Sonic5421

I really liked this episode. Not only does Queen Novo permit the Friendship Express to build a railroad line to Mount Aris from Equestria, but even her people are allowed to ride on it because of the newfound friendship and alliance between their races. The Hippogriffs have rebuilt Hippogriffia back into its old splendor from the ghost town it was seen as in the movie, and things seem to be going fine with how many Hippogriffs have returned to Mount Aris while many chose to stay as Seaponies and live in Seaquestria. We also learn of what Silverstream showed back in the premiere with her necklace with being able to swap back and forth between Seapony and Hippogriff form as Queen Novo decided to break her Pearl of Transformation down into smaller fragments that her people could wear as necklaces, allowing them to switch back and forth at will. Other than that, we see the Crusaders summoned by the map to aid Silverstream's brother with figuring out where he belongs in terms of having his father as a Hippogriff on Mount Aris and his mother remaining a Seapony in Seaquestria. When Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo find themselves preferring one location over the other, it leads to them getting into an argument and leaving Apple Bloom to try and mediate between them until Twilight arrives to sort things out and see for herself why Silverstream's brother is having so much trouble with his indecision until she sees the Hippogriffs and Seaponies meeting up for friendly conversation, including Silverstream's parents, giving her a great idea. The Crusaders bring Silverstream's brother back to see the Hippogriffs and Seaponies getting along with a beach-side picnic, and his parents apologize for putting so much pressure on him to decide which life is better and allow him to travel back and forth as he has been doing, which he is happy with, completing the Crusaders' mission from the map. All in all, I enjoyed this episode, especially being located at Mount Aris and Seaquestria, and I give it a 10/10 for my score.

Him getting fired for his biased prejudice is one thing. However, resigning in shame and disgrace upon being proven wrong about his belief would be a better option for him. He believes that Twilight's school could ruin Equestria by teaching friendship to the other races, who would then use those lessons to take advantage of the ponies and conquer them. However, if in the season finale, Sandbar and his friends prove him wrong with helping save everyone from Lord Tirek and possibly Chrysalis, he'll realize he was wrong in his beliefs, apologize to Twilight, Celestia, and the guardians of the non-pony students, and resign out of guilt and remorse for his actions.

I generally liked this episode. We get to see some of the senior members of the Apple Family appear again in Auntie Applesauce, Apple Rose, and Goldie Delicious, and see Las Pegasus again. While I loved how Rainbow wanted to ride on the roller coaster that the rest of the Wonderbolts had ridden on before it closed for good, I really don't appreciate how hard Applejack pressed home how Rainbow was responsible for Granny Smith and the others with making sure they stayed safe. It was clear the senior Apples wanted some excitement in their lives, and knew Applejack was always being too over-protective of them, and it wasn't until Rainbow ruined their big moment in the magic show that they chewed her out for it. Once they learned this was all Applejack's fault for putting so much pressure on Rainbow, they used their VIP passes as the Gold Horseshoe Gals to get Rainbow to the front of the line so she could still ride the roller coaster, and made her an honorary member on the way home to Ponyville, with the agreement to have her join them again next year. Great episode, so I'm giving it a solid 9, possibly a 9.5/10 as my score.

It was nice to see Rarity's Manehattan store again, alongside her employees there, and Sassy at the fashion show in Canterlot. As for Fluttershy, it is understandable that she took the advice of her racoon friends who worked in Rarity For You to try and help Rarity's customers, but she took it too far once she started overdoing it and hurt the feelings of her animal friends. Kind of weird that it wasn't until Rarity fired her three different personas that Fluttershy regained control of herself and apologized for her behavior and letting things get out of hand like they did. Either way, nice episode, and I give it an 8.5/10.

I have to admit, it was nice to see all four of the Pie sisters again in yesterday's new episode involving Maud having a boyfriend now. First time watching it though, I thought Pinkie may have been taking things a little too far with her worry about Maud and her boyfriend, to the point she nearly lost her sanity and went back to stay on the family rock farm. However, thanks to a pep talk regarding geodes from Marble and Limestone, Pinkie is able to make amends with Maud and her boyfriend, we get a cameo from the Mane Six with the party at the end, and Pinkie is still best sisters forever with Maud, and is getting used to her boyfriend's outside appearance and manners. I'll give this episode a 9/10 for my rating.

I'm liking Silverstream myself. As for being a cousin to Princess Skystar, I'm willing to accept that, though in terms of which relative to Queen Novo makes Silverstream a maternal or paternal niece is unknown, so it is worth discussing for the time being as the season makes progress.

Sorry for the late post during the debut of the Season 8 premiere, but I have to admit I was impressed with it, if the reactions of the leaders or representatives of the various allies of Equestria was a little extreme for something as minor as the kids going MIA after being insulted by Chancellor Neighsay because of his biased prejudice. With the Cutie Map having expanded to include all the new areas outside Equestria's borders, including Mount Aris, Klugetown, Captain Celaeno's airship, and more, Twilight decides to open a School of Friendship, but asks Celestia for advice about it due to Celestia's own experience with the School for Gifted Unicorns. However, Twilight is directed to speak to the EEA, led by Neighsay, voiced by our old friend, The Brain. Though Neighsay is supportive of the school, he only gives it a trial run until he sees how things go personally before giving it the full EEA support. He's unaware that Twilight has agreed to allow students from Equestria's various allies to attend as well, including the dragons, yaks, griffons, Hippogriffs, and Changelings, with us being introduced to the envoy for Queen Novo in Seaspray, and Grampa Gruff representing Griffonstone and Gilda. However, when Neighsay's visit to the school results in being there when the non-pony kids cause problems and damage the school, he is outraged by Twilight essentially violating one of his personal sacred cardinal rules of the EEA guidebook with having non-pony students enrolled in the school, driving a rift into the alliances with Rutherford, Ember, Thorax, and the others with his insults regarding them, and shuts the school down on his authority, leaving Twilight heartbroken. Only through a tough love pep talk from Starlight, complete with cutting Twilight off mid-sentence with sending the EEA rule book to the lake bed does she convince Twilight to give the school another chance, only to soon learn that the non-pony students have run off, not wanting to be separated after the school was closed, resulting in the various leaders and representatives threatening military action if the students are not found soon. After the Mane Six rescue the kids from trouble at the Castle of the Two Sisters and reveal the severity of the situation do they return to the school as Celestia arrives with the representatives. Once the kids explain they want to stay and learn, Twilight still has to contend with Neighsay, still adamant about keeping the school closed and locked without his authority, and still continuing his prejudice against the non-pony races. Twilight and Celestia manage to tell him off about how ponies and the other races can co-exist, just like the three pony tribes so long ago, but Neighsay is unconvinced, leaving in a fury with the belief that the School of Friendship would still bring ruin to Equestria. Despite Neighsay being stone-hearted about accepting the truth, the school is reopened, the races make amends and restore their alliances, and things look to be looking up for Equestria in the near future. Great premiere, and I give it a good 10/10 as my rating for it.

Trust me, you're not the only one haunted by this image with Chrysalis looking and sounding even more evil than what we saw in the Season 2 finale. That's why I marked this as my least favorite finale after laying eyes on it.

No, I didn't. I caught that part, and I agree. Having them look like they were semi-conscious in the cocoons rather than sleeping peacefully was going too far on the creepiness of the moment. Animators should have toned it down a bit.

That much I would agree with, though it still leaves a lot of scratching heads regarding how Chrysalis pulled it off to get 12 main characters back to her hive and hung in cocoons over her throne without alerting anyone except for Sunburst and Starlight.

I agree. That was just a huge dose of Nightmare Fuel with seeing them like that without any knowledge or information on how they were kidnapped in the first place and put in the cocoons to begin with. It was essentially what happened to Celestia in A Canterlot Wedding, only taken Up To Eleven in To Where and Back Again. One Princess floating inside a cocoon that looks like it is breathing is bad enough. Multiply it by five Princesses, five Ponyville mares, one unicorn Prince/Captain of the Royal Guard, and a baby dragon with Chrysalis actually clinging to the cocoons the Royal Sisters are in, and I'm about ready to turn into a Boomer and puke all over the place from even looking at it, if only for a second.

I saw this special yesterday, and I was very impressed by it. First thing on the list, we see the Mane Six in their new outfits seen in the stuff that's been posted online. Then we are introduced to a new student in Wallflower Blush, a student whom Sunset or the others should recognize from a previous grade. However, when Sunset brings up her past regarding when she was the school bully before turning over a new leaf thanks to Princess Twilight, things seem to be going good for her. She does not notice a strange event that night when strange magic swirls through the air before gathering in the woods behind the school. However, the next day, when she arrives on the beach, none of the Rainbooms recognize her, with the Humane Five thinking she's still the school bully and Twilight only remembering when Sunset yelled at her at the Friendship Games. Concerned, she decides to contact Princess Twilight, and returns to Equestria to speak to her in person. Unable to solve it herself, Twilight takes Sunset to Canterlot to meet with the Royal Sisters, despite Sunset's worry about how Celestia will react to seeing her again. Once Sunset pleads her case to Celestia and explains that she's changed for the better since they last saw each other, Celestia shows she's not angry with Sunset, just happy to see her again after so long, and the former student and teacher reunite at long last. Shortly thereafter, Celestia and Luna take Sunset and Twilight to the Canterlot Library to access the Restricted Section, knowing something there would help them. They soon find information from Clover the Clever regarding the Memory Stone, a device that can erase memories, with the only way to reverse it being to shatter the stone. Imbued with that knowledge, Sunset returns to the human world to try again with the Rainbooms to get them to remember her, then loses her temper with Trixie when she believes Trixie used it to get back at her for not putting her in the Yearbook. When Trixie sees Sunset is in trouble, she agrees to help her out. They soon find that they've checked all of the Wondercolts, who also have had any good memories of Sunset removed like the Rainbooms, save for Wallflower, who reveals how she came across the Memory Stone when working on the school garden on her own as the only member of the gardening club, and wanted revenge on Sunset for being ignored and invisible to everyone. Sunset's attempts to grab the stone fail when Wallflower uses it to escape from her and Trixie, but thanks to following the tips of how Clover pursued the original sorceress who acquired it, she is able to remember it is Wallflower and chase her down, confronting her outside in front of the Rainbooms. Still incensed with Sunset, Wallflower prepares to erase the Rainbooms' entire memory of high school, which would destroy their friendship completely, but Sunset takes the hit meant for them, willing to sacrifice her own memories she has of them to protect them. Horrified and touched by Sunset's sacrifice, the Rainbooms come to her aid, calling her their friend, invoking the magic of their geodes, allowing them to pony up into new outfits, which I like compared to the Crystal Guardian ones from Legend of Everfree, and shatter the Memory Stone just in time, restoring all the memories Wallflower took with it. After the Humane Seven reunite, Wallflower apologizes for her actions, too blinded by her bitterness to see what she was doing was wrong, and Sunset also apologizes for ignoring her, allowing Wallflower a fresh start with making friends with the Rainbooms, and encouraging the students to join Wallflower in the gardening club, earning her a spot in the Yearbook with signatures from her new friends. Very great special, with my favorite part being Sunset and Celestia finally reuniting after so long. Definitely a 10/10 from me.

I'm kind of surprised it will be released in stores on my birthday, which is January 9th after all.

I'm going with either Chrysalis or Lord Tirek myself, especially since their plans revolved around revenge for a past defeat and nearly won had it not been for a last minute save regarding either the upgraded Elements of Harmony, or Starlight using diplomacy to convince the Changeling Swarm to turn on their leader when they heard the truth. And with Season 8 foreshadowing Chrysalis and Tirek returning for possibly another bout with getting revenge on the Mane Six, Royal Family, and Equestria, they do not deserve any kind of mercy like Starlight tried to show Chrysalis in the Season 6 finale. For all I care, they can either rot in Tartarus, or be wiped from existence so they won't threaten another pony, royal or otherwise, at all.

I think this is one of my favorite finales out of the series so far. Not only do we finally see Star Swirl the Bearded after so many mentions during the course of the series, but also all the Pillars from the Legends of Magic comics. Also, we get a cameo appearance from our old enemies from Rainbow Rocks, the Dazzlings, when the Pillars fought them and first banished them to the human world all that time ago. Not to mention that once everything is set and done, Star Swirl is given a chance to meet his former pupils in the Royal Sisters after so long, who are hoping to have him return to Canterlot to continue his teachings with the new generation of ponies. However, Star Swirl feels that he and the other Pillars need some time to explore Equestria and see how much has changed over the last 1,000 years before they settle down and get used to life in the modern world. Celestia and Luna accept their decision, but hope they return to Canterlot on occasion to spread their experience to today's ponies so the Magic of Friendship can become even stronger thanks to them. Twilight really showed some character development here. As far as she was concerned, she wanted to meet Star Swirl after so long, but because she undid his spell and released the Pillars and the corrupted Stygian from limbo, Star Swirl was deeply upset with her actions, since she never considered the consequences for if she even tried to undo the spell in the first place. Hoping to make it up to him, she tried to improve on his banishment spell so the Pillars could stay in present day Equestria, even if it meant the loss of the Elements of Harmony in the process. Though Star Swirl was still upset with her, the Mane Six rally to her defense and convince him to look the spell over after all, convincing him to get her support to finish it before confronting Stygian. In the process, Twilight begins to lose faith in friendship solving the problem as she begins to believe there's no way to help Stygian and the Elements have to be sacrificed to stop him, but when Starlight tells her that had she been in Stygian's hooves at the time, she probably would have met the same fate, Twilight begins to reconsider that this is a friendship problem after all between Stygian and the Pillars. When it comes time to send Stygian back to limbo, Twilight prepares to follow Star Swirl's orders, when she hesitates upon seeing Stygian's true self trying to separate from his dark side. Confronting him within the Pony of Shadows, Twilight gets the full story of how Stygian only wanted to become the Pillars' equal, ally, and friend, never to take their power for his own gain. Realizing their error in judgement in not taking into account listening to Stygian's side of the story, the Pillars regret sending him down his dark path to becoming the Pony of Shadows, and together with the Mane Six, Starlight, and Sunburst, they are able to pull Stygian free of his dark side and leave it to be sucked back into limbo for eternity. As a result, Star Swirl apologizes to Twilight for his lack of faith in the Magic of Friendship, and gains a newfound respect for her for having proven to him and the Pillars just how powerful the Magic of Friendship truly is, even to legends such as themselves. Amazing finale, and on a scale of 1 to 10, I give this a full 10/10.

I can't believe they are bringing this monster back. Among all the villains the Mane Six and Royal Family have dealt with over the course of the series, Chrysalis and Lord Tirek are the worst, and both of them coming back in Season 8 could spell disaster for the Mane Six and Royal Family as they deal with them once and for all. Perhaps my belief that Chrysalis will be condemned to Tartarus if she refuses to repent and becomes Lord Tirek's roommate might be possible next season.

I really liked this episode involving Starlight and Sunburst. Not only do we see Maud, Trixie, and Twilight in it, but we see that Sunburst does have a few things in common with them as well, such as archeology, antiques, and slight-of-hand tricks. Starlight had hoped that she and Sunburst could spend some time together with some of the stuff they still enjoyed, but due to Sunburst enjoying things that Twilight, Trixie, and Maud liked, Starlight began to feel left out and tried a desperation move with turning the throne room and herself and Sunburst back to their childhood home for playing their favorite game, but when Sunburst did not want to play, fed up with the lengths Starlight was taking things, Starlight felt utterly crushed that Sunburst no longer wanted to share the things they enjoyed anymore. To make it up to her, Sunburst consults Twilight, Trixie, and Maud about what they have in common with Starlight, then with their help, sets up a life-sized version of the board game he and Starlight used to play, restoring their friendship. However, after Sunburst leaves to return to the Crystal Empire, we see that, within the mystery barrel he bought back at the antique shop, the lost journal of Star Swirl the Bearded is among what's inside, foreshadowing the season finale. Because of that, I give this episode a 10/10 for my score.

For being an episode centered on Rainbow and Pinkie, with regards to the most recent comic of the main series that has been released, this was a pretty funny episode. Rainbow only wanted to share the joy of getting pies from Pinkie by giving them to other ponies, but as far as Pinkie was concerned at first, Rainbow was enjoying them, but then realizes that Rainbow had been passing them on to other ponies, making her believe Rainbow hated her pies and had been lying to her about liking them for so long. Everything Pinkie tries to get Rainbow to eat one results in where she keeps her eyes glued on Rainbow, hoping that she can prove her wrong, but when Pinkie blinks and Rainbow thinks fast with getting rid of it, that's all it takes for Pinkie to realize Rainbow hates her pies. Rainbow tries to reason with her, but when the pie she just got rid of splatters on Pinkie, that's the last straw, and Pinkie storms off in anger. Talking with Twilight and Applejack about it later, Rainbow realizes there's only one way to apologize to Pinkie, and offers to eat a very disgusting and poorly made pie from garbage in front of her. However, Pinkie finally realizes the real reason why Rainbow did what she did, and the two friends make amends. Pretty good episode, so I'll give it a 9/10.

I have been wondering where Shining Armor and the Royal Guard should have been during all this. With his wife, little sister, and the co-sovereigns of his country all together for a big event that hundreds of ponies are going to be at, Shining Armor should have been there to provide security with his men, even if it meant he would've met the same fate as Celestia, Luna, and Cadence with being encased in obsidian as a member of the Royal Family. Perhaps he was taking care of Flurry Heart with Sunburst back in the Crystal Empire, and when he saw the airships heading for Canterlot, he feared the worst and realized that the Crystal Empire might be next, so he chose to stay there and set up defenses, not to mention how long it would've taken for reinforcements to reach Canterlot, even by train. They'd be no match for the Storm Guards already in the capital and be slaughtered, if not enslaved with everyone else instead to show that even the kingdom's own military is no match for that of the Storm King and his forces.

I really liked this episode since we got to see Twilight enjoy some quality time with her whole family, including her mom, dad, B.B.B.F.F., sister-in-law, and niece. Also of interest is the return of Iron Will after so long, trying his hand at another business venture after the last one went bust. Twilight had hoped to spend some quality time with her family, including seeing the Northern Stars with them, but had to contend with her duties with all the activities that Iron Will had set up that dragged on for so long that Twilight missed many of the things she wanted to do. Missing the Northern Stars to sign autographs was the final straw for Twilight, and she snapped at her family and Star Tracker over her vacation being ruined because of her obligations for Iron Will. Deciding to have a heart-to-heart talk with her sister-in-law, Cadence explains how she was able to re-work her own schedule after Flurry Heart was born, and encourages Twilight to try and do the same so she can have that quality time with her family like she wanted. Taking Cadence's advice to heart, Twilight apologizes to Star Tracker and takes the family out for ice cream, but when Iron Will tries to take advantage of it, Star Tracker stands up to him, then Twilight explains everything to the other guests that she just wants some privacy with her family. Accepting her wishes, the guests turn their attention to Iron Will for having ruined Twilight's family time because of his actions. Trying to explain the fine print in the contracts gets him no where, so Iron Will chooses to cut his losses and escape, so at least his latest venture was not a total bust, if his parachute is any indication of that. Some time later, Twilight's family make it up to her by putting on their own version of the Northern Stars for her, and the family share a happy family group hug as the airship returns to Canterlot as the sun rises, and the Northern Stars pass over one more time. I really loved this episode that focused on Twilight's family, loved Shining Armor having a bad case of airsickness, and the return of Iron Will the Minotaur after so long. This episode gets a 10/10.