S07:E03 - A Flurry of Emotions

[KatonRyu 1,026]

Despite not liking Flurry much, I really think she was fine in this episode. Everything that went wrong was entirely Twilight's fault and that made it much easier to enjoy the episode. All in all, I enjoyed it.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

1 hour ago, GrimGrimoire said:

Did you read what I wrote and quoted or just read into it and decide to go off on some wild tangent all on your own? How exactly are you damned if you do and damned if you don't? I don't recall ever asking why anyone was here or questioning why someone is a fan of the overall series. Who cares what anyone else thinks or says? You are free to like and dislike whatever you want. You are free to give something a chance however you see fit, if people take issue with that, sounds like it is their problem to me. That is not what my comment was about.

If you literally hate something, in other words state, you do not like something and will never like something, no matter what... as said above, you have no desire at all to give it a chance or go into it with an open frame of mind, then why go into it with that mind set and then act so surprised, and then say things like "Surprise... I hated it!" "Episode is pure crap!" "Writers keep screwing up!" (No one is doing that here in this thread mind you (yet), but there are episodes and threads where it has happened).

My point is, a lot of people these days seem to just blindly hate something (again, perfectly fine), and then force themselves to sit through it as if they were held at gunpoint and then go and tear into it upon forums, youtube or whatever. They then criticize said episode, game or movie for containing the object that they hate and write it off as somehow the episode, game or whatever is at fault for containing what they hate, when they forced themselves to sit through or play it, as if somehow IT wasted their time and put them through that hell.

An Example: let's say you hate Trixie. But not just hate her, hate her with unbridled fury... you can't stand the character and would pay real money to be rid of her and never see her again. So then you discover S7E8 is an all Trixie episode... so what do you do? If you sit through it and watch it, you have already formed the opinion it is all bad no matter what... you won't let yourself be surprised or find anything good about it at all.. you are just blindly loathing everything about it because you loathe her. So then afterward you go onto a forum, and proceed to just rail road the episode for being about something you hate... but chose to watch anyway.  Your rationale about the episode holding some deeper clue or meaning among other members towards something in the future matters not at all... you still chose to watch something you know you are going to hate, and then are punishing it (as well as yourself) for being something you hate instead of on its own merits and failings. It is no different than people saying they hate MLP because it contains ponies, watching it anyway, and complaining on forums "Show sucks because of all the ponies... I would like it if it did not have ponies!. Well guess I'll watch the next episode.... I'll probably hate it because it will probably contain ponies"

If it is a bad episode, so be it... talk about how bad it was and feel free to list the reasons why you hated it. A lot of people do a fantastic job of that with Newbie Dash, 28 Pranks Later, Flutter Brudder and several others on this site explaining why the episodes frustrate them so much and why they loathe them. But it would be a totally different story if someone who detests Rainbow Dash popped in and said "Newbie Dash sucks because it contains Rainbow Dash!!!" "28PL is the worst thing ever because of Rainbow Dash!!" It is not debate, discussion or reviewing... it is just blind hatred and negativity created by someone before hand, that they force themselves to endure and then take it out on everything and anything in sight as if somehow it is at fault instead of themselves and their own self imposed negativity. And it is everywhere these days. Again, no one is doing that here in this thread (yet), but it looked like a good opportunity to get some insight based upon a response.

You say that this behavior you're describing is "everywhere these days", and seem to be frustrated by it. But, on the other side of that, I'm frustrated by the seemingly increasing atmosphere of MLP sites like this one and Equestria Daily whereby critical opinions and people who express them are unwelcome; whereby even people who have valid reasons not to like episodes, characters, etc. are ridiculed and dismissed as irrational haters; and whereby legitimate and potentially interesting points of view are stifled and discouraged in a seemingly overzealous attempt to root out trolls and haters. To be clear, I'm not saying you do all of these things. I was just reminded of my frustration when I saw your previous post replying to @Justin_Case001. It seemed rather unfair to him, since I don't believe he's a troll or intransigent hater, and I took his comments about Flurry Heart to be deliberately exaggerated a bit to be humorous. But you said in this post that the behavior you're describing hasn't yet happened in this topic, and I'm glad that you clarified that. I wasn't accusing you (or any individual person) of chastising people for both watching and not watching episodes they don't think they'll like; I was just expressing frustration that, in the aggregate, that's what often seems to happen, and again, that would contribute to this increasing atmosphere I described.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I posted this the other day over on EQD.

"I definitely enjoyed watching this episode because it reminded me of what my parents and I have to deal with whenever we watch my brother's kids and my sister's kids. You always have to be attentive to the child though you do have to be stern whenever they do something they shouldn't be doing. Babysitting is serious dedication and doesn't allow for your regular schedule to be included. Also, Flurry Heart is getting more and more adorable not to mention getting better with her magic. It's not as overpowered as it was in the season six premiere but still pretty potent given what happened.

Oh, and the whole art show sequence that Spearhead--I get the reference here--was done very well especially the reactions Cadance and Shining Armour had throughout considering it wasn't the kind of art they were expecting. Finally... Grogar reference for the win! Now we just need to see him in person."

[Prospekt 10,984]

Nice to see the good reception in the poll.

Here are my thoughts about the episode if you care to read them, plus a little bit about next weekend's episode: https://mlpforums.com/blogs/entry/22179-spoilers-s7-episode-3-thoughts-about-episode-4/

[Darthy Hooves 106]

I like the episode & think Flurry Heart's a little cutie. It will be interesting to see what kind of mischief little Flurry Heart gets into in the future as she grows.

Edited April 23, 2017 by Darthy Hooves

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, I suppose I'm ultimately indifferent to this episode. I mean, I find the basic premise of the episode to be contrived, and several aspects of the episode are grating to me, but then, I know I would have that kind of reaction to this kind of episode. And it doesn't help that the "cuteness factor" doesn't do much for me, because I find it rather excessive and don't especially relate to it. After reading other people's comments, I'll concede that this episode with this premise could have been worse, and I wouldn't say I hate it, but it's not just not my kind of thing.

As mentioned above, I find the basic premise of the episode to be contrived. Throughout the episode, Twilight and even Spike are so absentminded, lacking in basic attentiveness to the world around them, and dismissive of Flurry Heart that they repeatedly fail to notice Flurry Heart going off making messes and getting into trouble. I would think that they would quickly learn after the first time (or second time, third time, etc.) to pay attention to Flurry Heart and stop her from getting into trouble again. It also seems a little incongruous with Twilight's insistence that she's the "best aunt ever", her really wanting to babysit Flurry Heart in order to spend time with her, her buying Flurry Heart tens of presents, and her starting off intently playing with Flurry Heart so much that she isn't paying attention to Cadance's and Shining Armor's instructions. I guess we can hope that Twilight's having to clean up so many messes in one day and having to buy so many apology treats (assuming Twilight is paying for them with her own money) will reinforce the lesson to keep better eye on Flurry Heart and stop her from making trouble next time.

Another basic issue I have with the episode is that it doesn't seem clear what Flurry Heart's age and maturity level is supposed to be. On the one hand, Flurry Heart doesn't look any older, and is still called a baby. She apparently needs to be spoon-fed baby food and wears diapers that (supposedly) need to be changed frequently. But, on the other hand, Flurry Heart is precocious enough to attempt to emulate Twilight as she levitates the stuffed bear. She wants to pretend that she and Twilight are bears and seems to understand what Twilight is saying. She can magically generate a shield around herself when she's scared. She magically flings food away that she doesn't want to eat. She knows that she has to magically turn the wheels of the shopping cart to make it go. She knows how to both magically erase a blackboard and magically levitate chalk well enough to draw rudimentary stick figures on the board. She knows to get Spike's attention to stop a fight between the Cake twins, then tries to get Twilight's attention, and finally splits the toy in half to "share" it and try to stop the Cake twins' fight. Once she realizes her whammy is gone, she frantically yet methodically turns the hospital upside down looking for it. And yet we're to believe that Twilight is way out of line for reprimanding Flurry Heart because she could have hurt someone. On the face of it, it seems to me that if Flurry Heart is mature enough to do all the things she did in the episode, she ought to be mature enough to start learning not to do things that can hurt others.

Finally, there's Flurry Heart's "cute" actions and the characters' reactions to Flurry Heart - Twilight's gasp and "Oh my gosh!" reaction to Flurry Heart, all this talk about "favorite niece" and "favorite aunt", Shining Armor speaking in a high-pitched voice as though it's Flurry Heart speaking, etc. I know that people do do these things, but I just don't relate because I don't really react to other people's babies like that, so I end up kind of rolling my eyes at them. Twilight's repeating over and over that she's the "best aunt ever" is especially grating, and even worse, becomes part of the problem as Twilight uses it to avoiding owning up to her mistakes and changing her approach. Who says that Twilight is the "best aunt ever"? Why does Twilight feel the need to be (or act like she is) the "best aunt ever"? What are the criteria for that? Twilight does end up saying at the end of the episode that quality time, rather than quantity of time, should be what matters, which is true enough, but I just don't relate to or really get the whole thing with Twilight declaring herself "best aunt ever".

Now for my other miscellaneous observations:

I'm not quite sure why a visit from Princess Twilight in particular would cheer up sick schoolponies. If Twilight is going to read to them and bring snacks and gifts, couldn't some of the schoolponies' parents, for example, do the same thing to equal or greater effect? If there were a class of elementary- or middle-school-aged kids who were sick in the hospital, would they be particularly cheered up by, e.g., their U.S. House Representative or U.S. Senator visiting them? They might be told what an honor it is to be visited by such a person, but it doesn't seem like that would be especially exciting to them.

There was a trash can directly under the black canvas "A Thousand Nights In A Hallway" piece, but then when Spearhead goes to show the piece to Cadance and Shining Armor a few seconds later, the trash can is no longer there.

Cadance says that usually she and Shining Armor are "covered in mashed peas by now", and Twilight and Spike are shown to be covered in mashed peas themselves. But why do they allow that to happen? If Flurry Heart isn't eating the mashed peas and is just flinging the mashed peas at them and around the room, why don't they, say, take the mashed peas away and try again later? Why don't they use their magic to try to stop Flurry Heart from making a mess in the first place?

Wouldn't galloping around the toy store "playing race carts" not be allowed, because it's a nuisance and could hurt somebody or damage merchandise? And yet it seems everyone, including employees, either don't notice Twilight doing that or make no effort to stop her.

Right after Flurry Heart rams the cart into the toy display, the cart is nowhere in sight and Flurry Heart is on the floor underneath a pile of stuffed animals. Where did the cart go, and how did Flurry Heart end up unhurt on the floor?

Twilight says that going to Sugarcube Corner will be different than the previous two errands because "Flurry can play with the Cake twins AND stay out of trouble!". But wouldn't Flurry playing with the Cake Twins likely be more trouble? Wouldn't the three of them have to be watched even more closely to make sure that they play nice, don't hurt each other, and don't make an even bigger mess?

How did Twilight and Spike go from being 55 minutes late at the schoolhouse, to so late that Spike doesn't want to say how late they are and they're considering canceling the hospital visit, to spending even more time at Sugarcube Corner looking up and ordering multiple apology treats (and possibly cleaning up again), to finally only being 4.5 minutes late to the hospital visit? Seriously, where did they make up for all the lost time? I can't even imagine how that happened.

In what might be the biggest stretch of believability, Twilight fails to notice that she and everything else in the room is being levitated when she's reading the book in the hospital. Does Twilight not have peripheral vision? Is Twilight not ever look at the schoolponies she's reading to? Is Flurry Heart's levitation magic so advanced that Twilight's sense of balance isn't disturbed in the slightest?

If Flurry Heart is capable of levitating everything in the room simultaneously, why doesn't Twilight de-levitate everything in the room and magically keep it down if Flurry Heart tries to levitate it again?

Why are Cadance and Shining Armor having an emotional breakdown at the art show? Can they really not stand to be away from their kid for a few hours? There would seem to be plenty of parents, for example, who go back to work a few months after having a baby and (somehow) manage to keep it together even as they're away from their babies for several hours, if not the whole day.

[Princess_Bellalatanya 1,052]

I loved the episode because we got to see it from flurryhearts point of view,her aunt being busy when she wanted to play. Also the drawing she made on cheerilees board was adorable. Toward the end that was amazing she could lift a ful grown mare and about 14 fillies/colts off the ground. It was cute how she tried to play with the cake twins,but instead angered them when she broke the toy air balloon,their thoughts were "GET HER!!",that was just hilarious

[PittyPaws 118]

23 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

*SIGH*  So, I haven't watched it yet.  I came here to procrastinate. I feel like Indiana Jones when he saw that it had to be snakes.  Ugh.  I suppose I'm just in for 23 minutes of baby-goes-berserk-and-destroys-everything-in-sight-while-Twilight-frantically-tries-to-stop-her.  Don't know why they don't just put that thing out of its misery.  So, as soon as the baby arrives, Twilight should just teleport it to Tirek's cage in Tartarus.  Or how about this, here's a viable solution: "Hey Starlight, you're good with evil magic.  Got any paralysis spells?"  I really do hate that thing.

*SIGH*  Alright, I guess I'd better take some dramamine, put a clothes pin on my nose, and get this over with....

 

Okay, I'm back.  I just finished watching it.

 

Uuuggghhh.....

Okay, I'll be serious, now.  It wasn't really that bad, I just hate that baby more than life itself.  (And I really hate life itself.  Ask anyone.)  Actually, the only thing that really annoyed me was that Flurry shouldn't be that powerful with telekinesis, nor that precise with teleportation, but far worse than that was that Twilight "couldn't keep up".  Are you f*cking kidding me?!  Twilight couldn't keep up.  Twilight, who's a highly trained, highly practiced alicorn.  Twilight, whose specialty has always been telekinesis since day 1.  (See Applebuck Season, Boast Busters)  Twilight, who regularly trains with Starlight in magic, and has duels and teleportation races with her.  Twilight, who gave a speech at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.  ...  Baby Flurry should not be the most powerful being on the planet.  End of story.

Other than that, it was a decently executed episode.  The art exhibit was awesome.  Spike's characterization was great.  I love when he gets to be the voice of reason.  I also loved Spike's quip that all of Armor's friends have the same basic name.  Spike's reading to the sick ponies was great, too.  I also loved Twilight's real horse noise when she was startled.  It's so adorable when they make a real horse noise.  I love it whenever they do some equine.  Basically, everything about the episode was good except for the baby.  Now, can we please throw that wretched thing into the Pit of Tartarus and never speak of it again?

Good point. It's as though Baby Flurryheart is some sort of over powered Mary Sue. I hope she isn't in a lot of episodes this season. She's a character that should be used sparingly. 

[Renton 53]

loved today's episode, made me wish we got a timeskip or something. Like the cutiemark crusaders being older and flurry being about the age the CMC currently are. And BAE twilight is Flurry's teacher, thatd be awesome!

Also, damn, being a born alicorn is OP, Flurry has some GREAT potential

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

16 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

Several shows and books have explored this concept and shown these individuals to be very powerful true, but also struggling in many other ways due to what is just as much a curse in many cases as much as a gift.

Yeeeah...true...  but I guess I feel like there isn't any real thought or development behind Flurry's powers.  I dunno, I guess, "she's an alicorn" isn't enough for me.  Tell you what, if they develop her like Jaenelle from The Black Jewels Trilogy, then I might warm up to her.

16 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

If she is so bad for you, and so upsetting and traumatizing that you cannot, nor will not ever like her NO-MATTER-WHAT... than why not skip those episodes?

Yeah, I know, I get where you're coming from.  I've thought the same thing about people who seem to do nothing but hate on a particular character....so I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite.  I'll admit that.  The reason I don't skip is because I'm pretty obsessive about the show, and I don't want to miss any developments that might be important later, even if it's something I don't care for.  @Music Chart Fan touched on this nicely.  I don't want to be out of the loop on anything, on the show, or on the forums.  But also, Flurry doesn't cause me as much grief as it might sound like.  I actually have fun bashing on her.  I mean, I don't go out of my way to do it repeatedly or anything, but it was fun to make that one post.  And also...

11 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

I was just reminded of my frustration when I saw your previous post replying to @Justin_Case001. It seemed rather unfair to him, since I don't believe he's a troll or intransigent hater, and I took his comments about Flurry Heart to be deliberately exaggerated a bit to be humorous.

Bull's eye.  My post was definitely that: exaggerated to be humorous.  But, y'know, that doesn't always come across perfectly in writing.  I do hate Flurry, but fans should take my over=the-top posts about her with a grain of salt.

[ggg-2 3,550]

Is it just me, or is Spearhead a bigger meathead than Bulk Biceps?

[Jangocoolguy 433]

All these years, I thought they were saving Grogar up for a premiere or finale. Heck, he could've been the big bad of a whole storyline!

Instead he's reduced to being a children's book. 

And in an episode with Flurry Heart. This adding insult to injury, but I'm not sure which is which... 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Jangocoolguy

[Truffles 2,033]

15 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Twilight's having to clean up so many messes in one day and having to buy so many apology treats (assuming Twilight is paying for them with her own money)

Her own money or Celestia and Luna's money? The show never did establish where Twilight gets her income now that she's a princess. =) Maybe the Tree of Harmony makes the castle literally cough up a small amount of bits or gems on a daily basis to give her an allowance to spend on various things? XD

15 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Another basic issue I have with the episode is that it doesn't seem clear what Flurry Heart's age and maturity level is supposed to be.

Agreed. You gave a lot of good examples of the incongruity of her age, and you've exposed a basic flaw in entertainment that focuses on baby characters: Portraying a baby character with the maturity of a real human baby just isn't very interesting if they have to hold an entire episode. They had to have Flurry do things a one-year old human baby wouldn't be able to do yet, like the chalkboard, or the wheels, or getting Spike's attention to keep her from being boring. I guess like you that's why I was on the fence as to whether Twilight was right or not to scold her in the hospital.

The same was true for the Cake twins back in "Baby Cakes." Ignoring all the stuff with their powers, they were still able to understand what Pinkie was saying, fooled her into thinking they were asleep, and could even speak her name despite them only being 1 month old. I guess the episode would have been pretty uninteresting if they just sat their in their crib and did nothing other than sleep, cry and poop the entire episode like a regular human newborn. (Or newborn horse, for that matter.)

Of course I'd be remiss in not mentioning the most prominent "baby" on the show, namely Spike. He may only be a baby in terms of his age relative to his overall lifespan, but he was supposed to be the 8-year old kid when Lauren designed him. Like the babies mentioned above, it became apparent to the writers he was too limited with that specification since his role soon expanded from being Twilight's little antagonistic helper to being the voice of reason and holding pretty much every job the plot of a story required him to have. At least, until someone decided he was to be the comedy relief for the next few seasons. =/ His incredible maturity he's shown is why I can't see him as young as he is supposed to be. Fortunately, there's some wiggle room with his age since Lauren's word isn't necessarily law. I always put him around 12 at the start of the show which is still pretty young for his abilities but at least that makes more sense.

15 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

I'm not quite sure why a visit from Princess Twilight in particular would cheer up sick schoolponies.

Two words: "Twilight Time." Although her presence as a princess is hit or miss when it comes to the citizenry noticing her (more on that below) it does seem pretty well established by that episode foals find her quite a celebrity. I imagine she's the equivalent to movie celebrities visiting hospitals in our world, and I imagine celebrities like A.K. Yearling would have the same effect in theirs.

15 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Wouldn't galloping around the toy store "playing race carts" not be allowed, because it's a nuisance and could hurt somebody or damage merchandise? And yet it seems everyone, including employees, either don't notice Twilight doing that or make no effort to stop her.

It could be they didn't stop her because she is a princess (see above) and don't feel it's right to tell royalty what to do, or it could be that she's so invisible as a princess to adult ponies that her running around a store is mild to fighting a giant monster in the middle of Ponyville? XD LIke I said above, Twilight's celebrity seems to come and go whenever the plot calls for it. But I can't even discern which of the two states is at play in the other customers' minds here. XD

15 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Where did the cart go, and how did Flurry Heart end up unhurt on the floor?

For that matter, how come she wasn't hurt when Twilight's mass of presents toppled right on to her back at the castle. Tough alicorn kid, I guess? =)

15 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

How did Twilight and Spike go from being 55 minutes late at the schoolhouse, to so late that Spike doesn't want to say how late they are and they're considering canceling the hospital visit, to spending even more time at Sugarcube Corner looking up and ordering multiple apology treats (and possibly cleaning up again), to finally only being 4.5 minutes late to the hospital visit?

I'm a little suspicious of the math here, myself. It seemed like they made up some time traveling between destinations as was apparent by how pressed up against the baby carriage Spike was when they went from Sugarcube Corner to the hospital. Maybe the stay at Sugarcube Corner didn't really take much extra time and Twilight had allotted an hour to get from there to the hospital, and instead she got there almost instantly? Speaking of instant travel, I'm surprised she just didn't teleport all three of them between destinations to make up for the lost time since she seems capable of doing that over long distances now.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Truffles

[Sonic5421 423]

On 4/22/2017 at 11:59 AM, cmarston1 said:

Even Shining Armor and Cadence ended up being portrayed decently here as well.

Yeah, they got some good development, and I do love how while one minute they wanted to get Flurry Heart off of their backs for a while, looking at Spearhead's art reminded them so much of her that they missed her dearly, and Spearhead was totally fine with allowing them to leave early to go back to her, understanding their feelings after seeing how his art spoke to them.

Flurry may run them ragged, but Cadance and Shining Armor still love her very deeply.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Sonic5421
Fixing some typos

[NotoriousSMALL 1,984]

I really think this is a stupid episode. I mean it isn't a bad episode, but it's just... dumb.

-Twilight already had plans and promised many kids she would read to them

-Cadance and Shining show up to dump Flurry Heart on her

-Flurry Heart messes everything up and Twilight attempts to discipline her, but Twilight was in the wrong for not ditching her plans and playing with Flurry Heart?

That's dumb, especially considering she had already played with Flurry Heart and could just play with her after she's done reading with the kids (which she does).

 

You could argue "uhhhh well it's her family bro" but see they could always reschedule when Twilight isn't busy. Shining and Cadance don't have to go to any certain event, even chilling at their home could give them some much needed rest. Plus it's kind of dick move to cancel on a bunch of terminally ill kids.

[MxFlix 155]

I think you misunderstood the end of the episode. The lesson Twilight learned is that she should not accept a task as demanding as babysitting when she already has so much to do (also, that when it comes to spending time, Quality>Quantity). Vice versa, Cadacne and Shining Armor learned that you shouldn't just spring such a huge responsibility with no prior warning. (Also, btw, the foals were not terminally ill. Terminally ill means that they can never be cured.)

 

I personally liked the episode. For one, I'm a sucker for cute babies, and Flurry Heart definitely falls under that. I also think that the lessen it taught was an important one, and applicable to not only babysitting: If you already have quite a lot to do, don't add other tasks onto your schedule, even if they are very, very fun to do.
The subplot of Cadance and Shining Armor at the Modern Art Exhibit was especially funny for me because I had just earlier that day a conversation about what 'art' entails. Perfect!

[Sonic5421 423]

On 4/22/2017 at 0:03 PM, Kyoshi said:

Despite a tad rushed resolution (Not an issue really), this episode did go beyond any expectations I would have had and I am pleasantly surprised. The whole 'baby chaos' concept wasn't overdone here and when it all got crazy Flurry had a real motivator. Spike was fantastic here, with all of his quips and wanting to get things done and, dun dun! The proper Twily and Flurry bonding I was wanting since season 6 finally arrived! Worth the wait, it was actually cute. :3

So yeah, I will fully admit I was wrong for doubting this episode like I did. It was handled really well, especially since this is the first time Flurry got major screen time in like, almost a year or so? Consider me happy.

Yeah, this really made up for how she was treated in the Season 6 finale as Flurry Heart and her parents got a lot of screen time in this episode, along with some character development, and bonding time between Flurry and Auntie Twilight.

[Miles 2,512]

2 hours ago, MisterFlix said:

I think you misunderstood the end of the episode. The lesson Twilight learned is that she should not accept a task as demanding as babysitting when she already has so much to do (also, that when it comes to spending time, Quality>Quantity). Vice versa, Cadacne and Shining Armor learned that you shouldn't just spring such a huge responsibility with no prior warning.

THIS... So much this.

I see a lot of people here complaining, saying either "Why did Twilight take on such a great task when she was busy?" or "Why would Shining and Cadence not give a warning in advance?"

That's the point.

MLP episodes are meant to teach a lesson (or multiple). This episode teaches you not to take on a heavy task you can't handle when you're already busy, and not to put a heavy task on someone else who is already busy.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

6 hours ago, Truffles said:

Her own money or Celestia and Luna's money? The show never did establish where Twilight gets her income now that she's a princess. =) Maybe the Tree of Harmony makes the castle literally cough up a small amount of bits or gems on a daily basis to give her an allowance to spend on various things? XD

I look at it this way. Twilight's parents live in Canterlot. They put her in a VERY exclusive school when she was a young filly. This just screams money bits to me. She may even still gets an allowance from her proud mom and dad!

At the risk of reading too deeply into the show, I'll go on.

Look at Twilight's lifestyle, even as a Princess. Although her home is now a castle, she still lives very simply. As yet, we have seen no sign of any extravagant belongings. All she really owns and cherishes are books. Anything else she needs or wants, her magic can provide. If magic can make a teacup out of any ordinary object, it can make anything else. If Twilight wanted, say a new saddlebag, she'd just turn a rock into one.

(Don't tell Maud!)

Let's not forget she must have had an income as Ponyville's librarian. Since she only really needed to buy food for her and Spike, she probably built up quite a nest egg. Now, I would imagine she also receives some kind of "Princess Stipend" as well. Plus, she has a friend in the business. I have no doubt that Pinkie provides baked goods at a very reasonable price for a friend.. 

[Music Chart Fan 818]

6 hours ago, Truffles said:

Two words: "Twilight Time." Although her presence as a princess is hit or miss when it comes to the citizenry noticing her (more on that below) it does seem pretty well established by that episode foals find her quite a celebrity. I imagine she's the equivalent to movie celebrities visiting hospitals in our world, and I imagine celebrities like A.K. Yearling would have the same effect in theirs.

Yeah, I kind of forgot about that episode, and sure enough, the schoolponies sick in the hospital in this episode also attended Twilight Time and were excited to meet Twilight. So Twilight knows these schoolponies, at least in passing, and they know her. I would be curious whether kids in towns other than Ponyville would know much about Twilight or be as excited for her to visit, but as you mention, Twilight's celebrity status seems to come and go, so we probably can't say for sure. This reminds me of how, back in the episode "Canterlot Boutique", we learned that Twilight was the most popular princess in every poll Sassy Saddles took. That seemed to come a bit out of nowhere, but I suppose it showed that Twilight can apparently be popular outside of Ponyville.

[takai 1,060]

I think this was a fun one, but I can't help but be bothered that a baby can understand language perfectly.

[Honeysuckle 135]

i absolutely LOVED seeing Flurry Heart for an entire episode! Seeing her personality come out, and all the magic she's up to since her crystaling.

[FirePuppy 626]

I thought Applejack was gonna be in this episode for at least a minute, but I guess apples wasn't on Twilight's list of get-well presents for the horsy-hived foals.

One good reason why is because foals can't chew apples, for they have no teeth!

I just hope there won't be ANOTHER episode where Twilight and Pinkie are the only Mane Six ponies for the rest of this season.

Edited April 25, 2017 by FirePuppy

[Thrond 3,257]

4 hours ago, Miles said:

THIS... So much this.

I see a lot of people here complaining, saying either "Why did Twilight take on such a great task when she was busy?" or "Why would Shining and Cadence not give a warning in advance?"

That's the point.

MLP episodes are meant to teach a lesson (or multiple). This episode teaches you not to take on a heavy task you can't handle when you're already busy, and not to put a heavy task on someone else who is already busy.

 

I mean, they outright say they'll stop doing those things in the future, so I don't understand what people are complaining about. Both of those are exactly the lessons which Twilight, Cadance, and Shining learn at the end. 

 

[gamecubeguy214 2,511]

I don't exactly like young children very much and this episode focuses on babysitting, but I found this episode to be so cute in certain parts and I can't get myself to not like the episode.