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Malcontent

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  1. Malcontent
    Greetings, this is a general update on the state of Equestrian City!
     
    Episode 2 and 3 are available on both dA and Fimfiction at the moment. ED I haven't heard a thing from yet.
    The main Table of Contents for the comic has been updated on the main site and at dA in our supergroup! All links are below!
     
    Main Table of Contents for the Comic Equestrian City Supergroup on DeviantArt Equestrian City Episode 2 Equestrian City Episode 3 Equestrian City on FimFiction  
    Thanks for reading!
  2. Malcontent
    As the author Equestrian City, it’s no secret I’m partial to Equestria Girls. In my humble opinion, it’s got far more potential for storylines that are relatable to modern issues, not that the MLP show isn’t good at it, but it feels more real.
     
    That and it has Sunset Shimmer. Sunset is by far the most 3 dimensional character they’ve ever made, even more so due to the fact she was, by best I can tell, supposed to be a throwaway character for the one off movie “Equestria Girls”. She turned into something must more, my adoration for her is no real secret either.
     
    Each year, it became like a superbowl like wait for that years “Equestria Girls” movie, the best being, again in my own opinion, Rainbow Rocks.
     
    So when I heard we were doing three shorts, immediately my hopes of a unlimited series for Equestria Girls soared, as most are aware. The Polish dubbed versions came out to give us a sneak peak, and of course then the English dubs came out, followed by the actual reveal recently on Discovery Family.
     
    The first of which, I’ll give my two cents on now, since, well everyone and their brother, sister and mother have already posted theirs, why not me?
     
    Dance Magic
     
    The title and theme song are, lack luster, but I imagine it will be that way, since it’s really just prototypes.
     
    My initial thoughts were “Oh great, they are just doing this one to burn off a song they didn’t use in Friendship Games” and thankfully, it was more amusing than just that. The feeling of familiarity came back immediately as I watched the opening, listening to all the voices I’ve come to love. I was thrilled that we were going to see Rarity do something rather than be window dressing. I’ve always thought she needed more work, thankfully, they seem to be listening recently in the main show But, I was further overjoyed by the fact that one of the biggest letdowns of the Friendship Games (one of many) was the lack of use of any of the Anti-Mane 6 they worked on hyping up and then barely got any interaction with.
     
    This time we get to see Sour Sweet, Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat and Sunny Flare, the analogues to various Mane 6 members. Sunny Flare was nice to see, as she got one line in the movie, and oddly, by the midway point, they felt twice as fleshed out as they did in the 3rd movie.
     
    I’m still a bit in the middle about how quickly these girls reform (it seems we’re all about reforming people, if we keep this up we’ll have no villains ;/ ) But, by the time we get to the solution of the problem in a tidy package of 22 minutes, it doesn't even feel like the dance number (which includes a set of repeated animation, but I can forgive that for this time, it’s all proof of concept it seems for a series “Can we do it” sorta thing)
    As the episodes winds down after Pinkie’s rather epic rapping, we come to the conclusion that these four of Crystal Prep are in fact now friends, despite all the hopes some had that they’d return like the Dazzlings might, later.
     
    Overall, it’s a lovely episode, feels a bit typical. Here’s something I’ve somewhat noticed having watched them all several times in various languages. Each episode seems to be a audition in a way. This one is a typical MLP-ish episode.
     
    Problem presented. Solution Given Speedbump. Readjust Solution. Epilogue. Sprinkle in a song somewhere and you’re done.  
    The 2nd one is more an homage to Scooby Doo, although the mystery is really easy to guess, and the third one is trying to compress a movie battle AND a cross over into 22 minutes, which, well I’ll go into that later
     
    Anyway, thanks for the read, and by all means, please discuss in a civil way, I LOVE to interact and bounce ideas off.
     
  3. Malcontent
    I consider myself a reasonable person. Who doesn't?
     
    SPOILERS for 3rd Equestria Girl Short. STOP NOW if you don’t want them. I’ll remove this WARNING when the episode airs.
     

     
    Starlight Glimmer was introduced, among other reasons, to help be new viewer’s guide to the show. I get that. It’s a great idea. Bravo. The more the merrier. More people means more ratings. More ratings means more episodes. Maybe even Equestria Girls the series.
     
    I recently had the chance to watch the 3rd Equestria Girl short, and I was pumped. I was hoping we’d have Twilight Prime or Celestia run into Sunset. Maybe have that wonderful heartfelt “I was wrong!” “I know” moment we all in one way or another, envision!
     
    I was extremely disappointed. Not because I didn’t see any of that. I’m fine with that. More suspense the better.
     
    First. Lets recap Starlight Glimmer.
     
    I’ve said in my early reviews when we first met Starlight Glimmer that my first impression was that of joy. Starlight was presented as a veiled homage to both Socialism and the Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union. I loved that. She had no regrets about what she was doing. She thought she was doing the right thing. Most well rounded villains do. She used a Plot Device to steal Cutie Marks and make everyone Equal. Because when everyone’s equal, no one is better. That's the problem with socialism and communism however, it’s never that easy. There’s always someone in charge. Corrupt most often than not, who keeps the status quo with the help of devoted brainwashed minions. The same was true in Starlight’s village.
     

     
    When the whole thing comes crashing down around her, she does what any good villain does: she runs. When cornered, she tries to flat out KILL the Mane 6. If Twilight hadn’t had her barrier spell, she would have succeeded. Then came the moment of truth. The moment I might add that Sunset Shimmer (who I’m convinced was a prototype for Starlight) choked at. When classically our villain should have a small breakdown and repent, and be accepted and not executed for their crimes, Starlight does not.
     
    I was overcome with hope that we’d finally gotten on the right path of balancing realism and cartoonism lessons.
     
    Starlight vows REVENGE.
     

     
    She does, quite frankly, what I would have done. For the rest of the season she spies on Twilight and her friends to find out just HOW they beat her, and what she can take away from Twilight to make her feel as awful as she does. Thus making all things equal again. She then waits for the proper moment and tool to strike with: The Time Spell we all but forgot existed from seasons past. Using it, she does, again, what I would have done: she goes back and stops the Rainboom that began the lives of all the Mane 6 from happening. Problem solved. The final part of any revenge plan is to make sure your target knows who destroyed them. Often a pitfall of villains, but still important. What goods the work if no one knows? So Starlight does in fact, let Twilight know who is responsible. Then the moment I personally was waiting to find out: What horrific event made this monster?
     
    Villains aren’t born. They are made. Something tragic usually. Personal, and always life altering.
     
    Starlight gives us her backstory, finally, and despite the fact it kind of resembles what I thought was going to happen to the Cutie Mark Crusaders when one got their mark (by the way, what a cop out :P) it was comic book perfect. We learn that unlike the wonderful happy friends that the Mane 6 are, Starlight didn’t get her Cutie Mark when her best friend did. When he did (which apparently was for being able to sort by the dewey decimal system I guess?) his family showered him with enough praise and uplifting that anyone would be upset, let alone our villain. He quickly disappeared out of her life, leaving her alone. The most important thing to any pony, had made HER the most miserable one.
     

     
    She didn’t want that to happen to anyone else. So she started (with Maud’s help it seems) her plan for the village. Then it was destroyed by Twilight, making it extremely personal. Bringing us to the end of that season where Starlight is literally inches away from winning, and she chokes. Somehow, the Magic of Friendship wins, making her an instant friend. I’m all for the lesson that “why make enemies when we can make friends” don’t get me wrong. It’s something that needs to be instilled more and more each generation. But, we can’t be so naive to let the lesson be that if you try hard enough it will ALWAYS happen.
     
    Try that the next time you are mugged at gunpoint
     
    So, thus Starlight joins our merry crew of ponies and despite the fact she’s new and knows she makes mistakes, she’s able to learn fast! She learns in half a season or so what it took us 4 seasons to teach everyone else, and THEY are supposedly the elements avatars. Starlight is not. Yet there she goes, excelling.
     

     
    The unthinkable happens: the 2 demigod like sisters, Luna and Celestia, and everyone else that actually matters to the world, are replaced in a two parter that I loved as a callback to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The Queen who was in the finale of season 2 came back and hatched an evil scheme, and unlike Starlight, actually did something right. Gathering the best of our backdoor favorites: Discord, The Great and Powerful Trixie, and Thorax who gets the silver medal one becoming the fastest friend we EVER pick up, form a Suicide Squad to get everyone back!
     
    Because if a seemingly immortal alicorn, her sister, and her student, her student’s hand chosen friends and the rest of the royal family can’t, clearly what we need are Jobbers But I’ll be damned if they don’t pull it off, thanks to STARLIGHT’S plan. Which looks like she’s making up as she goes along.
     

     
    Let's quickly summarize: Starlight enslaves a town in such a way they thank her, she’s thwarted by Twilight and company, she then escapes without reforming. She then returns and execute a perfectly timed plan using time travel to undo her opponents before they even become, celebrates her victory in front of Twilight. Twilight gives a speech, Starlight see’s the errors of her ways and all is forgiven. She then turns into the 7th pony in half a season. She then saves the entire kingdom of Canterlot, neigh say, the world, with the help of tertiary characters and her wits.
     
    This sounds remarkably like a literary trope I was once warned about.
     
    Now, all that behind us. Let's go to the Equestria girl short #3. Sunset goes through the portal and meets the only person apparently minding the castle, Starlight Glimmer! She then returns with Sunset (because who's going to steal a castle!?) and adapts way faster than Twilight, who for all intents and purposes, is third in line for wisdom at this point, and has just an awful set of jeans. Sunset and Starlight hit it off, I can honestly forgive this given their similarities. What happens next is the issue.
     
    So the Monster of the Week, Juniper something or other, has trapped Sunset’s friends in a mirror. Seems villainy enough, right? Ok, so then Sunset goes to confront her, and knowing very well how dangerous magic can be, and having beaten three CLASS A supervillains across as many movies, is sucked into the mirror as well. Starlight is now left alone in an alien world with no magic and only her wits.
     
    The two square off and play an amusing game of round and round we go, followed by the most atrocious thing I’ve seen since they let Sonic SatAM just STOP with a cliffhanger:  Starlight pulls a card from the bargain bin of solutions and does exactly what Sunset did to SciTwi. She tells her that there’s another way and let me show you, paraphrased of course, but that's it. THAT'S it! We get a Darth Vader moment where the villain proclaims it’s too late, but then that's it. NO FIGHT. No CONFLICT. Not even danger.
     

     
    Starlight singlehandedly comes to a world she literally knows NOTHING about less then two hours ago, gets some ice cream, fights a resident villain of that world on their own turf, and simply TALKS THEM DOWN..and then makes them a friend!
     
    Starlight has been able to do all these things and we’ve known her, what two seasons MAYBE? 5 seasons it took the mane cast to get to the point they are, Starlight takes course by mail and she’s surpassing them after less than HALF the time it took the best of the best?
     
    This is a Mary Sue. As close as you can come to one without everyone having romantic relations with her. (which seems to be happening. Go check Rule 34’s site)
     
    Yet everyone I see talking about her for the most part just loves her. I can either conclude two things: Characterization has taken a great fall in the minds of this latest generation or they don’t know it’s an awful character.
     
    If the rest of the show was as poorly written and executed as Starlight, I could see that as no issue. But it’s not. It’s a rich show, with excellent writing. HOW this happened and WHY more people aren’t seeing this, is beyond me.
     
    So I end this with an open friendly, mind you, challenge. If you care enough to get to this point in the article, you’ve no doubt got a very well thought opinion of this one way or another.
     
    Am I looking at this character the wrong way? If so, please, PLEASE, I welcome constructive input in the matter to help me see it another way. I don’t want FLAMES. I want civil discussion.
     
    Thank you
     
     
     
  4. Malcontent
    Hello all my new readers, and if they are still here, my old ones! Pony Think Tank today takes on the opening salvo of Season 7! I’ve been on a small hiatus as I work on Equestrian City, which is coming along slowly but solidly I might add, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to take a look at the premiere! This season, we aren’t dealing with a major issue that requires at least two episodes to fix, and I’m not sure if that is entirely good, but we’ll see as we dive head on into “Celestial Advice”
    Our cold opening is, surprise surprise, Starlight Glimmer, who seems to be the shifting focus of the series since the writers took Sunset Shimmer’s formula and shoved it into a cookie cutter We quickly find that the visual gags are more present than previous seasons so far, which I personally like, with Spike turning his (hair?) into Rarity’s facsimile. We’re then given the fact that we’re not that far off time was since last season, as a party and award ceremony is being planned for the Suicide Squad like team of Discord, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie and Thorax (who if you aren’t familiar with his new appearance, seems to have eat a box of crayons and burped.)
    Obviously Thorax needs more color as you can see. After the cringe worthy intro, we are greeted with the award ceremony where all our team is given the Equestrian Pink Heart of Courage (goodness that is a mouthful). The after party has the newly reformed changeling guests (minus the Queen, thankfully) mingling with the guests, as Twilight and Celestia exchange lines akin to the student has become the master and all that lovely cliche we’ve been hearing in our own heads for a bit.
    Not one to be happy about anything for too long, Twilight slowly begins to come to the realization that the lessons she has for her student no longer apply after the writing team seemingly power leveled Starlight to End Game content! Overcome with rapidly sprouting panic, she seeks out her teacher, Celestia, for advice on the matter while Discord seemingly invents a B story for himself, hyping up the announcement Twilight is going to make with gossip and clever manipulation.
    Spike’s demeanor is very much attuned to mine personally, each of his lines seems to be for the fans at this moment, most with good humored sarcasm, some with biting cynicism. I approve.
    "None of these have me saying more then four or five lines. SPIKE! Bring me the writers!" As Twilight comes to the conclusion that she needs to follow in Celestia’s footsteps and send HER prize student away, all of which she does without really, any help from Celestia, we come to a chapter break!
    Continuing to solve her own problem with the people she has for advice simply watching and, well not really helping per say, we’re given a new spell, this one seems to be a Holodeck spell, where Twilight starts us down the road of my favorite two words: What If?
    Arriving at the first stop on what turns into a neurotic spiral into worry, Twilight’s first stop is what if she sends her to the new Changling empire! We quickly find out, based on Twilight’s totally subjective thinking, that the lessons she teaches to the newly reformed critters will be taken in stride and all will be, well, boring and forced. Much like the first and second season.
    Just as all seems well, worry hits her and the scenario changes to what seems more likely with a giant hive mind that's suddenly allowed free thought: mischief.
    Snapping out of it we dive into another idea, which to me all sound like story pitches that were flat out rejected, where she's sent to the dragons and becomes, shall we say, epic friends, with Ember. (You remember her right? We saw her once, everyone free ships with her and Spike, and then we lost her just as quick)
    A quick dive into madness and lava later and Twilight is back to square one with her imagination getting the better of her. The final treat we get is what almost seems natural to me, but then again what do I know, in that we send her to the crystal Empire to “study” with Sunburst. This one holds the most interest when a spell goes wrong and they summon a black hole of sorts and everyone seemingly dies. I do enjoy the idea that the spell was to summon something lost in the past, makes one wonder.
    So after all that Twilight almost has a break down, and Celestia, as well as the rest of the random I'd imagine, begins to laugh at Twilight.
    After explaining she's not laughing at her she's laughing...well no she is kind of laughing at her, Celestia sits her former student down and relates that she too had all these years in her head, proving to us Celestia is human after all. So to speak.
    "You...actually thought..you'd be the leads forever? Even I was sidelined! Thats hilarious!" In the interlude, as Discord, in a scene that really seems to me on a subtle level is the rest of the Mane 6 asking each other why they aren't in this episode, hyped up more around the kingdom until Twilight is greeted with a over anticipated reveal. This seems like the writers again making light of the fact “hey, we've really got nothing epic this time out the box.”
    "You see girls, you've been moved into what they are calling Background Ponies" The rest plays out rather quickly, but it all boils down to the lesson we learn is that, well if You Love Something, let it go. Which is landmark I might add because Celestia is the first in the series to really express the term ‘Love’ in the sense of a deeper emotion and have it mean something.
    As the episode winds down, Starlight is thrilled to be graduating, but doesn't end up leaving the show...I mean the Castle because she doesn't want to. Thus breaking us from the formula we all thought was destined to happen.
    Overall I find this episode is a 5 out of 10. Average. The Celestia section is the only saving grace, as the B story is almost an afterthought. Spike’s overhaul as the straight man is by far more evident this time and is a welcome change from being the comedic foil for the most part. It’s a good start, not a disaster, but there’s room for improvement.
    We dive right into episode 2, “Bottled Up”
    We’re given another episode where our favorite up and coming ship, StarTrix, opens the show. Greeted by Trixie’s inability to use proper magic, she’s given a quick tip by the one person who knows how to misuse magic, and quickly turns a salt shaker into a teacup. Why? You got me. Still, Trixie’s ability to go overboard with it makes me chuckle as we quickly end up with way way way too many teacups, including a teacup poodle! Full of herself as usual, Trixie annoys Starlight to the point she starts to manifest a dark cloud of..well...dark side energy. Set with the pieces of this episode, we are quickly thrust into the opening song many of us turn down to prevent embarrassment at work
    Starlight is not amused! Coming back from commercial, Starlight and Trixie see our Mane 6 heroes, who seem to be slipping into the backseat of the entire show I might add, off to their Friendship Retreat. Whats a Friendship Retreat you ask? I know I did immediately after it was said, and just as quick, we’re given the explanation most would THINK was the proper one. We find out that's only half right later on as our two stories divide and our adventure begin!
    "Bye, Twilight! We'll take good care of your show!" Back at the castle, Trixie and Starlight begin her next lesson, and letting Trixie pick, we find is the worst idea so far. She immediately wants a hard spell: teleportation! Spike, who like the audience, seems to see where this is going, decides to run off before he’s used as the subject of the spell. An interesting point Starlight makes is that her magic is based on her emotions at the time, which just screams Jedi and Sith, but I think is a nice element we can exploit down the road, or later in the episode, as we’ll see.
    You have Hate. You have Anger. But you do not USE THEM! The B story, a little weak as last time, switches us to our Mane 6, who quickly find out the Twilight’s Friendship Retreat is not a Spa, but a locked room that focuses on teamwork far more brain twisting then simply doing the Trust Exercise. The narrative feels at this point, very expedited I might add.
    Meanwhile back at the ranch er I mean castle, Trixie eventually goes off half cocked and ends up losing the entire Cutie Map! Thus answering the question how you lose an entire giant magic table many of us were asking after the leaks. Starlight has a minor stroke of course and panics. Quickly becoming upset with Trixie’s ho hum approach, Starlight realizes her anger is manifesting itself in the form of the red cloud. Of course the smartest thing to do is to cast a spell to bottle up her emotion (and we get the title of the episode...ta da!)
    Spinning back to the Mane 6 story and the StarTrix story happens far far too quickly again, though it seems only to do so to exploit a transition device as clever as using the last line of the scene to contrast or satirize the opening line of the next. The basic overall plot reveals that Starlight is afraid of losing Trixie as a friend if she doesn't bottle her anger up, which is why she gets weaker and weaker the more they search for the table in the places Trixie leads to to find. Each successful bottling of the emotion takes it’s toll on Starlight, much like it does in real life, thus and applicable lesson!
    "Even THIS comic has better pacing!" Of course the Mane 6 break into song after they solve their problems, and a very appropriate character tells them the consequences of having broken into song may not have been worth it. I enjoyed that line the most out of the entire episode incidentally.
    Back to the StarTrix plot (heh) Trixie eventually notices the magic being bottled up and tries to find out what it’s all about. The ensuing tug of war sends the bottle flying up and down, shattering it and releasing the anger into nearby citizens, all of whom become angry at Trixie for different reasons reflectance of the moments in time Starlight was angry.
    "Don't worry girls, the writers told me next episode *I* have a major part!" We spiral towards the end of the episode with a quick realization by Starlight that Trixie had no idea how she felt, as she bottled it up inside. Trixie as well admits that as difficult they were to hear, she needed to hear the anger to fully grasp Starlight’s feelings. Again, we use the term ‘Love’ by Trixie to Starlight which let me tell you, probably has the entire shipping world in an overdrive mode. I can hear the lemons being written as I type this.
    "Did...did you say you Loved me?" All in all I give this a 5 out of 10. The first thing that stuck out to me was they recycled footage DURING the song that was as even pointed out by the writers, unneeded. I find that concerning. Trixie is fun in moderation, as is Starlight Glimmer, I can only hope we aren’t entirely shifting gears to the next generation to a point we lose our footing on what made the show fun to begin with.
    Thanks for stopping by and don't be shy to make a comment!
  5. Malcontent
    Here's another oldie but a goodie review from me back in the day!

    Now, this week we've got “Amending Fences” which upon reading the summary, you'd think would be a small filler episode. You'd be wrong in this case as was I, this is one of the better episodes I've ever seen! Why you ask? Well, lets take it slow.
    Opening with our teaser, we see Twilight relaxing from the recent events of the last few episodes. I like that we have a sense of time flowing more then we did previous seasons, it adds an element of reality to the setting when you feel invested. Spike comes on and makes mention of having to do the dishes..though why he's doing the dishes I have no idea. The reason being that all the other Princesses seem to have a compliment of guards and housekeepers for them, while it seems Twilight got the proverbial short end of the stick. Six chairs, a blinking map, and a new castle is apparently all that comes in the Princess Starter Kit.

    "Well according to this script...I don't get much to do...AGAIN.."
    Through quick explanation, Spike reminds Twilight that it's rather ironic she's the Princess of Friendship (which sounds like a bad B-Movie from the 80's) due to the fact she wasn't exactly the best friend to have back in Canterlot. This of course reminds Twilight she needs to go apologize to her friends because apparently the moment she learned about Nightmare Moon she ended up just leaving town without so much as saying goodbye to anyone. It also serves to remind the hardcore fans about the pilot episode and the VERY brief moment we saw Twilight's friends in it and Canterlot Wedding.
    We return from our intro song (ya ever wonder if Celestia and Luna get tired of the same picture each week instead of a letter? ) to a rather...suspiciously inappropriate tower.

    For a show with a TV-Y, that tower seems...rather suspicious.
    Those of you who saw the original cover to Disney's The Little Mermaid will understand what I mean. Though inside we see the first of many nostalgic shots, the library-tower that was in the pilot, still in it's state of disarray and even the box that Spike drops is still there! It made me smile that they went to such length to recreate the smaller details, even though as Spike picks up the gift for Moondancer's party (stay with me there's more on that later) and it turned out to be a bear, he makes mention that the “rest is still there” in the box. This line prevents the ending from being a cheat, and I admire that.
    After Spike makes a list for Twilight (there's a shock) of her friends since she can't even remember their NAMES...they make their way to door #1! Behind it we find Minutte, a rather energetic unicorn who has obviously not forgotten Twilight nor bears any ill will In fact she immediately embraces her and asks for a picture with her as no one at work believes she knows her.

    Spike can't take a picture well it seems...
    Aside from the fact the camera she has Spike use seems..DIGITAL...in the viewer but analog in the exterior, most of this is simply setting up for the next scenes, though I will return to this and other dialogue settings in a moment to expand a point.
    A familiar setting of the donut shop from Grand Galloping Gala (The first one) is our next stop down flashback lane, where Minutte, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts (good grief these names are almost oooozing with happy) and Twilight catch up, while Spike has a conversation in the background. Thankfully for all of us, none of the girls seem to take Twilight's leaving too hard and all laugh at her apology, or the fact she thought she needed to make one. The reason makes me chuckle a bit as they explain they just kind of expected it based on the level of friendship she'd displayed beforehand. Apparently Twilight was so self-engrossed with her studies she wasn't very attentive to any of her friends. Probably why Celestia sent her to learn about friendship in the first place, same as Sunset Shimmer. (Though we all know how that turned out)

    "So yeah...turns out this scene, I don't even get to face the camera..."
    A stroll down memory lane leads them all to Professor Xavier's er Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The scene with Twilight talking with Moondancer instantly pulled dusty memories of
    (Also done by Tara Strong) since she had to pitch it higher since she was younger. The main draw to me is the fact we see a globe..representing the world no doubt. We see at least two separate land masses, one representing the small Equestria landmass we've seen (which resembles the United States I might add) and the other one / ones are still but a mystery! It makes me happy to just postulate over the idea of the other lands!

    A Globe! More geographical references! YAY!
    The scene reverts and we learn there was a final missing member (Save Lyra, who we know is in Ponyville from her semi-romantic scene in Slice of Life and other small cameos) and her name is...Moondancer! The girls all try to remember where she is but quickly mention that as things went along, they just lost touch. A very important lesson to anyone growing up with the series..sometimes..you lose touch and lose friends. They make a journey to Moondancer's last known location.
    Upon knocking and striking a pin up pose, it's quickly discovered that Moondancer is a shut in, and has no friends, instead, committing to a rigorous life of studying..well...EVERYTHING.

    Just think..somewhere..THIS is our Mane Cast...
    As the reality of what her actions caused, Twilight's guilt overcomes her and after looking at what SHE could have turned out to be (lets be honest, she was nearly there) she makes it a mission to fix her mistake!
    So of course the first thing to make things right is to..spy on her for three days. Which along with Spike and Minutte, they do. During the intel gathering, it's finally revealed to Twilight what happened that day she ran off to go warn Celestia about Nightmare Moon. That small line, that throw away sentence no one thought was anything but filler. Moondancer's Party. Minutte explains that despite the rest of the girls showing up, Twilight's absence and subsequent vanishing sent Moondancer down a lonely road of self hating to the point she became the very hermit-pony she is today.

    Betcha never thought this throw away scene would come back and haunt us, did you?
    Now lets pause for a moment as I'd like to discuss something that not everyone would notice of this episode. The dialogue specifically. The lines feel REAL for once, not forced like a lot of the time. It feels like Twilight is actually just talking with her old friends, like Lemonhearts is actually just trying to be helpful when she recalls where Moondancer might be living now. All of it from the construction to the lines to the delivery of them by the voice actresses make this entire episode feel ALIVE. Even later on with Moondancers's finale, it's gripping compared to what we've been having, and I for one hope it's going to continue.
    Now, the big scene that everyone SHOULD be pondering and thankfully, many of you have, is what I noticed during the scene in the restaurant. While the girls are all trying desperate to relate to Moondancer and try to bridge the friendship they lost, there is an ominous foreshadow in the background. Careful viewers can notice that holding a menu, for a period of time that's far far beyond normal, is a pony who resembles Starlight Glimmer! IF this is her, this of course is wonderful for a few reasons.

    Upper Left corner. No one looks at a menu that long!
    Now..stay with me on this..
    One reason is that, as I stated in the premiere this season, Starlight is the best villain we've had so far. She didn't back down, even when her way was shown to be wrong. She tried to outright kill people based on the energy level of the spell Twilight shielded the villagers from. Finally, unlike Sunset, Discord, and every other 'villain' we've had, (Sirens excluded) she didn't immediately turn to the light and redeem her self when defeated. Starlight did what any proper card carrying villain should have done..she ran in order to regroup and strike again.
    Secondly, it reinforces the evolution the writing is taking. You would never have seen a story-arc that stretched an entire season like this one so far has in say..season 2. I for one, can't wait to see where this all goes, it's hopefully moving forward to a more mature audience base. Now back to our episode!
    So after several attempts to try and force a fix of the situation, Twilight takes a different approach and calls in Pinkie Pie, who sets into action a plan for a party (Because a party seems to fix everything for some reason, still working on that.) while Twilight starts her end of the plan,

    Ooo! A Book! ooo! A Book!
    The finale of the entire situation begins as all the girls surround Moondancer and try to throw her a party like some sort of forced intervention. Naturally she resists, but for once, it feels real to me for a few reasons. Main reason is the dialogue that is exchanged between Twilight and Moondancer..who explains that when her best friend didn't show up to the party she threw, a party that she had to get so much courage to throw, it hit her right in the emotional breadbasket. Devastating as that was, the subsequent abandonment she felt when Twilight went off to save the world for four seasons without so much as saying goodbye devastated what was left of her confidence, resulting in what she was today, and why she felt worthless for so long.

    The emotion that actually is shown in the last act, is remarkable.
    Hit with this startling realization, Twilight apologizes again, and accepts the fact that they may never be friends. Pinkie nudges in a few extra helping hooves to show Moondancer that there are a lot of folks that consider her a friend. Moondancer comes to realize she can still have a somewhat normal relationship with her previous and new friends, though it feels a bit rushed. (Granted we were running out of time, maybe we need hour long episodes now?) and we get a final payoff of the very first episode. Spike gives her the present he's almost five seasons late with. We pull back and realize it's a picture of all of them together before Twilight left.
    There's some hidden subtext that I honestly think I might be the only one who notices with Twilight and Moondancer. I'm not one to ship characters together, but the emotional outburst and how dramatically and deeply she was scarred makes me feel that Moondancer may be in love, or at least was in love, with Twilight. It's kind of hard to put into words, it's more something you see as she interacts with her over the episode. Subtle scornful tones and resentment mixed with hope. Again, my thoughts, love to hear counter arguments or supportive statements.

    Notice the way Moondancer seems far far more interested in Twilight. Not even the book. Twilight.
    I'd like to point out something interesting about Twilight's final solution. She lets go of the idea of forcing the friendship. Which is honestly is rather refreshing since Twilight has this tenancy of using “BE MY FRIEND” far far too aggressively. It shows character growth. People ask me why I like this so called girly series, that's one of the reasons. You wouldn't see this kind of emotional and character growth on anything else that's playing.
    Overall I give this an 8 out of 10. It's dialogue is far superior to what we're used to, the actual breakdown of Moondancer shows real emotion for once and the possible foreshadow of Starlight Glimmer were more then enough to make this enjoyable. Topped off with an episode that goes back and shows you things you remember seeing but didn't quite understand the importance of ALWAYS get my attention, usually because I'm the only one noticing them I feel.
    Again, love to hear back from everyone, I post this on three areas at the moment, get a lot of hits, but not so many comments. Agree, disagree, say Hi, it makes me feel I might be making a small contribution to the fandom!
    I leave you all with a game of Pin the Tail on the Deity!

    Gotta wonder what it says psychologically when you pin a tail on your deity?
    -Malcontent
  6. Malcontent
    (Testing the waters here, I originally posted this on my blog, seeing how well my method of thinking is received here xD)
     

    I propose we may be losing Luna and Celestia soon, and Twilight and Cadance will assume their roles, thus completing a cycle of life that the world of Equestria has had for eons.

    How did I come to this conclusion? I'll highlight the elements now:
    According to all “history” we know of Equestria, Celestia and Luna are “immortal”. Through their teachings, the world molded into one based on cooperation, friendship and understanding. However, during the first few seasons of the show, Twilight is regaled with stories of previous foes Celestia and Luna defeated using the Elements of Harmony together.
    Two sisters. Together.

    They defeated all the problems in the entire world whenever they arose, is what we're given as fact.

    Occasionally we hear of Starswirl the Bearded, but no real evidence save the word of Celestia and Luna who are the only living witnesses of that time. For all we know, Starswirl could be an amalgamation of all those that had bit parts to do during these issues?
    Stay with me now.
    IF in fact previously, thousands and thousands of years worth of troubles were always handled by Celestia and Luna...

    why did that tradition change suddenly?

    Why did Celestia take on a student that she pushed, trained, and taught to be a princess, eventually turning into an alicorn and becoming the “Princess of Friendship” ? If ALL the problems of the world had previously been solved with no issue, and Luna was indeed back from her banishment, would there need to be ANY reason she'd need to have a student?
    We hear only of one other student she took that had any real “potential” and that's Sunset Shimmer...

    ....who went rogue and ran off. She never really talks about what happened, just that she left, and was very upset with Celestia to the point she wanted to return and take the world from her.
    Keep going now, this gets more interesting.
    I present as the reason this is all happening is that Celestia and Luna are dying, or need to leave for some reason. She's training her replacements in both Twilight and Cadance.
    I can postulate a few ideas, but one I've always had since around season 3 was that Luna and Celestia are not terrestrial to the world called Equestria. Before anyone goes rolling their eyes, let’s examine this for a minute: both Luna and Celestia have powers no one else does, not even Twilight or Cadance can match these powers. Furthermore, we have never heard them speak of their past as young or growing up together prior to being the rulers.
    In fact, the history of Equestria given to us by local lore is that there were three bands of ponies that hated each other, and only out of desperation did joining forces prove fruitful. Not once is Celestia or Luna mentioned in these lessons. For being the only two rulers in Equestria… EVER… you'd think they'd have had a footnote in the history that retold every year on Hearth Warming Eve.
    Perhaps they are merely explorers from the stars that ended up there, trapped, and decided to make the best of it, shaping the world into a utopia the best they could with what tools they had at hand.
    Perhaps..just perhaps...they inadvertently affected the flow of nature order there and as penance they both decided to stay and watch over the world out of guilt or honor? I put forward the basic idea of the Caretaker in the Star Trek Voyager series.
     
    Whatever the reason… TIME… has grown short.
     
    That concept in mind I just gave, I propose the reason we're seeing a sudden change in the way things are (Twilight, Cadance, ect) is that Luna and Celestia are not in fact, immortal. They have very long lifespans compared to others, but still, are in fact, dying. They then know that they have little time before their time in the light passes, and Celestia begins to train replacements for when the time comes they cannot serve in the capacity anymore, rather then let the world die. Perhaps they simply think it's their duty now, after having shaped the world, that they leave it with some level of similar leadership, leadership and lessons they instill in Twilight and Cadance.
     
    No doubt, somehow towards the end, Twilight and Cadance will be given longer lifespans via magic, that in turn finishes off Celestia and Luna. A symbolic, final gesture by the twin gods of the world.
    Now, that all being said, this occurrence would be but part of the circle of life on the world. Maybe… just maybe...this is the way it's always been, in a historical sense.Luna and Celestia...

    two “sisters” who govern the world and have long life spans could easily… easily be turned into two others that do it.

    Twilight and Cadance would in fact outlive their friends, leaving them to continue on as Luna and Celestia did. In time, as time does, history would forget things, stories would change as they are passed down, seeing as there's no computer records, in the end, all they have is written word and storytelling.
     
    The story, of two “sisters”, who are “immortal” with fantastic powers, who live up to the highest standards of friendship, and expect the world to do just that as well, through their teachings. Teachings that are no doubt bestowed on by various students they both teach. Students that, with each time they teach them, they hope to find what Celestia and Luna found in them: the right person to finally take their place, and let them rest, as did their predecessors.
     
    The world would still have it's two rulers, and all the basic texts would be true if read without question for the most part. No one tends to question the past, or makes a point to reiterate the idea that history is really only written by those that survive it.
     
    So we come back to this full circle, that closes, when Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance, the two sisters, find their replacements, and bestow upon them the same gift… or curse… that was given to them.
    Now, if you're still with me, let’s wrap this up in a nice little bow:
     
    Most, if not all “animated” movies of series are done for the primary reason to tell a story you cannot or would not be able to tell in the span of a regular episode. The 1986 Transformers movie is a good example, as is the G.I. Joe movie of the same decade… both Hasbro I might add.
     
    We've watched as Twilight has ascended her position as the Princess of Friendship, and now, with the help of her friends, she's fleshing out and expanding her exposure from the little town of Ponyville to both sides of the Equestrian Map. Learning the lay of the land, and learning of the different cultures, making contacts, fixing problems, exposing her presence to a population that may not entirely be aware of her, but are aware of Celestia.
     
    Now that she's done that, we come to a movie, a movie where no doubt something monumental is supposed to happen, because otherwise, it would have just been another episode.

    Transformers had the death of Optimus Prime to bring in a new toy line.

    G.I. Joe has the “death” of Duke (who was in a coma thanks to ADR after the Fallout from Optimus Prime kicked Hasbro in the marketing breadbasket)

     
    and now…
     
    I propose, as said originally, the My Little Pony Movie… will have the death or departure of Luna and Celestia with Twilight and Cadance taking over their positions, and Starlight and the new characters we're meeting in this latest season, assuming the roles they had.
     
    After mulling this over with various fans in a chat, I seem to have most of them interested in the idea being right, some even feared I was right and told me to stop telling them my idea.
     
    Either way, I think we're heading towards something we may not be ready for, or wanting: the end of an era in the MLP fandom. Hopefully they'll see an ending as a beginning and give the mature fandom base a bone and make a series geared towards us with the girls, but that would make too much sense Thoughts? Love to hear 'em!
    Thanks to Rivet Rose, Silver Arrow and iPone for their input and 360 degree feedback during my initial theory crafting session that led to this
  7. Malcontent
    POSTED ORIGINALLY APRIL 25TH 2015!
     

    Welcome back and here's the latest installment in the 5th season of MLP. As many of you know our writing team seems to be understanding (or at least being let off the leash) deeper storylines. This one is so far my favorite! It's Rainbow Dash, who is as usual more action then brains, and her pet, Tank! (You remember Tank right? He came along after someone in the writer's room realized Dashie didn't have one sometime after the first season )

    Where do you suppose those spilling rainbows are coming from..or why they terminate so early?

    Opening remarks show us Winter is on the way, and an interesting point Dash makes is that Cloudsdale moving closer to Ponyville is indicative of the changing of seasons. This seems to re-inforce the idea that Cloudsdale isn't entirely stationary all the itme, though we haven't honestly had any elaboration on it's flight patterns (Is it like the Floating island on Mobius with a constant path or is it similar to the traveling weather platform?) After we establish this is a Rainbow Dash/Tank episode we find out the main theme of this show is Tank having to go and hibernate. This opens the portal for the writers to tell viewers a great deal about denial, and personally, I see this episode being about Death.
    Yes, I'm hearing ALOT of backlash from that idea so far, but, I think it's on a fundamental level about death and I'll tell you why as I go! Stay with me I didn't pull it outta my rear.

    Correct me it I'm wrong, but didn't Spike see a Vet? Shouldn't Dashie be using the vet?

    After the intro, we have Fluttershy telling Dashie that point in fact, Tank needs to take a loooong nap. Hibernate until spring. Bury himself underground. This seems to TERRIFY Rainbow Dash but she quickly throws up an emotional barrier of non-acceptance, seeking a second opinion, which she also casts aside. This begins Dashie's descent into the first stage of grief / loss:

    You obviously don't know a THING about animals. I'm going to get a second opinion, then ignore it also!

    DENIAL!



    She moves forward from this one rather quickly and steps right into a deep puddle of stage 2, one we all know as:
     
    ANGER!




    "They didn't green-light my spinoff? I have to be with the REST of them in Equestria Academy?!"
    She starts snapping at everyone who dares bring up the idea of Tank leaving at all or the concept of them being seperated. The very MENTION of the word 'hibernate' sends her into a spin. Interestingly still is that she cannot bring herself to even SAY the word.
    Rainbow Dash then gives us a look into the deeper interworkings of her mind, or lack thereof. It seems that without proximity to her friends, her rational thinking always tends to lose out to baser mental thoughts. She enters the more dangerous of the stages:
     
    BARGAINING!



    Where we will do ANYTHING to keep our loved ones alive, bring them back, or keep them from leaving. The last one applies here of course. Dash comes to the final conclusion that if Tank hibernates in the winter, then she just needs to stop winter. Totally reasonable! Right?

    "Don't you see?! If I stop the world from turning, winter won't come and Tank won't ever leave me! EVER EVER EVER! It's the only way!"

    So, Rainbow Dash and the ever more sleepy each scene Tank head to Cloudsdale, the headquarters of all weather, and head to the winter section of the factories. Several moments in the new set make me want to know where the Rainbows are made. Those of you who read “Cupcakes” and “Rainbow Factory” will chuckle at that idea of Dashie running smack into the heart of the dreaded Rainbow Wing.

    "Scootaloo, did I ever tell you exactly HOW rainbows are made?"

    A set of almost Acme / Warner Bros chaos ensues and Dashie overloads the factory inadvertently creating one GIANT dose of...well...winter! In the form of a giant snowball it fires forth from Cloudsdale and hits Ponyville and gives new meaning to the term “Nuclear Winter”.

    After facing the fact she now can't stop winter, and in the end, accelerated the process, our dear Dashie is not the same one we saw just last week. She's dressed in sleepwear and so is Tank, both in the bedroom of the house many of the fans fantasize about being asked into! Then, her friends, ALL of them, come in and try to both cheer her up and make her face reality. (No one really makes an attempt to explain why the Earth Ponies are able to walk onto a cloud house. A decent theory lends itself back to my question about furniture in Cloudsdale. Mainly it requiring a spell or just the fact a Pegasuses set it down on the cloud, it maintains it's ability to support any and all types of ponies. That leads to a while new road of question I may address later.)
    Dashie finally comes spiral down the grief and loss pit and hits...
     

    DEPRESSION!




    I love how the outfits each have compliment each other xD But honestly, I think Dashie was suffering from Depression WAAAY before, look at the room. NO decorations o.0

    She bawls at the final realization that Tank is going to die and there's nothing she can do to stop it. I mean that Tank is going to leave for a while and there's nothing she can do to stop it. It's very humanizing to see this finally hit one of our characters, personally I find them much more real when faced with situations that humble them from this world of Happy Happy. This really was a tear jerky for some on Twitter from what I read, some folks were very upset the writers hurt Dashie.

    The voice actress even took me by surprise on the oddly realistic portrayal of a pony having to say goodbye to her friend for months. Well done!

    Finally, after this long 30 odd minute train of Denial, Anger, Bargaining, and Depression...we hit the final stage. The one we hit when we finally realize our Uncle or Cousin or Mother or Best Friend just isn't going to come back.
     

    Acceptance.




    Acceptance is magic. Incidentally, I love Rarity's hat in this episode, she looks so Russian

    Dead is dead. You need to let go and despite the fact Dashie is as Awesome as She Wants to be she's still emotionally driven like most of us. She gets through the stages quicker then most of us who are awesome (Heck, Darth Vader takes WAY longer then Dashie). She brings the very sleepy Tank to a place near a pond, where he bids her farewell and she sits with him until he goes to sleep.
    So, sure one could say this episode is about Acceptance, and I wouldn't really argue against that, but personally I see this entire episode about what we go through with Death. Rainbow Dash's reactions are very close to those of a near-psychotic break but despite that, her friends are there to help her, playing into the entire overall arc of Friendship being point in fact, Magic.
    The song was nice too, I enjoy the harmonic style that's present, not sure what it is, despite it being a solo piece, she's singing with herself several different layers of her voice if I hear it correctly.
    Overall I give this a 8 out of 10. I was pleased with the message, consider which you think it is, and I was happy the song wasn't entirely forced on us like it was a union rule. Character wise I learned ALOT more about Dash and her mental state and sadly, I can see Rainbow Factory being more possible
    Stay tuned, I'll be doing these faster and faster! Like Me, Post me, Hit me with your thoughts on anything and more!
    -Malcontent
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