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Night Sky

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Everything posted by Night Sky

  1. Night Sky
    All's well that ends well. Spike and our heroines were bamboozled by a washed up has-been of a con artist. Happens to the best of us. We've all been had once. I'm just glad Spike and Twilight were able to patch things up sooner and easier than otherwise.
  2. Night Sky
    They speak Ponish, so they are at least partially equine. The horn, if it more like deer or antelope? There's no rhinoceros in play is there? It might explain the volatile tempers. And what about those pelts on their backs, are those feathers? What about the hardened noses? The tails seem almost primate, I'm reminded of lemurs. Such interesting creatures.
  3. Night Sky
    It's one of those things that'll I could never prove in a court of law, and so I am not going to make this a huge long thing, but; This episode really, really reminds me of a episode of classic Star Trek: The Original Series. You have this crystalline, non-human [pony] intelligence that communicates in a disorienting manner. You have a puzzle, and there's a time limit and failure is not an option. The characters have to face their fears and work together. The old series, at its best, also had some of the whimsy that FIM does. There are a bunch of OG Trek episodes I could compare this episode to. This was an endearing outing. I'm sure they all passed the test. Silverstream's delight in discovering the enigma that is plumbing was a hoot to behold.
  4. Night Sky
    It is interesting to watch this romp through Southern Equestria, which seems to be culturally very different from Central Equestria, and perhaps not so closely aligned with it as the Crystal Empire is. World building episodes in this series are always a fun jaunt of a good trip.
  5. Night Sky
    Interesting episode. One the one hoof, who would have thought that we'd ever see this much humility from Rainbow Dash in a single episode. On the other hoof, the whole episode is based upon a progression of fan clubs. Maybe a better lesson for little kids is that fan clubs are irrelevant. No one is so worthy of being looked up to than the person you are capable of becoming. Period.
  6. Night Sky
    Rockhoof is a living treasure of Equestria, and Storyteller is the perfect role for him. He's a one-horse Heilung concert. What a poverty it would be if he hadn't found a new calling. Rockhoof is the only one of the Old Pillars of Equestria who isn't somehow disappointing. There's something about all the others that I can never put my own hoof on, but that I just don't like. None of them, except Rockhoof are terribly sympathetic. There's something aloof, stern, terse, impartial about the rest of them. And now that Equestria is not under threat anymore, they seem to have gone their own ways. None of them were terribly perturbed to hear of Rockhoof's problems. At this point in the series, Equestria is a stable, safe and happy place. But the Mane 6 are still together and cohesive. The Mane 6 have something the Pillars never did, imao.
  7. Night Sky
    Exactly. This. Real life audiences are even tougher than Yaks. I feel really bad for these two young ladies. There's no good reason for them to have ever made it near that stage with their level of ability. Ugh. Reality tv = public humiliation for our delight. No thanks. But often times the person up on that stage really thought, however misguidedly that they had a chance...what comes after isn't shown and there's a reason. Something like this can take years for a person to get over.
  8. Night Sky
    My issue is not with the Yovidaphone itself. We do not have an instrument quite that epic and awesome here in the human world. And while I could listen to her play it all day, all of Ponyville couldn't. For the purpose of pushing the idea of being a supportive friend, this episode goes a Bridge Too Far. Some people who have no musical talent can't realize that gracefully. Some musicians always wanted to play a given instrument but never could. But for goodness sake, if everyone agrees that a musician isn't good, don't put them in front of a crowd you know is tough. It won't end like this. I guess this episode struck a nerve. I've seen musician friends and relatives really go through some hard times. This episode is actually not one of FIM's deeper exercises in honesty and supportiveness, this was kind of a Diet Coke. And there are things about the realities of being a musician that this episode either ignores or gets wrong, imao. All this having been said, let's see if I don't play Yovidaphone music over the PA at work today.
  9. Night Sky
    By this point in the series, the Mane 6 have longstanding mature connections. Those can sustain a heated argument. Still, neither Rarity nor Rainbow Dash were taking their responsibilities as teachers very seriously in this episode. They seemed to forget that they are teachers at the school of friendship, day of fun or not. I was waiting for Starlight Glimmer to bang their heads together, but she's more sophisticated than that.
  10. Night Sky
    A world without both Flim and Flam could never be otherwise sufficiently perfidious.
  11. Night Sky
    The Changeling's take on Hearth's Warming Eve was hilarious, so were all the other creature Holidays. It kinda sucks to see Twilight Sparkle, one of the greatest heroines ever, EVER, become a so-so nothing burger administrator. There's something about her as head mare at this point that I just don't like, or that rubs my fur the wrong way, or that's just not right. However you wanna put it in words. Bad things happen, and administrators tend to just punish everyone. That's one of the many reasons our human world is the way it is. I don't like seeing that happening in Equestria.
  12. Night Sky
    Interesting to see Discord and Starlight Glimmer build upon the dynamic they established in To Where and Back Again. Also, Starlight is discovering that even though Discord is a fellow rebel, he can be supremely inconvenient, and therein lies his value. Solving his riddles requires a type of subtlety that no pony is going to cultivate absent the necessity for it having arisen.
  13. Night Sky
    This episode basically wraps it all up for Queen Chrysalis. Yes, she did go on to be a member of the legion of doom. Her story as a character in the grand drama that is MLP FIM was not yet over by the end of this episode. However, one thing was firmly and decisively established here, and it was a masterstroke. Queen Chrysalis is really just a sad, somehow noir-esque, self defeating character. She's just a criminal, perennially bested by her own flawed plans before she even takes her first steps in any undertaking. She tried to recreate the Mane 6 in her own corrupted image, and they very nearly destroyed her. Irony of ironies, the Harmony Tree saved Queen Chrysalis. We cannot help some pony who is trying to hurt us. We cannot stop some pony who has decided to hurt themselves. We'd be foolish to try in the former case, and we have to understand that sometimes things don't work out how they should or how we'd prefer, in the latter case. This episode is also really funny. It's also terrible. Thus, it is terribly funny. Life has a sense of humor, a terrible sense of humor. A friendly word of advice, learn to laugh. Queen Chrysalis doesn't really laugh. Her laughs are more like growls or howls. Her laughs emote aggression. She has very nearly no sense of humor at all, and thus she was entirely defeated by her own life. We don't know what ultimately did or did not become of that statue. Queen Chrysalis couldn't even die. Nothing about life was satisfactory to her, she had to conform all existence to her own preferred patterns, as though life were nothing more than raw flesh. Well, life is more than that. As with Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis and Tirek are bad news. They are handled in ways that make them not inappropriate for little kids, but the substance is there. MLP FIM is about something, it's about many things. Real things, important things. It is one of the most courageous and wise kids shows ever produced, and it has a great deal of good reminders for adults.
  14. Night Sky
    Cozy Glow is terrifying. Somehow, with extreme subtlety, she is right there advertising that she's a negligent psychopath in plain sight. If you look at how she's drawn, every individual feature is rendered the same as every other pony. But the overall effect is not the same as every other pony, and Cozy Glow is a machine who is greater than the sum of her parts. It shows the mastery of the animators, by this point in the series, they had perfected their craft. Beyond something intangible that can never be defined exactly in how she is assembled, there are subtle cues in her facial expressions, and in her choice of wordings, and of course her actions. It is all entirely textbook, but you have to consider these traits in context. Even in our world, Cozy Glow would be a monster, but in Equestria she's utterly terrifying. By this point in the series, Equestria was a halcyon multiracial, multi cultural society. Threats were there on the outside, not from within. Starlight Glimmer and Trixie had been out of line, but they'd been brought to heel and were repentant. Twilight Sparkle was growing up to be something of an administrator, focused on applying the rules fairly and getting more used to telling ponies No. Some amount of complacency was setting in. Equestria was ripe for Cozy Glow, and so the Harvester cometh. But lest you think I'm demonizing her, I think Cozy Glow is a lush, brilliant, alluring and thrilling character, wonderfully rendered. She's a work of art because she's the devil. And, be notified thou, I do not regard her as the worst of the worst. Dante said that the lowest place in Hell, being gnashed forever in Satan's three mouths, this is reserved only for traitors to benefactors, and Cozy Glow is a traitor to her benefactors. But in point of fact, I disagree with Dante. There is one thing worse, more terrifying, and more dangerous, more disgusting to me than what Cozy Glow does and how she treats ponies. What is that? It's all the ponies who defend her. It isn't even about whether or not they are or are not just like her. To me, it's immaterial why any pony would defend Cozy Glow. Sure, there is some explanation somewhere about why she is the way she is, but there is no justification, and make no mistake, it's us or her. You don't have to like it, but if you can't keep it straight, other ponies are going to get hurt. Cozy Glow is all the more interesting because the rest of us really can't psychoanalyze her. She's both interesting and opaque, like the inside of a black hole. The motivations of her would be defenders are not interesting to me at all. Some say she was just a child who needed love. Equestria would have given her that. Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer were her hostesses and the School of Friendship did not fail her. The CMC, much to their own detriment, went above and beyond for her. If you defend Cozy Glow, we can't be cool. Too bad. I'm entirely serious right now. MLP FIM did not shy away from confronting serious matters, questions and challenges that any living being is going to have to grapple with sooner or later. Whether you're a human, or a Gorilla or a Pony, I think you're going to have to navigate encountering an individual like Cozy Glow at least once before all is said and done. The problem of ponies like Cozy Glow is one of the central problems any sophisticated being is going to be faced with in life. If you defend, apologize for, or otherwise advocate for Cozy Glow, you zig where I zag. I'm not saying that any pony should necessarily care or fuss over that. Nothing rises or falls because of my estimations, not at all. I'm just throwing that out there. I don't enjoy drawing lines in the sand, but some lines need to be drawn. I know whereof I speak. Because of my profession, I've spent far more time with Cozy Glow than most other ponies ever will. End of (irrelevant) imao speech.
  15. Night Sky
    This was a funny episode. Of course we've all had acne. But Rarity was rather out of sorts, in a way that tickled me. I dunno, is it two drops once a day or one drop twice a day?
  16. Night Sky

    I just flip flopped on something, since August is the month of Trivial pursuit can you find where on this site my flip flop is hiding in plain sight?

    I had my reasons for flip flopping, this status update is just me being accountable and a half-fun easter egg hunt. 

  17. Night Sky
    Do not speak to me of Love, if you've never had a day like the one that Big Mac has in this episode. I don't have much else to say, but this episode effected me so much that I made this; I wasn't going to upload it as a permanent post here on the forum, so please consider this a flip flop. I gotta stand up for my big broof Big Mac.
  18. Night Sky
    The more things change, the more they stay the same. Still, I can't help but think that the writers made RD and AJ act dumber and like they've learned far less about themselves and each other, just for the purpose of making this a funny episode. The AJ and RD I know have come further than this by this point in the series, both as individuals and as friends. Ocellus once again shows herself to be intelligent, quick to act and clear headed and warmhearted. Even though she never bangs her chest, Ocellus is the closest thing to a Twilight Sparkle that the Young Six has.
  19. Night Sky
    Okay, Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst's parents are really odd. Quite a twist huh, bet we didn't see that one coming. It explains a great deal about why their kiddos turned out they way they did. The thing of it is; Firelight and Stellar Flare's Only Fans account actually turns a profit. Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer have a great dynamic, but now that they're finally out of the nest, why shouldn't their parents have some fun getting rich, children are an expensive and time consuming undertaking. There's something...off...about Sires' Hollow. Again, maybe it explains a great deal, I know I'd be messed up if I grew up in a place like that. It's kind of an abortion of a gated community.
  20. Night Sky

    I will refrain from posting this in a permanent thread.  However, if this Forum allows users to create status updates, then here is my status. I made a video tonight. It was not planned, it was spontaneous. The inspiration struck when I rewatched an episode of the show I'd entirely forgotten, it's linked below. MLP FIM would be shallow indeed if it only resonated with life's highs. Life has its lows. I am now in a place where I'm on the upswing. But I can never, and should not forget where I've been. I express myself most effectively through art making. My offerings so far have spoken for themselves, and so will this one. I am not going to dump the things in my life that gave rise to this video, but do not speak to me of love if you've never had a day like the one that Big Mac just had. 

     

     

  21. Night Sky
    Beautiful, lush scenery. Interesting insights into other races. Good world building. For once an adult is even pretending to provide even half @55ed, part time overwatch of the CMC. Speaking of the Terrorific Three, this episode really lays the irony bare, that three Fillies defined by identity disturbance are taking it upon themselves to help others resolve theirs. It might make for a feel good message, but really, the CMC have been one disaster after another, and another, and another. And after this episode was over, yet one more. Fortunately, the map is a chess board that knows what the pieces are doing, so all turned out well. Remember that, the map isn't an automaton.
  22. Night Sky
    I don't exactly want to say that I dislike this episode. But once again, everything just seems off. By now, I don't think Twilight Sparkle would ignore Applejack's repeated insistence on honesty. Maybe earlier in the series, but by now I believe that Twilight knows better. I also don't think that Twilight would have hatched such a misconceived idea, or that Princess Celestia would ever assent to it. It's not a bad episode, it's just wrong. The humor is zany and screwball so it's funny but it's just not right.
  23. Night Sky
    So much of the commentary I see online about Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle seems to revel in missing the whole point. Yes, these two characters had an arc. That arc led them somewhere, somewhere good. Without Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer would have remained nothing more than a small town tyrant of a cult leader. And without Starlight Glimmer? All would have been lost. The Changelings would have won. Trixie Lulamoon might have died, that "Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive" was basically a . Stygian would have been wrongly banished, again. Equestria needed some pony to remind them that even good ponies can have bad days. Starlight Glimmer needed one good day, she couldn't give that to herself, she needed to learn how to receive gracefully. In checking each other, Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle checked themselves. What followed on, what did they achieve together? Maybe it can't quite be summed up in words. Yes, we can talk about the defeat of Queen Chrysalis' evil plans, or the fact that the School Of Friendship was saved, but maybe all of those things don't quite capture the entirety of it. I've tried to capture something of it in the image above. Whatever it is, we need it in the worst sort of way, here in this human world. We don't check ourselves, and we're never going to be able to check each other correctly until we do. We don't do that, we should do that. It's a shame that so many ponies only like to fixate on the fact that Starlight Glimmer and Trixie can be foils for Twilight Sparkle some of the time. That part of the relationship is based upon something else. Something good. I won't presume to name it, but so help me, I will point to it. MLP FIM is about something, so I try to make MLP fan art that is about something.
  24. Night Sky
    Well Done, it looks great!
  25. Night Sky
    I didn't really like this episode. Applejack should have either refused to help, or just covered the darn classes and taken her payback later. Granny Smith and her pals didn't need a home health aid. The deal AJ struck was haunting RD the whole time, throwing her balance off. AJ had no business winking at us at the end of that episode, she created the problem. RD and the Grannies had to sort it out. That being said, it's not actually on AJ, it's on the writers. I just don't think AJ would cut anyone so raw a deal. Imho, this episode was just a miss fire.
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