone and have Rainbow Rocks take over the entire EqG franchise from here on out, but thankfully it sounds like they have a different plan as far as the theme of the next movie. The best possible spin on this is that the Equestria Girls franchise will hopefully take a more exploratory turn, with the Mane 6 trying out new talents and giving each movie a different theme focusing on a different activity each time. The next one is set to be sports-themed, after all.

Although the uniformity of the character designs in MLP works to their benefit in that there are so many different customizable parts (such as mane, tail, and accessories), the uniformity of the character designs in EqG is indicative of stagnation, with everyone having the same body model which is thin as a twig and probably 65% legs, and everyone having very similar clothing styles as well. The character design is just one example of how the EqG franchise is the product of corporate mandates. Even though Rainbow Rocks turned out to be a good film, many of us were almost turned off to it beforehand because of the absurdity of the concept of the entire Mane 6 being made to form a band. Overall, the decisions made in this franchise seem to promote conformity. That is the very thing the Season 5 premiere so thoroughly debunked, and the entire world of Equestria is pretty much against with such conceptions of individuality as cutie marks and the idea of friendship and harmony coming from the cooperation of diverse personalities. The concept of setting a character from a world so tolerant of individuality and encouraging of personal achievements into a more realistic world with the reality of high school came up with plenty of chance to criticize adolescence as a social construct and the way our institutions breed conformity and separation. However, the first movie instead went to a cliche storyline of standing down a bully with the only difference being background elements of FiM being thrown in there, with a completely rushed and morally ambiguous resolution. The second movie similarly didn't do such a thing. Overall, the concept of Equestria Girls is more fitting of a TV series, or a series of specials, than feature films, but even those would be a diversion of resources from the main series, said series itself being the main reason why we got into this franchise in the first place. If the EqG franchise had more of the same risk-taking story style of FiM rather than conforming to the stock of high school plots, I would speak more favorably of it, but the fact of the matter is it's "just another one" as far as high school media goes. I'm not expecting Daria here, but from the franchise that came out with FiM, I expect better than just following the leader.

It's not really "turning me into a pansy" per se, nor do I blame MLP for it, but I have lost a bit of interest in action movies as well. I consumed quite a bit of them when there was a resurgence of action movies as well as action comedies in the early 2010s, from about 2008 to 2012. Once I saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, I started to realize how generic most action movies were and how much they rely on well-worn tropes, and the standard for Hollywood action and science fiction, as far as I'm concerned, raised the first time I saw The Matrix in 2013. Thank MLP in part for making me more attentive to story and character in most types of media. When I first got into MLP back in late 2011/early 2012, I had gotten addicted to the show and the fandom, and very much spoiled by it, virtually demanding every work I had watched and every character to have the onscreen chemistry, energy, and story style blending accessibility and subtlety as MLP. This crossed many different genres. MLP helped me to be more critical and discerning of media in general, rather than just one or a handful of genres.

They really should change some more things up. It's starting to look stagnant just using the same intro with new things tacked on for each season. At the same time, it's a bit reassuring to see the same intro with minimal changes to show that FiM is still FiM at heart even though things have changed over the five seasons.

They seem to have shown less of Apple Bloom's carpentry talent because there doesn't seem to be much need for it plot-wise. Meanwhile, the potion-making first came up in "Bridle Gossip", so it's not out of the question she'd be into that just as much. There's nothing wrong about having more than one talent, however.

I didn't pay much attention to that, but the trading card alone sounds like it has the makings of an incredible episode.

Nicole Oliver is a regular on MLP, she is already the voice of Princess Celestia and Cheerilee and occasionally does some incidental voices.

Lauren Faust drew the initial concepts for the Mane 6, Celestia, and some others, as well as establishing the art style of the show, but most of the character designs that actually made it onto the show are credited to Rebecca Dart. Sometimes character designs are described and/or contributed by other members of the staff, but Dart is the one mainly responsible for finalizing the ones that make it to the show.

Not really. Your idea is much better developed. I'm sure many of us would have come up with the same premise.

Andrew WK or Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Picardo, as both have expressed interest in one day doing a guest spot on the show.

When are we ever going to get anything involving an adult pony with a blank flank? Mr Greenhooves doesn't count as it was never addressed.

Doing it seriously is much, much tougher than it looks. "Canterlot Boutique": When Rarity is persuaded/inspired to move the Carousel Boutique to Canterlot, she is torn between following her dreams and staying with her friends and roots in Ponyville. To avoid wrecking canon (meta reason), Rarity stays in Ponyville. I don't know what moral they could use. "Brotherhooves Social": Rainbow Dash feels left out when Twilight and Applejack attend the Brotherhooves Social with their big brothers Shining Armor and Big Macintosh. Rainbow Dash finds a surrogate big brother (either a one-shot character or Soarin'), reciprocating the care she gave Scootaloo in "Sleepless in Ponyville", and learning that when you're away from your family, your friends can be just as close. "Crusaders of the Lost Mark": 1 of 2: (the more likely one) A classmate of the Cutie Mark Crusaders gains a cutie mark, only to lose interest in their special talent soon after. The Crusaders help the classmate regain interest in their special talent. Moral: Never losing sight of what you're good at. "Crusaders of the Lost Mark": 2 of 2: (the one I want to see) The Cutie Mark Crusaders meet a pony much older than they are who happens to have no cutie mark. Believing the pony to have lost their cutie mark, the Crusaders vigorously use their methods to help the young adult pony gain his/her cutie mark. It turns out the pony never had a cutie mark to begin with. Moral: You're never too old to continue "finding yourself", and some may come to it much later than they expect. "What About Discord?": The Cutie Map sends the Mane 6 on another adventure and Discord feels left out. Discord nags the Mane 6 and nearly ruins the mission. Moral: Being a good friend means knowing when to leave your friends alone. "The Cutie Remark": The Cutie Map calls the Mane 6 again, finding that Starlight Glimmer has returned and mustered up a gang of power-hungry unicorns rejected from Celestia's school for the gifted. The revelation: Starlight herself quit the school when she saw the opportunities Twilight Sparkle had gotten as a protege of Celestia. The equality village was a response to Twilight's ascension to power in order for Starlight to prove she was just as good a leader as Twilight, and the "equality" ideology was merely a means for her to find ponies over which she can gain power through trust. She and her newfound crew are hiding out in the far north and east of Equestria, waiting for the chance to strike back at the Mane 6 when they arrive, with the plan to make Equestria dependent on them by taking out their greatest heroes. Twilight is incapacitated, and the death blow is only struck when one of Starlight's own allies turns on her. Moral: Don't waste your life and effort trying to go after what someone else has. With the connections you can make as a good friend, you can make your own success through the support of others.