S08:E07 - Horse Play

[Nye 1,652]

“Gotcha!” Best Line 2018.

[ggg-2 3,552]

So, the Young 6 starred in the play and yet none of them had any lines in the episode?

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,309]

13 hours ago, Twilight Luna said:

Look at it from Celextia’s point of view. She was told by a good friend of hers that she was a good actress. She had no idea until she overheard Twilight talking behind her back saying how terrible she was. How would you feel if a friend did that to you instead of telling you the truth?

I would then realize that I was shit at what I did and that the friend was simply trying to give me a positive moment in my life. If Celestia was too stupid to realize that, then that is her fault.

[Sonic5421 423]

I have to admit, I enjoyed this episode very much for being a Celestia-centered episode. Just seeing Celestia act like a little filly because of Twilight planning a play to celebrate her 1,111th anniversary of raising the sun, and taking some references from The Journal of the Two Sisters was the best part. Not to mention seeing Sandbar playing Star Swirl while Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder, and Gallus portrayed the unicorns who would sacrifice their magic to help raise the sun.

The real plot was how Celestia merely wanted to help with the play, not actually be given lead role, but Twilight was so excited that she didn't ask for Celestia's advice about what part she wanted in the play. As a result, Celestia's lack of coordination with the students and performing her lines put the play in trouble as Celestia wrecks the costumes and the prop sun in the process. Though Applejack suggests Twilight simply tell Celestia the truth, Twilight refuses to do so under fear of hurting Celestia's feelings and ruining their friendship, so she does whatever she can to improve Celestia's skill, but it ends up being for naught, and Pinkie only makes things worse with trying to improvise a replacement sun, pushing Twilight to the brink of where she snaps and finally, in a fit of anger, finally admits that Celestia is terrible as an actress, which she overhears.

Disappointed and angry at Twilight for not telling her the truth and being honest about her skills, Celestia leaves in disgust at her former student having broken one of the vital rules of friendship. Guilt-ridden over her actions, Twilight goes after her to apologize, but Celestia won't accept it until Twilight explains why she was doing the play to begin with: She wanted to repay Celestia for all of the support she gave Twilight since she was a unicorn filly. Moved by Twilight's honesty about the reasons for the play, Celestia forgives her while reminding her that the truth is more important than a lie with good intention to it, and offers an idea to salvage the play.

With Luna in attendance with many other ponies, Celestia returns with Twilight, and through Celestia's guidance, and a little help from what she was taught regarding improvising and charades, the play is a success. Afterwards, Celestia has a little fun with the Mane Six as she acts like she is going to step down from the throne and put all her time into acting, then reveals she tricked them, leading everyone in a good laugh.

Great Celestia-centered episode, and I give it a well-deserved perfect 10/10 as my score.

[ImpctR 155]

This episode was a light and awesome one, with fun and of course, The Return Of TROLLESTIA! I do not follow artwork anymore but I can imagine how much will come out of this episode.I give it a  5/5, written by a new writer it was a light and fun one and let's break it down to parts:

Celestia becomes childish in her excitement to star in a play but that was not the fun part. For me the fun started with the upgraded props the Mane 6 for Celestia like the mega cannon of Pinkie, if one thought she never had a bigger cannon, also the Sonic rain boom. Here comes an interesting part that maybe I have forgotten, firstly good to see Starlight again and the School Six starring the Pillars. These Pillars are soo forgotten after the Season 7 Finale and all the new things from the movie that there seem to be never time for them. Interesting, they are still spoken of as if Legends when they are right there in the world, perhaps they should have remained legends or in the past. I could recognize Somnanbula and perhaps Mistmane or Meadwbrook ofc Starswirl mostly.

Then TROLLESTIA strikes, from silent to Princess Luna's voice in 'Luna Eclipsed'. It was funny to see the disco ball 'sun' got destroyed and then the Boom of fireworks that happened all behind the curtain, the mess made me laugh here and not always I find part of episodes funny. So it got me there and then was the moment of Twilight/upset Celestia, I think it went alright, the talk and solution, I don't nitpick unless I see something way wrong in such scenes. I liked the night flight of Twi and Celestia.

It was awesome to see how Celestia encouraged Fluttershy and the latter to be starring Celestia. Fluttershy looks so pretty here as Celestia outfit, no wonder she has been my fave Mane 6. Fluttershy just needs to be a Princess, it fits her so much! 

  

 

And I liked the effect, although some may say the sky is supposed to be blue when the sun rises  - it may have been on purpose to indicate that it is happening at night or Celestia herself made it not turn into daylight as part of her magic.

Spoiler

And then  for another final line <3. A sweet episode, the best of the season for me after the previous because the previous grabbed me with the world itself.

Edited April 29, 2018 by ImpctR

[KH7672 1,604]

4 hours ago, ggg-2 said:

So, the Young 6 starred in the play and yet none of them had any lines in the episode?

Looks like MLP already jumping on the "A Quiet Place" bandwagon when it comes to performing. Twilight won't let Tempest show her up! 

But in all seriousness plenty of plays have had solely visual actors and usually there is a narrator (or music cues) to explain what is happening so they shouldn't feel too underutilized (plus less lines to memorize). But if you are talking about the general episode, actually, they must have had a line considering all of their voice actors are listed in the credits. I guess all their actors were called in just to perform the struggling magic moans and that one scream when the trap door opened. Although, all the episode lines are recorded at once for each actor/ensemble so it's not that big a deal.

[FizzyWind 64]

The Stage from this episode kinda reminds me of the one in the beginning of The 1986 My Little Pony Movie.

[Toastypk 923]

That was wonderful. And some serious Twi-Celestia friendship moments. She really did feel insulted, that's awful.

[Thrond 3,263]

Okay, point by point:

• The show should be exactly like this all the time. 
• My main gripe with Celestia in past episodes is that she has showed a really limited range of emotions, and those emotions have almost always been either carefully composed or played as a surprise, which makes her feel distant and unapproachable to me. I liked "A Royal Problem" so much because Celestia's frustration in that was one of the most human things I've ever seen from her, and this one one-ups that episode simply by showing her be earnestly enthusiastic about something. I didn't expect that particular attitude from her over this subject, but it's given just enough background, and even with what little we know of her personality it fits. We know there's a fun-loving side in there somewhere, and it's especially nice that there's a brief reference to her prankster side at the end. 
• And she's consistently adorable in this, too. I've never really been fond of the concept that because she's ancient and powerful she needs to be infallible, and I love how this episode presents her with a very relatable lack of self-awareness. She's just so excited to be part of the production, and it makes total sense that this might blind her to her own deficiencies - not least because of her patience. She never complains about Twilight's efforts to improve her performance, and the only time she gets upset is when she realizes that Twilight is nervous about being honest with her. 
• Not to mention that this, this right here, might just be the best Twilight episode since season 2. As always, her anxiety comes from grossly overestimating the consequences of her behaviour, but here her motivations are essentially selfless, which is a distinct change from my beloved "Lesson Zero." This difference, where the ponies' motivations are more mature and less hyperbolic but still ultimately misguided, is the direction that the show began to point towards in season 4, albeit in a comparatively safe manner. This, more than season 5's "mentor roles" or season 7's stodgy moral examples, is the direction the show should have gone in. 
• And I'm totally okay that Twilight doesn't fully understand how Celestia might react. It's a long-established trait that she inflates the importance of her own behaviour, and here she's clearly motivated by simply wanting to do something nice for Celestia, which is totally understandable even as she way overdoes it. One of Twilight's distinguishing traits is her determination, and at its best the show is able to represent this as a double-edged sword. Unlike Applejack, she'll change course if given good reason to, but she can still get stuck in a specific course of action, especially if she's really stressed out. 
• Also, I gotta talk about how good everyone else is in this. Applejack gets to be the voice of reason again - how long has it been? - and as always is great in the role. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy are on the sidelines, but all have their fare share of charming moments; each is perfectly characterized here. Pinkie Pie is hilarious. In particular, I loved Rainbow's enthusiasm for spreading word of the play, as well as Rarity and Pinkie's special effects dispute, and Fluttershy finally taking up the mantle at the end. 
• Even Starlight actually feels like she fits, as has been a surprising trend this season. It's not like they just made her a nice pony, but her mild tactlessness is genuinely funny, and the episode even has Twilight react to it appropriate. I liked her most in season 7 when she finally stopped feeling sorry for herself, and this is very much like the best parts of her season 7 behaviour but without all of her severe mistakes. I like that she has way less experience with Celestia than the others, and I like that her anxiety is just a little more pronounced than that of Twilight's other friends. And let's not forget Spike, who reclaims much of his snark here; the noble Spike of the past two seasons had its appeal, but this is just way more entertaining. 
• Moreover, the jokes are absolutely terrific. A lot of them just come from the witty banter between these characters, but the key here is that they're both surprising and organic. There's a lot of wit which goes into stuff like Rarity's need for silk or Starlight saying Twilight isn't a "princess princess," and though some stuff like the pretentious acting instructors is clearly entirely invented, the best part of these jokes is that they're clearly based on a deep knowledge of and affection for this show. Of course Celestia has a Royal Canterlot Voice, but I wasn't expecting to actually hear it.
• Even when the episode repeats gags, it finds crazy new angles for them, like with Pinkie's increasingly absurd sun replacements. She bought contraband fireworks from Trixie! If that doesn't make you laugh, I don't get you. 
• And as much as I appreciate the more mature morals of later seasons, sometimes all we need is a specific and smart twist on something the show has already offered: honesty is still important in friendship, even when you're just trying to make a friend happy. They'll appreciate you more if you can be honest about their shortcomings, even if it conflicts with their dreams. 

Hey, I thought I retired from writing MLP reviews, but there I go with a wall of text. Goes to show what I'm willing to do when I'm actually enthusiastic about this show. 

Score:
100/100

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

12 hours ago, Kyoshi said:

I would then realize that I was shit at what I did and that the friend was simply trying to give me a positive moment in my life. If Celestia was too stupid to realize that, then that is her fault.

Well then you're in the minority. Most people don't appreciate being lied to.

And Celestia's been putting up with Twilight's lying and inability to treat her like a normal person for a very long time. I sure know that I don’t give a flying rat’s rump how good my friend’s intentions are. If they lie to my face then 1), they obviously don’t value the trust I have in them, and 2) they don’t think our bond is strong enough to withstand some basic honesty.

Being a normal individual with normal, natural emotions doesn't make you "stupid". You're being extremely nasty there, Kyoshi.

Edited April 30, 2018 by ShadOBabe

[GiFTGewEhrSCHutzen-4 8,828]

Well, it's an episode with Princess Celestia in it, so of course, another great episode. Again we see her being fun and active and all. Also, hat's off to PC for taking it like a pro in hearing that she isn't a good actor and such, I mean, if someone criticized my work, I get easily triggered and go a**-hole mode. Also, good to see the Y6 being part of the play too. Amost forgot, Celestia with her Royal Canterlot Voice. Poor Y6. XD 

Edited April 30, 2018 by We_R_VeNoM

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,309]

10 hours ago, ShadOBabe said:

Well then you're in the minority. Most people don't appreciate being lied to.

And Celestia's been putting up with Twilight's lying and inability to treat her like a normal person for a very long time. I sure know that I don’t give a flying rat’s rump how good my friend’s intentions are. If they lie to my face then 1), they obviously don’t value the trust I have in them, and 2) they don’t think our bond is strong enough to withstand some basic honesty.

Being a normal individual with normal, natural emotions doesn't make you "stupid". You're being extremely nasty there, Kyoshi.

Oh, being lied to bothers me yes, but if the lie was done with only good intentions, then that makes it far less stinging to me and I'm a person with emotional problems. Maybe Celestia has problems too, I don't know, but I don't see how a character that has been alive for 1,000 years can get so upset over a lie that was only done to give something back to her. The episode painted Twilight like some jerk when she had a really good reason for doing what she did. Sometimes, for someone else's sake, the truth isn't always the best option. Sure, Celestia would have handled it well most likely, but she should be able to handle the opposite well too, because it really wasn't THAT bad. If someone came to me and said "Kyoshi, I love your signatures, they are fantastic!" Then I figure out that they were lying to me, but then they said "I gave you those compliments because you have done so much for me that I wanted to give you something in return." That would make me feel grateful! I know everyone is different, but we are talking about a 1,000+ year old princess. I would think she would feel humble. Of course this is after she flies off in mega pouty form and Twilight has to chase her down.

I am not saying the moral itself is bad here, I simply do not like how it was portrayed. It didn't make any character look good, except maybe Applejack I guess, but the tipping point of the conflict was not handled well, in my opinion. Not sure how that makes me nasty considering I am insulting a character that doesn't exist and I am doing so based on my opinion of an episode but whatever. If there's one thing I have learned in this life, it is that everyone's opinion matters, until they don't.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

57 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

I know everyone is different, but we are talking about a 1,000+ year old princess. I would think she would feel humble.

And I would think she's frickin' sick of others not treating her like a normal person. Celestia's shown time and time again how the boot-licking makes her uncomfortable and gets on her nerves. And even her student that's known Celestia for her entire adult life and most of her childhood (and is her political equal now) can't seem to afford her some heart-to-heart sincerity. And here's the thing, I totally get WHY Twilight is like that, but that doesn't mean Celestia can't be frustrated with her. Individuals are entitled to their emotions.

And no, I don't have any problem with someone who gets hurt or frustrated and leaves because they don't want to put up with it. Holding on to anger for a long time and NEVER addressing it? Sure, that's petulant. But just getting away before the situation escalates? That's prefectly natural. And I can totally understand not wanting to vent at Twilight right then and there with others around.

57 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

Not sure how that makes me nasty considering I am insulting a character that doesn't exist and I am doing so based on my opinion of an episode but whatever.

So you're saying Celestia's actions are stupid, but you wouldn't think they were stupid if she was a real person? That can't be true. This opinion of yours has it's roots based in what you believe should apply to the real world. If a real person was hurt by someone they trusted and ran away from them, you're saying their stupid.

UNLESS... you're saying that Celestia's fantastical age makes this situation different. In which case, I think that's stupid.

"Oh, you're like, SUPER old. You should just be used to people treating you like that by now, even those you know personally. No matter how much you DON'T LIKE IT, that doesn't matter. Your feelings don't matter, because you should be really good burying them by now. You have so much practice at it after all. You need to be more PATIENT."

A thick skin is only thick, not impenetrable.

Edited April 30, 2018 by ShadOBabe

[Anonymous Old User Who Has Left 599]

Just finished watching.

Oh...damn. I can't even talk much right now. This - THIS RIGHT HERE - reminds me of some moments I've had with my own parents. Again, AJ's element FTW. 

It's so important to maintain bonds with those close to you - especially older mentors - by being truthful about them, even if you worry about upsetting their feelings. It may be a little stumbling for a moment, but when all is said and done RATIONAL THINKING TRIUMPHS OVER FEELINGS. Do you FEEL that they're going to be disappointed by the truth, or do you THINK they'll be disappointed by the truth of the matter? Because when you tell the truth in a well-worded way that isn't condemning or harsh but at the same time upfront and logical, then it will be easier to move forward with a rational and logical solution. Worrying and trying to make something work that you know will not work while pouring emotion over emotion is only going to weaken yourself to a breaking point - which can have serious consequences most of the time. 

TL;DR - when you want to do something special for someone, understand the context (I want to be in a play! Well, being part of a play can mean being a director/coordinator or actor etc etc), and go with what you THINK works best. When you see it's not working out try an alternative. You can't move forward if you keep dwelling on emotion over not getting something right.

...because the truth can heal as much as you might FEEL that it may hurt.

Also, PINKIE YOU IDIOT!!!

P.S.: I could word this a lot better but I need to go over it a bit. This is perhaps the best thing MLP has done for me - it's made me a critical and rational thinker and analyzer when it comes to psychological, social and behavioural characteristics of individuals - both with solo circumstances and with interactions.

Edited April 30, 2018 by Shabb3r

[DonMaguz 1,023]

Hello everyone.

This was an amazing episode! I'm considering it to be one of my favorite episodes in the whole series, I'm definitely still really excited about watching it for the first time but something tells me my enjoyment will not decay too much after further watches.

I think the characters were spot on during the whole episode.

- Twilight: stressed and blind by her will to provide Celestia with a great experience.

- Celestia: having fun and trying to enjoy herself even when she was so bad at acting, also her disapointment when she saw Twilight hadn't been treating her like a real friend was hurtful.

- Applejack: best pony strikes again, I relate so hard to her scolding Pinkie Pie.

- Pinkie Pie: a bit annoying but within the cheerful, random and entertaining awesomeness that is Pinkie Pie.

- Spike: best Spike characterization since 'The Times They Are A Changeling', I loved all his faces and reactions so Twilight.

- Fluttershy: still scaredly but decisively commited to make things work, owning Celestia's role like a pro.

- Starlight: nervous about casual interactions with Celestia and the greatest burn to Princess Twilight ever.

- Rainbow Dash: she's known to be impatient and not so good at manual arts, yet she had the initiative to help everyone with the promotion of the play, has she learned to be a team player or what?

- Rarity: her reaction when she learns that Celestia is joining the play is priceless, she had no issues throwing away the costumes she had just been gloating about.

- Method Mares: their drive to help Celestia with her performance were hilarious!

Overall my favorite episode this season and probably into my top 5 FiM episodes.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

I really enjoyed this episode, it had solid humor, great animation, a decent story, good lore and worldbuilding, and some much needed Celestia development, also the heart to heart in the clouds currently stands as my favorite moment of the season, so well done and incredibly heartwarming.
9/10
Current episode rankings
School Daze: 9/10
The Maud Couple: 7/10
Fake it Till you Make it: 6/10
Grannies Gone Wild: 7/10
Surf and/or Turf: 8/10
Horse Play: 9/10
 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, I guess I'll be the (or at least an) odd man out in really not liking this episode. I found it so exasperating and bewildering that I could barely stand to watch it a second time, and I didn't even know where to start in talking about it. And the more I thought about this episode in trying to write about it, the more frustrating and inexplicable I found it to be. But I needed to cut myself off at some point, and consequently, this post is probably more rambling and scatterbrained than usual.

I tried to divide this post into sections, and here's a rough summary of the main ideas that I'll try to discuss in more detail below. First, I don't like that Twilight insists that Celestia play the lead role in her play with essentially no planning or consultation, and apparently there's no getting her to think twice about it. Second, if this is supposed to be a school play, there seems to be remarkably little consideration about the students themselves. Third, it doesn't make sense to me that Celestia has always admired and wanted to be in a play, but then is so clueless about even the concepts of the attempts to improve her acting; I also don't know if Celestia is believing all of Twilight's empty praise without question. Fourth, I'm astounded that the suggestion to shut the play down entirely is so quickly and easily agreed to by almost everyone. Fifth, Twilight's dismissal of Applejack's telling her to tell Celestia the truth fails to account for what Celestia actually wished for, and how that could still be fulfilled. Sixth, the fact that Twilight was on board with shutting the play down, yet totally dismisses Applejack's insistence on telling Celestia the truth, without considering how that could still fulfill Celestia's wish, indicates to me that Twilight's actions are not solely motivated by good and noble intentions. Finally, I compare Twilight's plan to try to fix Celestia's acting without telling her to the episode "Top Bolt", in which that approach is seen not to work and Twilight takes the opposite (and proven right) position of telling the truth so that constructive improvement can be made.

-----

To start off, Twilight tells Celestia "To commemorate your first sunrise, I've written a play. We'd like to perform it at my School of Friendship, if you don't mind". It doesn't look as if Twilight has shown Celestia the script or a plot synopsis or anything, so it seems weird for Twilight to be asking for Celestia's approval/endorsement before she even knows any of the details about the play. However, the fact that Twilight is doing this would seem to indicate that she's putting a significant amount of thought and planning into this play, which we might expect. Twilight wrote it and is directing it, and she might see it as reflecting the caliber of her Friendship School, as well as paying tribute to Princess Celestia. So I don't like the idea that Twilight makes a sudden and big change by insisting that Celestia take the lead role, and that Twilight does this without any significant planning or consultation or concern about what could go wrong.

At least Spike is rightly skeptical of Twilight's sudden idea to have Celestia be the star of the play. I wish he could have made a stronger case for at least slowing down and thinking this through much more carefully. Even Celestia herself, while acknowledging that Twilight's invitation is very kind, questions whether it's wise, since Celestia says that she has no acting experience at all. But Twilight is unfazed by all of this. I don't know, I can only guess that we're just supposed to believe that Twilight's mind is in a fog of Celestia adoration, and therefore that there's simply no convincing her to think twice or to take concerns about her off-the-cuff scheme seriously.

-----

In that same scene, Twilight tells Celestia that "it'd mean so much to the students if you were in our show" to try to convince her to be in the play. But does Twilight really know that? Is it really obvious that they would all be enthusiastic about Celestia (whom they probably barely know, let alone idolize as Twilight does) starring in the play, and in the process likely stealing most, if not all, of the attention away from the student performers? It certainly doesn't appear that Twilight ran this idea by the students first. Consequently, Twilight's stating as a matter of fact that it would mean so much to the students for Celestia to star in the play seems disingenuous.

Later, why does Twilight insist that Spike announce that the play is "directed, written, and produced by Twilight Sparkle" at rehearsal? What point does that serve? Is Twilight just that egotistical? Maybe so, because she later says "Even I can't believe how good my play is!". And Twilight mentions that "the sets, the props, the outfits" are all great. So, essentially, Twilight is praising first herself and then the rest of the Mane Six's work. But is the purpose of a school play to demonstrate the brilliance of the play's writer/director and of the teachers/professionals in charge? Or should the focus be on the students' performance and the students' work? When I was in marching band in high school, there were a couple of people who composed the music and designed the drill for our shows, and they came to a few practices and competitions to see us perform, but as I recall, they praised the talent and hard work of the students, not how great their shows were. I would think that it would at least be considered bad taste for them to go to a practice or performance and proclaim something like "I can't believe how great my show is!".

On a similar note, if this is supposed to be a school play, then why is Fluttershy, one of the teachers, acting in it, with her ultimately playing the lead role? Wouldn't that, again, be missing the point of a school play - i.e., that the focus should be on the students performing and gaining experience and having fun? Do people typically go to school plays expecting to see teachers at the school performing, especially in the lead role? And following this line of reasoning, would it not be missing the point of a school play even more to have an adult celebrity - in this case, the ruler of Equestria - playing the lead role, with the play advertised as having her in it? Again, are school plays supposed to be star-studded affairs, with many, if not most, of the audience attending just to see a high-ranking political figure or some other adult celebrity performing? From this perspective, the execution of Twilight's play might have been misguided even before Celestia was convinced to be in it, and even more so afterward.

-----

I've never participated in a play and never had any interest in theater, nor do I recall if I've ever even attended a play. But apparently even I have more of an idea of what to do as an actor than Celestia, who says that she has always admired theater and wanted to be part of a play ever since she was a kid, and had friends who often put on plays when she was younger. So has Celestia picked up any idea from all of that of what to do as an actress, even if she doesn't have any acting experience? It's just hard to believe that Celestia is so clueless about how to deliver lines or about the concepts in the method acting workshop.

When Celestia first delivers her line "It is time for a new day in Equestria", why does she say it so softly? It's not as though she appears to be nervous, and that line seems pretty obviously to be a declarative statement, so what would be going through Celestia's head to make her think that that's how she should deliver that line? And at the method acting workshop later, when the method actors mime being trapped in a box, and try to get Celestia to visualize being different things or being in different places, Celestia takes them literally and seemingly has no clue what they're trying to do. If I were somehow in an acting class, and the teachers were demonstrating miming or asking me to visualize being somewhere else, I would no doubt be terrible at attempting to do those things, but I would have a basic idea of what they're trying to do. There should be a difference between being bad at something and not even knowing the basics of what you should be trying to do, but this episode seems to portray Celestia's being bad at acting as the latter, even as I don't know why she would be that clueless about it. And yet Celestia inexplicably uses/teaches others about visualization and improvisation and charades at the play at the end of the episode, and does the trolling gag. So what, was Celestia supposed to have known about those things all along? Or was she supposed to have learned them from the method acting workshop, which was portrayed as going terribly earlier?

On a different note, Celestia initially questioned the wisdom of being the lead role in Twilight's play, and Celestia voluntarily admitted to having no acting experience at all. So does Celestia, despite that, just believe without question all of Twilight's disingenuous praise of her acting? I have no acting experience either, and if I were somehow cast in a play, and the director repeatedly told me that I'm doing great and that "It's hard to believe you've never done this before!", I would be skeptical, and would probably at least say something like "Really? I don't think I'm doing that well". Again, if Celestia is a great admirer of theater, then might we expect her to have some idea of what good acting would look like, and whether she's performing up to that level?

-----

Later, before Rainbow returns, Twilight is wondering what to do about Celestia's bad acting, and says "If I tell Celestia she's terrible, it'll hurt her feelings, and I'll be a bad friend. But if I keep her in the show, she'll be the laughingstock of Equestria, and I'll be a worse friend". First, just taking those two options at face value, it should be pretty obvious that being a "bad" friend is preferable to being a "worse" friend. (It's like those lines in "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash: "If I go there will be trouble / And if I stay it will be double". If that's true, then it seems pretty obvious that going is better than staying.) But besides that, Twilight seems to be making these two options into a false dichotomy. Telling Celestia that she's terrible is not the opposite of her staying in the show, and telling the truth to Celestia does not automatically and unfailingly mean that she won't be a part of the play.

However, after Applejack states that Twilight should tell the truth, Spike suggests that they just cancel the show. And while Twilight initially dismisses that as not a real suggestion, less than 30 seconds later, he, Rarity, Starlight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight are all willing and even eager to shut the play down entirely. Furthermore, there is no mention of or apparent concern about rescheduling the play, or any other subsequent plans. I just find all of this totally bewildering. Do any of them even consider that the students might actually want to put on the play, and wouldn't appreciate it being suddenly and indefinitely cancelled? Do any of them care at all about all the work that everyone has put into the play up to this point, and seeing that work through to an actual performance? But no, never mind the students in this supposed school play, and never mind all the hard work that has been put into it; apparently the one concern above all else is ensuring that Twilight and the rest of them don't have to feel uncomfortable telling Celestia that she's bad at something. I might expect Applejack, at least, to call all this out as being utterly ridiculous, especially considering that Applejack has already spent who knows how much time and effort cleaning/repairing/rebuilding sets after telling Pinkie 328 times to keep her special effects away. But we conveniently never see Applejack's reaction to everyone else agreeing to this plan, and she never says anything about it before Rainbow flies in and unwittingly puts a stop to it.

-----

Then, after Rainbow returns and cancelling the play is no longer an option, Applejack again tells Twilight to "be honest with Celestia and give the lead role to somepony else", to which Twilight instantly and dismissively replies "Not a chance!". And when Applejack tells Twilight "you know truth is a huge part of friendship", Twilight again dismisses her by saying "And so is making another pony's dreams come true. Look, I promised Celestia that this time, she could be a part of the play instead of just watching it. And I plan to keep that promise". There are a couple of big things to discuss about that exchange.

First, as mentioned earlier, being honest with Celestia and giving the lead role to someone else does not automatically and unfailingly mean that Celestia will no longer be "a part of the play", nor would doing that automatically and unfailingly mean that Celestia's dream won't have come true. Celestia's words were "I was always too busy with my magic lessons to be part of any plays myself. But still, it's something I always wished I could experience". The idea of Celestia playing the lead role in Twilight's play only came from Twilight. And while Twilight had initially told Celestia "we would be honored if you would be the star of our play", after Celestia and Spike expressed skepticism, Twilight only said "It'd mean so much to the students if you were in our show" and Celestia replied "I would be delighted to join your theater troupe!". So I don't see any point at which Celestia explicitly or implicitly stated that her wish is to play the lead role in a play, nor did she insist on being in this play in particular.  However, Twilight seems to have interpreted Celestia's wishing she could experience being a part of a play as only meaning "playing the lead role in this play".

But being "a part of the play" could also mean playing a different, smaller role, one that is less demanding and would not derail the play if Celestia isn't great at it. That might even be spun as humorous or interesting by subverting the audience's expectations - the plot of the play centers around Celestia, but then she doesn't play herself, as the audience might expect. Or Celestia might consider helping to edit the script and/or helping to direct the play as being "a part of the play" (although that would mean Twilight giving up sole credit as writer and director). Or Twilight could tell Celestia that her acting in this play has turned out not to be feasible on such short notice, but that Twilight could instead offer to help Celestia be a part of some other play later, with more advance notice and time to practice.

Of course, Celestia may not like or prefer those options. And doing some or even all of those options could be considered false advertising, of a sort, depending on how Rainbow advertised the play (i.e., whether Rainbow said that it would star Celestia in the lead role, whether Rainbow simply said that Celestia would be in it, etc.) But being truthful with Celestia about her bad acting and about putting her in the lead role without sufficient planning should be done regardless, and presenting options to her like those mentioned above seems at least worthy of consideration, and would have a good chance of being better damage control than what Twilight tried to do (but more on that later).

-----

The other thing about this exchange between Twilight and Applejack, though, is this. For all this talk from Twilight about having made a promise to Celestia and how she needs to make Celestia's dream come true, less than a minute earlier, Twilight was on board with the plan to shut the play down entirely, as demonstrated by Twlight describing that plan as "a bright light of hope being snuffed" by Rainbow's announcing the play to Equestria. How is it that shutting the play down, with no mention of rescheduling it or of any subsequent plans, garnered no protest from Twilight about Celestia's dreams or about Twilight's keeping her promise, while Applejack's statement that Twilight needs to tell Celestia the truth and give the lead role to someone else is instantly and totally rejected? Shutting the play down with no replacement has no chance of fulfilling Celestia's actual wish to be a part of a play, while, as described earlier, coming clean with Celestia and taking her out of the lead role still offers some opportunities for Celestia to be a part of the play in other ways. So, if Twilight was really only concerned about making Celestia's dream come true, then I don't see how shutting the play down, period, ought to have been considered some great plan.

I noticed, though, that Twilight twists her and Celestia's exchange in the course of her rejection of Applejack's statements. Twilight says "Look, I promised Celestia that this time, she could be a part of the play instead of just watching it", but that last "instead of just watching it" was never a part of Twilight's and Celestia's conversation in the episode. Neither Celestia nor Twilight said at any previous point in the episode that it would be intolerable or unacceptable for Celestia to see another play without participating in it. So it looks as though this fabricated addition to Twilight's promise was meant to facilitate some tortured motivated reasoning: shutting the play down would have been perfectly fine, because then there would be no play that Celestia would watch without being a part of it, but there's "not a chance" that Twilight will come clean to Celestia and take her out of the lead role, because that would supposedly mean that Celestia would see a play without being a part of it. But, again, if Twilight's goal is supposed to be to make Celestia's dream as stated come true, then this reasoning leads to the opposite: shutting the play down entirely seems pretty obviously to offer no opportunity to fulfill Celestia's actual wish to be a part of a play, while Twilight's rejection of Applejack's route disregards any opportunity that that offers to fulfill Celestia's actual wish.

So I don't see Twilight's actions here and after this point as being fueled solely by good and noble intentions to fulfill Celestia's dream come hell or high water, as much as Twilight acts as though that's the case. Rather, I see Twilight conveniently twisting her and Celestia's words and engaging in bogus motivated reasoning in order to avoid admitting to Celestia that she messed up, even if doing that means closing off or not even considering opportunities to still allow Celestia to be a part of the play. And Twilight is so desperate to avoid owning up to any mistakes that she will take everyone else down with her. But, of course, everyone just goes along with this; only Applejack offers any significant resistance, and she is apparently cowed into going along with Twilight's plan as well.

And of course, after Celestia is upset by Twilight's outburst and flies off, Twilight flies after Celestia and does the routine about how "Oh, Princess Celestia, you've done so much for me, I look up to you more than anybody, and all I was trying to do was give something back to you". But as I wrote above, I don't believe that. When Twilight was perfectly willing to shut the play down entirely, yet she instantly and totally dismissed Applejack's suggestions to tell the truth to Celestia, without even considering that doing that could still allow Celestia to be a part of the play, then I don't believe that Twilight's actions were all about giving back to Celestia any more.

-----

Twilight's plan for what to do about Celestia's bad acting in this episode seems essentially to be this: don't tell her the uncomfortable truth about what she actually needs to improve, so that she and everyone else can get down to work, but instead, try to sneakily get her to improve by having her practice while heaping on the praise and implying that only marginal improvements need to be made. I couldn't help thinking that this approach has a lot of parallels in the episode "Top Bolt", with one big difference, of course, being that Twilight took the opposite (and ultimately proven right) approach in that episode as compared to this one.

In "Top Bolt", Twilight and Rainbow discovered the problem which they were sent to the Wonderbolts Academy to help solve: Sky Stinger was unaware that Vapor Trail was assisting him with his tricks, but the day of reckoning was coming, when Sky Stinger would attempt the solo test to enter the Wonderbolt Academy, and suddenly and embarrassingly discover that he isn't good enough to pass on his own. But upon realizing this problem, Twilight insisted that the solution was to "tell them the truth", while Rainbow insisted that they try to "fix it without telling them". And after Rainbow argued that you can't mess with a flyer's confidence, Twilight protested that "you can't improve if you don't think you have to!", and that "besides, Vapor's keeping a pretty big secret from Sky, and that could lead to trouble!". Despite that, Rainbow interrupts and shuts Twilight up to make sure that Sky isn't told the truth. And later, Rainbow, Twilight and Vapor settled on giving Dash's method a shot. That meant that Sky was lectured and went through practice drills, but he was never told what the real problems were, and all the while, Vapor told Sky how amazing he was. And as they all discovered, Dash's method didn't work; Sky didn't improve, because he didn't think he needed to practice, and therefore wasn't even trying during training. Ultimately, Sky needed to be told the truth about Vapor's assisting him, and after that, with constructive support, he got to work and improved himself to the point that he passed the entrance test to the Wonderbolts Academy.

Compare that to this episode. Celestia is apparently unaware of how bad her acting is, but the day of reckoning is coming, when the play will be performed and Celestia will suddenly and embarrassingly discover that her terrible acting will make her "the laughingstock of Equestria". But now, while Applejack is insisting that the solution is to tell Celestia the truth, Twilight is insisting on trying to fix the problem without telling her. Now Twilight is the one interrupting and shutting others up to make sure that Celestia isn't told the truth. And Twilight tries to subtly nudge Celestia in the right direction, and sets up a method acting workshop for her, but Celestia is never told what the real problems are, and all the while, Twilight heaps empty praise on Celestia. And as Twilight discovers, this method doesn't work, and Celestia doesn't improve in time for the show.

So what could have happened if Twilight had followed her own reasoning and advice from "Top Bolt", and implemented the ultimate solution of that episode from the get-go? Could they have gotten a similar happy ending? Perhaps, if Celestia were told the truth about what she needed to improve, then, with constructive support, she could have gotten to work and improved herself - maybe not enough to play the lead role in time for this play, but perhaps enough to play a smaller role in it. Or maybe Celestia could continue to work at her acting and play a larger role in a different play down the road. But those possibilities were foreclosed when Twilight apparently failed to remember the lessons or her own advice from "Top Bolt", and instead essentially took Rainbow's method from that episode, which didn't work then and didn't work now, either.

-----

Now here's a couple of other larger observations, followed by the remaining miscellaneous observations.

After Pinkie gets confetti in the wet paint on the set Applejack is painting, Applejack irritatedly asks "How many times have I told you to keep your special effects away from my sets?!". And Pinkie replies "Three hundred twenty-seven. Oh! Unless you just did. Then it's three hundred twenty-eight", and smiles about it, showing zero shame and not even offering an apology (for whatever that would be worth at that point), let alone helping to fix the mess she just made. I imagine it would be no small task for Applejack to try to pick all the bits of confetti from the wet paint on the set she was painting. And are we to believe that Pinkie has pulled similar "stunts" 327 other times? Of course, Pinkie damages or ruins the sets twice more in the episode with the giant flaming marshmallow and the fireworks, and both times, Pinkie just plays innocent and even smiles about it - no shame, no apologies, no offers to fix the messes she just made, nothing. I don't find this amusing, I find it incredibly inconsiderate and obnoxious. Are we supposed to laugh about Applejack (and others) being forced to do who knows how much additional work, through no fault of their own, because Pinkie apparently couldn't care less about the effects that her antics are having on her friends' work?

When Applejack asks why everyone is "gettin' so starstruck" about Princess Celestia, Starlight explains that "This is different! Imagine doing sweaty warm-ups with a princess, blowing your nose in front of a princess, sitting around just... talking with a princess". However, I recall people suggesting (and that episode implying) that a major reason why Starlight was called by the Map in "A Royal Problem" was that she wouldn't be awestruck by or overcome with reverence for Celestia and/or Luna, and therefore, that Starlight would be willing to take "bold" action to solve their friendship problem. But that idea doesn't seem consistent with Starlight's super-nervous attitude in this episode about working with, or even talking with, Princess Celestia. Did something change between now and then? Or was that not a rationale for why Starlight was called by the Map in "A Royal Problem" in the first place?

Why does a giant marshmallow on fire produce flying projectiles of molten marshmallow? If you've ever roasted marshmallows and lit a marshmallow on fire, did it do that, or did it just melt and fall on the ground and eventually just burn itself out?

I'm astounded by how quickly the six ponies backstage all apparently agree to gang up on Spike. Is it too much to ask that any of them stick up for him, or question the fairness of why he and he alone is forced to tame the crowd?

Is everyone supposed to be able to see Twilight and Celestia standing just behind the podium during the play? Were the stage curtains drawn a little too far back? Or, since the play was advertised as having Princess Celestia in it, does she figure that she at least needs to be seen there so as not to make the advertising a complete lie?

The audience laughs out loud during the play at the raggedness of the costumes, which would seem rude, particularly if this is supposed to be a school play. But I can't help thinking that this is a not-completely-unexpected side effect of having the ruler of Equestria in the play, and having a lot of the audience probably attending just because she was advertised as being in it.

Luna is clearly not amused by Celestia's real special effect of raising the sun. Maybe Luna sees it as an abuse of power and/or as Celestia just showing off.

Finally, many, if not most, of the pop culture references made in this show go right over my head, so I feel compelled to point out that there's a reference in this episode that's up my alley! One of the method actors is named Raspberry Beret, and there's a song called that by Prince, which peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 in 1985. There's a line in the song that goes "if it was warm, she wouldn't wear much more", but in contrast, the character in this episode is wearing a sweater as well as the raspberry beret, which is more clothing than average.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Then, after Rainbow returns and cancelling the play is no longer an option, Applejack again tells Twilight to "be honest with Celestia and give the lead role to somepony else", to which Twilight instantly and dismissively replies "Not a chance!". And when Applejack tells Twilight "you know truth is a huge part of friendship", Twilight again dismisses her by saying "And so is making another pony's dreams come true. Look, I promised Celestia that this time, she could be a part of the play instead of just watching it. And I plan to keep that promise".

 

Twilight was on board with the plan to shut the play down entirely, as demonstrated by Twlight describing that plan as "a bright light of hope being snuffed" by Rainbow's announcing the play to Equestria. How is it that shutting the play down, with no mention of rescheduling it or of any subsequent plans, garnered no protest from Twilight about Celestia's dreams or about Twilight's keeping her promise, while Applejack's statement that Twilight needs to tell Celestia the truth and give the lead role to someone else is instantly and totally rejected?

So I don't see Twilight's actions here and after this point as being fueled solely by good and noble intentions to fulfill Celestia's dream come hell or high water, Twilight is so desperate to avoid owning up to any mistakes that she will take everyone else down with her.

-----

After Pinkie gets confetti in the wet paint on the set Applejack is painting, Applejack irritatedly asks "How many times have I told you to keep your special effects away from my sets?!". And Pinkie replies "Three hundred twenty-seven. Oh! Unless you just did. Then it's three hundred twenty-eight", and smiles about it, showing zero shame and not even offering an apology (for whatever that would be worth at that point), let alone helping to fix the mess she just made. I imagine it would be no small task for Applejack to try to pick all the bits of confetti from the wet paint on the set she was painting. And are we to believe that Pinkie has pulled similar "stunts" 327 other times? Of course, Pinkie damages or ruins the sets twice more in the episode with the giant flaming marshmallow and the fireworks, and both times, Pinkie just plays innocent and even smiles about it - no shame, no apologies, no offers to fix the messes she just made, nothing. I don't find this amusing, I find it incredibly inconsiderate and obnoxious. Are we supposed to laugh about Applejack (and others) being forced to do who knows how much additional work, through no fault of their own, because Pinkie apparently couldn't care less about the effects that her antics are having on her friends' work?

When Applejack asks why everyone is "gettin' so starstruck" about Princess Celestia, Starlight explains that "This is different! Imagine doing sweaty warm-ups with a princess, blowing your nose in front of a princess, sitting around just... talking with a princess". However, I recall people suggesting (and that episode implying) that a major reason why Starlight was called by the Map in "A Royal Problem" was that she wouldn't be awestruck by or overcome with reverence for Celestia and/or Luna, and therefore, that Starlight would be willing to take "bold" action to solve their friendship problem. But that idea doesn't seem consistent with Starlight's super-nervous attitude in this episode about working with, or even talking with, Princess Celestia. Did something change between now and then? Or was that not a rationale for why Starlight was called by the Map in "A Royal Problem" in the first place?

Luna is clearly not amused by Celestia's real special effect of raising the sun. Maybe Luna sees it as an abuse of power and/or as Celestia just showing off.

I think you have found exactly why Twilight acted like she did regarding telling Celestia the truth about her acting.

"Twilight is so desperate to avoid owning up to any mistakes that she will take everyone else down with her." And why is that?

Because Twilight idolatrizes Celestia so much that even when she's in the presence of her minor flaws, Twilight chooses to be blind about it and tries to keep her facade as Celestia's #1 fan. She doesn't want Celestia to see her as anything else than "her most faithful student".

----

Pinkie has always been like that, she couldn't care less about other's work as long as she can give them a good time and laughs (even when she's the only one who thinks her antics are funny).

I think it's funny because it's a silly cartoon show, but in real life I try to keep my distance from people as annoying as her.

----

I don't think Starlight changed her mindset about Celestia, the reason she was blunt in 'A Royal Problem' was because she had been sent to solve an issue and she found it, it was logical for her to try her solution even when they were princesses.

Still when she was in front of Celestia and Luna she was there as formal as she could, one can see how Starlight finally relaxes her facade when she's in her room and talking to musical box Twilight.

Anyway, that's how I took it.

----

Let's remember that Luna was also the most skeptical one when Twilight asked the princesses to move the Sun and Moon at the start of the movie.

She even told Twilight something like "So, you want us to move the sun and the moon for a party?" with a not so happy face.

I can see how she wasn't glad to see Celestia moving the sun for a school play.

[Funnygamer95 30]

i do not much like Celestia episodes. but this one is the best one.how Celestia get out of her princess side for a little. bet and feel a filly for ones.i do not know that what i see in this episode..

[Fluttershutter 2,400]

I loved this episode. Celestia was so cute.

 

Spike is getting old and grumpy and cynical. I can relate lol.

 

That stuff about five unicorns losing their magic every day was pretty dark. Reminds me of the thousand psykers who die every day to keep the astronomicon running.

[Violet Bookish 350]

I didn't like this episode at first, but after getting to the ending I had a better appreciation for it. Why? Originally I was getting very annoyed at Twilight for not being honest when Celestia has shown she values honesty and almost all her friends were telling her she needed to tell the truth. Celestia's reaction helped me like the episode more because she hit the nail right on the head. Twilight should have known better and it was nice to see her relationship with Celestia not only elaborated on throughout the episode, but tested. The only time I think we've ever seen a strain on their relationship was in a Canterlot Wedding, but it wasn't because Twilight did something personal to Celestia. This time, however, it is. Also, Twilight's explanation basically saved the episode for me. I'm still annoyed at her and think she was being silly about the whole situation, but I get it. She should have known better, but I get it. And we get to see an appropriately emotional scene between Twilight and Celestia. It was nice to be able to see them bond and the moment was actually pretty touching.

And onto the bad. First up, Spike abuse, something I was hoping the show was over with. But nope, the main six need a distraction so they just throw him on stage and he gets tomatoes thrown at him. Do they help? Nope. I really wanna believe the main six are better than that. And Spike seems perfectly okay with it even though it was a terrible move on their part. But, onto my biggest issue with this episode, Twilight's meltdown. And, Twilight's meltdown isn't really the issue, the reason she has that meltdown is the issue for me. I know how Pinkie can be but, she's not dumb. She knows fireworks are dangerous, I seriously doubt she'd get a bunch then pack them up as a sun with a really big one. Pinkie can be a little air-headed, but she knows better than that. So, Twilight's meltdown that happens in result feels forced. Why couldn't the stress of everything just be the reason she broke down? Small details and problems pile up, and with the whole Celestia problem being on her shoulders the whole episode, there's no need for some exaggerated "destroy everything" moment. Why not just have there be some technical problems they're having (custom etc. but not because of the big explosion) and have Twilight lose it because all of these things are piling up and that be the reason she has her meltdown? Also, there's no need for her to make up a terrible plan c, just have the other main six express issues they're having. Twilight will get overwhelmed and break down. I would have enjoyed that scenario better than the one the episode gave.

But, despite its flaws, overall this was a fun episode and I'm glad the show is giving Celestia some more screentime and development. I've always wanted to see more of Celestia considering, as the audience, were rather distant from her and usually just get to see her being a ruler. Sometimes a surprisingly enthusiastic one (like at the Grand Galloping Gallas when things go awry), but nothing too personal. Here we got to see her relationship with Twilight be tested and she is hurt in a personal way. Instead of disapproving of Twilight's actions, which is usually the case for when she's mad at Twilight, we get to see her upset because Twilight hurt her on a personal level. I loved how we could see how close they had become and got to see Celestia acting more open and real feeling rather than the majestic princess put on a peddle stool. And all in all, Celestia was awesome in this episode. Overall I give it a B-.

 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

On 5/2/2018 at 12:05 PM, DonMaguz said:

I think you have found exactly why Twilight acted like she did regarding telling Celestia the truth about her acting.

"Twilight is so desperate to avoid owning up to any mistakes that she will take everyone else down with her." And why is that?

Because Twilight idolatrizes Celestia so much that even when she's in the presence of her minor flaws, Twilight chooses to be blind about it and tries to keep her facade as Celestia's #1 fan. She doesn't want Celestia to see her as anything else than "her most faithful student".

I think this might tie into one of the reasons that this episode bothered me. I see Twilight's trying to avoid having an uncomfortable talk with Celestia, and trying to avoid (supposedly) tarnishing her image in Celestia's eyes, as self-centered motivations. And yet, when Twilight rejects Applejack's insistence on telling the truth to Celestia, and even when Twilight is "coming clean" to Celestia near the end of the episode, I don't think Twilight ever really owns up to those self-centered motivations, or acknowledges that she put everyone else through this ordeal because of those self-centered motivations. Instead, Twilight only seems to portray herself as acting selflessly (fulfilling Celestia's dream, giving something back to Celestia for once, etc.), when I don't see that as really being the case. So, for me, that makes Twilight look worse and detracts from the happy ending that this episode is going for.

On 5/2/2018 at 12:05 PM, DonMaguz said:

Pinkie has always been like that, she couldn't care less about other's work as long as she can give them a good time and laughs (even when she's the only one who thinks her antics are funny).

I think it's funny because it's a silly cartoon show, but in real life I try to keep my distance from people as annoying as her.

The thing is, I feel I like often see Pinkie being described or portrayed as merely selflessly wanting to make others smile. But I don't see things like Pinkie's behavior in this episode as consistent with that motivation. Rather, I just see Pinkie doing what she wants, with her either disregarding or completely failing to notice whether anyone else finds it amusing (despite being told by Applejack 328 times to stop), and either disregarding or completely failing to notice how much additional work she's making her friends do with her antics. In light of that, can Pinkie really be described as just being selflessly focused on making everyone "smile, smile, smile"?

And yeah, in real life, I'm not the confrontational type, so I would probably try to humor people like Pinkie just enough to get them off my back, but otherwise try to avoid them whenever possible.

On 5/2/2018 at 12:05 PM, DonMaguz said:

I don't think Starlight changed her mindset about Celestia, the reason she was blunt in 'A Royal Problem' was because she had been sent to solve an issue and she found it, it was logical for her to try her solution even when they were princesses.

Hmm, I'm not sure I'm convinced that this is the case, but I hadn't thought of that, so it's good to see a different perspective on it.

[Truffles 2,033]

On 5/2/2018 at 5:28 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

Later, why does Twilight insist that Spike announce that the play is "directed, written, and produced by Twilight Sparkle" at rehearsal? What point does that serve? Is Twilight just that egotistical? Maybe so, because she later says "Even I can't believe how good my play is!". And Twilight mentions that "the sets, the props, the outfits" are all great. So, essentially, Twilight is praising first herself and then the rest of the Mane Six's work.

I noticed this behavior in Twilight as well. I feel like this was a subplot that may have been cut due to time - that is, when Twilight and Celestia did have their little talk after the blow-up, Twilight would admit that trying to fulfill a dream for Celestia was only part of the reason. The other part was her ego driving all of this. Certainly creating a vehicle for the ruler of Equestria to star in would be quite a feather in her cap, especially if that ruler was also the mentor she adored.

On 5/2/2018 at 5:28 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

Spike suggests that they just cancel the show. And while Twilight initially dismisses that as not a real suggestion, less than 30 seconds later, he, Rarity, Starlight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight are all willing and even eager to shut the play down entirely. Furthermore, there is no mention of or apparent concern about rescheduling the play, or any other subsequent plans. I just find all of this totally bewildering. Do any of them even consider that the students might actually want to put on the play, and wouldn't appreciate it being suddenly and indefinitely cancelled?

I'm wondering if they just didn't think this through since it was a spur-of-the-moment decision? That's a good point that the students might not be happy about cancelling the play. Or perhaps the idea would be to say it's being "postponed" and postpone it long enough that it was not longer practical for Celestia to be in it and then replace her? The other possibility is what they meant by "cancel" is to simply close it to the public and only have the teachers and their friends be the audience, thus it wouldn't matter how bad Celestia was. But Rainbow's effective advertising made the whole idea moot just as soon as it was hatched, so we never really find out what the actual end game was for this plan.

On 5/2/2018 at 5:28 AM, Music Chart Fan said:

n "Top Bolt", Twilight and Rainbow discovered the problem which they were sent to the Wonderbolts Academy to help solve: Sky Stinger was unaware that Vapor Trail was assisting him with his tricks, but the day of reckoning was coming, when Sky Stinger would attempt the solo test to enter the Wonderbolt Academy, and suddenly and embarrassingly discover that he isn't good enough to pass on his own. But upon realizing this problem, Twilight insisted that the solution was to "tell them the truth", while Rainbow insisted that they try to "fix it without telling them".

Great catch! I had forgotten how that story had essentially a similar moral with Twilight being the one with the right idea. I guess it could be that like Twilight here, Rainbow was too star-struck over being in the Wonderbolts to risk having Spitfire mad at her for having two promising cadets wash out. I guess because Celestia is involved I could see Twilight abandoning her morals and trying to make this work for her, however.

[gingerninja666 487]

6 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Hmm, I'm not sure I'm convinced that this is the case, but I hadn't thought of that, so it's good to see a different perspective on it.

I remember the reasoning people had was that Starlight wouldn't be biased towards one princess or the other the way someone like Twi would be. Which isn't really contradicted by this ep, and we see first hand how far Twi was willing to go to deny that Tia was doing anything wrong.

Star actually was kinda nervous during most of Royal Problem. Her using a magic spell was done kinda as a snap decision and she's crapping herself about it immediately afterwards, prostrating herself and everything. Then she goes on to have a guilt ridden nightmare where what she did ended up destroying Equestria

[titanhades70 14]

Twilight should take what Starlight said as a compliment. Not being a Princess Princess can be a good thing. Like not getting kidnapped or knocked out all the time like Luna and Celestia.😈