S05:E21 - Scaremaster

[Dynamo Pad 11,195]

I found this episode to be very enjoyable. The setting and backgrounds throughout the episode fit very well for a Halloween type of episode. The mane 6 and Spike's outfits were really cool, and my favorite were definitely Applejack, Spike, and Fluttershy's near the end of the episode. The parts where Fluttershy was participate in the party games reminded me of "Dragonshy" and it was a nice throwback to an early episode. I also liked how we get to see Flutterbat again but as a costume for Fluttershy. The anime cutout pictures were pretty awesome and I didn't expect to see that when the pictures appeared. I also liked how Fluttershy tried to handle being a part of Nightmare Night, I especially liked how they also referenced the baby steps like they did in Filli Vanilli. It was nice how she tried taking bigger steps to be with her friends and her plan along with her animal friends to scare her pony friends was pretty well thought out. All in all I thought this episode was pretty awesome and a very fitting episode for Halloween. 

[MovieLord101 140]

Happy Nightmare Night, everypony!

[Megas 27,550]

This is one of those episodes that would've been great had it just been the 2nd half of the episode, but it's brought down by a poor first half. I mean, not to rag on Fluttershy, but seeing her go through yet another "I'M AFRAID OF EVERYTHING AND THEIR MOTHERS" episode is just really boring. Some parts of it was nice, characterization of some of the other characters was nice, particularly Angel, and the costumes were cute, moral was good, and like I said the 2nd half was loads of fun, but the first half of just hammering Fluttershy's fears can only keep my attention span for so long. I know people are gonna have problems with RD's attitude throughout the episode, but with the plot centering around Fluttershy being scared and shy for the billionth time, it's hard not to sympathize with her...or hard to care

 

Still a ton better than Luna Eclipse though

Edited October 31, 2015 by ChicksDigGiantRobots

[BlackWater627 700]

That was an awesome episode, definitely one of my favorites. It would have been awesome if Flutterbat wouldn't have been a costume but rather a transformation she could do.

 

 

You and me both. Also, it would have been awesome if one of the others had their costume as a bat version of themselves! Can you say Raribat?

 

View on Derpibooru - Original source

[Fluttershyfan94 5,742]

You and me both. Also, it would have been awesome if one of the others had their costume as a bat version of themselves! Can you say Raribat?

 

View on Derpibooru - Original source

So much yes, it would have been a great reference to well Flutterbat.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

I never thought i would post about a Episode ever again, since i stopped watching.

 

But i randomly decided to join the Count to a Million Chat, where they streamed the Episode and it was okay.

 

I had kinda fun watching it, because of the cute animation and it was a little bit interesting to see, what would happen in a Mlp related Halloween episode.

 

But it also had things i dont like :

Pinkie Pie is annoying. REALLY annoying, here voice was so high pitched that my ears hurt a little.

Then there was Rainbow Dash, yet again proofing , than she can be a real Douche to her friends, by laughing about Fluttershy. Yeah i get it Rainbow Dash, your awesome and nothing comes near to that. I really wonder why you still are befriended with all of them, but i dont watch the show anymore, so i have no idea what all happened.

And then we have Applejack, the element of Honesty, who yet again, lies and proofs, that the Elements of Harmony doesnt make any sense.

If Honesty means, that you arent allowed to lie and you have to be...well..honest and Applejack did quiet often lie so far, i really wonder why she even is a part of the main 6?

Or why the elements of Harmony choosed her?

Or why the elements of Harmony even work in the first place?

 

So apart from Pinkie Pie being annoying, Rainbow Dash being an Ass****, Fluttershy being an uninteresting Stereo Type and Applejack yet again a Liar, which makes no sense what so ever, they are still a few things i liked.

 

Rarity.

She was the only one who didnt overreact or was Stereo Typish. She talked normal, it happens rare in Mlp but i was surprised that she spoke at a normal speed and actually talked about things that made sense like the discussion about the clothing, that was very surprising and nice.

Also Twilight did a good job at, not being a Stereotype and just being a normal friend.

 

I also found it funny, that one Pony dressed up as Twilight Sparkle, that Fluttershy looked like Elvira - The Mistress of Darkness ( which was a very cool reference..well...if she was supposed to represent her ) and the scene with Granny Smith reminded me of a scene from the Horror Movie " The Signal " .

 

So, i still found a few things to enjoy, so i voted for : I enjoyed it.

 

And im honestly surprised, that i found the episode greater that some other bronys here, considering i dont watch the show anymore and found so many bad things about it...

 

But yet again, this Episode just proofed, that many of the things in Mlp still annoy me and that the episodes still arent that great for me...even if i voted it up pretty highly...

 

Im still not interested to watch more, but if i get invited again to a stream group or something, i sure would join again 

Edited October 31, 2015 by Smile.Pony

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

I thought the episode was fun . I think the writers and animators did a good job ^w^

[Foliha 395]

Once again I am forlornly searching for a You Tube link...  Anypony?

[Glaive9Gko 82]

Aww, flutters eps always have a way of being cute, don't they?
++ Fluttershy "soon" moment. So cute! Okay really, just Fluttershy in general here. Step aside, Marble Pie! Flutters is back in business!
++ Lion Applejack is adorbs! I WANNA HUG THE PONY!
+ Is it just me, or is the animation particularly good in this one? Because oh my did this ep look gorgeous!
+ Derpy Twi. Ya know, its the little things that make pone good~
+ Did they just reference Utena and Evangelion?! Ya know, I'm okay with this! Just like with the windegos, some small part of me is okay with the idea of little girls Googling that.
+ Also, Flutters confirmed for weeb. Like total weeb. Those were some pretty dated references! Well okay, DBZ, Sailor Moon, and Eva are all still going, but still.
+ Dat Angel face! I knew he was evil!
+/- Not really a problem for me, but I'll be surprised if at least one YouTube critic doesn't call out Fluttershy for paranoid delusions.

On another note, Fluttershy being able fly with wing covers means that the bat ponies from S2 might actually be wearing some. So yeah, bat ponies might not actually be a thing.

So yeah, I liked it! I'll give it a sooooon/10!

[KirbyFluttershy 2,523]

I loved the episode. I loved how fluttershy was trying to participate in nightmare night, but even though that was only the 1st step. Angel bunny made me laugh with his evil or sinister look that he had an idea. Well The way she tried to make her friends scared, I thought She would've make the objects she made to be floating to make it more scary enough.

 

I just hope most fluttershy and flutterbat fans enjoyed the episode.

 

Applejack dressed as a lion? That does remind me a lot like Leo Zodiac if anypony else here noticed that.

[InfectedPone 1,549]

Just saying, things could've turned out a lot worse if it wasn't a halloween episode that was leaked.

 

[BlackWater627 700]

 

 

I just hope most fluttershy and flutterbat fans enjoyed the episode.

 

 

I know I did. But I'm like Oliver Twist when it comes to Flutterbat. 

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

The ending was definitely the best part of this. I'd pretty much go on what @Kyoshi said about the moral.

 

To me, the best part though, was the moral. This season has been doing the morals so incredibly well and this episode continues that. So many other cartoons would have the character in question, this being Fluttershy, at the end she would overcome her fears and then continue to do the thing that she overcame her fears for. Instead, she realizes that it is just something that she has no interest in and she decides to continue doing what she always did on Nightmare Night, that is just awesome. Self acceptance for the win.

 

I could relate to Fluttershy's position. I remember a time when I was really young when I couldn't walk down the Halloween aisle at Pathmark, but one of the toughest things is the conflict it creates when you hold an unpopular opinion. I'm sure some of us know that situation where everyone and their brother is talking about horror movies and haunted houses, and they're putting absolute pressure on you to see a horror movie or go to a haunted house, and you can't seem to find the right way to communicate that you don't care for that kind of stuff. It seems like this is all universal stuff, but not only do you feel left out for not enjoying it; it wouldn't be far off to think people are judging you for it. Maybe they are, and maybe they aren't. That was Fluttershy's position, as she communicated by her "spooky tea party". Andrea Libman's voice performance absolutely nails Fluttershy's act there, and I concur with the ReMane 5 there. Not very scary, but funny, creative, and quite true. If you're extremely introverted, then it's freakin' horrifying.

 

Fluttershy's fears of Nightmare Night, however, did come off as quite a bit played-up for the sake of the episode. I don't think it would have been out of place had it been Season 1 or 2, but it did hurt the episode for some people as far as development and character continuity. I mean, Fluttershy braved real psychological horrors in the season premiere, and she's old enough to have seen quite a few Nightmare Nights and know what's really going on around here. It felt a bit too comfortable in Fluttershy's past as a character and the archetypical role she fits in this episode, however the way the ending went off did help it. We didn't really see too many episodes targeting Fluttershy's social introversion, except maybe "Hurricane Fluttershy" and "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies", and those involved strangers more than the Mane 6. With respect to her social anxiety, it's hard to find anything else like this anywhere else in this show.

 

In addition, I couldn't get over how much of an insufferable jerk Rainbow Dash was in this episode. I guess Spike had to transfer his Idiot Ball to someone if he was going to get some respect for an episode. It seems that the writers have trouble handling all six characters together. I know one of them has got to misspeak every now and again, but damn, Rainbow Dash! Those were some Season 1-level regressions with regards to how she spoke to Fluttershy and her overall demeanor when dealing with things such as her "spooky tea party". I guess all that patience and consideration from "Hurricane Fluttershy" had to get lost somewhere in the story notes.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Wind Chaser

[Truffles 2,033]

I gave in and watched the leaked version, and like it pretty much as well now as I did back then. Onward with the comments!

 

Just saying, things could've turned out a lot worse if it wasn't a halloween episode that was leaked.
 

 

I wonder if the episode wouldn't have been switched with "Rarity Investigates" if there had been scenes with the CMC's blank flanks showing? I don't know whether production would have had the budget to go back and add their cutie marks in now that the episode was placed after their getting them? Or maybe they simply wouldn't have cared if this episode aired today and they didn't have any marks for such a brief moment?

 

I know people are gonna have problems with RD's attitude throughout the episode, but with the plot centering around Fluttershy being scared and shy for the billionth time, it's hard not to sympathize with her...or hard to care

 
I agree with you. I'm on the fence about how Rainbow acted mean again like she did in S1 and S2, since you're right RD had every right to be critical of how much Fluttershy regressed. All for the sake of the plot in the first half of the episode. It's like Flutters' regression brought Rainbow Dash down with her... 

 

 

 

OK, not gonna lie, this was pretty bucked up.  I would've been right behind AJ in that situation, I can tell you that much!

 

 
I'm just wondering which Apple ancestor was dug up by Fluttershy's animal friends to complete this scare? Last time I checked Equestria didn't have injection-mold plastics, so I'm assuming the pony skeleton is real and is some old pony corpse. Talk about going the extra mile by desecrating a grave! 

(Yes my tongue is firmly planted in cheek, BTW!   Although you never know with Granny... Maybe she does have a bone collection somewhere on her property?  )

 

 

Saw this one when it leaked so I've been sitting on this one for a while
 
What I liked:
The Moral: Brilliant moral, how that just because your friends doesn't mean you have to do everything together and making a stand on what you want to do
The costumes: So many! 
Fluttershy, Act 2 & 3: Basically I really liked how Fluttershy acts, AFTER Twilight suggests that she scare the rest of the Mane 6. For one thing, the tea party shows her fears, which are more adult/more anxiety prone than your Halloween fair. And then she decided to go full force on the Mane 6 but found she didn't like it and took a stand and said she didn't like it
Spike: Holy cow, he's useful!!! AND HE'S INTERACTING WITH SOMEPONY OTHER THAN TWILIGHT OR RARITY!!!!! Best scene of his all season!
 
What I didn't like:
Fluttershy Act 1: A big pet peeve of mine is when the writers have Fluttershy act as Scooby-Doo, overly terrified.  Here it was again and I still dislike it.  It's an extreme of a characterization trait, basically dialing it up to 13 on Fluttershy and that's not good.
Granny Smith: The heck is with you Granny?
 
What was otaku:
Anime ponies!!!!!: Otakushy confirmed!!!!!!! Also Dragon Ball exist in Equestria!!
 
So overall I was rubbed the wrong way by the first act but the rest of it came together to pull of a very enjoyable Halloween episode.

 
THIS - this pretty much sums up my thoughts on this episode exactly. Great moment with Spike and Fluttershy, bad stuff with Granny and Big Mac and then Fluttershy's lame fears over candy, apples, and wearing glasses.  Then everything after was great!

 

One thing has changed, however: One of my criticisms of this episode when it was leaked was of how out-of-character Big Mac was when he didn't step in to stop Granny from scaring Fluttershy at the start. Now I have an explanation - Marble Pie. He just doesn't care about Flutters at all anymore...

 

 

Though apparently Fluttershy likes anime, which I always figured would be Dash's guilty pleasure.

 

I was surprised to learn Fluttershy is an anime geek, and a really good artist as well!

 

 

So, they have astronauts in Equestria?

 
Yes, or at the very least someponies are writing sci-fi movies and comics that feature astronponies! Pretty interesting development if you ask me.

 

 

So, for those who skipped the leaked thread ( https://mlpforums.com/topic/138197-scaremaster-is-up-on-itunes/ ) this was by favorite shot of the episode:

 

 

This was a new establishing shot of the castle with the dramatic use of perspective. Very well done, DHX!

 

[Guest]

What I loved most about this episode was that Fluttershy didn't have to change, she tried something and realised it just wasn't for her. Another stellar season 5 episode and perhaps one of Fluttershy's finest IMO.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,309]

I thought this episode was... okay. Fluttershy's antics started to get a bit annoying after awhile, but I've never really liked Fluttershy so I guess it was expected.

 

I did like the moral though.

 

Oh, and Applejack's costume was adorable!

Edited October 31, 2015 by SparklingSwirls

[Princess Book Horse 352]

I saw this a few days after it leaked............... I REGRET NOTHING!

 

However, I held off on my reaction because I didn't want to spoil it for the folks who patiently waited until today to watch this (kudos to you guys.)

 

- Safehouse is all boarded up, we've got plenty of supplies, we're all set for the zombie apocal- er.... I meant Nightmare night!!

- "And what's the crunching sound? Maybe it's the bones of the ponies out didn't make it out aliiiive!!!" Granny/ What're u doin/ Granny/ STAHP!!

- Oh no! Is that? TWICULA'S MANOR!

- In all seriousness, Twi's castle looks perfectly spooky during Nightmare night! I guess that was the point.

- CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TP.... ERS? I don't really know where I was going with that one.

- Anime ponies!!

- Personally, I prefer the costumes in Luna Eclipsed, except for AJ's. I LOVE her lion costume. She easily wins "best costume" IMO

- Twilicorn Derpy?? I blame Larson!!!!

- Dat Granny Smith skeleton... Isn't this a family show?

- I liked the lesson though..... Sometimes when you conquer your fears, you still don't like the thing you used to be afraid of. You won't end up liking everything.

 

 

 

I'll see y'all next week for a completely new episode.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Princess Book Horse

[Perradial 114]

I noticed Pinkie's line, "How did THAT get down here?" when she saw Harry the bear in his costume. Does that mean she's seen something like that...?

[Will Guide 21,359]

I wonder if the episode wouldn't have been switched with "Rarity Investigates" if there had been scenes with the CMC's blank flanks showing? I don't know whether production would have had the budget to go back and add their cutie marks in now that the episode was placed after their getting them? Or maybe they simply wouldn't have cared if this episode aired today and they didn't have any marks for such a brief moment?

 

Actually, the CMC were in full body costumes with Granny Smith and Big Mac, while the Mane 5 and Spike were down in the tunnels. It's okay since their Cutie Marks (or lack thereof) were covered up, so the episode works either Before OR After CotLM.

[Scion of Arcadia 69]

Am I the only one who noticed the Sailor Moon pony? No, I'm not talking about the one Fluttershy drew (btw, surprisingly good artist she is). In the establishing shot of the Carousel Boutique, just as the CMC are running away in delight, you can see a two ponies walking nearby. The one on the right is dressed in a maroonish dress-thing and pink hair. But the one on the left?

 

 

Now I'm no genius on Sailor Moon and you'll have to excuse me for the poor image quality and size. If someone would mind providing a higher quality image, I'd appreciate it. But meatball hairdo? White shirt, red scarf, blue miniskirt? Boots? Gloves... Ish. Seems to me all the pieces are in place. Apparently Fluttershy isn't the only Otaku in the town.

[takai 1,060]

Excellent episode! Fluttershy showing development by trying new things and even recalling overcoming her fear when she was singing. Bravo for continuity!

 

Fluttershy confirmed anime fan. This pleases me beyond belief.

 

That horse mask was a nod to J-List. No doubt! I love Halloween episodes, because you get to pick out all the background ponies costumes. There was a pony dressed as Twilight that gave me a good laugh. EDIT: Turns out that was Derpy dressed as Twilight! I love it! 

 

I loved Flutterbat coming back! Fluttershy looked so great 

You know, one of these days I'd really like to see Twilight dress up as a book. And of course, Spike always kills it with an awesome costume!

 

I enjoyed myself a little too much this episode. I loved every part of it. It could very well be my newest favorite Fluttershy episode.

Edited November 1, 2015 by takai

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Wooee! Flutterbat comes back once again! I see Fluttershy's point of view. I grew up like that, hating horror movies just because people are always in danger, especially with the ones of today, where the all the producers and writers depend on is worthless shock just to "scare" the audience. It's sad because these shocking films don't scare us, they scar us and leave with disgusting thoughts. I definitely empathize with Fluttershy. 

 

Kudos to Fluttershy stepping out of her comfort zone and trying to scare her friends at the cottage. Who knows...we may see yet another Nightmare Night episode in the future. 

[Justin_Case001 4,876]

Great episode.  Tons of fun, nothing important happened.  Nice to have one like that once in awhile.

 

I really liked the story.  Good Fluttershy development.  It was nice to see her being a scaredypony, since that's classic funny Flutters, but it didn't feel like it was regressing her character.  Good continuity with the Filli Vanilli mention, too.  I was really hoping she'd pull off the great scare prank, so that was satisfying.  Good conclusion, too.  Sometimes, something just isn't your cup of tea, even if you turn out to be okay at it.  Good message.

 

I loved the appearance of Flutterbat, even if it was just a costume.  Woulda been kinda cool if, say, idk, Luna cast a spell to temporarily turn Fluttershy into the real Flutterbat, only, like, not insane this time.  Speaking of Luna, she should have at least had a cameo.  The ponies look forward to her coming around the scare them, right?  Now that I said that, for all I know, she was in the background and I missed her.  I miss a lot the first time I watch episodes.  Anyway, back to Flutterbat--I'm never gonna let that one go; you know, that they never addressed that she's still part bat.

 

We were definitely due for some Fluttertime, so that was nice.  And I'm glad there was a  good amount of screentime for all of them.  Seems like it's been awhile since it was all six together.  I loved the costumes.  The Cowardly Lion was adorable, and Twilight was badass as a Roman gladiator.  For being the coolest pony, however, I thought Rainbow's costume was kind of dorky.  My mom pointed out that for being a fashionista, Rarity's "costume" wasn't really anything special.  It was nice, but just a dress like what she usually wears.  She should have worn something really outrageous.  But I guess the deal was that she was trying to tone it down out of consideration for Flutters.  Anyway, I still liked it.

 

It is kind of ridiculous that Fluttershy has always been so terrified to go out on Nightmare Night.  She knows it's just her friends and the townsponies in costumes.  I mean, it's not the f*cking Purge.  But I glad she got over it, in her own way.

 

Oh, and let's not forget--for the first time in FIM history, Twilight remembered that she could use teleportation!  On ALL FIVE OF THEM!  What a treat!  Course, she was only able to do it because there was no real threat.  If it had been Tirek chasing them, she would have just hung there and screamed.  :/

 

Anyway, really fun, liked it a lot.

[Truffles 2,033]

Actually, the CMC were in full body costumes with Granny Smith and Big Mac, while the Mane 5 and Spike were down in the tunnels. It's okay since their Cutie Marks (or lack thereof) were covered up, so the episode works either Before OR After CotLM.

 

Exactly. I was just wondering if the episode had been shot with their flanks exposed whether that would have prevented DFC/Hasbro from moving this episode to later in the season, or if they would have gone ahead and hoped no one would notice. 

 

 

I really liked the story.  Good Fluttershy development.  It was nice to see her being a scaredypony, since that's classic funny Flutters, but it didn't feel like it was regressing her character.  Good continuity with the Filli Vanilli mention, too.

 

I guess I felt like it was too silly of her to be scared of the things she was, for the reasons she gave. If they had made her scared of them because she has an actual phobia for Nightmare Night and those things reminded her of it, then I would have felt that was more plausible. But it's not that big of a deal because the episode as a whole was a lot of fun to watch.

 

 

For being the coolest pony, however, I thought Rainbow's costume was kind of dorky.

 

Oh, thank you for bringing this up and reminding me of what I thought about Rainbow's costume! While I loved the idea of her dressed as a space pony, I must say, Rainbow dear, don't ever cut your mane because it's your #1 identifiable physical attribute, followed by your tail!

 

When I first saw the commercials several weeks ago that featured clips from this episode, my first reaction to see her was "Who's the weird alien space pony?"  That mane cap she was wearing made her look bald, long and lanky, and the character designs in general don't lend themselves well when the ponies don't have their manes. Especially RD.

 

 

Oh, and let's not forget--for the first time in FIM history, Twilight remembered that she could use teleportation!  On ALL FIVE OF THEM!  What a treat!  Course, she was only able to do it because there was no real threat.

 

Good catch! Yeah, Twilight finally showing she's not a totally nerfed alicorn; or for that matter, even a nerfed gifted unicorn like she used to be.

[RainCode 61]

Noticed a few things.

 

1. Angel never got his carrots or salad.

2. In the beginning, Fluttershy was scared of the spiders that dropped even though she seems to be okay with them as shown in the very beginning.

2. Near the end, while Fluttershy was flying with the disguise on, the colours matched and all. How come we were able to see it in parts (different colour, black elastic thing to keep the ears on) during the reveal?

 

 

Oh- lets not forget the great parts!

Edited November 1, 2015 by RainCode