spoiler Synopsis for Uncommon Bond.

[Marimo 555]

26 minutes ago, M'gann M'orzz said:

Anyway I hope it isn't Twilight who Sunburst gets really close too because that'd be boring and obvious. I hope it's something totally out of left field like he ends up having something in common with Rarity or Rainbow Dash or Pinkie. 

If it's Starlights secondary gang of friends, then Maud, just to avoid the massive shipping war that would incur if Sunburst became friendly with Trixie. 

The synopsis says "friends", as in plural. He'll be making friends with the whole group, whichever group it is, instead of just one.

[Foxy Socks 2,600]

It's good Sunburst is getting attention. He hasn't had a role like this before, so I hope it works out.

[heavens-champion 1,905]

8 hours ago, Unlikeable Pony said:

>more starlight

Damnit.

You'll get use to it. Or not. Probably not.

[Truffles 2,033]

It's really interesting to see Sunburst getting some attention. At the end of "The Crystalling," I wrote I had hopes he would move to Ponyville because he'd be an awesome male role model to add to the cast of major secondary characters.

I guess if I can't have a Spike's parents episode just before the season finale, having one with Sunburst isn't too bad of a trade-off.

I'm hoping the interaction is between him and the Mane 6 more than Trixie or Maud, but I have a bias because I really want to see him and Twilight geek out over magic theory in her library.

[Ganondox 899]

Even with all my wrong guesses I knew it was going to be a Starlight episode, lol. 

[Unlikeable Pony 2,700]

3 hours ago, Marimo said:

The synopsis says "friends", as in plural. He'll be making friends with the whole group, whichever group it is, instead of just one.

I'm rather hoping the friends refer to maud, trixie, and discord myself. (Maybe thorax, but that'd be a reach for him to show up too).

[Jeric 46,869]

4 hours ago, M'gann M'orzz said:

it's Starlights secondary gang of friends, then Maud, just to avoid the massive shipping war that would incur if Sunburst became friendly with Trixie. 

Agreed. Though when you think about it ... Trixie and Sunburst have the same taste in clothing. 

 

1 hour ago, Ganondox said:

Even with all my wrong guesses I knew it was going to be a Starlight episode, lol. 

Yeah. We had great fun speculating about this episode! Probably the best topic generator in a while. I think just about every character pair had been considered. I was waiting for the Tom and Boulder guesses next.

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

8 minutes ago, Jeric said:

I was waiting for the Tom and Boulder guesses next

You gotta believe! #hopeeternal

But I have no complaints about this. I like Sunburst and welcome any episode that gives him a larger role. He was on my personal wishlist for an episode, so I do hope this expands on him a bit and is not just him following everyone else about as a side character.

This Saturday we get more Zecora and now more Sunburst later in the season. Life in Equestria really is good right now.

[Thrond 3,264]

5 hours ago, M'gann M'orzz said:

If it's Starlights secondary gang of friends, then Maud, just to avoid the massive shipping war that would incur if Sunburst became friendly with Trixie. 

Surely the episode will end with everyone on good terms, so we can always have both. 

11 hours ago, Unlikeable Pony said:

>more starlight

Damnit.

 

9 hours ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Yay more of one of the best developed characters in the series that I still haven't found a single decent reason to dlislike.

I laughed when I saw these right next to each other. 

8 hours ago, ShootingStar159 said:

Celestial Advice was a Twi/Celestia episode, Rock Solid Friendship was Pinkie/Maud, and A Royal Problem was Luna/Celestia. She had an important role in each of these, but they weren't her episodes. She has had a lot of supporting roles and quick appearances this season, but the only reason anyone even notices is because she's the new girl.

Being new means Starlight has a lot to prove, so that probably has set a lot of people unfairly against her, but my opinion continues to be that Starlight's role in all of those episodes except "Celestial Advice" is too significant to ignore, and she still doesn't feel like part of the main group because her connections with the mane six lack buildup and feel inauthentic. I also don't believe a single episode she has appeared in this season is better for her presence (which I did not feel about season 6), but people will disagree with me on that. 

 

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

2 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

and she still doesn't feel like part of the main group because her connections with the mane six lack buildup and feel inauthentic.

This is not going to happen, I have already come to that conclusion... so it is best to just drop it. The Mane 6 had 5 seasons to build this dynamic, and if you notice a lot of people feel that dynamic is no longer there. They are just riding the nostalgia wave of what once was. More and more the show has become episodes about them as individuals and not as "the mane 6". I daresay if this had been aired in reverse, with us getting the current format at the beginning, we would see them as friends, but not "best" friends. Starlight is being played in this current format the same as the rest of them... as an individual. She does not have the gift of having been around the original dynamic to build that feeling we all hold so dear. I still love the current format so it does not bother me as much as some perhaps, but I no longer think we will ever see her as a part of the main group, since I think the main group no longer exists as we knew it. Sure some episodes still try to enforce it and make us feel it like All Bottled Up and such, but it just does not have the overall feel of the previous seasons. The Mane 6 are still around and will continue to be, but it is like they are trying to expand the cast in many different angles instead of focusing on just the original core group. However, that is just my take on it. Things change overnight sometimes, so each episode can flip things around.

[Thrond 3,264]

9 minutes ago, GrimGrimoire said:

This is not going to happen, I have already come to that conclusion... so it is best to just drop it. The Mane 6 had 5 seasons to build this dynamic, and if you notice a lot of people feel that dynamic is no longer there. They are just riding the nostalgia wave of what once was. More and more the show has become episodes about them as individuals and not as "the mane 6". I daresay if this had been aired in reverse, with us getting the current format at the beginning, we would see them as friends, but not "best" friends. Starlight is being played in this current format the same as the rest of them... as an individual. She does not have the gift of having been around the original dynamic to build that feeling we all hold so dear. I still love the current format so it does not bother me as much as some perhaps, but I no longer think we will ever see her as a part of the main group, since I think the main group no longer exists as we knew it. Sure some episodes still try to enforce it and make us feel it like All Bottled Up and such, but it just does not have the overall feel of the previous seasons. The Mane 6 are still around and will continue to be, but it is like they are trying to expand the cast in many different angles instead of focusing on just the original core group. However, that is just my take on it. Things change overnight sometimes, so each episode can flip things around.

Season 1 did a pretty alright job of depicting lesser friendships, whereas Starlight is always sort of just... there. Some episodes like to position her alongside the group without giving her any convincing connections with them. I still believe the mane six are friends, because the details of their friendship are still there when they interact. I don't believe any of them are friends with Starlight.

I'm probably mostly bothered by her appearances just because I don't like her this season, though. If I felt her appearances were interesting and warranted, I would have no issue with the above. She always feels like she's filling a role which anyone else could have played. Not what you're replying to, but I want to clarify. 

[Ganondox 899]

12 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

What are those 'crack theories' i am so curious now 

 

I made a crack theory thread, I don't know if that's what he's referring to. 

[Aethylynn 45]

17 hours ago, MegaSean45 said:

It's really weird having yet another Starlight episode, and yet Spike and Discord only got one. This makes Starlight's fourth or fifth episode this season! Look, I like Starlight and all, but the writers are just shoving her in our faces now. I'm starting to get tired of her.

To be fair, she has a lot of catching up to do. A lot of work was needed to establish her as a main character, and this has pretty much been accomplished. We'll probably see a bit more balance next season.

I for one am looking forward to the episode. I wonder if Starlight will get jealous of Sunburst getting along so well with the other characters?

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

11 minutes ago, zaighster said:

I wonder if Starlight will get jealous of Sunburst getting along so well with the other characters?

Another jealous episode?  

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

4 hours ago, Unlikeable Pony said:

I'm rather hoping the friends refer to maud, trixie, and discord myself. (Maybe thorax, but that'd be a reach for him to show up too).

Thorax has had enough time and development this season, he can be held back till Chrysalis's return next season where he'll almost certainly be involved. But yeah if it's Starlight's secondary character brigade I hope for Maud and Discord and frankly that'd be a fun spectrum of "totally stoic" to "completely insane" for Sunburst to befriend.

Starlight causes enough fighting already but a shipping war between Starixie, Starburst and Trixie X Sunburst... ooo nnooo thank you I don't need that in the fandom. That has the potential to be fucking brutal. 

Edited September 20, 2017 by M'gann M'orzz

[DonMaguz 1,023]

4 hours ago, zaighster said:

I wonder if Starlight will get jealous of Sunburst getting along so well with the other characters?

I don't know, with Starlight's insecurities and the title of the episode I think that Starlight will get anxious and depressive about not having anything in common anymore with her childhood friend.

[Jeric 46,869]

1 hour ago, DonMaguz said:

I don't know, with Starlight's insecurities and the title of the episode I think that Starlight will get anxious and depressive about not having anything in common anymore with her childhood friend.

This. I don't see them retreading the tired jealousy bit either, especially when her insecurities are often a catalyst anyway. Though I don't expect then to outright say it, there is a saying that goes, 'You can never go home'. The concept of a changing world and people being the death of nostalgia is something we've all experienced at some point. While I don't think that will be an explicit message of this episode, if they focused on Starlight bemoaning how much both of them have changed ... it's going to invite all sorts of deeper themes you can infer. Perhaps the final moral will allow a message that relationships are dynamic and really a balletic dance between two people to maintain it over the years as both find themselves and each other becoming different people. In this case there is such a huge gap in Sunburst and Starlight's relationship the changes start to become far more apparent in this episode. 

These are the reasons I'm quite excited to see what they do here. We all know it will end with basically everyone on great terms, cause Pony, but if those anxieties of hers allow a nuanced look ... I'll be satisfied. 

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

I would laugh in the end, if it was all about celebrating Starlight Glimmer's birthday, just like in Party of One.

[DJ_Bonebraker 183]

 

First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on posting this synopsis before TV Tropes (I swear:  They are usually WAY ahead of anyplace else when it comes to posting preliminary info).

Secondly:

On 9/19/2017 at 0:16 PM, Jeric said:

@Batbrony

You remember our conversation? About all the crack theories?

 

Anyway, Celestial Advice showed Starlight with Sunburst in Twilight's fantasy spell, and we had appearances and interactions with SG and the others who appeared in the fantasy ... so I'm not shocked. This was one of the legitimate contenders. Starlight is now a main character in this show and by and large has been pretty solid this season. 

Basically, I'm okay with this idea. They needed an episode together because Sunburst is a character that is intricately connected to Starlight's past and while we saw them reconnect over a year ago, that episode warrants a follow-up now that Starlight has her own arc and growth. So it makes sense. 

I do want Spike to accompany her on this trip. He was there in the Season Six premiere and was instrumental in helping to reconnect the two so it makes sense to include him here too, and would go a long way to filling im some absences he had this season. Besides, Spike was the first character who I felt had a legitimate rapport with Starlight. 

Also, I said it before and I'll say it again, the writers don't sacrifice a good story idea for parity. Thank God for small favors. 

 

Also, Starlight Glimmer ... this officially elevates you to main character status in my head. No denying it now.

I'd heard a few other people posting theories about Twilight's "Crack Theories" being foreshadowing when Celestial Advice came out, and I considered it to be a fairly good probability considering that DHX likes to do that kind of thing (e.g. Rarity dropping hints about future episodes in "The Art of the Dress" or having kites hanging on the wall in Starlight's room a year before it's revealed that she likes kites).   

I'm also glad that Starlight seems to have finally graduated to being a full-on 7th member of the mane cast as well.

Which brings me to my own thoughts on this episode based on the synopsis:

I'm looking forward to this, not only because we FINALLY get to see more of Sunburst, but I'm really, really REALLY hoping that we get some more information on Starlight & Sunburst's pasts.   I mean there's SO many unanswered questions about what happened between the time Sunburst got his cutie mark & went to Celestia's school, which left Starlight devastated, and when Starlight founded Our Town sometime between Maud Pie and The Cutie Map Part 1...  I mean, how/when did Starlight get her cutie mark?  What was magic school really like for Sunburst?  Did Starlight go straight to her anti-cutie mark philosophy, or did other failed friendships cause her to finally snap & write that "certain manifesto" she learned that duplication spell to copy?  Frankly, I'd like to know, and I'm reasonably certain that I'm not the only one who does either.
 

Regardless, I'm really hoping it's another good episode that grows both Sunburst & Starlight as characters.