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The title is self explanatory. Who would win if Alicorn Amulet Trixie and Inspiration Manifestation Rarity fight? Just by their own without any interruption or help by others. If one of them gets unconscious or surrenders, she loses. You have to give an answer with reasons based on the canon TV show.

With the recent trailer showing and hinting that (with their version of Secret Santa being done among the Mane 6 and Spike) To me, this makes the most sense for the direction they are going with for this special. But hey, If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Although I think I may be on the button or close to it. But what do you think? Did you agree with my speculation, or do you have a different speculation on who else got who. Let us know. God Bless.

When the Mane 6 got turned into sea ponies why is Rarity the only one with her cutie mark not only on her dorsal fin but also on her tail fin?

Here I speculate and look at why there may be more to Cozy Glow than what we've already or will see in the Season 8 finale Comments are Welcomed

Here I discuss the possibility of the Power Ponies concept showing back in Season 9 (the final season). Comments are Welcomed

I'm not sure I put this in the right post but if needed, the mods is welcome to move it. Here's a manga as a contribute to this Rarity's investigation event! https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/09/rarity-day-great-detective-rarity-manga.html Reviews are allowed

I forgot to add Pinkie Pie's cutie mark

Soo, here's all my art gathered in one complete thread. No more sprinkle posting for me, but there might be some art of mine you've already seen, I'm just going to gather it all up in here. If you want to find my art, here it is! My own little art dump.. Thread. If you like my art, feel free to follow the thread for more updates. Excited??? I sure am! Let's get started! First off: Canon ponies! <3 Generation 2 darlings~ One little OC family: I didn't upload all of my art, but at least that's a whole bunch of them.... I've drawn a lot of gifts, more OCs, etc, that I won't show here. However, I hope you likey! Cheers, have a good one!

Who do you think is the rich one? Twilight or Rarity?

Here I discuss the first couple of episodes of the 2nd Half of the current season, and how fans feel about them. Comments are Welcomed #MLPSEASON8 #MYLITTLEPONYFRIENDSHIPISMAGIC #MLPFIM #MYLITTLEPONY #HASBRO #DHXMEDIA

I mean think of it, we have yet to get an answer as to where this darkeness came from. Well here I give my theory on how it came to be and who may be responible for it. Comments are Welcomed #MLPFIM #MYLITTLEPONYFRIENDSHIPISMAGIC #GROGAR #HASBRO #DHXMEDIA #MLPTHEORY #THEORY #THEORIES

I mean, if you look at the first half of this season, you have episodes that center around that in some way, (Horse Play), (Non-Compete Clause), (The Maud Couple), (Fake it, Till You Make It), (The Parent Map), and recently the Mid-Season Finale (The Mean 6). If those and what's to come in the 2nd half , if that doesn't show you that this season is about really testing their friendship and learning to accept each other for who they are and what they like and dislike, then I don't know what does. I also won't be surprised, (because IMO it seems to be possibly leading to this), that the School remains open as it is, but that Twilight and her Friends decide to step down as the staff of the school, because they'll come to realize that even though the idea for the school is a good one, that after everything they've gone through this past season, and the strong tests that their Friendship has had to endure, that they themselves still have a lot to learn about Friendship, and that also balancing their other priorities along with being teachers, isn't working out for them, and possibly hand off the teaching duties to those that they know can handle it and balance the time to do it. Or they can change it up a bit, to where School only is open maybe 2-3 times a week, and thus the rest of the week they can focus on strengthing their friendship with each other, and focus on their other priorities outside of teaching. And yes, in the end this will lead to a possibly Neighsay redemption at the end of the season. But what do you guys all think? Comments are Welcomed.

Mane 6 (and Spike!) Applejack This relationship has definitely seen the most development. From barely being able to stand each other for more than a few hours in “Look Before You Sleep”, they now seem to be quite firm friends. Of course, Rarity still tries to get Applejack to be more ladylike, and Applejack still thinks Rarity needs to be less fussy, but overall, they seem to have come to an understanding of each other. Applejack’s selflessness devotion to her family has helped Rarity strengthen her bond with Sweetie Belle, where before she was a little selfish. Applejack taught her the importance of compromising. Highlights: Episode 46. “It’s About Time”: Applejack fixes the crack in the dam, while Rarity fixes up the leaves in AJ’s mane. Episode 53-54. “The Crystal Empire”: Applejack cheers Rarity up with a kind word in “The Crystal Empire”. Episode 61. “Spike at Your Service”: Rarity teaches Applejack how to play the “damsel in distress”. Episode 73. “Rarity Takes Manehatten”: Applejack says bluntly, “Yep, you were pretty rotten…” Episode 78. “Simple Ways”: They each parody the other. Twilight Sparkle I don’t usually ship Mane Six members together, but when I do, it’s Rarilight. If I were one to let subtext reign supreme, I would believe these two are already in a relationship. Right from the first episode, Rarity has been very touchy-feely with Twilight. Just go watch the end of “The Crystal Empire”, and tell me she doesn’t act rather tenderly towards Twilight there. She was the first to start singing, went to Twilight to raise her head up with a gentle touch to the chin when Twilight blushed, and put her hoof over Twilight’s as the train left. Sorry, Spike, you’re losing out to your adopted big sister. Even if you ignore the subtext, it’s clear Rarity has a strong regard for Twilight. She noticed she was bothered in “Lesson Zero”, she worried about Twilight not having her crown in Equestria Girls, and most importantly, although she wanted to marry a prince and be a princess, she has never once expressed the slightest sense of jealousy that Twilight is now a Princess and not her. That’s pretty telling, because she was jealous of Fluttershy, and they’re probably the two who spend the most of their time together. Highlights Episode 16. “Sonic Rainboom”: Rarity rump bumps Twilight to encourage her to find a spell. Episode 29. “Lesson Zero”: Rarity calls Twilight a drama queen, after a day of non-stop drama. Episode 53-54. “The Crystal Empire”: Rarity starts the song to Twilight. Rainbow Dash Rarity’s relationship to Rainbow is similar to Applejack, only with a lot less butting of heads. They don’t usually interact, and when they do, it’s pretty low key. We mostly see Rarity doing nice things for Rainbow, like making her a pretty dress for Princess Celestia’s visit, or supporting her in competitions... at first. Not much else to say. Highlights Episode 14. “Suited for Success”: Rarity facedesks when Rainbow can’t be any clearer about her dress than it needs to be cooler. Episode 47. “Dragon Quest”: Rarity tells Rainbow she was surprised her plan worked, and gets a rump to the face in response. Episode 61. “Spike at your Service”: Rarity gives Rainbow a very snarky response to her fanfiction plot, which goes right over Rainbow’s head. Episode 75. “Rainbow Falls”: Rarity takes the relay horseshoe to paint it, to Rainbow’s annoyance. Fluttershy Indications are that Rarity and Fluttershy have been firm friends for a very long time. They often have spa dates together, and Rarity frequently tries to bring Fluttershy out of her shell. Being the prettiest and second-most ladylike Mane Six, they seem to have a lot in common. Their Elements are also quite compatible, since Generosity is being giving with one’s possessions and Kindness is being giving with one’s time and emotion. Other indications of their closeness include Fluttershy helping Rarity with Opal, Rarity calling on her when she needs someone to fly up and help her borrow the Castle decorations. She also tried very hard to be happy for Fluttershy when she caught the eye of Photo Finish, and felt terrible when she was envious. She also very quickly forgave Fluttershy for the vicious tongue-lashing she got in “Putting your Hoof Down”. Highlights Episode 17. “Stare Master”: Rarity is speechless when a quiet word from Fluttershy pulls the CMC into line. Episode 45. “Putting Your Hoof Down”: Rarity pushes a slack-jawed Pinkie’s mouth closed after Fluttershy stands up to Iron Will. Episode 57. “Magic Duel”: Rarity creates a camouflage outfit for Fluttershy that includes bunny ears. Episode 79. “Filli Vanilli”: Rarity quickly picks up on Fluttershy’s eagerness to continue singing. Pinkie Pie Again, not really much to say here. Rarity is sometimes exasperated at Pinkie’s antics, and can even be quite stern with her, but they tend to get along very well most of the time. Pinkie also seems to put some trust in Rarity. In “Last Round-up”, she simply leaps off the stagecoach and tells Rarity to catch her. Highlights Episode 7. “Dragonshy”: Pinkie beats Rarity at Tic-Tac-Toe… 35 times in a row. Episode 45. “Putting Your Hoof Down”: Pinkie and Rarity team up to help Fluttershy be more assertive, but she does so badly that Pinkie buries her head in the ground. Rarity tries to comfort her with a gentle hoof on her mane. Episode 62. “Keep Calm and Flutter On”: Rarity checks her reflection in Pinkie’s newly polished hooves. Episode 73. “Rarity Takes Manehatten”: After Rarity delivers her “going down in flames, isn’t friendship magic?” line, Pinkie gives her a sheepish grin and nods agreement. Spike This is one of the most important and talked about relationships in the series. Ironically, given that FiM doesn’t have much by way of romance. A lot of people give Rarity grief over what they see as her taking advantage of him. In some ways, they’re right, but it’s actually much more of a give and take than is sometimes recognized. Yes, she gets him to do stuff for her, but most of the time, Spike’s perfectly okay with it. And she’s hardly the only Mane Six who does. She also frequently gives him rewards for his troubles, such as gems to eat, a carrot-dog, etc. She also sticks up for Spike frequently, and went to great lengths to keep him safe in “Dragon Quest”. It’s clear that she does care for him in her own way. I suspect that Rarity simply doesn’t know exactly how to handle Spike’s precocious crush on her. After all, by the standards of dragonhood, Spike is not even a teenager yet. She can’t view him as a romantic prospect, but she cares for him and certainly wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings. So, until she can find a way to let him down gently, she keeps their relationship at status quo. Perhaps in her mind, letting him do things for her is a way of showing that she does want him to be around. Not always, of course, but I think that’s a large part of it. Highlights Episode 19. “A Dog and Pony Show”: Spike valiantly defends Rarity from the Diamond Dogs. Episode 36. “Secret of My Excess”: The most touching Rarity-Spike moment, as he tries to confess while falling, only for her to shush him and show that she already knows. Episode 61. “Spike at your Service”: She takes a bite out of his terrible pie to make him happy. Episode 73. “Rarity Takes Manehatten”: Rarity gives Spike that carrot-dog, which is promptly stolen by a bird. He has it again later, so either he got it back or bought a replacement. Family: Parents, Sweetie Belle and Opal Rarity seems to be deliberately avoiding taking after her parents, who seems like very friendly, if unsophisticated types. Middle class is probably a good way to describe them. We don’t yet know if her dad is a unicorn or earth pony, due to his hat. (BREAKING NEWS - He actually is a unicorn, as shown in "Imagination Manifestation"!) She hasn’t really interacted with them enough to get much of an idea of how close she is to them. While Opal can be temperamental, she seems to have affection for Rarity in her own enigmatic cat way. Her moods follow Rarity’s, and she tries to remind her mistress of her priorities at times. Opal seems to stoically suffer some of Rarity’s more whimsical tendencies, such as her baby-talking and coddling. Rarity’s relationship with Sweetie Belle is the focus of a fair number of episodes. While their sisterly relationship has had its ups and downs, Sweetie Belle clearly looks up to Rarity, and Rarity clearly loves her and tries to do good things for her. While she took her a bit for granted in earlier seasons, Rarity has gotten much better at compromising, mainly due to the events of “Sisterhooves Social”. Where before she would put her own comfort and desires first, she’s now more willing to sacrifice them for Sweetie’s sake. The most recent episodes have shown that Sweetie has long been harbouring a grudge for Rarity overshadowing her, and they may become even closer now that Sweetie has realized that Rarity doesn’t want to keep her in her shadow. Highlights Episode 31. “Sisterhooves Social”: We get to meet Rarity’s parents. This episode also improves the sisters’ relationship. Episode 35. “Sweet and Elite”: Opal taps the design for Twilight’s dress, and is annoyed when Rarity doesn’t notice. Episode 58. “Sleepless in Ponyville”: Despite despising camping and “all that… ugh… nature”, Rarity is willing to brave the wilderness for her sister… as long as no heavy hauling for her is involved. Sweetie doesn’t seem to mind, just being glad that Rarity is there. Romantic Prospects Fancy Pants Catching the eye of this stallion is one of the best things ever to happen to Rarity. He’s also later appeared in Ponyville and Manehatten. Could he be following Rarity around? And is that supermodel pony who always hangs on him just eye candy, or a romantic partner? For Rarity’s sake, I hope not! Trenderhoof Creepy shrine? Check. Trying everything she can to win him over? Check. Learning that changing yourself for someone else is a bad thing? Check. Getting over him? Antagonists: Discord Along with most of the others, Rarity is skeptical of Discord’s change of heart. She blames him for the embarrassment of making her think a rock was a diamond, and so she has little patience or sympathy for him. Photo Finish Photo Finish was rather abrupt to her, made Fluttershy a star and caused Rarity to feel like she had betrayed her best friend by being so jealous. Photo Finish has yet to return in a speaking part, but she was present in a cameo during “Sweet and Elite”, so we could speculate that Rarity is over it. Prince Blueblood Apart from acting like a prat, he used her as a pony shield against flying cake. In the dress she was terrified somepony would spill something on in “A Bird in the Hoof”. A crime against fashion! After she told him just what she thought of him, she was forced to flee, and smashed her glass slipper so that he couldn’t find her. Despite this, he also had a cameo, so perhaps she has forgiven him too. Trixie Although Trixie has done some nasty things to her, Rarity seems to dislike Trixie mainly because of how she treated Twilight. Perhaps we can learn more if Trixie gets another episode (I’m counting the minutes ). Suri Polomane Suri represents what Rarity could become if she lost her sense of generosity. And morals in general. Although Rarity was deeply hurt by her betrayal, she didn’t try to excuse her own bad behaviour towards her friends. She also doesn’t seem to feel a need to get revenge on Suri for taking advantage of her generosity. Perhaps she considers Suri losing her talented assistant, Coco Pommel, to be punishment enough. And with that, I draw this three-part analysis of Rarity to a close. Do you think I was accurate? Do you disagree with my points or have something more to add? Any comments are welcomed. Until next time, stay Rarity-side up!

Ever since his debut in this Season 8's premire "School Daze", and with what was previewed at SDCC in the trailer for the 2nd half of Season 8. The Question everyone/everybony/everypegasister has is, "WHAT'S HIS PROBLEM?" "WHAT'S HIS BACKSTORY TO MAKE HIM LIKE THIS? Well here, I try my best to figure that out and answer that question. Comments are Welcomed

From the last 13:48 of 15:00mins of the 1hr live stream. Here I discuss potently what the 200th episode of My Little Pony : Friendship is Magic could be about. ps. between the cut out of 2:37-2:53, I was talking about "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel as the song Pinkie could a cover on. Comments are Welcomed @EquestriaDaily @mlpforums @MyLittlePony @MLPMovie @dhxmedia @HasbroNews @MMeghanMcCarthy @NicoleDubuc @dhxmedia @lady_writers @joshhaber @goldenrusset @JoshuaHamilton #RAWAfterMania #RawAfterMainia #WrestleMania #MeToo #MLPSeason8 #fakeittilyoumakeit

Welcome to the Rarijack Fan Club! Rules: -Forum rules apply. -Keep pictures SFW. They can be light suggestive and must follow site policy -Put url-ed pics and larger pics in spoilers to reduce page loading lag -Keep things Rarijack here -Do not bash your fellow Rarijackers, Pony Fans, or fandoms -Have fun

In other words, (for the sake of argument) let's say they decide, that enough teasing of this ship has happened, and they want to go and make this ship a reality, how do you see them approaching it? In other words, if you were on the writing staff, and you were tasked with the job of coming up and writing a story for episode that finally made Rarity x Spike (Sparity) official , how would you go about it? Let's hear what you have to say on the matter.

With "Rollercoaster of Friendship" recently airing, the redemption at the end of Vignette Valencia, has gotten everyone talking again about how redemption should be utilized in both shows, when it comes to redeeming certain characters. And apparently Vignette's didn't sit well with a majority of the fans. And from what I understand, is for good reason, 1. the way she was portrayed throughout most of the special, seem to not really warrant a redemption or for fans to feel sympathy for her. And 2. Her actions spoke and showed that she's a character that needs more development before a proper redemption. But here's the thing, the writers/creative staff, they may write a good to great story for an episode/Special/Movie for EQG or FIM, but at the end of the day, they don't have the final say on how it's presented, Those above them at Hasbro, and DHX have the final say. Don't believe me, ask M.A Larson, he discussed this during a panel last year, when it came to how "Fame and Misfortune" was presented. For example, if it's decided that Cozy Glow gets redeemed at the end of this current season, despite what she has and will do, that's going to happen. If it's decided that Principal Cinch or Finch in Friendship Games gets redeemed in a future EQG Movie/Special, despite what she's done, it's going to happen. Same can be said for Cryissy, Triek, Lighting Dust, Wynn Rider, etc.... The point is, wither we as fans or the creative staff themselves feel a redemption should happen or not, in the end, it's the heads at Hasbro and DHX that have the final say on that decision. A good outside example of this, is WWE, and how despite everyone telling them otherwise, Roman Reigns is still getting pushed down all the fans throats, and getting a possibly rematch at the upcoming WWE SummerSlam event against Brock Lesnar for their Universal Title. And why is this happening, despite everyone outside and inside WWE saying otherwise, because at the end of the day, despite being able to book and write a good show, the creative staff don't have the final say on who should be pushed, Vince McMahon does. And in a strange way, the same can be said here. Because again, even if the fans and even the creative staff believe a redemption is needed or not, they don't have the last word, those above them at Hasbro and DHX have the final say. Anyway, that's all I have to say about that, let me know what you think about what I had to say here. Take Care and God Bless.

All of these are commissions I've done in the past. #1- Original character reference sheet #2 and 3- MLP/Gundam 00 crossover. Making gundam armor fit pony bodies is rather difficult, but I managed! #4- Some Equestria Girls stuff. All the outfits are my design (except Rarity's). This one was rather fun; super0girly and all that (note: the Twi-Twilight here is "Sci-Twi")

I’m not going to be happy with this spin off franchise anytime soon.

I decided to redo the old skin I did for the site though its merely just a recolor but i guess its good enough if you like purple =) If some one wants to check it out https://userstyles.org/styles/141649/mlp-forums-purple-2-0 to use it you need download stylish from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stylish-custom-themes-for/fjnbnpbmkenffdnngjfgmeleoegfcffe Original version

Our brightest artist,Rarity meetwho paints with threads ribbons and silksand all ponies her work seekthats why she oppened three boutiques like a swan white and elegant with a dark amethyst mane and as for what marks her flank three cerulean diamonds there Narcisist some call her and,well.. she loves to take care of her image but to know your worth and self is great and never be discouraged for to survive as fashionista you need to also look the part you also need a good assistant hopefully hers will not depart for then she'll call on fluttershy who is not in the best form to meet ponies new,she'll fly away or totally transform

Will Megan From My Little Pony (G1) Be Introduced Into Friendship Is Magic Via Equestria Girls? Here (in this short video) I explain how she could be finally intrdouced into G4 of MLP, known as Friendship is Magic, via it's connected spinoff, Equestria Girls. Comments are Welcomed

A small sample of my work. I am only an amateur artist, advices and opinions are welcome. My dA: https://inlaru.deviantart.com/ Ig: https://www.instagram.com/inlaru_inu_in/ #1 Art: Rainbow Dash in my chibi style #2 Art: Rarity with another tail, collab with m-miamo #3 Art: My Old artwork, Princess Luna

Note: This review has been edited to add more content. Do you remember dreading the thought of a Spike episode? I do. For so long, Spike episode were usually among the worst of the series, much less the season. For the first five seasons, no matter the plot, episodes usually starring him were usually awful; anything better wasn't the norm. But since Princess Spike (his worst outing of the show), everything changed. His episodes became good. DHX wrote him with dignity. Since Newbie Dash, the Spikabuse vanished. Even today, the thought of not bashing a new Spike episode is completely refreshing. Molt Down is the first S8 episode to star Spike, and the show's biggest evolution from the status quo since Newbie Dash. How does it approach it? By describing how a child dragon goes through puberty. Like real life, puberty ain't fun, and several allegories hammer that point home. Itchy, painful stone scales: rashes and pimples. Volume shifts: deepening of the voice. Armpit smell: body odor and hair. Fire burps: dunno. A period, perhaps? Sleep disruptions: teens being more alert late in the day. (Thank @Jeric for that pointer and the accompanying research.) Haber's jokes are equally as funny as sympathizing for Spike. Yet, the jokes themselves have an extra layer of dimension, because they're not all the same type, the characters' reactions vary, and visual cues round the story. Other great jokes include: Zecora stuffing each of her ears with a cottonball after Spike suddenly shouted. The camera's wide shot, Spike's irritated voice, and the squashing/stretching of the pot he's in as he complains create a perfect recipe for a joke. It's wonderfully timed and really hilarious. Smolder smacking Spike a little too hard in the back, accidentally driving him in pain. Pinkie's sudden shouting and liking that foul odor. Her sly faces really sell the characterization, too. Twilight grumbling at the thought of Celestia never creaking out. That said, not all of them. Sometimes they got a little repetitive or cringeworthy, notably Rarity's shouts after a while and the grossout shot of Spike's stone scale. But for the most part, they did their job. That said, let's talk about Spike. Although he grew considerably since hatching from his egg years ago, from how Twilight acted, this is the very first time Spike molted. The stone scale is painful already, but having so many throbbing and itching is completely foreign to him. Puberty is a part of life the majority of us experience, and whatever he has to endure throughout the episode parallels ourselves in some way. The stages of puberty poor Spike suffered through echoes our own. Impressively, despite many chances for Haber to unleash the most cringeworthy puberty-related joke possible, he restrains himself just enough to create them at his expense without crossing the line into Spikabuse. How does he do that? I'm not sure, but many of the guesses include: What Spike had to go through isn't his fault. Every dragon goes through this stage, including Smolder's presumably-older bro. The molt effect that Spike suffered from is no less different than any other dragon when they grow up. When they treat it as normal, we do, too. Spike's friends and Twilight don't ignore him. When they noticed something is wrong with him, they're there to help. They care about Spike and want to work with him so he can get better. Smolder interacts with Spike. Back in S2, Spike grew rapidly due to inherent greed, opening up a big implication into how dragons grew. Is greed the cause? Could Spike control it, which was a main part for two future conflicts? How did other dragons grow when they didn't show signs of greed? Smolder's description of greed-induced growth as not normal for a dragon cleared up so many questions and brought forth more insight on dragon lore and dragon culture in her homeland. Smolder has an attitude, and her description of dragon culture's response to the molt effect increases Spike's anxiety for the unknown, increasing the conflict's stakes. But there's one thing to note, which the episode makes very clear — as scary as her description of dragon life during the molt is, she's not treated as a bad person, and Smolder isn't written to be antagonistic. The molt effect is a part of her life, so what she and others experienced is expected. For the most part, she's prepared for the challenges; theorize that others back home do, too. Spike, on the other hand, isn't. He's lived with Twilight his whole life and knows so little about dragon culture. The molt effect, especially the smell, is putrid, and he fears that Twilight and the others will reject him, forcing him to live on his own. He's not prepared to defend himself from predators that relish for that smell, especially the roc. Because Twilight asked him to retreat to an area that won't fry anyone in the school, Spike assumes even more that the more out of control his molt becomes, the less Twilight will want him around. Can't you blame him for being so scared of growing up and fighting to alter the molt? Of course not! For obvious reasons, Rarity and Twilight are usual partners for Spike in his episodes, but they're all really good here. (Credit goes to @Truffles and his reply for this bit.) What makes them stand out here is their immediate empathy for Spike. In the beginning, when Rarity sees Spike hide something under his eye, she becomes suspicious and worried. She walks around him to sneak a glance at what's under his claws, but never gets frustrated at any point. When he admits to being embarrassed by the stone scale, she assures him not to worry, but treats his embarrassment with the respect its deserves. She's the first to recommend getting some of Zecora's blemish cream, and did so again after Pewee accidentally pinched his scale. Twilight gets worried when Spike sleeps in all morning and also sympathizes with him for getting breakouts, just like her years ago and also recommends heading to Zecora. When he accidentally destroys her lecture, she doesn't criticize him or make him feel worse. Recommends to leave the castle for his own safety and everyone else's. Despite battling a sudden ear infection, Rarity never stops thinking about Spike and asks her for blemish cream to help him with his stone scales. When they bump into each other, she notices his worsening condition and took out the cream (only for the roc to snatch her). Right on cue, Twilight shows up and heads to Zecora's to get the cream. Unlike Cart Before the Jerks and Complete Crap Clause, neither of Spike's closest friends and relatives treat his condition as a lesser deal to themselves or belittle him for it. Both of them treated his condition, embarrassment, and pain as important, never stopped thinking about him, and wanted to help him in any way they can. Zecora's really well written in a nowadays-rare appearance. But rather than be treated as merely a vessel to deliver plot devices, she becomes deeply involved in both the A and B plots: Spike's puberty and Rarity's phoenix-related ear infection. Her interactions with the characters and their problems add depth to her character, occupation, and relationships with others. One big change for this season is the treatment of the Everfree Forest, historically a really dangerous place to roam. What was a common plot device for the Mane Six, Spike, and CMCs to face conflict in S1, its dangers and presence became mostly absent after Princess Twilight Sparkle. But for the third time this season, an Everfree creature threatened creaturekinds' safety. And the chase scene was really tense. Zecora, Spike, and Rarity were in great danger, and the score and sounds throughout hammered in the sudden perils they faced. In the leaked version, the chase's tone was more comedic, courtesy of Twilight's lasers sounding like video game beams. Here, the comedy was more toned down, an excellent change from the leaked product. YO! Do you smell what the roc is cookin'?! Little details refine the episode and shape up the episode's quality. Two really stick out: As the episode progresses, Spike's limbs darken in color, foreshadowing his eventual molt and where it'll start. During the break in the chase, when Spike's old skin starts to encase him, the background music becomes louder and completely stops when he's completely cocooned. For several seconds, we hear nothing except Twilight firing at the roc, increasing the tension and making us wonder what will happen to the poor dragon next. So, what happened after he molted? THANKS, JOSH HABER! After everything he went through in this episode, Spike molting and earning wings is an excellent payoff. I don't know if he grew a little or not, but when you're making a child dragon molt, sticking with the status quo would be a complete slap to the face to Spike and the audience. Something about him had to change. Interestingly, even though his new wings feel earned, Spike and his friends treat his accomplishment as merely a new milestone in his life as he grows into adulthood. Here, MD brings forth a really great moral: For Twilight to deliver this lesson to him shows us how much he means to her, their hug proving their tight bond. DHX, please, more of their family dynamic! If there was one little problem with the chase, it's what Silver Quill pointed out: Twilight's magic felt kinda weak. Yes, you could argue that she scaled it back because Rarity and Zecora were trapped within the roc's talons, but she needed Spike's assistance to rescue them from their fall, when Twilight magically corralled them all during the movie. Conversely, the theme of growing was subtly foreshadowed through Peewee's reintroduction. The now-adult phoenix still interacts with his parents, but a sharp eye will notice he has his own nest now, indicating either a family of his own or the preparation for one. Spike may've released him, but they still know each other very fondly, evident by their embrace. Peewee grew up; Spike will, too. Back in Season 5, I panned Spike being handed the bouquet of dragon sneeze flowers, the lowest moment of the season. Rather than capping off a broken episode with a rather sweet moment, DHX doubled down on his buttmonkey status. After all, isn't FIM supposedly a feminist show? Well, you don't empower women and girls by making your only male lead a punching bag for abusive comic relief. It's hypocritical and massively sexist, one of the biggest stains of the series. But after that, the direction for his character improved. No longer did his personality shift to demand the plot. His role wasn't confined to pure comic relief. His episodes no longer beat him down or abused him just to teach him a contrived lesson. Starting out with secondary roles in Amending Fences and Re-Mark, Season 6 expanded his role, including becoming close friends with Starlight, bonding dragonkind and ponykind by working with and befriending Ember, and sacrificing his celebrityhood to stand up for Thorax. Season 6 was Spike's best season. Albeit a diminished role in S7, he was really good in Triple Threat, Owl's Well done right. Coming into Molt Down, Spike was having a great year. Now he left his biggest mark in the show since Times. His wings demonstrate his evolution in not just his character, but also his role. It's unknown whether his wings will have a big impact on the season, or it's just cosmetic. But what happens in the future will wait. When I watched the leaked version, I liked it, but wasn't totally happy with it. Days before its official airing, however, I was unsure whether I was fair to it or not. Now, when comparing the leaked version with the final product, the leaked Molt's lack of polish and missing score completely affected the episode's overall quality. The final product is excellent, well edited, and really makes the audience feel like Spike earned his pair of wings. Molt Down's one of the best episodes of S8 so far and one of the best Spike episodes altogether. P.S.: And, yes, Molt Down's change of the status quo's superior to MMC's.