Thrond

I think saddles are probably also worn for fashion, like all other clothes. 

1 hour ago, Feather Data said:

WHOA, Why place Magical Mystery Cure at the 2nd worst position?

I find its emotional tone extremely annoying because I don't think that episode makes a whole lot of sense. The swapped cutie marks are supposed to have big implications for the mane six's lives, but I don't understand why that makes them so bad at their new jobs, or why they keep doing it when they're bad at it. There are these big emotional songs happening pretty much back to back, but I don't buy into any of the emotions at all, so it all feels really forced to me. And I don't feel like the reason why Twilight became an alicorn princess is good enough, so that's extra fuel on that fire. 

FINALLY, I can put my overly-precise rating system to use. Wound up messing with the rankings a bit, because just plugging in the raw numbers made me feel like some episodes were too high or too low. Nevertheless, here it is, with added notes where the YouTube shorts, the 2017 movie, and "Rainbow Roadtrip" would fit in!

222. What About Discord?
221. Magical Mystery Cure
- Ail-icorn
220. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
219. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well
218. Games Ponies Play
217. Hard to Say Anything
216. Non-Compete Clause
215. Dragon Dropped
214. 2, 4, 6, Greaaat!
213. Tanks for the Memories
212. The Show Stoppers
211. Fluttershy Leans In
210. A Trivial Pursuit
209. Daring Done?
208. Honest Apple
207. Fame and Misfortune
206. The Parent Map
- Starlight the Hypnotist
205. Fake It Til You Make It
- My Little Pony: The Movie
204. Over a Barrel
203. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Part 1
202. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Part 2
201. All Bottled Up
200. The End in Friend
199. No Second Prances
198. Look Before You Sleep
197. Amending Fences
196. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows
- Rarity’s Biggest Fan
195. Princess Spike
194. Marks and Recreation
193. Made in Manehattan
192. A Matter of Principals
191. Sounds of Silence
- Triple Pony Dare Ya
190. Bats!
189. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
188. Spike At Your Service
187. Simple Ways
186. Rainbow Falls
185. Forever Filly
184. Applejack’s Day Off
183. The Cart Before the Ponies
182. Yakity Sax
181. Power Ponies
180. Apple Family Reunion
179. Shadow Play, Part 2
178. Shadow Play, Part 1
177. Bridle Gossip
176. Owl’s Well That Ends Well
175. Somepony to Watch Over Me
174. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
173. Twilight Time
172. Sweet and Smoky
171. Uncommon Bond
170. The Summer Sun Setback
169. It’s About Time
168. The Cutie Pox
167. Ponyville Confidential
166. Celestial Advice
165. The Last Laugh
164. She’s All Yak
163. Where the Apple Lies
162. The Mane Attraction
161. Canterlot Boutique
160. Scare Master
159. Campfire Tales
158. To Change a Changeling
157. Stare Master
156. The Cutie Re-Mark, Part 1
155. The Cutie Re-Mark, Part 2
154. Castle Sweet Castle
153. Buckball Season
152. Boast Busters
151. Surf and/or Turf
- The Great Escape Room
150. Every Little Thing She Does
149. Student Counsel
148. Green Isn’t Your Color
147. The Big Mac Question
146. Rock Solid Friendship
145. Maud Pie
144. One Bad Apple
143. Magic Duel
142. Just for Sidekicks
141. Hearthbreakers
140. 28 Pranks Later
139. Newbie Dash
138. Secrets and Pies
137. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000
136. The Beginning of the End, Part 2
135. Not Asking for Trouble
134. Too Many Pinkie Pies
133. The Beginning of the End, Part 1
132. Luna Eclipsed
131. Daring Doubt
- Mystery Voice
130. The Washouts
129. A Rockhoof and a Hard Place
128. Brotherhooves Social
127. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
126. It Isn’t the Mane Thing About You
125. The Last Crusade
124. Daring Don’t
123. Flutter Brutter
122. Appleoosa’s Most Wanted
121. School Raze, Part 1
120. Putting Your Hoof Down
119. Viva Las Pegasus
118. Spice Up Your Life
117. School Raze, Part 2
116. A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1
115. The Maud Couple
114. Grannies Gone Wild
- Teacher of the Month
113. She Talks to Angel
112. Gauntlet of Fire
111. Swarm of the Century
110. Father Knows Beast
109. Triple Threat
- Sundae, Sundae, Sundae
108. The Ticket Master
- Rainbow Roadtrip
107. What Lies Beneath
106. Pinkie Apple Pie
105. MMMystery on the Friendship Express
104. Family Appreciation Day
103. Uprooted
102. Trade Ya!
101. A Horse Shoe-In
100. The Hooffields and McColts
99. Call of the Cutie
98. Friendship University
97. Feeling Pinkie Keen
96. Hearth’s Warming Eve
95. The Ending of the End, Part 2
94. The Ending of the End, Part 1
93. A Dog and Pony Show
92. School Daze, Part 1
91. Applebuck Season
90. On Your Marks
89. Three’s a Crowd
88. Castle Mane-ia
87. School Daze, Part 2
86. Between Dark and Dawn
85. A Health of Information
84. Filli Vanilli
83. Parental Glideance
82. Griffon the Brush Off
81. The Break Up Break Down
80. Secret of My Excess
79. Sonic Rainboom
78. Dragonshy
77. The Cutie Map, Part 1
76. The Cutie Map, Part 2
75. Road to Friendship
74. The Last Problem
73. A Royal Problem
72. The Return of Harmony, Part 2
71. A Friend in Deed
70. Discordant Harmony
69. Inspiration Manifestation
68. Friendship is Magic, Part 2
67. Hearts and Hooves Day
66. Flight to the Finish
65. Friendship is Magic, Part 1
64. Winter Wrap-Up
63. Molt Down
62. The Crystal Empire, Part 1
61. The Crystal Empire, Part 2
60. The Return of Harmony, Part 1
59. Growing Up is Hard to Do
58. Equestria Games
57. Slice of Life
56. Once Upon a Zeppelin
55. It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies
54. Dragon Quest
53. Sparkle’s Seven
52. The Hearth’s Warming Club
51. Marks for Effort
50. Crusaders of the Lost Mark
49. Baby Cakes
48. A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2
47. Sweet and Elite
46. The Mean 6
45. Make New Friends but Keep Discord
44. To Where and Back Again, Part 1
43. To Where and Back Again, Part 2
42. The Perfect Pear
41. Common Ground
40. Frenemies
39. Dungeons & Discords
38. Keep Calm and Flutter On
37. Twilight’s Kingdom, Part 2
36. Twilight’s Kingdom, Part 1
35. A Bird in the Hoof
34. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
33. The Times They Are a Changeling
32. Going to Seed
31. The Gift of Maud Pie
30. Sisterhooves Social
29. Suited for Success
28. Fall Weather Friends
27. The Saddle Row Review
26. Sleepless in Ponyville
25. The Crystalling, Part 2
24. Party Pooped
23. The Crystalling, Part 1
22. A Flurry of Emotions
21. The Cutie Mark Chronicles
20. May the Best Pet Win!
19. Read It and Weep
18. Leap of Faith
17. Top Bolt
16. Best Gift Ever
15. The Point of No Return
14. Rarity Takes Manehattan
13. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
12. Bloom & Gloom
11. Party of One
10. Pinkie Pride
9. A Hearth’s Warming Tail
8. For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils
7. Wonderbolts Academy
6. The Last Roundup
5. Rarity Investigates!
4. Hurricane Fluttershy
3. Horse Play
2. The Best Night Ever
1. Lesson Zero

I always wished the show did more with her. I like her design a lot, and I generally felt that something about her mannerisms made her more relatable than Celestia and Luna. Even the little backstory we got from her told us that she was Twilight's foalsitter, and there was a heavy implication that she isn't nearly as old as the sisters. And she kept getting these moments where she stepped out of the pretty pink princess stereotype, like when she got all protective of Flurry Heart in the season 9 premiere. 

From what little I've seen, some of the comics develop her a little more, and I've heard that one of the chapter books gives her an interesting backstory. I've always liked her, so in that sense I do think she's underrated, but it's not surprising given that she was always sidelined in the show. 

I don't ship that much anymore - there's only a couple ships I'm onboard with that aren't unambiguously canon. I first got into shipping with AppleDash, because they had so many fun moments early on. I picked up Sunset Shimmer/Twilight Sparkle shipping in Rainbow Rocks and never made the switch to Sci-Twi. Somewhere around the middle of the show I had a shipping phase where I was happy to consider a variety of ships; I never gave up on AppleDash entirely, but there was a short period where I was into RariDash, mostly based on "Rarity Investigates" from season 5. 

Then none of my favourite ships got much attention in the last three or four seasons, and I sort of gave up on shipping altogether. It wasn't just because the ones I liked weren't popular; one of the things I always found refreshing in this show, even when I was a shipper, is that the main characters were single and most of them were okay with that. Though I still liked looking at AppleDash fan art from time to time.

Then that finale came along. I liked that CheesePie was canon; that was always a good ship. Also Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking about chores for some reason? That resurrected my interest in AppleDash big time. Meanwhile I'm in a weird place with FlutterCord where I accept it as canon but still don't really like it. I don't really ship Twilight or Rarity anymore, but I would like to imagine that at least the latter is married. I just don't know who she's married to. 

For all we know, these two might actually have been there for her, unlike her real parents.

1 hour ago, Scootaloo67575 said:

 actually  we did see Scootaloo real parent in the last crusade  and their name are snap shutter and mane allgood 

This thread was posted over a year before that episode aired and I don't think the OP wasn't being entirely serious. 

22 hours ago, Megas said:

Honestly the Dazzlings were better than 95% of the main roster of FiM's villains

A lot of them are kinda just generic cartoon villains, and most of either show's attempts at something deeper were pretty awkward. I felt like the season 9 trio worked for pretty much the same reasons the Dazzlings did, though. 

We know from Equestria Girls that first contact has already been made, and generally things have gone relatively well between ponies and humans. Though it's a good thing that Twilight Sparkle was the one to cross over and not someone like Neighsay. 

I generally felt like the quality of Equestria Girls in that short series was often higher than in Friendship is Magic proper when it was airing. The second season lost some momentum, but it was still solid. It generally stuck to character-driven comedy, which I really appreciated when the main show would often drift into rigid moral fables or bland adventures. This series made a coherent story out of chose-your-adventure videos, which is pretty impressive, if you ask me. But I also liked the idea of seeing these characters as teenagers in a mundane setting. It was very refreshing at a time when Friendship is Magic had accumulated a ton of baggage; it cut the show back down to what was important, which for me was mostly the characters. 

OK, updated for the end of the show... I'm gonna use the same good/average/bad system as @Dark Qiviut instead of my usual binary, but having had no chance to rewatch any of these episodes, here's my list from 2019.

1. The Point of No Return
2. Going to Seed
3. Frenemies
4. Common Ground
5. Sparkle's Seven
6. Growing Up is Hard to Do
7. The Last Problem
8. Between Dark and Dawn
9. The End of the End, Parts 1 and 2
10. A Horse Shoe-In
11. Uprooted
12. She Talks to Angel
13. The Last Crusade
14. Daring Doubt
15. The Beginning of the End, Parts 1 and 2
16. The Big Mac Question
17. Student Counsel
18. She's All Yak
19. The Last Laugh
20. Sweet and Smoky
21. The Summer Sun Setback
22. A Trivial Pursuit
23. 3, 2, 1, Greaaat!
24. Dragon Dropped

OK I have slightly different ideas now and also I'm gonna be more specific so: Mane Six ranked by how good they are at math, including some wild guesses: 

1. Twilight Sparkle (duh)
2. Rarity (probably great at accounting)
3. Fluttershy (Equestria Girls has shown us that she is very good at it)
4. Pinkie Pie (she knows many things, but math isn't her greatest skill)
5. Rainbow Dash (has a learning disability, does fine when she's taught the right way)
6. Applejack (generally doesn't seem to like math)

14 hours ago, HedonismBot said:

Especially considering that back in "Parental Glideance", Scootaloo complains that she didn't have anyone to properly support her. And when we actually see her family, suddenly she acts like she's okay with that. Does not compute.

I think a lot of what happens in "The Last Crusade" would have lined up just fine if only Scootaloo's attitude were different. After all, that's already an episode where Scootaloo has to show her parents that their parenting decisions are wrong. Making that story about how much Scootaloo has accomplished as a Cutie Mark Crusader is IMO the least interesting option. 

14 hours ago, HedonismBot said:

And yes, the way her condition was handled leaves much to be desired. We had multiple instances of her wishing she could fly, multiple examples of technology that could help her fly (if there's no hope of her doing so naturally), and never the briefest discussion of anypony helping her fly. The whole thing felt like even more evidence of her being neglected.

If they had actually tried to suggest that Scootaloo was neglected, I think that could have been a dramatic storyline that could have offered great bonding opportunities for her and Rainbow Dash. Would definitely have liked that more than "The Washouts."

But I dunno, I don't feel the show was particularly consistent in suggesting that Scootaloo wanted to fly. In both of the episodes that directly focus on her disability, it's more like she's pressured into caring about it, first by Diamond Tiara and then by Rainbow Dash. On the other hand she certainly talks about flying a lot, and gets multiple dream sequences where she flies. But I think if we had seen her not worry so much about flying, so the problem was instead that ponies don't accept her for who she is, that could have worked too. 

My beef with this show is mostly with what it did do rather than what it didn't. In terms of specific events and backstory, I got most of what I wanted. I just also got a lot of stories I didn't care about, and even the ones I did were wrapped in a general tone and storytelling formula that only ever seemed to move further and further away from what I originally liked about this show. 

Still, it might have been nice to get more of these:

• Princess Cadance. In general I found her way more relatable than Celestia and Luna, despite the fact that we never learned half as much about her. She's implied to still be relatively young, and as such she was always more grounded than the older alicorns despite the fact that we only ever knew her as an alicorn princess. But we only saw two sides of her at most, and barely any of either of them. I wish she was a more developed character; I loved it whenever she showed personality traits that countered the pretty princess stereotype, and what little scraps we got about her backstory seemed fascinating. 
• Rarity's parents. There were a bunch of episodes about the mane six's parents in seasons 5-7 and they were always really cute. Why did Rarity have to be left out? It also would have answered some questions about where Sweetie Belle lives, and I've always wondered exactly what Rarity's relationship with her parents is. 
• More from Rarity and Rainbow Dash's careers; alongside Applejack's, which we got a lot of and didn't change much over the course of the series, they're the only two that didn't eventually become completely arbitrary. Rarity managing her boutique chain and Rainbow Dash being a Wonderbolt were major highlights of the later seasons that delighted me every time they came up, so I would have loved to see more of them. And it would have been great to learn more about the people those two were working with. 
• I wish we had gotten a more coherent idea of Spike's past and future. Past, specifically, because I want to know who raised him... well, as long as it wasn't Twilight. Future, because I feel like the show didn't do enough to show him dealing with the absence of dragon parents in his life; that could have been a really interesting story.
• In retrospect I feel like the Cutie Mark Crusaders should have been split up more. We got a lot from Scootaloo, but I wish they handled some of the stuff around her disability and her family issues better. We sort of stopped getting Sweetie Belle stories after the trio got their cutie marks, which was a shame. And despite having a whole episode about it, Apple Bloom never quite seemed to forge her own path separate from the group or her family. 

On 2021-05-08 at 8:34 PM, Megas said:

Like they actually explained that they're never around for Scootaloo and they actually try to convince us that it's perfectly okay because they're the greatest ponies ever by basing them off real life heroes. But I'm sorry, that's a load of bullshit especially since one of those heroes always tried to be with his kids whenever he had the chance.

I'm in an odd position because I didn't recognize that inspiration, so I mostly saw that as a story about bad parents trying to be better and screwing it up. That's the general arc of the story, and I don't think it makes sense if Scootaloo's parents are supposed to be good at parenting. My problem is just that I don't know why Scootaloo still likes them so much. You could probably solve a lot of the problems with that episode by digging a bit deeper into that. It's all very watered down. 

On 2021-05-13 at 5:06 AM, Kujamih said:

You guys know there's a season 10 right?

And I'm telling ya it is awesome! The mane six left the school and left it to starlight. The mane six went on adventures and now exploring the whole continent!. They also showed pinkie and cheese sandwich flirting with each other!.... They're so CUTE!

You know... it would've been awesome if hasbro continued it on the television.... But the fandom became toxic and needed to make gen 5 to kill off some of the fans...

I really do need to catch up with the My Little Pony comics...

I don't really mind Spike. His characterization strikes me as relatively consistent, and he achieved most of his goals. I'm not as big a fan of some of the episodes where he just acts selfishly and has to learn not to be selfish, but I feel like most of the main characters have had a few episodes like that. I guess the two big changes I would make are: 1. deal with his crush on Rarity a lot earlier, and 2. explore his backstory in a bit more detail. I don't need his entire life story, but his relationship with Twilight is kinda confusing. 

I didn't really buy Gilda; her two appearances didn't really seem like the same character to me. The same is true of Ahuizotl more recently, though I kinda prefer the later version. Garble was one-dimensional enough that I could probably believe anything from him, but also I don't care about Garble. 

Discord and Starlight both made me kinda impatient, as being "reformed" didn't seem to stop them from doing awful things; Starlight was never really a favourite character of mine, but she eventually mellowed out, whereas I enjoyed Discord some 99% of the time but always felt he was a jerk. But at least the steps of their journeys made some sort of sense, even if I don't quite understand why the mane six tolerated them so much. 

Really, I generally like when characters are reformed in this show, and if anything I kinda wish it happened even more often. 

The Cutie Mark Crusaders started off as the characters whose episodes I dreaded in those first two seasons, and then grew on me as they became less obsessed with their cutie marks. I enjoyed most of their episodes from season 3 onwards, I would say. 

Starlight Glimmer actually repeated the pattern for me in the latter half of the series, where I had limited patience for her until season 8, when she became a bit more stable without just turning into off-brand Twilight. 

By the end of the series he still hadn't set out on his own, but it seems to me that he grew more and more independent and confident as the series went on. In season 1, he was entirely subordinate to Twilight, whereas by season 7 we have seen him going on his own adventures and befriending foreign leaders. And we see several steps of that process: in several season 4 episodes, he questions his own worth compared to his world-saving friends, and then in season 6 we see him making tough decisions independent of the ponies around him. His character development was still ongoing and relatively consistent in the later seasons, which is not always true for other characters. 

Honestly, I feel people unfairly dismiss Spike, and I'm not sure why. 

I don't really agree that his potential was wasted. I do wish we got a bit more from what it was like being raised by another species; we only got a few episodes here and there that vaguely hint at his relationship with Twilight, then two episodes at the end that skim the surface of that topic. Could have been more there. Otherwise, I felt like we got a lot out of him. 

As someone who thought the school generally made season 8 better - or at least that it showed off everything season 8 did well - I think the summer camp idea would help with some of the things that bugged me about it while keeping most of what made it so appealing. I think I would miss the part where Twilight gets to be a principal, and it would still seem weird that the mane six all have 2-3 jobs now (is Rainbow Dash still a weatherpony?), but it would still be better than teaching friendship in classes. 

I'm generally defensive of Neighsay, because I really like the idea of the main six fighting against xenophobia. I had hoped that he would be the main seasonal villain rather than the lesser evil. The problem of the mane six teaching pony values to non-ponies predates the school - the Cutie Map episodes often had the same implication - and I think the school is actually an improvement, because it's inclusive rather than intrusive. That is, the mane six are welcoming non-ponies into their school rather than going to another country and telling people how to behave. A way to fix the problem might be to have non-ponies inspired by the mane six become teachers, or at least yaks and hippogriffs, who already seem pretty friendly. But that introduces even more characters, and there's already too many. 

I liked the idea of Cozy Glow being a student because it seemed like she was just another part of the school storyline until suddenly she was too suspicious to ignore. Gaining people's trust so she can abuse it is pretty clever, and it's more clever if it's authority figures rather than some kids she just met. Having her be an outsider who infiltrates and steals McGuffins kinda seems like the same thing we got every year from this show; I've seen it. 

Would that seasonal storyline be the B-plot to the usual episodic stories? It seems like that could all be condensed into a single two-parter. I don't really mind the actual season 8 finale, I just think it needed tighter pacing. Honestly, what you're laying out doesn't seem that far off from what we got. 

The series has never really dealt with the problem of Equestrian magic leaking into humanland; I always thought it was setting that up for a later special that never happened. Tying the human Sunset Shimmer into that would have been extra cool. I always preferred the idea that she was just off somewhere else, but it would explain a lot if the Sunset we know somehow replaced her. I still wonder how innocent an alternate version of Sunset Shimmer could really be, but maybe she had her own redemption arc offscreen. 

At the same time, I just don't feel like Sunset's redemption arc was "ongoing," even in 2017. That was kinda my problem with "Forgotten Friendship" - I don't feel like it adds anything, because I don't think there's a lot left to add to that story. It would have been better to give her something new to worry about. 

Season 1: There's a purity to this season. It's simple, but the show's charm is there from the start. It doesn't try to be more than it is, and it's very good at being what it is. 

Season 2: The stories here dig a lot deeper than in season 1; I like this show the most when it's about anxiety, and this season focuses a lot more on what makes the mane six tick. And it does that while mostly keeping the vibe of season 1, which I love. After all this time, still my favourite season; there's only like one episode here that I don't have any fun with. 

Season 3: Not that many episodes I love here, but it's still pretty consistently charming. 

Season 4: Much as I disagree with the direction this season takes, I think it does the best job of pushing the show in a more mature direction without compromising its charm. It has a bit more worldbuilding, slightly deeper lessons, and a bit more continuity, but it's still mostly about the mane six and still has the lighthearted feel of the early seasons, though by this point it's starting to fade. 

Season 5: I don't like that many episodes here, but pretty much every episode I liked this season is among my favourites in the series. 

Season 6: Looking back on this season, it doesn't seem like it should work, but I still think this is by far the most enjoyable of the last five seasons. I think it's very funny, and I found it had a lot of fresh ideas for the mane six - a rarity in the latter half of the show.

Season 7: Twilight Sparkle episodes started being good again for the first time in four years. Really a bright spot in a season without a lot of those. 

Season 8: The school probably changed the series more than anything since Twilight became a princess. Even that turned out to be a gradual transition, though; season 8 actually feels like a big step forward in so many different ways. I wish I liked it more. 

Season 9: For how much I dislike the direction this season wound up taking, the finale had no business being as good as it was. 

12 hours ago, Califorum said:

I am one of only 2 people who voted for the 'I really liked it'.

Are you sure? The "really liked it" option seems to have 46 votes - that would be 

Quote

Loved it as much Rainbow and Scoots' sisterly love for eachother! (5/5)

The ones with only 2 votes are the "didn't like it" options. 

1 hour ago, Gorgan said:

I liked trixie is she on more episodes ?? 

yeah

6 hours ago, SUPERFOX5 said:

Plus, licenses can always run out and movies and shows get removed and rotated all the time. Copyright is really a pain.

I find myself streaming more often than buying discs, but this is maybe the biggest reason I haven't given up on physical media entirely. 

6 hours ago, SUPERFOX5 said:

I will usually prefer physical DVD and Blu-ray, due to the fact that Netflix and Disney Plus doesn't really have bonus features, and that is a shame.

You know, I always think that, and then I don't watch the bonus features. I'm still interested in special editions though because I like the box art.  

1 hour ago, Metal Brony 42 said:

It did in Australia, which I got. 

I had a feeling that database wasn't giving me the whole picture...

1 hour ago, Metal Brony 42 said:

Streaming is inferior because the bit rate is low. Even if it says HD, it is highly compressed. 

Yeah, I stream most of my movies and TV right now just because it's cheap and convenient, but I still buy Blu-rays for the best picture. Plus they don't rely on my inconsistent internet connection...