Music Chart Fan

The concern wouldn't just be for new viewers of the franchise; it would also include people who might be regular viewers of the show, but didn't hear about the movie, or weren't able to go out and pay to see it, for example.

@ShootingStar159, I quoted and was responding to your argument that "every major character, and most of the side ones, do the exact same things on a consistent basis" as Starlight has done. Those examples were demonstrating that nearly all of the other characters would not be capable of doing the "exact same things" as Starlight has done. Starlight's biggest mistakes that I listed bring up specific issues that I don't think have been implicated in most other characters' actions in the show. And again, that's a point that I've seen people who both do and don't like Starlight make. I also questioned, in responding to the same argument, whether other protagonist characters on the show have had "the same consistent pattern of controversial actions - with the same severity and within the same amount of appearances/screen time" as Starlight. I think the pattern of controversial actions within a limited number of major appearances is an important piece of the puzzle, and that has been part of the points I've been making in this topic. Other main characters in the show have certainly committed major offenses which were not taken as seriously as might be considered warranted, but I think many of those other characters have had a lot of other significant appearances in which to build goodwill, relatability, etc. By contrast, it seems to me that Starlight's biggest mistakes are a comparatively large and memorable part of her portrayal in the show post-reformation, and she's had comparatively fewer major appearances in which to exhibit qualities that those who strongly disagree with those mistakes might find compelling, positive, relatable, etc. And I think that situation can contribute to a net dislike of her as a character.

I was under the impression that it took both powerful magic and a certain disposition to be able to force another pony to talk against his will, or to mind-control five ponies such that they're unable to exercise their free will and are under the command of the spell caster, or to nonconsensually switch the princesses' cutie marks and abilities, to give the biggest examples. So most of the other characters in the show couldn't have done the same things as Starlight did, and thus, the specific issues with Starlight's actions wouldn't have come up with those other characters. I also don't recall any of the protagonist characters having the same consistent pattern of controversial actions - with the same severity and within the same amount of appearances/screen time - as Starlight had in her appearances after her reformation. Furthermore, I've seen Starlight boosters say that part of her appeal or interest or whatnot is that she doesn't fit in with the rest of Equestria and that she's able and willing to do things that the other characters wouldn't do. At the end of "A Royal Problem", Luna even tells Starlight that "the map was wise to send you" and that "nopony else would have been so bold as to do what you did". Isn't that essentially saying that the Cutie Map expected and called upon Starlight to do different things than any of the other main characters would have done? My point was that Starlight hasn't been the only character who has taken actions with which I significantly disagree. But it feels to me that the traits of Starlight's that I dislike and the actions she's taken with which I substantially disagree are a comparatively larger fraction of her characterization and what she's done in the show so far. Some of the other characters who have exhibited traits or actions with which I significantly disagree have had more appearances and screen time in which they displayed other aspects that I like or relate to well enough to have an overall positive (or neutral) opinion of those characters. I mean, sure, if you think these are more believable reasons not to like Starlight, I would mostly agree that those contribute to my not liking her. I wasn't trying to hide anything, and I don't see why not liking the things you list would be something to hide. I was focusing on Starlight's actions because I thought that this topic was focusing on Starlight's actions.

These comments suggest to me that part of the issue here might be differences in what extent of dislike of, or disagreement with, deliberate writing/design choices in the show is considered legitimate or acceptable. So, for example, I've said several times that I largely don't like Pinkie as a character. I often find her hyper/random/crazy antics to be obnoxious; as someone who generally prefers to be left alone, I don't like how, in multiple cases, she can't seem to take "no" for an answer; and I think she can badly overreact to news that she doesn't want to hear, leading her friends to feel as though they have to do things that they don't want to do in order to avoid a potential meltdown. Furthermore, as far as I can tell, Pinkie is deliberately written to have these as major character traits. But does that fact mean that it's illegitimate or unacceptable for me to dislike those traits, and to dislike Pinkie as a character to the extent that she exhibits them as a major part of her characterization? Does that fact mean that I shouldn't be allowed to express my general dislike of Pinkie as a result of those traits in posts here or elsewhere? I would answer no in both cases. In Starlight's case, I think one reason that I (and others) dislike her is that I particularly don't like the manner in which Starlight has, in multiple cases, recklessly endangered and violated others by her actions, especially her use of magic, and that that seems to be one of her few major defining characteristics. Furthermore, I disagree with what I see as a relative lack of seriousness with which the characters have treated these actions in the show. (And yes, other main characters have also taken actions with which I have substantial issues, moral or otherwise, and those can be seen in many of my original posts about episodes when they first aired.) Now, it might be argued that Starlight is intentionally written to do these things as a major aspect of her characterization, and that other characters in the show are intentionally written not to take Starlight's actions as seriously as I might consider appropriate. But then I would ask the same questions as above. Does this mean that it's illegitimate or unacceptable for me to dislike those traits, and to dislike Starlight as a character to the extent that she exhibits those traits as a major part of her characterization? Is it illegitimate or unacceptable for me to disagree with the approach that characters in the show take to Starlight's actions? Should people not be allowed to express general dislike of Starlight or of how her actions are treated in the show in posts here or elsewhere? Again, I would answer no to all of these questions. If you (or others) would answer the questions I posed differently, then perhaps that difference is at least part of the source of disagreement between those who generally do and don't like Starlight.

Are we to presume that the poll above (sourced from here) is the one to which you're referring? I have a few points to make about that. First, by definition, a vote option receiving a majority of the votes means that it got more than 50% (i.e., more than half) of the total votes. So, as a factual matter, Starlight in the above poll did not receive a majority of the votes, let alone a "vast majority" of the votes. Second, note that this poll is asking which of the poll options was the best character in Season 7. It is not asking about favorite character overall, as your statements about Starlight reaching "fan favorite" status would imply. Furthermore, this poll gives no indication of how strongly people felt about their votes. I recall seeing commenters when this poll was first posted who said that they thought Starlight had improved in Season 7, even as they still weren't necessarily enthusiastic about her overall. It's perfectly possible for people to have voted for Starlight in this poll while not considering her an overall favorite character - for example, they might believe that their other favorite character(s) didn't have the best showings in Season 7, or their favorite characters may not even be listed as poll options. Finally, I think it's important to keep in mind that there's a significant chance that polls like this on Equestria Daily, MLP Forums, etc. are not taking a rigorously representative sample of the fandom overall. These are voluntary polls which only regular visitors to these sites are likely to see in the first place. In the case of Equestria Daily, the poll is only run for a week or so; on MLP Forums, even site members may not get around to reading a topic with a poll like this in a sub-section of the forums. So plenty of people who would have an opinion on a poll topic may not even see the poll in order to vote in it. Also, even people who do see the poll may not be willing, or may not feel able, to vote in it, for a variety of reasons. For example, maybe they have an opinion, but don't care enough about the poll to vote; maybe they can't decide between given poll options; or maybe they feel that none of the poll options represent their opinion well enough to vote for one. As a result of these factors, the people who do end up voting in polls like these may be a self-selected group which is not representative of the entire fandom. So, in short, polls like these can be fun and spark discussion and so forth, but I don't think that voluntary polls which will only be seen by regular visitors to these sites should be cited as definitive proof of what the overall fandom thinks about any given topic.

My first pick for a combo would probably be Twilight/Rainbow. They're the two of the Mane Six that I like and relate to the most, and I've even advocated for their pairing previously on the forums (such as here and here). "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3" and "Top Bolt" are probably among my favorite episodes of the show, and I also enjoyed their interaction in other episodes that didn't necessarily focus on them as a duo, such as "Read It And Weep" or "Daring Don't". I was also somewhat surprised at how much I liked "Rarity Investigates!", and how that episode made Rarity's and Rainbow's friendship believable and relatable, so I would probably like to see them as a combo again. I also agree that more combos of Spike with the Mane Six (more so with the others aside from Twilight and Rarity) would be nice to see.

Yeah, I guess the episode isn't clear about what being in limbo entails. Your description of it reminds me of the Spongebob episode "SB-129" where Squidward breaks the time machine and ends up "nowhere", a pure white space that loops around on itself. And I can imagine being trapped in that kind of state, especially for 1000 years, would be torturous. People can literally go insane from sensory deprivation, and I imagine any possible social interaction with the other Pillars would eventually become meaningless, as there would be nothing further occurring to interact about. You make a good point, too, that if the Pony of Shadows were there with them, then why not talk to him and find out what he was doing, given the lack of other stimulation for 1000 years? I do wonder whether Twilight knew what limbo consists of. She researched enough to know that the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows were sent to it, and she says "That's the thing about limbo. It isn't one place or another. It's in between, so time stands still. If we can pull them out, it'll be like they never left. I actually built another model to demonstrate—" before being cut off. Would Twilight's model have demonstrated what limbo was like, before she was interrupted? If the Pillars were trapped in limbo in a state of awareness, such that they would be suffering, that would seem like a pretty powerful motivating factor that Twilight would want to tell everyone else. Were all of them already fully cooperating, and so Twilight just didn't bother mentioning that? The other thing is that the Pillars, upon emerging from limbo, don't appear to have suffered serious psychic damage, which we might expect if they were in limbo in a state of awareness and sensory deprivation for 1000 years. Or if it's unknown what being in limbo is like, I could imagine the Pillars being asked about it sooner or later - if not by one of the main gang, then by someone else that the Pillars end up interacting with. After all, the Pillars might have to explain to others where they came from and why they don't know anything about the current state of Equestria or what's happened over the last 1000 years.

Now that Season 7 is officially over, what do you think were the best and worst (or, if you prefer, your favorite and least favorite) episodes of the season? You can vote in the poll above, and feel free to post and explain your choices. To kick things off, I'll list my top 5 favorite episodes of this season, as I did for Season 4, Season 5, and Season 6. As a disclaimer, there were parts of some episodes that I really liked, even if those episodes didn't make my list. For example, I enjoyed watching "Twilarina" and her freakouts; Somnambula's legend was engaging, and both she and the Sphinx are surprisingly cute; and I liked both Twilight's fangirl reactions to Star Swirl and the team-up of Rainbow and Spike in "Shadow Play", among others. I just ultimately didn't like the rest of those episodes enough (or, in some cases, disliked them too much) to merit inclusion. So here, not necessarily in rank order, are what I believe are my top 5 favorite episodes of Season 7 (and I'll mention @Truffles, since he might be interested in this): The Perfect Pear (Episode 13): This is probably the most obvious pick of the season, being both highly and nearly universally praised. This was another episode that grew on me even more after it first aired. There are too many emotionally impactful elements in the episode to be able to mention them all. I particularly remember Pear Butter's saying that the Apples are her family now too, and asking if Grand Pear is making her choose between the Apple and Pear families; Granny Smith's cheering up of Pear Butter after her decision to stay, indicating that Granny Smith had accepted Pear Butter into the family; and Applejack's introducing the siblings to Grand Pear, and saying "But you know who we are, don't you", driving the point that Grand Pear has never even talked to his own grandkids, and likely never talked to Pear Butter or Bright Mac again. Throughout the episode, it's striking how utterly sincere the Apple siblings are about learning the story of their parents, and how sincere the others who knew them are about wanting to tell their story. And even as we learn the bittersweet tragedy of Pear Butter's and Bright Mac's story, the episode closes on a hopeful note: the ice has been broken, and the Apple siblings can feel more complete in learning about their parents and being inspired by their example; Grand Pear has reconciled with what remains of his family on the Apple side; and all of them discover the intertwined pear and apple trees, standing as a testament to Pear Butter's and Bright Mac's commitment to each other, despite their families' feud. Once Upon A Zeppelin (Episode 22): I'll admit that it's frustrating to watch Twilight being shuffled from event to event without her questioning or attempting to negotiate her obligations, and Star Tracker really became annoying to me over the course of the episode. But there are several other elements of the episode that I liked. To start, I appreciated Twilight's telling Spike that he's as much a part of her family as anyone, and Spike's insistence that Twilight take a vacation with her family. I liked seeing Twilight's parents developed a bit more. It's heartwarming to see Twilight's family's concern about whether she's able to relax and enjoy herself, too, as well as their trying to make up for Twilight's missing the Northern Stars. Cadance's heart-to-heart talk with Twilight was good as well. Finally, it is clever how Iron Will, despite being physically imposing, didn't threaten violence to get what he wanted, instead using legal yet underhanded tactics to get his way. Parental Glideance (Episode 7): As I discussed in my original post on the episode, I did find Rainbow's parents' behavior obnoxious, and I didn't like how Rainbow is painted as totally in the wrong while Rainbow's parents are basically let off the hook. But, again, there are several other elements of this episode to like. After Rainbow's rocky start as a Wonderbolt, it's great to see her having real camaraderie with the other Wonderbolts; they poke fun at her parents' behavior, but do sympathize with her, and are happy to help with her special apology show. It's nice to see Scootaloo getting some love and attention from Rainbow's parents, and from Rainbow herself. And it's good that, by the end of the episode, Rainbow has repaired her relationship with her parents; I just hope that Rainbow's parents have learned to give a more appropriate level of support, too. A Health Of Information (Episode 20): First off, I loved everything about the cook-off between Twilight and Spike: their enthusiasm, Twilight's sly look as she "recruits" Fluttershy as a second judge, Twilight's crestfallen reaction as Fluttershy says she packed cauliflower bites and not sweet potato muffins, and Twilight's pride in herself as Spike admits that Twilight's muffins were so good that he ate them all. Next, while I agree with Twilight's admonition that Fluttershy needs to take care of herself if she's going to take care of anybody else, Fluttershy's determination to find a cure is understandable. Also, Mage Meadowbrook is a reasonably likable character, and the bayou aesthetic in this episode was kind of interesting. To Change A Changeling (Episode 17): Looking past Trixie's obnoxious behavior in this episode, probably the main thing I appreciate about this episode is the (somewhat surprising) relatability of Pharynx. I understand Pharynx's dilemma of feeling left behind in the new hive, that his skills and previous job that he took pride in don't seem to be valued any more. And Pharynx ultimately has good reason to be worried about the defense of the hive, even as he's the only one concerned about that. I liked that he still cared about defending the hive even after leaving it and feeling rejected. It's also nice to see Thorax draw out Pharynx's feelings about the hive, and to see Thorax and the hive appreciate and accept him, with all of that leading to his transformation. Thorax is likable in his earnest awkwardness. Finally, it's amusing to see the episode kind of poke fun at the changelings' newfound hippy-dippy culture. EDIT: I didn't intend for the poll to require answering both questions in order to vote in it, but as far as I can tell, that's the only way that the poll can work. Sorry for any inconvenience that might cause.

Overall, I thought these episodes were okay - kind of underwhelming when compared to the hype. On the plus side, occasional "epic" episodes like these can be entertaining in their action and in giving a wider scope to the world. I enjoyed Twilight's fangirl reactions to Star Swirl, especially her gleefulness at seeing him in action and at his praise directed her way. Rainbow and Spike also made for a good team against Garble; I liked seeing Rainbow demonstrate her caring for Spike, and seeing her outsmart Garble. However, I can't help feeling that all the other group members were dumbed down and/or made into jerks so that Starlight would be the sole voice of reason and restraint, and in the process, be proven right on the two major plot points of these episodes. Also, there's a bit of weirdness and/or contrivance to how the special artifacts were used and how they got where they are in the present time, as well as the backstory of how Stygian was turned to the dark side. As for the Pillars, most of them seem to do little else than give a few lines of exposition and tag along for the plan, without much other independent comment or judgment. Most of them get essentially no additional characterization (other than hearing their voices) beyond what was seen in their initial legends, which for some of them didn't amount to much in the first place. So I don't dislike the Pillar characters, but I'm just not sure what roles they'll play in the future, or how interesting and entertaining they'll end up being. As you can see, there's a lot to talk about here, so I'll try to divide my thoughts into sections. ---- First, one big issue I have is that, for part 1 of the finale, Starlight is inexplicably the one and only member of the group who has any concerns about using a spell to release the Pillars from limbo. A big reason for this seems to be that everyone is in a great big hurry to bring the Pillars back, even as I don't see any particularly compelling reason why that needs to be done right now without slowing down and considering the consequences. It also seems incongruous with Starlight's characterization for her to be the only one suggesting caution and restraint. To start, what's the urgency of figuring out the mystery of what happened to Star Swirl, other than Twilight's being impatient and excited? Is that really all that driving the Mane Seven and Sunburst (and maybe Starlight) to study for three days straight? Rarity even suggests that taking a break for a day or two won't make a difference, to which the only reply is Twilight saying that she doesn't even want to wait two seconds. And after the group discovers what happened at Ponehenge, I don't see why everyone except Starlight is so determined to pull Star Swirl and the other Pillars out of limbo as soon as possible, apparently without fully thinking through the consequences or making any backup plans or anything. What are the arguments that are made? I'll try to go through them here. (1) First, Twilight says that Starlight used one of Star Swirl's spells to open portals through time, and if Star Swirl were there, he could have stopped it. But could he have, really? Is it necessarily the case that, because Star Swirl wrote the spell, he could stop the spell from being used by Starlight (or somebody else)? Or would Starlight still ultimately need to be talked down from using the spell, in which case Star Swirl wouldn't be of much (if any) help? (2) Twilight also declares that "the chance to have [Star Swirl] back in Equestria is worth the risk" and that "Equestria would be safer with him in it". But what would Equestria be safer from? What exactly makes it "worth the risk" to try to bring the Pillars back? Equestria has seemed to manage for 1000 years without him or the Pillars around, so what's the urgency? Furthermore, once they're brought back, they'll presumably resume the aging process and die sooner or later. So, even if it's taken for granted that the Pillars would make Equestria safer, wouldn't it be fair to ask whether they're actually needed right now? (3) Sunburst describes the plan as "saving the most legendary ponies of all time from a thousands-year-old prison", but is that really an accurate way to think about it? If time doesn't pass in limbo, then I don't see how the Pillars could be suffering or feel trapped or anything like that. Whenever they exit limbo, wouldn't they not have any awareness or recollection of being in limbo, since it would just feel as though no time had passed since they first entered limbo? (4) Sunburst tells Starlight that the Pillars "did the best they could back then, but magic has come a long way. Mostly because of the work they did". And Twilight replies "Exactly" to Starlight's saying that Twilight got her wings from finishing one of Star Swirl's spells. So do Twilight's and Sunburst's replies here essentially boil down to "Trust us, we know what we're doing with this magic stuff"? If so, could they explain how they're "correcting" what the Pillars did, what the effects will be of this new magic they're going to do, and what could go wrong and how that would be mitigated? Of course, as revealed soon after freeing the Pillars from limbo, Twilight and Sunburst didn't really know what they were doing or have any contingency plans. (5) And again, there's an ever-present motivating factor of Twilight's desire to meet her idol Star Swirl. But that doesn't necessitate getting him out of limbo right now, without carefully planning it out. Twilight ought to be able to be patient and think this through. Plus, that wouldn't seem to an urgent motivating factor in itself for any of the rest of the group, nor would I really expect that to prevent any of them from questioning what could happen by hastily going through with this spell. And besides these kind of "half-baked" arguments, it seems rather contrived and hamfisted for Starlight to be the one and only pony with any doubts about any of this. Starlight tells Twilight that the Pillars might have known what they were doing, and that all of them "shouldn't mess with it". And that would seem prudent. If the Pillars had to take the Pony of Shadows to limbo, and were trapped in limbo with him, then it's likely that opening a portal to limbo to get them back out would also enable the Pony of Shadows to get back out. However, all this seems more than a little incongruous coming from the pony who has repeatedly used magic to "mess with" plenty of things, particularly other ponies, without considering the consequences, including in the current season. It was even suggested in "A Royal Problem" that Starlight was called by the Map specifically because no one else would do what she did - i.e., magically altering others' bodies without consent and without regard to consequences - and she was praised for it. But all of a sudden Starlight is now the voice of reason, calling for caution and restraint? So it just looks to me like there are a lot of complicating factors here that Twilight and friends could and should consider. But they don't, seemingly just so that the plot can be driven forward by releasing the big bad villain, and so that Starlight can inevitably be proven right. ---- Next, it isn't really clear to me what significance the artifacts of the Pillars have, or how they came to be where they are in the current time. The holographic depiction of the Pillars trapping the Pony of Shadows (and themselves) in limbo shows them using their special artifacts to do so, with those objects then falling to the ground after they go to limbo. Is that supposed to be like a recording of the actual event? In other words, is that what actually happened? It would seem so. But then, that implies that the Pillars carried their special artifacts with them, and that their objects would have all been at Ponehenge, since they fell to the ground in the holographic depiction. So then how did their special artifacts get scattered across Equestria? The overgrowth and disrepair of Ponehenge would seem to indicate, as Rainbow said, that no one's seen any of this for a long time. Did some ponies at some point in the (distant) past stumble across Ponehenge and these seemingly ordinary objects and take them to sell or give away or something? Furthermore, the locations of all of these special artifacts don't necessarily lend themselves to any clear explanation of how they got where they are. Star Swirl's diary is eventually found in a random blind barrel at an antique shop, and Flash Magnus's shield was apparently found by Garble "out in the desert", so these objects did not seem to be stored in any special way, such that the significance of them (or their owners) was realized. On the other hand, Mistmane's flower was being "guarded" by the gardener in what appears to be the original gardens from the legend; Mage Meadowbrook's mask was hanging on the wall at her tree house; and Rockhoof's shovel appeared to be in a tomb or shrine of some kind. So these artifacts either never left their original locations, or somehow made their way back there, such that ponies might have been aware of the significance of the objects and/or their owners. The location of Somnambula's blindfold is particularly problematic. How did the blindfold come to be stuck in the "drain" of the pit of green slime? That would almost suggest that the blindfold was simply discarded right after it was removed when Somnambula rescued Prince Hisan. But that would contradict the holographic depiction of the blindfold being used by Somnambula at Ponehenge. Furthermore, if the blindfold were really discarded into the pit as though it was useless and it didn't matter what happened to it, then why is it one of the six special objects to bring the Pillars back from limbo? I looked back at the depiction of Somnambula's legend in the episode "Daring Done?", but it's not clear what happened to the blindfold. Prince Hisan drops it after removing it, but we don't see whether it fell into the pit or was picked up afterward. So what can be concluded from all of this? Was the holographic depiction of the Pillars using these special objects to seal the Pony of Shadows (and themselves) in limbo accurate? If so, then did the special objects simply fall down and stay at Ponehenge? Were they found by other ponies at some point and taken or sold or given away? How was it, then, that some of the special objects seemed to be recognized as significant and made their way back to locations associated with their original owners, while others seemingly weren't, and Somnambula's blindfold appears possibly not to have been taken to Ponehenge or considered significant at all? It's all rather muddled, and I don't know if a single unifying explanation can be made. ---- Now here are some observations I had from the Mane Seven going around to find the special artifacts. Applejack tells the archaeologist and the students that she can "guarantee" that Rockhoof was a real pony. But even if Applejack is convinced that Rockhoof was real, how does she plan to prove that to the other ponies there? And why bother saying that in the first place? It kind of just seems like a set-up for Applejack to prove that stuck-up archaeologist wrong and put her in her place. The gardens that Rarity visited to retrieve Mistmane's flower didn't look as though they could be fixed with a few seconds of pruning; besides the sheer amount of overgrowth and disrepair, a good number of the plants were brown. How did the garden come to be in such a state, anyway? If the gardener apparently isn't maintaining the gardens, what is she doing? The gardener says that ponies used to come from far and wide to see the gardens, but now the flower's the only worthwhile thing left. However, what was the cause and effect? Did the gardens fall into disrepair, causing ponies to stop coming to see them? Or did ponies stop coming to see the gardens for other reasons, and with no one visiting, there was no motivation to maintain the gardens? Either way, the problem isn't going to be fixed just with Rarity's one-time pruning job. Garble says that he found Flash Magnus's shield out in the desert, and "finders keepers", to which Rainbow replies "it isn't yours". So what's the argument here, that the shield actually belongs to Flash Magnus? Why would that mean that Rainbow has a better claim to ownership of it than Garble? I would think that abandoned property can be homesteaded, especially when the original owner has disappeared and no one else has apparently claimed title to the property, and Garble makes it sound as though the shield was abandoned when he found it. So Garble's idea of "trash talking" Spike right before the race is to give him a thumbs down and blow a raspberry? Wow, how intimidating. Spike's hugging Rainbow after she swoops in and throws Garble's rock back at him is pretty heartwarming. Rainbow's burn that Garble "must be slow if all Spike had to do to win was fall down" is actually a pretty good point, and it's cool how Rainbow outsmarted Garble. But after seeing Rainbow and Spike flying off with the shield, why wouldn't Garble give chase? It's not as though Rainbow was flying away super quickly at that time, although she could surely outfly Garble if she needed to. Pinkie just hops out of the deep diving suit and stands on the glowing green slime, and allows the slime-soaked blindfold to smack her in the face as she holds it in her mouth. Shouldn't the slime be acidic or dangerous or something? Otherwise, why is it a glowing fluorescent green? ---- Next there's the other major plot point about which Starlight is inevitably proven right - namely, the idea that the Pony of Shadows just needed to be talked to and befriended, rather than banished. Why is Starlight alone so concerned about it not being right to banish the Pony of Shadows to limbo, even as she admits that she knows essentially nothing about him? Part of the problem is that once again, there seems to be an inevitable sense of urgency which I'm not sure is justified based on the circumstances. Star Swirl and the other Pillars seem just to want to recast the same spell they used before to trap both themselves and the Pony of Shadows in limbo as soon as possible. The other Pillars are resigned to going back to limbo, and of course, Star Swirl initially doesn't even want to consider Twilight's alternate spell, saying that "this is hardly the time to take risks on half-baked spells". And even after Star Swirl assents to using Twilight's spell, neither Twilight nor Star Swirl want to hear Starlight's reasons for why they should try to talk it out with the Pony of Shadows, saying that "the stakes are too high". But what's driving the assessment that the stakes are too high? Why can't all of them take a little time to consider alternate means of defeating or containing (or talking down) the Pony of Shadows? It's not as though he's wreaking havoc across the land (as, say, Tirek was); he disappeared somewhere for an indefinite length of time. Flash Magnus even says that the Pony of Shadows "will have a hard time regaining power" because of the lack of dark corners in Equestria these days. But also, I tried to think about whether it makes sense for only Starlight to be suggesting the "talk it out/make friends" approach to the Pony of Shadows. However, it seems that the show hasn't been clear about taking a single "correct" approach to handling big bad villains. On the one hand, it's not as though anyone was really searching for the tragic backstory or innocent initial motivations of Discord (the two times he was turned back into stone), Chrysalis (the first time around), Sombra, or Tirek. Nor was anyone particularly concerned in those cases about whether those four villains were "redeemable". So there's precedent for big bad villains to be simply driven out or contained, full stop. On the other hand, Discord was freed again and "reformed" at the behest of Princess Celestia. Twilight attempts to tell Starlight about the power of friendship (and of everyone having unique talents, passions and personalities) at the end of "The Cutie Map", and when Starlight rejected the lesson and ran away, the Mane Six didn't pursue her. Starlight was talked down and (supposedly) set on a path to reformation in "The Cutie Remark". And Starlight attempted to persuade Chrysalis to change after she was defeated and the other changelings transformed, and again, when Chrysalis rejected the lesson, she was allowed to get away. So, in other cases, dialogue and reformation were attempted, rather than just defeating and containing the villain. With all this in mind, are there any clear guidelines as to which approach should be taken for any particular big bad villain? I'm not sure that there are. Maybe it could be argued that villains actively causing mass harm and destruction, such as Discord (the first two times) or Chrysalis (the first time) or Tirek, had to be stopped as soon as possible, although that doesn't apply for the Pony of Shadows in this episode. Did some of these villains display some vague potential to be reformed and/or to be useful fighting for the "good side", like Starlight and (eventually) Discord, and so were talked to and befriended, rather than defeated and contained? But that doesn't feel like a very satisfactory explanation, either. I'm not sure that there's a way to put all these pieces together. So I don't know that Starlight is justified in assuming, a priori, that the Pony of Shadows can and should be talked to and befriended. It seems to me like the situation and the Pony of Shadows himself would need to be evaluated to see if that's possible and feasible. The Mane Six have arguably been able to do that before. Fluttershy saw a way to break through to Discord and befriended him, and Twilight and friends decided to befriend Starlight. So then could we expect any of the other group members at least to entertain such a possibility here? Do Twilight, the rest of the Mane Seven, and the Pillars all just have excessive admiration of and deference to Star Swirl, such that none of them can exert any independent judgment of the whole situation? In other words, is Starlight supposed to be the one and only member of the group free of the Star Swirl cult of personality? It feels contrived and unsatisfying that nobody else is willing or able to consider what the appropriate means of stopping the Pony of Shadows should be, just so that Starlight can be inevitably proven right once again. ---- In the last big section here, I'll talk about the backstory of what happened between Stygian and the Pillars, and how it seems like both parties could have handled the situation better. The Pillars say that Stygian stole the artifacts from them to use in a spell to take their powers for himself, but then, how can they be sure of that if they never talked to Stygian about it? Was taking the Pillars' powers for himself the only possible explanation for Stygian's taking the artifacts? If the Pillars were friends with Stygian, why would they immediately assume the worst from him without ever trying to find out what he was doing? Stygian would be at fault for taking (or borrowing) the Pillars' artifacts without permission, but couldn't they at least ask why he took them and what he was doing with them? The flashback implies that Stygian was cast out as soon as he was discovered with the artifacts, without any discussion. Were the Pillars and Stygian already falling out for other reasons before the artifact incident? So yeah, the Pillars do share some of the blame here. But then the story as Stygian tells it is that he essentially borrowed the artifacts to make copies of them, so that he apparently "could be a Pillar, too, and stand by their side in battle". But how would that work? Would the copied artifacts boost his own strength or magic by virtue of having copied the inherent magic contained in the artifacts? Or would the copied artifacts just be mere objects? Also, why couldn't Stygian ask the Pillars about borrowing the artifacts for this plan, rather than trying to use the artifacts behind their backs? And even if the Pillars overreacted to seeing Stygian with the artifacts, isn't it at least understandable that they would be upset and suspicious at his taking their artifacts without their permission? Even if the Pillars apparently weren't interested in apologies or explanations at the moment, couldn't Stygian have allowed some time for things to cool down, and then tried to apologize and explain himself? Somnambula says that the Pillars thought he would return to seek forgiveness, but apparently he never did. So it seems that Stygian could have handled the situation better, too. ---- One more larger point I'll discuss is the language that the Pillars speak upon emerging from limbo. We've seen that ponies from long ago (including Star Swirl) at least wrote in Old Ponish, and we've heard Old Ponish spoken, implying that there was a verbal form of it. So then might we expect the Pillars to emerge from limbo speaking Old Ponish, or even other languages? The Pillars were originally from all around Equestria, so did all of them necessarily speak the same language back then? It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that different regions of Equestria might have used different languages, particularly if there wasn't widespread travel and communication 1000 years ago. But in the episode, all of the Pillars seem to speak the modern language, such that everyone else can understand them. I guess it's just easier to write the episodes that way. For example, even though Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon for 1000 years, she apparently doesn't speak Old Ponish after returning; Princess Luna speaks in a bit older, more proper style, at least for a while, but that's about it. Now, finally, are the rest of my miscellaneous observations: Twilight asks whether Celestia and Luna can "verify that this journal really belonged to Star Swirl the Bearded", and Luna replies "Indeed". So how can the two of them verify it? Do they recognize Star Swirl's hornwriting and writing style well enough after 1000 years to be able to tell with confidence? Are there other indicators in the diary that would definitely confirm that it was written by Star Swirl? I counted about 25 or so visible burned candle stumps in the garbage during the studying scene, and Applejack says that they've been working for 3 days straight. So, assuming that Twilight was burning one candle at a time for that whole period, that would mean that each of those candles burned for about 3 hours or so - less time if there are more candle stumps that aren't visible. I suppose that's plausible for the size of the candles being burned. When seeing the Mane Seven and Sunburst (and maybe Starlight) intensely studying, I couldn't help recalling that, in "A Health Of Information", only Twilight and Fluttershy were researching where to find the Mystical Mask, and Twilight took a break to sleep properly while doing so. I could see an argument that the scene of the Mane Seven & Co. intensely studying is what should have been happening in that episode, since finding a way to stop Zecora from turning into a tree would be serious business. Twilight says to Sunburst "I can't believe I'm gonna meet Star Swirl the Bearded! You know, outside of my dreams", while giving a devious smirk. Uh, is Sunburst really interested in what Twilight dreams about? That might be too much information there. Why did the Pillars come out of limbo with giant stones over their heads, such that the Pillars had to be pushed out of the way before they were crushed? Where did those come from? We don't see giant stones transported into limbo with the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows, and Ponehenge has the same giant stones in the current time as it apparently did 1000 years ago, judging from the illustration in Star Swirl's diary. Somnambula says that the Elements of Harmony (laughter, honesty, generosity, loyalty, kindness, and magic) are reflections of the Pillars' elements (hope, strength, beauty, bravery, healing, and sorcery, respectively). But are they, really? I'm not sure I see the connections between some of the elements exhibited by the Pillars and their analogs in the Elements of Harmony. How is generosity necessarily a reflection of beauty, loyalty a reflection of bravery, etc.? I don't think that Starlight's gloating about how a conversation can really save Equestria is really accurate. After all, the darkness itself that was consuming and using Stygian still had to be banished to limbo with the spell and the Pillars and Elements of Harmony. Finally, I can imagine how it could be pretty emotional and profound for Celestia and Luna to talk to Star Swirl again after 1000 years. How many generations of ponies, and friends in particular, have they had to see grow old and pass away, just to have to move on and make new friends again? And yet now their mentor's back, whom they still have fond memories of even after all of the centuries they've been through.

That actually might be a pretty apt comparison. While on vacations, my family has been to antique shops, toured old houses, etc., and while that can be mildly interesting, I probably wouldn't choose to expend much effort to do that myself. That's likely how a lot of people view my hobby of compiling music charts and learning the history of popular music, even as I've spent countless hours doing that and could talk about it for hours. It's actually Twilight who (finally) levitates the antique goods off the table and suggests looking through them later, which then prompts Sunburst to ask Starlight what she wants to do. But you make a good point that Twilight is complicit in dragging Sunburst away from talking to or paying much attention to Starlight, and Twilight herself doesn't seem to take much notice of or do much about Starlight's disengagement and exclusion up to that point. And as you suggest, Twilight also doesn't seem to consider whether Starlight might want some one-on-one time with Sunburst.

Overall, I would probably consider this an average episode. It's good to see Sunburst characterized a bit more, and there are some nice moments with him and Starlight and/or Twilight. There are also some nice sentiments here that friends only drift apart if they let it happen, and that the primary thing with friends is enjoying each other's company. However, while the overall plot - that two childhood friends drifted apart, and it's awkward for them to try to reconnect in adulthood - isn't unrealistic, it's kind of frustrating to watch it unfold, when it seems like it could be worked out by the two of them just being a bit more tactful and talking it out. Yeah, it's awkward and weird that Starlight only seems to suggest things to do from her and Sunburst's childhood (culminating in putting the two of them in their childhood bodies), when the two of them have probably developed different interests since then. But Sunburst, for his part, is rather tactless in often not noticing or caring that Starlight is feeling excluded, even as visiting her is supposedly a, if not the, motivation for his trip in the first place. So why don't the two of them just start off catching up on their respective interests, and together work out activities that they'll both commit to and find enjoyable? It seems that the two of them worked things out by the end of the episode, but their reconnection seems mostly to have happened off-screen. I might also have liked to see Sunburst acknowledge and apologize for his neglecting and excluding Starlight (and Starlight could also have apologized to Sunburst for the spell putting them in their childhood bodies, too). I kind of saw Starlight's potential problem when she was bursting with excitement to see Sunburst, even though we haven't seen the two of them develop a close friendship or anything. As Starlight was talking about how much she has in common with Sunburst, I was already thinking "How does she know that? When has she hung out with Sunburst and found out all of these things?". Was Starlight basing this idea of having so much in common with Sunburst on their childhood, prior to his moving away? That's a lot of time for the two of them and their interests to have changed. For example, I had no particular interest in music popularity charts or the history of popular music prior to my undergraduate years; and even then, my interest in and knowledge about those things has expanded over time. Someone who had only gotten to know me in, say, elementary or middle school would have no idea that those are one of my main current interests. Yet, even though it would be reasonable to expect that Sunburst's interests have changed since childhood, the only things Starlight seems to think of or suggest doing with Sunburst are things they did when they were children, which, needless to say, is awkward and weird. The peak of that is obviously Starlight's casting a spell to put her and Sunburst in their bodies as children, while recreating the room they played in as kids, just to play a board game that they already played before as adults. Why not just talk with Sunburst and try to work out something to do that they both would find fun and interesting, rather than each of them kind of dragging the other along to activities with little input? So yeah, Starlight could have handled this meeting better. However, Sunburst shares some (and perhaps more) blame, too. Twilight and Starlight, at least, both thought that Sunburst is visiting Ponyville to see Starlight. And yet, Sunburst on multiple occasions seems to forget about or neglect Starlight as soon as someone/something catches his interest more. To start, Sunburst's "Um, of course!" response to Starlight's not knowing that he likes antiquing doesn't help. If the two of them haven't talked or hung out much since they were young children, then how would Starlight have known that? Did Sunburst ever tell Starlight that specifically? Sunburst also declares that Starlight is going to love antiquing, but on what basis? Has Starlight displayed any signs to Sunburst that that would be the case? Then, after going around the antique store with Twilight for a while, Starlight acts pretty obviously bored and excluded, but Sunburst keeps plowing through the antiques, even as he supposedly came to see Starlight. Sunburst even seems to realize that Starlight isn't interested, since he tells her "You don't have to pretend to like all this stuff". So then why continue to browse the antique store and the purchases from it long after Starlight stopped being interested? If Starlight really wants to do something else with Sunburst, couldn't he and Twilight continue their antiquing later? Or if not, couldn't Sunburst arrange a time and place a bit later to do something with Starlight, and let Starlight do her own thing until then? Twilight and Sunburst eventually agree to look through the antiques later, and ask Starlight what she wants to do, but only after spending a lot of time not particularly noticing or caring that Starlight was disengaged and excluded. And later, Sunburst rather tactlessly says he's enjoying his stay in Ponyville because he went antiquing and spent time with Twilight, and he kind of obsesses over Twilight with no mention of Starlight, even as Starlight seems obviously to want to connect with him, and again, despite Sunburst's supposed reason for visiting Ponyville being to see Starlight. After Starlight's big spell fails to make her and Sunburst reconnect, and she runs out of the room in tears, then Sunburst gets worried about how to reconnect with Starlight and talks to Twilight (and other friends) about it. I can't help wondering, though, whether Sunburst and Twilight are partly thinking that Starlight went off the deep end last time Sunburst moved away and (kind of) stopped being friends, so Sunburst had better really try to stay friends with Starlight this time, to prevent that from happening again. And coming up with a life-size version of Dragon Pit is nice and all, but doesn't seem like much of a solution to the dilemma in itself. Like, sure, Starlight and friends might play that for an hour or two, but then what? I guess we're to assume that Sunburst paid more attention to Starlight and did reconnect with her off-screen, since the two of them are on good terms and talk about enjoying each other's company at the end of the episode. But I would have liked to see that, at least a little bit, and that would have been a good time for Sunburst to acknowledge and apologize for his behavior earlier in the episode. Finally, from a personal standpoint, I'm not sure I relate much to Starlight's seemingly intense desire (and even desperation) to connect and be friends with Sunburst. I have next to no contact with any of my peers from elementary, middle, or high school, or even undergrad; I'm Facebook friends with some of them, but I don't message them, I don't make much effort to keep up with their posts, and I almost never post anything myself. But I'm fine with that; I wasn't particularly close friends with others at school, etc., and so when we stopped having classes or whatever in common, we basically lost contact. My siblings have essentially always been my best friends. As I mentioned in my post for the episode "Amending Fences", if one of my peers from back when really wanted to catch up with me, I wouldn't refuse, but I would expect it to be kind of awkward, and I wouldn't expect much to come of it. Now for the rest of my miscellaneous observations: Sunburst apparently threw his books haphazardly into the suitcase, and after it accidentally opens from Starlight's dropping it, she just levitates the books back into the suitcase haphazardly. Couldn't she attempt to stack the books more neatly so that they fit better and are less likely to be damaged? What would Twilight think if she saw this abuse of books? I had never heard of bricks being extruded, as opposed to molded, but apparently extrusion of bricks is an actual thing. You never know what you're going to learn watching MLP! When Sunburst says what a difference there is between the hoof-molded and extruded bricks, Starlight just laughs awkwardly, but why not ask Sunburst what the difference is, as a topic of conversation, if nothing else? Why does one of the game pieces falling through a trapdoor cause Twilight to flip the board with her magic? It's implied that Sunburst did that when he was much younger and didn't have full control of his magic, but Twilight is obviously a mature adult. Sunburst is self-conscious about "getting changed" in front of Starlight, which seems unusual, since, in my experience, it's usually girls, more so than guys, who take issue with changing near other people. I want to tell Sunburst to just join the fun, since almost everyone else just runs around naked. And speaking of that, it's kind of funny that three of Starlight's friends - Sunburst, Maud, and Trixie - are among the few ponies we've seen to wear clothes regularly. Is the Apple family okay with Trixie practicing her new feats on their property? Or are their orchards just kind of open to anyone in Ponyville? Starlight takes Sunburst to the orchard with the plan of eating apples, but it's possible that Applejack has already given Starlight "friend privileges" to eat apples from the orchard, whereas I'm not sure that Applejack has done the same for Trixie. The game of hiding a ball under one of three cups, and then shuffling the cups before asking which cup the ball is under, doesn't exactly work when your cups have unique patterns on them. Starlight tells Sunburst that if they made copies of themselves in the Mirror Pool, they could get a year's worth of hanging out over in one day. But, in doing that, they wouldn't have a year's worth of things that they did to talk about or anything, so I wouldn't think that that's quite the same thing. Also, was Starlight's suggestion there serious? I mean, isn't there kind of a good reason why the Mirror Pool was sealed up? Starlight seems to be aware of the story about Pinkie abusing it, and the bad things that resulted from that. So was Starlight planning on using the Mirror Pool despite that, before Sunburst's shock put a stop to it? If so, that would seem like another case of Starlight using magic (or planning to) without thinking through the consequences. Sunburst and Maud talk about the metamorphic foliation of the gems that Maud uncovered, and Sunburst says that it has a consistent planar fabric formed by uniform pressure. But does it, really? I'm not really seeing that in the gem as illustrated in the episode. Finally, it's kind of weird that Sunburst says that the new version of Dragon Pit, where the players move around the board themselves, is "big enough for full-grown ponies". So playing a table-top board game is only something for kids, but making it the size of a room and having the players dress up and be the game pieces makes it "adult"?

This reminds me of a big reason why I didn't like the episode "What About Discord?", namely, that it might have been too effective in putting the audience in Twilight's place. I felt very similarly to Twilight as her friends, even if they didn't realize it, kept rubbing her face in the fact that she didn't get their inside jokes and stories because she missed out, she "had to be there" to get it but she wasn't, she was off doing her inconsequential book-sort-cation rather than hanging out with her friends. (Although, as I discussed in my original post on the episode, I can't imagine how the sequence of events leading to her not being asked out actually occurred, and I'm not sure that Twilight is really much at fault for it.) I ultimately don't want to watch this show just to feel unproductive frustration and bitter disappointment, and that's what I felt as I watched that episode. So I think I understand why watching characters with whom we strongly sympathize go through painful things, to the point of freely-flowing tears, isn't desirable on a regular basis. An episode like "The Perfect Pear", though, seems to me to pull on the viewers' heartstrings in a good way. There are definitely sad and tragic elements to the story of Bright Mac and Pear Butter and their families: Pear Butter and Bright Mac may likely have died without ever talking to the Pear family again; on the flip side, Grand Pear may never have talked to his own daughter or son-in-law again before they died, and probably had never gotten to know his grandkids from them; the Apple siblings seem to have grown up never having known an entire side of their family, nor knowing the story of their parents; etc. But those elements are part of a larger story which affirms how Bright Mac and Pear Butter cared for each other and were great people, and how they seem to have made a happy life for their immediate family despite the tragic events. And in the present, there's now hope that the Apple siblings have finally learned (and can continue to learn about) their parents' story and can be inspired to follow in their footsteps, and they can make up at least some of the lost time with Grand Pear now that he's made up with the Apple family. So the sad and tragic elements are interspersed with sweet and hopeful elements, and the episode ends with the latter as a final impression. But episodes with an emotional impact like that can be hard to pull off correctly, and the effect would likely be blunted if attempted too frequently, so episodes aiming for that level of impact are probably best made sparingly.

Overall, I'm not really feeling this episode. The basic plot seems to be stretched too thin to cover a whole episode, and therefore much of the time is filled with gags, which could be amusing, but kind of wear out their welcome and can't carry the episode themselves. Pinkie actually wasn't as obnoxious as I was expecting, but she still exhibits several of her traits which I really don't care for. It was bad for Rainbow to lie and pretend to like all of Pinkie's pies, and that problem was probably made worse by trying to continue a facade that couldn't have been maintained forever. But I feel like Pinkie shares some of the blame here, considering how pushy she can be and how badly she can react to bad news. The episode makes a point of having Rainbow learn a lesson, but I can't help feeling that Pinkie probably needs to learn a lesson too - to accept with maturity when others tell her things that she doesn't want to hear, and not assume the worst about her friends without evidence. At least it's nice that Rainbow and Pinkie want to see each other be happy, and I'm glad that Pinkie's pies (for the most part) went to others who enjoyed them. To start, the action that kicks off the whole chain of events in the episode is Rainbow's not wasting a second in ditching Pinkie's pie in the garbage can that's being wheeled out the door right in front of Pinkie. Wouldn't it seem significantly likely that Pinkie might see the pie in the garbage if Rainbow throws it out that quickly? Also, why doesn't Rainbow offer the pie to any of the other Wonderbolts (since they've apparently previously accepted Rainbow's mysterious monthly pie donations), or even the janitor himself? In fact, from what we see in the episode, Rainbow most often ditches Pinkie's pies by giving them to someone else to eat. There are a couple of times that Rainbow tosses the pie off-screen, and the time that Rainbow ties the pie to balloons, where it's not clear what would have been done with that pie later, if anything. But it seems like just straight-up throwing Pinkie's rainbow blueberry pie in the garbage is unusual. Did Rainbow somehow know that Pinkie's "art" of combining 73 different ingredients didn't actually produce a palatable result for anybody? Also, a good part of the episode is spent showing various ways that Rainbow got rid of Pinkie's pies, with Pinkie apparently never being the wiser. Considering how many of these cases there have been, why hasn't Pinkie ever wondered (or asked) where her pie pans went? Surely Pinkie doesn't expect Rainbow to have eaten the pans themselves? Also, in all of these cases, did Pinkie really expect Rainbow to have eaten the whole pie (or pies) in just a few seconds? And of course, Pinkie falls for the "What's that over there?" trick over and over and over, while never seeing or hearing or sensing Rainbow ditching the pies. Even later in the episode, when Pinkie is actively looking to prove that Rainbow isn't eating the pies, Pinkie never confronts Rainbow about the pie pans, or supposedly eating 15 pies in a matter of seconds, or, in the last case, supposedly eating the whole pie literally in the blink of an eye. And yeah, we're probably just supposed to treat this all as one giant gag, but all of these things are supposed to have really happened, and the accumulation of them over the course of the episode just comes across more as stupid rather than funny. For Rainbow's part, it seems she felt that she couldn't just tell Pinkie that she doesn't like pie, probably for reasons I discuss below. But even barring that, I can think of other ways that Rainbow could have handled being given all of these pies. Why is it that Rainbow pretends to have eaten the whole pie (or pies) every time? Would it not be acceptable for Rainbow to thank Pinkie, but say (perhaps even truthfully) that she's not really hungry right now, because she just ate, or because her stomach's not feeling right, or even without giving any particular reason? Or if Pinkie is giving Rainbow multiple pies within a few days (or even on the same day), then couldn't Rainbow say something like "I appreciate your making all these pies for me, but I'm a little pied out right now, and it's probably not healthy for someone to eat this much pie in this short a time anyway"? And after saying something like the above, then Rainbow could offer to take the pie for later or suggest giving it to someone else, along with perhaps suggesting that Pinkie can lay off making pies for her for a little while. But then, all of these proposals are kind of predicated on Pinkie's being reasonable about these things. Would Pinkie have just kept insisting that Rainbow eat (some of) the pie anyway, even if Rainbow said she didn't want to for any of the above reasons? Would Pinkie have simply refused to entertain the possibility of anyone not wanting to eat her pie, saying something like "Don't be ridiculous, everyone is always in the mood for my pies!"? Those seem like real possibilities, and that's one of the problems with trying to deal with Pinkie - that she might not take "no" for an answer. And the motivation for this whole thing seems to be another one of Pinkie's issues - how badly she can react (and has reacted) to hearing things that she doesn't want to hear. We've seen in previous episodes how Pinkie's friends have felt that they have to walk on eggshells with her, for fear of her descending into deep depression and/or going crazy and doing stupid and dangerous things. An example of this in the episode is when Rainbow is talking to Twilight and Applejack about how to apologize to Pinkie, and Rainbow says "I guess I should've just eaten the pies in the first place". So that was supposed to be the solution? Rainbow was supposed to have spent the rest of her life forcing herself to eat pie she doesn't like, just because Pinkie couldn't maturely handle being told that Rainbow doesn't like her pies and doesn't want to have them made for her? How much should Pinkie's friends have to put up with in order to accommodate this issue of hers? We also see in this episode how Pinkie can assume the worst and overreact to it. Pinkie spins this story to Applejack about how she "knows" that Rainbow has been laughing at her pies behind her back and scheming to get rid of them. And later, Pinkie yells to Rainbow that she hates Pinkie's pies. But what reason is there to believe that? Rainbow's ditching Pinkie's pies rather than eating them doesn't automatically mean that Rainbow hates them or revels in getting rid of them while secretly laughing at Pinkie, but that's apparently the conclusion that Pinkie jumped to. So, to conclude, all of this kind of puts the lie to Pinkie's declaration to Rainbow at the end of the episode that she can "always be honest" with Pinkie. We've seen before that Pinkie can sometimes go dangerously crazy when others are honest with her. The end of the episode also illustrates one of Pinkie's other reactions, when Rainbow's honest statement about Pinkie's hugs being too tight is simply summarily dismissed. None of these reactions on Pinkie's part are exactly motivational for getting others to be truthful with her, and I feel like that's something that Pinkie could stand to think about and try to improve. Now for the rest of my miscellaneous observations: Pinkie's "cocoa bar" looks like your typical chocolate bar, and in fact, Pinkie refers to it as chocolate a few seconds later. But then I'm not sure why it's being called a "cocoa bar"; in my experience, the word cocoa by itself refers to cocoa powder, and there's more to chocolate than just that. When Twilight asks whether Pinkie's chocolate bar is for the pie, Pinkie laughs and says "You don't mix chocolate into a blueberry pie!", with a tone that implies "duh!" after it, as though it's obviously stupid for Twilight (or the audience) to think that. But how was Twilight (or the audience) supposed to know that seemingly arbitrary rule? This is one of those Pinkie behaviors that I find really annoying. The blueberries on top of Pinkie's rainbow pie seem unusually large. It's a bit weird that Pinkie is using a spatula to cut a piece of pie. Is the specific pie server utensil not a thing in Equestria? Pinkie dives into the partially emptied garbage can looking for the pie that Rainbow threw out, but it was on the top, so we would expect it to have been dumped already. Pinkie says "I must be seeing things. I did have a lot of chocolate this morning". So what, eating too much chocolate messes with your mind and/or impairs your vision? Spitfire asks Pinkie whether the Wonderbolts are under investigation, but then, is there any reason to believe that Pinkie has the legal authority to place them under some kind of "official" investigation? Did Rainbow violate rule number one just before Pinkie lands on the runway? I suppose Rainbow could have looked both ways off-screen, but we can't say for sure. Finally, what is the "pie" that Rainbow was about to force herself to eat? Some combination of concrete, mud, sludge, hair, and garbage? Where did that even come from? And how did Rainbow get the idea that eating that in front of Pinkie would make things right with her?

Overall, this episode reminds me a bit of my reaction to "Parental Glideance"; there are many aspects of the episode that are enjoyable, but I have frustrations with a couple of major parts of the episode. The beginning bit with Spike convincing Twilight to go with her family, while she says that he's as much a part of her family as anyone, is nice to see. It's also nice to see those moments when members of Twilight's family are concerned about her relaxing and enjoying herself on the vacation, too. It's good to see a little bit of personality developed for Twilight's parents. Cadance's heart-to-heart where she shares her experience with Twilight was gratifying, and is a good lesson for Twilight to learn. I like that the cruise attendees are understanding when Twilight asks to spend time with her family. And the final scene of Twilight's family cheering her up is satisfying. The two major aspects of the episode I find frustrating are Twilight's response to the situation of her family being manipulated by Iron Will (who is admittedly clever in being underhanded in a legal way), and the extent to which Star Tracker is repeatedly oblivious to how uncomfortable and annoyed he makes Twilight throughout the episode. To start, I find the response by Twilight's parents, and particularly Twilight, to Iron Will's manipulation of them frustrating. First, Twilight's parents' naivete in signing paperwork for a free vacation without asking any questions is still bothersome for reasons I mentioned here, even if it didn't end up being a plot to threaten the leaders of Equestria or anything like that. However, interestingly, after Iron Will says that he outlined the details of the cruise in the "Prize Acceptance and Consent Form" that Twilight's parents signed, he doesn't tell Twilight and Cadance that the signed form legally requires them to do activities with the cruise attendees, nor does he necessarily say that the family must immediately deboard if Twilight and Cadance don't do the activities. That might indicate that Twilight's parents could not legally consent on Twilight's and Cadance's behalf for them to do anything; rather, Twilight and Cadance would have to consent themselves, since they are full-blown adults. So what did that form say? Did Twilight's parents consent to being responsible for bringing Twilight and Cadance on the cruise? Then we get to Twilight's handling of the situation. After Iron Will's trickery is discovered, Twilight offers a deal to Iron Will: "If I agree to do whatever princess activities you want, will you promise that my family gets to do the activities they want?". As soon as Twilight said that, I knew that she was being far too vague about what she was agreeing to do. Why doesn't Twilight even ask what activities are scheduled with her and Cadance and the cruise attendees, so that Twilight can see how much work that would entail? Plus, I would think that Twilight and her family have at least some power in this situation. They can tell the cruise attendees that Iron Will took advantage of Twilight's parents to get Twilight and Cadance on the cruise, and that the two of them had not agreed to take part in all of these activities, even as Iron Will advertised them to get ponies to take the cruise in the first place. I would suspect that almost all of the attendees, especially if they're admirers of Twilight and/or Cadance, would take Twilight's and Cadance's side, and agree that Iron Will was being a deceptive jerk. Then the attendees (along with two of the princesses of Equestria and their family) would know about Iron Will's underhanded ways, and would spread the word not to do business with him. So it seems like Twilight could tell Iron Will to let both her and her family do what they want to do on the cruise, and in exchange, Twilight could agree to some of the activities with the cruise attendees (on her schedule), perhaps preventing the cruise attendees from being totally disappointed and disillusioned with Iron Will's cruise and how it was advertised. Instead, frustratingly, Twilight makes this open-ended deal and allows herself to be pushed from activity to activity, never knowing or asking what she's going to be doing or for how long, and seemingly never attempting to negotiate any limits to the activities. Throughout most of the rest of the episode, Twilight seems to have an expectation that she'll be able (more or less) to do most of the things she wants to do with her family, and is repeatedly disappointed when she misses them. But then, could Twilight really expect to do those things, if she doesn't even know what activities she agreed to do with the cruise attendees? Finally, I can't help wondering whether Spike might have gotten Twilight to slow down, think about what she's agreeing to, and negotiate if he were there. The other aspect of this episode that I find frustrating is (what I consider) the extremity of Star Tracker's behavior. Star Tracker repeatedly violates Twilight's personal space, including standing so close to her that she bumps into him and later steps on his hoof, and talking directly into her ear a few inches away from it. Those seem like things that almost anyone beyond immediate or intimate family members would find awkward and uncomfortable. So does Star Tracker regularly violate the personal space of acquaintances or random strangers like that? Or does he only do that around Twilight? Even if Star Tracker is nervous or socially awkward, I would think that Twilight's flinching, backing away, and annoyed/pained facial expressions would be signs to respect her personal space and refrain from interrupting her. In fact, after Twilight steps on Star Tracker's hoof, she yells at him and says "maybe that wouldn't have happened if you weren't practically standing on my tail!", and she has a point. He's been bumping into her and violating her personal space repeatedly all day; how many times does that need to happen before he gets a clue? Furthermore, other than one muttered "Sorry", we never see Star Tracker apologize as he repeatedly interrupts Twilight, gets in her way, and violates her personal space, even as Twilight is pretty clearly uncomfortable and annoyed. But then Twilight is the one who apologizes to Star Tracker in the end, saying "If I felt like you were standing too close, I should have said something". But should Star Tracker need to be explicitly told not to stand uncomfortably close to people, or stand in their path, such that they might bump into him and even hurt him while moving normally? Maybe Star Tracker's line about Twilight's family being kind to include him but their deserving their own vacation is supposed to indicate that he finally realized how uncomfortable and annoying he was being, but I can't help feeling like it doesn't quite address the number of times his uncomfortable and annoying behavior built up over the episode. Now for the rest of my miscellaneous observations: Man, when is Spike going to learn to point his fiery burps away from people and things that might be damaged by them? Who came up with the idea of deep-frying gems, since (to my recollection) dragons are the main beings who eat gems, and we wouldn't really expect pony society to cater to dragon tastes? Does Spike deep-fry gems himself? Also, are the gems battered or something before being deep-fried, since presumably the gems themselves are basically unaffected by deep-frying? Spike makes motions as though he's "rolling up his sleeves", but is that something that people would do in Equestria? How often would ponies or others getting "ready to work" be wearing a shirt with sleeves to roll up at the time? I noticed that "Zeppelin" is misspelled as "Zepplin" in the title displayed in the episode; that may be corrected in future airings. The gag about Shining Armor pretending that he doesn't get airsick (because that's not "manly" or something) as he's getting airsick gets irritating as it's repeated several times, and in fact seems to be most of what Shining Armor does on-screen for the whole episode. So what's powering this zeppelin, since it does appear to be powered? Are there large coal-fired or petroleum-powered engines in Equestria? When Night Light says "Oh, I just love how the numbers and letters are organized in their little boxes. It's so satisfying", he's presumably referring to bingo, but at first, I thought he was referring to Twilight's schedule itself. If Twilight as the bingo caller can't even make out what her dad is saying, couldn't that be problematic for hearing a winner call "bingo", or possibly determining who called "bingo" first, if that becomes necessary? Why couldn't Twilight's signing table be set up in view of the Northern Stars? In fact, Twilight could have even incorporated that as an event - see the Northern Stars right after Twilight explains the phenomenon to everyone! Also, I thought that the "Northern Stars" would be the analog to the "Northern Lights", and as far as I know, those are a phenomenon that lasts more than a few seconds. If Twilight's stepping on Star Tracker's hoof is supposed to be a significant injury, then shouldn't there be medical staff on the cruise to handle that kind of thing, rather than Twilight's mom handling it? Finally, after Iron Will announces "If it's your dream, come to the deck for ice cream!", Star Tracker tells Iron Will to leave Twilight alone, and Twilight launches into her speech. But was that actually intended to be an event with Twilight? After all, Iron Will had said earlier that the signing event was the last thing that Twilight had to do for the day.

I just got back from the theater a little while ago. Funnily enough, there were exactly two other people (what looked like a mother and daughter) in the theater other than me, and it was the first showing on the first night. But I did go to a theater in the middle of nowhere, and there were only maybe 20 cars or so in the parking lot for the whole theater in total. For what it's worth, I thought the movie was good. I was expecting it to be basically an extended episode with higher production values, but after seeing it, I guess I wouldn't quite describe it that way; I might say that it felt a bit like a Disney movie. The animation/visuals might take a bit of adjustment as compared to the show, but as would be expected, they're generally pretty good. In retrospect, one thing that's a bit surprising about the movie is that the plot keeps pushing forward. The movie mostly doesn't linger long in any particular place; in fact, a lot of the time spent in particular locations was done in the song sequences. Speaking of those, they're fine, for the most part; I'm not going to be listening to the songs outside of the movie or anything, but they do what they're supposed to do. I'm not a fan of the "We Got The Beat" cover that plays at the start of the movie, but I'm probably a bit of a purist about old hit songs like that. On the other hand, though, I did appreciate the reference to "The Girl From Ipanema". There are a few observations I remember having that I'll list below. I'm going by memory, though, so the details may not be quite right.

The analogy is to people who might go to see the movie at a theater, but for whom that isn't feasible, because no theaters nearby are showing it, they have other more important obligations, etc. This set of people is comparable to a person who likes an amusement park, but for whom going to it isn't feasible, for similar reasons. So, for this set of people, if they can't feasibly see the movie at a theater, are they expected to pay for tickets which they can't use at some random theater, even one in another country? That's what I find it strange to expect, just as I would find it strange to expect a fan of an amusement park to buy tickets to the park that he can't use.

As I've been reading posts and topics about the movie over the past few days on several MLP sites (not just MLP Forums), I've encountered a few people employing what I believe are questionable pressure tactics and arguments to others who have said that they don't plan on seeing the movie in theaters. In this topic, I want to go through some of these tactics and arguments and ask whether they should be considered appropriate. (And to state upfront, I have pre-ordered a ticket to see the movie at the theater myself, so this is not a matter of my trying to justify my not seeing the movie.) First, I've seen people in European countries and elsewhere who don't want to go pay to see the movie at a theater because they've said that the movie isn't showing anywhere nearby, or is only showing locally in an inferior dubbed version. And I've seen those people told either (1) to go pay and see the dubbed version anyway, even if they don't want to; or (2) to go to the website of some random U.S. movie theater and pay for tickets that they can't and won't use. The latter case in particular seems a bit ridiculous. Is this really a common thing to expect other people to do? How many other cases have there been where fans of a franchise with a movie coming out are pressured to buy movie tickets to random theaters in other countries that they know they'll never use? To give an analogy, if someone is a fan of an amusement park like Cedar Point, but he's not able or willing to travel there and ride the rides in a particular season, should that person then feel obligated to "support the park" (or amusement parks in general) by buying tickets to the park that he won't use? I would see that as fanaticism gone too far, that one shouldn't feel pressured to do something like that. I've also seen people who have seen the trailers, promotions, etc. for the movie, and who have said that they don't believe that the movie interests them enough or looks worthwhile enough to go pay to see in theaters. And again, I've seen such posters told to buy tickets for the movie anyway, and just not go if they really don't want to sit through it. But why should people pay for tickets to a movie that they've determined isn't worthwhile to them, or isn't interesting to them? Should "supporting the franchise" require essentially wasting money to financially support a movie (or at least a version of the movie, as with the dubbed versions) that one doesn't actually support? Finally, it seems many people believe that the continued production of future seasons of the show hinges on the success of the movie, and I've seen some of them therefore lash out at others who have said that they don't plan on going to see the movie in theaters. Those others are told that they're selfishly preventing the continuation of the show that other fans want (with sometimes seemingly overzealous fervor), and that they need to get over their self-centeredness and just pay for the movie already so that everyone can get "more poni". They're told that they will be blamed if the show is cut short (by some arbitrary definition) in the future, and their inaction will not be forgotten. But I think it's unlikely that such a decision could really be traced back to a relative few adult fans choosing not to see the theatrical release. And besides, should it really be that big of a deal if the show ends before some of the fans want it to end? Does that justify guilt-tripping, shaming, and ostracizing other fans of the show into financially supporting a movie that they otherwise wouldn't or couldn't feasibly support? Where does this mindset lead? If people believe that criticism of the show will demoralize fans or the show creators, leading to the show ending earlier than otherwise, then will people expressing criticism be silenced for the sake of the all-important goal of obtaining as many episodes as possible? In summary, is it appropriate for fans of the show be pressured to financially support the movie by any possible means, including buying tickets that they'll never use? Should people's personal interest in the movie or feasibility of supporting it be subordinated to the goal of "supporting the franchise"? Can people still be fans of the show in good standing while declining to support the movie? Should people who don't go out and see the movie in theaters (or who don't pay for a ticket that they'll never use) be held at fault if, later on, the show doesn't continue for the number of seasons that other people would like? Thanks for reading.

I don't mean to single you out or anything, but I just feel kind of weird seeing arguments like these to go pay to see the movie, because for me, many of the common arguments like this are a little demotivational, if anything. I guess that, in watching and commenting on this show over the years, I haven't felt any need to prove anything about the power of the adult fanbase, nor to make a statement on masculinity in modern society or anything like that. I've never been a proselytizer or active defender of the merits of the show to others. I probably wouldn't be a good candidate for those interviews I've seen where journalists ask attendees at brony conventions what makes MLP:FiM special and why there's such a dedicated adult fanbase. A related argument to this is that we all should want the movie to do well because that will lead to a revival of the popularity of the show and a big influx of new fans. I'm doubtful that that will happen, and that's not necessarily something that I would really want. I've also seen people (probably more over on Equestria Daily) saying that we should support the movie (even regardless of how good the movie itself actually is) because if the movie does well, then the show will continue to Season 10 and beyond! But again, what if that's not necessarily something I want to see happen? Should I deliberately not support the movie then? It seems like many people saying things like that think that the show is absolutely amazing and just keeps getting better, which is not a view to which I subscribe. I do plan on going out and paying to see the movie, but my motivation will probably be more just to keep up with the franchise personally and be able to understand and participate in any discussions involving the movie down the road. So I don't know, I just wanted to give the perspective of someone who isn't inspired to pay to see the movie by many of the common arguments being made for it.

That line from Twilight's mom saying "When somepony offers you a free vacation, you don't ask questions" makes me hope that Twilight's parents aren't just made out to be naive idiots in this episode. Of course you ask questions, something like that offered by a stranger is very likely to have strings attached or some ulterior motive, especially considering that their family is royalty. It was mentioned earlier in this topic that someone like the Pony of Shadows could be looking to remove or incapacitate Princess Twilight, Princess Cadance, and/or Shining Armor. Or maybe the goal is to take the family hostage to use them as a bargaining chip or to try to demoralize others. Or the vacation could be an attempt to get a favor to pressure or coerce Princess Twilight or Princess Cadance later, like "Hey, I gave your family this vacation, now you have to do something for me". The synopsis suggests that this whole thing might end up just being an attempt to please fans of Princess Twilight or get some fame and fortune from her popularity. But Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance are very important rulers and protectors of Equestria; I would hope that Twilight's parents would be aware of that and would be extremely cautious about offers out of the blue like this one seems to be.

Overall, I might consider this episode somewhat of a step down from last week's "A Health of Information" - again, there's not really anything egregiously wrong with it, but it doesn't really do too much to hold my interest, either. This episode brings up some interesting questions about cutie marks, but I don't feel like the episode does much to really answer those questions. While I understand where Rumble's arguments and concerns are coming from, it's hard for me to be very invested in what he does, since we don't know much about him and his backstory. And while there are a few good small things - e.g., I can poke fun at Rumble being the leader of a cult, and it's nice to see Thunderlane as a Wonderbolt and having a foreground role - I feel that this episode is a bit lacking in the little cute/funny/interesting moments that most episodes have. First, this episode brings up some of the issues and confusion around cutie marks, and the episode might try to address them, but I didn't feel very satisfied with the end result. Rumble's primary thing he wants/likes/has a talent to do is flying, but he's afraid that he'll get a cutie mark in something else that will prevent him from being able to do that. But how could Rumble get a cutie mark that would prevent him from doing that? Aren't ponies supposed to get cutie marks in the activity that they most want/like/have talent to do? Wouldn't it be impossible by definition to get a cutie mark in something in which one has no interest? But then, if that is the case, why are kids apparently still afraid of their cutie marks "boxing them in" to something they don't want to do? Also, I suppose it makes sense that there isn't any cosmic force requiring ponies to do what their cutie marks say, and there isn't necessarily a social obligation to do that either, since there are plenty of cases throughout the show of ponies doing things other than what their cutie marks would seem to indicate (e.g., Hayseed Turnip Truck being a window washer). But if cutie marks "don't limit you" and "only show you what you CAN do", then what's the point of them in the first place? Why do cutie marks "make you special"? Why is it a big deal in Equestrian society to get a cutie mark? The justification of the concept of cutie marks still doesn't feel satisfactory to me. Furthermore, it's a little grating to me that the CMC find it inconceivable that that anyone wouldn't want a cutie mark. It doesn't seem that hard to see why Rumble and the others would believe his arguments against cutie marks, and the CMC had a lot of frustration and anxiety about their cutie marks themselves. (And of course, all of us humans have to get by without any instant magical indication of what we're "meant to do".) It's also a bit frustrating that the CMC struggle to come up with rebuttals to Rumble's arguments. For instance, it appears Apple Bloom gave a bad example with the "making potions with Zecora" thing, but presumably Apple Bloom still helps around the farm. Or Scootaloo presumably still maintains an interest in scootering tricks or in following Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. Or the CMC could have brought up other examples of ponies doing things other than what their cutie marks say in response to the "cutie marks box you in" criticism, although I guess I don't know if we can expect the CMC to think of such examples off the top of their heads. I just wonder whether, in all of their crusading and worrying about their cutie marks, the CMC considered any of Rumble's issues about cutie marks themselves. And if they did, and convinced themselves not to worry about them, then couldn't they see where Rumble's arguments come from and how they might be answered effectively? One other bigger thing I noticed in the episode is how the CMC appear to conceive, organize, and carry out this Cutie Mark Day Camp with little, if any, adult help. First, the CMC only advertise the Cutie Mark Day Camp the day before it's supposed to start. Even if the schoolponies are off school for the summer or something, I would think that the kids and their parents would want more than a day's worth of notice to plan or make arrangements for it. Furthermore, if the CMC are only advertising the camp now, how long did they take to organize it - less than a day? I guess we don't know how much time elapsed between the opening and the first scene after the theme song, but if the CMC were planning the camp for some longer period of time, wouldn't they want to advertise it, gauge interest, and allow others to plan ahead? Then, at the camp itself, we never see any any adult chaperones. How would the CMC have gotten the financial backers (assuming there are some to pay for use of the camp facilities, supplies, etc.), camp owners, and the kids' parents to agree to holding a day camp with no adult chaperones? Is anyone covering the liability insurance, or did the camp attendees' parents all sign waivers holding the camp and the CMC harmless for any injuries that might occur? After all, the camp attendees are kayaking out on a lake, possibly cooking jam, and doing other things with risk of injury (or even drowning). Plus, wouldn't all these concerns also apply to Rumble when he attempts to start his own camp and he's "in charge" of the camp attendees? Now for the rest of my miscellaneous observations: It was pretty obvious that Rumble didn't care and deliberately wasn't trying at any of the activities, and yet the CMC seem to believe that Rumble just wasn't very good at any of those things. It isn't until much later, when Thunderlane says that Rumble is actually good at their camp activities, that the CMC realize that Rumble might have been faking it. So the stretched-taut bow string is powerful enough to propel Skeedaddle across the archery range and through the target? If so, I can't imagine how fast and forceful the arrows fired from the bow would be. Sweetie Belle acts shocked and appalled that Kettle Corn covered her cutie mark, but then, she was going along with the other blank flanks the whole time during Rumble's song and his forming of his alternative camp. Thunderlane says "Lemme get this straight. My little brother up-ended your ENTIRE camp? How in Equestria did he do that?", which seems to carry an implication that the CMC must be incompetent if they can't retain control of their camp. Does that lead Thunderlane, or any other kids' parents, to wonder why they're sending their kids to a camp seemingly run only by other middle-school-aged kids? I was joking around thinking of alternative "British-isms" that Pipsqueak could say while watching the episode. So, for example, when Pip tells Skeedaddle that he's "cracking great" at horseshoes, Pip could also say that he's "bloody amazing!". Or instead of telling Rumble that his camp is "kinda boring", he could say that Rumble's camp is "a load of bollocks". When Rumble asks Thunderlane whether he'll run the obstacle course, I kind of expected Thunderlane to say no, that's for the camp attendees, not an adult. Finally, if the Wonderbolts take turns making the meals at Wonderbolt HQ, does that mean that they don't have dedicated mess hall staff or anything like that? Or do they have such staff, but the Wonderbolts make (at least some of) the meals anyway to "build character" or something?