Truffles

I don't get that impression. I think Sweetie Belle simply likes hanging out with her big sister more than she does her parents so they let her stay over as often as she wants as long as Rarity is okay with it. Thinking about Sweetie Belle's personality, it makes sense she'd rather be in a boutique full of dresses, fabrics, and gems rather that a plain old house on the water.

4 minutes ago, Senko said:

they wouldn't have been likely to stop Starlight with her invisibilty 

And in fact there's already an example of this in practice - a whole castleful of guards were useless in preventing Sunset from taking Twilight's crown in the first EG movie.

As for keeping anyone from walking in, my impression is the castle is serving as the replacement library until a new one can be grown so it may be permissable to have strangers just walking in unannounced. Also like the middle voting choice implies, there may be political ramifications to having guards outside a castle meant to promote friendship.

In addition to Starlight, she has a fire-breathing dragon who, as seen in the movie, has no reservations about burning anyone alive or biting into them with razor sharp teeth.

With his new wings, even kidnapping her by airship isn't an option anymore.

Even a small army would find it difficult to get in if he were to use the same power level of his flame that he used on the roc.

The better question is whether the contents of the castle should be protected while all three of them are away. Before her redemption  Starlight had no problem getting in during the S5 finale. It's unclear whether any guards would have helped in that situation, however, since Starlight is quite powerful and was bent on getting revenge.

4 hours ago, RyanMahaffe said:

The Storm King!!! Neat. This is obviously from "What Lies Beneath"

I find it darkly amusing that this episode will apparently revolve around there being what is essentially a dead body being kept in the basement of the school. 

5 hours ago, PacificGreen said:

I think the official synopsis says that he's just a dragon claiming to be Spike's father, so he may very well be a fake.

I give a pretty high percentage chance that he is at the very least Garble's dad, with the spines and chin being the only traits that might make him Spike's dad. Or both, which I'm sure will make Spike and Garble feel just peachy about life in general. 

1 hour ago, MegaSean45 said:

 

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Actually stock in Spike being related to Smolder went up too! That dragon has Smolder's eye pupil shape!

 

But aren't they the same shape for all dragons?

Looking at this dragon closer, I'm thinking of a scenario like this as to how the episode could play out:

4 hours ago, Senko said:

2) I thought Applejack just said moon as in 1 non-month equivilent from when they first heard her playing to when they had their intevention hence there being time for a contest, dress making, apple bucking to take place.

A moon == 1 month makes sense but I have a recollection that it equates to something longer in some of the episodes last season, or maybe it was in the movie?

Here's a perspective-corrected screenshot of the info that's pertinent to my interests:

1 hour ago, MegaSean45 said:

Well not to mention Flutters though! She would be even MORE of a vehicle for Discord to be his old self again!

I would think the opposite to be true - that she would have the same tempering effect as Spike to keep Discord in line.

1 hour ago, MegaSean45 said:

Perhaps. I just wanna see Spike stay at the school to help Starlight out instead of him going with Twilight for a change! :3

I agree it would be great for Spike to be around. First, for some interaction with Starlight again. But more importantly, he could be the tempering force against any lashing out Discord might do to Starlight. After his growth in "D&D" and "BU,BD", it would feel out-of-place for Discord to attack Starlight or plot some kind of petty revenge on her if one if his Guy's Night buddies was also there as the voice of reason.

Of course, that could also be a reason why Spike would be consciously left out of the episode - his presence would make the credibility of the episode suffer if the whole initial concept was for this to be a vehicle for Discord to be back to his old self again. I hope not, though.

No big followup review, just some miscellaneous comments for the "official" review of this episode:

There were some nice callbacks to previous episodes beyond "Horse Play." For example, when Fluttershy mentions Cerberus and chimerae. Cerberus was just an overgrown puppy, so I could see how she's be concerned. But the chimera Apple Bloom and AJ encountered seemed like the kind of thing that would scare Flutters, so her concern was surprising. I'm wondering now how she would have dealt with the one AB and AJ encountered?

Heh, that scene of Angel yanking out his own fur to plug his ears. That had to be painful.

I'm trying to figure out what actual instruments were used to produce the yovidaphone sound. There seems to be bagpipes, a tuba, a pipe organ, as well as an accordion in there. Occasionally I heard some orchestra hits as well. Beyond that I'm not sure. I would be interesting to ask the episode music composer what the answer is.

In some of those early scenes I swear Pinkie is thinking about making out with the instrument.

C'mon, you two - get a room! Also I had to laugh over the (perhaps) unintentional context of Rainbow and Fluttershy's disturbed looks while she's fondling the instrument.

Upon rewatching this I have to say Pinkie is pretty inconsiderate as to when and where she decides to make all that noise. Unless her friends told her off-screen she can play anywhere and anytime she likes, she needs to use some common sense that playing at night or when her friends are busy with tasks is a really thoughtless of her. Of course, maybe common sense and Pinkie are mutually exclusive terms?

The Wonderbolts Rainbow is performing with in this episode are Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot and High Winds. The first three often fly together, but High Winds is usually in a different squadron with Blaze, so this was interesting to see.

Ah, Spike with wings. Got my fix after a month of going cold turkey. I'm noticing in this episode he seems to prefer flying to get anywhere in a hurry now rather than run. I guess that does make sense - though it must require a lot more calories than using his feet. I wonder if he has an even bigger appetite now than he had before?

AJ: "She's been playing for moons now and she's not getting any better!" And so the concept of how long the interval between a "moon" gets muddled up again.

Nice to see them using the Ponyville balloon again. Also it shows the limits of Twilight's teleportation powers - she can teleport herself practically anywhere in Equestria, but teleporting herself and all her friends to Yakyakistan is something even she's not capable of.

The real yovidaphone playing actually does sound really good. You would think Pinkie could at least control her enthusiasm and approach something that resembles actual playing of the instrument.

The episode is a frustrating in how things play out - it seems like there could have been a compromise instead of the black and white of her playing vs. never playing. Like build a special soundproof room for her to enjoy her instrument in, or cast the silence shield around her from "Amending Fences." I don't know how to reconcile the message of how someone's passion being harmful to others squares with how much it means to their own happiness. I feel like I'm seeing the message in "Bats!" hidden here where Pinkie needs this hobby to survive but it's going to cause a lot of anguish for everyone (and every animal and apple) around her unless she can get halfway decent at it. Very strange way to end an episode.

This episode is getting compared to "P.P.O.V." - and it is similar (besides the writers) in one way - that strange ending. I think I'm just going to overlook the ending again like I did for the former and simply enjoy this episode for the gags, Pinkie's inconsiderate behavior notwithstanding.

8 hours ago, Wholly Windcharger said:

Spike and Fluttershy trying to understand Gummy and failing

I thought Spike said he'd try because of his talent at charades and figure out what Gummy was trying to say. I guess Spike doesn't speak eyeblink and eyelick, though.

At least we have confirmation that Gummy isn't speaking on some subsonic level - he just doesn't vocalize at all and everything going on is in his own head as we saw in "Slice of Life."

This episode has some pretty big shoes to fill if it wants to keep the growth of Discord's character moving forward. Except for "Celestial Advice," (where he only had a minor role) and "Discordant Harmony (he kind of grew sideways in that episode) his character has been getting progressively better starting with "Dungeons and Discords." At the time that was my favorite Discord episode until "To Where and Back Again" aired. And that was my favorite Discord episode until "The Break-Up, Break Down" aired.

Will this be better than "TB-U, B-D?" I would be really surprised if it was, but until it actually airs you never really know what to expect. (The previous episode just mentioned being a prime example.)

9 hours ago, MegaSean45 said:

I wonder if this episode's story is gonna take place simultaneously with Friendship University? That'd explain where Twilight is going (along with Rarity)!

Interesting idea, though if that were happening I would think DFC would be airing this episode and "Friendship University" back-to-back on Aug. 4th instead of pairing it with "The Hearthswarming Club" to complete the A-B simultaneous story setup.

A fun episode. Really abrupt ending though. I need to go back and figure out what the moral of the story was other than "there are some things in life that have no purpose other than to make you happy."

All work and no playing the Euridiphone make Pinkie a dull gray. A gray Pinkamena that puts Discorded Pinkie and Chrysalis-copy Pinkie to shame. Yikes. o_O

Why does Bulk Biceps have such small wings? He abused them 'roids to build that muscle!

On 7/14/2018 at 4:53 PM, Senko said:

Now that's an interesting take on Trixie's personality though I don't think it quite fits. Although I wouldn't mind a discussion in another thread on whether a Pony can get a cutie mark that doesn't match their interests or personality like when Twilight accidentally switched her friends ones "My destiny's not pretty but its what my cutie mark is telling me.".

Heh. That point of view worked its way into my comments due to me clearing my DVR of repeat episodes that had been recording while the hiatus was on. One of them happened to be "Magical Mystery Cure," and watching that episode again put me in the mindset of cutie marks reflecting what a pony was most talented at. Though I didn't mean to say she herself was ashamed of her cutie mark - I meant her unicorn peers may have thought such a talent for a unicorn was silly, and her having to put up with any bullying over having a destiny of being a mere "stage magician" instead of casting real spells like they could could easily cause her to have some self-esteem issues.

Interesting that you brought up Sunburst - he and Trixie do have something in common: They aren't particularly good at casting spells. Where they differ is Trixie likely has more raw talent than he does, but unlike him she has no tolerance for actually sitting down and trying to learn. She expects these skills to be handed to her on a silver platter without any of the hard work or study it requires to become an expert. Sunburst on the other hand is very happy to do all the work required, but despite that he's still only average at doing magic.

Wow, what did I just read for 6 pages?

Aside from the "go away" comments, it's been pretty interesting.

As to the original point of the thread, I don't feel like Trixie has been treated unfairly by the writers. She acts exactly how her personality has dictated since she first appeared in "Boast Busters": A self-absorbed unicorn who has an inferiority complex, probably due to a combination of having a troubled childhood and being a unicorn who has to bear the stigma of having a cutie mark "destiny" of stage magic instead of being able to cast real magic in a powerful manner like some other unicorns.

First of all let me state this up front: For the most part I like Trixie. She's an entertaining character in small doses. Though I admit she took a hit in "To Change a Changeling" as far as my tolerance of her. There, she seemed to throw Starlight under the bus every chance she got. When I saw that episode again recently, I was dismayed how nasty she was to her supposed best friend. I realize some of that is just the rapport the two of them have with one another, as Starlight threw in a few jabs as well; but with friends like that Starlight might as well cozy up to Chrysalis, lol.

While Trixie does seem to care about her friendship with Starlight at times, mostly she takes it for granted. And again that seems perfectly in character for her because Trixie is all about Trixie - that's just who she is. Her haughtiness even made her potential suicide in S6 come off somewhat like a pity party due to the dramatic way she behaved.

As for the Mane 6, Spike and Starlight getting special treatment by the writers compared to her, I don't think that's valid. By all accounts, all of them have had their time in the fandom penalty box for acting dumb or out-of-character. There's no shortage of complaints when it comes to episodes like Mare-do-Well, 28 Pranks, Spike at Your Service, Princess Spike, Every Little Thing She Does, Honest Apple, Fluttershy Leans in, Cart Before the Pony, and on and on.

I still have hope for her, though - perhaps she'll get some closure and have an epiphany when it comes to how a real friend should behave if she ever gets a chance to reunite with her father and can put that part of her past to bed?

This seems confirmed from the DFC promos that have started airing.

I guess I'll have to make time in the middle of next Friday afternoon to write up some commentary on this episode. 

That's why she was extra bitter at the end of S5 and also why being outdoors is her least favorite place to be.

Unless it involves flying a kite. 

Guess we'll find out in a little under 4 weeks when the season starts up again. I can't imagine how Smolder could go through her life story and not mention the brother she and her family kicked out after he started molting.

Probably. If for no other reason than to view it as a curiosity. If it got too crass or gratuitous in what it did, or lacked any real substance - expecting the shock value to carry it along - I'd give up on it pretty quickly, though.

When I first saw Soarin I thought he was a dark blue pony because of how form-fitted the flight suit was. I was totally surprised when I realized he was actually light gray.

I don't mind the flight suits at all. They serve an aerodynamic purpose (though Rainbow Dash apparently didn't need one to do a Rainboom) and they look really slick.

5 hours ago, CherryAcorn said:

And what about Rarity?? x'D

That Spike would be obsessing over Thunderlane.

Because he's a dark horse and Rarity is marshmellow, and this is supposed to be like all opposite, right?

*Hears crickets from the rest of the forum*

I'll just let myself out. 

1 hour ago, Senko said:

The two of them seem to match the way they're depicted in the manga pink hair, disguise, glasses, etc. I wont link to it here as its adult in nature though. Just a picture of a keyring of the two main characters.

That does seem like what they were referring to. Thanks! I guess we can add this to the list of references that are totally inappropriate for small kids who watch the show to actually look up online, lol!

We did get to see a potential Discorded version of him at the end of season 6 - he was mimicked by one of those changelings that took over Twilight's castle. He was rude, cranky, and at times a bit of a bully. All the opposite traits that made it suspicious to Starlight that something was amiss.

1 hour ago, Music Chart Fan said:

hadn't noticed this issue before, but that seems to be the explanation. These images are from the MLP Wiki's image gallery for "Slice of Life", and they show that the eighth notes are oriented correctly on her right flank, and reversed on her left flank.

Nice legwork (pun not intended, lol.) In fact, I'll bet if we looked carefully most if not all of the ponies with cutie marks have them facing one direction on one side and mirrored on the other. It's only when a cutie mark is a symbol like DJ's here do we really notice.

For example, Rainbow Dash's lightning points towards her hock on both sides of her flank. But that means it points left on one side and right on the other, so it too is reversed depending on which side you look at her from.

4 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

So, the highlight of this episode by far was:

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Oh, that's clever! I remember the story of that guy, but forgot they made it into a movie with that title! Great catch!

Another fun ref in that same scene with Liarjack is the one to Jon Lovitz's pathological list character from SNL: She ends her sentence with his trademark, "That's the ticket!"

And finally she gives us a ref to "Slice of Life" by claiming a bugbear is partially responsible for the disappearance of the others.

Good stuff.