Toon4Thought

The thing about the junior novels is that most of the stories that were original to them (for both MLP and EqG) were very low in stakes, making this one stand out like a sore thumb. In fact, the way the plot is paced and executed feels very much like a TV movie, to the point where I wouldn't even be surprised if the story was originally thought up as one. It's like this was originally going to be a fifth film but was scrapped or something. Heck, for all we know, this still might end up being an animated project. I mean, I don't think its a coincidence that an early chapter takes place at the beach, which just so happened to have a themed minis set announced not long ago. But assuming they aren't doing a movie anytime soon (considering we would've heard something about it by now), how in the world would they even insert this into the shorts? Even assuming the later ones ARE much longer, this feels like it would require a multi-parter at the very least. It's just very confusing to think about.

Without giving too much away, the new book "A Friendship to Remember" does something with this.

I so totally agree about the length thing. Overpowered literally felt like a cold open to a larger story. What confuses me is that K. Hadley said the lengths will vary, and yet we've seen nothing of the sort yet. So, I can't help but question, when will they start to vary and what will the max length be?

Actually, the vast majority of the recent shorts - both Summertime and the Digital Series - were all written by one person, that being GM Burrow, who also wrote Dance Magic.

Well, one thing I'd do is to not even mention the portal or the human world, and just have the Mane 6 find her standing in the front of the castle. Maybe drop in a few lines as "bonus gags" for the EqG fans, like Sunset saying that Twilight's friends remind her of her own or showing one or two moments of her nonchalantly standing on her hind legs, but no references that would make non-EqG viewers feel lost. The background thing would probably be the toughest thing to cover, since it would require considerable exposition. But I think I came up with a good way to make it work - a song. Have Sunset belt out a tune on her guitar about how she fell out with the Princess, tried to steal from her successful pupil for revenge, only for Twilight to show her the light, and they've been fond pen pals since. That way, the exposition will be able to disguise itself as something entertaining, and get a lot of the more key points out of the way while still allowing it to leave a meaningful impact. As for conveying a clear character - visual cues and vocal inflections can communicate a LOT. Show her lightly guitaring a couple times, her struggling to paint with her magic while in the train to Canterlot, and maybe show her be smug yet timid around the Princess, and you've pretty much already got something fairly strong. So yes, with all this in mind, it can definitely work in the main show.

They really should've gone with the transition route like they usually do with these kinds of stories, where they legitimately show the townsponies getting positive vibes from it before it spirals out of control. Why they didn't go with that, I will never know. That, and actually have the townsponies learn not to be a-holes and apologize to the Mane 6. This is something I know MA Larson would've done if he had it his way, but the higher-ups wouldn't let him.

I guess one other thing I should point out is that - no matter how much these fans deserve to be taken down a peg, no matter how true what they're saying is - this show is not the kind that should be this brutally honest, simply because the show is supposed to be optimistic. Even episodes that have more negative moments always end with an ideal resolution. This doesn't.

Honestly, this episode was by far my least favorite of season 7. Not because anything in it insulted me - it's clear it was aiming for the type of fans that would make Quibble Pants feel ashamed - but because it was so dang unpleasant for this show. A large part of why I watch this show in the first place is for its optimism and lightheartedness, which this episode's tone seems to actively go against. When you get down to it, a good two-thirds of the episode is just seeing the Mane 6 get unfairly attacked and harassed with very little to no mercy to speak of, and that is - put simply - not what I want to see happen to these characters I care about. And said negativity permeates so much of the episode, with almost nothing to offset it (the two fillies at the end aren't anywhere close to enough), that I simply can't look past it. I would've found all that funny if it didn't come at the expense of the characters' sanity and the show's charm.

That would probably be the ideal case, yes. And I actually agree that she shouldn't be a permanent mainstay of FiM; that takes away a large reason of why I love the character in the first place, and when you really look at what she's been through in the human world it only make sense for her to continue living there. It's just... at least one visit would be enough for me to be satisfied with what we got. Not having one would legitimately leave me bummed.

I'm not denying that she should stay in the human world at all. I just want to see her make one meaningful visit, but I fear even that may be too much to ask for given the barriers despite the goldmine of potential, but comedically and emotionally.

The "stories are mandated by Hasbro" thing is a significant part of my concern, really. The fact that the artists pretty much have no control over what they can explore... And yeah, I know that's just kind of how it is for shows of this nature, but man will it be painful just to wait for all these dangling, shiny threads to never become reality. Me too. But the bitter truth is it most likely won't; their reluctance to directly reference EqG in the main show, along with not always optimally using some characters that are actually in the show (looking at you, Diamond Tiara) are kind of two big barriers that they could only really get past if they are especially committed and motivated. I have no doubt they very easily CAN make something great with Sunset making a one-off appearance. It's more a matter of whether or not they WILL.

I'm still hoping Starlight appears in the digital series.

I fully agree. I even have this entire idea in mind as to how it could play out. But then again, I have no idea if they would even give EqG a definitive finale. I just wish it gets covered, period.

Yeah, but my question is basically "do you think it will happen in any of those things you listed". Because I want to believe it will, but it's hard not to be worried they won't. Me constantly going back and forth on this is kind of fueling this obsession.

I wouldn't know TBH. The only other one in recent memory involved her appearing in the show, which is kind of like this but not really.

When I first saw "Mirror Magic", the little bit we got of Sunset forgetting her old pony habits really seemed to make me realize just how much I'd love to see Sunset revisit her old equine roots that she long left behind. I just find it really engaging how the character is the only pony who has permanently transitioned to human life, both physically and mentally, and especially all the potential that can be done with that. I mean, really imagine just how comedic, heart-wrenching, and fascinating it would be for Sunset to reunite with Princess Celestia and/or relish getting her magic back. It's the kind of potential that you simply can't get anywhere else. However, it also hurts to think about, because between the fact it took us this long to even get two minutes' worth, Hasbro deciding what stories the crew can tell, and just how little said background has played into Sunset's characterization (especially as of late), I keep fearing it won't happen. And what particularly sucks about this instance is that I feel these things are outright begging to be explored, and is something I am beyond fascinated over. So, I can't help but fear I'm just setting myself up for disappointment, and it really would be a huge letdown if this never does get explored. I've been feeling this way for months now to a downright unhealthy degree, so I feel it's best I just ask the question right here. Do you think we'll see more pony Sunset in future official media?

This may or may not be the last new pack, as by this point we've seen all the clips that were in the trailer - minus what appears to be a longer intro. These were pretty enjoyable too (my favorite being "Display of Affection"), but I really hope we don't have to wait long for lengthier shorts. Put simply, a 2 1/2 minute running time is clearly doing more harm than good in terms of storytelling potential. It's basically one extreme to the other.

Sure enough, another batch of EqG shorts came out, and among those was another Ingram song.

Not to mention the makeup and unique clothes/accessories make Starlight's human design absolutely gorgeous IMO.

That too. Honestly, just a short that shows her and Sunset working off each other I think would be enough for me to fully forgive Mirror Magic for downplaying their dynamic. That, and her gorgeous human design are too good to only be used once.

I feel if we can just get episodes that are at least 8-11 minutes, we can easily get stuff on the same level (possibly higher) as Mirror Magic. Who knows if they'll ever go that far though. Again, I'm going to keep stressing that if Sunset's equine background never gets explored more, I will be downright ticked.

I personally enjoyed "Overpowered" and thought it held up well on its own merits, but I agree that its potential is significantly limited by how dang short the run-time is. Really, if you take out the last shot of Sunset sighing in relief, I probably would've mistaken this as a cold open to a 22-minute episode. I really hope a lot of the later shorts will be long enough to avoid regularly falling into this trap, because there's some really good ideas just waiting to be explored to their fullest. I find it interesting that K. Hadley said they'll vary in length (meaning at least some of them ought to be longer), yet all the ones we've gotten so far are around 2 1/2 minutes. Maybe Hasbro intentionally gave Discovery Family all the shorter ones that were already completed?

Funnily enough, I think I prefer these three over the other four, with the possible exception of "Pinkie Sitter". These seemed to try harder to squeeze a story in.

Seems we were wrong about this all along. One of the shorts that was recently released on Discovery Go had a song called "Rise Up" which the credits attributed to Ingram.

Well, I guess the four weren't enough for them, as they just put up three more. Overpowered, Star Crossed, and the Finals Countdown. Two things I'm curious about before watching them: 1. Is there going to be any hype left by the time this does premiere on YouTube? 2. K. Hadley said the shorts will be of 'varying lengths', and yet all the ones we've seen so far are 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. When will it start to vary?