Batbrony

Ok, who reneged on their vote for Derpy? She had 15 and now she has 14. I am not amused. C’mon ya’ll, vote Derpy!!!! Who’s meant more to the fandom than her in this group??? Only one who even holds a candle is Vinyl, and even she’s not as beloved! This is the fandom’s greatest mascot we’re talking about here!!! Do not disappoint me, bronies, but more importantly, DON’T DISAPPOINT DERPY!!!!

Can't do my full post now since I gotta get to my sister's bridal shower, but that said... VOTE DERPY, VOTE AMETHYST STAR, AND VOTE VINYL!!! GO BACKGROUND PONIES, GO BACKGROUND PONIES, GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know what, I hate to say it but I'm kinda feeling bored this round. I know, let's mix things up and do things rapid fire! Anddddddddddd... go, CATEGORY!!! Um, singers! Let's vote for singers! Nice! OK, who first? Countess Coloratura! Obviously, next. Hmmmmmmmm, how about that Princess Skystar. Doesn't hurt that she's quite the cutie, but sweet Celestia does she have some pipes or what?! Nice, very nice. OK, last slot! GRANNY SMITH! ................ .......................... .................................... Gosh dang it ... OK, I'll bite... why Granny Smith? You said singers didn't you? Yeah? Well there's your answer! I... OK, works for me. Ya darn tootin' it does! Gah!!! Where'd you come from???? Wha'cha talkin' 'bout young'n? I been listenin' in on ya'll this whole time! How else was I supposed to keep mahself entertain'd while I was waitin' for mah round? This is a realm crafted from the realms of dreams and chaos where you could literally do anything and you've just been listening to us this whole time? None of us are even anywhere close to your group and aren't even related to you, why the hay have you been listening to us??? Yer questionin' me 'bout what I've been up to when all you've been doing is gabberin' this whole time? I... huh... Great seeing ya Granny Smith, thanks for stopping by! Always a pleasure Derpy, thanks fer the vote! Glad to know SOMEPONY around here 'ppreciates mah musical talents. Is it cider season yet? Do they even have cider season here? They better...

STAR!!! The hay... what? Why are young ponies stupid!!! Huh? Why are young ponies stupid?!?! What the hay did I do? Nothing, I just wanna know why are young ponies stupid??? I don't know, what the hay did we apparently do? Well not any of your guys, per se... it's the moo-hams. What about them? They voted in Tirek of all competitors! Huh? Mhm. Tirek as in "Lord Tirek who almost conquered and destroyed all of Equestria" Tirek? Mhm. What the hay, that guy's a- Hold on, Dinky, ears. OK! *covers ears* Atta girl. Now where we? Oh yeah, THAT GUY'S A DICK!!! Awwwwwww, I was gonna say that. Maybe the moo-hams just really liked his name? Do they even really know who any of us are? I would imagine they have to know something about us to even choose between us in the first place. But man, first Sombra and now this guy, what is wrong with them? I don't know, it's quite the mystery. Ah well, at least Queen Novo and Mistmane got through. Yeah, not bad choices at all, even if I would've taken Sugar Belle or that adorable robotic version of Sweetie Belle over Queen Novo. A robot Sweetie Belle really should be creepy in theory, but my goodness is she just the cutest little mechanical thing! I know!!! Hrmmmmmmmmmm... that Sweetie Bot's trying to move in my corner of the cute market, and I don't like it! You guy's are so weird, you know that? Oh Star, you know that's why we love 'em! Oh don't pretend like you're not weird either! You're just slightly more relatively sane in comparison to them. Pot calling kettle black over here. The town nymphomaniac did not just say that to me. Face it, kid, we're all weird here, why do you think we like each other? How am I weird? You're the weirdo of the group who's obsessed with pretending that you can maintain some semblance of normalcy when in reality you thrive in the weirdness around you, and would be more weirded out if you were surrounded by the normal you claim to crave. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Plus you have this weird thing for peanut butter. I DO NOT... it's just, really tasty is all. How about this weird matchup tonight? Angel bunny and Mage Meadowbrook in the tiebreaker. Who ya feeling girls- Mage. Mage. BUNNY! It's Angel. Oh... NOT THE BUNNY! Deffffffffffffffffffinitely the Bayou Beauty. I'm surprised, guys! Even with how much Fluttershy loves the little guy?! She can love him all she wants, that little bastard kicks me every time he walks by me. He once bit me when I tried to pet him WITH Fluttershy's permission to do so! The little sadist digs up my carrots every year and doesn't even eat them! He just leaves them lying there on the ground as a testament to his evilness... that or he throws them at my house. HE BROKE MY FAVORITE TOY!!! Guys, guys, guys, what if you're all looking at this the wrong way? What if the way to balance out an evil like Tirek is to throw him together with a different kind of force of evil? Somepony who's gonna make his life a living hell? Well??? ... ... ... Nah, buck that guy. VOTE MAGE!!! Well... guess the I's have it. Choose wisely my friends... Hahaha... NO!!! Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

I'll get Amethyst waiting in the wings just in case.

Man, these last two rounds were weird! What do ya mean, Star? Didn't think that any of our choices were weird. OUR choices weren't, it's the folks the voters went with I can't wrap my head around! Well to be fair, we did pick Tom and Rarity just like the voters did. Yesssssssssssssssssss... but they also picked a tyrant with a freaky thing for crystals and an owl, and as far as I can tell both of these guys say exactly one word each!!! Also, since when is picking a rock named Tom logical??? Oh, there's a certain charm to Tom that's hard to describe. A kind of je ne sais quoi if you will. ... ... When the hay did you learn Prench? That's not important... what's important is that we now need to make sure that either Trouble Shoes or Blossomforth and Vapor Trails get through to the next round in the wild card! Yeah, I still can't believe that a Wonderbolt trainee lost to an owl. Or that my sexy little Blossom lost to a dude with a fetish for crystals! CLOUD, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT PET NAMES IN PUBLIC??? What's up with that anyway? Like, do we know anything about that guy other than he loves crystals? Not as far as I know... still can't believe Blossom lost to him. Seriously, have you guys SEEN how far she can bend??? CLOUD!!!!!!!!!! Love you too, Blossom McBendy! Alright, so who're we going for today anyways? Well Twilight's the obvious choice here. I figure Star Swirl's probably a pretty good call as well. After all, speaking from experience, it's always handy to have somepony on hoof who's traveled through time and space! Wasn't he technically suspended in a dimension outside of time and space? Um... actually I suppose he was. How did you know that? I pay really good attention in school! That's my girl, doing your old Time Lord proud! Who in the world is this Nyx filly? I don't know, but for some reason she's sticking REALLY close to Twilight. Any idea why? Nope... and I'm not sure Twilight's entirely certain why she is either. Huh... well, I'm stumped. Suppose we ought to just flip a coin for the third slot? How would that even work? There's eight other slots and only two sides to a coin! Uh... heads we vote for Bill Neigh, tails we vote for Dance Fever. Sounds good to me, go for it Star! OK, here it goes... *flips coin* ................ It... it landed on its side. Um... Huh... Well, never seen that before. Son of a... buck it, Gilda it is! I need some bucking peanut butter...

In all honesty, for a guy in your situation, you've probably been far too generous in the time and attention you've given to so many of us this past year. Not that doing so makes you a bad person or anything, but when I consider some of the advice you've managed to give to me alone in the past year, the time and attention you've given to anything going on in my own life, it just goes to show what a giving person you are. You are a truly generous spirit, and given that, along with the fact that you have felt compelled in the past year to be a rock for both your family and so many others, both here and in other areas of your life, it's easy to see how you could neglect or bury your own needs. Going forward, I want you to know that I and many of your other close friends here will do anything we can to not ask much of you as well as to offer you anything we can as you start paying more attention to your own health and well-being. We love you buddy, and want to give back to you as you've given back to us in so many ways, even at times where you didn't need to.

......... .......... ........... OK, what the hay is up with some of these votes this round? What do you mean, Amethyst? What I mean is, who the hay is Angel Wings and why are we voting for her???? Oh silly, she's a daughter of a friend of a cousin of my aunt's hairdresser of course! And that explains why we're voting for her how, exactly? ........ Wow, Star, you're really slow on the uptake, aren't ya? WHAT??!?!? OK, nevermind, but it's not just her. Who's Blackthorn? Only the best piece of tail from White Tail Woods, that's who. Dang it Cloud, I should've known you had something to do with that. Well am I wrong??? Just look at this guy! Woah... ... OK, uh, you may have a point. Don't I always? OK, see, the Dragon Lord I get cause he's huge, but this last one, I just... how the hay did a dog win this round???????? BECAUSE WINONA'S A VERY GOOD PUPPY WHO GIVES LOTS AND LOTS OF PUPPY KISSES! *bark bark bark* Just when I think this night can't get anymore confusing than it already is...

Winona is winning,you say?

When you see that you're Derpy...

Well Princess Celestia's already the easiest choice of this tournament. Yeah, she is pretty awesome. Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, her butt sure is... ............. ................. ..................... ............................. .................................... I think you meant to say- I know what I said. Damn it, Cloud. OH AND WE GOTTA VOTE FOR TANK!!! Ummmm... why? Causeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....................................... ............................................... he's a tortoise! Seems logical to me. Eh, sure, why not, besides this is a fairly sparse group anyway... oh hey, Daring look, Ahuizotl's here too and... THAT MAKES AS LITTLE SENSE AS YOU BEING HERE DOES!!! Sorry, I'm just a fictional character, I don't make the rules for who's here and who isn't. Star, ya ever gonna let this go? NO I AM NOT, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!!! Sweetie, half the things that happen in our lives don't make any sense. What're you talking about, Carrot, things have been downright boring lately! OK, so half of the things that happen in our lives don't make any sense to most of us. I am telling you, I am gonna get to the bottom of this if it's the last thing I do. Um, guys, who's getting our third vote. I don't know, Dinky, why don't you pick. OK! Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... FEATHERWEIGHT! Why Featherweight? Cause he gave me his cookies last week! Ya know, that somehow makes more sense than the tortoise. Good choice, sweetie! Ummmmmmmm, everypony! This may be a bad time to mention that... I was never very good at sports. Oh... ... well, s***!!!

These last two rounds have been kinda quiet, huh? Sure, aside from Cloud flirting with Spitfire every other minute. Oh that's just Cloud being Cloud, you know that. True, but I can only imagine that Spitfire will only be able to take soooooooooooo many compliments about how she, eh, "looks" in her jumpsuit before she snaps. What can I say, ladies, I'm a lover, not a fighter. Oh gosh, you were listening?! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmhmmmmmmmmmm. You be on your best behavior, Cloud. You two gotta focus if you're gonna make it far in the tourney together! No promises, but I'll try. I suppose that's the best we can hope for from Ponyville's resident nymphomaniac. To be fair, even I'd be getting distracted if Spitfire were on my team. Geeze, you've been quite for awhile Daring... and once again, how do you even know who Spitfire is? You're a fictional character!!! Well... uh... whoever said the Wonderbolts don't exist in my fictional universe?! ........ ........ Whatever... anyways, Spitfire and Cloud were easy enough to pick. Cloud may get around a little too much, but she also came from a military family and is on the weather team, so she's plenty athletic and in great shape. What about today? EVERYPONY'S FAVORITE SILLY PONY OF COURSE!!! ............ ............ Mom, it's not your round today, you know that, right? I was talking about Applejack... Oh! Who thinks I'm a silly pony?!!! Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Carrot, you wanna take this one? You're on your own kid. Damn it. Oh, oh, oh, I think you can be silly sometimes mommy! Awwwwwwwwww, that's adorable, muffin! Whew... *whispers* You owe me, Star. What??? Ughhhhh, fine! So yeah, Applejack's easy enough, but who else? Well, Cheese Sandwich seems to obey the laws of physics about as much as Pinkie Pie does, so that could come in handy. That's a good point... now about that third spot... Uhhhhh.... I've got a suggestion. Shining Armor? Man, you've been quiet up till now. But alright, shoot. My mom. Heh? My mom, Twilight Velvet. I know this is hard to believe, but she's kinda an adrenaline junkie. ............... Really? YES REALLY!! Ughhhhhh, dad, help me out here? Heh? Oh sorry son, was just busy enjoying White Tail Woods. What did ya need? I'm telling these guys that they need to vote for mom because she's a total wild child and they don't believe me! Oh yes, it's true, she's QUITE the spitfire! Loves getting her thrills wherever she can. And I do mean WHEREVER! See, what did I tell ya- wait, what? Huh? Ew... Oh dear... DINKY, EARS!!! I'm talking about bedroom anti- Yeah, I... don't worry, I think we got that... unfortunately. Just... just vote for my mom, OK! Now I'm... I'm gonna go over there and cry. Oh don't be such a prude, son, who are you to talk? You're married to the feathering Princess of Love! Oh for Celestia's sake, it's bad enough I'm thinking about you and mom and... that, now you're telling me you've thought of me and Cadance!! EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! Man, Twilight has a bucking weird family... I'm married to a guy who travels through time and space, and... yeah, I can't really argue with that. They are pretty cute, though.

Good evening, everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"! Well, I have some catching up to do on a few very important reviews, and what better place to start than with the momentous "My Little Pony: The Movie" (2017). The first feature length film featuring the canon ponies of Generation 4 (not counting the previous first Equestria Girls film that had a limited theatrical run, though it is worth pointing out that those were not considered canon when first released, but rather only just confirmed as being in continuity as of the Season 7 finale), "My Little Pony: The Movie" is a testament to the remarkable run that G4 MLP:FiM has had as well as the sheer size of the fandom it has generated. It is undoubtedly by this point one of the most popular and profitable media franchises owned by Hasbro, and even though Transformers may be more profitable still (though their box office returns have been dwindling quite a bit as of late), MLP is undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most, critically acclaimed television or film media currently being produced by Hasbro. Thus, a film was inevitable, and many were actually surprised it took this long to put one out into theaters, but it finally happened, and thus, just before the conclusion of MLP:FiM's seventh season, well over 150 episodes into the show, we finally got a theatrical feature for MLP:FiM. Was the wait worth it? Well, let's find out, without further ado, this is "Batbrony Reviews: My Little Pony: The Movie." WARNING: This should go without saying, but there are indeed LOTS of spoilers below. If you haven't seen the movie yet, this is your last chance to turn back now if you don't want it spoiled. A short disclaimer before I begin. Unlike many of my reviews, which either focus on specific characters involved or dissect every intricate detail of an episode, this will be a far more general review, even compared to my season finale/season in review blogs. My reasoning? Simple: this movie is 99 minutes long, packed with more actual content than even any episodes ever have been (including two-parters), though that is not to say it necessarily has more depth than any MLP episode ever has. But the film, I believe, must be analyzed as its own property within the MLP:FiM universe, not necessarily how it relates that much to the continuity of the show itself since it's not required to watch the show to understand what's going on (at least, not entirely). It is a part of the show, it is a part of the show's universe, but it is still it's own story, and while there is some chance we may yet see characters or species even introduced in the movie end up in the show, the movie in the long run will only have so much of an impact on the show itself. Therefore, I'll break this review down into five simple categories: Story, Characters, Music, Animation, Themes. That should give a solid enough overview of every important aspect of the film without becoming overly long or tedious. With that out of the way, let's begin. Story The story follows a familiar pattern for longtime fans of the show (at least in its general structure), but in its set up serves as a solid format for introducing newcomers to the show, in a sense. The Mane 6 and everypony else in Equestria are putting on a Festival of Friendship at Canterlot, and Twilight, of course, is nervous as hell about making sure everything goes right. After her friends reassure her that everyone will come together and do their part, Tempest Shadow, the right hand mare of the Storm King, arrives with a large part of his fleet of airships and attacks Canterlot! Three of the princesses are magically imprisoned, Twilight escapes with her friends, and they go on a number of adventures to enlist the aid of the Hippogriffs, who turn out to be hiding away under their traditional homeland beneath the sea as Sea Ponies. While their plans do not go as hoped, they still manage to make some new friends and allies, and in the end, take down the Storm King, reform Tempest Shadow and many of his defeated forces (namely Grubber), and free the princesses, Canterlot, and the rest of Equestria from his tyrannical grip (not to mention everyone else he'd been terrorizing for some time). Lessons were learned, friendships were made or reaffirmed, and fun and adventure was had by all. The End. Let's get this out of the way right now. This is not the best story that MLP has ever had, and if you're expecting that, you're going to be disappointed. Long time fans, in my opinion, should not go into it expecting this or even wanting this. The nature of a film based on such a long running series as MLP:FiM is not to be the pinnacle of the series itself. That is a disservice to both the fans of the show and moviegoers who have never seen one minute of the show before. Instead, a movie based off of a cartoon show that has been running this long (though I suppose it should apply to any show that has been running this long, even if others may have to deal with fitting into their show's continuity more depending on the nature of the show itself) is to give an accurate representation of what the show itself is all about. What are the core themes, who are the main characters and what are they like, and what is the general nature of the show as a whole and how it is executed. An older example of this (which, appropriately enough, our beloved Lauren Faust was closely involved with, having written the screenplay) is "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" from 2002, directed by Faust's husband, Craig McCracken. McCracken, Faust, and their team set out to accomplish the same exact thing that MLP:FiM: The Movie does, give audiences a general idea of who the Powerpuff Girls are, what they do, and why the show as a whole is worth watching, and they did it splendidly. This movie does the same about as well as the former did, in two important respects: it is a general enough affair that most general audiences could at least find something positive out of it without complaining about not knowing the show's continuity, but at the same time it does not compromise itself inordinately for the sake of newcomers, to the detriment of long time fans of the show. This is unashamedly an MLP:FiM movie, and it embraces every element that the fans of the show love, and that the creators of the show KNOW the fans love. It simply presents all of these elements in film format, not for television, so the pacing is slowed down, there are some longer conversations, and at times a tad bit of redundancy since, let's be honest, this crew is not used to creating something this long, but never in a bad way. The beats and general progression of the film are fairly predictable, but again, this is not bothersome if you accept the movie for what it is, something that is more interested in executing itself with its own unique identity as opposed to its structure being original or unique. The core themes of the show, at the end of the day, remain at the film's core, tying everything together: the power of friendship, adventure, humor, perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds, fun, exciting, and exotic settings, both old and new, and the capacity for new friendships to either emerge from hardship, struggle, and even hatred and conflict, and for old friendships to survive true adversity and trials. These were all there, and since they were, even if it was hardly the most nuanced or complex story ever presented by MLP:FiM in any format, I was still completely satisfied by the experience for what it was, especially because it was so confident in what it was and sure of itself. Overall, this was exactly the story this movie needed to deliver. Characters Unlike the aforementioned Powerpuff Girls Movie, "My Little Pony: The Movie" actually opted to add a bevvy of new characters, many of whom we probably won't see in the show again (though I know there's more than a few I wouldn't mind seeing again). This was probably mostly to help fill more of the film's running time, and that's fine, because they never felt like that's all they were doing. Every new character served a purpose and was very enjoyable to watch in their own way for unique reasons. Capper was a delightful, suave con artist who went through a nice redemption arc, Captain Celaeno and the Sky Pirates were a lot of fun to watch and not nearly as awkward as they appeared they could have been in some of the trailers, fitting into the overall flow of the movie just fine, Queen Novo was fun when she showed up but sadly didn't feature more (and was also pretty believable as another one of this world's rulers along with Equestria's princesses given how ardent she was in looking out for her people), I cannot rave ENOUGH about Kristin Chenoweth's Princess Skystar, who was every bit as adorable as I thought she would be (not to mention the added bonus of getting some Chenoweth vocals in MLP: The Movie did not hurt one bit), Songbird Serenade, by far the least developed of the new characters, still served her purpose well enough with some smashing great vocals from her VA, Sia, Grubber was surprisingly quite funny and even though he was clearly there just to be a comedic foil, it never got irritating to me, and the Storm King, while not nearly as threatening in demeanor as Tirek, Discord (when he was still a villain), Queen Chrysalis, or even Nightmare Moon, was the perfect villain for this movie, and hats off to Liev Schreiber for genuinely having fun with his performance. The standout of the new characters was, of course, Emily Blunt's outstanding Tempest Shadow (a.k.a. Fizzlepop Berrytwist), who serves as the primary villain for most of the film before the Storm King shows up near the end and she completes her character arc of getting reformed. This character is undoubtedly where the movie's writing is at its strongest. Unfortunately some might draw lazy parallels between her and Starlight, but the fact of the matter is that, even though their backstories and redemption arcs have some broad similarities, the specifics are far more different and nuanced. Starlight didn't believe in cutie marks to begin with, but never expressed a desire to be a loner until her revenge plot against Twilight (even then, her working by herself was more circumstantial than anything else). She wanted to be a part of something special, hence why she started her "utopian" community in the first place; she wanted a place to belong to that she felt functioned as an ideal home and society should. Tempest, on the other hand, by the start of the film has completely turned her back on ponies in general, not just an aspect of pony biology or what it means for pony society. She's far more anger-driven than Starlight ever was, and her purpose is singular: she wants to feel like a real unicorn again. She's extremely self-conscious, even troubled, by the injuries she sustained as a foal at the claws of an Ursa Minor that disfigured her and, most notably, cleaved off most of her horn, and she is willing to do anything, even doom all the other ponies of Equestria - since in her mind, none of them were able to help her anyway all these years, so why should she care about them now when they never cared for her - to get it restored and feel whole again. It's quite a tragic backstory, a little more on the nose than Starlight's, but still relatable, especially for anyone who has disabilities or disfigurements of their own and has ever felt like an outcast or not whole because of it. She even was willing to turn to the Storm King for help just because she believed even he of all people actually would help her, and clearly even the slightest chance that anypony cared about her was what she wanted more than anything else; unfortunately, as it turned out, not only did the Storm King end up betraying, but he really couldn't have cared less, and that flippant attitude of his actually really made his betrayal of Tempest all the more hurtful. He didn't do it out of purposeful maliciousness, he just didn't give a shit to begin with, and for a pony like Tempest, so desperate for any measure of love or care, such a glib attitude about her problems had to hurt more than even deliberate hatred from him would have. Thankfully, through a combination of words and deeds, Twilight and her friends are able to show Tempest the light by the end of the movie, and she in turn turns her back on the Storm King and helps them all save the day, finally finding a place among her kind, even without her horn restored. Of all of the new characters who should make a return to the show, Tempest is by far the one I'd like to see the most, though I'd certainly love to see them all at some point again (aside from the Storm King of course, considering he kinda caught a case of "death-by-shattering-into-a-million-pieces-of-stone-itis"), including Grubber, the Sky Pirates, Capper, and most definitely Queen Novo, Princess Skystar, and the other Sea Ponies/Hippogriffs (one has to wonder now if they'll end up all becoming hippogriffs again now that the Storm King is no longer threatening their land). Every single one of their celebrity voice actors, from Emily Blunt, Liev Schreiber, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Peña, Sia, Taye Diggs, Zoe Saldana, and Uzo Adaba, all did a smashing good job, did not sound in the slightest like they were phoning in their performances, and seemed to genuinely enjoy playing these roles, and I commend them all for that, especially Blunt, who probably had the hardest job of the bunch in having to play as serious and straight of a role as Tempest Shadow. Other children's television shows and movie adaptations, take notes, THIS is how you make great use of celebrity guest actors; you give them actually important, well-written characters to work with, not just sloppily put together and poorly thought out roles that solely exist to make room for the celebrities themselves (I'm looking at you Disney, wasting Kristin Chenoweth of all people in dreck as bad as Descendants, FOR SHAME!!!). As for the returning cast, most of them had strong showings and all of them were exactly in character as they should be. The two exceptions are Fluttershy and Applejack; while both of them had a few moments here and there, neither of them had too much time explicitly devoted to featuring them, especially Fluttershy, and that's a damn shame. It wasn't bad enough that I think the movie's creators did them wrong or anything, not at all, it just felt like when it came down to picking who they were gonna focus on, they took the easy route and chose the more flamboyant and energetic characters from the Mane 6 with the biggest fanbases to feature, so it's just disappointing that longtime fans didn't get to see Fluttershy and Applejack really shine in a feature length film and first time viewers didn't get to see what makes these two characters so very special. That said, they had enough moments that I was sated with what we got, and they probably still got more moments than Spike did (who oddly enough probably had fewer major moments than Grubber did, which is just weird, but he had his moments too nonetheless). After that, Rarity probably had the 4th most amount of screentime of any Mane 6 character, and while she didn't get her own solo song number like Pinkie Pie and Rarity did, she still sang a few times and did get a wonderful scene where she got to display her generosity to Capper, which started his path to reform in a quiet and very nicely handled way. She also got some of the biggest laughs of the movie, more so I would argue in her visual humor than in any of her lines; I mean don't get me wrong, Tabitha was as funny as ever, but the animators made full use of a character as flamboyant as her and gave her some wildly funny expressions and visual gags (my personal favorite being her checking her appearance in a mirror in the middle of falling to her doom, good Lord that was perfect ). Rainbow Dash had a very strong showing for the most part and got about as much screentime as I'd expect her to get in a movie like this, but thankfully it never felt like they were egregiously turning the movie into "The Rainbow Dash Show" just to sate or please her huge fanbase, and her shining moment in inspiring Captain Celaeno and the Sky Pirates felt perfect for her, so I can't fault the writers for giving her that. Intriguingly enough, not just Twilight but Pinkie Pie as well were the two most important members of the Mane 6 here, and while for one that's hardly surprising, for the other it is slightly more so, but I think I know why. Twilight featuring front and center for the Mane 6 isn't surprising at all, and I long ago accepted that she will always be the main character of this show (even if one could argue she was not the most important character in certain seasons like Season 7). For a movie, it makes perfect sense that the centerfold character should feature more than anyone else. What was somewhat annoying was that we went through very old Twilight problems in a large amount of this film, like her worrying too much about a special event going correctly, or her losing faith in the power of friendship and trying to do things the easy way instead. Despite the size of the threat, and it was a major threat, make no mistake, it still felt a little tired to go through these problems for Twilight between Season 7 and Season 8, and it kind of reinforces arguments that this movie should have come out sooner; if this had happened in canon anywhere from Season 3 to Season 5 I probably could have bought Twilight being this insecure about these things, but she hasn't been such a worry wart in quite a long time now. I believe it was mostly so that newer audiences could get an idea for what things Twilight tends to worry about, as well as simply because it gave the film some more conflict for the Mane 6 itself (not to mention it tied Twilight's arc somewhat into Tempest's as well), so for the most part its forgivable enough, but it definitely feels redundant at times. However, Pinkie Pie as the second most important member of the crew was not an issue at all. At first glance it seems fairly obvious that she'd be one of the top 3 most featured characters of the group considering she has a large following, is very recognizable, and is already the funniest pony out of the bunch, or at least the biggest source of comedy (as she easily is here). But interestingly enough she was NOT just comedic relief, and that's where her performance was truly outstanding. Pinkie Pie, while not stupid by any stretch of the imagination, has in my opinion the simplest and most basic belief in the power of the friendship between herself and all her friends. That's not to insult her understanding of it or anything, it's just not really nuanced or complex for her (not taking some of her past insecurities into account, of course); she knows it's a wonderful thing, she believes in it more easily than any of her other friends, and she never loses faith in it or what it can accomplish. Facing as big of a threat as they do, that faith is incredibly important, and Pinkie frequently keeps the group going and does her best to bolster spirits however she can without largely ever batting an eye, and this is best displayed in two scenes. First, she tries to get exactly what they need from the sea ponies simply by showing them that the ponies are worth caring about through the simplest of actions, showing that they themselves care about the sea ponies and are willing to give them their time, even as their home is threatened and in terrible danger, enjoying the simplest of activities with one another because the sea ponies could use it, having had it pretty rough for some time hiding away from the rest of the world. And the best part is that was all going to work, before Twilight tried stealing the sea ponies magical pearl behind their backs and got the group banished. Afterwards, her next most important scene happens when Pinkie finally angrily confronts Twilight about her losing her faith in their friendship and trying to do things the wrong way, and in that moment she is the perfect choice for expressing the entire group's feelings towards Twilight. It's a rough scene to watch, but it makes sense why she's so angry seeing her longtime friend completely turn her back on doing things the right way, the way they know will work even if it's not always easy. It's raw, it's powerful, and it's one of Pinkie's most mature scenes ever. So her serving as the heart of the group here worked just fine by me, especially when one considers that this is but one of their dozens of adventures that they've had by now, and that all of them have had different moments to shine in each and every one. Someone is always stepping up when the moment calls for it, and this time it just so happened to be Pinkie, who as far as I'm concerned had the best arc of them all, especially since Twilight's was a little more standard and predictable for her and this kind of movie. That said, on the whole I thought that all of the Mane 6 (and Spike) had as a group the movie they needed; like many of their earlier adventures, this was most definitely more ensemble performance of the group as a whole than any one character (besides Twilight and to some extent Pinkie) dominating most of the screen time, and seeing as for many people this would be their first exposure to the Mane 6, it makes perfect sense that this is how the movie's creators would want to portray them. The nuance and complexity we longtime fans know is there for all of them is for the show itself, while here, we got mostly the basics, but also enough information that it was clear there's a lot of history and complexity to these characters beneath the surface. I'm having a hard time imagining how it really could have been better for them, so as far as I'm concerned, this was exactly the showing we deserved from our favorite group of ponies. As for supporting characters and background ponies, believe it or not, they didn't have nearly as much to do as we usually have come to expect from them. I suppose the princesses getting into trouble was nothing new on their end, but even the background ponies didn't do much in their cameos aside from look miserable a lot once they'd been enslaved by the Storm King's forces. Overall this wasn't terribly surprising given that the movie had so many new characters to introduce (who had background characters themselves, including an adorable sea pony foal who had some incredibly cute cameos). HOWEVER, there was a big, big, BIG exception to that general rule, one that pleased me GREATLY! That's right, in a giant love letter to the fans, none other than the greatest background pony of them all, Derpy Hooves, quite intentionally took a figurative bullet for the team when she desperately shoved Twilight out of the way from a magically enchanted item that Tempest had thrown at her to turn her into stone, saving Twilight's life and pretty much saving the day in doing so. Sure she spent the rest of the movie encased in stone, but by the end of it she was released and back to normal, good as new! It's an awesome shoutout to the fandom and lovers of Derpy like myself, and of all the background ponies to get that kind of love, she deserved it more than anypony else. Music The music in this movie quite evidently channels the general sound and feel of more Broadway-esque Disney showtunes of the past, particularly the grandly staged numbers of the Disney Renaissance. That doesn't mean like it ever feels like Daniel Ingram straight up lifted any tunes from Disney, oh no, it's just clear what his inspiration was. On the contrary, the music is great as ever, and each piece (unlike more thematically consistent Disney pieces) feel very unique and like they could be in a different movie altogether, but here it works since they're usually staged in radically different settings. The biggest exception to this rule, of course, is Sia's number at the end, but even that works just fine for what it is, even if it sounds the least like a song we'd expect to hear in this show. We Got This Together - The first number is a fun and fairly standard Mane 6 ensemble. Nothing particularly notable about it aside from it having a very pleasant tune, and I never complain about all of the Mane 6 singing together (which happens in most song numbers in this film, but it is most deliberately centered on them here). In fact I actually think the most memorable thing about this song is that it really was one of the first points where the movie truly got to show off its animation. Sure we'd already seen how different it all looked for about 10 minutes by that point, but this gave us a fun tour around Canterlot for about three and a half minutes, and all with a fun song playing to go along with it. A fun, solid opening number to be sure. I'm The Friend You Need - THIS song is where the movie's soundtrack really began to shine. "We Got This Together" is a great number in its own right, but it also sounds very familiar for the show. "I'm The Friend You Need," however is a tango sung by a male character (male characters of note being rare as it is in the show, it's even rarer one getting to sing), a style we've really never gotten to hear on the show before, and goodness me is it deliciously fun. Taye Diggs's vocals especially sell the number, and its visuals are quite fun to boot, with the ponies unsettling settings delightfully contrasting their Equestrian-selves. Time To Be Awesome - "Time To Be Awesome," in my humble opinion, is actually Rainbow Dash's single best song ever. It's kind of the anti-"I'll Fly" of her song numbers - while that song, from "Tanks for the Memories," has a good tune, it's also about her not giving a buck about how her trying to keep winter from happening is going to buck everypony else over all so she can just spend more time with Tank. The message never sat right with me or many other Rainbow Dash fans, not because the show was trying to sell it as the right thing, but because by making it such an upbeat tune, they kinda made it sound like the Element of Loyalty quite literally stabbing everyone else in the back was a good thing. "Time To Be Awesome," on the other hand, is the polar opposite. It has Rainbow Dash channeling all of her best qualities to lift others up and remind them that if they're willing to do it, it's not so hard for anyone to be awesome. That's Rainbow's loyalty at its best, when it inspires other to be their best selves. It doesn't hurt that both Ashleigh Ball and Zoe Saldana absolutely kill it on their vocals, and the kickass Celtic/Gaelic instrumentals (at certain points, sometimes mixed in with a dash of pirate-tune instrumentals to give it a swashbuckling feel when some of the pirates sing their own verses, including one voiced by none other than Nicole Oliver) are quite awesome as well. By far one of the best original tunes in the movie, it's only slightly soured by the fact that Rainbow Dash completely bucks everypony over, including the sky pirates she just inspired, when she hilariously unnecessarily does a Sonic Rainboom at the end, drawing the attention of Tempest Shadow and her forces. But ah well, that's RD for ya, and we love her for it. One Small Thing - BY FAR my favorite song of the entire. This song is catchy as hell. Repeat after me. This. Bucking. Song. Is. Catchy. As. Hell. It is everything I would ever want musically out of an MLP movie number. Memorable lyrics, a bouncy and deliciously fun tune, fun instrumentals, and bucking operatic singer Shannon-Chan Kent as Pinkie Pie and MOTHERBUCKING GEM OF BROADWAY Kristin Chenoweth as Princess Skystar. Holy shit, that is a delicious duo of amazing singing voices that absolutely delivered 1000000%, seriously, my choral singing self was so pleased by this. The second I heard Kristin Chenoweth was gonna be in this movie I could not wait to hear her sing in MLP and knew very well that her song could easily end up being my favorite of the movie, and my instincts were bucking right. She and Shannon-Chan were gems together and the song itself is insanely fun. On top of that, as with "Time To Be Awesome," it was yet another Mane 6 member at their best, this time Pinkie Pie getting to show how much just showing ponies a fun time can mean so much to them. She helps an entire city of exiled hippogriffs come out of their shells and simply enjoy themselves without even asking for anything in return, and until Twilight was caught trying to steal the sea ponies magic pearl, it was going to actually turn the sea ponies/hippogriffs into their allies. The way Kristin Chenoweth sells her own vocals, you can simply feel how much everything that Pinkie is doing for them means to them. A song like this is MLP in its purest form and one of the biggest reasons I have always loved the show, and definitely ranks up their with some of Pinkie Pie's most legendary song numbers like "The Smile Song." This song is pure joy and I love it so much!!! Open Up Your Eyes - This is, objectively speaking, probably the best song in the movie in terms of what it does for the plot itself. "Open Up Your Eyes" is not just a villain song, but a song that tells a story. Tempest's story. In it we get her entire worldview laid bare, and it's rather heart wrenching once it is all laid bare before us. Tempest is simply a loner who, by and large doesn't put her faith or trust in pretty much anyone at all after feeling dejected for so much of her life as a result of her injuries and dangerous broken horn. She only trusts raw power and those with it who she believes might actually care enough to help her, or at least give her what she wants if she does enough for them first. What comes next for her after she fixes her horn, who knows? We never get that far, and it doesn't seem clear that Tempest knows either what she ultimately wants. First and foremost, she just wants to feel whole again, because she feels like that's the only way her life might mean anything again. It's tragic, utterly tragic, and the soft visuals when her backstory unfolds make it even more so. It looks like the memory of a child laid bare, something innocent that goes so terribly wrong because of one accidental moment that never should have happened and changed so much for her. So as far as villain songs in general go, it's very unique. It's not a villain just cackling out their plan in song, or how evil they are or how happy they are that they're about to win. It's Tempest just telling Twilight a story and telling her to stop believing that her idea of Equestria and friendship is right, that the world is just a cold, dark place that will crush you if you let it, and the only way to keep that from happening is to crush others first. Tempest isn't exactly happy about this, she just wholeheartedly believes it, and when we see that, we see just how tragic as a villain she is. It's probably the best villain song that MLP has ever had and easily blows "This Day Aria," out of the water, though again, I must emphasize that it is hardly a traditional villain song, and may not even entirely fit that category. Rainbow - Sia sings a Sia song in MLP. That's it. What else do you want me to say? I mean it's a good song, even if it is radically different from the rest of the movie's soundtrack. I think what I most appreciated about it was that it was slow, like the movie was exhaling. It could've taken an easy route and been faster and more upbeat, ya know, a kind of party dance tune like so many kids movies these days end with, but instead it went for something a bit more emotional and quiet, and I really liked that. It doesn't feel like the ponies are moving on from a frantic climax to a frantic party, but instead are just breathing easily, enjoying one another's company quietly after saving the day yet again, and that everything is going to be OK, even for Tempest. The single most disappointing thing about it really is simply that Sia's character was literally in this movie just to sing that song. I mean, she shows up to Canterlot, sings some kind of awkward pop-jail number for 10 seconds (seriously, that was a weird scene and I have no idea why she of all ponies gave Twilight a meaningful look when she got back to Canterlot given that they'd known each other for a total of five bucking seconds), and then sings this song at the end. Honestly I think it would have been better if she just straight up showed up at the end of the movie for the first time, like her travel was delayed or something. At least it would have felt more honest then as opposed to her showing up at the beginning of the film. But anyway, yeah, I liked this song a lot and had no trouble with it being at the end of the film. There's about seven other songs on the MLP: The Movie soundtrack, and I can't speak to all of them since I haven't heard all of them yet. Some of them are covers of older songs, like their "Thank You For Being A Friend" cover (which is deliciously hilarious in concept but also is actually quite lovely the way they did it), and some are original numbers, like Lukas Graham's "Off To See The World," which you may have heard in the MLP: The Movie trailer and credits (and as much as I hate to admit it, I actually quite like the song, despite hating Lukas Graham and his annoying, smug Danish ass himself - seriously, who has a shoutout to themselves in one of their own songs about how humble they're supposed to be in the face of fame, that's so bucking stupid and asinine?!?!). Overall, I'd say pretty much every soundtrack number from the movie itself is more than worth adding to your music library, and if you haven't done so, you really should, they're all quite excellent and perfect for this particular project, definitely some of Daniel Ingram's best work to date, especially given what he was asked to do in making music so different from MLP's normal fare. Animation The animation in "My Little Pony: The Movie" is radically different from the normal fare we're used to in the show. The show utilizes about as advanced of Adobe Flash animation as one could possibly hope to achieve with that technology, but even so it is still distinctly CARTOON animation meant for television. The movie, on the other hand, uses Toon Boom Harmony, which has been used by movies like "The Princess and the Frog" and television shows like "The Simpsons" (at least since the mid-2000s). According to art director Rebecca Dart, they wanted to keep to the look and feel of the television show, and the use of Toon Boom Harmony enabled them to add "simple yet impactful changes" to the designs for the big screen, such as depth and shadows for their eyes and ears, and the impression of heart-shaped indentations on the bottom of their hooves. Some CGI models are sprinkled here and there, especially for some of the larger ships or objects, and while they look a bit out of place they looked overall much better in the final product than they initially did in some of the early trailers. Overall, while this animation is hardly groundbreaking or revolutionary, the distinctive look for this movie is very appreciated and very much sets it apart from the show and other MLP productions as its own uniquely animated feature. It's so polished that you can't help but appreciate how much hard work the production crew put into bringing this movie to the big screen using a completely new animation style, and is one of the most apparent testaments as to how sincerely this production crew worked to make an actually, objectively good movie and not just a quick cash grab. Themes As I've said throughout this review, a movie based on a show as long-running as MLP:FiM has to try to encompass the most general, basic elements that have garnered the show as much of a fandom as it has built up through the years, and this applies to the themes of the movie as much as anything else. They're probably the simplest part of the movie if I'm being honest, with the most complex elements entering in Tempest's story. Just because they're simple, however, doesn't mean they're not delivered well. The biggest theme that sits square at the center of the movie is just a downright simple, steadfast faith in the power of friendship to overcome all sorts of troubles that life may throw your way. The Mane 6 don't just embody this in how they stick together throughout the film, but also in how everywhere they go, they affect someone else's lives with their friendship. From Capper being reformed from his con artist ways after being touched by Rarity's simple act of generosity in fixing up his clothes, the Sky Pirates loyally standing by the ponies after Rainbow Dash inspires them to take up their Sky Pirate mantle once more, Pinkie Pie giving the sea ponies a day of joy and revelry like they haven't had in quite some time, and Twilight herself going out of her way to save Tempest even after all Tempest had done to almost destroy Equestria and her friends and loved ones. Sure, this movie doesn't exactly create the wheel, but it is utterly confident in what its theme is, sticks to it, and executes it as proficiently as it could. That right there, that focused and very clear-cut theme that is repeatedly reinforced through the movie, is very much worth commending given that so many children's films these days seem incapable of even justifying the reason for their existence and seem downright as aimless as they are pointless. Concluding Thoughts This was the movie I wanted. I'm not saying everyone else has to think of the film exactly as I did, but for me, a guy who's been a brony since 2012, this was exactly the feature length, theatrical film version of MLP:FiM that I have wanted for years. It didn't try to do too much, but it also had a point and purpose for its existence. It wasn't revolutionary, but it was clearly ambitious and well-crafted all the same. It was mostly made for fans, but invited first-time viewers just enough that some might be willing to come back for seconds in the show itself if they paid attention closely enough. Most importantly, it accurately reflected and embraced everything we've come to love about the show itself through the years, but simply did so in a film format. At the end of the day, no matter how different it looks or sounds or how much longer it is or how many celeb voice actors it had, "My Little Pony: The Movie" is distinctly, unmistakably as much a part of that universe as anything from the show ever has been. No compromise, no watering it down, this was a pure, unadulterated MLP:FiM experience, a love letter to Generation 4 of My Little Pony and all of its fans, and a true testament to how wildly popular this show still is and how loyal its fans remain to both the show itself, but more importantly, its core themes and messages. As the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and the creators of "My Little Pony: The Movie" clearly recognized that they didn't exactly have to change all that much in translating this television show to the big screen. I thank them for that, for embracing this show and all of its elements, and for giving us a truly memorable, fun, and downright thoroughly enjoyable cinematic experience!

OK, so who are we going for tonight? Can we pleaseeeeeeeeeeee pick the toughest looking one this time? You mean Dragon Lord Ember? No, Kettle Corn... OF COURSE I MEANT EMBER! Mmmmmmmmm, I don't know... she seemed OK at first, but I still haven't recovered from Ember's massacre of a perfectly good muffin. Really mom? THAT POOR MUFFIN NEVER GOT TO FULFILL ITS DESTINY OF ENDING UP IN SOMEPONY'S STOMACH! IS THERE ANYTHING MORE TRAGIC?!?! .......... Yeahhhhhhhhhhh... anyway, who else? Oh! Oh! That purple pony I've never seen before is really nice and said she has a giant hammer! She'd be a GREAT member of the team!!! On what grounds? Um... grounds? *sigh* Why would she be a great member of the team? Hellooooooooooooo!!! Giant. Hammer. What part of that didn't you understand? Well I don't really know most of these other ponies, so I suppose that's as good of a choice as any. OK, last slot, who's it gonna be? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm... oooooo, that orange pony with the pretty, curly mane! ........ What? You looking to replace me or something? Oh Carrot, don't be so silly! SILLY?! I've got one of the only orange manes in town, how am I supposed to not feel threatened??? Carrot, you're my BFF forever and ever and ever. Pinkie Promise. Mmmmmmmmmmmm- OK, fine. So what do ya like about this mare so much anyways? I don't know. Just looking at her though makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and gives me the strangest urge to snuggle with my Doctor and hug my kids real tight. That's... an oddly specific way to react from seeing somepony for the first time ever. Yeah, I guess it is... ah well, let's vote for her! Suit yourself. Her mane's not that cute... CARROT, YOU'RE NOT GETTING REPLACED!!!

Sooooooo... I just talk into this thing and the moo-hams will hear me? Mhm, go ahead muffin, you got this! OK! Hello moo-hams, this is Dinky Doo! I just wanted to say that it'd be really cool if you voted for me, because I really like playing buckball and trying to save the world with my family, which we do way more than you'd probably think we'd have to, but it's OK cause it's lots and lots of fun! Everypony with me is still really nice... well, except for the scary mean cat lady... and the really whiny pony with a bun on his head... but everypony else has been super, super nice, and I'm sure they'd all be great in the second round too! But I just think it'd be really nice if you voted for me too, cause I think I could do a really, really, REALLY good job! Anything else? Ummmmmmmmmmm... oh! You should really vote for the rest of my family as well, cause I love them all a lot and they're all really good at saving the world too! I love mommy, and daddy, and Amethyst (even if she can be a poopy-head sometimes, but she opens the peanut butter jar for me whenever it's stuck, so that's really nice of her! Oh, and she's teaching me magic too since she's the only other unicorn in the family), and Miss Carrot Top, who even though we aren't related is still pretty much family, and... um... oh, Princess Luna, she hangs out with us sometimes and that's lots of fun! So, yeah, you should vote for all of those ponies too, because they're really nice and cool and lots of other good stuff. Did she seriously just call me a poopy-head? Anything else, Dinky? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... here's some pictures of me and mommy and my family! I don't know if you'll like 'em or not but maybe you'll want to vote for us more after seeing them? This is us outside daddy's magic phone booth with a giant muffin! This is me and mommy playing the snow! This is us at a tabletop RPG night that we did with a bunch of other ponies! We got to dress up like on Nightmare Night, except there wasn't any free candy. Dang it, Dinky, I thought we agreed we would never share that photo of me in public? Oh hush, you both look adorable and you know it. Mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! Sooooooooooo... yeah, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please *deep breath* please please please please please vote for me everypony! I'd really like it if you did! C'mon everypony, vote for my little muffin, there's still some time to do so!!!

I really don’t get the support for Commander Ironhead here, I really don’t. Sure he played a big role in Flash Magnus’s origin, but his impact on the show itself, even compared to background ponies, has been nil, so this feels like a Season 7 hangover getting him votes more than anything else. Dinky, on the other hoof, even though she’s never really been the center of attention save for a few very minor scenes, is far more beloved in the fandom as a whole, so I’d really like to see her grab that 2nd place spot instead. Same goes for Fleur or Little Pip, and the latter isn’t even a canon character but still, in the long run, will prove far more important to the fandom than Commander Ironhead. VOTE DINKY! VOTE LITTLE PIP! VOTE FLEUR!

Them's some fighting words, sir, and not the good kind. No time for my usual Hooves Family post now, but all I can say is she don't take too kindly to her little muffin's name getting dragged like that. Also, I think we need some clarification here, because now I'm confused. Is "Little Pip" the star of Fallout: Equestria, or Pipsqueak from the show? Because from what @Jeric said a few posts ago it sounds like it's show Pip, but I don't think his name has ever been Little Pip, and that is exactly the name of the Fallout: Equestria character.

Ooooooooooo, I am so angry right now! Now calm down sweetie, please! No! I refuse! These moo-hams are seriously picking scary Not-Celestia and scary Not-Rarity over my Doctor? Talk about bad taste! Gotta admit even I don't quite get this one. I mean, how are two magical, tyrannical overlords supposed to work on the same team when they BOTH want to conquer the world... for themselves? Oh you poor, silly, foolish mortals, you've got it all wrong. I don't want to conquer the world. Um... you don't? Nooooooo. I want to conquer THE UNIVERSE!!! Pffffftttttt... only the universe, darling? I would've expected more out of someone as, well... garishly gaudy as you. What. Did. You. Say??? Only that I wouldn't settle for one universe. Several sounds much nicer. Who said anything about only one?! Surely not I!!! Nay, I SHALL CONQUER EVERY KNOWN REALITY THAT EVER WAS, IS, AND EVER WILL BE!!! FOR I AM DAYBREAKER!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! ... ... ... ... SERIOUSLY, WHY ARE YOU IDIOTS VOTING FOR THESE TWO??? Mommy, why is she so loud? Because nopony ever taught her that it's polite to speak with your inside voice when around others, muffin. Uh, mom, you might not want to throw shade at the sun tyrant when she's right by dad. You dare criticize ME tiny grey pony! I do. Oh please, do tell, darling, why on earth you would? I need to hear this. Yesssssssssssssssssssss. Please, do tell. It's quite simple, really. You may be a tyrant of the sun, and you a (admittedly fabulous) tyrant of the moon, but I. I. AM. HIS. MUFFIN. AND. HE. IS. MINE!!!!!! And nopony threatens my muffin, my kids, my friends, Equestria, or anypony else I love!!! So let me make one thing clear: if you truly do both get the privilege to play buckball for the fate of the universe with my Doctor, my muffin, you'd best play your hardest, play as a team, and I swear, if I hear that you so much as harm a single hair on my Doctor's head, there is no place, no single, solitary corner of Equestria or any square inch in any single universe or reality where I won't be able to find you and do things to you that you will never be able to speak of until the end of time, for even the mere memory of it will make you shudder in fear!!! ... ... Do you believe her too? I'm. Not. Saying. Sheesh, mom. Where does all that come from? All from love, sweetie! Yayyyyyyyyy!!! We have the scariest mommy! You sure do, sweetie, you sure do. Don't worry though, ladies, I can handle these clowns. I have a phone booth after all! Wasn't it called something else? Shhhhhhhhhh, Carrot, they don't need to know that! I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU, OR YOUR PHONE BOOTH!!! Her on the other hoof... maybe. ... ... ... ... BOO!!! QUIT IT!!! Be safe, Doctor! Have fun storming the castle! Er, not sure there is one sweetie. Oh, I'm sure there'll be one at some point.

OK, as much as I hate to admit it, we may need the one scary changeling left in the world (as far as we know at least) to make it to the next round. I know she's kinda, ya know, evil and all, but she is pretty powerful nonetheless. Pass. No evil bug queen! Come on guys, don't make this a thing where I'm the contrarian with you guys every single time! Oh I'm not, Starry, but have you forgotten this little incident? OK, OK, OK, that's a fair enough point. Mhm. Nopony threatens my little muffins and gets away with it! Oh I'll change my tune the second she tries to make up for everything she's done, but right now she's still as evil as ever. So until that day of moral redemption from her comes she's on my... Dinky, cover your ears. OK! So as I was saying, until that day comes, she's on my shit list. Right, right, yeah, I get that. So who should we be sending forward instead? Well you know I'm a sucker for anyone donning a cape and cowl (like yours truly) so I figure Mare Do Well is a good rep! But... we don't even know who Mare Do Well is. All of the ponies who have been her before are present and accounted for, so... who is she? Don't care, as long as it's Mare Do Well, I'm cool with it. Well at least it's not too far out there as far as a team member goes. I gotta say that sky pirate is a pretty good choice too. Not that I'm endorsing piracy or anything, she just seems pretty friendly and seems to have a good head on her shoulders, especially when it comes to leading a team. So that just leaves the third spot. Oh oh oh! Quiet Pie, Quiet Pie!!! Her name's Marble Pie, Dinky. Yeah her. *sigh* Why? Cause she's super strong! What in Equestria makes you say that? In fact, where the hay is she even? Oh she's in a cave. What cave? A cave I saw her dig with her bare hooves when she got frightened by the scary bug queen and mean dragon and ran off. Oh... ... I guess she is strong. Yup! Good eyes, Dinky! So, uh, what do ya think is gonna happen if Chrysalis does end up on that team? Oh I wouldn't worry about that. I mean, who'd be stupid enough to vote for an unapologetically evil tyrant to be a part of one of 32 teams fighting to save our reality? *Derpy checks the votes* ... ... I am disappointed in you, moo-hams. Very, very disappointed. #VoteMareDoWell #VoteCaptainCelaeno #VoteMarblePie