DuskUnicorn

*GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!* OMC! We'd have to throw her a party of course!! *Runs off!*

I really enjoyed this episode. Both the continuity and callbacks to earlier episodes, and that we get actual character changes to Spike this far into the show! But on a more personal note, I was very happy to see some head canon finally become show canon! Back in 2012 I had an online RP that revealed and centered on there being a Roc in the Everfree (called "Roc'in' the Everfree"). Another one to check off finally. :-)

All good ideas. Myself I feel the years are fairly normal length relative to ours, or at least have some fixed schedule. If recall in Winter Wrap Up they sing that spring was coming tomorrow, and was mentioned a couple of times about going to be late, and having been late in past years. And we haven't seen the CWC or the Cake babies growing up any, so even with 8 show seasons for us it would make sense it hasn't been 8 years in Equestria. And it's a very common cartoon thing that there isn't a lot of time advancement and characters don't get noticeably older. Thus the whole 9 month thing kind of sticking out.

Yeah that was my big take-away for this episode. Time can really flow strangely in this show. We can go multiple seasons with less than a year going by (from S2 May the Best Pet Win when Dash first meets Tank and makes him her pet, to S5 Tanks for the Memories, when he has his first winter and needs to hibernate). Then we have something like this, where within a couple of episodes at least 3/4s of a year has gone by. Of course here it was for the visual gag and setting up the reason for the competitiveness. If it wasn't for that I suspect the writers wouldn't have wanted to imply so much time passing.

Nice! Sure I guessed guessed how the main plotline was going to go, as I suspect most did. But was still a fun ride and great bits. If there was a pony that would break a relation (with or without explanation), Mac would be it. He's gone from being shippable with Fluttershy when they were singing. To his love-poisoned relation with Cheerilee, which later seemed like might be turning into more of a real relation when she was going gaga over him singing. And in Hearthbreakers he and Marble Pie were pretty much an official couple. Then she's gone and he's got Sugar Bell. So could he end up with yet another? Sure. Loved having an episode focusing on Spike, Discord, and Mac again. Can always use more Discord! Also great that came probably as far as Hasbro will in a MLP cartoon of a same-sex relation with Lyra and Bon Bon. Certainly seem more than friends, with the H&HD gifts, hugs, and nuzzling too. Pretty unlikely you're going to see a kiss. Even with Cranky and Matilda they cut the scene short of seeing them kiss. And Spike was great. His poem for Rarity and his infatuation with bone warrior Skelanor all in the same episode. :-) I think he has similar feelings when he saw dragon Princess Ember. :-)

It seems that ponies have an acutely short term memory unless they have something specifically pointed out. This applies to lessons learned, personal traits of other ponies they know, or even their own personal natures (loyalty, generosity, etc.). I was thinking this back from the first season, where we had the Mane Six that had saved the town and even all of Equestria multiple times, yet even the ponies in their own small town they lived in didn't even seem to notice them, much less treat them as the heroes they were. The Elements of Harmony, ponies. Come on. :-) Then there was quite a series of episodes where one or another of the Mane Six had to relearn something fundamental to their own nature that they already learned in a prior episode even. And little things like this, where anypony knows shouting at and stressing Fluttershy isn't going to do anything productive. Or a very recent episode starting with Dash pranking Fluttershy, yet back in season one, Griffon the Brush Off, both Pinkie and Dash herself agreed you can't prank Fluttershy because even their most harmless one would hurt her feelings. So just accept that ponies have a long term memory issue and are going to repeat many of the things they learned. Probably why they don't have prisons and such and generally forgive ponies if they just apologize (even if you imprisoned and enslaved the entire town), as nopony is probably going to even be thinking of it in a week from then. :-)

Well that was part of it. Applejack and Dash are great players, but not such good coaches, as they didn't have the skill of picking up on what motivates individual players and using that to best advantage.