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Is there anyone ships Spike with Winona? (horrible idea.) It's finally his chance to meet someone of his own species. I'm also curious what Winona would look like in Equestria. I'm also curious about Ember dog, Garble dog, Torch dog. See? That's why you don't make rash canon decisions.

Hi, there everypony! Spike here, and I'm gonna answer any questions you got for me! So ask me anything the #1 assistant will answer truthfully(I am continuing the work that IsraelYabuki started)

Hi there everypony! Spike here, and I'm gonna answer any questions you got for me! So ask me anything the #1 assisstant will answer truthfully

Everything is explained by Dr. Wolf in this video! IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!

The King of Love Bugs - Slice of Life, Comedy 70,000+ words - On-Going This story is my magnum opus for this fandom, and has a lot of history to it. Spoiler for exposition. Summary: Following the dethroning of Queen Chrysalis, the princesses of Equestria seek to build a relationship with newly-crowned King Thorax, and forge a never before seen alliance between ponies and changelings. While the changelings continue to discover new things about their bold metamorphosis, Thorax works to embrace his role as the changeling's new patriarch - demonstrating to the swarm a benevolent means of ruling far different from his predecessor. With the help of Equestria's princesses, his brooding older brother, and even a few unexpected friends, Thorax must now introduce the idea of peaceful changelings in Equestria, one escapade at a time. Facts & Why You Should Read: Potent levels of fluff and cuteness - forum goers with weak hearts have been warned. Follows along the events of the show as closely as possible, giving an 'off screen occurrences' theme to the story and its events. Intriguing lore regarding the changelings, their powers, relationships and way of life. 'Flower of the Wastelands' by Huusii. An unintentional but surprisingly similar representation of the first chapter.

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.

What are your guys top 5 best and worst episode of each season here are mine Season 1 bests 1. The best night ever 2. The cutie mark chronicles 3. Party of one 4. Suited for success 5. Green isint your color Honorable mentions The Sonic rainboom/ winter wrap up/ A bird in a hoof/ Apple buck season/ Dragon shy/ the stare master/ Look before you sleep/ Friendship is magic/ over a barrel The ticket master/ swarm of the century/ Worst 1. Owl well that ends well 2. The show stoppers 3. Griffon on the brush off 4. Boast busters 5. Fall weathered friends Season 2 top 5 best 1. A canterlot wedding 2. Luna esclipsed 3. Hurricane fluttershy 4. The sister hooves social 5. The return of harmony honorable mentions May the best pet win/ Lesson zero/ hearts warming eve/ A friend in deed/ mmmystery on the friendship express/ Read it and weep/ It’s about time/ sweet and elite / putting your hoof down worst 1. The mysterious mare do well 2. Secrets of my excess 3. Dragon quest 4. Baby cakes 5. The cutie pox Season 3 top 5 best 1. Keep calm and Flutter on 2. Magical mystery cure 3. Sleepless in ponyville 4. The crystal empire 5. Wonderbolts academy worst 1. Just for sidekicks 2. Spike at your service 3. One bad apple 4. Games ponies play 5. Too many pinkie pies Season 4 top 5 best 1. Pinkie pride 2. Twilights kingdom 3. Rarity takes manehattan 4. For whom the sweetie belle toils 5. Filli vanilli honorable mentions Flight to the finish/ It ain’t east being breezies/ Bats/ leap of faith maud pie/ Testing testing 123/ Castle mania/ Twilight time/ pinkie apple pie/ princess Twilight sparkle/ daring don’t/ simple ways/ worst 1. Inspiration manifestation 2. Rainbow falls 3. The equestria games 4. Power ponies 5. Somepony to watch over me Season 5 top 5 best 1. Crusaders of the lost marks 2. The cutie remark 3. The cutie map 4. Amending fences 5. The slice of life honorable mentions The mane attraction/ Rarity investigates/ Tank for the memories/ castle sweet castle/ Canterlot boutique/ Do princesses dream of magic sheep/ Scare master/ The one where pinkie pie knows/ Make new friends but keep discord/ Brother hooves social/ Heart breakers/ worst 1. Princess spike 2. What about discord 3. Bloom and gloom 4. Appleloosas most wanted 5. Party pooped Season 6 top 5 best 1. To where and back again 2. No second prances 3. A hearts warming tale 4. Every little thing she does 4. The saddle row and review honorable mentions The crystalling/ The fault in our cutie marks/ The times there are a changeling/ Guanlet of fire/ Top bolt/ Flutter brutter/ The gift of a maud pie/ Viva las pegasus/ Buckball season/ on your marks worst 1. 28 pranks later aka worst episode of the whole series 2. Newbie dash 3. The cart before the ponies 4. Dungeons and discord’s 5. AJ day off Season 7 top 5 best 1. A royal problem 2. The perfect pear 3. Shadow play 4. Fame and misfortune 5. To change a channeling honorable mentions Uncommon bond /Once upon a zeppelin/ Forever filly/ A health of information/ Discordant of harmony/ Fluttershy leans in/ All bottled up/ Rock solid friendship/ It isint the mane thing about you/ celestial advice/ Parential glideance/ Marks and recreation/ campfire tales worst 1. Honest apple 2. Triple threats 3. Not asking for trouble 4. Secrets and pies 5. A flurry of emotions Season 8 top 5 best 1. A matter of principles 2. The parent map 3. The mean 6 4. Horse play 5. Marks for effort honorable mentions Fake it till you make it/ surf and or turf/ School daze/ Grannies gone wild worst 1. Non complete clause 2. The break up breakdown 3. Yakity sax 4. The molt down 5. The maud couple

So here’s how this works I’ll say a quote from mlp the movie and you tell me which character says it and then the next person says a quote and then they answer who said it ready go. “Your also the only one who dosent trust her friends.”

Spike’s Time Off is the third installment of Spike’s mundane adventures coming Summer 2018! Play the previous games here: Spike's Day Off Spike's Day Out DISCLAIMER Spike’s Time Off is an UNOFFICIAL fan-made game. My Little Pony and its characters belong to their respective owners. PROGRESS COMPLETE!!! PLAY IT NOW! https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/714724 Want to download Spike's Time Off? WINDOWS http://www.mediafire.com/file/u9id0b830eng8ro/Spikes_Time_Off_WIN.zip Mac OSX http://www.mediafire.com/file/cbtip4zsbhaebdz/Spikes_Time_Off_OSX.zip You can follow frequent development updates here and at DeviantArt | Tumblr | Twitter

Throughout the hole movie Spike doesn't have all his spikes/scales down his back. In the show it goes from his head all the way down his back to his tail, but in the movie it goes from the top to the back his head, cuts, then 2 on his back, cuts, then down his tail?

Lately, when Discord is at his best, he's a jerk with a heart of gold. Without his inherent edge, he's a completely different character in his voice. Discordant Harmony and especially The Break Up Break Down handle that side very effectively. But when he's just a jerk, he loses that dimension and becomes antagonistic just because. And that's the case here. Because he's not leading the school, he makes Starlight, established previously and here as a friend, miserable. His worst moment, very clearly, occurs at the buckball pitch. His scheme with the bugbear put the Student Six and a few others in really grave danger. Had Starlight not scare him off, Yona would've been stung. Recall how Dash's and AJ's selfishness and recklessness nearly caused her to drown? This is no better. Had she be hurt on Twilight's grounds, then the school would be in big trouble. Starlight was absolutely justified to be angry at him, warn him, and blast him away from the school grounds after he continued his defiance. Back to him later. Starlight and Spike continue their successful roles since Season 7. AMoP is the first episode since The Crystalling to pair them up, and you immediately see their trust and faith for one another after Twilight temporarily promotes her. He's always by her side and helped put in the work to alleviate the stress. When Discord and Starlight didn't see eye to eye, Spike was the middle man to maintain order between them and be as objective as possible. Was Starlight justified to warn and blast him away from the school grounds? Absolutely. As headmare, it was her job to punish him. But Discord isn't like other beings; he's a god with a love to warp logic. Rather than talking to him what's wrong, Starlight chose a very drastic measure, which Spike rightfully warned would only worsen matters. Why? Because provoking him proved him right, even though he was insufferable. Therefore, he felt justified to raise more hell in the School of Friendship. Discord has insecurities and sometimes fails to hide them. But the clues, even if subtle, are missing, because that context when Starlight spoke the episode's primary lesson is missing, too. Everywhere he showed up, Discord becomes a destructive brat, and acting like he doesn't know either her or him hurts, too. Was she right to apologize to him? Yes. But by offering him a job, the story lets him off without any level of consequence and rewards him for it. The RM6 return, nullifying the offer, but it's still an unsatisfactory resolution. On top of that, almost all the jokes fall flat. The ones with Twilight fail, because she's flanderized: Her personality early was reduced to obsessively organizing and pre-planning everything to the point of being redundant and at Starlight's expense. Cranky constantly spitting his drinks (accidentally) at Gallus's direction while being a lazy ass regresses him. One of the only jokes to be funny is Trixie talking on her banana phone. Despite being rather negative (and not liking it), I won't throw in reactionary hyperbole and call A Matter of Principals bad, awful, or an atrocity, because it's not. At the time of this quickieview, it's the third-worst episode of S8, but nowhere close to the badness of Non-Complete Clause and Fake It; it's watchable mediocrity. 

Title: Gauntlet of Fire Air Date: April 16, 2016 Written by: TBA Synopsis: In order to save his friends, Spike is forced to compete in a perilous Gauntlet for the title of Dragon Lord. Remember to watch with us live at the CMC Clubhouse on Equestria.tv 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST "Please be a good me episode. Is that too much to ask?"

https://mlpforums.com/calendar/event/158-%7B%3F%7D/?module=events Title: Spike at your Service Air Date: December 29th, 2012 Synopsis: Just as Spike is about to be gobbled up by hungry Timberwolves, he is saved by Applejack; Spike feels the need to repay Applejack and is soon offering a little too much assistance on the farm in order to fulfill the 'Noble Dragon Code.' Aaaand more leaked episodes. Seeing as how Hasbro would have roasted Apple on a stick by now for leaking four or so episodes so early, I'm pretty certain it's on purpose as a marketing scheme to get attention :3 Anywho, look, more AJ. AND TIMBERWOLVES. YES.

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.

This post is a sequel to my post about Spike and Smolder being long-lost siblings: https://mlpforums.com/topic/175791-theory-on-smolder/ Remember when Smolder said she had a brother that she was glad to get rid of when he went through his molt phase? If Smolder was still around during that, then she has an older brother, and me, along with many others were thinking, what if Garble is Smolder's brother? And since I think Spike is Smolder's long-lost brother, that would extent that Garble would be Spike's brother too! DUN DUN DUN! :O I think this would work fantastic! Know why? Cause Spike and Garble have been arch-nemeses since Dragon Quest, and how would the two of them feel if they were actually siblings this whole time? Smolder would play as the neutral party in this regard to try to get them to get along, but Garble just won't accept a "pony dragon" as a brother! But then some kind of phenomena happens that would persuade Spike and Garble to finally get along! What kind of phenomena would that be? Well that's up to the writers to decide! This could be Garble's way of reforming (if he does)! Now I'm NOT asking you how likely would this be, I'm asking you what would you think about this scenario?

What would the mane 6, Starlight, and Spike think of the songs by Breaking Benjamin?

Long time no see! I used to be super active on this part of the forum. I’m sad I’m not anymore, but I hope y’all enjoy this drawing I did!! I’ve been busy with family and work so not much drawing getting done.

Even as Twilight moved up in the world, Spike was right there by her side with his status not clear. Likely, he may still remain Twilight's assistant, but that doesn't make any sense. I understand the purpose of Spike staying with Twilight before: Twilight was only Celestia's student, and as much potential has she had, resources can't be spent on someone far away who's just studying. Having one assistant who ran some errands and kept the connection with Celestia made sense. Now though Twilight is a princess. Even if she stays in Ponyvile, it would make no sense for her not to have ponies by her side--you don't exactly leave your royalty out in the open in any situation. Twilight will have at least half a dozen assistants doing Spike's job, and this is not counting the royal guard, who also act as messengers. Really, is there a need for Spike to be there anymore? Now many of you are going to bring up the family connection. But being family and assistant aren't equivalent to each other. If being with family is what's important now, then Spike has got more family in Canterlot, including Celestia (who may have taken care of Spike before giving him to Twilight). Also, because of Twilight's new position, she's not going to be able to give that family interaction as much. What interaction she'll give won't be separate from that she'll give an assistant. Mind you, I am a huge Spike fan. I don't want Spike to leave the show; his role should be different though. If Spike leaves Twilight, he'll have the chance to grow into his own without being in Twilight's shadow. As an example, Spike could still stay in Ponyvile and take the role Twilight once had when she first came to town: the role of student studying life lessons and friendship. Or Spike can take charge of the library if Twilight gets her own castle. What do you think? Should Spike leave Twilight? --

So, the molt episode pretty much got me thinking about something. Everyone is always curious about Scootaloo's parents.But, what about Spike? How did Celestia get a dragon egg? Did she find it somewhere? Did spike's parents give it to her? Did his parents go missing? or are they deceased? In the molt episode, we learn that dragon parents don't let their children go until they hit puberty. Which really begs the question,how did spike end up with ponies instead of his own kind? Any thoughts?

Spike's heart still belongs to Rarity. But she's kept him in the friendzone so long that he's probably open to a reasonable alternative. Until now, his flirting with Applejack stayed just below my radar. But looking back, from the almost “accidental” kiss in Dog and Pony Show to the massage in Spike at Your Service, it now seems painfully obvious. Check out this little clip. Sadly, I don't even know what episode it's from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pkVC2JWTgU Sound effect gag aside, what is up with that? I imagine AJ is exaggerating a bit, but why would Spike hug her repeatedly if he considered her just another older female pony friend? “Hoo there, loverboy,” indeed!

This has SPOILERS from S08E11, just in case someone doesn't read or mind the tags and prefix, you've been warned. So, after watching 'Molt Down' I was really glad that Spike has finally grown wings, and after thinking about the whole molt thing I wondered: What caused Spike to be summoned by the Dragon Lord in 'Gauntlet of Fire'? - Spike hadn't gone through his molt yet. - No other wingless dragon was summoned. - Smolder was not there when she's clearly older than Spike. A hypothesis I've come up with is that the dragon migration from 'Dragon Quest' is a thing for winged dragons only, but since Spike never knew what being a dragon really was, his wonderings and curiosity led him to travel by foot and ended up with him being a part of the migration. That migration might be one of the dragon rituals that make any dragon "worthy" of the Dragon Lord's summoning and so, even though Spike didn't even have the body to really compete for the bloodstone scepter, he had been already proved worthy of the Dragon Lord's calling. So... What do you think about this? Do you have any other hypothesis about it? Why do you think Smolder was not summoned? (In universe explanation). What do you think about molts and their meaning in dragon society? I'll be glad to read your thoughts on this matter. Cheers.

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.

I don't know who was nuts enough to think Discord, Spike, and Big Mac would make a great team back in Season 6, but whoever it is, thank you! Big Mac, Spike, and Discord all act like they knew each other for years, even though this trio only formed after Discord officially became a part of the Guys' Night team. They play off one another through their actions, responses, and emotions, creating great chemistry with one another. Speaking of chemistry, Spike and Discord are outstanding in their best outings of the season thus far (and maybe of the show, too, once it's all finished). Discord's cynicism towards H&HD, and love in particular, plays off spectacularly with Spike, who's very optimistic and refreshingly snarky. To think that only a few seasons ago, Discord was one of his enemies, but from the way they talked to each other and knew each other so well, you'd think he was closer to Discord than Twilight. How they interacted with one another was among the multi-dozens highlights here, such as Spike criticizing Discord's pessimism to Spike intentionally teasing Discord for possibly having a crush on Fluttershy to Discord ignoring Spike's sappy romantic poem about Rarity. They know how to get under each other's skin without crossing the line, making their teasing all in good fun rather than mean-spirited. One of the season's biggest improvements — the dialogue — really shines. Every line's so organic, even when it's somewhat expository, gelling together. Every line oozed with personality and passion, whether it's from the O&O squad or the CMCs. Confalone knows how when to have them talk or act and keep them all in character. Even Big Mac isn't confined to that "Eeyup!" gag, varying his emotions or telling Discord to "EeWAIT!" The dialogue allows for not just some amazing comedy, but also some heart. More 'bout the latter later. The comedy here is golden! Every joke landed perfectly, from the dialogue responses to the satirically cheesy love music playing in the background as Big Mac rushes to Sugar Belle to Big Mac's drinking a barrel-load of cider to Sweetie's "Please say no." Spike's deadpan to Discord as an anti-romance cynic is one hell of a comeback, and that jab towards the greeting card industry by Discord is too funny. Oh, yeah… >Lyra and Bob Bon sharing H&HD bond & gifts >best friends Riiiiiiiight. XP The CMCs were also fantastic here. All season so far, they've been at their A-game. The episode recognizes them as kids, but doesn't make them so obnoxious. They were right to wonder where that mysterious pie came from and search high and low to find him. But the and does a nice swerve: They may not have found that actual special somepony for SB, but had a magnificent time together, anyway. Sweetie's small speech at the end had quite a lot of heart in it. Speaking of heart, as hilarious as TBUBD is, Confalone balances it perfectly. Big Mac's sadness was somewhat over the top, but treated with the respect it deserves. His romantic feelings with Sugar Belle feel genuine, and you can tell by how he talked about the small stuff to Skelenor, like how Sugar snorts and wiggles her nose when she giggles (something that @Nyactis Mewcis Catlum pointed out a while ago in a status). Big Mac doesn't talk much, so when he does, you listen. After they cleared up everything, it was all okay again, and they had a great end to Hearts & Hooves Day. Discord's revelation of finally believing in romance works perfectly and marks my moment of the season so far: revealing to damage her wagon wheel. Why? 'Cause he confirms to us he believes in love and figured out how to get them back together while remaining in character. He's still a jerk, and his advice to BM (long with Spike's) really stinks. But at the end, he retains a heart of gold and does the right thing, even when he's spoiled for Ogres & Oubliettes. Somehow, he predicted what Big Mac was going to do next, but given he's the Lord of Chaos, it makes sense. Really shows he cares for him as a friend. Derpy was great in her role as mailmare. As Discord counted the types of tea he loved, Top Draw lowered the audio quality of de Lancie's mic to match the sound one would hear from the old-school TV. Really masterful editing that helps enhance the joke. (The same scene from the leaked version, BTW, has the same audio quality as the rest of the ep.) Oh, and it has two morals, each executed masterfully: "Don't assume. Communicate with your friends, and everything will work itself out." "Don't be afraid to openly admit your feelings. Those who care for you will listen and understand." This one is my favorite of the season so far, because it's so relatable to everyone. When I first watched it in December, I watched a treat. Seeing it completed gives it such a fresh look, and it still holds up excellent. The Break Up Break Down isn't just the best episode of Season 8 so far, but one of the ten best of the show altogether, as well.