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Batbrony

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  1. Batbrony
    Alright, alright, alright, good morning everypony, and welcome once again to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"! Second to last "Batbrony Reviews" of Season 5 right here ya'll, and my oh my was this a memorable episode. "The Mane Attraction," first teased at SDCC this past summer, is an episode that pretty much all of bronydom has been looking forward to since then, and for very good reason. The last episode written by Amy Keating Rogers before she left working on the show, this episode delivered in pretty much every way it could, despite being a very old and familiar story trope. Without further ado, let's dive into "The Mane Attraction"!
     
    So first and foremost, Applejack, lovable farm pony and Element of Honesty that she is, really shined in this episode. She's consistently one of the strongest characters in the show, and this episode really highlighted why. Put simply, AJ is very consistent and straightforward in her behavior. She has a very limited set of things she truly values in life above all else, namely the basics and essentials for a happy existence. She doesn't particularly care if somepony else lives differently from her (even if she doesn't always get it), but does care that they're living a fulfilling life that makes them happy. Nopony else in the entire show is as straightforward in what they think is necessary to live a good and meaningful life, and this trait often serves AJ well in helping to ground her other friends and keep them focused on what really matters. It's why she's the ultimate helping hoof in all of Ponyville and probably the closest thing to a #2 that Twilight has, at least among the Mane 6 (not counting how Spike himself assists her in her personal business).
     
    These traits were on full display in this episode. The problem was quickly identified and pretty simple and straightforward, but that's not unusual considering it was AJ who identified. She's a pony who gets down to business and like to keep things simple, so this felt suitable for her. What I admired was that she was the only pony who even knew there was a problem since she was the only one who previously knew Countess "Ra Ra" Coloratura, but unsurprisingly, even though her friends thought she was making much ado about nothing, AJ stuck to her guns (as a quick aside, let's keep in mind that she must have befriended Ra Ra fairly soon after her parent's deaths, probably very shortly after getting her cutie mark, yet another highlight of how quickly AJ had to grow up and mature as a filly and how much inner-strength she's developed over the years as a result). This is another strength of AJ's; when she feels strongly enough about something and cares enough about someone, she will very stubbornly and doggedly work towards whatever end she wishes to. Even when Pinkie Pie of all ponies was telling her to just let it drop, she refused to. Sometimes her stubbornness doesn't always work to her advantage ("The Last Roundup" is a very good example of this), but here it served her very, very well. Finally, the last strength of AJ's that was on full display here was the faith that she has in those whom she knows are her friends or good ponies (both in this case). She knew that Ra Ra was a good and decent pony, she never lost faith in her and only once got mad with her when there was a misunderstanding between the two. Through and through, she was honest and loyal to the pony she knew was still there inside Ra Ra, and never gave up hope and faith in her friend that she would do the right thing if only she were nudged in the right direction. Her solution, while predictable in many respects, was also smart and allowed Applejack to illustrate the truth of what she'd been telling her friend to her. She knew that if Ra Ra only knew the truth, she'd take it from there and do the right thing. Her faith in friend was rewarded, and in the end, after just being the best pony she could be and one we've come to know and love, honest, loyal, and true through and through, she got her friend back, helped make her life better, and all of Ponyville (and presumably any ponies Ra Ra entertains or comes to know from now on) reaped the reward for AJ's efforts as well. And the best part is helping Ra Ra and getting her back as a friend was reward enough for AJ; she didn't want anything else, and I'd expect nothing less from her. That's just who Applejack is, and I love her for it.
     




     


    You will never be this happy (though that's probably a good thing
    )

     




     




     

    Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww


     
    Our new character, Countess "Ra Ra" Coloratura, was pretty solid as well. Lena Hall, primarily a theater actress and singer, did a decent job in the role. I'm not gonna pretend that it was the most amazing vocal performance ever, at least not so much in the VA department, but she has a very pleasant voice, it's very pleasing to the ears and very nice to listen to, even if she didn't come across as a natural voice actress. Her singing, as expected, was amazing; the only time it was a bit odd was when we heard it coming from her as a filly, it just sounded a bit too adult for a filly that age, but it was always lovely to listen to and she did some truly phenomenal singing here, even when she sang her gaudy and over-the-top Countess Coloratura dress rehearsal song. And that's really what we came to hear anyways, they brought her on clearly for her singing talents, and it was a well-made casting choice as far as I'm concerned. Her character was well-written, and even if we've seen this type of character in many different properties before, she was well-executed here. She was clearly still herself for the most part, she still wanted to be a good pony and use her talents to entertain others, please others, and help others, but she was just being misused and led astray by a greedy and self-centered manager. I'm not entirely sure how she wasn't aware of what he was up to considering he wasn't exactly subtle in his behavior, but to be fair she seemed like she was kept fairly busy, was very devoted to her work, and he also came off as a bit of a "yes man" who I'm sure said all the right things around her. But thankfully, despite an initial spat, as soon as AJ showed her exactly what was up and how her name and image, and what she wanted to do for others, were being sullied by that little turd, she set things straight and is now on the path to leading a career more fulfilling to herself and everypony else. She learned a solid lesson, was enjoyable to watch, and sang some lovely musical numbers; all in all, this was a solid choice for a celebrity guest appearance, and it was all the more enjoyable to watch considering Lena Hall is a fan of the show. Would love to see her return at some point in the future, if only for a cameo appearance or another musical number (but hey, I'd take another episode focused on her as well for all I care). She had a lovely appearance and character design, a lovely voice and performance, and had a very nice debut episode. What more could you ask for?
     




     


    When they're able to make her likable even when she looked like THAT, that's pretty impressive


     



     



     




     



     

    Aside from these elements, there's not a whole lot more to talk about. Pinkie Pie was where most of the humor in this episode came from, and she was very fun to watch in her typical over-the-top behavior (though I did feel a bit bad for her as she was getting run-ragged by that awful manager). Speaking of which, Ra Ra's manager, he sucked. Super petty little turd, that one, and definitely worthy of a swift kick to the balls (though I suppose his getting fired was reward enough, just desserts indeed ). Rarity had a few good scenes with AJ, Twilight did her part to help Applejack make her point at the end, and Flutters and Rainbow were just kinda there and didn't really feature all to much. The animation was lovely, it was nice that they kept the setting fairly contained to just a few locales (really helped make it a solid Slice-of-Life episode in its feel), and it was kinda nice that there wasn't too much in the humor department. It's not like it was the most emotional episode (though the emotion and feels-factor was definitely elevated by the fact that this was Amy Keating Rogers' last episode she wrote on the show), but since it was fairly low-key in the humor, it felt like it was treated as seriously as it should have been. The pacing was solid, Applejack genuinely cared about Ra Ra and you could easily tell and accept this (the flashback was an especially nice touch, filly AJ was cute as she always is, and filly Ra Ra was pretty adorable too), and this made it very easy to connect with this episode and become emotionally invested in what was going on. This was even more impressive in many ways than "Amending Fences" considering the focus was not on Twilight but one of the supporting Mane 6, and the pacing was honestly better as well (remember, Twilight reconnected with four friends in that episode, not just Moondancer, and that additional subplot made the pacing a bit trickier).
     




     

    Fernando is most fabulous bendy straw


     
    Overall, this was just about as good as one could ever want an MLP Slice of Life episode to get. We were invested in the problem, all of Applejack's strongest traits were on full display, we genuinely cared about the new character right along with AJ, had some lovely musical numbers thrown in there, and this all in all made for an episode that delivered in every respect and one in which I really have no complaints. Amy couldn't really have asked for a better final episode to work on, this was about as good as a penultimate episode in any season gets (and trust me, we've had bad ones, remember, my least favorite episode to date is "MMMystery on the Friendship Express," and that came in Season 2, which probably remains my favorite season of MLP), and it was just a pleasure through and through to watch. This is definitely an episode I look forward to returning to and rewatching in the future, most likely one of my top 5 favorite episodes on the season, and most certainly Applejack's finest episode this season. What more could you really ask for? We've got two episodes left to go everypony, the two-part season finale next week. I may be a bit late getting my review up since I may be busy with family when the episode debuts, but rest assured I will have my usual review uploaded at some point that weekend. Have a Happy Thanksgiving next week everypony to all my fellow American forum members, safe travels if you are traveling, and I'll see you all at the finish line. I've no doubt the return of Starlight Glimmer is going to be delicious, so get hype everypony!!! Until next time, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*
     




  2. Batbrony
    To our French brothers and sisters:
     
    Notre Père, qui es aux cieux, que ton nom soit sanctifié, que ton règne vienne, que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel. Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien, et pardonne-nous nos offenses comme nous pardonnons à ceux qui nous ont offensés, et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation, mais délivre-nous du mal, car le ton est le règne, la puissance et la gloire pour toujours et à jamais, Amen.
     
    And for our brothers and sisters worldwide:
     
    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.
     
    #PrayforParis
     




  3. Batbrony
    Good afternoon, everypony, sorry I'm late! I'll try to keep this review short seeing as I have some errands and work I have to take care of, but boy oh boy do we have a lot to cover! Let's not waste anymore time and dive right in, this is "Hearthbreakers"!
     
    So what can't I say about this episode? Because seriously, there's a lot to say. We had a successor episode to both "Hearth's Warming Eve" and "Pinkie Apple Pie," we had the Apples spending the holidays with the Pies, we got to see the Pie family in the present for the very first time (not including Maud), and we got to see where they live and how they spend the holidays, as in, the very environment that Pinkie herself came from. On top of all of that, we had a very lovely message, if I do say so myself, one that really works fantastically for this show especially. So where to begin?
     
    Well I suppose we ought to start with Pinkie and Applejack first, seeing as they are the stars of this episode. They were great, both of them, really, they were. I really actually love seeing these two get to interact one-on-one with each other, at least since "Pinkie Apple Pie." Maybe it's cause they're earth ponies, maybe it's cause they both have far more simple, homey tastes and a deep love for things like family gatherings and such, there's just something very warm about Applejack and Pinkie Pie when they're around each other compared to some of the other characters. Applejack's the only character of the show who we've ever seen extensively with her entire family (Twilight and hers don't count seeing as her parents have yet to even speak in the show), and Pinkie Pie's referenced hers multiple times before this episode. So they definitely are far more similar than one might think. But it was really interesting seeing how the both of them were trying to make their holiday celebration with each other's families work. Applejack was thrown for a loop by how the Pie's traditions didn't meet her expectations (no surprise there, that's definitely a very AJ-reaction to have), but Pinkie Pie also made a mistake in assuming that AJ and her family would be completely comfortable with her family's traditions. It's an understandable error, really, and one that I'm guessing most of us can relate to. Different families have different traditions and different ways of celebrating holidays, that's almost as old as time itself. And it speaks to a bigger issue for people in general, that being that we're uncomfortable with the unfamiliar. It's a huge reason, when one thinks about it, that people have a hard time getting along with new people or different cultures, and some people are too critical of that reaction because I think all of us have a hard time dealing with the unfamiliar when we first encounter it. This episode shines because it both highlights that people, or rather, ponies have a hard time dealing with a different lifestyle, especially when it comes to something as precious as a holiday, but also doesn't judge either party for it. AJ was wrong for assuming they'd have the same traditions and then trying to have them celebrate entirely how she was used to, and Pinkie was wrong for assuming AJ and her family wouldn't be uncomfortable with this. They didn't just run from the problem (even though they almost did), but they reached a healthy compromise; in the end, neither set of traditions overruled the other, but both were shared with each other, and that is truly when traditions are most precious. Not just when they bring you and your loved ones joy, but when you're willing to share them with others and likewise let them share theirs with you. Heck, that's what a lot of new families have to deal with when a husband and wife share their traditions with each other! So yeah, great lesson here, great execution, and great rapport between Applejack and Pinkie Pie as the leads of the episode, I loved it very much.
     
    Next, let's talk about the Apples and the Pies. I don't have a whole lot to say about the Apples seeing as they're hardly new, but they were all totally fine. It was really fun getting to see them interact with the Pies, that's for sure. Granny Smith was a hoot with Igneous and Cloudy Quartz, Apple Bloom and Maud were surprisingly adorable together, and Big Mac got the BUCK shipped out of him with Marble Pie! I mean, holy cheese, they weren't even trying to hide it, someone at that studio wants to make this ship happen (much to the chagrin of CheeriMac shippers). I like CheeriMac myself, but I won't lie, these two were pretty cute together!
     




     

    Shipping: this is how it works


     



     

    See? Ya know, I wonder how that happened?


     

    We should totally ship mah brother with your sister!!!


     



     

    Huh, seems legit


     
    As for the Pies, I couldn't have hoped for anything better. I mean, holy cow, THAT FAMILY! Oh my goodness, that is totally the family that only a pony like Pinkie Pie could come from. You got Igneous Pie and Cloudy Quartz who are TOTALLY how they should be; the Amish dialect was predictable, but it killed me all the same. And ya know, they're super cool, I liked that. They're A-OK with who they are, but they clearly have no problem with their daughters being their own ponies either considering how different they all are from each other. It seems that Maud is the oldest of all of them (at least I think so), and ya know, she's really grown on me since her first appearance. In her first appearance, I thought her personality was obnoxious and blandness taken too far, but now, I really, really like her. Maybe part of it is that DHX seems to get that much of her personality that works is making a joke out of it, but IDK, I really, really like her at this point just as she is, can't really explain it. Anyway, she was great here, whether she was with Pinkie, Apple Bloom, Boulder, or "singing" more songs about rocks. Be you, Maud, be you. Limestone Pie (previously referred to by fans as Blinky Pie up to this point) was... scary. She seems to have a severe case of middle-child syndrome and is obsessed with her job as manager of the Pie's Rock Farm. It was a bit over-the-top at times, admittedly (though part of that might've been the voice, really), but for the most part she worked just fine and was entertaining to watch. I would've liked to see a bit more of her softer side, but who knows, maybe she'll feature in a Season 6 episode somewhere down the line.
     




     

    Seriously girl, you gotta calm down. It's like Maud stole all your chill and left none for you.


     
    Finally, we learned that apparently Pinkie Pie is a TWIN (at least, for all we know she could be a triplet or even quadruplet, but IDK, until that's confirmed she's at least a twin). Yup, apparently she's a fraternal twin with Marble Pie (previously referred to by fans as Inky Pie up to this point). And oh my, Marble Pie. This filly... is adorable.
     



     

    The Fluttershy is strong with this one


     
    She's basically the Pie Family version of Fluttershy, not even joking, but I couldn't help but want to see more of her! I don't know why, maybe it's because it's so bizarre a pony like this being in the Pie family, maybe it's just cause she's so cute, maybe it's because DHX kept blatantly trying to ship her with Big Mac (seriously, still not kidding about that, DO NOT be surprised to see that crop up in the future!). Whatever the reason, I need more of her (and her ship with Big Macintosh).
     




     

    Just kidding, just kidding.
    Though to address that, as multiple people have pointed out, if they are indeed related, they are pretty much as distant as cousins can possibly be, so it really wouldn't be awkward at all to ship them.

     
    Overall, the Pies were great as were the Apples, and I really hope we get to see more of Pinkie's family in the future. I need more MarbleMac, perpetually-angry Limestone, adventures of Apple Bloom and Maud, and Granny Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Pie have silly old-pony conversations.
     




     

    They share the same bed when they're all home, THAT IS SO CUTE!!!


     
    Besides all that, not much else to cover with this one. The timing was a bit wonky on this episode seeing as we're getting a Nightmare Night one NEXT BUCKING WEEK, but it was most definitely a worthy successor to "Hearth's Warming Eve" and lovely to see them return to that holiday. Twilight and Spike had a cute bit at the beginning, the animation was lovely as always, the humor was spot on, and I loved the Pie's Rock Farm and just how big the show's writers made it, it was very cool getting to see both how colorful it was (especially at the holidays) and how many diverse locations there were on it. I still have no bucking idea what you do at a rock farm, but eh, details. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not point out that DHX made a "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" reference, as well as a "Home Alone" reference in the same scene, in the SAME... BUCKING... SHOT!!!
     


     

    That... is bucking amazing, and this episode is full of win for that alone! :comeatus:


     
    That's all I got for this week, everypony, see you all next Saturday when it'll be time for things to get SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKYYYYYYY!!!!!! This is Batbrony, signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*
     



  4. Batbrony
    Good afternoon, everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"! Sorry I'm a bit later than usual, but I was just starving and had to get some lunch after the new episode. Well now... that seriously just happened. And, I'm not gonna lie, it was kinda perfect. This was something else, really, even by this show's standards. A day we've all been waiting for for a long, long, LONG time has finally come, and quite frankly, in true DHX fashion, they did it better than really I think any of us could've hoped for. Got a lot to cover with this one, so without further ado, this is "Crusaders of the Lost Mark."
     
    So given how much happened in this episode (and trust me, there was A LOT), I'm gonna change things up and review the three acts of this episode, before moving on to more miscellaneous items. I just feel it'll be easiest to organize it that way. Starting things off, we had the CMC resolving yet again, after a brief moment of doubt, to keep working to earn their cutie marks, until good ol' Pipsqueak (still best #1 fan of Princess Luna, I might add) showed up seeking their help for his campaign for student council president against Diamond Tiara. This of course leads into the election itself, which lasts about 5 minutes (most of that being a musical number), and results in Pipsqueak blowing out Diamond in a landslide, because it seems for once that all the other fillies and colts in Ponyville (and even Silver Spoon and Miss Cheerilee, GO CHEERILEE! ) are sick and tired of Diamond Tiara's usual bull crap and attitude and actually calling her out on it. Quite frankly, I can't blame them, as she was in rare form even by her standards in those first few minutes; she was basically a combination of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and every corrupt politician in Chicago (which is all of them), and basically did everything you should never do to win an election (at least in ponies faces, I mean, subtlety thy name is not Diamond Tiara ). Anyways, this was probably the most standard section of the episode, nothing really spectacular happened here aside from nicely setting up the rest, but there were still some nice things about it. There were some nice nods to continuity in their mentioning both Tirek and Discord's attacks in Ponyville, the two opening songs were nice, Pipsqueak is adorable as ever (and I seriously did not remember him being that tiny, HE'S SO CUTE!!! ), Diamond Tiara got a really satisfying comeuppance, but perhaps most importantly of all, this was all that the episode description was about. This impressed me, in hindsight. The episode description made it sound like the entire episode was going to revolve around the election, and going in I kinda assumed that at some point Diamond Tiara would blackmail the CMC or something into helping her. So imagine my surprise when that was all done 5 minutes in.
     




     
     
     

    A vote for Pip is a vote for adorableness


     
     
     



     
     
     

    Um, why exactly is super strength that everypony knows about something to be self conscious about, again? GIRL, YOUR TALENT IS TO BE A SUPERHERO, THAT'S BUCKING AWESOME!!!


     
     
     



     
     
     

    Best... campaign poster... EVER!!! Well done Dinky, you're making your mom proud


     

    This leads us to the second act of this episode, where it quickly started becoming apparent that this was no ordinary episode. No, it seemed that the CMC finally mustered up the courage and resolve to try and help out their longtime archnemesis, Diamond Tiara. Turns out, well, her life kinda sucks (material wealth not withstanding). We'd met her father before, but aside from being a neglectful parent, he didn't really explain her behavior; Filthy Rich, from what we've seen, while again being a neglectful parent and a bit too preoccupied with his business affairs, is all around a cool guy. He's a local whose family has been in Ponyville for a long time, he seems to get along just fine with all his neighbors, and an important fixture in Ponyville's community overall. No, no, apparently, as this episode taught us, Diamond Tiara's special brand of awful comes from her mother, Spoiled Rich. Oh goodness, Spoiled Rich, where do I even begin? This is one of the nastier minor antagonists this show has ever had. We've seen some snobbish Canterlot nobility in the past, but nothing quite like this. She was literally talking the whole episode about looking down on their "social inferiors," and when she wasn't doing that, she was blatantly emotionally abusing Diamond Tiara. It was taken so far, in fact, that I can't help but have some minor issues with it. The biggest reason I don't necessarily buy her behavior is because frankly I don't know how Filthy would've gotten with her in the first place, unless it was an arranged marriage. He just doesn't seem like the kinda guy, from what we've seen, who'd put up with someone like that, especially if she treated their daughter that way too. Minor quibble, though, for the most part I bought her, even if she was just a tad over-the-top in her awfulness. The message still hit home that oftentimes kids are bad or mean and nasty because of the environment they grow up in and what their parents are like, and it definitely helped paint Diamond Tiara in a whole new light quickly. You felt for her just like the CMC did (though quite frankly I'm a bit surprised that in a town as small as Ponyville, they'd never seen her mom before this episode), and they quickly decided to try to aid her in any way they could after it turned out that she really doesn't know what she's really good at, and is very self-conscious about it. This is a HUGE point in the episode, vastly important. You see, at the start they were happy to help Pipsqueak, but they also thought it'd be a good chance to get their cutie marks too. Obviously that didn't work out. However, when they decided to help Diamond Tiara, their mortal nemesis, more or less, they didn't mention their cutie marks at all. They just wanted to try to be good fillies and maybe friends with her, reach out to her when no one else, including Silver Spoon, would. It was a selfless act, and one without any intent to get their cutie marks. It also illustrated nicely how much all three have grown since they first befriended each other; they still cared about getting their cutie marks, but this season especially they've cared more so about helping others for its own sake, especially those who, like them, didn't understand their special talents.
     




     
     
     

    Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, friendship!!!


     
     
     



     
     
     

    That moment they introduce a character worse than DT. Yeahhhhhhh, this b*tch was just the worst. How bad? She made me feel sorry for Diamond Tiara in 10 seconds flat after being introduced, I think that says everything you need to know.


     
     
     



     
     
     

    Bon Bon, honey, I know you apparently must have some money given how much we see you in Canterlot (and hey, I'm sure being a spy has all sorts of nice employment benefits), but you SERIOUSLY need to reconsider who you're hanging around with in your off time besides Lyra!


     

    Anyways, their attempts to befriend Diamond Tiara make some headway, ever so slowly, but things are almost all put to ruin when it turns out that Pipsqueak can't get the money to refurbish the elementary school's playground, and Diamond Tiara sees an opportunity to take back the student council presidency and go back to her old ways. Thankfully, however, the CMC talk her out of it through song (in a very impressively choreographed sequence, if I do say so myself, the music and the running chase scene went very nicely together and complemented each other well), and she chooses to try a different path. She chastises her mother and discovers that her special talent turns out to be getting ponies to do what she wants (which can manifest in a very nasty way, obviously), but in this case, when she was acting more positive, it turned into positive leadership. She was able to get the funds and labor to make their new playground a reality, and I thought that was a very cool spin on her talent and showing how talents can both be good and bad things depending on how we use them, because technically she still utilized it before, just in very, very nasty ways. In the process, she reconciled with Silver Spoon and her classmates, and ended up making some new friends and taking her first steps in the right direction. This is another minor point of complaint of mine, but her turn at the end was a bit abrupt for me. Not her doing the right thing, no, just how well she did it. It was like she was just a complete polar opposite self, and given the fast pace at times of the episode, that was just a tad bit jarring. However, for the most part it worked I thought, and like I said, I only have a minor, minor, minor complaint about it in that one scene.
     




     
     
     

    I won't lie, I didn't cry, but I wanted to SO BADLY!!!


     

    This, of course, leads us into the last act. Oh my, the last act. That was... wow, that was just wow. They got 'em. What else can I really say, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, after 5 seasons of trying their hardest to get their cutie marks, finally got them. It was kinda perfect, like I said earlier. They weren't trying to go them, they weren't doing the most ludicrous thing they could think of, they were just being great friends and doing what they've truly become good at, helping another figure out what their special talent is. That is really kinda perfect for their special talent, and it was set up quite nicely this season especially (but also in seasons past in episodes like "One Bad Apple"). On top of that, it really was perfect too that they got their cutie marks all at once. I think there was a window in earlier seasons where it would've made sense if they got them one at a time, but at this point, when they have grown so close to each other, they really needed to get them all together at the same time. It just makes perfect sense and was really the best way to handle it. And finally, the payoff itself was perfect. The whole town celebrated alongside those three. First their classmates, including new friends Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, along with their beloved teacher Miss Cheerilee, then the townsfolk (including my beloved Derpy, who I might add was one of the first ponies in town to happily spot their cutie marks ), and finally the Mane 6, including their sisters/sister figures. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack all had lovely moments with the CMC, my personal favorite being Applejack's simply because she actually mentioned their dead parents and confirmed very explicitly that they're no long with them. Yes it'd been confirmed by the writers before, but never did I imagine they'd be so explicit about it, and it was done very tastefully and had a very emotional impact, if I do say so myself. Applejack's not just a sister or sister figure for Apple Bloom like Rarity and Rainbow Dash are, she's also a mother figure for Apple Bloom, so it was just too lovely getting to see her celebrate Apple Bloom's achievement. The moment was perfect, the closing scene was perfect, the music was perfect, the celebration was perfect, the call backs to previous episodes with them were perfect, the whole closing act of this episode was just perfect and exactly what Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo deserved after getting their cutie marks. A whole new road is now open for them, and they can focus from now on on cultivating their special talents and helping other ponies who are struggling like they did for such a long time figure out what their special talents are.
     




     

    Well... that's basically all I got. A few minor notes before we close this review. I've only watched it once so far, so don't have any of the song titles memorized or anything, but I was very impressed by all the music here. It was lovely, nicely spaced, fit the younger characters starring in this episode very, very well, and probably the most music we've had in a single episode since "Magical Mystery Cure" back in Season 3. The whole pace of the episode for the most part worked well too, with again just a couple of minor nitpicks from me in certain spots. The animation as always was lovely, and I very much adore the Cutie Mark Crusaders' cutie marks, the color schemes and patterns just work perfectly and it's too lovely that they all resemble each other, just simply perfect for them. There wasn't a lot of humor by the show's normal standards, but that's very understandable here given how much was going on and how serious the issues at hand here were. All in all, this is probably... yeah, I'm gonna say it, this is the Cutie Mark Crusaders' best episode to date, and it was simply the perfect way for them to get their cutie marks and mark the actual 5th anniversary of the show (not to mention it was very nice that they let Amy Keating Rogers, who left the show after they'd wrapped up production this season, write this episode). It's weird to say you're proud of fictional characters, but quite frankly I can't help it, I'm proud of all three of them, and I tip my hat to DHX on a smashing job well done. Congratulations Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, you finally did it. You... did... it, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for all three of you!
     
    Until next time, everypony, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*
     




  5. Batbrony
    Alrighty, welcome, welcome, welcome back everypony to another edition of Batbrony Reviews! After a 2 month hiatus Season 5 is back in business! And my, my, is it back in business indeed. It's never a bad thing to start things off with a Rarity episode; I don't believe she's ever had a truly weak episode unlike other main characters like Pinkie Pie or the CMC. Not that most of the characters ever have weak episodes, but Rarity's are especially of a consistent high quality, and in my opinion "Canterlot Boutique" is no exception. Without further ado, let's dive right in and take a look at the 14th episode of Season 5, shall we?
     




     
     
     

    New episode, where?!


     
     
     



     
     
     

    Right this way, darlings!


     

    First of all, I don't actually have a lot to say about this episode, but that's not because there wasn't a lot I liked, oh no, there was. It's actually mostly because it was very well-paced to the point that scenes were so fully developed that not a lot ended up happening. It was a very self-contained episode with a grand total of two settings, Ponyville Boutique at the very start of the episode, and for the rest of it Canterlot Boutique. In many ways, it actually felt like a Season 1 episode in that regard, and even has some parallels in its overall feel with Rarity's first episode, "Suited for Success." I get how that might not be for everyone (myself included given that I have complained about "MMMystery on the Friendship Express"'s lack of interesting settings before, but that episode sucks in general and the lack of settings is the least of its problem), but here I thought it really worked given that it was a new setting and not a whole lot was happening.
     




     

    As far as Rarity goes, I really liked her characterization here, mostly because the episode was not entirely clear (at least I didn't think so) for a while as to just what exactly the problem was. We knew that this lifelong dream of Rarity's was not turning out the way she'd hoped it would, but it wasn't exactly clear why. It wasn't that she was getting worked to the bone; sure she got some fatigue, but Rarity's a hard worker and we know that she loves putting in a hard day's work. Eventually it became clear that there was simply no more joy and passion going into her work; her lifelong dream was turning into a chore, not the passion she'd always treated her work as, and that made it simply unbearable! I think even outside of creative communities many, many, many people can relate to this feeling; work simply being a means to a paycheck, not something you actually love and truly care about, and how crushing that feeling can be. What made it worse for Rarity was that she was technically in charge of this venture (and I will say in that regard it's a little surprising that she didn't put her hoof down sooner, after all, Sassy Saddles was her employee), so for it to get out of her control like that must've just hurt her all the more. I'm guessing she went with it for so long because she was convinced that she wanted to do whatever it took to make it Canterlot, even if it meant not doing her work her way, but eventually she realized that not only was that unnecessary, but also simply not worth it even if it had meant closing her business (which thankfully she didn't have to do). Her forgiving Sassy Saddles only made her lesson learned all the better, because after all, her manager never really meant any harm.
     
    Aside then from her fantastic characterization, there were other things that were great about Rarity here as well. Her song "Rules of Rarity" was great (as virtually any Rarity solo song is), and pretty much had a constant presence in the episode for the second half of it, to the point that it was very much doing some of the storytelling here similar to how "Art of the Dress" did in "Suited for Success" (which I believe was intentional, and the two songs even sounded similar). It was great seeing both her creative side on display (I always love when the show embraces the fact that Rarity is a fashionista and designer and yet doesn't make her cliche as buck as any other show would) as well as how business savvy she remains, I mean, heck, she now has two branches for her business, that's a permanent change and shows how far her own career has advanced since the show started! Overall, Rarity was super solid here; she kept a cool head for the most part and didn't fall into hysterics, but still learned a valuable lesson rather than knowing it right from the start. Super solid Rarity episode, and I enjoyed her here as I pretty much always do when she's the star of an episode.
     




     

    As for other elements, I really had no major complaints about anything. Her friends were great, Twilight especially being super kind helping Rarity out like she did. Sassy Saddles was a nice new supporting character; I liked that she wasn't just straight up antagonistic, but rather just a pony trying to do the right thing but in the wrong way. It seemed like she'd failed at managing a number of boutiques in the past, probably because she seems to value very much separation of responsibilities between managers and designers. So it's not that she's so much a control freak of everything, but rather a control freak of her own areas of responsibility, and I know that in many different careers there's a lot of people who hate sharing their particular responsibilities with others. It's a very understandable character flaw, and she really was well meaning through and through, but thankfully she learned a valuable lesson as well about working and collaborating on an equal basis with a business partner and aiming for long term success in the fashion business through diversity of stock, not just selling the buck out of one dress, which would only remain in fashion for so long.
     
    I loved being back in Canterlot and always love that setting, and the fact that they were consistent in showing mostly unicorns there was a nice little aesthetic touch. That Cosmare writer was HILARIOUS, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but they somehow made a character more over-the-top... than Steven Magnet. I still don't know how, but they did it.
     




     
     
     

    This guy... I love this guy!


     
     
     



     
     
     



     
     
     

    Loved, loved, LOVED this last scene!


     

    The one thing that was completely unnecessary was that random as buck obese pony at the end; I know that same pony technically showed up on that picture in that locker earlier in the season in "Tanks for the Memories," but it was just a weak joke in general. It was a fat joke that came at the last second in the episode and was literally the last thing we saw, just kind of fell flat as a regard of that. However, I LOVED the last scene when we got to see Rarity actually working her boutique, something we usually only get to see her do with one customer at a time or a close friend. Here though it was packed with new characters, and once again, I cannot reiterate enough how much I love Canterlot ponies! The variety in personalities was great, the dresses they were picking out were beautiful (I adored her entire princess line up and also loved the fact that it illustrates the princesses' effect and influence on Equestrian popular culture), and the whole scene was just a lovely look into Rarity when she's in her element. Overall, this was a slower episode, once again reminding me very much of a Season 1 episode, but I really, really liked it very much for what it was. Season 5's back, and we got from the looks of things another Rarity episode to look forward to next week, yay!
     


    ...


     
     
     

    ...


     
     
     

    OK, one more time...


     
     
     



     
     
     

    I LOVE THIS GUY!!!


  6. Batbrony
    OK, so... wow, way to end the first half of Season 5 on a high note, am I right?! Welcome back everypony to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews," and holy cow, was that quite the episode! I literally have nothing bad to say about this one, at all, so very much like the "Slice of Life" episode review, this review's going to be more of a big ol' text of fangasming more than anything else. Without further ado, let's jump right into "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"
     
    So before we get to the more substantive bits of the episode, namely anything having to do with Princess Luna, let's look at more crowd-pleasing elements first, cause there were A LOT from start to finish. So, first, the Mane 6. The episode for the most part had a nice balance of all of them, something we haven't seen much since the start of the season and doubly impressive considering the episode didn't actually star them as the main characters. They contributed heavily towards the lesson of the episode, but still, they were not the stars here, and the fact that they were so seamlessly woven into the screen time without taking away from Luna was incredibly impressive to say the least. Spike also had a great episode from start to finish, and was helpful in quite a few capacities. Definitely one of his better supporting roles this season, both in and out of the dreams (especially when Buff Spike returned). The Mane 6's dreams were all very entertaining and unique, and made sense for all of them (both the ideal dreams and the nightmares), though some stood out more than others. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy's, and Rainbow Dash's were especially amazing and creative; Pinkie with her random inability to stay in one part of a dream the second her subconscious thinks of another spot (and dear Lord, how she keeps sanity doing that is beyond me ), Fluttershy's Angel Bunny nightmare was too funny (though Angel wasn't exactly any different than usual ), and OH MY GOSH Rainbow Dash's nightmare, PERFECTION!!! How do you do a Barney reference and an Anchorman reference at the same time? THAT'S HOW!!!
     




     

    Jazz flute... so much jazz flute!


     
    But even as amazing as their individual dreams were, they all paled in comparison to that final dream with ALL OF PONYVILLE!!! Holy cow, that was fun. Let's just list off everything that was here, in no particular order; we had a ton of callbacks, including Rainbow Dash and Applejack taking on their Power Pony identities, Spike turning into Buff Spike, Fluttershy turning into Flutterbat, and so on; we had a whole lot of new stuff as well, especially from the background ponies, including Lyra and BonBon being fused together in one of the greatest CatDog references I've ever seen, bucking Big Mac literally turning into an alicorn princess and simultaneously referencing magical girl anime (GOSH DANG IT, THANK YOU LARSON!!!), Filthy Rich flying around through the power of money (because of course he would), flying muffins (just go with it), flying Scootaloo with, I'll admit, quite terrifying looking giant wings, Rarity sewing up the sky itself (a very nice creative touch there that I for one liked very much), pretty much every other major background pony in Ponyville (including Mr. Cake actually getting a speaking role, which I liked), and GIANT DERPY WHO SOUNDS LIKE A CAT WHICH IS JUST THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER (only topped by BUFF SPIKE MOUNTING AND RIDING GIANT CAT DERPY INTO BATTLE, OMG THAT WAS THE MOST GLORIOUS IMAGE EVER THAT SHALL FOREVER BE INGRAINED INTO MY BRAIN, YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!). And ALL OF THESE PONIES, the Mane 6, Spike, all of Ponyville were battling a nightmarish entity inside of a giant shared dream, and it was BUCKING GLORIOUS!!! So yeah, uhhhhhhhh... lots of "little" stuff like that that contributed to making this episode friggin' amazing.
     




     

    Well that's just terrifying. Berry, go home, even in the dreamscape you're drunk.


     



     


    Thanks, M.A. Lar- I mean, Scott Sonneborn! You did it, you madman, you! You actually did it!!!


     



     

    Well... at least they're taking this awfully well.


     



     

    This is the greatest thing I've ever seen


     



     

    I stand corrected... THIS is the greatest thing I've ever seen!


     



     

    Nightmare Moon's final nightmare: her own shadow come to life


     
    But finally, we are brought to the core of the episode itself, and this is what lifted it from simply being amazing, to being "OH MY GOSH, GLORIOUS TRIUMPH OF AWESOMENESS!!!" I am talking of course about Princess Luna and the Tantabus. First of all, it is worth noting that this was Princess Luna's first true role in the show starring her as THE main character of an episode since "Luna Eclipsed" wayyyyyyyyy back in Season 2. She's had some very solid appearances since then, and has really been showing up a whole lot this season especially, but as an ardent fan of Princess Luna (Best Princess, now and always), I adored seeing her in a starring role here. Besides that, the issues addressed were very heavy, they were addressed very impressively, and they also made perfect sense for her character. The Tantabus, as we only learned as the episode progressed, was a nightmarish entity born of Luna's very own guilt. This is not just any guilt, this is the guilt of a thousand-year-old mistake, a mistake that hurt many ponies and cost Luna and her sister Celestia so very much. The weight of this guilt was especially apparent in Luna's words at the end when she finally confessed exactly what the Tantabus was through sorrowful tears as it looked like she was bringing suffering to Equestria all over again. That scene was simply utter perfection, and it's mostly because the writers earned it. Throughout the episode, Luna was desperately trying to fix this on her own, but for the wrong reasons; her guilt was fueling her desperate efforts, and that guilt in turn only fueled the Tantabus more and made it stronger. While she defeated it a bit quickly at the end, it still felt fine because she defeated it only when she finally realized that not only had her friends and all of Equestria forgiven her, but that she herself truly had changed. She need no longer fear that she will become Nightmare Moon again, no longer need let her past sins control or guide her actions. Indeed, so ashamed was she of her time as Nightmare Moon, so fearful that it could happen again that we learned she purposefully created the Tantabus in order to remind herself of her past failures every single night in nightmarish dreams of her own of her very own making. That is simply tragic, and it adds so many layers to Luna's character. But now she is free of her guilt, free of the pain she caused herself and others so many centuries ago, and that was all wonderfully encapsulated in that final image of Luna sleeping in a beautiful, serene dreamscape representation of the inner peace that she has finally achieved. I loved, loved, loved everything about Luna here, and while it may not have been her funniest showing (that honor still goes to "Luna Eclipsed"), it is still by far the greatest Princess Luna episode of MLP for me personally. She has finally closed the book on Nightmare Moon once and for all, and the fact that that sin haunted her for so long makes all the sense in the world. But now she is free at last of all the ghosts of her past, and dear Lord could it not possibly have been presented any better than it was here. This may very well be one of my top 10 favorite MLP episodes of all time from now on, it was simply that good, especially in Princess Luna's story arc.
     
    Besides that, there were just a few other little things that were very nice about this episode. It was great seeing all the pets again, including Tank, who appears to be back from his hibernation, yay! The animation as always was incredibly top notch and we had a whole lot of very different but inventive and wildly creative locations to see here in the multitude of dreamscapes and the strange creations inhabiting them all. It was a cool bit of canon that apparently Celestia has never had any power to enter into or alter dreams, very cool that the writers cleared that up. And finally the pacing here was just too good, I swear, DHX has simply hit a sweet spot level of perfection at this point when it comes to pacing their episodes that few ever do. If they could fit such an epic episode with so much at stake into 22 minutes and still make it work, my gosh, what can't they do?! All around, this was just a perfect episode, and with a mid-season hiatus now in full swing, I don't think we could've asked for a better one to close the first half of Season 5 out. This'll probably be the last edition of "Batbrony Reviews" for a while, but don't worry, MLP and my reviews will both be back in no time ya'll, and I look forward to hanging out with you all again in a few months to close out the rest of Season 5! Until then, this is Batbrony, ecstatic and signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*
     




     

    A dream a thousand years in the making; sleep well, Luna


  7. Batbrony
    OK, welcome back everypony to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews." Gonna try to keep this one on the short side of things since I got some 4th of July activities to get to, so let's get started. Overall, this was a delightful episode! It had good characterization of both new and old characters, some really cool additions to show canon, hearkened back to A LOT of Season 1 bits from the very first episode even, and addressed a good issue very soundly. First of all, I thought Twilight and Spike were both great here. We got to really see Twilight acting on her own as a Princess of Friendship handling an actual friendship problem; even if it was one very close and personal to her, that was still cool to see. Spike was spot on too, very much the lovable and helpful assistant that he is when he's at his best; the fact that he was able, for example, to prevent major awkwardness between Twilight and most of her old friends by reminding her of who they were and helping her track them down was a major plus in his favor here. His old present for Moondancer was also a nice touch that had a very good payoff in the end. Pinkie for the little bit that she was in the episode was of course Pinkie, what's not to love? My favorite bit with her was that of course she knows Minuette, why wouldn't she?
     
    Onto the new characters (or, rather, old characters getting characterization for the first time). For starters, I really liked Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts here. Minuette seems very bubbly and outgoing, possibly even the Pinkie-equivalent of the Canterlot bunch. I know some people were at first worried that she was being a suck up to Twilight, but it really seems like that was her genuine personality, and I like that. We learned some cool canon about Lemon Hearts working as an event planner/organizer at Canterlot Castle, and while Twinkleshine was more a third wheel than anything else, she seemed nice and she has a lovely design. What I liked most of all about all of them was how they were so forgiving of Twilight's past behavior, and in fact hadn't even really cared that she wasn't the most outgoing, they'd just always loved her for the bookworm she was. It highlights rather nicely just how friendly so many ponies in Equestrian society in general are, and that the Mane 6, while certainly exceptional ponies, aren't necessarily unusual as far as how outgoing they are to others. As for Moondancer, aside from her being a cool revival of a G1 character, she was a very effective example on the writers' part of how important early friendships especially are. Seemingly small events when we're young can really effect our entire outlook on things, and how hurt she was by Twilight's absence at her one and only party is a great example of that. And that, furthermore, highlights by extension just how important friendship is at an early age. Having people around you that you trust like that, people you really know care about you for who you are, it helps you learn better how to live in the world, how to thrive and enjoy life to its fullest. It may seem like a well-worn phrase, but it really is true that friends really do often help people come out of their shells, and sometimes our first ones can be the most important in that regard, even if we don't always keep in touch with them throughout our lives.
     



     

    *sigh* I love pony physics. How do they work?


     



     

    Sunglasses: You're doing them right, Minuette


     



     

    Good job, Princess of Friendship!


     
    Besides these major elements, I did love having another episode set in Canterlot. It wasn't a terribly funny episode, interestingly enough, but I think that's because it wasn't going for a whole lot of jokes. It had a lot to tell, for one, and it was also handling a fairly serious and complex issue for another, so I think it can certainly be forgiven for not being the most rip-roaringly funny episode of Season 5. There were some lovely locations they went to, the callbacks again to Season 1, both those that were and weren't important to the episode, were very cool and impressive to see, and there might have even been a sighting of Starlight Glimmer in one scene (which I'll have to go back and look for when I rewatch this episode). A bit of foreshadowing, perhaps? Perhaps indeed, but we'll just have to wait and see, now, won't we? Overall, this was a splendid episode. A nice change of pace, I thought, felt very suited for a Twilight episode to her character, I have no complaints about the pacing or execution, all around just a very lovely, solid episode that I can't wait to rewatch. That's all I got for ya'll today guys! To all my fellow American bronies out there, I wish you all a very Happy Fourth of July!!! Later all, I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*
     



     

    Dun, dun, DUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!


  8. Batbrony
    *takes a deep breath* Well now... that was certainly an experience, wasn't it? :comeatus: This... all of this... where do I even begin? Welcome back, everypony, to the 100th episode edition of "Batbrony Reviews." If we're going to start somewhere, I suppose it's best to start by saying just what this was, at least in my own opinion. This was everything I expected, everything I did not expect, and so very much more. It was basically a fanfiction made into an episode, if you want to be blunt, but it was more than that even. It was a love letter in every sense of the word: to the fans, to the show, to the background characters, supporting characters, main characters, and everything we love about the world of Equestria and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. 100 episodes, and we've finally reached that point, the point that few shows ever do, even long-lasting, successful ones; we have reached the point where the creators and the fandom have acknowledged in both canon and fanon love and mutual respect for one another and their creations. It's a beautiful thing, really, and it made for a wonderfully chaotic and somehow beautifully balanced time this episode. Let's dive right in and fully take in every bit of wonderful, shall we?
     
    This review won't be in any particular order, because it really doesn't matter for an episode that had so very much. It's going to be more of a... well-thought out fangasm, if you will. What did I love, here? I... LOVED... EVERYTHING! I know that that's not the case with everyone, and that's perfectly fine if people had complaints or different levels of appreciation of this episode, but for me, it was perfect. I loved every single bit of this gift, and that's what it is, a gift from DHX that they gave to us and put together with tender, loving care. M.A. Larson, perhaps both the most beloved and at the same time infamous writer of the show, was the perfect choice for putting this episode together, especially in the post-Faust MLP. Only Faust herself could've possibly outdone him if she were still attached to the show, but I don't think even whatever she could've put together would've been quite as delightfully insane in that Larson-y fashion that only he himself, the master of trolly writers in MLP, can manage. Larson has now officially become my favorite writer of the show for this episode alone, and for that, he has my everlasting gratitude.
     




     

    No, wait, I actually mean it this time!


     



     

    Every savory bite of this delectable masterpiece was delicious in its own unique way. Lyra (Ashleigh Ball) and Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops (Andrea Libman) were hardly surprising in their appearance, but they were surprising in just what exactly DHX did with them. First, I was completely surprised by the fact that Bon Bon not only received such a bizarre background that had no grounding in the fandom whatsoever, but also by the fact that she was the focus of the subplot and not Lyra. Upon thinking about this further, I realized it was quite brilliant, actually, in its own insane way. Not only did they not meet expectations by simply taking the easy route with those two, but they also came up with an amazingly zany explanation of Bon Bon's alternate name, Sweetie Drops, that somehow managed to make both canon. But perhaps even more brilliant than that, they found a way to please both those who ship Lyra and Bon Bon in the fandom, and those who do not. Technically, in canon they are nothing more than best friends; they hammered it on the head quite a bit in fact to the point of ludicrousness. But there was also so much shipping fuel in their interactions together, that Lyra and Bon Bon shippers can't possibly even be mad. DHX went as far as they could to embrace both interpretations in canon, and I still can't believe they managed to pull it off. I've seen some Lyra and Bon Bon fans in this thread arguing since the episode aired about what is and isn't canon, but I implore you, no matter what you believe, please don't! You're both right, and there's no need to! It's rather remarkable, that way, isn't it?
     





    Friend or ship, either way, we all win!


     

    Continuing with the Big 6 of background ponies, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody's (Kazumi Evans) bits were just as amazing. I know dubstep's not everyone's cup of tea, but I for one adored the classical music/dubstep cross they put together, and their ride through town on Vinyl's bass cannon was nothing short of spectacular, glorious insanity, topped off by them literally jumping the shark. I really like that Vinyl has no voice, as well; it would've been really easy for Nowacking to agree to do her voice, but then she wouldn't be able to do fan projects anymore, so I really appreciate that, if DHX did approach, she held out, but DHX found a rather clever alternative. Instead of trying to find an alternative to Nowacking, they seem to be content keeping her as a silent character, and it oddly seems to work for her. Octavia's voice, provided by Rarity's singing VA, is very close to EileMonty's and suits her nicely as well. Their house is too awesome for words to describe (and I'm sure Two Face wouldn't mind living there either), and it was so much fun seeing them throw their musical noggins together. There wasn't really anything in the way of shipping fuel with those two like there was with other characters, but that worked just fine for them; I've always preferred thinking of them as best friends and housemates rather than an actual couple compared to other pairs in fanon.
     




     

    Twilicane: "You thought I was dead, did you?! HAH! Foolish mortals, I can never die! I simply return time and again to amplify the awesome and simply confuse you even more!!!!!!!"


     

    Moving on to some of the lesser bits of the episode, we had the surprise return of Steven Magnet (and his canon naming as well) as, of all things, Cranky Doodle's very own "Best Beast" for his wedding, and boy oh boy was he fun to watch. Steven's always been a favorite Season 1 character of mine, even if he'd only ever been in the first episode before today, and Lee Tockar's exuberance in the role is simply infectious. He's one of those characters who, no matter how over-the-top he gets, manages to not get at any point obnoxious, but instead is just a delight to watch the entire time. And to top it all off, despite freaking out Matilda about halfway through the episode (because of course he'd freak out a bride on her wedding day ), he had a very affectionate moment with his apparently best friend, Cranky, at the end of the episode, as well as a sweet nod to Rarity's own generosity that she'd extended his way in Season 1. Gummy's existential inner monologue was simply too epic for words to describe, and for me, he is from now on best pet, no doubt, sorry Tank, you're awesome, he's just awesomer. That was probably the most surprising moment of the episode for me, though it oddly makes sense for Pinkie's beloved alligator that he would be the only pet in all of Ponyville to ponder the meaning of life (on a regular basis, I'm guessing). Amethyst Star had her own small bit taking over the organization for Matilda's wedding (both voiced by Brenda Crichlow, that's certainly confusing), but it was very cool learning more about her, she's one of my favorite unicorns in all of Ponyville for sure. The Flower Trio of Lily Valley, Roseluck, and Daisy (Cathy Weseluck, Kazumi Evans, and Ashleigh Ball) of course had their own little moment of over-the-top dramatics (or rather, several), and even the royals made a surprise appearance in ways we're not accustomed to. Shining Armor apparently gets super emotional at weddings along with Cadance, and Celestia and Luna's little sibling-spat was too adorable and hilarious. Speaking as a sibling myself, I loved that, every bit of it, because it felt so real, and yet it was also a side to those two that we'd never gotten to see before. But in the end, listening to Mayor Mare's heartwarming words, they reconciled as all siblings always should over little stuff like that (especially if you're both over 1,000 years old :comeatus:).
     
    Besides all that, basically every single other background pony in existence popped up in some regard. The CMC had a quick bit, Bulk Biceps was there, Filthy Rich, Button Mash, Truffles, Berry Punch hugging a barrel of cider, Thunderlane, Colgate, Carrot Top, Cloud Kicker, Mr. and Mrs. Cake along with Pound and Pumpkin Cake, Raindrops, that pony with the jelly-fetish, the sofa-and-quills salesman, the tennis-player with the world's greatest mutton chops, Lotus and Aloe, Hayseed Turniptruck, Pipsqueak, Cloud Chaser, Flitter, Featherweight, a completely random Changeling, and oh so many more, pretty much the entire town, in fact. Matilda and Cranky themselves were quite delightful to see again as well, especially getting to learn more about both of them. I love that Cranky is this cheap bastard and, despite even finding the love of his life, still a curmudgeon (just seems to fit him well, I guess, but a lovable curmudgeon, mind you), and Matilda was too funny in the beleaguered-bride-on-her-wedding day role. But in the end, their wedding was a smashing success, and I'm sure no matter how much we see of them in the future, in the show's universe, they shall have a long and happy life together!
     




     

    Main characters? GET THE BUCK OUTTA HERE!


     

    Now of course, those of you who know me will know that I've been building up to what, for me, stole the show here. What really made this oh so special for this particular brony. I am talking, of course, about the incredible, amazing, awesomeness that was Derpy Hooves (Tabitha St. Germain... again) and Doctor Whooves (Peter New). Oh my, where to start with these two. There's just so much to say. If I didn't love Derpy so much, I'd say that Peter with his performance alone stole the whole show altogether. His accent was amazing, the mannerisms were spot on (and this coming from a non-Whovian), the references were not too hard for non-Whovians like myself to understand, but still abounding throughout, I could just go on and on. I loved how he got so easily absentminded throughout the whole episode, always going from one random activity to another, and I loved that Derpy seemed to be the only one who really got him, too. His bowling with the Big Lebowski-ponies (with the Dude actually getting a voice, of all things) was too epic for words to describe, but it was somehow surpassed by his bits at the end, if you can believe that. Derpy herself, well... she was everything I could've hoped for. She is and always will be my best pony, and I can't thank DHX enough for what they did for her. Bringing Tabitha St. Germain back in the role even though she changed the voice (in fact, I actually liked this voice more than her original, and MUCH MORE than that dreadful replacement they came up with after "The Last Roundup" controversy, it sounded like Derpy but also more feminine than her original, which makes sense when you consider that Tabitha originally thought that Derpy was supposed to be a boy), putting her in the spotlight, making her both derpy in her behavior as she's always been but also completely lovable, exuberant, and in the end helpful, oh, and muffin refunds, it all worked so perfectly. There were, however, two things I loved the most about her. The first was that, interestingly enough, despite starring in this episode, Derpy (and the same can be said for many background ponies here) was still a background pony. Her activities, like all background ponies, were just one small-drop in the bigger picture of what the story of Ponyville and the lives of all its citizens are, and it was actually quite apparent. All of these subplots happened alongside each other without really running into each other or colliding, and it was quite frankly amazing. The other thing I loved, with all my heart, was Derpy and the Doctor. At first, it seemed like they were just extremely close friends. But at the end of the day, DHX did something I never in my wildest dreams thought they would do. They gave just enough for fans to reasonably claim that Derpy and the Doctor is a canon ship. If you don't interpret it that way, that's perfectly fine, but for me, their affectionate hug/snuggle at the end, her telling the Doctor he looked like a million bits in his amazing scarf, even booping their noses earlier in the episode in his lab/home, that's enough for me to say that they are, in my book, a canon couple. No one can take that away from me, and it warms my heart that DHX would be willing to do something like that for those of us who love shipping those two in this fandom. They were adorable together, they were perfect in their performances, and I loved every single minute of them. They were by far the highlight of this episode, for me. What else can ya say but ALONSY!!!
     




     

    Ships... who ever said they couldn't be canon?


     
    But wait, there's more! The Mane 6 were here, yeah, shocker right? They were fighting this crazy awesome looking monster called a Bug Bear (which apparently Bon Bon has a history with and also looked very much like a literal panda getting thrown at us... oh Larson, you!). But what I loved more than anything was that they were very much in the background the whole time, until the last scene, of course. And boy oh boy what a last scene, that was. Mayor Mare herself almost stole the show when she delivered the moral of the episode, and this, this was the genius of the episode summed up. Her speech was DHX's way of saying, "this has been great fun, but this has been more than simple fan service or pandering." This, for them, was genuine love and affection. Love for us, love for each and every one of their characters, love for the world they've created. Every story in Equestria is special in its own way, everyone in this show, at DHX, in the fandom, in the world, has a special story of their own to tell, and that should be celebrated as much as possible. That speech took the episode from silly, zany, off-the-walls amazing to sincere, genuine, respectable writing and fan-love, not just fan service. They wanted to make sure this 100th episode would be a thing to remember, and boy, did they ever succeed. Ending the episode back with the Mane 6, Twilight declaring her love for her friends and the town of Ponyville and all its inhabitants we've come to know and love. What better way to end such an episode could you have asked for? That's all I have to say about this one, guys. What else is there to say? Everyone will have a different opinion about this one, but for this brony at least, this episode is perfection. It is the greatest slice of life (fitting enough considering that was its very name ) episode of MLP I have ever seen, probably ever will see, and I will always love this with all of my heart and treasure the fact that I have gotten to share in the love of this show, these characters, and the folks who have created them, with all of you guys. This is Batbrony, resident Bat-lover of Derpy and all things background ponies, signing off. I'm off!!! *cue dramatic and joyously exuberant exit*
     




     

    Thank you for being such a special little town, Ponyville, for all of us, in oh so many ways.


  9. Batbrony
    Welcome back everypony to another "Batbrony Reviews." This week, oh gosh... so Discord finally had his "Lesson Zero" moment. One would've thought that it might've been in "Keep Calm and Flutter On" before this episode, but nope, this was definitely it. Poor dude went off the deep end from almost the first minute to the last. And ya know what...
     




     
    I didn't just like it, I LOVED it! This episode... oh my goodness, this episode. My one complaint is that it wasn't longer, just because I would have liked to get to see more of the Gala a second time around. But really, even as is, this episode is pretty much perfect. The pacing, although whirlwind-fast from start to finish, was outstanding, and they somehow managed to not only fit in an actual plot with a well-delivered message, but A LOT of little subplots and nice little aesthetic touches as well. Without further ado, let's begin.
     
    So to start, let's talk the main character, Discord. First of all, it's very much worth noting that this is the first time, in my opinion at least, that he's been the SOLE main character of an episode. He's been a main character before, but here, it was clear from start to finish that he was the primary subject. No one else had to actually learn a lesson, it was him alone, and while we've seen his chaotic nature before get him in trouble, this time things, although still similar, were also quite different. Discord did not cause trouble entirely because of his penchant for causing chaos; instead, he caused trouble because he was actually worried about his dearest friendship he has, that being with Fluttershy. That illustrates a remarkable amount of character progression for Discord; it's quite clear, now, that friendship, at least his friendship with Fluttershy, is the most important thing in his life. At the same time, the episode also handily illustrated how much he still has to learn about friendship, seeing as the entire conflict was driven by his possessiveness of Fluttershy, jealousy of Tree Hugger, and inability to understand 'sharing' Fluttershy with other friends. Granted, that might seem a bit confusing seeing as Fluttershy has been friends with the Mane 6 since she befriended Discord, but she was friends with them before she even met Discord, so perhaps that makes it easier for him to accept those friendships. Overall, him making a mistake like this makes a lot of sense, and Fluttershy knocking some sense into him at the end was a great delivery of the message and lesson he had to learn. Besides that, he was a riot, as Discord always is; from his insane house in Lord-only-knows-what-dimension (speaking of which, I'm impressed the mail pony even managed to get to his house in the first place) to the crazy antics he kept doing from start to finish, not to mention that terrifying puppet-dimension he opened, John DeLancie brought his A-game as always to this role and most certainly did not disappoint! All in all, this was a fantastic episode for Discord, and it was great to see him not only being hilarious in his chaotic, crazy way as usual, but also learn such a lesson as he did here.
     
    Next, let's talk about... well, everything else, since, as I said before, there was A LOT of other stuff in this episode. I loved seeing Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack bringing their sisters/surrogate sister as their plus-ones to the Gala, there were some really feel-good and cute moments in that little story-thread and it was one of the things that I would've loved to see more of if this were a two-parter episode. Twilight and Princess Celestia were very cute together as well, though I was awfully disappointed that Luna didn't even make an appearance. Ah well, at least Celestia was channeling her inner-Trollestia this entire episode, that was fun. For not really enjoying Maud in her initial appearance, I actually really liked seeing her here. I don't know, maybe she's actually grown on me since she first showed up, maybe it's that I actually really like some of the fan work she shows up in, but she was really funny here and it was cool seeing her brought back, even if she wasn't in it that much (she did manage to get a wicked burn in on Discord, after all). It was great seeing the Grand Galloping Gala again as well (though was it just me, or did it seem a little... empty, at times?), and I absolutely adored some of the dresses and suits, whether worn by main or background characters. Discord was swagging in his orange-suit-and-top hat, the Mane 6 and Celestia all looked lovely and I can't wait to see some fan art of their dresses, and even minor/background characters like Maud, Tree Hugger, Raindrops, and Lyra looked great. Overall, you know that all the little things in this episode worked splendidly when my biggest complaint about them is that I wanted to see even more of them!
     



     

    LOL, you do suck at flying Twilight!


     

    Hey!


     



     

    Soooo... how's your night been? Having a good time?


     



     

    Pinkie, what are you doing? Pinkie, stahp.


     



     

    I do so love bucking up state events! Especially that time I invited Chrysalis and her changelings to Canterlot.


     

    Wait, WHAT?!


     

    Oh, nothing.


     
    The Smooze itself did not disappoint, not in the slightest. It was simply a riot (not to mention a bit adorable as well in a... smoozy sort of way), and you could tell the writers were having a lot of fun with this guy. I loved that he wasn't actually a malicious, he's just a hungry... well, smooze that simply can't help itself, and that made for some hilarious gags. My particular favorite was when he got all over Rarity and Discord vacuumed off the ooze and her dress, IDK, it may be an old gag, but it was fairly hilarious given that Rarity would literally be the only pony at the Gala who would be so self-conscious of suddenly being "naked" in front of everypony. In fact, I'd even say that it might have been hearkening back to her line in the Season 1 finale when she didn't want Spike coming in while they were getting dressed for the Gala. Either way, it was a fun gag, and there were tons more with the Smooze, which I think we all expected but nonetheless was still great to see.
     



     

    I seriously loved this gag SO MUCH!!!


     



     

    I ship it


     
    The one thing I didn't actually really care for in this episode was our new character, Tree Hugger. Now don't get me wrong, she wasn't anything for me like what Maud was when she first showed up; seriously, Maud did NOTHING for me when she first appeared and I didn't care about her in the slightest back in Season 4. Tree Hugger was entertaining, to say the least; it was pretty funny seeing the writers run with the hippie-caricature like they did, her voice actress did a nice job in the role, and I'm fairly sure she was high-as-a-kite at the Gala (pretty much confirmed when she told Discord she didn't remember him). I can also totally see Fluttershy befriending somepony like this, so that worked fine as well. What I didn't like was that she was sorta Mary Sue-ish, and not just in her mannerisms. Fluttershy kept saying really weird stuff like "Oh my gosh, that's the funniest thing I've heard!" to reinforce how wonderful Tree Hugger was, and that felt off for both Fluttershy and the writers. For one, I highly doubt from what we saw that Tree Hugger is that funny, so I really didn't believe what Fluttershy was saying, and secondly, this was literally the writers telling instead of showing us that Tree Hugger's alright. Now yeah, we got to learn about her as well, but she didn't seem as amazing as Fluttershy often described her. My beef with this Mary Sue-ishness was only amplified when she stopped the Smooze. Not only did it seem like a terribly obvious plot-device to only make Discord hate her more and everyone else love her more (ZOMG GUYS, NOT EVEN CELESTIA OR TWILIGHT CAN STOP THE SMOOZE, WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?!?! Wait, here comes Tree Hugger to save the day! OMG, YOU SO COOL TREE HUGGER!!!... see what I mean?), but... come on, even for an episode as bizarre at times as this one, the bucking noises she made to calm it down were just WEIRDDDDDDDDD. I mean, seriously, what the buck was that? What the buck was she actually doing? And, I know her talent is supposed to be with rare animals, but she seriously figured out in 5 seconds what to do to stop the Smooze? I'm sorry, but she was such a Mary Sue at times that there were a lot of things I didn't like about her in execution. It just felt like the writers were trying too hard to both convince the other characters AND the audience that she's cool, and they didn't really need to; like I said, I found some of her lines enjoyable enough, so they just should've let her traits speak for themselves instead of having her save-the-day for no reason other than the plot demanded it. OK, rant over. I hope the length of this rant didn't suggest I hated this character, I really didn't. I'm just disappointed in her and the writers, is all.
     



     



     

    Seriously, though, HOW THE BUCK DID SHE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SHE HAD TO DO THIS?!?! Was it all the drugs? Be honest, it was the drugs, wasn't it??


     
    Overall, however, this episode was a treat. Like I said, this was Discord's "Lesson Zero" and man-oh-man was it as crazy as that sounds. The humor was great, the pacing phenomenal, the animation superb, the main and minor story threads both simply splendid, and it was cool seeing how far Discord has come as a character, but also how far he still has to go in learning how to truly befriend others. It makes you wonder about more disturbing questions, like how is Fluttershy going to teach him to accept losing friends; I mean, yeah, we're never gonna see that in the show, but we all know that Fluttershy is going to die someday. Well... she'll have to at some point before then teach Discord how to accept that seeing as he's an immortal being and all, and that's... kinda tragic to think about, seeing as, despite his age, he's so new to this. Just goes to show how much great character there is for even a guy as seemingly whacky-on-the-surface as Discord. Anyways, fun episode, wonderfully put together episode, I loved every minute of it. Season 5 continues its roll of good episodes with a real bang-up one this week, and I couldn't be happier. That's all I got everypony, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*
     



     

    This was such a blast, and everypony had the time of their lives as I indirectly ruined their evening! I sure am glad nopony important got to miss out on all this fun!


  10. Batbrony
    Welcome back everypony to another "Batbrony Reviews". First of all, I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there this morning to watch the episode with everypony else; for those of you who don't know, I was volunteering as a judge for the Michigan state finals for National History Day in Lansing. It was a blast, I got to hang out with some of my fellow WMU grad friends, and also read some great papers and meet some bright young students, so it was well worth the absence, even though I missed you guys too. Anyways, this is gonna be a fun review. I'll try to keep it as short as possible since there's so many good things to say about this one, but no promises. This one hit about every note right as much as it possibly could have. Also, to my good buddy DashForever, this one's for you, my man.
     



     
    So, "Tanks for the Memories." This one is up there as far as RD episodes go. Right now, I can only think of a handful that might actually beat it out, such as "Sonic Rainboom" (but that's mostly for the nostalgia and awesome factor). I don't know if we've ever seen Rainbow Dash this emotional, I don't know if we've ever seen such a tragic side to her loyalty, and I don't know if we've ever had such a truly bittersweet Slice of Life episode. What probably impresses me the most about it is that it didn't really build up to a happy ending. It wasn't a happy ending. It was... very much bittersweet, but in a good way. It was about acceptance, namely, accepting that a friend near and dear to RD had to go away for awhile. And ya know what, for RD, the most loyalest of ponies who'd do anything for her friends, that bucking hurt, because she couldn't do anything to stop it. Tank had to hibernate, and despite trying to stop winter itself, RD in the end couldn't do anything about it. We've seen her have to learn to accept help from her friends before to certain extents, but never in the sense that they couldn't solve the problem together. Here, all they could was be there for her. That's all they could do, and that's all she really needed. All she needed to do, as Fluttershy so aptly realized, was cry it out, and boy oh boy, did she ever. She cried, and cried, and cried it out. She cried it out so hard that she got 3 other ponies to cry it out with her (and one on the inside, I bucking love AJ for that). And even after she'd cried it out, she still wasn't completely over it, but she was ready to accept it, and that's a valuable lesson to teach all of us. Sometimes, we can't solve all of our problems; sometimes, we just have to accept that some things are going to happen no matter what we do. It may hurt, it may hurt a lot, and it may require quite a few tears from us all, but accepting the hurt, especially with friends and family by your side, is better than running away, ignoring, or fighting it. That's by far one of the most mature lessons we've ever seen in any episode of MLP, much less a Slice of Life episode, and I cannot praise Cindy Morrow enough. She really knows how to tug at viewers heartstrings, doesn't she?
     



     

    Gosh dang it, why are these two so cute together?


     
    So that right there about sums up the highest praise I have for the episode. There's a lot of other great things to be said about it, but those were my most important thoughts. Besides how well all of the aforementioned elements worked in the episode, there was a ton of other stuff that I loved. Tank was adorable as usual, possibly more adorably awesome than he's ever been before. I always get the sense with him that, given that he's probably quite old at this point, he's got a lot of wisdom for a pet. He seemed to keep giving RD looks throughout the episode that just said, "Hey, it's OK, I gotta go away for a little while, but I love you, and I'll be back before you know it." Some of those faces alone made the impact of the episode itself all the harder to take, but again, it worked so well. Aside from that, it was pretty funny and cute to see him get more and more tired (aside from how much it was distressing RD). Besides Tank, Fluttershy shined quite a bit as well in this episode. She really knows when tough love is called for, especially when it comes to more emotionally stressful situations, and I liked that the episode highlighted that.
     



     

    Then she got an idea. An awful idea. RD got a wonderful, awful idea!


     



     

    I HAVE SPECIAL EYES!!!


     
    Comedy-wise, there was A LOT. I'll just name off what stuck out to me the most. (1) Rainbow Dash being racist to Spike (seriously, first the dragon is completely the same as the tortoise, then the next second it's "What would you know, you're just a dragon!"); (2) angry-eyes Rainbow Dash (following her equally hilarious angry-rant); (3) Rainbow Dash making the bucking Grinch-smile; (4) the debacle that was trying to stop winter in the Cloudsdale weather factory (especially when RD got zapped in the lightning room... which seems like an awfully dangerous way to store lightning, come to think of it); (5) Twilight "Ned Stark Winter is Coming" Sparkle and the most obvious yet still amazing Game of Thrones reference EVER; (6) the emotional RD/group-crying scene that somehow managed to get as hilarious as it was sad (capped off by us learning that AJ apparently cries on the inside); (7) my personal favorite, and that's saying a lot, but one of the most amazing "Who's on First?" references I've ever heard in my entire life in the conversation that those three new weather ponies had about how confusing their names were, that was bucking PRICELESS!!!
     




     




     

    That... was... GENIUS (and also blows any time they've done the same thing with Owlowiscious out of the bucking water)!!! Heck, they even SOUNDED like Abbot and Costello!


     
    So yeah, this was a funny episode, you get the idea. Besides that, it actually confirmed a lot of my head canon about Cloudsdale, which I personally greatly appreciated since a lot of that (particularly the fact that Cloudsdale actually moves around all over Equestria altering the weather, though I'd thought that was also previously confirmed in "Hurricane Fluttershy") material will actually factor into my fanfiction later on. Not to mention I just enjoyed seeing Cloudsdale extensively again since I love pegasi and I love that location a lot. The animation, as usual, was gorgeous, and apparently Daniel Ingram has been working overtime this season. Seriously, we have had a song every episode (and yes, short as it was, Applejack's lullaby from the last episode totally counts), and this, on top of everything else, was actually RD's first ever solo song. And ya know what? It was awesome! It's upbeat, fast-paced tone and instrumentals completely complemented her vocals to a T, and I loved every second of it. Finally, it was also cool getting to see both the Running of the Leaves again, as well as Ponyville at the end of Fall and the start of Winter. In fact, I just realized that, assuming Tank's gone for awhile, we might actually get to see a few episodes at least take place in winter, something we've never really gotten to see before. We've seen episodes here and there take place in winter in Ponyville or Canterlot, but never a series of them in a row, so that could be cool! Besides that, I don't have really anything else to say about this one. "Tanks for the Memories" was just a perfect Slice of Life episode in every sense of the word, and I loved every minute of this one. It reminded me why so many bronies consider RD to be best pony, and when any episode does that for any of the Mane 6, you know it's a good one.
     



     

    Thanks for the memories, Tank, good buddy; we'll see you again before you know it.


  11. Batbrony
    Alrighty, welcome back everypony to another "Batbrony Reviews". Second week of new episodes, third episode of the season, and the first proper Slice of Life episode of Season 5. Let's get this show on the road: this is "Batbrony Reviews: S05: E03 - Castle Sweet Castle".
     
    In my honest opinion, this was a perfect transition into the primarily Slice of Life format that will more than likely make up the bulk of Season 5's episodes, as has been the case with all other past seasons, and that's really what's most important for third episodes of MLP seasons, when you think about it. It wasn't the best third episode we've ever seen of a season, that honor still goes to the still amazing "Lesson Zero" of Season 2, but it's definitely up there as far as third episodes go. It had a very nice balance of continuity, good characterization, and pretty good pacing for the most part.
     
    First of all, it was very nice that they addressed early on in this season Twilight's losing Golden Oaks Library and moving into a brand-spanking new castle (and very empty too, I might add, this isn't like Canterlot Castle, the heart of Canterlot and all of Equestria's political activities, at all). Golden Oaks had been her home since the very first season, and was near and dear to both the main characters and us fans as well by this point, so it really did need to be addressed. The first couple of scenes did a great job of conveying how Twilight's been trying to cope with it by stubbornly trying to make it a non-issue, which to me is great characterization for her because it shows that some vices never change. Twilight's always been very uncomfortable making her problems other ponies' problems, especially her friends, and while in many ways she's grown out of that as she's learned about the magic of friendship, it's still stuck with her, regardless, and it's understandable why. She's a princess now, she's got all kinds of new responsibilities as well as perks (she's also always been very self-conscious of anyone suggesting she's better than others), and really, who would want to complain to your friends that you have a gigantic castle? So again, Twilight handling this particular problem by simply trying to ignore it and treat it like a non-problem, felt very in-character for her, I liked it.
     



     

    Fare thee well, Golden Oaks Library; you were a good home filled with good memories


     
    The rest of the Mane 6 (let's call them the ReMane-ing 5, I've been seeing that term a lot in the episode thread today) handled this problem very excellently as well. They were very discerning in their uncovering it, and of course it was a very generous thing they did offering to renovate Twilight's castle and make it feel more homey. I will admit that the primary conflict, the fact that they couldn't figure out what to do with it, felt like a Season 1 problem given that they were so oblivious at first, but that is somewhat forgivable given that Twilight didn't really have any mementos they could fetch from the destroyed Golden Oaks Library, so it makes sense they'd try giving from their own homes instead at first. I also forgive the fact that it felt like a Season 1 problem since they worked through it on their own; as soon as I realized what the conflict was going to be, I was worried that Twilight was going to teach them what they'd done wrong. But no, instead, very similar to how Twilight didn't take center-stage last week, the ReMane-ing 5 figured out they'd goofed, worked through their goof, and determined together what they'd do to fix it. Even Spike got to shine in his own little subplot, and he was characterized quite nicely really; he and Twilight shared a couple of very nice moments together (most notably outside the charred remains of Golden Oaks Library), and the little guy actually contributed as well. In fact, everyone really felt very nicely characterized, a very pleasing carry over from the season opener as well; it's nice to see that characters like Pinkie Pie aren't being written as near-caricatures of themselves as has happened in more recent seasons.
     
    The ending was incredibly sweet, and a great way to send off Golden Oaks Library but also pay tribute to it. There were some nice call backs, the ReMane-ing 5 came up with a great solution, and Twilight's reaction was to die for. It was nice to hear too that they did manage to renovate other rooms as well, because it would have felt just a little anti-climactic if all they'd changed was the throne room. I look forward to seeing what some of the other rooms look like in the castle as the season goes on, but this, this was a nice start.
     
    The humor was very spot-on this week, and very similar to the season opener, seemed more dialogue-driven than physical. It was very fast-paced in its delivery, but all the delivery felt spot-on, and there were some incredibly funny scenes. The opener with Angel Bunny was pretty funny, the pancake breakfast scene killed me, particularly Pinkie's bit with the measuring cup and Twilight's sleeping on a pancake (also adorable, if I might add), the clutter-scenes at the castle, especially Pinkie's running gag with her hidden confetti cannons, killed, the spa scene came out of nowhere in how funny it was (especially Bulk Biceps' surprise appearance), and all in all the execution of all the humor in this one just felt right. Neither Pinkie nor Spike came across as idiots in their humor (again, most of it being dialogue driven), and I really liked that; yeah, things still happened to them at their expense, but not in a way that took away from the characters or mischaracterized them.
     



     

    I'm going to eat all these pancakes and you can't stop me!!!


     



     

    Aw crap, I forgot how to eat!
    That doesn't go there!!!

     



     

    Of course this guy's a masseuse, I mean, why wouldn't he be?
    If there's a new way to make Bulk Biceps even more amazing than he already is, the DHX crew will come up with it and make it canon. :comeatus:

     
    The song and its reprisal I enjoyed very much; it wasn't anything super special, but it felt very nice for a Slice of Life episode, and it's worth noting that I don't think we've ever seen the ReMane-ing 5 sing a group song without Twilight. The animation as usual was gorgeous, and it was nice getting to see both old and new sights; the castle looks very nice and is really getting a feel of its own compared to other royal buildings in Equestria, and it was lovely getting to see the spa again (not to mention getting to hear Aloe speak for the first time, though I'm confused now; Lotus is apparently Swedish, but Aloe... isn't? So does that mean they're twins, or lived separately, or just really look alike? Bah, this is what this show makes me think about...). Other than that, there's not really much else to say. It was just a very lovely Slice of Life episode, and given that it was the first one ever written by Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco, I'm very impressed with the job they did. The main body of the season's off to a nice start, and I can't wait to see what comes next! Till next week everypony, this is Batbrony, signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*
     



     

    Seriously, though, I am so confused now! Are you two twins or what, cause one of you sounds Swedish, and the other sounds completely Anglicized?!


  12. Batbrony
    Welcome back everypony to another "Batbrony Reviews"! OK, well this is definitely a... hard episode to talk about. I've changed my vote once already from 'liked it' to 'loved it', but I'm going to change it back to 'liked it' as soon as I'm done writing this review. There are I things that I really loved about this episode, and things that I... well, just didn't really care for. Let's start with the... I don't want to say bad, but, how about, let's start with the 'meh'.
     
    The episode got very repetitive. There, I said it, and I'm certainly not the first person to say it. Now, don't get me wrong, it got repetitive in very creative ways; each dream sequence was increasingly more nutty than the last, and it did become clearer and clearer that Apple Bloom was in a dream. But it was so clear that she was in a dream after the first one that, I don't know, it felt like at least one dream sequence could've been cut out. Or, better yet, they could've instead shown all three of the CMC with fully developed dreams, instead of simply following Apple Bloom's POV the entire episode. Then, at least, the dream trope might not have gotten tired so fast. Again, the dreams themselves weren't poorly executed, but they just got very repetitive all the same. That's probably my biggest complaint about the episode; watching it, something just felt wonky about its execution.
     
    Now then, let's talk about what I loved. Despite some problems in the execution, I loved the writing here, really, I did. For one, it's very clever of the staff to tie things up with the CMC and Luna by basically concluding a deliberate story-arc in the CMC dream episodes that has spanned 3 seasons. That's very, very clever actually, and smart writing. I also liked that, given that it centered on Apple Bloom, who is, more or less, the de facto leader of the CMC, this particular dream episode, unlike the previous ones, focused on their constant questing for their cutie marks, in this case their fears revolving around them and, more generally, their futures. This sort of anxiety about not knowing what comes next, with all the possibilities that life presents to one, is especially suitable for children like the CMC to experience, knowing so little about what the future may hold for them. Those themes resonated more and more as the episode continued, and I thought they were excellently written and well-delivered.
     
    The CMC were very good here, I thought. They didn't exactly do much since the entire episode was, simply, a confrontation with their fears and anxieties in a dreamscape, but still, this seemed like something they would worry about. Their voices have definitely changed, especially Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's; you can definitely tell that Michelle Creber and Claire Corlett are starting to go through puberty. Some people mentioned Scootaloo as well, but I disagree; her VA, Madeleine Peters, is 19 now, I doubt her voice is changing that much at this point. Besides the fact that they were cute and funny in their usual way, along with the fact that they confronted a problem that seemed very suited for them, I don't really have too much to say about the CMC given how repetitive the episode got and how much of it was in a dream. They were characterized fine, I liked the lesson they learned, and Scootaloo getting to fly in a dream was too cute (even if it was brief), but other than that, not a whole lot to say. As a quick aside, it's very cool for Babs Seed that she finally got her cutie mark, and I do hope we get to see her again sometime later this season.
     



     

    Good to see these silly fillies once again up to their usual shenanigans


     
    As for the dreams themselves, I'm really just gonna comment on the aesthetics more than anything since it was clearly a distortion of the CMC's reality. The animation looked very lovely most of the time, there were definitely some very trippy visuals as we've come to expect from the dream episodes, and some of those visuals made for some very funny visual humor. Big Mac talking as extensively as he did was probably the trippiest part of those sequences (and most amazing, to boot), along with Apple Bloom's shadow that everyone (myself included) was wondering the entire time if it was Princess Luna or Starlight Glimmer. The shadow being AB's own shadow, that is, her anxieties and fears, more or less, was a very cool bit of writing. However, what was not so cool was when Sweetie Belle's dream cropped up. :okiedokielokie: Not because of the dream itself, but because it was advertised by DHX prior to Season 5's premiere. I have a working theory now that M.A. Larson is slowly but surely corrupting the rest of the DHX staff and turning them all into belligerent trolls, because whoever greenlighted marketing that scene knew EXACTLY that they were just teasing us and setting us up for a MAJOR disappointment! I'm not mad, in fact, it's an excellent bit of trolling if I do say so myself, but it still got me like a sucker punch to the gut.
     



     

    Yeah, those bucking teases and trolls at DHX knew exactly what they were doing


     
    Princess Luna was, well, Best Princess as usual. She was definitely in the episode for a solid 5 minutes, and I loved getting to see her so extensively. I've made it no secret that I adore her design, and it was really cool getting to hear how much she's changed since "Luna Eclipsed". I know some people complain now that she's not as fun sounding as she was in that episode, but I like it and it makes sense too that she'd be much more gentler and soft spoken as time has gone on after that incident. She did a great job delivering the message, and there were, as in the previous dream episodes, allusions to the idea that maybe some of these very same experiences the CMC are going through, Luna herself has struggled with in the past (especially the theme of not accepting yourself for who you are and letting your anxieties eat away at you). It was a little predictable that she was gonna show up, and I do hope very much we get to see her more this season in other settings outside of dreams, but all the same her appearance here was very pleasant to see. She even got in some pretty funny jokes and one-liners before the episode ended. :comeatus:
     



     

    I do so love watching how these ponies' crazy dreams play out :comeatus:


     
    Finally, I'll just comment on some more aesthetic touches. As I said, the animation was gorgeous as usual, especially in some of the crazier dream sequences. The short lullaby that Applejack sang was completely unnecessary and pointless, but it sounded lovely all the same and didn't do any harm either. Overall, while this may not have been an episode I loved in every respect, there were things that I loved about it, especially the writing, and it's definitely one that demands a second viewing, if only to piece together the exact sequence of events going on in this episode. Can't wait to rewatch it, and still very happy with how Season 5 is going so far. Till next week, everypony, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*
  13. Batbrony
    Alright, alright, alright everypony, we are back in business. Welcome back, yet again, to another Batbrony Reviews. Did ya'll miss me? Cause I missed you! Season 5 is underway, and quite frankly I couldn't be happier with how things have gone so far. This season's already established for itself a pretty unique feel compared to previous seasons, so let's jump right in and take a look at what I thought worked so very well in these first two episodes. This is Batbrony Reviews "S05:E1+2 - The Cutie Map"
     
    Story and Themes
     
    I normally wouldn't overlap these two sections, but in this case, I really thought they were really interconnected in both of these episodes. If there is anything that truly stands out about this opener compared to the previous ones we've had, it's just how very smartly it was all written! The pacing was absolutely phenomenal, no section felt like it ever dragged or was rushed, the dialogue was almost always relevant to the plot without coming across as forced or convenient, and the story itself was a pleasant deviation from what we've gotten in the past. As opposed to a godlike, tyrannical being capable of conquering Equestria through sheer force of strength, we got for the first time a villain in Starlight Glimmer who really relied off of her wits, charm, charisma, and overwhelming force of personality to manipulate others around her, even more than Chrysalis or Discord ever did, at least in comparison to the level of magic at her disposal. Not only that, but the conflict itself was not readily apparent from the beginning, even though it was clear that something was off about the town that the Mane 6 were sent to by the Cutie Map.
     
    The way this conflict was resolved, however, is where the storytelling really shined, namely in how it helped deliver the episodes themes and philosophy as well. The overarching philosophy of both episodes was obviously that ponies' cutie marks are a part of what makes them special, unique individuals, and those individual qualities help them be the best they can be both individually and as friends and neighbors with one another. They may not always agree about everything, but those disagreements cannot possibly sunder the deeper bonds they have with one another if they truly share friendship with each other. And hey, no pony's going to be friends with everypony, that's simply not possible, but that's just another component of the magic of friendship and individuality. They're all different, they all have their own likes and dislikes, but they learn from the Mane 6 that they should celebrate those differences, not shun them or try to suppress them in favor of a false and repressive equality. I especially appreciated this message because right now (and for quite a long time, really) it seems like in far too many places around the world people are under the impression that it is simply impossible to tolerate or coexist with others who hold different values or opinions from them. This is quite simply complete bunk; our very own fandom is proof of this! There are all kinds of bronies all over the world who live their lives in different ways, believe different things, and excel at varying activities, and we should and often do celebrate those differences, as do so many other communities around the world. Our individual personalities, beliefs, and behavior are a part of what makes this world special, and the fact that so many communities coexist harmoniously with each other show that the celebration of this individuality is something truly worth striving for, now and always. Sadly, too many places around the world, even in countries like the United States, fear individual or communal differences, and don't believe that such coexistence is possible. That fear drives people to seek "safe", "comforting", and "secure" homogeneity in thought and behavior, and so it's always a struggle to promote the celebration of individuality in all kinds of places. But again, it truly is something worth doing, so no matter how hard it may ever seem, we all should never fear embracing each other for who we are, as no matter what our differences may be, most of us truly do just desire love and shoulders to lean on from others. Thus, we find that the celebration of individuality really is a key component of the magic of friendship itself, as it requires hope, kindness, love, loyalty, honesty, generosity of spirit, and a desire to understand one another to achieve.
     
    As I said before, the episode did an excellent job of conveying this message, and not just by preaching it. There was a lot more of 'show' than 'tell' going on here, namely in the Mane 6's actions. Each of their individual personalities shone in different ways, and always for the better. Some suspected the town from the very beginning more than others, they disagreed and debated with one another over what exactly they were supposed to do there, but through it all they remained true to one another, and ultimately their individual qualities only helped them overcome this new threat they faced, rather than splinter them. Fluttershy's kindness and openness to the town proved crucial later on in the story, Pinkie's suspicions helped them all stay on their guard, all the others made their own contributions which helped direct and guide the entire group's behavior the entire time. When they were at their lowest point, they didn't give in to Starlight Glimmer's magic, but rather, even without the cutie marks that help make each of them so special, leaned on each other for support and relied on their deep bonds of friendship to stay strong and overcome these travails. Their example eventually rubbed off on the entire town and pushed the rest of them, after discovering Starlight's ruse, not only to be the best they could be, but to lean on their fellow townsponies for support as well more than they ever did in their so-called utopia. Put simply, the story's execution was simply phenomenal, and marvelously conveyed both episodes messages so very well. In my humble opinion, it's some of the smartest, if not the smartest, writing and pacing I've ever seen in any season opener this show's given us to date, and definitely some of the smartest storytelling we've seen in general throughout the entire series.
     



     
    Characters
     
    Characters was another area where these episodes really shined, starting with the Mane 6, of course. I think more than anything these episodes highlighted (as many have for some time now) just how far this entire group has progressed in their learning about the magic of friendship since the first season. Yeah, they argued at points like friends do, but never to a point where their friendships were jeopardized. Their individual personalities were each apparent, they cooperated and leaned on each other for support the whole way through, and from start to finish their friendship was the biggest strength they had at their disposal. It wasn't the Princess Twilight hour either (an unfortunate trend since really the start of Season 3 that has very much come to define many season openers and finales), and I really appreciated that, it felt more like a Season 1 or Season 2 opener or finale. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie especially shone, the former because her not always apparent bravery and inner strength came through a number of times for the group and town, along with the strength of her kind and loving personality in general, and the latter because she was very level headed actually (by Pinkie Pie's standards, at least), but every single one of them played their own part, if only in being there for each other from start to finish with no wavering in their resolve. That was wonderful to see, and it seems that compared to the last two seasons, the group, with their positions as the Guardians of Friendship really secured (and Twilight herself as the Princess of Friendship) are now much more certain and sure of the direction that their lives and role in Equestria must take, and I like that, I really do. It shows growth as characters, how more and more they are stepping into mature adulthood and closer to fulfilling their true potential and destinies for all of Equestria. Brilliant stuff, really, absolutely brilliant characterization all around.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     



     

    Look girls, the new season's finally arrived!


     

    Woahhhhh, it's so beautiful!!!


     
    Starlight Glimmer, as I mentioned earlier, makes for a very unique villain to this show. She's the first completely normal pony we've seen starring as a full-fledged villain (even Sombra, despite being a unicorn, was clearly a vastly powerful magic-wielder compared to her), and she's quite a sinister one, at that. Deceptive, manipulative, hiding her motivations and the totalitarian nature of her actions under the guise of friendship and harmony? This is something we've never really seen before out of an MLP villain. There is also a bitterness to her that seemed to really drive her actions throughout, and became more and more apparent as the episodes continued; clearly she has a deeply rooted hatred for the individualism she so loathes. We still aren't entirely sure of what exactly her motivations were, and given that she escaped at the end still determined to spread her twisted worldview across all of Equestria, I expect that as the season unfolds we may very well learn more and more about why she hates things the way they are. I loved, really, the delving into the magical nature of cutie marks; I myself have actually extensively explored this in a similar, but still different, manner in my only fanfiction to date, because it really does make for some interesting world building and intriguing story arcs and development in the series. I'm very excited to see what exactly may play out with our first (to date) villain in the show with, most likely, her very own, season-spanning story arc, and I imagine that before all things are said and done, she'll cause only more trouble and mischief for the Mane 6 and all of Equestria. Should be fun to watch.
     



     

    Now that's a smile only a mother could love. Well... OK, I'm not even sure a mother could love that. You scare me, Comrade Shimmer, like... a lot.


     
    Finally, I simply have to speak about the townsponies themselves. It was a real treat getting to finally see background ponies get so involved in the show, as it too really hammered away the message of the value of individuality and just what special things each and every pony is capable of, no matter who they may be, when they simply embrace who they are and what they can do. On top of that, there was a pleasantly surprising equity in the male-to-female ratio that we really haven't seen in the show before, and each one of the new characters introduced more extensively were quite delightful to meet and learn about. Their designs were cool, their personalities were unique and distinguished from one another, and it was great to see not just what they could do at their best, but also just how much they too craved the magic of friendship. We got to see that friendship is not just particularly reserved in a special manner for the Mane 6, that really it is a key component in the lives of each and every pony in Equestria. I expect that we will see this more from other background ponies (including, Lord willing, ones we are far more familiar with already ) as the season continues, and if it plays out like it did here, then boy oh boy, we are in for a treat.
     



     

    They're actually quite friendly once you get to know them. And they're not, ya know, acting crazy.


     
     
    Music
     
    We only had one musical number this time around, "In Our Town", and to be honest and frank, I loved it. I really, really did. For one, it was a villain song, the first one we've had in the actual show itself since "This Day Aria" (not counting "Under Our Spell" in "Rainbow Rocks", which is also a pretty awesome number). The tune was quite pleasant but also helped build this sense of dread and hammer away that there was really something not right about this whole place, supplemented by the choreography and visuals of the number as well. The lyrics handily explained in just over 2 minutes Starlight Glimmer's utopian/dystopian/totalitarian vision for all of ponykind and Equestria, and it fit very well into the first episode's plot. It felt stiff, forced, and staged, but in a good way, seeing as all of the behavior in the entire town was forced and staged, so it really complimented the town's atmosphere very nicely. All in all, I loved this song, and Daniel Ingram and the DHX music team delivered yet again. I look forward to seeing what else they've come up with for this season music-wise; I can only imagine we have some phenomenal numbers to look forward to.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     




     
    Animation
     
    The animation, as has been par for the course for DHX for some time now, was phenomenal and flawless as usual. I think this time what really stuck out was the characters themselves, in a number of ways. Some of the facial expressions were fantastic; the forced and creepy smiles on all of the townsponies, Pinkie's wide range of facial expressions, and many more stood out. The motion of characters was also quite impressive, if that makes sense; the choreography of the townsponies in particular really helped convey the homogeneity and uniformity of the town, as did the visual symbolism. The equal sign kept popping up throughout, sometimes in obvious and apparent ways, other times not so much and in far more subtle ways, and it all nicely reinforced the fabricated nature of the dystopian community, as did other symbolic visuals, such as the fact that Starlight Glimmer's home sat at the head of the community rather than in the two rows of cottages themselves. It was an impressive example of the visuals and animation being utilized in the storytelling in ways that we often haven't seen in the show; subtle, but impressive and definitely there as well, and my hat's off to the DHX animation team for looking yet again for new ways to improve their craft and deliver the best MLP experience possible in their own way.
     
    Miscellaneous
     
    Before I wrap up my final thoughts, here's a few more miscellaneous notes for this first review of Season 5. The comedy was, as usual, delightful, and it was also quite nice to see none of the dialogue or comedic bits really deviated too much from the action or plot itself. Pinkie as always had some fantastic dialogue, Applejack had a few funny moments herself, especially in her losing and regaining her "countryisms", Fluttershy had some very funny physical humor (I always find it delightfully hilarious to see how panicky and on edge she can be when the fate of the rest of the group is on her shoulders; she's still brave, don't get me wrong, but she always still looks two steps away from just absolutely losing it), and the rest in general all had their own moments of humor throughout. Spike, for the little that he was in it, was quite funny himself; I don't know why, but for some reason I thought his "Is that new?... I like it!" line was oddly hilarious, and I look forward to seeing more of the little guy. The map itself is a wonderful bit of animation (not to mention it doesn't seem like a particularly forced plot device, but rather came across as quite natural in its appearance), and I look forward to seeing what new locations the Mane 6 will travel to this season. Beyond that, there's not much else for me to talk about with these two, so let's wrap things up, shall we?
     
    Concluding Remarks
     
    Season 5 is off to a grand start, if I do say so myself. For some reason, going into today I felt more confident about DHX's handle over this season's direction than the previous two. I don't know why I felt that way, but it seems my confidence was well placed. As I said before, more than anything, this was a smart season opener! It was excellently written, paced, animated, and executed, and even though it wasn't exactly grand in scale, it seems to portend greater things to come, and I for one look forward to seeing just how exactly this very promising season unfolds. I get the feeling that this season's going to explore some very interesting canon and facets of Equestria and the magical world these ponies inhabit itself, and I think it's going to be just wonderful to watch. Most importantly of all, the ponies are back, they're better than ever, and I just can't wait to see what new and wonderful adventures they all embark on. I'm sure we're all going to have a simply marvelous time watching it all together, and can't wait to share in the fun, laughs, and magic of friendship with each and every one of you. Until next week, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit... of friendship!*
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN, CHOO CHOO!!!


     



  14. Batbrony
    OK, well, I saw it... finally. Just last night, on YouTube. Um, spoilers ahead, but I think that's irrelevant at this point. So, before I get into the review proper... let's go back to late winter/early spring, when Season 3 ended and we first heard about... this, in order to fully understand how all of this happened.
     
    So just as Season 3 was ending (I mean, just days before "Magical Mystery Cure" aired), certain art started circulating the Internet. Humanized art of the Mane 6. This would generally be unremarkable, especially seeing as the art was generally considered subpar at best, except for one thing; it was heavily rumored that this was concept art for a humanized pony project. So what did the fans do? WE FREAKED!!! And, as it turns out, for good reason. The coming months we were served one of the most atrocious marketing campaigns I've ever seen. For most of it, all we had was poor concept art; next, we got even worse concept art. It was only until about a month before the movie released that we were FINALLY given a 1 minute trailer. Said trailer split the fans a lot more. Some remained convinced it wouldn't be good, others thought it would be awful, many remained indifferent, but about, I want to say, two-thirds of the fans at that point became optimistic that EQG would actually turn out decently. "Trust the writers" became the most common-heard phrase once again, and that was reinforced by the second trailer's release. Myself? I remained skeptical throughout this whole thing, and somewhat cynical. But, at the same time, I was not willing to pass final judgment until it came out.
     
    So, marketing covered, let's look at my theory on how this thing got made, I mean, what the process exactly was. Here's what I think happened; going back to Season 3, we know that DHX partially designed it the way it did because they were uncertain as to whether or not they'd be renewed for a fourth season. "Magical Mystery Cure" is at its heart supposed to work as a series finale, if it came down to that. We know from what writers like Meghan McCarthy have said that DHX did not learn they'd been renewed for a fourth season until very shortly before the season finale of Season 3. My theory is that it was JUST around when they learned they'd be renewed that DHX was simultaneously handed Equestria Girls by the suits at Hasbro, hence the reason it took so long to get a trailer out. So, let's take the circumstances under which they were given Equestria Girls all into account: (1) they were given at best about a 4-5 month time span to develop this movie, (2) this was a HORRIBLE concept to begin with, in my opinion, and even if you don't think it was a bad premise, it certainly could not have been one that DHX was planning on working on anytime soon, (3) the sole purpose that Hasbro had for bringing this concept to the big screen was painfully obviously for marketing reasons, to open up a whole new market of toys (although I still can't imagine who they think is going to buy those dolls considering they look quite hideous), (4) DHX had to develop something they probably didn't even want to work on while simultaneously beginning development of Season 4, something I'm sure they were far more motivated to delve into. Basically, what I'm getting at is, looking at all of these theoretical factors, from the start EQG was being developed under the worst circumstances possible. The only upside it had going for it was that it had a very good studio and voice actresses working on it, but that's it.
     
    So then, it got released... and I watched it... and what did I think?
     
    Well... it was far more entertaining and likable than it had any right to be. So, let's get the pros out of the way first.
     
    The voice acting was great as usual. The best I've ever heard from the girls? Probably not. But they just own these roles at this point, they slip into them SO naturally that they don't even really have to try, and you could tell they were trying their darnedest!!! All of them were in character as far as tone and expressions go, and some really shone. Highlights for me include Twilight (which is good, considering so much focus was put on her), Spike (who probably had his best role since "The Crystal Empire"), Principal Celestia (who struck a nice balance between similar and different enough from her Equestrian counterpart), and... PINKIE PIE. Oh my gosh, did I love Pinkie Pie!!! Pinkie Pie... just never stop being you! She was hands down the best human counterpart of all of the HuMane Six, she was completely random and unpredictable, but at the same time actually felt like a character, something I could not say for the rest of the HuMane Six.
     
    Next, animation. The pony animation was hands down the most gorgeous in the movie, DHX has simply mastered it at this point. As for the human world, the environment was colorful enough, I certainly liked that. The human models could've been worse, and for what they were, they weren't terrible, but ultimately I didn't like them that much. Will talk more about them later.
     
    Music. I despise teen pop, but Daniel Ingram and William Anderson somehow managed to pull off a strange hybrid of the show's usual musical feel with a more urban, poppy feel that, musically at least, was very enjoyable. The "Equestria Girls" song was insanely catchy and hands down the best song of the movie, but all of them sounded pleasant enough. That said, I will have more to say about the music later.
     
    Finally, the plot. Well... no, not much good to say about the plot. I will say that, if this were a longer feature with less subplots, or even just the same length and less subplots as it was, it could've been executed FAR better. But, it's time for the cons.
     
    Well, might as well talk about the big one first. The plot. Oh me, oh my, this story was a mess. The overall story was straightforward enough. Twilight's crown gets stolen, she needs to get it back for the sake of both Equestria and the human world. But the execution was... shoddy at best. My favorite part (besides anything in Equestria of course) was honestly when Twilight first showed up, because not too much was happening, and so the movie felt like it had a nice pace going. She and Spike had some fun interactions, and some of the jokes during that section really worked. In fact, the movie frequently made me laugh plenty, and kept me plenty entertained.
     
    The problems came in wrapping it all up, for two big reasons: (1) pacing, and (2) subplots. Oh my gosh, were there A LOT of subplots!!! But first, the pacing. In hindsight, for a 70 minute feature with as many subplots as this, that aforementioned section when Twilight first shows up should've been much shorter, or at least featured the rest of the HuMane Six much more. The second half was a complete and utter mess! Events building up to the fall formal and showing Twilight getting to know and befriend the HuMane Six happened WAYYYYYY too quickly, and the pacing of the overall story was constantly thrown off by the subplots, some of which were completely unnecessary. So yeah, no point in avoiding it, let's talk about those subplots. All told, I want to say there were about... seven subplots total? Some of them got far too little attention, and so didn't really feel like they even got resolved, like the cliques at the high school or Sunsent Shimmer's motivations. Others got FAR MORE attention than they should have even though they were simultaneously really short, and so felt both completely unnecessary and pointless and also blown out of proportion (i.e. Flash Sentry, actually, buck that, I'm calling him Brad Pony subplot and the STUPID AS BUCK Vice Principal Luna subplot which was a conflict for about 30 seconds, not even joking!). What we got as a result was this: lots of plot holes, poor pacing, unnecessary plot points, and a BUTT TON OF PLOT CONTRIVANCES!!! So that leads me to my next con: the characters.
     
    Dark Qiviut put this really well in his excellent review of EQG when he said that just because the girls were in character DOES NOT mean that the HuMane Six were 3-dimensional characters. The only ones who really felt like that for me were (1) Twilight and Spike (but that's only because I knew they were the established Equestrian characters), and (2) Pinkie Pie, who as I said earlier they wrote fantastically!!! The rest, if it weren't for the fact that they were technically NOT the Mane Six, would've felt soooooo OOC. At the best of times, they did things that we'd expect of their Equestrian counterparts, but the reasoning/personal motivations behind such behavior remained elusive. At their worst, they were stereotypes of their Equestrian counterparts (again, like DQ said, and please don't hate me for this DF, RD said awesome at least one too many times) and really behaved, for lack of a better word, just really, really DUMB. There was absolutely no good reason that they had fallen for Sunset's messing with their friendship, and they seriously never thought of asking their friends of many years about one-time alleged betrayals?!?! THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO!! No wait, scratch that, THAT'S JUST WHAT ANYONE WITH HALF-A-BRAIN DOES!!!!!!! It was so contrived and so unbelievable that it just felt like they were wasting our time with creating any conflict between this group in the first place. Instead, they should have introduced them far earlier on and had them help Twilight adjust, instead of force Twilight to bring them back together as friends in order to give them a reason to befriend her, because it all just felt so forced and contrived!!! Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were pretty much all in character, aside from being dumb there just wasn't anything to their characters, but Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash was... *braces for RD fan hate* KIND OF A DOUCHE! She didn't show up that much, she felt like more of a stereotype of her character than any of the other HuMane Six, and that soccer subplot was COMPLETELY IDIOTIC AND DOUCHEY!!!!!!! Even though she didn't know that Twilight wasn't used to walking on two legs, she could easily infer that she wouldn't be any good at soccer. Twilight had already helped bring her and AJ back together as friends, so really, it's BS what she said about Twilight having to prove she was worth befriending/helping out. Plus, she didn't even explain that until AFTER she'd schooled Twilight! So it really came across the whole time (which was thankfully only about two minutes) as just a really mean-spirited, petty, and utterly useless and unnecessary bit of ego stroking that's arrogant and bombastic even by RD's standards!!!
     
    Next, supporting/background characters from the show. Snips and Snails were HORRIBLY written and portrayed. I honestly think the only reason they were even used here was because DHX loves the two voice actors who voice them, and I don't blame them for that, I like those voice actors as well and I think those two characters can be really funny. These guys... they weren't funny. They were bullies and evil and very OOC. It just wasn't the two dimwitted colt residents of Ponyville that I love and I have no idea why they went with that portrayal beyond "oh, Sunset needs some cronies!". Principal Celestia as I said earlier was pretty bearable, but Vice Principal Luna? OH MY GOSH, SHE WAS A MORON!!!!!!! As I mentioned earlier, her 30 second subplot, tied with the soccer subplot, was probably the most useless subplot of the entire movie!!! She seriously thought that Twilight trashed the gym after being given pictures of a paper cutout of Twilight glued onto another picture??????????
     




     
    Seriously, A FIVE YEAR OLD COULD FIGURE THAT OUT!!!!!!! And it doesn't matter anyway, because the "subplot" gets resolved about 10 seconds later, not even joking. It was completely and utterly pointless, and it made human Luna look like an idiot!!! As for any other background ponies that showed up, their cameos were cute enough. I spotted Cloud Kicker, Photo Finish, Vinyl, Derpy (which was AMAZING!!!!!!!!! ), the CMC, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Twist, maybe Pipsqueak, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Trixie, and all of their appearances were harmless enough. Some of them, like Derpy, Trixie, and the CMC were absolutely hilarious, and even though not all of them made sense, like taking Vinyl's glasses off in the EQG song for no apparent reason other than, "Hey bronies, look, her eyes!!!", they were harmless and didn't feel too much like pandering. And yeah, if I'm gonna be honest, that Trixie cameo may have been so dumb, but it was SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!
     
    Finally, the new characters.
     
    *sigh* The new characters... where do I begin? Guess we'll start with Sunset.
     
    Sunset Shimmer was... absolutely wasted. Hands down, she's the worst villain the show's had yet. Every other villain thus far has had (1) clear motivations and (2) come across as a real and dangerous threat. Sunset had neither. Her motivations were not revealed until the VERY end of the movie, and since her background was very poorly explained as well, we just got a villain who I had no bucking idea why she was doing ANY of what she was doing other than to be a jerk, which DOES NOT make for a threatening villain. All we got was a bully, and a really cliche bully at that. On top of that, she has one of the worst plans I've ever heard of!!! She basically planned on taking over Equestria with, if I'm being really generous, 50-100 zombified minions, who wouldn't have even been that much of a threat even if they were turned into hellspawn like Snips and Snails. Here's exactly what she said:
     

    "I want Equestria! And with my own little teenage army behind me, I'm going to get it!!!"


     

    ...

     

    ...

     

    ...

     

    "My own little teenage army..."


     

    "TEENAGE ARMY!!!!!!!"


     
    That's the stupidest, most unthreatening line and plan I've EVER heard!!!!!!!!!! Sombra was more threatening with his crystal fetish!!!!!! And it's such a shame, because I absolutely LOVED Sunset's pony design!!! It was very different from what we'd gotten in the past with villains, and she as a whole had a lot of potential to be a good villain. Two students of Celestia face off, that should've been AWESOME!!! Instead, she was LAME!!!!!! Just utterly lame, stupid, and cliche. Her rushed redemption at the end, which made Trixie's look like it was balanced and drawn out, did not help, since it was too fast and poorly explained. Overall, I'm very disappointed in how Sunset turned out.
     
    Next, Brad Pony (no, I refuse to call him Flash Sentry, that's a cool name, something he is not!). I'm not as mad about how he turned out just because I always had low expectations about him, but that doesn't mean I'm happy he exists. He was... worthless. He literally contributed nothing to the plot or helping Twilight out EXCEPT for resolving the aforementioned STUPIDEST SUBPLOT EVER with Vice Principal Luna, which was basically thrown in just to get him 30 seconds more screen time with Twilight. He was cliche, there was no character to him whatsoever, his being Sunset's ex-boyfriend didn't affect the plot in the slightest, and most importantly, the romantic subplot was both unnecessary, poorly developed, and made NO SENSE! He and Twilight probably share at most 5 minutes of screen time together. For only 3 minutes of that screen time do they even engage in conversation, if it can be called that. The rest was blushing, awkwardness, blushing, dancing, more blushing, and more awkwardness. Did I mention the blushing? Yeah, there was no good reason that he and Twilight had any chemistry at all!!! If anything, the fact that he dated Sunset Shimmer raised the uncomfortable possibility that he's just a really shallow guy who dates girls because they're hot, seeing as Sunset had no magical powers without the crown and so I doubt influenced him at all (plus maybe this was just me but I thought that, uh, "flirty" look he kept shooting at Twilight was creepy as heck!!!). Whatever the case, there was just no justification for the romance (especially considering Twilight should not really be finding any humans attractive when she's only in their world for three days and has no prior experience with them and so no real reason to even find any of them attractive by her equine standards) or even his existence, and I pray that DHX doesn't retain him for Season 4. There could be romance in MLP, I've never been opposed to that, but THAT'S not the way it should be pulled off!
     
    Well that wraps up characters, so let's tackle a last few tidbits.
     
    Things about animation I didn't like: the humans. They were pulled off far better than they could've been (especially judging by the early concept art), but still, they felt very mechanical compared to the pony models, and there just wasn't any personality from any of the BG characters like there was with the ponies. They all looked too similar, they all wore the same clothes, had very similar designs, and just didn't really jump off the screen. For what they were, they were fine, but nothing exemplary. Oh yeah, and the useless equine/human transformation at the end was POINTLESS (and also kinda terrifying)!!!!!!!! Nothing, I mean, NOTHING came as a result of the girls getting wings and... pony ears, I think, EXCEPT Rainbow Dash flying with Scoots on her back and THAT... WAS... IT!!!!!!!!!!! That happened for one reason, and one reason only... BECAUSE HASBRO WANTS TO MAKE TOYS!!!! Ughhh... and seriously, those designs when they transformed were kinda terrifying, and NO ONE WAS FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE MAGIC OR THE TRANSFORMATIONS AT ALL!!!!!!!! Really, best line of the movie might've been Spike going, "The talking dog is the weird thing about all this?!?!" just because it was so delightfully meta!
     
    Oh yeah, and boots...
     
    EVERYONE WEARS BOOTS IN THIS MOVIE, EVEN DEMON HELLSPAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
    As for the music, the only thing I didn't like about it was, well, the lyrics. Aside from "Equestria Girls" the other songs had really forgettable and repetitive lyrics, and I could tell that Daniel Ingram wasn't giving his all in that department (which further reinforces my theory that he and the rest of DHX were not looking forward to doing this and just trying to get it over with, or just short on time). Besides that, no other real complaints; like I said earlier, I liked the sound of the music, it's just the lyrics usually didn't work (but seriously, "Equestria Girls" is catchy as heck!!!).
     
    So time for final thoughts. For many, this was a project that had a lot of potential from the beginning. Me, I'm more of a realist/cynic; I was always skeptical because from the start the circumstances seemed to be really bad. Little time to develop this, a bad concept to begin with, really cliched, and... it basically turned out like I thought it would. Is it fandom ending or going to destroy MLP, of course not, it's just a little bump in the road is all. To its credit, DHX and the VAs made it FAR more entertaining and likable than I thought it would be. I was plenty engaged, laughed plenty, and just loved, loved, LOVED the voice work!!! BUT overall, the story and characters were poorly handled and executed, the animation and music in some respects were subpar compared to their MLP counterparts, and ultimately this was just a bad movie, not even average, but pretty bad objectively. That doesn't mean I didn't like things about it, because I did, and that's to DHX's credit, but there's no denying there was A LOT of bad in this thing, and that's all on Hasbro. I think the biggest thing we can all take away from this is that, no matter how good the studio and the team, even the best of teams cannot overcome the worst of circumstances if they're dealt a very, very bad hand, and that's what I think happened here. So no, I'm not worried about the quality of Season 4 as a result of this. I'm quite optimistic about Season 4 and excited for it, and if anything I think DHX is excited to get back to focusing solely on ponies as well. Plus, they have already been working on it and will overall have at least twice as much time to develop it as they did EQG, so really, I think we've got a great season ahead of us. So, with nothing further to say, those are my thoughts on EQG.
     

    Final Score: 5/10


  15. Batbrony
    Hey, hey, hey everypony, long time no see! Man, been awhile since I churned out one of these puppies. Well, let's dive right into it, starting with the most basic question of them all. Did I like this movie?
     
    Surprisingly, yes, I did, I enjoyed it quite a lot. This didn't shock me just because, by the time I got around to seeing it, it'd already had quite a bit of good word of mouth going around online, but still, I loathed so many things about Equestria Girls that, to enjoy Rainbow Rocks as much as I did was still quite surprising and unexpected for me. Was it perfect? Buck no, few things in MLP in general are, and like its predecessor, Rainbow Rocks still had plenty of things wrong with it. So let's a take a look at the finer points of the film. Spoilers ahead, obviously. Without further ado, let's talk about...
     

    Rainbow Rocks: The Good, the Bad, and the Useless


     
    The Good
     
    First up, let's start by talking about the main character. No, I'm not talking about Twilight Sparkle. In fact, I don't actually have many good things to say about her (sorry Artemis), but we'll get to that later. No, in my humble opinion, Sunset Shimmer is the main character of Rainbow Rocks. And my oh my, what a turn around for that character. If any of you will recall my EQG review, you'll recall that I despised Sunset Shimmer in EQG. Well, OK, maybe that's a bit harsh. I despised things about her. She had a great backstory and character design, so there was a lot of good groundwork with this character. So what did DHX do with this potentially super sweet villain? GAVE HER THE WORST VILLAINOUS SCHEME EVER!!!! It still is, trust me, it is still awful! She tried to take over all of Equestria with about a hundred enslaved human thralls. THAT'S BUCKING IT!!! Buck me, Sombra's crystal fetish remains more threatening than that! So, needless to say, her improved performance was a breath of fresh air.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     



     

    Awwwwwww, wook at her in her wittle sweater!!!


     
    The film's basically a redemption story for her, more than likely setting her up as a major character, if not the main character, of a more-than-likely-forthcoming Equestria Girls TV show. She's the first to identify the Dazzlings as trouble. She figures out how to contact Twilight, brings the group together at the end, and is a crucial figure in the final showdown against the Dazzlings. Not only that, but she sings, and plays the guitar! But really, what really, truly sold me on Sunset Shimmer here was just how well she was written. She had the strongest character arc of anyone in the film. We saw from the very outset that she clearly regretted her past mistakes and was still very self conscious about them, had hardly earned back everyone's trust, not even that of the HuMane 6, and they're the closest things to friends she had from the get-go, and that she was trying to make amends but wasn't quite sure how to, or if anyone would even care. This is a very compelling, sympathetic character we got here. By the end of the film, with a little courage and encouragement from Twilight, Sunset had stepped up and realized that there is real good she can do, that she doesn't have to keep living in the past with her regrets, but can push forward and make a new, brighter future for herself full of the magic of friendship. It was bucking awesome, and most importantly of all, it was the realization of Sunset Shimmer's potential to be a great character that I've been waiting to see since EQG came out, and I cannot praise DHX enough for how she turned out. Oh, and props to Rebecca Shoichet as well on her stellar performance. Here's hoping we see more of Sunset Shimmer in the future!
     



     

    The Mane 7... DHX, MAKE THIS HAPPEN NOW!!!!!!!!! I WANT, I WANT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


     
    Next, let's talk about the HuMane 6 +Twilight, because there were things about them that worked here (although I do probably have more complaints than praise for them, but we'll get to that soon enough). So what worked? Well, we had no BS subplot about these lifelong, childhood friends severing their friendships for the stupidest reasons ever to deal with, which I couldn't have been happier about. Seriously, that was really stupid in EQG, OK? Like in EQG, they mostly complemented the Equestrian Mane 6's personalities to a T: Pinkie Pie was probably the highlight of the group, and Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity all seemed fine in their mannerisms. Their band antics were fun, they had some solid comedy (especially, again, Pinkie, she was a joy as usual), their musical performances were all great and it was nice seeing them function as a group the whole film. Rarity's costumes were pretty awesome, especially that Daft Punk outfit (seriously, I want to see more of that outfit, it was that amazing). As for Twilight, it was really nice that we didn't have to deal with all the "oh, this world is so new, what is all this stuff?" crap that we had to deal with in EQG, because that stuff, while fun there, got pretty old pretty fast. Overall, the gang learned a good lesson about friendship and saved the day, and that's what matters most from these guys.
     
    Background characters (and minor supporting characters) were another bright spot, as usual. I didn't really have many complaints about them in the first film, other than they were kinda random in EQG. They popped out of nowhere, had some really random bits that were just shout outs to bronies for the most part, and didn't really do anything in the movie itself. I mean, yeah, stuff like Trixie and her peanut butter crackers or Derpy or the CMC were fun, but they just didn't affect anything in EQG. Here, that was not the case. The background characters actually had on impact on the plot, serving as the unwitting thralls of the Dazzlings and foils to the HuMane 6 as they all participated in the Battle of the Bands. And ya know what, it was a lot of fun seeing that! Buck, we saw more involvement from the background characters here than we usually EVER see in the show! Trixie of all things was an actual supporting character (which of course was glorious, because, hey, she's Trixie), and to top it all off, she sang! Maud, who I still can't stand in her episode, actually was in my favorite cameo of the movie; seriously, her appearance was hilarious! Besides those two, we also saw the CMC (though oddly enough they did less here than they did in EQG, besides an amazing callback to their CMC song from S1), Snips and Snails rapping (I want to see more of that now), Derpy in all her glory as usual, Bon Bon and Lyra (can I just say that it was awesome seeing the latter after she got gypped in EQG; seriously, how the heck did DHX overlook throwing her in the first film, the fanon-human-obsessed pony?!?!) in a fairly risque shot that I'm still trying to figure out how it got greenlighted (you all know which one I'm talking about!), Bulk Biceps, Photo Finish, Octavia rocking the cello, Vinyl Scratch as a silent supporting character, Cloud Kicker, and a whole bunch of others. All in all, we got some old but reliable bits from the background characters, and some new bits to boot that were quite enjoyable. Most of all, though, as I said before, it was very pleasing for me to see the background characters have an actual impact on the story itself, and I can only hope we might start seeing more of that in the show again soon as well.
     



     

    Well now... they're awfully close, now, aren't they? Huh... wow, how the actual buck did DHX get away with this? Is this, uhhhhh... is this the animators way of confirming a ship? Dayum!


     



     

    Can these two just do this every time they show up from now on? Just, mic drops galore whenever Snips and Snails show up in the show? Cause that would kind of be amazing.


     



     

    Holy buck, that's simultaneously awesome and terrifying! I mean, just look at Sweetie Belle! She looks like she just unleashed her inner banshee!!!


     



     

    I have no idea what's even going on, but what I do know is that Derpy is dressed as a Jedi, and that's bucking awesome. Can we please have more of Derpy dressed as a Jedi. PLEASE!!!!!


     

    Oh, and apparently she has a posse now too. Can that be a thing as well from now on?


     
     
     

    Now, of course no MLP movie's good without a good villain. EQG was brought down terribly by its lack of a good villain, namely her idiotic plot. So, how were the villains in Rainbow Rocks by comparison?


     
     



     
     
     
     

    Sooooooo good!!!!!!!! I'm not even kidding or exaggerating, I loved the Dazzlings/Sirens! They were a great trio of villains, really! And ya know what, that's really surprising all things considered. I mean, to start, I was worried after EQG that DHX would screw up in the villain category AGAIN. They'd have a stupid plan, stupid powers, bad character development, whatever, point is, I had plenty of reason to worry that these guys would be lame. The previews did not help either, mostly because of the character design. What do I mean by that? Well for the most part their designs are by the book, pretty standard fare for MLP and EQG, aesthetically pleasing on the whole. Except for one thing. THE BUCKING HAIR! OH MY GOSH, LOOK AT HOW BIG THEIR HAIR IS!!! YOU COULD SHAVE IT ALL OFF, SELL IT, AND DONATE THE PROCEEDS TO FEED A THIRD WORLD NATION!!!!!!!! Point is, I had my reasons, some silly, some not so much, for being worried about these guys. But boy oh boy did I have nothing to worry about! For starters, the Dazzlings are quite classic villains with awesome backstories. I mean, mythological beings banished from Equestria for sowing hatred and discord among ponies and also compelling them to give them praise and adoration through their song? THAT'S FRIGGIN' AWESOME, and it fits into the MLP universe to a T! Not only that, but their plan is quite good to boot. Do they wanna try to take over Equestria? No, that'd be stupid; they got banished from Equestria in the first place by one (admittedly powerful) unicorn, I don't think they'd fare too well against 4 alicorns, the Element Bearers, and the god of chaos, just for starters (yes, that is exactly what Sunset wanted to go up against, and yes, it's still bucking stupid and I will keep saying this until the end of time). Instead, the Dazzlings set their sights considerably lower, but for smart reasons. They wanted to take over the human world, and given that this movie and EQG seemed to suggest that Equestrian magic has even more powerful effects in the human world, where magic is largely absent, than in Equestria itself, I think they might've stood a chance had their plan panned out. In the end, they weren't defeated by incompetence or clumsy plotholes. They were just straight-up one-upped by the HuMane 6. Admittedly I would've liked if their gems that apparently gave them their powers would've been explained earlier in the movie, and their plan was a bit convoluted at times, but all in all, I have no complaints about these guys. Adagio probably was my favorite just because she was wicked nasty! That cheeky yet also sinister smile of hers was downright diabolical, and she did a good job throughout the film asserting her authority as leader of the Dazzlings. Aria I didn't really care for, she didn't really wow me or anything, and while Sonata was enjoyable, I don't understand the obsession that some bronies seem to have with her. It seems similar to the Maud craze that cropped up after her debut, and I don't get that either. Sonata just didn't do that much, not enough to warrant that praise, at least in my opinion. Overall, while I doubt we'll see these guys again, I certainly wouldn't complain if the Dazzlings ever showed up again. They pretty much had everything you'd want out of an MLP villain.


     
     
     
     
     

    Finally, let's talk about the last big factor that worked so well in this movie: the music. Oh. My. Gosh. The music. Travelling down nostalgia lane again, some might recall that I was not wowed by the music in EQG. Simply put, besides "Helping Twilight Win the Crown" (which is amazing and terribly catchy) all of the music in EQG was, in my opinion, mediocre and unmemorable. Worse, it seemed to show up in really random spots throughout the movie, like it just didn't belong there or even bring anything special to it. It was just there, and for Daniel Ingram, one of my FAVORITE members of the DHX production team, it was sooooooo disappointing to hear that output from him. So needless to say I was worried about an entire movie revolving around a high school Battle of the Bands. BUCK ME, WAS I EVER WRONG!!!


     
     
     
     
     

    This music was amazing!!! It all was catchy, and memorable, had these awesome beats and rhythms and tunes that'll be stuck in your head for days (trust me, they're still stuck in my head, no joke!). The best part, though, for me, was that these all functioned as songs should in a musical, which is what this movie was, it was a musical. EQG never really embraced that, and heck, most episodes of MLP aren't musicals either. I think the only two I would count as musicals are "Canterlot Wedding: Parts 1 and 2" and "Magical Mystery Cure" because the songs there play a part in telling the story. That's not to say that other songs in MLP don't do that, there's just not enough of them in single episodes to say that that episode was a musical. Anyways, EQG had enough songs to claim being a musical, the problem was, these songs struggled to find their own identities. Sometimes they seemed to want to be an MLP song, other times they seemed to want to be a high school movie pop song. The only exception, again, was "Helping Twilight Win the Crown"; that song was extremely original, served a crucial role in the plot, extremely catchy, and just felt unique, like, something we hadn't seen in MLP before, something new. EVERY SINGLE SONG felt that way in Rainbow Rocks. They were original, they served purposes within the plot, they weren't random or nonsensical or mediocre and unmemorable, they had extraordinarily catchy beats. Most impressive of all for me is the fact that they actually reflected character personalities! All of the HuMane 6's songs felt like natural extensions of what we saw in "Helping Twilight Win the Crown" only even better than that, the Dazzlings songs actually expressed their personality more than anything they said in normal conversation (which makes sense, seeing as, after all, singing is how their magic is unleashed) and, to boot, were all similar and yet at the same time unique from one another (as a quick aside, can we PLEASE have more villain songs again? We hadn't had villains singing until this since Chrysalis back in Season 2, and it was as amazing then as it was here!!!), and even Trixie had a song that was clearly different from the other groups and had her own unique sound! This is one of the best soundtracks Ingram's ever produced, and the best part was it felt like EQG's own thing; none of the songs were trying to be like a song from MLP, aside from being about friendship of course, and in doing so they felt true to both the spirit of the show but also this world where they're being sung, which is still different from Equestria itself. I usually hate high school movies, but these felt like the best kind of songs you could ever encounter in a high school musical movie, and I can't praise their quality enough! My favorites would probably have to be "Rainbow Rocks" (insanely catchy beat!), "Better Than Ever", "Under Our Spell" (my personal favorite number sung by the Dazzlings, trust me, it WILL get stuck in your head! On top of that, it has an incredibly memorable visual sequence to accompany it), and "Welcome to the Show", but really, all of these songs were amazing in their own right. This bodes well for Season 5, and it also bodes well for a potential EQG show, because it tells me that Ingram knows exactly how to give such a show its own unique sound that doesn't just sound like an MLP copycat.


     
     
     




     
     
     

    So yeah, if you couldn't tell, the music is what really sold this movie for me. It was so good and worked so well in the story and just the aesthetics of the film all in all, I still can't praise it enough. It's the film's X-factor for me, and definitely made it not just good, but exceptional. Besides all of these factors I already listed, there was plenty of more minor elements that made the film work. The animation was lovely as usual, the human designs not quite as grating as they were in the last film, and the settings looked nice enough. We still didn't get to see much of this world, but the little we did looked nice. The comedy as I mentioned earlier was spot on, especially any provided by Pinkie Pie. The little we saw of the Mane 6 in Equestria was nice; I don't know why some people complained about them here, I didn't think they did anything wrong. They just weren't in it that much was all. And even though the story was a bit predictable, for what it was, it was well executed. All in all, this was a complete product that was quite exceptional in its own right, something I cannot say of its predecessor. Yet, sadly, we're not quite done with this review. As I said, it wasn't perfect, so next, let's take a look at...


     
     
     

    The Bad


     
     
     

    This section will be actually smaller than you'd think, mostly because most of my complaints are being reserved for the last section. That said, there were still some things that I thought were just bad in Rainbow Rocks. First, human Rainbow Dash. I didn't like her in EQG. I didn't like her here either (sorry DashForever). My complaints are almost exactly identical to what I said about her in the first film; human Rainbow Dash feels like an overblown caricature of Equestrian Rainbow Dash. She constantly proclaims how awesome she is (namely by saying the word 'awesome'). She feels the need to incessantly take the spotlight and, without Twilight there and before Sunset really made amends at the end of the film, she was pretty much acting as the self-proclaimed leader of the group. I really don't like that, and I don't think anyone would like that. I mean, imagine if in MLP, RD was the leader of the Mane 6, not Twilight. That would be incredibly annoying! She's great as a supporting character, because this character who is so good at pretty much anything she sets her mind to is constantly being asked to support others instead of her own ambitions. As leader, though, human RD felt at times like she was using the rest of the HuMane 6 to just highlight how awesome she was. It just felt really off for her, and once again I found myself really disliking RD's human counterpart. Like, if those two met, I get the feeling that pony RD would be telling human RD to tone it down a notch with all the "I'm awesome!" banter. All in all, I'm sorry RD fans, but, yet again, I just couldn't enjoy human RD for the most part.


     
     
     
     

    Next, let's talk the transformations. Oh... those bucking transformations. I still don't like them. I think they're terrifying, needless, and completely nonsensical, just like they were in the first film, and the fact that nobody questions them makes them even weirder. The only nice thing I can say about them is that they at least tried to explain them in this movie, but tha's about it. All in all, the pony-human hybrid transformations are as weird and creepy as ever, at least for me.


     
     
     

    Another complaint I have is that we didn't get to hear more of the acts in the Battle of the Bands. Yeah, I know why we didn't, they had a short running time and, all things considered, they showed the other acts pretty well in the "Under Our Spell" sequence. Still, given how awesome Trixie's song was, not to mention that hilarity from Snips and Snails' rap, I couldn't help but want to see more of these acts. I mean, heck, the CMC were in their S1 get-up and everything, that is soooooo awesome! Bulk Biceps was on the violin/or fiddle, I couldn't tell, Tavi was on her cello, Lyra and Bon Bon performed a piano and vocal duet!!! I WANT TO SEE THESE ACTS!!!!!!!!!!! Ah well, that's a fairly minor complaint, but I can dream, can't I?


     
     
     

    The mirror bit in Equestria was... a weak plot device, to say the least. I know they just want to set up future sequels/crossovers (and to be fair, I would kill to see both Mane 6 together, that would be awesome!), but... you're telling me that Celestia couldn't have figured out how to do what Twilight did in 1,000 years? BULL CRAP!!!!!!!


     
     
     

    Finally, Octavia talked... for the first time ever. This is a background character who, despite her massive popularity, actually is one of the rarest background characters to appear in the show (I don't think many people realize how rarely she shows up, but she really hasn't shown up that much!). So, given that, I don't really like that she talked here, even if it was just one line. It's not that I didn't like the voice (although it could've been a little more refined sounding), it's just... her first lines of dialogue we've ever heard came from her human persona. That just doesn't seem right to me. I know it's nitpicky, but, after seeing that, I'm kinda glad that Vinyl didn't speak. I like her as this silent supporting character who just basks in her own swag without saying anything. Not that I'd be opposed to her speaking in the future, just... stick with the ponies, DHX, when it comes to speaking for some of these characters, at least for the first time.


     
     
     
     

    Alright, well, that's my bad out of the way. Not that much, as you can see. Well, that's for a very particular reason. My last section is devoted to my biggest complaint of all in this movie. Let's close this review out with...


     
     
     

    The Useless


     
     
     

    What do I mean by useless? Well there was something I noticed in this movie. Something very, very specifically wrong with it. TONS of characters were useless. What do I mean by that? Quite simply this: main and supporting characters did absolutely NOTHING to resolve the film or, even worse, justify their presence.


     
     
     

    Let's start with the HuMane 6 + Twilight. They did jack-freaking-squat! The HuMane 6 spent most of the movie bickering more and more and more until Sunset Shimmer brought them all together again at the end of the film. I know it was a plot device, but it frustrated me as much as their stupid, BS subplot about being split up by Sunset Shimmer in EQG did. They did nothing but contribute to the problem until the final part of the final act, and yes, I agree with my BFF DashForever that it's probably to set up an EQG show and illustrate that they still have much to learn about friendship (although that doesn't really make sense given that, unlike the Mane 6, the HuMane 6 have purportedly been lifelong friends! WHY DON'T THEY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FRIENDSHIP?!?!?!?!), but that doesn't make it any less annoying to watch. Twilight, and Spike, were, get this, JUST AS USELESS!!!! I'm not kidding, they were, and that was so disappointing considering they were both two of the bright spots of EQG! Twilight spent the whole movie trying to come up with a counter spell that they didn't need! Really Twilight? After becoming the princess of friendship, you couldn't figure out that, in a Battle of the Bands, the HuMane 6 could unleash the magic of friendship just by singing their hearts out and playing and singing really, really well??? Cause that's all they had to do, they said as much at the end!!! That friggin' frustrated me, and Twilight did nothing except perform with them and, to her credit, make up with Sunset Shimmer (though I would've liked to see one or two more scenes with just those two, the one they had was really nice). She didn't even seem like a leader for most of the film, and at this point in the show, that was just really out of character! Spike was even worse! Mostly because he was barely in the movie! He was there for a lot of scenes, but he didn't say or do much. The most important thing he did was get Vinyl Scratch... to open a door. Whoop-dee-friggin'-doo!!! So yeah, you can see what I mean by all these characters being useless. They all just felt like they were taking up space and nothing else for so much of this movie! It was seriously disappointing, especially for Twilight and Spike.


     
     
     

    Next, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. These characters were pretty useless in EQG to start. Celestia's personality was fine in EQG for the most part, she was a nice cross of her pony self with a human in that particular position, but Vice Principal Luna had the stupidest and most needless subplot ever which lasted, literally, only 30 seconds. Overall, both of them did barely anything in that film. So imagine my shock when they somehow were even more useless in this film! Look, I know that they were thralls to the Dazzlings by the time the HuMane 6 caught up with them. THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS ANNOYING THAT THEY DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP THE MAIN CHARACTERS OUT!!!!!!!! All they did... ALL they did was put together the Battle of the Bands and judge it. Oh, and make some snide remarks about Sunset Shimmer. BUCK... THAT!!!!!!!!! On top of that, I still don't like their human designs, but that's beside the point. They did bucking nothing! I still can't believe it, but yes, they were somehow more useless in this film than in EQG. That really, really frustrated me.


     
     
     
     

    However... nothing, absolutely nothing, in this film frustrated me as much as a certain character (if you want to call him that). This guy... oh, this guy. Fillies and gentlecolts, I present to you...


     
     

    THE KING OF USELESS


     



     

    Ohhhhhhhh... this... mother... bucker.


     
     
     
     

    *sigh* Where do I even begin? Well, let's start from the beginning. I am not a rabid Twilight fan who, when EQG came out, was all "Oh noes, Flash Sentry's stealing my waifu". No no... I was pissed that we were supposed to believe that he and Twilight had a thing because THEY SO DIDN'T HAVE A THING!!!!!! If Twilight ever gets with someone, preferably in the show AND OF THE SAME SPECIES(!!!), it needs to be a fully developed relationship. THIS was not a fully developed relationship!!!! This was one character and one cardboard cutout spending 5 minutes of screentime together, two of which were spent hemming and hawing, the other three being spent blushing. THAT'S NOT A RELATIONSHIP!!!!!!!! If DHX cared so little about it, then why the buck did they throw it in?!?!?! But I digress.


     
     
     
     

    Flash forward (no pun intended, I swear) to Rainbow Rocks. This mother bucker is unfortunately back. And you know what we learn very, very, very fast? HE'S EVEN MORE USELESS SOMEHOW!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!?!?! Anyways... so this guy spends his days asking if Twilight (who he knows now is a pony, I remind you) is back. That's... creepy, and just a bit stalkerish. And when she gets back, what happens? Buck me, she's as happy to see him. I don't even get that, the end of the first film seemed to suggest she might try to pursue something with pony Flash Sentry (who's just as useless, for the record). But no, apparently Twilight has a thing for a completely different species, which I could buy if they'd spent more than 5 minutes together in the last film!!!!! But, uh oh, what's this? Flash, like the rest of the school, is under the Dazzlings enchantment (knowing that idiot, he was the first converted). So now he's competing in the Battle of the Bands. So what happens? Does he make it to the final round and try to unwittingly thwart Twilight and the HuMane 6 due to his forced competitiveness and hate? NOPE!!!!!!! That loser gets out wayyyyyyy before the final round. I will admit, I laughed hard at that, just because I like seeing Flash Sentry suffer, and it meant seeing less of him. However, things might've been more interesting if, instead of Trixie, Twilight's supposed waifu (I think I threw up in my mouth just typing that) would've been the one to try and stop her at the end. But again, on the bright side, we got less of him as a result. The bad news is... EVEN WITH LESS FLASH SENTRY, THIS FILM WAS STILL TRYING TO PRETEND THAT HE AND TWILIGHT HAD A THING!!!!!! ARE... YOU... SERIOUS?!?!?!?!? It was even more apparent here than in EQG that they DIDN'T HAVE A THING!!!!!!!!!!! They did absolutely nothing together, they blushed and spoke less than they did before! SO WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT THEY HAVE A THING?!?!?! Besides that, Flash Sentry... well, he did nothing. He lost in the competition, we never even saw him perform except for one quick shot, and besides "flirting" with Twilight... that was it. HE... DID... NOTHING!!!!!!!!! This character is not justified in his existence! Do you hear me, DHX? THIS CHARACTER HAD LESS PURPOSE HERE THAN HE DID EVEN IN EQG, AND HE DIDN'T JUSTIFY HIS EXISTENCE THERE EITHER!!!!!!!! WHY DO YOU EXIST, FLASH SENTRY?!?!?!?!?! YOU DO NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAY LUNA STRIKE YOU DOWN AND CAST YOU INTO A PIT IN TARTARUS WHERE YOU BURN IN THE HEAT OF A THOUSAND SUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU USELESS... WASTE... OF... SPACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


     
     




     

    Buck... I needed that. So yeah, my biggest complaint of this film is how many characters were useless, either in that their actions only made things worse, or they just didn't warrant existing in the first place. It was quite the problem, let me tell you. Still, though, all in all the positives here definitely outweighed the negatives. This was not like EQG, which I could only say was far more entertaining than I thought it would be. No, this was a legitimately good film, and I praise DHX for the final result. The bad in it was still plenty bad, but it got so many things right that I just didn't care (for the most part... BUCK YOU FLASH SENTRY!!!). All in all, I'd definitely rewatch this again in a heartbeat, and I might even pick up some of the songs on Itunes, they're that good. If you haven't watched it yet, go check out Rainbow Rocks as soon as you can. You won't regret it.


  16. Batbrony
    Oh finally, I apologize for not getting this out sooner everypony. Life's just been crazy lately, ya know? Anyways, let's get this review going. "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3" was a delightful episode; not only probably Rainbow Dash's best of the season, but one of the best episode's of the season all around. Since there's quite a bit to cover I'll try to keep everything as concise as possible.
     




    Just sit back and relax, students, it's time to learn!!!


     
    First of all, as I said, this was probably Rainbow Dash's best episode yet this season. One thing that actually worked to great effect were the many different sides of RD we got to see. She started off the episode brash and cocky as usual; next we got to see her functioning, or rather failing to function at all, in a classroom setting, displaying almost ADD-like behavior; as the episode went on, we got more and more the sense that, even when she wanted to learn, she simply couldn't learn or retain knowledge at all through traditional means; after giving in to despair, we saw RD in probably the most depressed state we'd seen her in since "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", illustrating yet again a lot of the insecurity that she harbors beneath her confident exterior; and finally, we got to learn something quite intriguing about RD, that she is brilliant in her own way in that she can multitask like no other when she's doing the thing she loves most, that is, flying. While the almost Rain Man-like nature of her subconscious like information-absorption is a bit strange, it still made sense when you take into account that Rainbow's spent years perfecting her flying and doing everything she can to become the peak flyer in all of Equestria. The only other inconsistency that I noticed was that we've seen Rainbow Dash reading Daring Do books while grounded perfectly fine before, she hasn't had to fly while doing so, but that was a minor inconsistency that I could waive given the fact that she had so little time to study for her test. Overall, Rainbow was pretty much written perfectly here; I do wish that the fact that she'd procrastinated in her studying would've been critiqued more in the episode, but other than that, she was adorable, sympathetic, likable, and we learned some of the most interesting new things about her character that we've learned in awhile.
     




    One step closer to living the dream.


     
    Our deuteragonist, Twilight, had a pretty darn good episode as well. I've always loved Twilight's love and respect for knowledge, so seeing her in her element here was quite awesome for me, especially seeing as the subject in focus was history, which actually is my very own major and what I'm going to continue studying in grad school next fall. She not only covered quite a few effective learning and studying methods that one can practice both inside and out of the classroom, but she also got in quite a few diatribes about the importance of knowing history no matter what your occupation is. On top of that, despite her frustration, Twilight stayed a true friend to RD and never gave up on her, no matter how many study methods failed, how frustrating RD could be to work with, or how despairing she got towards the end. She was clearly in charge of this endeavor, and once again proved herself the main character of the show and the leader of the Mane 6 in her efforts, especially her organizing the Mane 6 and all of Ponyville to boot at the end there. Overall, Twilight was in her element here, and had one of her own best episodes of the season as well; she was a great teacher, a great friend, and a great leader from beginning to end. As a quick aside, the few times that she and RD discussed her still adjusting to her new wings was a nice bit of continuity.
     




    Yes, everypony, it's true, I am best teacher!


     
    Fluttershy had her own moment of note when she not only calmed both a frustrated and bickering Twilight and RD down, but was also the first pony to recognize that traditional methods of learning and study might not work for RD. Granted, her theatrical presentation didn't really help (and it certainly didn't help that it was silent theater ), but her heart was in the right place, and as said, she was the first one to try something different. She was also pretty adorable in her organizing all the animals in the first place, and her Celestia cosplaying at the end was too cute.
     




    And the best cosplay award goes to...


     
    Pinkie Pie had what might quite possibly be the most random moment we've seen all season when she broke out into her Pinkie Rap. It may not have helped RD at all whatsoever, but gosh dang if it wasn't funny, and the fact that she kept coming back to the rapping and her wicked tight fedora as the episode went on just killed me. Despite her study method's utter failure, Pinkie Pie proved herself yet again to be the Queen of Random.
     




    I think this bit of amazing speaks for itself.


     
    Rarity and AJ both had probably the worst attempts at helping RD, but at least they were true to themselves. I'm not exactly sure what RD was supposed to learn from seeing the Wonderbolts different outfits, but they certainly were interesting looking (and looked fabulous on Rarity to boot ), and AJ was hilarious in her blunt honesty that she knew absolutely nothing about the Wonderbolts. Either way, they both delivered some comedic humor, and made up for their earlier failure when they helped RD in the end.
     




    Well now, that's delightfully ironic on a number of levels. :comeatus:


     
    Besides the characters, there's a few other elements in this episode of note. The Wonderbolts' history was very interesting to hear and learn about (that is, when we could pay attention to it, but thankfully they repeated it enough times that we got the gist of it). The only thing I found confusing about it were the ranks of some of the historical figures in the Wonderbolts; I caught General, Colonel, Commander, and Admiral. I know it's just a kids show and we can't expect the guys at DHX to know too much about the military, but they were mixing branches with those ranks for crying out loud, and being the history buff I am, it was just a bit confusing. Other than that, however, the history was a very interesting bit of MLP canon to learn, and quite a delight if I do say so myself. The humor was spot on and really every character that showed up got a good bit of humor or comedy in there at some point. Definitely one of the better ensemble episodes we've had this season, especially in the comedy department. Finally, the ending was simply spectacular. The twist in Twilight's solution was extremely original and unexpected, seriously, completed blindsided me on my first viewing, and the effort that all of Ponyville put into helping Rainbow Dash was very touching to see. I really did also like the lesson that traditional learning methods don't always work for everyone, and sometimes we need to think outside the box to teach and educate others. It was very unique and original in both its content and delivery, and one that I hope viewers young and old take to heart.
     




    I'd say things escalated out of hand just a bit in this episode. Just a bit.


     
    My only complain about the episode remains this, although I'm not as angry about it now as I was initially; as I've said before, procrastination was not addressed at all in this episode. Now if RD had just passed her test, I probably wouldn't be so mad about this; but she didn't just pass, she got 100% when she had less than 12 hours to study for it. If they'd given her a week or even a few days left before her test, then I could've seen her getting 100%, but instead, they gave her less than 12 hours and she got 100% after discovering a freakish talent for absorbing information while in flight. Let's be honest, few in the real world can be expected to have a similar ability for having such an incredibly eidetic memory. As some pointed out, procrastination wasn't the subject here, and they could also only fit so much into this episode (and let me just say that the pacing was stupendous here as well), but still, that doesn't change the fact that they could've executed this episode differently with only a few minor tweaks and made it not look like procrastination doesn't matter at all, because, it does. Most successful students, such as myself, put in hours of work to get the success we achieve in the classroom, so seeing something like the end result that RD got was just a bit insulting and unrealistic. Again, though, I'm not too mad about it at this point, and it doesn't take away from the fact that, overall, this was an amazing episode, definitely one of the best of Season 4 for sure. It hit all the right notes, was pretty much perfect in its content, execution, humor, and everything else really, and is just a fun and moving episode to watch. Well done DHX, well done indeed; we've just got five episodes left, and I anticipate that each and every one of them should be quite a treat indeed. Till next time everypony!
  17. Batbrony
    To any and all writers and readers of fanfiction here on the forums, it is my great pleasure to announce that Poniverse has officially opened an official group on FimFiction.com. This group will serve as a hub on FimFiction for the Poniverse, and any members of these forums or one of her sister sites (along with anyone else really) are welcome to join and add your own stories if you've got them!
     
    Like the MLP Forums Authors Helping Authors group, there are a few restrictions on what type of stories you may add to the Poniverse group: very Mature-rated fics are not welcome, such as clopfics, gorefics, or slashfics. There are plenty of other groups on FimFiction where such genres are acceptable, and seeing as many members on MLPF or her sister sites are quite young, we'd rather not risk having any stumble across said fics in our own group. If you already have a FimFiction account, then all you have to do to add your stories is join the group and add any you have to their appropriate genre folder. It's that easy!
     
    Besides adding stories, members of all sorts, whether authors or readers, should feel free to utilize our forums in the Poniverse FimFiction group. You can discuss writing, certain fanfictions, or more general topics (though we ask that most threads be kept pony-centric; our FimFiction forums are not the place for more personal threads or serious topics debating weighty issues). We also hope to host contests of some sort at some point in the future once the group is well established and has a fair number of members and stories.
     
    At the moment, the Poniverse.net Official FimFiction Group is being administrated by myself, Destiny (FimFiction user name: Theres Always Tomorrow), and Kolth. If you have any questions, feel free to PM one of us, either here or on FimFiction. We hope many of you decide to join and participate in this new expansion of the Poniverse!
     
    Poniverse.net Official FimFiction Group: http://www.fimfiction.net/group/204078/poniverse
  18. Batbrony
    Well... it finally happened. After over two years, I now have a new favorite episode. "The Return of Harmony", you had a fantastic run, really, you did. But after Season 4's finale, I simply can't deny it: "Twilight's Kingdom" is, officially, my new favorite episode of the show. The thing that I find most fascinating about this is how very different both episodes are, but I'll cover that in a bit. Right now, in addition to reviewing just what makes "Twilight's Kingdom: Parts 1 and 2" such phenomenal episodes, I gotta review how Season 4 fared as a whole. So let's get to it everypony; this is my full review of Season 4 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, including my thoughts on "Twilight's Kingdom: Part 1 and Part 2". Enjoy!
     
    The Story
     
    If there is one word that can best sum up what makes the overall story of Season 4 so downright spectacular, it would be this: Clarity. Following a shortened season that left us with little idea where the show was going to go, we got a season that, on the surface, kept that question up in the air for most of the season. However, following the Season 4 finale, it is apparent now that the writers knew exactly what they were doing the whole time, and if you review the season as a whole, you see that there is a beautiful unity to everything that happened that simply clarifies in a splendid manner why everything's been happening and leading up to what has happened since Season 3 began. Season 3 left us not with a solid foundation, but rather, a cornerstone, that being that Twilight is a princess. Now that Season 4 is over, a foundation has been built around that cornerstone from which the entire show might build upon in an entirely new direction for the story. With that in mind, I want to propose the radical idea that Seasons 3 and 4 should be considered.not so much as separate seasons, but rather as one large super season. Yes, there is an overall story to the show as a whole, but these two seasons covered a large transitionary phase for the show's story, when you get down to it. Throughout that transitionary phase, we didn't know what we were going to get, but now that we are at an end, a new foundation for the show's story has been established. The finale of Season 2 closed one chapter on the show's story that began in Season 1, Season 3 opened another, and Season 4 closed that very same chapter. Below are my top 3 plot developments of Season 4, each wonderful in its own special way!
     
    Top 3 Plot Developments:
     
    (1) Princess of Friendship: So remember last season when the fandom almost collectively lost its head all because of a pair of wings? Boy, does that seem silly now. The final major plot point of Season 4, which I will discuss in far greater detail further down below in my thoughts on the Season Finale, was handled to perfection. It brought together so many plot points from Seasons 3 and 4, and just made sense of so many things. Most importantly of all was that it illustrated that the writers have not only kept the show grounded in its very own thesis (contained in the title itself), that being that "friendship is magic", but also continued further expanding upon that idea in the show's overall story, taking the story and the characters in new directions and opening a treasure trove of new possibilities, especially with this final plot development of the season. Twilight is now the Princess of Friendship: her purpose, her destiny, is clear, and her friends are a crucial, inseparable part of that destiny now more than ever before. She needs them, and they need her, in order to be the best that they can be and unlock the true magic of friendship, and nowhere has that been more loudly proclaimed throughout the entire show than in the final five minutes of Season 4's finale. Princess Twilight Sparkle is here to stay, and I couldn't be happier about that and what it means for the show's future!
     

     
    (2) The Nature of Magic: I won't go into this plot point too much, seeing as it was more a season-spanning trend, but this season made understanding the nature of magic in Equestria far easier to do than ever before. More than ever, magic played a crucial role consistently throughout the season, and time and time again we saw a wide variety of magic employed, and sometimes different types of magic being pitted against each other. For the first time, it is possible for us to break down a large variety of the magic that exists in Equestria into different categories and classifications, and I just think that's really, really cool. If you're looking for an in-depth and fascinating discussion about this truly very neat plot point, take a gander at ~Chaotic Discord~'s thread on the subject; there's some very neat ideas getting discussed, debated, and exchanged over there: http://mlpforums.com/topic/97727-new-headcanon-chaos-magic/
     
    (3) The Equestria Games: Look, I know that many would argue that the payoff was weak or rushed, but I don't think there's any denying that the Equestria Games on a whole were one of the better plot developments this season. Throughout the season, they consistently came up as a plot point, and a number of episodes even revolved around them. In addition, I thought the payoff was quite good if I do say so myself; earlier episodes came back into play, we got to see some nice action from the games themselves, and the episode was one of Spike's better ones this season, rounded out by a very nice message. Not to mention that, along with Twilight's becoming a princess, this far more minor plot point was one of the first to start in one season and carry on through the next. In many ways it was a spiritual successor to The Grand Galloping Gala in Season 1, and while I would concede that the latter did have a better payoff than the Games did, they were still fun to watch develop and unfold, not to mention it was still an ambitious plot development on the writers part overall. I know not everyone will agree, but in my book, the Equestria Games get two thumbs way up for the way they affected Season 4 on the whole.
     
    Honorable Mentions
     
    Scootalove Continuation: Last season I cited Scootalove as the #1 plot development of the season, and with good reason. It was easily the most demanded plot development by the fans, and the writers gave us just what we wanted in "Sleepless in Ponyville", one of the finest episodes of that season. However, its continuity this season was just as much a measure of its success as its beginning was last season. This season showed us that Scootalove is, definitively, not just a one-time, novelty occurrence. Multiple times throughout the season, in both major and minor depictions, we saw Scootalove on full display. Rainbow and Scoots are clearly now canonically hanging out on a regular basis, treating one another as surrogate sisters, and that normalization of it was almost as delightful and important as its very inception, and so it most definitely deserves an honorable mention.
     
    "Reformed" Discord: I don't know about the rest of you, but I absolutely adored what the writers did with Discord this season! At no point, until the last five minutes of the final episode, was it ever clear where he stood throughout the entire season. This uncertainty was not exclusive to the fans, no no, the Mane 6 were just as uncertain. Fluttershy was the only one who ever had full faith in him throughout, Twilight cautiously developed a relationship with him, keeping an open mind about things, while the rest seemed to assume that he'd turn on them in a heartbeat if given the chance. What's even better, neither side was ever portrayed as being definitively right. Fluttershy's faith and friendship was certainly admirable, but that didn't mean that Discord's allegiances were certain. As we finally learned in the finale, it would appear that Discord himself throughout the season did actually change and come to value their friendship in his own odd way, albiet without truly understanding its true value. That's why it was so easy for him to revert back to his old ways at Tirek's goading, seeing as it simply felt safer and more comfortable for him. It was only when he truly saw the consequences of his throwing away friendships that really meant something (a repeat of his almost doing so last season in "Keep Calm and Flutter On", albeit, far better handled here) that Discord himself finally knew what he really wanted. Sure, his type of fun had always brought him mirth and glee for thousands of years, but it brought everypony else suffering and misery, and he finally understood that it was far more meaningful to share in fun, friendship, and love with others rather than have fun at their expense. Discord CHANGED, he evolved as a character; nothing was set in stone after "Keep Calm and Flutter On", and I absolutely loved that. While he didn't show up too often, he showed up regularly enough that he had a strong presence and made lasting impressions every time, and as ~Chaotic Discord~ has said many times, he frequently stole the spotlight in scenes, sometimes without even talking. Discord remains one of the highlights of the entire show, and this year, as far as character development goes, he probably had his finest season yet.
     
    The Return and Evolution of the Derpy Cameo: I'll talk more about this in the Background Characters segment of my review, but I just have to mention what a joy it was for me to see Derpy appearing on a regular basis yet again! Last season really hurt, I mean, REALLY hurt as a Derpy fan up until the season finale. So this season it was just a joy to see Derpy not only appearing in little cameos on a regular basis, hearkening back to her Season 1 and 2 appearances, but also appearing, a few rare times, in what I would call her first genuine supporting roles ever. It simply reaffirmed that DHX loves her now as much as ever before and that she's here to stay, and me, well, I can rest easy with that knowledge in mind.
     
    Top 3 Worst Episodes
     
    As with any show, there is no such thing as a perfect season. That doesn't really take away from the show as a whole, because things would honestly get quite boring if every episode achieved the same level of quality, but all the same, some episodes deserve being called out for their flaws and failures. These are my top 3 worst episodes of Season 4.
     
    (1) "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies": I've made it no secret that I did not like this episode from Day 1. Fluttershy had a very good season all around, but for me, this episode was the low point of Season 4. It did not, thankfully, create in me the sort of rage that I have for an episode like "MMMMystery on the Friendship Express" (still my all time least favorite episode of the show). However, unfortunately it left absolutely no impression on me whatsoever. It was redundant, there was lots of pointless filler, I never felt particularly engaged or concerned by the Breezies plight (despite the writers many attempts to make Rainbow Dash trying to create a soft breeze gripping!), and the Breezies themselves disappointed me in both personality and design (aside, again, from Seabreeze and their amazing Scandinavian accents!!!). Overall, this was just a stinker, and the fact that it was a key episode to boot makes that all the more disappointing.
     
    (2) "Bats!": While "Bats!" left far more of an impression on me than "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" did, I still found it lacking heavily in many regards, and it was also probably the most disappointing episode of the season for me. Whereas I really had no expectations going into "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies", I was very, very, very excited going into "Bats!". We had Fluttershy and Applejack acting as costars, a pair we haven't seen starring together too often, and I was really hopeful that it would play out splendidly. Sadly, it did not; while Flutterbat was undeniably hilarious and kinda awesome, it still derailed the episode from the direction I had thought and hoped it would take, and caused some pacing issues to boot. I would've far preferred that the episode play out in its entirety as the first half did, with Fluttershy and Applejack quarreling over their different viewpoints of how to handle the vampire fruitbats. Instead, there was questionable decision making throughout, Fluttershy was unfairly portrayed as being entirely in the right without Applejack's legitimate concerns ever really being given merit, and this episode just ended up turning out not how I had envisioned it at all. Still had plenty of merits, such as Flutterbat and the fun "Bats" song, but overall this was the most disappointing episode of the season for me.
     
    (3) "Inspiration Manifestation": like "Bats!", this episode, featuring a pair we hadn't seen in a really long time, Rarity and Spike, disappointed me a lot. Despite a strong performance from the always delightful and energetic Tabitha St. Germain, "Inspiration Manifestation" was far too heavily weighed down by Spike's poor decision making and refusal for most of the episode to even recognize that what Rarity was doing was wrong. The message itself was strong, but the execution was lacking. While there was some very interesting magic in the episode, this was undoubtedly Spike's weakest episode of the season, and once again, Spike proved that, when he has a bad episode, it can be a real stinker.
     
    The Characters
     
    The Mane 6
     
    Twilight: Let me start my character reviews by saying this: I cannot conscientiously say after the season finale that any of the Mane 6 had THE best season of them all. Nor can I say that any had the worst. I won't stop others from doing so, but my reasoning is this; the finale hammered away more than any other episode before the point that this show needs each and every one of these characters. Can you imagine just how much less special this season alone would've been if even just one of the Mane 6 weren't involved? Just as each one of these friends needs each other to be their best, so too does MLP in general need each and every one of the Mane 6. As for Twilight, she did undoubtedly once again prove herself quite convincingly to be the show's star. Her transition from princess-without-a-purpose to the Princess of Friendship was a delight to see unfold, and throughout she still remained the same good ol' Twilight we've all come to know and love, albeit still very conscientious of the new responsibilities she had that come with being a princess. Even when in supporting roles, she usually filled the role of leader of the Mane 6, especially in ensemble episodes, but she had a few notable appearances as a costar as well, perhaps most notably in "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3". Overall, Twilight had a fantastic season, exactly what she needed to prove that her becoming a princess was both the right direction for her character as well as the show, rounding it all off with probably her best starring role to date (which I will discuss more in my finale review below).
     
    Applejack: The silly pony of the group (heheh, sorry, couldn't resist the G1 reference) once again proved herself this season to be pretty easily Twilight's right-hand-mare of the group. While again I can't say that anypony had the best season of the group, Applejack had a very exceptional season! The only disappointing performance she ever turned in was in "Bats!" in my opinion, and again, I don't blame that on her so much as I blame it on the poor writing for that episode. Besides that, every single one of her starring performances was strong: "Pinkie Apple Pie", "Simple Ways", "Somepony to Watch Over Me", and "Leap of Faith" were all very strong episodes, and Applejack was characterized fantastically in each and every one of them. Ashleigh Ball delivered some lovely vocals for the cowpony in one of my favorite songs of the season, "Apples to the Core", and this was possibly AJ's funniest season yet to boot. Besides her always funny matter-of-fact humor, AJ had a lot of physical humor this season, most notably in some of the expressions she made, whether it be her amazing duckface or the Skeptical-Applejack expression that kept popping up routinely throughout the season. Her relationship with Rarity, my favorite pair of friends out of the Mane 6, got quite a few nice highlights throughout the season. Finally, whenever she was in a supporting role, unless the episode didn't really have much of her, AJ was a rock in the group, somepony that everypony else could always lean and rely on. She was always ready to lend a helping hoof to others, always ready to jump into harms way at a moment's notice should her friends be in danger, and had quite a few badass moments throughout the season if I do say so myself, with some of her finest bits coming when she wasn't even starring in an episode ("Princess Twilight Sparkle: Part 2"). In fact, I'd even go so far as saying that AJ kicked more flank, quite literally, this season than even Rainbow Dash did. Overall, it's undeniable that AJ had one of the strongest seasons she's had yet, possibly even her best to date. She starred in five episodes, had the highest number of episode appearances yet again out of the whole group (seriously, Twilight showed up in less episodes than even AJ did), and just all around had an awesome season! Way to go cowgirl!!!
     
    Rarity: Ahhhh, Rarity. It's safe to say that after the dreadful season she had last year, in which she had not a single starring role (despite being fabulous as ever before), that Rarity had nowhere to go but up at the start of the season. And boy oh boy, did she go up! She nailed every single one of her starring roles, backed up most notably by Tabitha St. Germain's always-amazing voice work. From "Rarity Takes Manehattan" (easily her best role of the season), to "Simple Ways", "Filli Vanilli", "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils", and even "Inspiration Manifestation", Rarity always shined and was never a problem in any episode she starred in. She also turned in some incredibly strong supporting role performances, especially in ensemble episodes, where she frequently stole the spotlight with her over-the-top antics. To make matters even better, Rarity showed A LOT of character growth this season compared to earlier seasons. We got the first ever completely positive portrayal of her as a big sister to Sweetie Belle in "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils", almost all of the time her friends' well being was one of her greatest concerns, and her always generous spirit got highlighted quite a few times this season (again, most notably in "Rarity Takes Manehattan"). She had one of the best key episodes of the Mane 6, proved herself alongside Applejack to be, despite her frequently over-the-top personality, one of the most mature members of the group, and never once suffered from earlier flaws displayed in Seasons 1 and 2, aside of course from when she was corrupted by the Inspiration Manifestation spell book, proving herself to have grown rather significantly since the start of the show. Finally, as I mentioned with AJ, Rarijack got quite a few highlights this season, and I am convinced more than ever that these two are not only my favorite personal favorite pair of friends in the group, but quite possibly canonically best friends, despite being polar opposites on the surface. All in all, Rarity had a fantastic Season 4, and a much welcome improvement over her disappointing Season 3.
     
    Fluttershy: Fluttershy probably had a greater mixed bag of episodes this season than any other character, at least for me. When she was off, she was off. "Bats!" and "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" were my top two worst episodes of the season, both of which she starred in. However, that said, when she was on, she was ON!!! "Filli Vanilli", which is I suppose the only one of her full-fledged starring roles that I can say I liked from this season, was fantastic, exactly what a Fluttershy episode should be. In addition, she turned in strong supporting and costarring performances in a number of other episodes, such as "Castle Mane-ia", "Power Ponies" (FLUTTERHULK, SO AMAZING!!!), "Rainbow Falls", "Trade Ya!", and "Equestria Games". Perhaps most notable of all, however, was Fluttershy's friendship with Discord. It kept popping its head into the show routinely throughout the season, with Fluttershy really Discord's only fully committed and trusting friend out of the Mane 6 after befriending him in "Keep Calm and Flutter On". The effect that her kindness alone could have on him was highlighted amazingly in the season finale, and her devastating and heartbroken reaction when she learned that Discord had betrayed them was probably one of Fluttershy's most moving performances ever, seriously, I hadn't seen her that broken since "Hurricane Fluttershy" back in Season 2. Even more incredible was how fast she forgave him, and how clearly her kindness to him affected the others in forgiving him, especially Twilight when she had Tirek release him. It felt fitting then that she concluded the final song number singing alongside Twilight after clearly affecting her deeply in her own quiet way, and all in all I have to say that, despite having two very weak starring roles, Fluttershy had a very strong Season 4 on the whole, largely on account of her fantastic supporting roles and friendship with Discord.
     
    Rainbow Dash: I'm not going to say that Rainbow had the most disappointing season out of the Mane 6, but I feel like this season the writers for whatever reason did not fully commit themselves to trying many new things with her. "Rainbow Falls" I enjoyed, really, I did, even though I know that many other bronies disliked that episode. I thought it was a very well done test of her loyalty, the element she best embodies; but at the end of the day, it was still just that, a testing of her loyalty. Yes, she hadn't been tested in that particular way before, but still, we've seen Rainbow's loyalty tested many times. "Daring Don't" was probably her most OOC appearance, and only just missed getting on my top 3 worst episodes of the season list because of its entertainment value, "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3" was delightful and her best role of the season, despite having a somewhat rushed conclusion, and "Equestria Games" gave her a nice bit of payoff in its continuity from "Rainbow Falls" (despite having a very OOC pep talk from her in which she declared that they'd probably have to settle for 2nd place at best in her event). Like Fluttershy, her season was more saved by her supporting and costarring roles than by her full-fledged starring appearances. Scootalove got some very nice continuity, and it was great to see that Rainbow really took her relationship with Scootaloo seriously, and finally understands just what a large role model she is for the filly. She was always a strong supporting character no matter who she starred alongside, and some notable bits include "Castle Mane-ia", "Pinkie Pride" (BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!), and "Trade Ya!". It was nice seeing RD trying to teach Twilight to fly consistently throughout the season, and I will admit that she seemed a bit less hotheaded than usual. However, like I said, it just seemed like the writers didn't really try to do too many new things with her this season, and my fear is that they have it in their heads that she won't become a Wonderbolt until the show ends. I get their reasoning, but at the same time I can't help but fear that there won't be too many new things to do with her if they've made that decision (since there's only so many different ways she can try to get into the Wonderbolts), so my hope is that they really focus in the offseason on coming up with new challenges for the most awesome and loyalest pony around to face for next season. Overall though, RD still had a dang fine season!
     
    Pinkie Pie: I think we can all agree that Pinkie had exactly the season that she should've. Not one of her starring roles was ever weak; like Rarity, even if I didn't like the episode overall that much ("Maud Pie" didn't do much for me, mostly because of Maud herself), Pinkie always was a bright spot whenever she starred in any. "Pinkie Apple Pie" and "Pinkie Pride" were easily two of the most memorable episodes of the season, thanks in no small part to the best party pony of them all! It's especially hard to describe just how awesome it was to see Pinkie Pie costar with none other than Weird Al Yankovic himself in an episode. She had quite the range of songs as well, most notably in "Pinkie Pride", which was unexpected but delightful. In addition, whenever she was in a supporting or costarring role, Pinkie always proved herself to be, as usual, the funniest and most random, 4th-wall breaking pony of them all. While some might argue that she was a bit ditzy or airheaded at times, she never came across in any supporting role as OOC to me. Maybe it's because those characters that needed to be serious always were, so it didn't seem like she had to. I think the one time she ever was OOC this season was in "Filli Vanilli", where she just kept causing so many problems for Fluttershy without being aware of it when she really should have. Besides that hiccup, however, Pinkie had a great season, and I look forward to all the parties and laughs she has up her sleeve for next season! Never stop being you, Pinkie, never stop being you!
     

     
    Spike: Overall, Twilight's #1 assistant had a strong season, far better than last year that's for sure (aside, of course, from his saving the Crystal Empire and everything). "Power Ponies" and "Equestria Games", while both containing similar messages, were very strong episodes for Spike. On the other hand, I have made it no secret whatsoever that I did not like Spike in "Inspiration Manifestation", he really was my main issue with that episode. However, that episode wasn't my biggest concern about Spike this season. No, my main concern is that it doesn't seem like the writers know any longer how to write Spike as a supporting character. While he had a pretty strong season opener, he didn't do much in the season finale besides providing comedic relief, and that seems to be the case whenever he's in a supporting role these days. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Spike as the butt of jokes, it is quite funny seeing him as the Bad Luck Brian of the group at times, BUT I miss the days when he was a competent assistant to Twilight who made meaningful contributions to her even when he wasn't starring in an episode. These days, it's almost like he's a hapless butler character who's brought along for comedic relief, and I wouldn't mind that if they only balanced it out with a little more competence on his part. Overall, though, I'd say Spike had a far better season than last year, and turned in some very strong starring performances. It was also quite epic finding out that he's the comic book nerd of the group!
     



     

    Go ahead, try and make me a dog again motherbuckers!!! :okiedokielokie:


    CMC: While this season was very, very, very well balanced for the Mane 6, that balance came at a cost to the CMC. While there were plenty of episodes that focused on the Mane 6 as a whole, or on individual members, the CMC only had 4 episodes, only one of which was an ensemble episode where the whole group learned a lesson (though I suppose you could argue that AB and Sweetie learned a lesson in "Flight to the Finish" as well). Their episodes were still very strong, but this year more than any other year they really had nothing to do with getting their cutie marks, didn't they? I think it's safe to say that at this point it's very much certain that they won't be getting their cutie marks until the final season of the show, so that just means that, increasingly, the CMC group itself, unless the writers find new things to do with it, won't be doing much in the way of crusading, even if they still learn valuable life lessons along the way. I wasn't disappointed with how their season turned out overall, they all had very fine episodes, but again, it just didn't seem like they were up to too much this season either, though the Equestria Games payoff was pretty cool. Ah well, keep on crusading Crusaders!!!
     
     
     
     



     

    Filly, do you even lift- oh, apparently you do.


    Supporting Characters
     
    I will be totally honest, given that there were 26 episodes this season, there were wayyyyy too many new and old supporting characters for me to cover them all. That said, I will try my best to cover those who deserve being reviewed.
     
    Well first of all, let's cover the princesses. I'd say they all had strong seasons. Celestia's was somewhat restrained, probably the least amount she's shown up in a full length season in the entire show's history, and that's a shame, because I really love Nicole Oliver's voice work, BUT when she did show up she had a very strong presence in the show, always did. She continued splendidly in her role as Twilight's oldest and greatest mentor, though I liked the fact that, as Twilight has grown, Celestia hasn't had all the answers for her as she used to. It shows that life isn't so simple that even our greatest mentors can figure out everything for us, that sometimes it's up to us to discover our path on our own. Anyways, she also sang again, which I adored (I'll talk more about that in a bit), and overall turned in a fine performance. It was nice seeing both Princess Luna and Princess Cadance make more normal appearances yet again, especially for the latter. Luna killed it in "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils", and Cadance was quite a delight to see in "Three's a Crowd" (though I still wish we'd get to see her more as an actual princess, the one time we've really seen her doing anything as a ruler was when she defended the Crystal Empire in Season 3). Finally, it was awesome seeing the three interact and put on display their different personalities in "Twilight's Kingdom", from Celestia's calming presence and quiet, composed strength and wisdom, to Luna's somber and serious personality, shaped by past mistakes and regrets of her own, to Cadance's calm but still energetic love and earnestness. Overall, all three princesses had really strong seasons, and showed up just about as much as they should have.
     
    Next, let's talk Discord. As I already mentioned, he had a phenomenal season. While in some respects he was still the same old troll as before, in other regards he was changing quite a bit throughout. In the end, he had to choose between his old nature or this new path offered by friendship with ponies, and, thankfully, he chose the latter, despite stumbling along the way. The ambiguity of his nature was phenomenally handled throughout the season, he was, as always, hilarious, but at the same time he proved in the end just how much good and evil he was capable of. Now that his allegiance is more certain, it'll be interesting to see what he does next season, and if he shows up more frequently. Also, hat's off yet again to John DeLancie on some truly outstanding voice work!
     
    If there's one major supporting character who I have to say did not have that good of a season, it was Shining Armor. The few times he showed up, it seemed like he was thrown in there more as an obligation rather than because the writers actually had something to do with him. I think his biggest performance was in "Equestria Games", and there he really was only the master of ceremonies. I miss seeing him interacting with Twilight; it seems very wrong that we saw more of her with her sister-in-law this season than with her actual BBBFF. Seriously DHX, I hope you come up with some far better roles for Shining next season, because quite frankly he was disappointing this season.
     
    On a brighter note, if there's any family that did not get the shaft, it was the Apple Family. HOLY CRAP, that family in general had a great season! Granny Smith (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, I feel like I knew that, but I forgot, and it's still mindblowing) was cantankerous and ornery as usual in all the right ways, and had some hilarious performances, most notably in "Pinkie Apple Pie" and "Leap of Faith". Big McIntosh probably had his best season yet; he had a number of very notable supporting appearances, frequently worked off of AJ and Granny Smith, and provided a whole heap of laughs this season from start to finish. I'm guessing Peter New really enjoyed recording for this season, and I'd be happy to see him have a season just like this next year (though it would be nice if he got to have a starring role again). I don't really need to talk about AB since I already talked about the CMC, but she did always work off of her family very well.
     
    The Mane 6 pets didn't honestly have that great of a season. Gummy and Angel made quite a few funny cameos, Winona, Tank, and Opalescence all showed up here and there, but unfortunately Owlowiscious (who after four seasons still does absolutely nothing for me as a character) showed up more than any of them (ugggghhhhhhhh). That kinda irked me, just a bit.
     
    As for recurring supporting characters, some of them were a bit more subdued than I would've liked. Zecora only made one major supporting appearance in the season opener, Mr. and Mrs. Cake delivered one of the worst expositions ever in "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies", Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had one turn in their typical bullying roles, and Cheerilee and Snips and Snails did hardly anything at all. I think the one bright spot with minor supporting characters was that we got to see quite a bit of Ms. Harshwhinny, returning from Season 3, who was very fun to watch almost always, whether she was excited or cranky. Sadly, I get the feeling we won't get to see much of her, if at all, next season seeing as the Equestria Games are at an end, but you never know. Spitfire and Soarin' also turned in some pretty good performances, especially in "Rainbow Falls", and Flim and Flam had a nice return, as did Pipsqueak.
     
    One-shot supporting characters, on the other hand, had quite the season. I think the only ones that were somewhat underwhelming would be Trenderhoof and Maud Pie (and no, I will not like her no matter how much people try to convince me to, she was dull as a rock). Besides that, the rest were bang up, seriously top notch! Daring Do, Prim Hemline, and Sapphire Shores all had nice performances. I really enjoyed all of the key episode supporting characters: Coco Pommel, Fleetfoot, Cheese Sandwich, Silver Shill, and even Seabreeze were all enjoyable. Finally, the villains/episode antagonists were great: Ahuizotl and the Mane-iac were especially scene stealers (especially the latter, holy crap I loved the Mane-iac!!!), but Dr. Caballeron and Suri Polomare also made for good antagonists. I'll cover Tirek in my season finale review further below, but suffice it to say for now that he most certainly did not disappoint. Overall, we had a wide array of old and new faces, and they all were a delight to see this season!
     
     
     
     



     

    Seriously, just look at all these supporting characters I have to watch. So why don't you be a dear and go fetch me some, OK?


    Background Characters
     
    This season was far better to background characters than last season was. First of all, Derpy and Bulk Biceps turned in the first ever supporting roles for background characters we've seen in the show, both in "Rainbow Falls" (not to mention Bulk Biceps got a canon name, R.I.P. Snowflake). Derpy especially had an impressive season as far as background characters goes, and that's aside from my own bias for her. She didn't show up too much that it was obnoxious, she showed up just enough that it wasn't too much, but when she did show up you could tell that the writers cared. From an actual supporting role in "Rainbow Falls" (and arguably in "Equestria Games" as well), to lovingly placed cameos throughout the season, Derpy was back to her normal self and even better than ever after the great Season 3 Derpy Drought of last year that was so very hard to sit through. I don't particularly care if she doesn't speak again (though it would be awesome if she did), I'm just glad that she's here to stay.
     
    As for the rest, all the major background ponies had some very fun cameos throughout. Doctor Whooves seems to have filled a role similar to Season 2 Derpy in that he probably had more little cameos akin to her Season 1 and 2 roles than any other background pony (and annoyingly enough they kept pairing him up with Roseluck; I like Roseluck, but I don't like shipping her with the Doctor when his ship with Derpy is my favorite of the show, though thankfully I did catch one scene where he and Derpy were next to each other and he had a cutie mark of two hearts overlapping, thought that was a nice nod to those two). Vinyl Scratch and Octavia both made a couple of cameos this season, the latter being especially rare in the show (seriously, for as popular as Octavia is, she does not show up that much!). Lyra, BonBon, Cloud Kicker, Carrot Top, Blossomforth, Amethyst Star, Daisy, Raindrops, and the rest of Ponyville's populace all showed up quite regularly, sometimes in cute cameos of their own (Lyra's judging cameo in "Leap of Faith" was especially hilarious). All in all, I'd have to say that the background ponies in general had a bang up season, with Derpy resuming her rightful place as leader of the background ponies and mascot of the brony fandom! All is right with the world yet again, and I look forward to more of their ongoing shenanigans in the background next season. Rock on background ponies, rock on!!!
     
     
     



     

    Come on, you love us and you know it!!!


    Aesthetic Quality
     
    Animation
     
    This season, DHX's animation team continued its by now to-be-expected trend of somehow further improving on MLP's already stellar animation. Without a doubt, the show looked simply more gorgeous than ever before in every single way imaginable. Animations looked smoother, shading was improved, there was a wide variety in the size and style of the settings, and some of the action sequences, especially in the season opener and finale, were of an almost unfathomable quality. Overall, the most impressive aspect of Season 4's animation was quite simply its ambitious nature, and the ambition that DHX's animation team alone continues to display in its work, always setting a new bar for itself with each passing season, is very heartening indeed. That ambition helps me rest easy knowing that not only the animation team, but the production team as a whole at DHX, continues to aim higher each year, and I expect that Season 5 will blow our minds even more, both in animation and so many other ways.
     
    Comedy
     
    Last year I did not have an entire section set aside to review the comedic elements of Season 3, but this year I felt obliged to add such a section. Why? Well, it's quite simple really: THIS WAS A BUCKING FUNNY SEASON!!! Now look, MLP being funny is nothing new, it's always had comedy gold. But this season for whatever reason seemed quite exceptional, and I think it comes down to just how many episodes of this season I would consider to be, shall we say, laugh riots from start to finish. In total, 7, I repeat, 7 of Season 4's episodes, in my opinion, achieved this level of comedy: "Castle Mane-ia", "Power Ponies", "Pinkie Apple Pie", "Three's a Crowd", "Pinkie Pride", "Simple Ways", and "Trade Ya!". THAT is dang impressive in my book, and in addition, the comedy was solid in almost every other episode as well. The only difference between all the other episodes from these 7 in terms of quality of comedy was simply the rate at which the comedy came; the laughs were almost always solid, it's just in these 7 in particular that they came more often.
     
    Songs
     
    As usual, the phenomenal Daniel Ingram delivered a wonderful musical experience for us this season, comparable especially, I'd say, to the number of songs we got in Season 2. Really, as far as music goes, this season had everything one could possibly want out of MLP; songs that captured the energy of the show; a wide variety of music, some of which paid homage to or parodied songs from different media; and of course, plenty of new, never-before-seen musical elements that only helped make MLP all the more special and unique than it was already. Mr. Ingram, I tip my cap to you yet again good sir. Below are my top three favorite songs of the season!
     
    Top 3 Season 4 Songs
     
    (1) "You'll Play Your Part": OK... well this was certainly unexpected. So until the season finale, my favorite song of the season was definitely "Apples to the Core" (more about that in a bit). But then this happened, and... I was stunned. This wasn't like "True, True Friend" last season, which was clearly the climax of "Magical Mystery Cure", even if Twilight's coronation followed it. No, "You'll Play Your Part" came within the first ten minutes of the first part of "Twilight's Kingdom", and took place entirely on one setting, a balcony! So how the buck did this song work so well? Two words: PRINCESS QUARTET!!! OK, that's not entirely accurate, they never all four sing at once, but I don't care, it's still all four pony princesses singing in one song, that alone is amazing! Of course, that's not all that makes this song amazing (though it's certainly a great start), it's everything else about the song. For one, it evolves musically in so many ways. It starts as a solo by Twilight, progresses to little solo bits by Celestia, Luna, and Cadance (each of which reflects their differing personalities and experiences splendidly, as well as their different relationships with Twilight: Celestia's calm and commanding presence and wisdom, as well as her role as Twilight's mentor, Luna's somber and serious personality, born from past failures and regrets, and Cadance's calm but still earnest, loving nature are all on full display), and finally builds up to a chorus, or rather trio, of the three elder princesses. Finally, I suppose it's the subject of the song itself that makes it work so well; this is not a song where they're spoonfeeding Twilight any kind of lesson. Instead, Twilight's admitting that she doesn't really understand why she's a princess, and the other three are simply offering encouragement; they don't know either, but they know that she has a special destiny and are certain that she'll find it. It's just a lovely pep talk really, but it just... I don't know, it's so lovely, aesthetically pleasing (seriously, Rebecca Shoichet, Nicole Oliver, Kazumi Evans, AND Britt McKillip all singing in the same song?!?! THAT IS AWESOME!!!), hits all the right notes, and was just such a pleasant surprise. This one song number, along with the scene it was in, gave us a better idea of how all the pony princesses work together and view one another than any other scene in MLP history, and, overall, it ended up being my favorite song of the season. It's not my favorite song in MLP history, but it's definitely up there, and easily secured its spot as my #1 song of Season 4.
     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17IuML95G4Y

     
    (2) "Apples to the Core": so yeah, like I said above, THIS was my favorite song of the season until the season finale, and with good reason. DHX was smart to preview this song at San Diego Comic Con last summer, because my gosh was it a gem! It's got all the energy that we've grown accustomed to having in some of the finer numbers of MLP, such as the "Laughter Song", the "Smile Song", "Winter Wrap Up", or "Raise This Barn". It's got Ashleigh Ball (Applejack), Michele Creber (Apple Bloom), Tabitha St. Germain (she's Granny Smith's VA, so I can only assume that that's her singing as Granny Smith, which is bucking impressive), Peter New (Big McIntosh), and Shannon Chan-Kent (Pinkie Pie's singing VA) ALL IN THE SAME SONG!!! Besides that, it's got a lot of heart, a lot of joy, and is just... pure MLP, everything that we love about the show in a nutshell in just over 2 minutes. That's hard to explain, but it just is, and it's why it was my second favorite song of the season.
     
    (3) "Generosity": Two words: RARITY'S VOICE!!! I've said it before, I'll say it again, I LOVEEEEE Rarity's singing voice more than any other character's in the show. I'm a choral singer myself, so a refined, matured singing voice such as hers cannot help but appeal to me. And last year, one of the biggest crimes of Season 3 was that not only did Rarity never have her own episode, but she never got her own song, just a few bit parts in songs throughout the season. THAT SUCKED!!!!!!!! But no worries, for it was more than rectified this season when Rarity got her first solo since Season 2's "Becoming Popular" in "Generosity", a splendid number that fit her to a T! Not only was it a lovely expression of Rarity's generosity, the most important element of her personality which she embodies more than anypony, not only did it have an amazing setup (RD: "Ponies bursting into song in random places at the drop of a hat? Who does that?!"), not only did it have a lovely animation sequence backing it up, but it was just a lovely song in its own right, and also served to introduce us to the city of Manehattan. Basically, it was classic Rarity. Just pure, chic, classic Rarity in every single way, and it was welcome to have another solo from her this season.
     
    Honorable Mentions
     
    "Glass of Water"/"The Goof Off": Tying for funniest songs this season are "Glass of Water" and "The Goof Off". Why, you may ask, was I unable to choose between the two? Well... just how in the heck am I supposed to choose between the awesomeness that is Discord singing the craziest solo of all time about a glass of water and the amazing that is Pinkie Pie and Cheese "Weird Al Yankovic" Sandwich competing via song to see who is the better party planner??? HOW, HOW, HOW, I ASK YOU ALL, HOW CAN I CHOOSE BETWEEN THOSE TWO?!?!?!?! I have wracked my brain trying to see if I could come to a definite conclusion, but the only one I can come to is this: there is simply no way to choose between these two which is funnier. They KILL IT in their own ways, have their own unique sounds, are virtually crazy to the same degree yet again in their own way, and just... perfect nonsense through and through. Congratulations you two, you are equally hilarious and should be proud of it, quite possibly the funniest songs of the show to date!
     
    "Make a Wish": This lovely little tune, a hybrid, in my opinion, of "Smile Song" (Pinkie's vocals and energy) and "Love is in Bloom" (general beat and style of the song) was an insanely catchy way to end the amazing episode that was "Pinkie Pride". It's actually a send up to P!nk's song "Raise Your Glass", but eh, semantics. Anyways, it was just incredibly catchy, that's really the only reason I love it (but hey, sometimes there's nothing wrong with loving a song simply because it has a sick beat), and if you get the chance you should definitely give the extended version of it (recently released on ITunes) a listen, it is awesome!
     
    "The rappin' Hist'ry of the Wonderbolts": this song is less than a minute long, so how did it get an honorable mention? (1) It's Pinkie Pie, (2) she's rapping. I'd say that about sums it up.
     
    The Season Finale
     
    As promised, here are my full thoughts on the season finale. What did I think of it? It was amazing! Easily my favorite episode of the entire season. To start off, I will talk about what left the biggest impression on me: the themes, and how they were handled. The theme of "Twilight's Kingdom: Part 1 and Part 2" was destiny. Specifically, Twilight's destiny. Right from the bat, we had Twilight admitting that she had been feeling more and more uneasy in her position as a princess lately because it wasn't clear to her or anyone else just why exactly she was a princess. What was she the princess of? What was she to do? This was not just a very good question, because it had really been up in the air all season, and in fact ever since Twilight was coronated last season, but it also showed a remarkable amount of conscientiousness on the writers' part for recognizing its importance as a question in the show's story. So how was this theme handled? Incredibly.
     
    To start, we got the other three princesses reassuring Twilight in an incredibly beautiful scene that she would discover who she was and what she was meant to be and do. I talked about it more extensively in my thoughts on the song "You'll Play Your Part", so I'll just leave my thoughts on that scene at that. Next, we got Twilight inadvertently doing what she does best. Studying? NOPE!!! Working alongside her friends, at their suggestion. Importantly, I think, was the fact that she didn't turn them away. Rather, she welcomed their company. In Season 1, Twilight, when she went after Nightmare Moon, tried again and again to do things on her own. Here, however, from the start, we see her doing her best when she's working with her friends.
     
    And then the stakes get amped. After Discord betrays Equestria and joins Tirek, Twilight is given a hefty responsibility, albeit with a caveat; she has to bear the other three alicorn princesses' magic, but cannot tell her friends. THIS decision... made me so very happy!!! Why? Oh it has nothing to do with just the story itself. It's because it brought things so full circle. Let me explain. In the season opener, Applejack and the rest of the Mane 6 tried to save the Tree of Harmony on their own so that Twilight wouldn't have to throw herself in harm's way. That failed. In the season finale, Princess Celestia tried to have Twilight guard the alicorn magic without her friends knowing. That failed. Both the Mane 6 and Celestia had good reasoning. The Mane 6 wanted Equestria to have a princess, and Celestia didn't want to put Twilight's friends in peril. But both were wrong because of this: they were treating Twilight and these circumstances differently than they normally would BECAUSE SHE WAS A PRINCESS!!! They were acting as though Twilight being a princess changes who she is. They forgot that Twilight is a princess BECAUSE of who she is.
     
    This brings us to the conclusion of the episode. After Twilight failed, with all the alicorn magic in Equestria, to defeat Tirek, she ended up defeating him by making the ultimate choice of friendship, a choice that embodied the magic of friendship more than any other she might have ever made. She risked dooming all of Equestria just to ensure that all her friends, including Discord, were safe. In doing so, she taught him the final lesson he'd need to learn about friendship in order to truly understand its worth, completing his character arc for the season, and more importantly unlocking her key for the Tree of Harmony chest. That led to my FAVORITE line of the episode, a line that was quick, short, very easy to miss for many, but just embodied so much of the episode, the season, and the show's main theme: "Together! I think we have to do this together!" Unlocking the magic of friendship like never before, to the point that we must assume that it now lies within each and every one of them in a physical sense, and need not even be channeled through devices such as the Elements of Harmony (basically, the Mane 6 are now, I can only assume, quite literally the physical embodiments of the Elements of Harmony), the Mane 6, TOGETHER, overthrew Tirek and his dark power. Twilight, with her friends, discovered then and there who she was meant to be: The Princess of Friendship. More importantly, she discovered the nature of her princesshood. When she became a princess, both her mentor and her friends believed that things would change for her, never be the same. That was partly true, and yet partly not true. While things have undoubtedly changed, they were not supposed to change as most thought. Twilight became a princess because of the things she'd learned about friendship and its magic, so it only makes sense that she should continue applying what she's learned as she learns even more, and what's more, do all that alongside the friends that got her there. This was the show and the writers declaring that friendship is magic, the most powerful magic in Equestria, the Mane 6's friendship is the most powerful of all, and most importantly, Twilight needs the Mane 6 as much as they need her. You cannot have Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, without the friends that made her the Princess of Friendship. "Twilight's Kingdom" made that abundantly clear, and I applaud every single person who works at DHX for it.
     
    Besides the incredible thematic elements of "Twilight's Kingdom", I'll now discuss a few other bits that stuck out to me. Tirek was an incredibly awesome villain, for starters. He was probably the best villain the show's had since Discord. It was very cool seeing the very first villain of G1 MLP getting a reboot, not to mention the nods to G1 in his backstory (which makes me also wonder if the girls will ever encounter his brother Scorpan?). I don't want to say, still, that he's the shows best villain, but I will go so far as to say that he's been the show's most powerful villain to date. Basically, he was Palpatine (and no, not just because of that one scene where he drove Discord to join him, though the similarities were uncanny). Discord's the show's Darth Vader; not because he's a tragic figure (though I suppose one could make the argument that he is to some extent), but because the fans will always love him as a villain most of all out of any MLP villain. Tirek, on the other hand, like Palpatine, is probably the more potent threat, and the fact that he had Discord wrapped around his hooves suggests as much. I mean think about that, really do. He tricked the god of Chaos, the trickster god who almost tore the Mane 6 apart through psychological warfare alone, to join him before disposing of him when he no longer needed him. Give that man a round of applause folks, because that's diabolical! In a few minutes, he managed to undo all the progress that Fluttershy had made with Discord in befriending him. He clearly had an eye for what makes someone like Discord tick, and he exploited that. On top of that, he was methodical. He launched a dang impressive campaign against Equestria, tearing it down bit by bit from one region to the next, always going after those he could handle and saving the big guns for last. Overall, he was smart, cunning, incredibly powerful and ruthless in the application of his power, and more or less the complete antithesis to all the love, harmony, and friendship in Equestria. Tirek was pure hate at its most powerful, and the show certainly conveyed that well.
     
    I also, of course, simply have to talk about THAT action sequence between Tirek and Twilight. HOLY CRAP IN A HAND BASKET, THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean... I'm still reeling from that sequence, I really am. I know most people are going to say that it had DBZ elements, and I'm sure it did (though I never watched that show myself, unless Team Fourstar counts), but when I watch it, the first thing I keep on thinking about is Superman and Darkseid's final battle in Justice League: Unlimited. It was just so raw, and chaotic, and destructive. It was unlike anything I ever expected to see on the show! A clash of magical forces the likes of which we'd never seen before, and I'm kinda scared if anyone at DHX has any ideas of somehow surpassing the scale of that fight down the road (I'm looking at you Larson, you know you'd do it, DON'T LIE!!!). Aesthetically I will concede that, while it was easily the best fight of the season, I still found Celestia and Nightmare Moon's duel more pleasing to the eye, simply because the colors were less harsh, but like I said, this fight in terms of sheer size alone still blew that one out of the water. What more can I say other than it was pure awesome!
     
    Besides that, I just have a few more thoughts on the episode. I can't honestly say that I liked the Mane 6's designs when they unlocked the "Rainbow Power" of the mysterious chest, if you will. I think Dark Qiviut put it best in saying that there was simply way too much going on in those obvious marketing ploys, way too much style over substance. Thankfully, they weren't onscreen for long, and may or may not reappear in the future, who knows? While there were plenty of laughs, for a two-parter, there weren't that many, and it makes sense given that the stakes were so high for so much of both episodes, along with the fact that Twilight was going through a personal crisis of her own. Actually, the things that probably made me laugh more than anything else were the plotholes, namely in Celestia's plan to hide the alicorn magic. Now, I know some people keep saying that Tirek should've known about Twilight if he knew about Cadance. BUT I can defend that plot point; we can assume that the Crystal Empire may have still been around when Tirek first came to Equestria. Soooo, it's also logical that an alicorn prince or princess would've ruled the empire at the time, until of course the rise of Sombra. So, that's probably how Tirek knew of Cadance and not Twilight. HOWEVER, what I cannot defend is Celestia deciding that they'll try and hide Twilight's princesshood from Tirek and either neglecting or completely forgetting about THE GIANT 20 FOOT TALL STAINED GLASS WINDOW OF TWILIGHT BEING CROWNED A PRINCESS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUCKING THRONE ROOM!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, it's such a big plothole, it's not even funny... wait, yes it is. I seriously cannot stop laughing about it. And what happened because they neglected/forgot about it? WELL TIREK DISCOVERED THE BUCKING WINDOW OF COURSE!!! Look, I know it's plot convenience, plus it makes me laugh so much, so I can let it slide, but that doesn't mean that that oversight wasn't stupid, because it was. Oh my goodness, we will never know just what in the heck was going through Celestia's head concerning that window. That won't stop me from venturing a few guesses though.
     
     
     
     



     

    Sister, you do realize that there is an enormous window bearing Princess Twilight's image in our own throne room, right?


     

    Well of course I know that!


     

    Then... are you planning on doing something about it?


     

    Like what?


     

    Like... destroying it!


     

    Why the buck would I do that?!


     

    Are you serious???


     

    Am I serious? Are you serious??? Do you have any idea how much that window cost?


     

    I assumed you paid for it with taxpayers bits.


     

    I did, but that's beside the point. Point is, I don't want to have to pay for it again.


     

    But aren't you worried that Tirek might discover Twilight's existence once he comes should he see it?


     

    Pfffft, like he's gonna notice that!


     



     

    Well buck. :okiedokielokie:


     

    Told ya. :comeatus:


     

    Shut up.


     
    Concluding Remarks
     
    When all things are said and done, I hesitate to say that Season 4 was my favorite season yet of the show. I don't know at this point if I can even say that I have a favorite season anymore. What I can say, however, is this: things are changing in the show, but the direction is no longer so unclear as it was at the start of the season. Phase 1 of the show ended at the close of Season 2, and that season remains my favorite season of that phase. Phase 2 began with the return of the Crystal Empire, and it has ended in Season 4 with Twilight discovering her purpose. Season 4 is undoubtedly my favorite season of Phase 2. And now comes Phase 3 of the show, in which Twilight and her friends will start a new chapter of their lives, more certain of their destinies and responsibilities to each other, their friends and families, and Equestria than ever before, Twilight as the Princess of Friendship and the rest as her sort-of Knights of the Round Table. Whatever happens, and I cannot possibly predict at this time what will happen, one thing is certain: they're going to do it together. Their friendship will always remain at the center of this show, for that is the show, everypony, that is the show. Friendship is magic. With that, I bid farewell to you, Season 4!
     

  19. Batbrony
    Ah, apologies for the late review everypony! Ironically enough, I was actually running a 5k this morning, and that's why I missed the episode when it aired. Even better, I actually placed! Got third in my age group (men, 19-24) with a time of 23:00.9, and got a medal and everything!!!
     



     

    Look, it's so shiny!


     
    Anyways, let's get to this review proper. I'll try to keep my "Equestria Games" review fairly concise, mostly because there was a lot going on. So, without further ado, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!! (sorry, couldn't resist )
     
    Since there was so much going on, I think I'll divide my review to cover Spike, then the Mane 6, and then the various subplots and the games themselves. That sounds good to me. So to start, let's begin with Spike. I won't lie that on paper I was disappointed when I saw that Spike was going to star in the episode covering the entire Equestria Games, which the show's been building up to since Season 3, mostly for two reasons: (1) the games were such a big event, and (2) Spike just starred in an episode last week. Seriously, they did this last season too, they didn't space out Spike's episodes very well. But no matter, for my disappointment in the premise was wiped away by the episode's execution. The story direction was phenomenal, to say the least, namely in the attention that the subplots got; there wasn't too much time dwelt on them, but at the same time there didn't need to be, because it felt like they were picking up where the episodes that had set up said subplots had left off. As such, despite everything that was going on, the episode never felt too jumbled or packed. Everything got just the right amount of attention that it should have, including Spike.
     
    So what did I think of the little guy? Like last week's episode, I again didn't think he had as good of a starring turn as he did in "Power Ponies" earlier this season, but it was, at least for me, a MASSIVE improvement over how he behaved last week. First of all, can I just say that it was SO NICE getting to see Spike get quite a bit of recognition for his critical role in saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. Pretty much every single Crystal Pony adored him, and Cadance herself was lavishing Spike with 'thank yous'. It felt, just, right, it felt right, it felt like the little guy was finally getting the credit that he really didn't get in "The Crystal Empire" last season, besides the stained glass window Celestia commissioned with his image. The honor of having Spike light the Equestria Games torch for his past heroism made a lot of sense, though I did find it kind of ridiculous that they only just told him at the last minute (plot convenience!), and once he started choking up, I was interested to see where this episode was going, because to be honest, until the message was delivered at the end, I kinda didn't. Maybe it was the many subplots, maybe it was just the way it was executed, but kudos to DHX on surprising me. Anyways, back to Spike, all of his reactions just felt very in character for him. Last week, it was like he didn't know that Rarity was losing it, that that wasn't her, and it drove me up the wall. This week, I got it, I understood why he was doing what he was doing. He got a bad case of losing his cool in front of an entire stadium of ponies, he loved the attention the Crystal Ponies were giving him, he tried to make up for his earlier failure (that only he knew and the Mane 6 knew about) by trying to deliver a city's anthem (horribly, I might add. Seriously, I'm a singer, so that hurt to watch ), he got into a very understandable state of depression after humiliating himself in front of thousands! I understood all this, because it highlighted two things: (1) Spike's still a baby dragon, so his mood can shift in almost and instant, but (2) he is maturing, or at least developing more mature emotions, in the sense that he decided he had to make up for his failure with the torch even though most ponies didn't know about it. That belies a complex insecurity that was less subtly presented in "Power Ponies", that being that Spike often worries that he's not needed by the group, that there's really nothing about him himself that makes him special. The way episode wrapped up, with both Spike just taking charge instinctively because that's what needed to be done, and realizing that sometimes the root of his insecurity in this instance wasn't his inadequacy but rather his own self doubt, was phenomenal! It also somewhat hit home for me personally. I've been out of college for about a year now since graduating, and while I've got grad school coming up in the fall, it hasn't been easy, let me tell you. Living at home, working some temporary minimum wage job, not really doing much in your life, it can get you down, you really start feeling inadequate. But things like the run this morning, or that episode's message, they reinforce that there are things special about each and every one of us, that we can all achieve remarkable things if we set our minds to it, and sometimes our biggest barriers to doing so can be our own self doubt or insecurities. And if we ourselves can't figure that out, then sometimes it takes a great bunch of friends and family to remind us just how special we are. Great lesson, great execution and delivery, and a great turn for Spike to be sure!
     



     

    OK, I said he had a great episode, but a statue might be just a bit overkill.


     
    Next, I'll cover the Mane 6, which shouldn't take nearly as long. They all had nice turns for what they did in the episode, I thought. Twilight most notably had a nice bit with Spike when she both lit the torch for him unbeknownst to everypony else, told him about it, and continued to try and raise his spirits throughout. This episode probably was the best highlight of their close relationship since "Equestria Girls" (one of the few things I give credit to THAT thing for ), and showed just how much trust and love there is between those two. Twilight couldn't stand keeping that knowledge from Spike, but at the same time knew that it was going to devastate him nonetheless. She did her best, given that she had to serve as a royal ambassador throughout the games, of lifting his spirits, and was extremely sisterly and motherly to him. It's one of my favorite relationships in the show, and this episode highlighted it quite excellently if I do say so myself. On top of that, Twilight seems to be becoming quite natural in her role as a princess, despite still not being totally accustomed to it. It was also nice seeing her with Cadance a bit. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had pretty awesome turns themselves. Flutters didn't speak too much, if at all, which I thought odd, but she played her role great on the team to a T. Rainbow, as the leader of the Ponyville athletes, was AWESOME!!! She took charge from the very start, she gave lots of support to her fellow athletes (aside from her bummer realistic speech about the relay team's chances, seriously, what the buck RD???), and seeing her race against Spitfire??? HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!! As for the other three, I was a little disappointed that AJ wasn't competing (seriously, there must've been some event she could've competed in), but they all had nice turns supporting Ponyville from the stands. Pinkie was especially hilarious as Ponyville's #1 cheerleader, and AJ and Rarity were fine as well, even if they didn't do too much. All in all, they all had a good episode and turned in a nice ensemble performance.
     



     

    Seriously, I LOVE those two!!!


     
    Speaking of ensemble performances, let's talk about the subplots. CMC getting to carry the flag into the stadium (with just a bit of sisterly love and Scootalove mixed in there)? Check! Ponyville relay team turning in an awesome performance after qualifying in "Rainbow Falls"? Check! The Games in general being awesome? Check, check, CHECK!!! Seriously, the Equestria Games were sweet. I do kinda wish that it had been a two-parter episode, just so we could have seen more of the games, but honestly given everything that happened they paced it spectacularly. We got a train ride into the Crystal Empire, an opening ceremony, the games themselves, and a closing ceremony, AND IT NEVER FELT RUSHED!!! Buck me DHX, can you get any better? Seriously, can you, cause that right there was dang impressive?! We had sweet moments, dramatic moments, cute moments, painfully funny comedy, and even some awkward moments, it was all there and it didn't feel jammed, not one bit! Overall, as I said earlier, I just couldn't believe how spectacular the story direction, pacing, and execution were in this ensemble episode. It was too good, just too good!
     



     

    That right there is just one of many impressive shots dotted throughout this episode.


     
    Finally, let's cover some miscellaneous elements. First of all, DERPY!!! OH MY GOSH, SO MUCH DERPY!!!! She must be one heck of an athlete if she qualified for Ponyville's team! She was in the episode SO MUCH in its first 5 minutes, she was adorable (especially in her uniform), and I like to imagine that she won whatever event she was competing in. This episode gets so much love in my book automatically for that alone, no joke! It was nice seeing a few cameos from Cadance, Shining Armor, Miss Harshwhinny, the Wonderbolts, etc. Again, just an all around great ensemble episode that included so many more characters beyond the Mane 6 and yet didn't feel cluttered. We got quite a few other background pony appearances as well, a nice bit from Lyra, Thunderlane, that pony pretending to be Blossomforth (SHE'S NOT BLOSSOMFORTH!!! ), a whole bunch of ponies in the stands (that was an impressive bit of animation, there were quite a few shots where you could clearly make out all the fans, they were just one big blur, at least not for a lot of the time). It was cool also seeing all the princesses together, even if Luna and Celestia didn't speak (which was kind of weird), along with some new and old faces among the other dignitaries (though seriously, Blueblood had a place of honor? BUCK THAT!). I was also a little confused by a couple things in the games themselves. First of all, apparently there's no magical events considering that magic-neutralizing field (which is kind of disappointing, I mean, why wouldn't unicorns have their own magical athletic events? Also, apparently the princesses themselves had their magic neutralized considering they couldn't do jack squat about that ice cloud at the end, making that barrier EXTREMELY STUPID!!! I mean seriously, I get having normal unicorns watching the events getting their magic neutralized, but the princesses? What if the Changelings had attacked or something??? I'm just saying, that's a horrible security risk!). Second of all, again, there wasn't an event that AJ could've competed in? Or maybe she just didn't want to. I don't know, AJ not competing just confused me in general.
     



     

    Derpy?


     



     

    OH MY GOSH, SO MUCH DERPY!!! AND SHE'S EVEN GOT A LITTLE UNIFORM!!!!!!! SQUUUUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!


     
    But besides those minor issues, this episode was awesome, a fantastic penultimate episode for the season. We've just got one adventure left to go on this season everypony, and I'm sure that it's going to be the most wonderful of rides! Till next time my friends!!!
     
    EDIT: I forgot to mention this earlier, but another thing that really confused me at the end was how Ponyville managed to win the medal count??? Let's review this: Pinkie mentioned at the start of the scene that Ponyville had a one-medal lead in the medal count. As far as we could tell, there were four finalists in the archery competition. Two of them were from Cloudsdale (one of whom was the favorite), none of them were from Ponyville. The best result that could've possibly happened given those circumstances was Ponyville and Cloudsdale tying in the medal count. The only possible explanation I can possibly come up with is that maybe there were more finalists than we were shown, and that they all somehow beat both Cloudsdale finalists, including the competition favorite, but that's it. Sorry, just had to mention how confusing I found that scenario to be.
  20. Batbrony
    NOTE: Apologies for getting this blog published so late. I was just waiting for the art above to get posted on DeviantArt and it took longer than usual.
     
    OK, so this episode was... strange. Not everything about it was bad, but it was just, I don't know, strange is all. Don't get me wrong, the premise itself is fine, and I don't mind the show going into fairly dark territory in showing a character becoming completely corrupted by an artifact containing dark magic, but the execution in many places just seemed off. Ah well, might as well get this review out of the way while everything's still fresh in my mind: this is "Inspiration Manifestation".
     
    So to start, let's talk about Spike, seeing as he was the star of the show. The first third of the episode, he was just fine; they showed him in a very supportive role trying to just be a good friend to Rarity as he continually fawned over her (and to be fair, the writers did nicely set up that Spike could potentially let his adoration of Rarity cloud his better judgment). But after he got her the book and Rarity became mad with power, Spike started going a bit downhill. This was "Spike At Your Service" levels of OOC behavior for him, but whereas with that episode I usually just laugh it off, if only because we'd never seen him actually working at Sweet Apple Acres, here, we saw him behaving quite OOC in what is easily his second most important relationship in the show, that being his friendship with Rarity. I know that the episode was trying to convey the message that you can't let friendship stop you from being honest with someone when they're doing something wrong, and that's an admirable lesson to be sure, but it just seems like it wasn't executed properly. Spike spent far too much of the episode shrugging off Rarity's madness and blindly supporting it, and that just rubbed me the wrong way. He's not just her friend, he quite honestly loves her (this was best conveyed in "Secret of My Excess"), but here, his love came across as an obsession that blinded him to just how wrong Rarity was behaving. So not only was it OOC of Spike not to take action sooner, but in the process the episode kind of cheapened his very love for Rarity; if he truly cared about her as we know he does, after almost four seasons no less, he would've acted sooner. If this episode had debuted in Season 1, I could probably forgive it for that, but this is Season 4; instead of taking so long to act, Spike should've started trying to stop Rarity sooner, perhaps through a variety of efforts on his part. She wasn't behaving like the pony he knows her to be, and he should've taken action sooner for that very reason. But I know why this didn't happen, and I don't like it one bit; it's because of the weak plot device/deus ex machina the episode had to resolve everything. The bizarre catch for breaking the spell on Rarity (i.e. telling the truth about the corrupting effects of the spell, which seems like it would only be a problematic thing to do for someone as obsessed with not hurting another's feelings as Spike was with Rarity) came across in the end as far too easy (heck, it even reminded me of a similar plot device that showed up in "The Cutie Pox", another kind of meh episode), and everything overall just resolved too quickly. Overall, aside from having some funny bits in the episode, especially when he was at the Castle of the Two Sisters, Spike had quite the weak episode, definitely his weakest since "Spike At Your Service". "Power Ponies" this most certainly was not.
     



     

    What? Too much 'bedazzle'?


     

    Ummm... just a bit.


     

    LIES!!!
    One can never have too much bedazzle!!!!!!!!!!

     
    Next, let's talk Rarity. Honestly, I don't have too much to say about her here, she was really spot on. Before she got the book, she was her usual, wonderful, over-the-top-diva self. I hated seeing her so sad and forlorn (though again, why did a puppeteer hire her to design a traveling puppeteer cart? She's a fashion designer, not a carpenter, and I know she loves designing all sorts of things as well as interior decoration, but that seemed to be a stretch), but it was quite hilarious seeing her eating away her grief (helped by Tabitha St. Germain's hilarious emphasis on each bite of ice cream Rarity took ). Once she came under the influence of the spell, her descent into corruption and madness didn't feel OOC in the slightest, but quite natural, at least given that she was being corrupted by the spell. Hopefully most people get that she was simply corrupted; I mean yeah, it doesn't change the fact that she was doing some serious damage and pretty terrible things all over Ponyville, but again, she couldn't control herself at that point, her redemption all depended on Spike sharing the honest truth with her. Overall, Rarity had quite a good episode actually; she was quite funny throughout, in a normal sense at the beginning and in a far scarier sense as the episode progressed, it was quite interesting seeing her in a villainous turn (and a quite different one at that from her turn as Nightmare Rarity in the comic books), and it's scary to see what could happen when her imagination pretty much ran wild and got out of control, more or less.
     



     

    Even when she's sad, Rarity still finds a way to make me laugh.
    Meaning no offense Rarifans, I swear.

     
    As for the rest of the episode, it was mixed bag of good and bad as well. Once again, Owlowiscious did absolutely nothing for me. I don't mind him being a voice in the back of Spike's head, a sort of physical manifestation of Spike's conscience, but he really made barely any contributions to the episode when you get down to it. Also, that "hoo" gag is STILL not funny after trying to make it funny for four seasons now! Seriously DHX, stop it, just stop it, cause it'll NEVER be funny!!! Gosh bucking dang it, I hate that gag. The Mane 6 were just fine, but I thought they were far too sparse in their appearances. Considering this was dark magic they were dealing with, I would've especially liked to see more of Twilight here, but instead we only got two short scenes with her (the second of which was quite hilarious, when Twilight was just an absolute mess and pretty much ready to kill Spike at the very end ). I think the reason we didn't see more of them was because the episode was filled with way too much filler of Rarity and Spike going around town as she changed everything (which also raised the question as to how exactly she got away with everything without anyone noticing it was her, seriously, she was just a few feet away from some ponies when she changed things, sometimes out in the open. I know we can assume that Spike told Twilight at the end, but still, that bugged me). I did like how much of Ponyville we got to see, along with quite a few background ponies and supporting characters, some of whom we haven't seen in quite some time (in addition to seeing Cloud Kicker with her sister Alula (nice bit of continuity there ), we also got to see Mayor Mare, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Filthy Rich, Magnum and Pearl (Rarity and Sweetie Belle's dad and mom), Blossomforth, and Octavia (both of whom rarely ever show up, especially the latter)). The animation itself was top notch as usual, and it was interesting seeing more and more of Ponyville getting transformed in increasingly extreme ways.
     



     

    Sweet, confirmation that Magnum is a unicorn! 'Bout time he showed up without a hat.


     
    Overall, while there were plenty of good elements in this episode, I think the bad ones were most amplified by the wonky pacing and execution. Some parts of the episode were too short, others, most notably Rarity's corruption sequence, were too long and focused far too much on Rarity and Spike. On top of that, Spike was quite OOC, the lesson, while strong in substance, came across as weak in its execution and delivery in a far too quick and easy resolution. All in all, "Inspiration Manifestation" was just an OK episode; it didn't disappoint me nearly as much as episodes like "Bats!" and "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" did this season, but it didn't really do much for me either and had plenty wrong with it. When I look back on this episode, besides some deliciously funny Rarihumor, the first word I imagine that'll come to mind will most likely be "meh".
     



     

    Spike, darling, you were simply awful in this episode!


     

    Really?


     

    I'm afraid so.


  21. Batbrony
    Well, well, well, after a week off from our regularly scheduled dose of ponies, MLP returned with quite the treat for us with "Trade Ya"! I for one adored this episode; I know it didn't have the most serious message in the world, and for some there might have been some pacing issues, but I for one love it when we have just plain ol' silly, random, nonsense once in awhile. On top of that, this was a Mane 6 ensemble episode to boot, and in my opinion it was funnier than both "Castle Mania" or "Power Ponies", for reasons I'll explain shortly. So without further ado, let's jump right into this review of "Trade Ya"!
     




    Rainbow Falls... IT'S SO PRETTY!!!


     
    Seeing as this episode was really all over the place, I think as far as the main storyline and characters go that I'll just cover the three bits themselves with Twilight/Pinkie, Applejack/Rarity, and Rainbow Dash/Fluttershy. All three were fun in their own ways and had their own unique blend of humor going on. In addition, I actually didn't mind the varying types of pacing and screen time all three got; I know we've had more well balanced episodes, but a lot of the time the reason those episodes are more well balanced as far as screen time allocation goes is because they're relying more on physical humor. Here, the majority of the humor was actually dialogue-based, which is the probably the biggest reason that I think it was funnier than "Castle Mania" or "Power Ponies". Now don't get me wrong, I love physical humor in cartoons, especially when it's done well, but for my own personal tastes, especially for this show in particular, solid comedic dialogue trumps physical humor any day. It's also a far rarer occasion in MLP that we get an episode that largely relies on comedic dialogue alone, rather than trying to balance out comedic dialogue and physical humor, and it actually gave me some Season 1 and Season 2 nostalgia, when this happened far more often (though even then it was rare). Anyways, point is, not only was the dialogue hilarious time and time again, but it's probably the main reason that some bits were longer than others and the pacing/screen time allocation was all over the place, and honestly I give the writers credit for doing as well as they did.
     




    D'aaawwwwwww, embarassed Twily is so cute- wait, what the buck??? AJ, what the heck is up with that look of yours?!?! It's very... suggestive, to say the least.


     
    Back to the bits themselves, let's cover each one briefly. Twilight and Pinkie's probably left the least impression on me, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Twilight was adorable (albeit a bit of a doormat) throughout, and it was quite sweet seeing her decide to keep all her books after realizing how much they meant to her and reminded her of everything she'd learned and gone through since moving to Ponyville (though that message could easily be warped and twisted by people who are hoarders, which would not be a good thing at all, seriously, hoarding can be quite a serious problem for some ). Pinkie was hilarious as the world's greatest and simultaneously worst auctioneer, plus it was sweet seeing how she genuinely was trying to help her dear friend out, even if she was going about it the wrong way. Still, besides the sweet lesson Twilight learned and Pinkie's randomness, there's not too much about their bit that I can specifically recall (other than the filly who I'm pretty sure was a younger cousin or niece of Derpy; I'd say it was filly Derpy herself, but this filly had purple and not yellow eyes... and yes, I notice that kind of thing, wanna fight about it? :okiedokielokie:). Overall though, they still had a fun bit.
     




    Pawn Stars meets MLP. Honestly, I'm surprised this hadn't happened already.


     
    Applejack and Rarity was probably my favorite pair to watch, simply because, as I've said before, Rarijack is my favorite duo out of the Mane 6. Sure they got probably less attention than the other two pairs, but their bits were seriously funny. Not only did they start off all sweet and friendly with each other, but both wanted to get hilariously bad junk (seriously, a pie tin that speeds up cooking by 5 seconds and a vintage broach that looks just like one Rarity has already?! ), but then they squabbled over whose item was more useful like only those two could (hearkening back to their squandering in "Look Before You Sleep"), and THEN they started squabbling over who was more mature and a better friend than the other! That last bit was possibly my favorite of theirs, it was just so nonsensical and they didn't even realize how ridiculous what they were saying sounded, and the fact that those two really are probably the two most mature members of the Mane 6 only made it funnier. Their resolution was probably my favorite as well; they both made up by compromising and getting a seemingly lesser version of the item the other wanted for each other, but in the process they both gave each other something far more meaningful because it was a testament to their true friendship. Seriously very sweet ending, even if they had the least screen time of the three pairs.
     




    Well, well, well, looks like I'm not the only one who's a fan of Rarijack; getting a bit excited there, aren't we AJ? :comeatus:


     
    Finally, the pair that the episode was devoted to the most, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I got four words for ya'll: GREATEST FETCH QUEST EVER!!! Their bit spiraled more out of control than any of the others into a swirling vortex of madness, and I loved every minute of it. For one, RD fangirling over a Daring Do book was too cute, but much to her misfortune, as we learned, RAINBOW DASH IS THE WORST BARTERER EVER!!! I think the problem was that RD has far too high an estimation of herself and all things Rainbow Dash, considering she decided that an rusty old horseshoe (and no, I don't care if it was her lucky horseshoe, IT WAS A RUSTY OLD HORSESHOE! ) would be a fair trade for what is apparently the only signed first edition copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue. Great thinking RD, I see no problems in this logic whatsoever. Anyways, her rapid descent into madness, despair, and unyielding determination to get that book at all costs was hilarious to see play out; she was like Bad Luck Brian in this episode, or, for a more cartoonish comparison, she actually reminded me of, say, Daffy Duck or Wile E. Coyote here, Looney Tunes characters perpetually cursed to misfortune. The only point where I thought she got ridiculous to the point of being out of character was when she bartered away Fluttershy (though to be fair Fluttershy kind of volunteered) without a second thought, but in RD's defense, she'd been on a quest to get that book all day, so I understand if after all of that she was just a little out of her mind right then and there. Speaking of Fluttershy, she was top notch as well. I didn't think she was so much a Mary Sue, nor a doormat; rather, here, she was a Yes Man (or should I say, Yes Mare) in that she just couldn't refuse any of RD's requests out of the ridiculously high levels of kindness in her heart. Combined with RD's crazed determination, the two made for quite a potent comedic duo (as they often do), and, unsurprisingly, we got quite a bit of cute Fluttershy as well being her adorable self. The bear call whistle was cool (and I felt so bad for her when she lost it ), she was adorable and hilarious with the orthros, and her sticking by RD in all of their shenanigans was both hilarious and admirable. The only thing that kinda disappointed me about their bit was the resolution; Rainbow nearly bartered away Fluttershy into servitude in Manehattan for quite possibly months, and in return all she did was get Fluttershy a bird call whistle to replace the undoubtedly far rarer bear call whistle she had?! Sorry, but Fluttershy kinda got the short end of the stick here. Plus I wasn't exactly buying RD's fangasming over the normal old paperback edition of the Daring Do book that she got from Twilight; I know it's a meaningful item for them, but at the same time, I don't know, after everything she went through to get the first edition copy, it just didn't seem like she should be that stoked about it. Besides the resolution, however, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash got up to some hilarious shenanigans that seriously had me in stitches.
     




    Dat moment when a pegasus is two seconds away from murdering somepony... this is that moment.


     
    Alright, main bits out of the way, I think the only thing I got left to cover are some miscellaneous items. Let's see... it was very cool getting to see Rainbow Falls again; definitely one of my favorite Season 4 locations, has a very unique look to it. The recognition of Twilight's princesshood was very cool to see, definitely a nice bit of continuity. The trading fair itself was awesome, just seeing all the stalls and different items, as well as a unique concept as far as imaginative world building goes. Some of the best vendors include the Daring Do vendor (her voice was quite funny, as well as her blunt mannerisms around RD, those cracked me up), the beast tent vendor (who reminded me of Khal Drogo from "Game of Thrones" for some reason, mostly in his design), and the antique chicken statue tent vendor (mostly because he bartered antique chicken statues, and that's simply AMAZING!!!). We got the return of Jeff Lebowski pony working the food vendor cart (which pleased me very much seeing as "The Big Lebowski" is my favorite comedy of all time). I spotted quite a few Crystal Ponies in the crowd, which was a very nice and subtle bit of continuity that I give a lot of props to the writers for doing. The orthros was a very cool and very, very cute animal (at least when Flutters was around it), and its slobbering made for quite a few funny bits (though I was quite disappointed that RD didn't just give Fluttershy the orthros instead, she clearly loved it. But no, you get her a bird call whistle instead... really RD, really? ). Finally, I loved both the Derpy-like filly who I'm pretty sure is related to her (like I said, not her because she had purple and not yellow eyes, but she didn't talk and wanted to trade a broken quill for Twilight's books, quite the derpyish character if you ask me!) as well as the quick little cameo Derpy made (she showed up in the crowd at the end there, not a big cameo, but seeing as I'm me I just had to note it ). And oh yes, Spike's little comic book subplot was both a nice bit of continuity from "Power Ponies" as well as just plain hilarious. Even if we didn't get to see much of it, that hand off at the end was quite funny. Overall, this was a great episode as far as side characters goes, and we got to see all sorts of new faces and characters interacting with the Mane 6.
     
    Despite the fact that, again, there weren't very deep messages here, that worked just fine for me, because the episode wasn't trying to be serious. It wanted to be a funny, nonsensical episode full of random and funny bits, and it did just that in my opinion, to a T. Overall, for me, "Trade Ya" was one of the comedic highlights of Season 4 thus far, and I very much look forward to rewatching it!
  22. Batbrony
    Brothers and sisters of MLP Forums, I beckon you all, come forward and hear my words! Listen to what I have to say, and maybe, just maybe, you will be there for a certain grey mare in her hour of need. I can only hope.


     
    Note: If you're not in the mood for reading this bit, I've gone and actually recorded myself reading it as well, if you're in the mood for a more audio experienced. Be warned, however, for I've been known to make those with weaker constitutions swoon in the past with my melodious tones. Listen at your own risk.
     
     
     

    http://vocaroo.com/i/s1eRxRZyrfpX

     





    For amplified epicness, listen to this number while reading or listening to speech. And yes, I did all this for ponies, why wouldn't I?


     



     
    Now, seeing as I, of course, am throwing all my weight and support behind Derpy, as usual, I just wanna talk to ya'll a bit, about Derpy, about voting for her, you know, the usual. Now this isn't just for the Derp Brigade, nor those going for Pinkie, this is for everyone, lovers of AJ, Rarity, Twilight, RD, Flutters, whoever. This here's for each and every one of you.
     
    Overrated. That's a word I keep seeing people going for Pinkie Pie throwing out there when they talk about why they're not voting for Derpy. Overrated. That's a word I really don't like seeing used to describe Ms. Hooves, of course. In fact, I wanna instinctively do this to anyone who describes her that way :
     
     
     




     
    Sorry, can't help it. But I think that word can get overused sometimes, no matter the circumstances. And I really think we throw the word around liberally when we just don't understand why so many people might love something. That doesn't mean that something or someone can't be overrated, but still, I myself am guilty of this. I think that Maud Pie's overrated, but that's because I don't understand what people see in her. So, without judging anyone who thinks that Derpy's overrated, and without retreading all of her history, let me just try to explain from where I'm coming why I think she deserves every bit of love she gets, going back to her origins.
     
    On paper, yeah, it doesn't look like Derpy should get as much love as she does. She's a background pony, there's dozens of those. She's only talked once, generally only utilized for comedic relief. So why the love? Basically, Derpy's first and, to date, most important contribution has a lot to do with it, at least, that's where the foundation begins. She was, in my opinion, the first element of the show that the makers and creators utilized to communicate with bronies. To let us know that they knew we watched this show, that we liked it, and that they were happy we liked it and took seriously things we liked. All by simply retaining an animation error that a whole bunch of adult viewers had caught and adored. Well you all know what's happened since then. The animation error grew into the most beloved background character in the show, the face of the fandom, but possibly even more importantly, one of the strongest links between bronies and MLP's creators, to this day. As long as she keeps appearing, we know our bond is strong with them. Yes, these days DHX shows us that they're listening in so many other ways to what we have to say about the show, but it all started with her. All with her. Think about that. Derpy is a bond between bronies and DHX, a bond unlike any other. She's not a bread and butter element of the show, something utterly necessary to the dish. But she's a spice, an extra bit of flavor that gives the show a kick which, without, it would feel somewhat wanting in flavor, to the point that, while she may not be the most important ingredient, she's still a vital ingredient. And suddenly, she's not looking so overrated, is she? Suddenly it makes perfect sense that she should be here.
     
    Now, what I'm about to ask is, really, pretty darn illogical in every sense of the word, but hey, love's not always logical, is it? I mean heck, we all have our best ponies, and can we really say that any one of them, even Mane 6 best ponies, are THE best pony? No, we can't. The love we have for these ponies is completely personal preference. Oh yeah, there's plenty of good reasons to love them, but still, could any one of these characters carry the show alone? Heck no. That's why I don't even have a favorite among the Mane 6; I can't single out one of them when each one is so vital to the group. But as for Derpy, I guess I don't find it so hard to call her my best pony because, well, loving her, in so many ways, is illogical. On paper, she doesn't deserve that much passion. But it's what she represents and what she can be that really draws me to her. Derpy doesn't need to grow as a character in the show, because she can be anything as is; she can be whatever the writers need her to be, she can be whatever us bronies want her to be. I love well written characters, but the fact that so little is set in stone for Derpy is kind of awesome, really. The bond between DHX and bronies continues because all of us can make of this character what we want, not just DHX, not just bronies, all of us. I don't know about you, but I for one want an element like that in the Final Four. Pinkie's won this tournament before, she's probably won tons of other best pony tournaments before, and she'll probably go far in or win tons of other best pony tournaments in the future. That's inevitable, because she's a main character and a great character. But we've already got water, bread, and butter in 3 slots in the Final Four. How about we mix things up a bit, huh, just a touch. Let's get a little spice into the Final Four and bring little ol' Derpy to a slot she'll rarely reach in any tournament, and we all know it. What's the fun in always being logical, in always going with the choice that makes perfect sense. Wouldn't life just be so boring if we did that all the time? So come on, one and all. Lovers of Rarity, let's get another pony voiced by your beloved Tabitha St. Germain in the Final Four. Applejackers, I know we've had some rough patches in the past, but if you'll recall, Derpy was cheering on your very own AJ when she first spoke in "The Last Roundup", just happy that somepony was willing to raise some money to fix her mistake. Flutter Corps, the Derp Brigade has stood by you through thick and thin this tournament, and now your butter pony is on her way to the Final Four for the very first time. Twily and RD fans, I know you're still sore from your best ponies losing, but why don't you do something just crazy and buck the trend for once. And to the followers of Pinkamena Diane Pie herself; ya know, I doubt I'll change any of your minds, but if you're feeling as crazy and random as Pinkie Pie, there's few things crazier or more random than voting for the pony competing against your best pony, that's for sure.
     
    And finally, to my brothers and sisters in the Derp Brigade. Whether we achieve victory or suffer defeat, know this; we will not, WE WILL NOT go down without a fight! Let's raise all sorts of hell right here, right now, and give Pinkie Pie and her fans the match they deserve, a truly epic competition the likes of which this tourney's rarely seen. We're still hanging in there, and we can become a problem for Ms. Pie just like that. You know it, I know it, they know it. So arm yourselves and let slip the dogs of war, because Derpy Hooves is not going down with a whimper. If she's going out or going on, it's going to be with a bang. I'll leave you all with this, some words from another one of my favorite underdogs currently on television:
     
     
     




     

    We are lovers of Derpy, and we will not go quietly into the night. ONWARD!!!


     



     



     
     

    To vote for Derpy, follow this link:


     
     

    http://mlpforums.com/topic/89885-2014-mlp-forums-march-madness-tournament-east-region-elite-eight/

  23. Batbrony
    So unsurprisingly, like pretty much every episode she's had this season (not counting "Bats!", but that episode's promblems weren't AJ's fault :okiedokielokie:), Applejack had yet another awesome turn in a starring role. "Leap of Faith" was the fifth key episode we've had this season, and like most of them (with the exception of "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies", bleh ), it was solid in every sense of the word. Not a whole lot to talk about here aside from the episode's superb message and execution of said message, but let's get going and take a look at "Leap of Faith". C'mon everypony, adventure awaits! WHIMSY!!!
     




    (OK, so I may be trying to build up the hype just a bit much here
    )

     
    OK, so to start I'll talk about Applejack and the lesson she learned here, because her role and the message are too intertwined not to discuss together. To be honest (HA! See what I did there? :comeatus:), this was probably the best test we've ever seen of AJ's honesty when she was in her own mind (because c'mon, she was magically corrupted by Discord in "The Return of Harmony: Parts 1 and 2"). Applejack is the living embodiment of the Element of Honesty, but she's also an all around decent pony who makes the well-being of others, especially her family, almost always her top priority. Here, we saw these two traits of hers actually come into conflict; in not telling the truth about Flim and Flam's sham "miracle tonic", AJ thought that she was actually helping other ponies, most notably her Granny Smith. The writers, however, did a bang up job of disassembling and undermining this misplaced, albeit sincere, belief of AJ's by brilliantly illustrating just why it was so unsound. First, Applejack was confronted by the fact that her "endorsement/approval" of the Flim Flam brothers cure-all was actually suckering throngs of ponies with serious ailments, illnesses, or physical injuries to buy their product, which she knew obviously wouldn't cure them, no matter how much they believed it would, seeing as most of them had far more serious conditions than Granny Smith's own aches and pains. Sure Granny Smith was having a hootenanny of a time, but Applejack eventually realized that a lot of her problems had stemmed from mental blocks to begin with. These other ponies had far more problems beyond mental blocks, and eventually we saw that it was just too much for AJ to take, even before Granny Smith put herself in harm's way. She told the truth, and was on the brink of fessing up entirely before she had to stop Granny Smith from basically snapping her neck (as an aside, AJ once again went out of her way in that climax to further prove that she is the Batman of the group, and it was AWESOME! Such slick moves AJ!!! ). This bit of dangerous absurdity on Granny Smith's part showed AJ the other reason why her earlier reasoning was so unsound; not only was her lie convincing ponies that something would cure their ailments when it really wouldn't, but it also could lead other ponies to attempt foolhardy and dangerous stunts out of misplaced confidence, like her beloved Granny Smith.
     
    In the end, this is what AJ learned; a lie is never, ever right, no matter how good your intentions may be. Even if it seems that your lie makes people happy, that happiness in and of itself is hollow and unreal. The truth is the truth, a precious, infallible reality that cannot change, no matter how happy your lie may make people; in repeating a lie over and over again, all you're doing is building up a house of cards that'll eventually come tumbling down, ever more spectacularly and hurting more and more people the longer you keep it up. The thing that I loved especially about this message was not only how well-executed and delivered it was, but also how relevant it was, especially to those in power in the present day. These days, at least in the good ol' U S of A, it seems that far too many of our politicians are all show and no substance. These men and women (not naming any parties, but let's just say the idealists and optimists of the whole lot are most guilty of this) are happy to time and time again just tell the people what they want to hear, spouting nothing but whatever hollow rhetoric it takes to get passed whatever they want to get passed. Most of the time, this type of talk leads to bad things, and millions of people get hurt as a result (and usually not the ones who sold whatever legislation or rhetoric they were pitching in the first place). Sure there's a lot of stupid naivety behind a lot of these blunders, after all, people are stupid, and that'll never change, but there's also a lot of deception to boot. Heck, our own president has gotten called out for I-don't-know-how-many-lies by now in the past six months alone, and really, the root of this problem lies in the fact that, these days, our leaders just don't understand the power and import of words. They're happy to say whatever they want or need to say to get done what they want to, no matter how removed it may be from reality, and this is a seriously dangerous attitude. So in summary, this episode's message was extraordinarily current and relevant, and its delivery just made it all the better. It rounded out nicely by showing a truly ashamed and sorrowful AJ admitting that she'd compromised her most dearest personal quality, her honesty, and apologizing for it (more sincerely and blatantly than any of our leaders ever do these days, when they get caught that is, I might add ). Wonderful message in its substance and execution, and a wonderful performance from a truly conflicted AJ to boot; not much more you can ask for out of an episode beyond that!
     




    Applejack ain't having any of your s*** Flim and Flam; that goes for you too D.C.!!!


     
    Besides Applejack and the episode's message, there was plenty of other things that stood out here. The Apple Family was a delight as it's been all season; the Apple siblings were all adorable in the swimming hole at the beginning, Big Mac got some great one-liners (literally, along with a bit of trollery at the beginning there) in there (though I can't help but want him to get his own episode some time down the road, maybe one focusing on his relationship with AJ or both of his sisters), Apple Bloom was adorable as usual, and Granny Smith was just awesome! Her backstory as an earth pony high diver was amazing (albeit unsurprising given who she is), and her newfound confidence, although foolhardy for most of the episode, was very cool, and it was very neat seeing all the things Ponyville's most incredible grandparent could accomplish once she'd gotten past some of her mental blocks that had come with age.
     
    The Flim Flam brothers were their usual, con artist selves (complete with yet another catchy tune, though I still like their first song number better, to be honest), and I can't help but love them. Sure they're complete jerks, but they're complete jerks who persistently continue trying to to sell themselves until it's clear beyond a doubt that the jig is up (though to be fair their original cider-making contraption did actually work, quite well in fact, their only downfall there was compromising its quality for the sake of quantity). I can't help but love their shameless enthusiasm, and especially loved their "hypothetically-speaking" conversation with AJ in the middle of the episode when they pretty much fessed up without actually fessing up to their cure-all tonic being a total scam. Flim and Flam remain my favorite foils to AJ's character, and I really hope they'll return yet again some time in the future (as long as an episode or season calls for their return, of course).
     




    Look how few bucks we give about the s*** we're selling!


     




    Seriously, no bucks given at all!!!


     
    Silver Shill, our by now to-be-expected key-episode OC, was pretty cool himself. For starters, he's got the best punny pony name I've heard in sometime, and it's actually quite hilarious when you think about it; by the end of the episode, he was committed to becoming an honest salespony, but the guy is, literally, a Shill! All I gotta say is good luck buddy, cause I'm pretty sure you were born into a family destined to be (or at least having a reputation for being) con artists. But seriously, he turned out to be a decent guy, like most of these OCs have, and I really liked that he had a nice explanation for his giving AJ her key at the end there. His voice was pretty unique as well; kind of had a Barney Fife sound to it, and I don't know, just pleasant to the ears, at least for me. Definitely a great addition to the slowly-but-surely growing list of male characters in the show, and it'd definitely be nice to see him again sometime down the road.
     
    Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the background ponies here, specifically, all the injured ones! Holy buck, this episode had some dark and downright depressing imagery. I mean, what the heck, since when did Ponyville have so many sick and injured ponies; did one of their weekly disasters happen while the Mane 6 were out of town or something??? Probably the worst imagery for me were the ponies in wheelchairs; I'm sure some of them just had broken legs, but you just have to wonder how many of those ponies were actually cripples, and it was just downright depressing watching some of them hobble around like that. It didn't take away anything from the episode, it was just a distracting and depressing element of it that added a dark element to an otherwise run-of-the-mill slice of life episode (though it definitely did add some gravity to the lesson AJ was learning). Besides the dozens of ailing background ponies, we had some great showings from others as well; Cloud Kicker, Colgate, Doctor Whooves, and Carrot Top got a few appearances, Derpy had a subdued but still pleasant cameo at the diving/synchronized swimming competition, and Lyra had probably her best cameo all season (who knew she was such a hard-to-impress swimming/diving judge ). All in all, this was a very good episode for background ponies in general.
     
    As usual, the animation was top notch, the comedy was spot on (with a whole bevy of laughs coming from the Apples, the Flim Flam brothers, and the background ponies themselves), and the sound and music were a delight. All in all, "Leap of Faith" was another great key episode with probably the best message in terms of both substance and execution of any of them since "Rarity Takes Manehattan" (fitting considering both Rarity and AJ continue to have such a good season, and are also such surprisingly similar characters). My hat's off to the writers on putting together such a well-written episode, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us in the final six episodes this season!
  24. Batbrony
    Apologies once again for the delayed review ya'll, I had work yesterday from 11-5 and didn't get around to watching the episode until late on Saturday night. After watching it twice already, however, I am pleased to say that I have nothing but good things to say about "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" (except maybe for the terribly punny episode title; seriously, worst ponified title since "Sleepless in Ponyville", but hey, that episode rocked as well ).
     
    Anyways, let's get going with this thing. I have to start by giving major props to DashForever for his excellent insight following my first viewing of the episode. He and I spoke some afterwards, and we agreed and came to the conclusion that, while this wasn't necessarily the best episode of the season thus far, it was a flawless episode. I'm not exaggerating when I say that, "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" was just about flawless in every single way. So if that's the case, you might be wondering why it wasn't the best episode of the season? Well here's why: this episode simply did not leave as much of an impact as other episodes this season. There have been more important episodes this season, episodes that contributed to this season's overarching plot considerably more than this episode did. Most of them may not have been as flawless as this episode was, but they were still great episodes all the same that affected the show more overall than this one will in the long run. That said, as I said, this was a flawless episode in the sense that it perfectly fulfilled what it wanted to be. It knew what it wanted to be, it set itself goals to achieve, and it accomplished those goals perfectly from start to finish in its execution. That in itself is damn impressive, and "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" now joins the prestigious list of the handful of episodes in MLP history that I have pretty much nothing to complain about whatsoever. So what are the specific elements that make this episode work so well? Well I'm going to focus on four in particular, followed by some more general episode elements: (1) Sweetie Belle, (2) Rarity, (3) Princess Luna, and (4) the episode plot in general.
     
    So I'm just gonna flat out state it, this was Sweetie Belle's best starring role ever, hands down. Besides this episode, in all of her other starring roles, with the exception of "Sisterhooves Social", Sweetie Belle's been a part of the CMC. This isn't a bad thing, and she's certainly made her fair share of mistakes with the group, but (1) usually the group as a whole makes a mistake together, even if one member in particular is more responsible than the others, and (2) the shenanigans they get into are usually not of the most serious nature. Not that they haven't made big mistakes before, but probably the worst mistake they ever made concerning personal relationships would have to be when they ran their gossip column and almost alienated themselves from the rest of Ponyville. As for "Sisterhooves Social", Sweetie Belle was quite obviously portrayed in a positive light there, and almost always in the right in that episode, despite some of the mischief she got up to. Here, however, we got to see Sweetie Belle portrayed in a light we've never seen before.
     
    In every previous episode that's ever focused on it, we've always gotten the sense (unfairly in my opinion) that Sweetie Belle gets the short-end-of-the-stick in her relationship with Rarity. Even in comical situations, Rarity has almost always been portrayed as the less sisterly of the two, the one who has had a far harder time being a good sister to her little sister, whereas Sweetie Belle has almost always been portrayed as the precocious, energetic, accident-prone little sister who just wants some attention and love from her big sister. I'm not saying that's not true to her character, it worked to great effect in "Sisterhooves Social", but there was simply an imbalance in their portrayals. Rarity made all the mistakes in their relationship, Sweetie Belle always suffered for it, etc., etc., you get the picture. With this episode, however, their relationship officially feels more real than it ever has before. Here, Sweetie Belle did not just make an innocent mistake, she deliberately did something quite cruel in a fit of rage, more or less, and the episode went to some dark places as a result. While her anger was obviously misplaced, as a sibling myself (albeit an older sibling), I can say with confidence that this whole scenario felt very, very real. I've felt that level of anger Sweetie Belle felt here before, I've been that mad at members of my family that I just lock myself in my room, rage more than loud enough for them to hear, and can't even get to sleep and instead just scream into my pillow because I'm just that mad (granted, that was more when I was younger than now, but I'm sure plenty of other siblings have felt the same as well). So again, while her anger was obviously irrational and even selfish, it still made sense. Sweetie Belle has always lived in her sister's shadow (which cannot be said of Apple Bloom, since the Apple Family shares out of necessity in their family-oriented work quite equally, they're very much team based and not individualistic in that regard, nor Scootaloo, who has no actual siblings, despite Rainbow Dash taking her under her wing as a surrogate sister last season), and Rarity, with her eccentric, larger-than-life personality, fabulous lifestyle, and attention-grabbing career, most certainly has always cast a very big shadow (not to be mean of course, that's just who Rarity is). Sweetie Belle clearly wants to be more than "Rarity's little sister", and that too is a very realistic, believable reaction to expect from a younger sibling, and it was conveyed excellently here.
     
    As for her action itself that led to all the episode's problems, I gotta say that Sweetie Belle's attempt to sabotage Rarity was one of the cruelest, deliberately ill-intentioned actions we've ever seen in the show from anyone (and that's not even taking into account the implications of said actions if Sweetie Belle hadn't corrected them). It was driven by nothing but anger, fury, hatred even (spur of the moment, yes, but still, that hatred was very raw and very real), and it was quite jarring to see all of that coming from the normally sweet and innocent Sweetie Belle. Even better was the punch to the gut she received when she saw the potential consequences of her actions, which, just like her earlier anger, was very raw in itself, and not watered down in the slightest. DHX went no holds barred here in the dark territory, and I love, love, loved that Sweetie Belle was forced to witness just how bad the consequences from her act of hatred could be. Basically, she came a few seconds away from ruining her sister's life; sure it might seem a bit melodramatic, but realistically speaking, sometimes all it takes is one act of anger or hatred to ruin a relationship, even between the closest of family or friends. Besides learning the dangers of unbridled anger, I loved what Sweetie Belle learned about her sister as well: (1) Rarity loves her dearly and has genuinely watched out for her numerous times in her life, and (2) Rarity's life is hardly perfect, she works extremely hard and earns everything that she gets. By the end, she no longer felt animosity towards her sister (despite the genuine difficulties that come with being a little sister sometimes); rather, she not only loved her sister more than ever, but wanted to strive to be as good a pony as Rarity is. Probably my favorite part of the conclusion was that she actually told Rarity what she did; she originally had planned, it seemed, on trying to fix her mess without Rarity knowing, but in the end she fessed up, and that bespeaks the love between those two. Truly loving siblings, heck, family in general, love and trust each other enough to tell each other when they've screwed up, when they did something they shouldn't have, because they know that their family will forgive them and still love them. That Sweetie Belle told Rarity displayed a lot of maturity and character growth on her part, and their reconciliation was a very sweet way to round out the episode.
     




    I seriously love these two and their relationship more than ever before after this episode.


     
    Speaking of Rarity, let's talk about her next (thankfully her section shouldn't be nearly as long as SB's was, if only because Rarity wasn't in the episode as much). Honestly, Rarity was at her best here, especially the best I've ever seen her as a sister. She was more than generous with her time to Sweetie Belle, she put in real effort on those great costumes for Sweetie's play (not to mention worked her plot off on her own order for Sapphire Shores), and basically was all around just acting as a true, loving older sister to Sweetie Belle this whole episode. We saw her great work ethic, her generosity, her love for her little sis, all at their best and truest form here, and I loved every minute of it. It's about time Rarity got portrayed in a positive light from start to finish in her role as a big sister, and it truly worked wonders here. Some might say that Rarity was responsible for Sweetie Belle's insecurity, but that was indirect at best; Rarity, being an older sister, simply can't understand Sweetie Belle's genuine insecurity derived from living in her older sister's shadow. It was a nice touch seeing how both sisters share the insecurity that comes with being perfectionists, plus it was a whole lot of fun getting to yet again see Rarity actually working as a fashionista, I mean filling out a real, major order for none other than Sapphire Shores (which was a nice bit of continuity itself, very cool to see that Rarity is still Sapphire Shores's favorite designer). It was also wonderful seeing how Rarity actually had a history of looking out for her sister prior to their reconciliation in "Sisterhooves Social" (which both (1) suggests that in the time in between SB's 5th birthday and "Sisterhooves Social" that Rarity simply got too caught up in her work and independent, adult lifestyle and (2) illustrates nicely that Rarity is probably one of the oldest members of the group, I mean, heck, she had to be at the youngest in her late teenage years in that flashback, that's a pretty wide gap between her and SB age-wise). Finally, even though Rarity was her fabulous, eccentric self, and even though some of the time it worked to comedic effect, it really wasn't played up for comedic purposes at any point in the episode. Rarity was pretty much straight-laced the whole time, and really just worrying about truly pressing matters, like Sweetie Belle's costumes or her own order. I love it when Rarity is played straight like that, reminds us nicely that not only is she a normal character, not just some drama queen, but is also actually one of the more mature members of the Mane 6 believe it or not. Overall, Rarity was just at her best here, as a fashionista, a sister, and just a pony in general.
     




    Get out of her way random Crystal Pony, the episode can barely contain all of Rarity's fabulosity here as it is!!!


     
    Finally, let's talk about what really made the episode for me as far as characters go: Princess Luna (a.k.a. MOTHERBUCKING BEST PRINCESS AND DON'T YA'LL FORGET IT!!! ).
     




    Aw yeah, Best Princess has arrived! :comeatus:


     
    Oh me, oh my, was Luna good here. No, wait, good doesn't do her justice... Luna was bucking perfect here! Seriously, this was probably her best appearance since "Luna Eclipsed". I loved seeing how Luna has continued to grow as a character since "Luna Eclipsed", even beyond "Sleepless in Ponyville", because she's really learned how to become her own sort of teacher to ponies, developed her own way to impart lessons to them. Keep in mind that her sister, Princess Celestia, has 1,000 years more experience than she does interacting with and mentoring ponies, and so has no trouble whatsoever interacting with any or delivering lessons in a straight-forward manner. Luna, on the other hand, is still learning present-day social customs, and on top of that still just recently got back from a 1,000 year banishment; add all those factors together, and you get one very shy, socially awkward pony. But she's made great progress since "Luna Eclipsed", as evidenced by this episode, and has really come into her own as her own unique kind of mentor and teacher. She seems to favor directly helping younger fillies so far (maybe it's because she relates more being a younger sister, maybe she just finds them to be more easily accessible, hard to say), her primary medium seems to be through her power to control and go into and out of others' dreams, and most importantly, she seems to favor showing more than telling. Yes, in "Sleepless in Ponyville" she kinda told Scootaloo a lot of what she needed to do, but she still employed visual mediums to make her point and help Scootaloo realize what was troubling her, but here she wasn't giving Sweetie Belle any direct answers and I LOVED IT!!! Instead, she let events, both past, present, and future, speak for themselves, and silently escorted Sweetie Belle from one event to another. I loved this indirect style of imparting a lesson, because it forced Sweetie Belle to realize the error of her ways on her own (for the most part) and like I said, it showed how Princess Luna stands apart from and differs in her own style of teaching lessons about friendship from her sister. Finally, you could tell from start to finish, despite her silence, that this was a deeply personal lesson for Luna to teach. She was angry when she came on the scene (in a very regal, serious sense that truly conveyed real gravitas), but that anger clearly wasn't directed at Sweetie Belle; rather, Luna was angry out of fear, for in Sweetie's hatred she saw her own past hatred that led her down the dark path to turning into Nightmare Moon, and she realized just what terrible things were at stake for both Sweetie Belle and Rarity if SB's hatred weren't dissipated. As the episode progressed, you could tell that Luna truly understood Sweetie Belle's frustration, for she herself had once experienced it with her own sister (it was interesting that she even said that "I too have a sister who often shines more brightly than me" in the present tense, suggesting that this is still the case even now and that it's even something that Luna still struggles with). By the end of the episode, a very regal peace and contentment had replaced Luna's earlier anger, satisfied and happy at seeing Sweetie Belle and Rarity reconcile before anything truly terrible had happened as it once had between her and Celestia. Overall, this episode highlighted not only fascinating character developments in Luna's character, but showed her at her absolute best, a teacher and mentor for all of ponykind who, although still getting the hang of it, is really coming into her own as she learns how to impart lessons of friendship to others. Basically, what I'm getting at is, this episode showed, as all her episodes do, that LUNA IS NOW AND ALWAYS SHALL BE BEST PRINCESS, AND DON'T... YOU... FORGET... IT!!!!!!!!!! :okiedokielokie:
     




    It ain't easy being Best Princess... wait, what am I saying, of course it is, everything's easy when you got that much swag! :comeatus:


     
    Finally, I've just gotta praise the plot in general. I'm not going to cover each and every specific plot point, but I'm sorry, this plot was executed to perfection. The pacing was phenomenal (seriously, DHX fit in a lot but wisely didn't try to fit in too much), the tone was incredibly edgy, slice-of-life with a lot of dark thematic elements, and the overall execution was just perfect. Of particular note would have to be the dream segment; elements of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" and Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" were very present, but really despite those minor similarities this was an incredibly unique and creative segment in its own right, very original indeed. The segues were flawless, the animation was stunning and even trippy in some spots, the execution of the entire sequence was just amazing! Honestly, it was one of the best sequences I've seen in MLP in quite some time, and Princess Luna's silent presence is probably one thing that made it work so well. She was the conductor of these sequences, and she moved along from one memory or future possibility to the next seamlessly, without dwelling on them too much, but just enough that they'd leave the desired impact on both Sweetie Belle and the audience. So despite the fact that this was hardly the biggest story ever told in MLP, it was still a perfect story for what it was, and I give major kudos to the writing department at DHX on this one.
     




    Just look at this visual segue to the next part of her dream, perfect, simply perfect I tell you!


     
    Besides these four elements, everything else worked in this episode just fine. Given the seriousness of the issue here, there actually wasn't as much comedy as in other episodes, but that worked just fine, and they still worked in enough laughs, especially from the CMC in general (favorite comedic bit had to be the train conversation, especially this bit: AB: "You seriously didn't know that? Don't you listen to her songs?" SB: "I... prefer show tunes" *cue the look of disgust from AB and Scoots, priceless! *). The Mane 6, for their brief appearance, were their usual awesome selves, aiding their friend when she needed them most without batting an eye. Five year old Sweetie Belle was simply ADORABLE, definitely one of the cutest bits this whole season. The background ponies got a surprising bit of love at the start, with quite a bit of speaking from two of 'em and some extended appearances by a few others, most notably Carrot Top and Cloud Kicker. The return of Sapphire Shores (yes I know she appeared earlier this season, but she wasn't speaking) was a pleasant surprise, and I give major kudos to DHX for retaining the same voice actress as she had in Season 1 three years ago, the last time she spoke! We even got to learn a little bit more about her (who knew she loved dolphins so much, or that they were her lucky animal, but hey, I guess that's what happens when they swim with you in your dreams). Finally, the animation, especially in the dream segment, was simply perfect, incredibly creative at times and some of the best we've seen in the show as a whole. Overall, I have nothing but good things to say about this episode; it may not have been the best episode of the season, but for what it was trying to be and do, this episode was simply perfect.
     




    When your heart has finished exploding, you have my permission to die (HA! Still managed to work in a Batman reference in something completely unrelated to him in any way, shape, or form, dang I'm good!!!).


  25. Batbrony
    The third entry of my series will take a look at Madoka's BFF Sayaka Miki (and trust me, I know there's A LOT of Sayaka-fans out there, including my bro DF, so I assure you all that I will do my best to do sweet Sayaka justice ).
     
    Characters
     
    Sayaka Miki, a.k.a. "The Dread Pirate Sayaka (YARRRRR!!!)", "Best Dressed Magical Girl", and "The Bad Luck Brianna of the Group".
     
     
     
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