FearTheBelle

Imagine there was a filly who got her cutie mark, and therefore her special talent, in murder/serial killing? How would ponies deal with her and try to keep her in line and away from crime? It wouldn't be fair or legal to preemptively detain or punish her, since she wouldn't have done anything other than discover what her talent was, so how would they handle it?

How is it a weird question?

The way Cozy Glow was treated was abhorrent, and completely out of line with how ponies had dealt with villains in every instance prior, including Chrysalis. She was never even given a chance to redeem herself or see the light besides a weak AF, "Why'd you do it?" from Twilight, who then sat idly by and let Celestia throw a child into Hell with the very creature that corrupted her. I know some people want to think she was evil all along, but there's no way she was. First of all, the artifacts didn't even show up at the school until AFTER Cozy did, and since they came from Celestia, there's absolutely no logical way to claim she knew about them ahead of time and that they'd be coming to the school. And since the artifacts were the central, critical piece of her eventual plan, there's no way she showed up with that in my.l. But the more clear and indisputable evidence that she wasn't evil to begin with is her debut episode. She goes out of her way to try to get the CMC into the school as a thanks for their help, and is genuinely upset that she got them in trouble when in backfired. Not the scene with Starlight, but immediately after Twilight throws the CMC out. Cozy is watching from afar, all by herself, with nobody to be putting on an act for, and is genuinely distraught that she got her friends in trouble. And before anyone says it, it was not because she needed them in the school for her plan. Which is clear as day when you remember that they were nowhere to be seen when Cozy launched her takeover, and when they did arrive on the scene, they were an active hinderance she was very much not pleased to have around. So the only explanation for her interactions with the CMC in Marks for Effort is that they were genuine. She was a good pony who was failed by the Mane Six and her other teachers, who clearly missed the signs that HAD to have been present that Cozy wasn't understanding friendship properly and was getting things twisted. And then they failed her again by not making any effort to help her at all and instead throwing her in prison with ultra-evil villains, sealing her fate for her without even attempting to help her become a better pony. Which brings us to G5. They've got a chance to rectify a wrong given Cozy's fate. Sunny can free her from the stone and take her under her (proverbial, or maybe literal if she's a permanent alicorn) and give her the genuine help and guiding light she clearly deserves but never got. And it would take some doing at this point after how long Cozy was allowed to be astray from the righteous path, but a long-term redemption for a previous character the last gen's heroes totally let down would be a great way to tie things together between the generations, and a connection that actually makes sense thanks to the stoning.

Who do you think will win Sunny's heart, if anyone? And who do you want it to be? I lean towards Hitch, but I also think she and Pipp would be cute.

In the event that Sunny's transformation at the end of the movie is permanent, how would you feel about an episode where the massive change (Earth Pony to Alicorn is the biggest possible for a pony) makes her feel uneasy or depressed and she tries to change herself back into the Earth Pony she feels she is in her heart? Such a big change would have to be very weird at first, and Sunny's dream was never to be magical or fly herself, it was to have friends that could. Also, a big reason she fought so hard to get Maretime Bay on board is that she thought it would be good for Earth Ponies, and she seemed happy enough as one. She could either succeed in reverting to Earth Pony form or fail, but I think it could be a neat idea to play with, especially in dealing with all the prestige and responsibility as a leader that are more or less inherent to being an Alicorn. What do you think?

She motivated Sunny to beat Alphabittle and retrieved the Pegasi Crystal even though she was (very justifiably) angry at Zipp because she knew it must be important for something. I don't get where this idea that she contributed or did nothing comes from.

Why would a forest that relies on magic to function still exist without magic? And even if it could, why would ponies with the technology necessary to get rid of something so dangerous not do so? It would make less sense for it to still be there.

. . . There was a post-credits scene. It wasn't about the main characters, but it was there.

A living crystal tree can't exist with no magic, at least not while remaining crystal, so it gradually turned to wood as its magic faded. The Everfree Forest was teeming with and driven by magic, so again, the end of magic would also be the end of it. Problems solved.

That the Pegasi Royals were lying about being able to fly? Obviously the Pegasus who was orchestrating their entrances and Pipp’s performance had to have known, and presumably at least some of their guards would had to have known or at least suspected since they didn’t fly outside the public eye. And in my opinion, surely, some commonfolk Pegasi had to suspect that something wasn't right, or at least think it was very strange, that only their rulers could fly out of all Pegasi in the world. Do you think anyone else could have known or at least guessed they were frauds? I posted this question on Reddit and got a few responses, but I thought it'd be a fun thing to think about here, too.

The time of the Mane Six is so long ago that it is considered ancient. Everything in and about a society can change given that much time. The world being broken in G5 doesn't mean the Mane Six failed or that what they did was meaningless. They made the world better in their time, and (presumably) for at least a few generations after. That's far more than most will ever accomplish.

Sprout. I hate everything about him.

If you care about "continuity" in a show about cartoon horses, I don't know what to tell you. MLP exists to be cute and funny and sell toys. It's not deep, there's no real over-arching story, nothing much really carries over from one episode to the next, even in FiM. If anything doesn't matter, it is "continuity". Also, 4chan. Take anything and everything they say with a mountain of salt. I find it very hard to believe all the references and callbacks in the movie came from people who didn't know about FiM.

Raising and lowering the Sun and Moon needing magic was always a lie that was disproven basically every time magic disappeared in FiM, and most clearly in School Raze.

Better than everything besides Friendship Games. Definitely better than the 2017 movie. And it is a toss-up with Friendship Games, probably a little better.

I mean, it's not super unique, but then again, neither were any of the songs in the G4 movie, which were all pretty standard pop trakcs, too. Songs like this are used in kids movies because an important pop number, which is presumably what this will be in the movie, is easy to make be catchy and sticks in people's minds. It makes a lot of sense that the introduction to a new generation of MLP, that wants to capture a broader audience, is going to follow a trend like that. But that doesn't mean that the show's songs will be in the same style (though they might be) and to be frank, this song was fine anyways. Plus, lets be honest here, FiM's songs varied wildly in how good they were; some were good, a few were great, but just about as many were generic and forgettable.

How does it date it? Smart phones and social media have been around and common for like 15 years now, and aren't going away anytime soon.

I mean, the Pegasi could have let her alone go for race reasons, or the ponies could have come to their senses and realized a child didn't deserve that. Either explanation would justify leaving the other two in stone.

I really want Cozy to be a leader of the pegasi, who freed because she was seen as a martyr of sorts, in the movie. And I want her to eventually be won over by the mane cast and help fix things.

Considering the fact that a lot of the things the show claimed to rely on magic, like the sun and moon moving, were proven to not actually need magic at all in G4 itself, I think the loss of magic and its impact is massively overblown. After all, ponies don't exert control over the weather and stuff in the Dragon Lands or Harmonizing Heights, or anywhere outside Equestria, and things are fine without them.

Considering they didn't even try to reform a literal child and instead basically executed her, I don't think that was ever a fair complaint. Speaking of said child, she should get the redemption she always deserved in G5.

No, he was just an arrogant narcissist. Like many a villain that you aren't meant to identify with.

Netflix always does their trailers just a month or two out from release. This isn't any later than normal

How would you feel about Cozy Glow being reformed and an ally to the new Mane Cast in G5, perhaps even being reformed by them? She could either be already have reformed in the past (maybe by Flurry Heart), or more interesting, have been released by the Pegasi at some point because she's a Pegasus and they thought she had been unfairly treated or punished by the other races. I think the latter idea would be neat because, firstly, I could see Cozy being a leader in the Pegasi world of the Equestria that exists at the beginning of G5 and someone that could establish exactly what the hostility between the races is, and secondly, because in my opinion, the Pegasi would be absolutely justified in freeing her and thinking her punishment was unjust. Also, the effort the Mane Cast might have to put in to get her to see the light could do a lot to establish their credibility, and in particular would be a major boost in that department for the original true believer in Friendship in Sunny. Plus, maybe it would actually provide chance for an actual backstory on her and some better context into what exactly her mindset was (or is, if the Mane Cast have to reform her themselves and get her on side). I think it would be a great opportunity to bring back an important G4 character to tie the generations together and have it make sense, too, since Ponies presumably don't age while stoned and therefore her still being around would still be easily explained. And finally, and on a more personal level, it would provide a chance for Cozy's arc to reach a better, happier conclusion, which I believe she absolutely needs and deserves. What do you think?

What if Flurry Heart went off the beaten path of pony morality and led Equestria to where it is now through her vision? She is an alicorn, and the youngest of them, so logic dictates she eventually would hold some power. She could even still be the main villain pulling the strings in the serie, and be reformed. Or, for a more comedic bent, what if she was in her "rebellious teen" phase and acting out by sewing the seeds the disharmony behind the scenes before the time of the show? She's young enough that she could still be around in the new generation in either case, and I really felt Flurry didn't get enough shine in the show, so giving her a role here would be good.