BastementSparkle

3 hours ago, Sunny Fox said:

Hi there, @BastementSparkle, thanks for the comment.

Why does Moondancer have to be justified for us to empathize with her, instead of just recognizing she's hurting really bad because she feels like a friend abandoned her?

As I said before, I don't necessarily think anyone is wrong for empathizing with MD. But I personally cannot, since I don't think her hurt is 1. Twilight's fault and 2. enough of an excuse to turn into a hermit. She even turned her back on the exact same ponies who she herself admits as making her more social and who were clearly trying their best to be her friends. Those actions she took of her own free will. To blame Twilight for them is an injustice. It's in some respects as if one were blaming a celebrity for the actions of a stalker.

...but every action, right or wrong or neutral has consequences on the people around us.

If that had been the clear message of the episode, I wouldn't complain (as much as I do  ). The fact is, Twilight's action of not attending MD's party is clearly cast as the wrong decision in the context of this episode, and the message becomes unclear precisely because that decision is focused on so much. It's plain bad writing, and it should be called out, no matter how effective it is on a person emotionally.

I'd also be interested on hearing your (or anyone's) thoughts regarding what I've alluded to as the "emotional manipulation" of the writers. 

It was of Moondancer's own free will to turn into a hermit, yes. But you're still looking at this event through an objective lens, not an emotional one. This was apparently the first time Moondancer had ever put herself out there and done something like throw a party, and Twilight, the pony she seems to have considered herself closest to, didn't show up. Moondancer's best friend didn't show up to her first ever party, and left Canterlot for years without even a single goodbye. That's all Moondancer sees. Moondancer was seemingly a social recluse who didn't think she "Had any value" until her other three friends started to convince her she did, she didn't even think anypony would want to be her friend. The kind of person who sees themselves as not having value in the first place is going to be easy to hurt, they're likely going to look at every interaction and event and see the worst parts more than the good.

 The only ponies in the episode who treat Twilight's decision as the "Wrong" one are Moondancer who is biased and has her view clouded by her own emotions, and Twilight herself who is feeling guilty for hurting somepony and being harsh on herself. Nopony else ever tries to say she did the wrong thing, just those two. As @CypherHoof says, Twilight is judging herself and her past actions by her current standards and views which are very different. I don't think the episode is written manipulatively because it never tries to hide the fact that previous Twi wasn't a very sociable pony, it spends the entire episode trying to show us just how different the current Twilight is from her pre-season 1 self.

Here's the thing...Moondancer blames Twilight and you're correct that's not fair, and that her reaction to Twilight not showing is over the top and not exactly logical...But the thing is, our minds don't exactly run on pure logic, there's a lot of emotion involved. Why does Moondancer have to be justified for us to empathize with her, instead of just recognizing she's hurting really bad because she feels like a friend abandoned her? Maybe that's not exactly what "Really" happened but our views of reality are always colored by our subjective experiences. Moondancer seems like a pretty insecure pony in general, to somepony else more healthy this event might not have been a big deal but to Moondancer it was soul crushing. Twilight didn't necessarily do anything wrong here, considering the Nightmare Moon threat I'd even argue she did the right thing...but every action, right or wrong or neutral has consequences on the people around us.

 As for Twilight not remembering her names, you're right they weren't really her "Friends" in the past, maybe acquaintances or whatever. The thing is, the Twilight of today now sees the value of friendship and thus retroactively considers those ponies her friends. The entire point is to show how she didn't value friendship much back then but does so now, and thus her view of them is changed.

Yeah, this really annoys me too. I feel sad that the show is ending, but it's pretty obvious the fandom isn't going anywhere for a long, long time. It's not like it's all going to burn down and dissolve without the show. I've been watching the show since early 2011, there's plenty of people who've been watching just as long or even longer, there are people who have actually had their lives changed or improved by the show/fandom. There are a lot of really dedicated fans who aren't just going to up and vanish, people love to freak out about how the fanbase has been shrinking and that means we're "Dying" but even now our fandom is still way bigger and stronger than most and even if it keeps shrinking it'll probably stay that way for a long time.

 So, there's basically no reason to worry about this fandom. Even if G5 sucks, people can just stick to G4. If G5 is really, really good, that just means there's more than one show to discuss and make fanworks of. Heck, even if G5 is popular and you just happen to not like it, I guarantee there'll still be plenty of places to talk G4 only even then. The fandom's gonna be fine.

33 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

I admit i am a bit harsh about the 'officially canon' thing, but let me explain why, to me, enjoy the work of fiction like the communication between you and the author, can you trust someone who lied to you all the time or person doesnt even understand what they are saying? If the author decide to make RD join the villain, become his best henchman, and kick her friends to the dungeon without any logical explaination and they say 'It's Canon', will you buy it? Sound a bit extreme, but you understand my points, right?! The writers can state whatever they want but they have to work to prove their statements or the trust will be shaken. I treat the movie like B-canon, it means 'the movie will be canon if they can prove it' or at least somehow can do some magic tricks to trick me to believe that I will buy it too, i am not that hard to please, writting stories is all about make-believe anyway, it about how you can back up your lies.

Well, RD doing that sounds horribly out of character and like the stupidest written idea either, and doesn't sound believable at all...But if it happens in the show/movies that are considered canon, it's canon. Much as I really wouldn't want it to be, and I'd really hope someone would retcon that out of existence...or never be stupid enough to write something like that. I'll pretend it doesn't exist myself if it ever happened, but that doesn't stop it from being official.

I don't think the movie does nearly anything that stupid though.

Just now, Lambdadelta said:

I totally understand that logic, the words of god say it's canon, its canon, what i think doesnt matter to the show, but that my way to keep enjoying the show. Instead of complaining about the a lot of character inconsistency, even a 'potential' character assassination (Twilight) which kinda ruin the character's development that the show builded for 7 years, i will treat the movie as a standalone, i wont try to dismiss everything about the movie or attack people for that, i just... IGNORE IT, if i make a comment about character's study or something, I wont include it.

Well, if you want to ignore it as part of your own personal headcanon type thing, that's fine. Enjoy the show however you want, and if you don't like some episode or movie feel free to ignore it as much as you like, I just mean you can't discount something being "Officially" canon because you don't like it.

Something doesn't become non-canon just because you don't like the way it plays out, plenty of fans don't like the way certain episodes go but that doesn't make them "Non-canon" does it? If it's confirmed to be canon to the main show, it's canon.

1 hour ago, Malcontent said:

 

10 hours ago, RareBase said:

 How's it any different than say, Twilight and her friends going on a dangerous adventure to stop Nightmare Moon or Discord?

The two examples given are acceptable due to the fact she's the main character and our real eyes in the world. Couplednwirh the fact she and her friends are the avatars for the elements of friendship, this seems reasonable. 

 

If the world's problems could be solved by everybody and not just the name six, we would have no reason for the elements xD 

 

Starlight and the other's victory made sense though, it shows us in the episode how they do it. Starlight's a capable leader, Trixie's illusions turn out to be useful for more than just her stage show, Discord is distracting with or without magic, and Thorax's ability to shapeshift and navigate through the hive. All of these things come in handy, take even one of them off the team and I doubt they would have made it.

 Obviously the big threats can't just be solved by everypony, but on the other side if we make it so the world's threats can ONLY be solved by the Mane Six...that's a little boring and predictable.

1 hour ago, Malcontent said:

If I sound entitled it's not my intent and I apologize. Look at it this way: for the most part no one seems to have a problem with starlight. By societal rules, the majority opinion rules and is thus considered the normal or "right" answer. 

 

If my opinion is not in line with that so called right answer, then something must be wrong with me. In fact there has to be, because the writers of the show seem to keep writing her this way. I love this fandom and I love the shows. Until about a day ago my faith was solid. If they are right, then I must be wrong. If I'm wrong about this, what stops me from being wrong about liking the ip? 

What? No, I couldn't disagree more with you here. The majority opinion is not "Right", just because it's a majority. An opinion can't be right or wrong, unless said opinion is something going against concrete fact, and fact isn't decided by how many people believe something. I'll argue with you all day on why Starlight is not a Mary Sue, but you aren't wrong for disliking her. If someone tries to tell you there's something wrong with you because you disagree with them on a cartoon, ignore them.

1 hour ago, Malcontent said:

I appreciate your feedback! 

The flaws you point out, if thats what they are, can they then justify the seemingly over the top moments I've described not counting the Eqg special? 

You raise a good point with the flaws however. Those seem to be rather convenient when the story calls for it at times, but still, they are present.

I wouldn't say her flaws are "Convenient", they pop up in basically every episode she's in. Her abuse of magic shows up in "No Second Prances" when she forces Big Mac to talk, is one of the main focuses of "Every little thing she does" where she tries to use magic to mind control her friends just to do simple Friendship problems. Which also shows her manipulating others without even realizing the consequences until Twilight and Spike point them out to her, and her self-doubt in that she doesn't even think she can spend time with friends properly without them thinking she's "Bad at it". "To Where and Back again" kind of touches on her self-doubt too, she doesn't even think she can help set up a festival, fearing she'll take control and hurt ponies again.

 Season 10 has more self-doubt in her feeling she's not ready to leave Twilight yet, and her nightmare about the Evil Princesses that she feels might happen because of her mistakes. Plus, "All Bottled Up" shows her suppressing some pretty clear anger issues that she's not effectively communicating, and again using her magic to solve a problem that she could just talk out with Trixie.

 She's been working through her issues a bit more each episode she's in. Her biggest enemy is herself, her self-doubt and her tendency to fall back on her old ways.

As for her various victories and accomplishments, I don't think any of them are too bad. The first two, her village and her Time-Travel plan were both done when she was a villain, and both times she ended up ultimately "Losing" to Twilight and friends. Well, the second time she stood down. Both plans fit with her talents, she is clearly shown to be both a good leader and good at magic when not doubting herself. As for "To Where and Back again". How's it any different than say, Twilight and her friends going on a dangerous adventure to stop Nightmare Moon or Discord?

 Starlight uses her wits and leadership skills to help her and the others get through the Changeling Hive, but she never would have made it to the end without the others helping her on her way. She didn't do everything herself, Discord still distracted the guards, Trixie and Thorax lured Changeling's away with their Showtricks and Shapeshifting, etc. Starlight wouldn't have made it to the end on her own, and even at the end she fails to reform Chrysalis, doesn't she? Chrissy smacks that hoof of Friendship away and spits in her face.

Can't comment on your thoughts for the EQG special, sorry. Only read a bit of that but I'd rather not get spoiled. As for the rest of your argument...Sorry, I can't see how Starlight could possibly be a Mary Sue. Yes, she's powerful. Yes, she's talented. She's also one of the most flawed characters in the show. Even after her reformation she struggles with herself regularly, she constantly slips into her old habits of abusing her magic and manipulating others around her, she's impulsive and doesn't fully think through the consequences of her actions, she's had issues controlling her anger, etc.

 She didn't learn how to fix these things quickly either, she's still struggling with them this season too as Episode 10 "A Royal Problem" shows, and while that episode ended well and her impulsive decision turned out to be the right one, it was still an impulsive decision that could have gone awfully wrong. She later in the episode has an awful nightmare about it too, literally beginning to believe she's going to cause the sisters to turn into their Nightmare selves. She's her own harshest critic.

 Starlight's got a lot of good things going for her, but she's got too many flaws and imperfections for me to consider her a Mary Sue. It's those very flaws that have made me adore her.

"The Starlight Glimmer show"...Look, nothing against you, but this statement is...kind of silly. Outside of the Premiere and the finale, she wasn't even present that much. "No second Prances" was about her, sure. "Hearth's Warming Tail" was...kind of. Then she kind of dropped off the face of the planet until "Every little thing she does", with only a few small appearances and her minor role in "The times are a changeling" in between.

 For the "Starlight show" she sure didn't seem to appear all too often. As for the Mane six being out of the count for the finale...I liked it. The focus on the reformed villains was a nice change of pace, somepony else get's to be the hero this time, that's great! It was very refreshing compared to what we usually get.

 I feel like people are jumping the gun a bit too, just because the mane six weren't the heroes this one time doesn't mean they're never going to be again. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if this was a one-time deal, and from now on Starlight only get's to be a supporting role in two-parters. Wasn't there even an interview on EQD where it was stated the Mane Six would be the focus next season?

 As for the criticism of season six...Well, guess I'm insane, because I thought this season was overall pretty great, one of the better ones the show has had honestly. It didn't feel lacking in passion at all. Most episodes felt anywhere from good to great, and it easily has some of my new favorites like: Gauntlet of Fire, No second prances, A Hearth's Warming Tail, The Saddle Row Review, Dungeons and Discord's, and yes, the finale, just to name some of them. There were some low points like Applejack's day off and 28 pranks later, but I didn't even find those that bad.

 The video was presented well though, so good job. I just can't disagree more with it.

Yes, that's it. Come over to the Glimmer side. It's not a crazy Cutie Mark cult anymore, I swear.

 I'm happy to see more people warming up to her as time goes on! I don't blame anyone for the dislike, but the overwhelming negativity was getting a bit tiring to me, as someone who's really liked the character for a while now. Hopefully the writers keep developing her from here on out, as I think she can win more people over with time.

Huh, I'll say, that's a little strange. I haven't seen many bad reactions to MareXMare shippings in this fandom. It's what most of the community seems to ship, and Fimfiction and Deviantart and wherever else is filled with it. Sure, you get one or two complaints, but I've only seen a couple.

 Usually, I only see disgust thrown at StallionXStallion, which is dumb because it's no different than two mares.

Anyway, those people are being ridiculous and you should ignore them, there's nothing wrong with being gay, and there's nothing wrong with just shipping two characters of the same gender either. Ignore them and keep shipping who you want.

Kinda funny how literal most of these are. "Discord becomes a Good Dragon" makes my inner fanboy froth at the mouth, he's not a dragon.

I also love how Magical Mystery cure is called Princess Twilight instead, nice spoilers, also it makes it look like the season 3 finale and the two-parts of 4's opener are a 3-parter, which they're kind of supposed to be.

Well, Hasbro's said the comics are canon, so all the stuff in them has happened, but it's probably never going to be referenced in episodes. Because it would really suck for anyone who doesn't read them, to have all these stories being referenced and used that they've never seen before.

 So, the comics, and also the Chapter Books exist in the same way that EQG does. They happened, but outside of some little small thing like Flash Sentry being in the background, they'll never really get referenced in the show.

Meh, I'm lazier than him. I don't even have a goal I want.

This episode honestly just straight up convinced me to hate myself.

@BasementLuna, are you really sure you read all of my post? I gave plenty of reasons. It's ok to disagree with my beliefs, grown ups do that sometimes. You disagree, but my REVIEW being something other than glowing praise doesn't automatically make it a "Cynical and angry rant", nor does that make it invalid.

 

I like Maud. She's a funny character. Or rather, I liked her before this episode. ...Nah, that's not fair. I like her, and this was just a weak episode. A really weak and stupid filler episode.

 

Pinkie being super excited over a gift to Maud is in character. Pinkie needing to learn how gifts function is the writer dropping the ball. Especially since they've implied Pinkie is rich earlier in the series. Or at least, that she knows how to bargain and how money works! Remember the duck season two bits gag in Fluttershy Episode? Also, on a minor note, Rarity pulling off a Pinkie impression implies that it's something all ponies can inherently do, not something unique to Pinkie, party ponies, or Earth ponies willing to use that much internal magic.

Okay, know this is a really late response, sorry. I checked back here for a while after posting but I eventually forgot and just remembered, so I figured I might as well respond even if I am late.

 Okay, first of all, I didn't mean to invalidate your opinions at all. Your feelings and thoughts on the episode are as valid as mine, and you not loving the episode didn't bother me at all, I don't think you're wrong for it. I suppose I could have worded it better, I do think it was somewhat "Cynical and angry" but I didn't intend for that to be taken in a negative light, not in this case at least. I'm sorry, my wording was poor here. One of my least favorite things to see is fans invalidating others opinions, whether they liked an episode or not, so you taking it that way makes me feel kind of like a hypocrite.

 You did give plenty of reasons for your dislike, what I felt was more that the reasons didn't seem like they had much...well, reason to them. At least to me. I didn't get the feeling Pinkie didn't know how gifts function from this, she gave up something she loved to get a gift for her sister, seems sweet to me, perhaps that only proves that I don't know how gifts function. I agree she could have tried to bargain more, perhaps that happened off-screen, either way it feels like a minor complaint to me.

 As does the one about Rarity's Pinkie impression, it was just a cute, silly, cartoonish little moment, I doubt the writer's had any kind of big reason behind it. I just thought the episode was cute, funny, and heartwarming. The jokes got a chuckle, and Pinkie and Maud's sisterly love for each other seemed nice.

 I suppose my biggest "Issue" with this review isn't that you disliked the episode, or even hated it. That's fine, I just think your statement that it damaged your faith in the whole show is a real stretch, it's one episode by one writer, unless the episode had been something super offensive, that seems a bit far to me. It didn't feel fan pandering at all to me, even if you disliked it for that reason, I don't get the feeling that was the writer's intention at all.

 Either way, I hope the next few episodes are more to your taste, it's always better when you're having fun with the show, and it sucks when you can't enjoy an episode.

Well, this is probably the most cynical view of the episode I've ever seen, and I'm not even entirely sure how to respond to it, because I feel like you didn't really give a reason, it just feels like angry, hateful ranting. That's fine, honestly, everyone needs to vent about stuff.

 Really though, I can't say my thoughts are in anyway similar to yours. I thought the episode was pretty funny, charming and heartwarming. Pinkie comes across as a good sister, she just wants to get Maud the best present she can, and she's so excited to do it, she's willing to give up something she loves for that, I don't see how this kind of thing is out of character for Pinkie.

 And, I like Maud. I'm not a fanboy obsessive over her, but I like her. She's funny and seems like good sister, even if she's not exactly the most "Exciting" pony. Nothing wrong with that.

May I suggest you watch Steven Universe or Wonder over Yonder? Those are really good (and in my opinion better then MLP).

I've tried Steven Universe before. Can see the appeal but couldn't really get into it myself. Haven't ever seen Wonder though, so maybe I'll try that.

 MLP's my favorite show in general, even when compared to "Better" shows, so it'll be hard to top for me.

Eh, I'll still take part in the fandom, and probably watch reruns for the rest of eternity.

 It's so hard to find anything interesting on TV, this show and Doctor Who are like the only things I've got left. Hopefully it at least doesn't end for a few more years.

Happy Birthday from me times Three. It's almost been two years since we met too, hard to believe it's been that long.

LyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyraLyra.

 Those all count as votes right?

Sniper Wolf's death is probably the most memorable part here for me. It was the first time this series ever got me close to shedding a tear for real.

 My arm still remembers that torture scene better than me though...

First of all. Clara's undermined death. I disagree here, the episode doesn't undermine her death at all. She still has to "Face the Raven", the death we saw is still her death, she's just got a bit of "Wiggle room" to have some fun first. If you were brought back from the dead, and knew you had a chance to go on one last little adventure before you die, why wouldn't you?

 The Doctor was supposed to be "Out of character". He even says in the episode to Clara "Well I can't be the Doctor all the time." That was the whole point, he's breaking all his codes. He's going against what "The Doctor" stands for. The Doctor tries to be a good man, but he's not perfect. He's been Selfish, he's been cruel, he's been desperate before.

 He's also used guns before. In the new series alone I can think of the end of time, and A Town Called Mercy where he almost shot people. In the Classic series he has actually used guns to kill a few times. He's not as much of a pacifist as people like to think. Sure, this was different. The General was unarmed and not a villain, but he still only regenerated, not died. The Doctor even checked to make sure he wasn't killing him, by asking what regeneration he was on.

 I loved the episode, but then again I love Clara. She's one of my favorite companions and I think she's been amazing with Capaldi's Doctor. This episode's ending for her was optimistic, she get's a chance to be "The Doctor" for a bit, with her own travelling companion and TARDIS, before she faces her death. It's also tragic to the Doctor, he's lost all of his emotional memory to someone that used to mean so much to him, she's just a character, a story in his head now, not a friend.

 I'm sure we'll see some more of Gallifrey in the future, this episode still set up quite a lot for it. The Doctor is probably back on their bad side after all this insanity.

They sang "when love finds a place in every heart".

When. Not 'can'. Implying that everyone will have romantic relationship, soon or later.

And divorce happens only in bad relationships.

I think you're taking these lyrics way too literally. There are people in real life who have never had romantic relationships, so obviously everyone having them has to be false. There are people who've been in relationships and then left and never wanted them again. A show about cartoon ponies doesn't dictate the romantic desires of the entire human race.

 People can divorce on good terms. People can change and grow apart, divorce doesn't always involve two people who hate each other.

I said it earlier, but I'll say it one more time. Love does not need to be a competition. It doesn't have to be Romance vs Friendship, what shall win? You can have both, and neither is worse or better than the other. You know what I see when I look at the mane six? Friends. Friends who love and care for each other immensely. Friends who'll help each other through tough times, and fight to keep each other safe. Friends who may argue and fight, like all friends do, but will have each other's backs through thick and thin.

 But that doesn't devalue Romance either. Shining and Cadance show a different kind of love, one not platonic. Do they care for each other more than the mane six? Or do the mane six care for each other more than them? I can't tell you, and I don't think it matters in the first place. The mane six love each other as best friends, Shining and Cadance love each other as a romantic couple. Neither relationship is more or less important, just different.

 Shining didn't stop caring about Twilight, his sister, just because he got married. If Twilight ever get's married, it won't stop her from caring about her friends either. Our society has a habit of putting romance on a pedestal, and devaluing platonic friendship, but that doesn't make it right.

 I'm done, I've said my part.