Unpopular opinions about MLP?

[Hadrien 954]

18 minutes ago, The Recherche said:

Ooooh, good guess. I was however thinking of one of its derivatives, being the Dante and Vergil from Devil May Cry. If you're unfamiliar with them, the short version is that they are two half-demon brothers who are always eager to get in fights to the death with each other. Doesn't sound very far off from Celestia and Luna from the later seasons, no?

Aaaaaah, yes. Devil May Cry. I mean, some of it is based on the characters from the Divine Comedy. Dante and Vergil were always fighting in that story too hahaha. 

[Iforgotmybrain 5,750]

I feel like some of the fan service in the later seasons was a bit too much.

I love alicorn Twilight, I just wish they made Magical Mystery Cure a two parter.

[The Recherche 29,969]

23 hours ago, Iforgotmybrain said:

I feel like some of the fan service in the later seasons was a bit too much.

I agree with this, and I will go a step further as well. Much of the fanservice came across as ways for them to weasel their way out of paying attention to characters' individual arcs. That may sound odd, but the simplest example I can give is Trivial Pursuit. The entire episode is full of call-backs to past episodes: Zap-Apples. Ghastly Gorge, Cutie Pox, Daring Do, Tirek and Scorpan, Snowfall Frost, and a few other lore bits are referenced throughout the episode. This is also the upteenth episode where Twilight spazzes out, even after learning how to control herself 5 seasons ago. Even with that aside, Twilight relapses on her perfectionism as well, when this was literally covered 11 episodes prior.

These kinds of things are why I just did not enjoy Season 9 very much. Some character regression is acceptable now and then, but this just happened way too many times in latter-day FiM. Especially since most of the time, it seems they weren't even aware that the characters were regressing in the first place. Season 5 Twilight Sparkle feels like a more complete character than Season 9 Twilight Sparkle does at times.

[Iforgotmybrain 5,750]

1 hour ago, The Recherche said:

I agree with this, and I will go a step further as well. Much of the fanservice came across as ways for them to weasel their way out of paying attention to characters' individual arcs. That may sound odd, but the simplest example I can give is Trivial Pursuit. The entire episode is full of call-backs to past episodes: Zap-Apples. Ghastly Gorge, Cutie Pox, Daring Do, Tirek and Scorpan, Snowfall Frost, and a few other lore bits are referenced throughout the episode. This is also the upteenth episode where Twilight spazzes out, even after learning how to control herself 5 seasons ago. Even with that aside, Twilight relapses on her perfectionism as well, when this was literally covered 11 episodes prior.

These kinds of things are why I just did not enjoy Season 9 very much. Some character regression is acceptable now and then, but this just happened way too many times in latter-day FiM. Especially since most of the time, it seems they weren't even aware that the characters were regressing in the first place. Season 5 Twilight Sparkle feels like a more complete character than Season 9 Twilight Sparkle does at times.

Yep you pretty much nailed it perfectly. I think it was just a mix of them running out of ideas and creativity and trying to cater to the huge fan base of older fans they had. 

[Steve Piranha 29,430]

Never cared about the fandom names for Limestone Pie and Moeh Poneh, before their official names were shown. I don’t even know which names were assigned to 

[Megas 27,761]

2 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

Never cared about the fandom names for Limestone Pie and Moeh Poneh, before their official names were shown. I don’t even know which names were assigned to 

They all had the names of the PAC Man ghosts. Marble and Limestone were Inky and Blinky, the parents were Clyde and Sue. Maude then came out of nowhere and threw a wrench at things 

[Steve Piranha 29,430]

I, fucking LOVE McFlurry 

23 hours ago, Megas said:

They all had the names of the PAC Man ghosts. Marble and Limestone were Inky and Blinky, the parents were Clyde and Sue. Maude then came out of nowhere and threw a wrench at things 

Oh, I get it, Pinkie because of Pinky, the pink ghost . I don’t get the Sue tho . Stil, it would be nice if at least one of said ghosts in Ghostly Adventures shared a voice with  a Pie family member. The closest would be Cylindria, but she’s neither a ghost, nor a classic Pac-Man character 

[S0m3th1ng3ls3 198]

(post removed to protect the identity of the poster)

Edited February 11 by S0m3th1ng3ls3
(post removed to protect the identity of the poster)

[Megas 27,761]

3 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

I, fucking LOVE McFlurry 

Oh, I get it, Pinkie because of Pinky, the pink ghost . I don’t get the Sue tho . Stil, it would be nice if at least one of said ghosts in Ghostly Adventures shared a voice with  a Pie family member. The closest would be Cylindria, but she’s neither a ghost, nor a classic Pac-Man character 

Sue was in Ms PAC Man taking Clyde’s place

[RafaStaryStory 3,315]

I like the songs, but the unreleased background music for FiM TV Series and EQG composed by William Anderson with that amazing leitmotif continuity is what really stands out for me, hearing things like Nightmare Moon's theme from the series' first two episodes returning for Luna in A Canterlot Wedding, or the 3 villains themes from S2, S4, S8 including Sombra's from S3 returning for Season 9, it really made my hair stand on end, watching FiM and expecting to hear in a episode past themes return or new ones to show up was truly a very fun experience for me (and made me a bit disappointed with the 2017 movie's score lol), Benjamin Pinkerton's and Sean James Boyer's work in TyT and MyM has been great so far too despite they not being able to do much due to G5's different goal with the small world and character roster, I really liked Heitor Pereira's score for A New Generation too. Truly a shame none of these (except for Daniel Ingram's score for movie 2017) ever got to see a official release...

[Steve Piranha 29,430]

I don’t know if this is unpopular, as people hardly talk about it, but I prefer Misty’s natural mane colors 

[KPackratt 359]

I'm not a fan of the redesigned (Better Together) outfits for the Equestria Girls Mane 7, especially Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's outfits. I like their original outfits better. I know some people weren't fans of the old outfits and I respect their opinions. I'm just sharing my personal opinion.

[Sparklefan1234 172,273]

I know this might not be unpopular but I don't think The "Great and Powerful" Trixie was ever a "villain" even during Magic Duel.

[OverTheStars 139]

Not sure how popular or unpopular this opinion is, but I'm actually fine with Twilight being an alicorn while the others aren't. Since she's Celestia's student, I assume that Celestia was training Twi to follow her in her footprints to be a princess and so it makes sense for her to become an alicorn. While I wouldn't have an issue with the other mane 6 becoming alicorns, I understand why they weren't. While they are still important and vital to protecting Equestria, they didn't train under Celestia for this specific purpose and I feel that unlike Twi, not all of them would really have a ton of interest in carrying the burden of being royalty. 

Also I don't think Flash Sentry is a horrible character, but he just isn't that interesting. I don't think EG needed any romantic plotlines and I feel like Twi having a crush on him has some odd implications.

[Sparklefan1234 172,273]

Trixie was the hero and the Mane 6 (*Meaning, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike) were the villains in Boast Busters which, caused Trixie to continue to be treated like a villain in Magic Duel because they couldn't have the mane 6* + Twilight Sparkle showing remorse.

[Dawnshine Wonder 209]

32 minutes ago, OverTheStars said:

Not sure how popular or unpopular this opinion is, but I'm actually fine with Twilight being an alicorn while the others aren't. Since she's Celestia's student, I assume that Celestia was training Twi to follow her in her footprints to be a princess and so it makes sense for her to become an alicorn. While I wouldn't have an issue with the other mane 6 becoming alicorns, I understand why they weren't. While they are still important and vital to protecting Equestria, they didn't train under Celestia for this specific purpose and I feel that unlike Twi, not all of them would really have a ton of interest in carrying the burden of being royalty. 

Also I don't think Flash Sentry is a horrible character, but he just isn't that interesting. I don't think EG needed any romantic plotlines and I feel like Twi having a crush on him has some odd implications.

It's as I said on this forum before, Twilight Sparkle becoming an Alicorn was hinted right from the beginning when she was a student at the School of Gifted Unicorns, whether fans agree or not, that's the reality the show was going for even before season 3 happened. I never had an issue with Twilight Sparkle becoming an Alicorn either, and I went over some of my criticisms of this infighting going on. In my opinion seeing Twilight Sparkle's fight with Tirek in the season 4 finale was better than repeating villain defeats with elements of harmony every time, and her increased powers made sense, she had the power of four alicorns at that time. Twilight Sparkle's element is magic, so of course her mastery of this would mean heroic battles to defend Equestria. A villain who clearly isn't going to redeem isn't going to stop their aggression just because you were nice to them.

 

 

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic - Twilight's Kingdom - Twilight Sparkle vs Lord Tirek fight scene - MLP:FiM Canon Discussion - MLP Forums

[SidewinderX 23]

Hmm...I have a few opinions that, while not outright unpopular, might be at least less common. They are:

-Pinkie Pie is more annoying than funny.

-The music (with a few exceptions) is pretty...well, cringy.

-Celestia isn't a tyrant. She is incompetent and a bad leader (cough rewriting history to remove Nightmare Moon cough). She should be ousted and replaced.

-Lyra doesn't like humans and the fan logic for that claim is downright idiotic.

[Dawnshine Wonder 209]

9 minutes ago, SidewinderX said:

Hmm...I have a few opinions that, while not outright unpopular, might be at least less common. They are:

-Pinkie Pie is more annoying than funny.

-The music (with a few exceptions) is pretty...well, cringy.

-Celestia isn't a tyrant. She is incompetent and a bad leader (cough rewriting history to remove Nightmare Moon cough). She should be ousted and replaced.

-Lyra doesn't like humans and the fan logic for that claim is downright idiotic.

Some history should change for the greater good

If time travel is what is needed to remove a problem, it is the action that a character needs to take. Fictions like Dragonball (Super to be precise) make dumb reasons for characters not traveling to other timelines to fix what others are unwilling to help with, in this case, incompetent or apathetic/useless gods. I wouldn't want My Little Pony repeating those same tired tropes of why a protagonist shouldn't help others in other universes, just because they are worried what might happen after the fact.

 

There's nothing tyrannical about this, it's obvious individuals who want peace have taken an oath to help others in need.

[SidewinderX 23]

Moments ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

Some history should change for the greater good

If time travel is what is needed to remove a problem, it is the action that a character needs to take. Fictions like Dragonball (Super to be precise) make dumb reasons for characters not traveling to other timelines to fix what others are unwilling to help with, in this case, incompetent or apathetic/useless gods. I wouldn't want My Little Pony repeating those same tired tropes of why a protagonist shouldn't help others in other universes, just because they are worried what might happen after the fact.

 

There's nothing tyrannical about this, it's obvious individuals who want peace have taken an oath to help others in need.

No, I don't think she's tyrannical. I think she's bad at her job. (So's Shining Armor, really. He is/was in charge of the guard, and they stink.) In fact, your mention of time travel brings me to my big issue with Celestia: incredibly dangerous or unethical spells are unregulated. In G4, the following questionable spells were used, with little or no repercussions to the caster:

-Want it, Need it spell

-Breezie spell

-Starlight mind spell

Just to name a few. And somehow, the largest compensation the caster faced, if any, was giving an apology. Seriously? Being mentally manipulated/physically changed without consent would be traumatic for the victims. We don't see any legal or financial consequences for any of these. 

Add this to the fact that the capital of Equestria has been captured twice, in broad daylight, and you see my point.

TL;DR The Equestrian government is a joke.

[Dawnshine Wonder 209]

14 minutes ago, SidewinderX said:

No, I don't think she's tyrannical. I think she's bad at her job. (So's Shining Armor, really. He is/was in charge of the guard, and they stink.) In fact, your mention of time travel brings me to my big issue with Celestia: incredibly dangerous or unethical spells are unregulated. In G4, the following questionable spells were used, with little or no repercussions to the caster:

-Want it, Need it spell

-Breezie spell

-Starlight mind spell

Just to name a few. And somehow, the largest compensation the caster faced, if any, was giving an apology. Seriously? Being mentally manipulated/physically changed without consent would be traumatic for the victims. We don't see any legal or financial consequences for any of these. 

Add this to the fact that the capital of Equestria has been captured twice, in broad daylight, and you see my point.

TL;DR The Equestrian government is a joke.

You think they were the only ones with problems? Starlight Glimmer needed help to overcome her insecurities, how do you expect individuals to learn from their mistakes if they are not shown guidance to do so? in episode Every Little Thing She Does, Starlight Glimmer casted the spell because she was worried about failing, redemption takes time, it's not a quick fix for anyone. Responding with punitive measure, instead of rehabilitation, in a situation like this, doesn't always achieve the best result.

 

As for the episode Royal Problem from season 7, while it was questionable for Starlight Glimmer to swap Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks, none of this would've happened in the first place if Princess Luna's mental health problems were addressed sooner, all that angst she was carrying which led to another argument with her sister, were clear symptoms of depression, which showed her pain never truly went away even after she absorbed Tantabus back into herself in episode from season 5 Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep. I do think Princess Celestia should have been more thoughtful in her reconciliation with her sister since the first season, but to call her a bad ruler, I disagree, I've seen rulers, both fictional and real, do far worse things. Princess Celestia had neglected her sister, one mistake I will admit she did make, but then so did other ponies, Princess Celestia wasn't the only pony responsible for this problem.

[SidewinderX 23]

17 hours ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

You think they were the only ones with problems? Starlight Glimmer needed help to overcome her insecurities, how do you expect individuals to learn from their mistakes if they are not shown guidance to do so? in episode Every Little Thing She Does, Starlight Glimmer casted the spell because she was worried about failing, redemption takes time, it's not a quick fix for anyone. Responding with punitive measure, instead of rehabilitation, in a situation like this, doesn't always achieve the best result.

 

As for the episode Royal Problem from season 7, while it was questionable for Starlight Glimmer to swap Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks, none of this would've happened in the first place if Princess Luna's mental health problems were addressed sooner, all that angst she was carrying which led to another argument with her sister, were clear symptoms of depression, which showed her pain never truly went away even after she absorbed Tantabus back into herself in episode from season 5 Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep. I do think Princess Celestia should have been more thoughtful in her reconciliation with her sister since the first season, but to call her a bad ruler, I disagree, I've seen rulers, both fictional and real, do far worse things. Princess Celestia had neglected her sister, one mistake I will admit she did make, but then so did other ponies, Princess Celestia wasn't the only pony responsible for this problem.

'Insecurity' is not valid justification to essentially mind-warp sapient beings. Ever. And even then, she should have at least attempted to make it up to those she harmed. We don't see any group therapy sessions or financial consequences for an incredibly serious crime. 

That aside, my main point is not about Starlight. Here is my main list of grievances for Celestia:

-Failure to properly defend Equestria (poor training of the Guard, disbanding of SMILE)

-Failure to provide a decent healthcare system (It takes Applejack, a HERO OF EQUESTRIA, a year to raise money for Granny's hip replacement. Not even the modern VA is that slow, especially not for such an important VIP)

-Failure to implement an anti-bullying system in schools (yes, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's activities are actually pretty mild compared to our bullying issues. Still, blackmailing the CMC into publishing a gossip column is not okay)

Of course, you are entitled to your own opinion. I did put this in the 'Unpopular Opinions' thread, after all. 

[Dawnshine Wonder 209]

14 minutes ago, SidewinderX said:

'Insecurity' is not valid justification to essentially mind-warp sapient beings. Ever. And even then, she should have at least attempted to make it up to those she harmed. We don't see any group therapy sessions or financial consequences for an incredibly serious crime. 

That aside, my main point is not about Starlight. Here is my main list of grievances for Celestia:

-Failure to properly defend Equestria (poor training of the Guard, disbanding of SMILE)

-Failure to provide a decent healthcare system (It takes Applejack, a HERO OF EQUESTRIA, a year to raise money for Granny's hip replacement. Not even the modern VA is that slow, especially not for such an important VIP)

-Failure to implement an anti-bullying system in schools (yes, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's activities are actually pretty mild compared to our bullying issues. Still, blackmailing the CMC into publishing a gossip column is not okay)

Of course, you are entitled to your own opinion. I did put this in the 'Unpopular Opinions' thread, after all. 

"-Failure to provide a decent healthcare system (It takes Applejack, a HERO OF EQUESTRIA, a year to raise money for Granny's hip replacement. Not even the modern VA is that slow, especially not for such an important VIP)"

In USA you're lucky to even have healthcare at all, a lot of people get into debt over medical procedures there, the rest, do without even if it ends up costing them their lives. As for anti bullying programs, humans suck at this also, and humans have done far worse things than what I have seen happen in main timeline MLP FIM, they elect bigoted politicians, start wars and riots, make threats to opposition parties, among many other problems. And you want to tell me the fictional character Princess Celestia is somehow worse?

And as for showing mercy and giving offenders the chance to redeem themselves, that's a testament to the restraint over her authority Princess Celestia has, if any real life politician had wielded that kind of power, I doubt they would be as responsible. She could have left Discord to remain locked in stone for eternity which would have been obscenely cruel and dark, but she didn't, Celestia could've banished Princess Luna to the moon again after her defeat in season 1 at the hooves of Mane 6, but she chose to reconcile with her instead and offering forgiveness in return for a heartfelt apology from her sister. There's evidence that she does try to help her kingdom, I cannot say the same for many humans who respond with vindictiveness just because they feel they have all the answers.

 

 

[SidewinderX 23]

1 hour ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

"-Failure to provide a decent healthcare system (It takes Applejack, a HERO OF EQUESTRIA, a year to raise money for Granny's hip replacement. Not even the modern VA is that slow, especially not for such an important VIP)"

In USA you're lucky to even have healthcare at all, a lot of people get into debt over medical procedures there, the rest, do without even if it ends up costing them their lives. As for anti bullying programs, humans suck at this also, and humans have done far worse things than what I have seen happen in main timeline MLP FIM, they elect bigoted politicians, start wars and riots, make threats to opposition parties, among many other problems. And you want to tell me the fictional character Princess Celestia is somehow worse?

And as for showing mercy and giving offenders the chance to redeem themselves, that's a testament to the restraint over her authority Princess Celestia has, if any real life politician had wielded that kind of power, I doubt they would be as responsible. She could have left Discord to remain locked in stone for eternity which would have been obscenely cruel and dark, but she didn't, Celestia could've banished Princess Luna to the moon again after her defeat in season 1 at the hooves of Mane 6, but she chose to reconcile with her instead and offering forgiveness in return for a heartfelt apology from her sister. There's evidence that she does try to help her kingdom, I cannot say the same for many humans who respond with vindictiveness just because they feel they have all the answers.

 

 

That still doesn't answer my points about the multiple strategic military and intelligence failures that Equestria has had under her leadership. Having your capital of all places overrun twice, in broad daylight, while it is smack dab in the middle of your country, is a disgrace. The fact that the main savior of Equestria is six civilians and six MacGuffins reflects poorly on Celestia (and the Guard)'s preparedness for a threat. Nightmare Moon barely did anything, but for some reason Celestia decided that using untrained innocents to solve the problem was a good idea. Sure, it worked, but the chances of it not succeeding were also high. 

You also say that Celestia is 'merciful,' and that is why she forgave Discord and Starlight. Jow do you think their victims feel about this 'mercy?' If you were injured or manipulated against your will, and then your ruler pardoned the criminal because they felt 'insecure,' would you think that was just? No. You might forgive them eventually, but the damage to life and property would be irreversible. Discord literally uprooted entire towns. Even if the effects were reversed, there would still be damage and injuries. Starlight brainwashed a village because a friend left her when he got hos cutie mark. That's it.

Again, I put this in the unpopular opinions thread for a reason.

[Dawnshine Wonder 209]

21 minutes ago, SidewinderX said:

That still doesn't answer my points about the multiple strategic military and intelligence failures that Equestria has had under her leadership. Having your capital of all places overrun twice, in broad daylight, while it is smack dab in the middle of your country, is a disgrace. The fact that the main savior of Equestria is six civilians and six MacGuffins reflects poorly on Celestia (and the Guard)'s preparedness for a threat. Nightmare Moon barely did anything, but for some reason Celestia decided that using untrained innocents to solve the problem was a good idea. Sure, it worked, but the chances of it not succeeding were also high. 

You also say that Celestia is 'merciful,' and that is why she forgave Discord and Starlight. Jow do you think their victims feel about this 'mercy?' If you were injured or manipulated against your will, and then your ruler pardoned the criminal because they felt 'insecure,' would you think that was just? No. You might forgive them eventually, but the damage to life and property would be irreversible. Discord literally uprooted entire towns. Even if the effects were reversed, there would still be damage and injuries. Starlight brainwashed a village because a friend left her when he got hos cutie mark. That's it.

Again, I put this in the unpopular opinions thread for a reason.

 

There were situations where Princess Celestia had no other choice in the matter, remember that time when Celestia, Luna and Cadance gave their magic to Twilight Sparkle? it was as MrEnter mentioned on Youtube and I have cited his video in my thread in the link below, this was a move made out of desperation, a calculated risk, which is a common thing in wartime. If Celestia had chosen to do nothing, they would have surely lost, Royal Princesses had two options, entrust Twilight Sparkle with their Alicorn powers and force Tirek into bargaining to free Twilight's friends, or let Tirek storm the castle and take all their powers without a deal even being made, resulting in Twilight Sparkle's capture.

A lot of people seem to underestimate Princess Celestia's experience or why she chose Twilight Sparkle as her protege.

We're talking about a fictional world that operates by a different set of rules and laws of nature. It's not as easy to deal with magical threats as you think.

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic - Twilight's Kingdom - Twilight Sparkle vs Lord Tirek fight scene - MLP:FiM Canon Discussion - MLP Forums

[SidewinderX 23]

20 hours ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

 

There were situations where Princess Celestia had no other choice in the matter, remember that time when Celestia, Luna and Cadance gave their magic to Twilight Sparkle? it was as MrEnter mentioned on Youtube and I have cited his video in my thread in the link below, this was a move made out of desperation, a calculated risk, which is a common thing in wartime. If Celestia had chosen to do nothing, they would have surely lost, Royal Princesses had two options, entrust Twilight Sparkle with their Alicorn powers and force Tirek into bargaining to free Twilight's friends, or let Tirek storm the castle and take all their powers without a deal even being made, resulting in Twilight Sparkle's capture.

A lot of people seem to underestimate Princess Celestia's experience or why she chose Twilight Sparkle as her protege.

We're talking about a fictional world that operates by a different set of rules and laws of nature. It's not as easy to deal with magical threats as you think.

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic - Twilight's Kingdom - Twilight Sparkle vs Lord Tirek fight scene - MLP:FiM Canon Discussion - MLP Forums

Or Celestia could have, y'know, had the other alicorns give her their power, since she had more combat experience (supposedly).

And when was there 'no choice in the matter' for the Crystal Empire? Why didn't Celestia send a unit of Guards? Even if they can't fight worth a dime (again, Celestia/Shining's faults) they could have at least relieved Cadence by keeping up the shield. 

There is also the specisism inherent in Equestria. We don't see any non-pony government officials or Guards. Cows and sheep, which are sapient creatures, are treated like...well, cattle. They shop, yes, but only from Ponyville. Probably because they're dirt poor. Although I don't think Celestia could poof that away overnight, she could at least begin to hire or open up opportunities for non-ponies. A donkey could probably kick the teeth out of any threats better than most of the current guard. 

One more thing: You still haven't addressed Celestia’s failures against conventional military attackers. The Storm King and Chrysalis invaded Canterlot the old-fashioned way. However, Celestia, despite her 'experience,' had disbanded her intelligence service and not properly trained and equipped her guard. Say what you will about human leaders, at least they can put up more of a fight than that. 

If you want to continue this conversation, I feel that we should move it to PMs or another thread. I don't want to clog up this one.