S08:E08 - The Parent Map

[DonMaguz 1,023]

Hello everyone.

This episode was a bit weird, it was interesting but wasn't as exciting as I would've liked.

A few things I take from the episode:

- Sunburst's bad habit of ignoring ponies when reading is something I can relate to, although I've tried to give people my full attention even when I'm so into an interesting read/show/album/game the last few years, when I was younger I really didn't care about them and it can hurt people's feelings.

- That big pile of unopened letters made the problem really obvious when they met the parents.

- Sunburst's reaction to his glowing mark was really funny.

- Spike keeps having these great supporting comedy moments during the season.

- The essence scenes got me every time they were shot at Sunburst or his mom.

- I didn't like one bit about the library ponies.

- Sunburst's mom and Starlight's dad were amusing characters, but weren't as memorable as other new characters such as Dash's parents.

- It was a shame that we learnt virtually nothing about Starlight's past, I get that it wasn't the episode focus, but it was a great opportunity to explore it a bit more.

- I didn't think the parents were going to stop their fight so quickly. It was nice to see that.

- I loved Starlight's reaction when Sunburst had that "alright, our job here is done, let's go as quickly as we can" attitude, and she was really annoyed that they couldn't just leave because their duty wasn't completed.

- The amends were really touching, I specially liked Sunburst's apology and the promise of a better one if his mother joined him to solve the friendship problem.

Overall it was a nice episode, I'd say is just below Maud Couple and above the premiere of this season.

Cheers.

[Thrond 3,263]

8 hours ago, gingerninja666 said:

Some people say that they should've realized it was their relationship with their parents immediately but I don't see it. When they arrive they literally see a massive public discourse going on between their parents over the management of the town. Why WOULDN'T they initially think that was the problem?

Sure, but given how perceptive they were about that, it's a little annoying they weren't able to see the real problem soon after. It didn't feel to me like they were avoiding the issue so much as totally oblivious to its significance. 

[Ganondox 899]

14 hours ago, R.D.Dash said:

Yeah whatever, and I am sick of the predictable stories that I can see from the mile away,  Their friendship problem was is that Starlight and Sunburst didn't want to go to visit their parent's so now the map is forcing them to go. If that's what the episode was about then I genuinely feel sorry for their parents.

Being predictable and being a rehash are two different things. It's a valid complaint, but I don't know mind because due to the show's themes the plots tend to be fairly predictable, I care more about the execution and details. Also, as I said in the second half of the post you quoted, I don't think that was the only reason the map sent them. 

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

How is the season so far?

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

1 minute ago, VG_Addict said:

How is the season so far?

Started off slow, but really progressed since Grannies Gone Wild. Lots of great episodes with more to come.

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, I might describe this episode as a sort of less entertaining version of "Parental Glideance". I think both episodes share a lot of broad strokes in their plots: adult children have been avoiding seeing their parents, who are simultaneously obnoxious and totally oblivious about it; when forced to spend time with their parents, the children grit their teeth and unsuccessfully try to get their parents to less obnoxious; the children understandably snap and yell at their parents, who are devastated; and finally, the children apologize and they and their parents reconcile at the end. In both episodes, the sheer obnoxiousness and obliviousness of the parents detracted from my enjoyment. However, while I thought "Parental Glideance" had other entertaining and compelling things going on besides the parents' obnoxiousness (Rainbow's camaraderie with the other Wonderbolts, Scootaloo's getting love and attention from Rainbow's parents and eventually Rainbow herself), in this episode, the other things are mostly Starlight and Sunburst getting exasperated about their parents. And while the two of them had some amusing sarcastic reactions, and I can relate to their exasperation, those didn't do as much for me this time around to alleviate the frustration and tiresomeness of the parents' antics. It's nice to see the parents and their adult children reconciling by the end of the episode, but the ending gag casts doubt on how much the parents will actually adjust their behavior, so I again just hope that they will actually take their children's wishes to heart. There's not too much for me to talk about this time, so this will be a shorter post.

I see it as perfectly understandable that Starlight and Sunburst would snap and yell at their parents, since they're being so obnoxious and continuing to be oblivious to that. But then, afterward, it falls on Starlight and Sunburst to take action and go apologize to their parents. And when Starlight and Sunburst go to do that, both Firelight and Stellar Flare act passive-aggressive, and yeah, I know what that's like. At least Firelight and Stellar Flare end up basically acknowledging that they contributed to the problem and that they could shift their behavior to be more in line with their adult children's wishes. Firelight does explicitly say he's sorry and promises to treat Starlight "less like a little filly"; Stellar Flare never explicitly apologizes or promises to do differently, but I guess we'll just have to take her tacit acceptance of Sunburst's insistence that he needs to find his own way. I don't like, though, that the ending gag kind of undermines the idea that Firelight and Stellar Flare have learned their lesson and will respect the wishes of their adult children.

The other thing is that this episode gives a few more tidbits about Starlight's past, but if anything, they might just muddle Starlight's backstory even more. First, there's some implication in this episode that Firelight's parenting approach and attitude seen in this episode is essentially the way he's acted all along. But if that's the case, then I might consider Firelight's behavior obnoxious, but not that out of the ordinary or anything, so I'm not seeing how Starlight is supposed to have gone so far off the rails. Second, I don't know what the timeline of events in Starlight's life is supposed to be, or what her impetus was for leaving home. After Starlight apologizes, Firelight says "I just know how hard things were for you when you left home. I guess I wanted you to feel safe, like... when you were young". What does that mean? Starlight was supposed to have felt "safe" when she was young, but at some point, she stopped feeling "safe"? Does that have to do with "how hard things were" for Starlight when she left home, whatever that means? I just don't even know what to make of this.

Also, on the train to Sire's Hollow, Starlight says "It's not that I don't want to go home. It's just that whenever I do, my dad treats me like a filly. Like nothing's changed since I was a foal". That would imply that there was a significant period (or periods) during which Starlight was away from home, but went back and visited her dad multiple times. However, Stellar Flare also says to Sunburst and Starlight that "neither of you have been home in ages". So when would those multiple visits back home (such that "whenever I do, my dad treats me like a filly") have occurred? If we suppose that Starlight's leaving home (to which her dad referred) was when Starlight went to start her village, then it's hard to imagine that she would have left her village multiple times on big trips to visit her dad. It's also hard to imagine that Starlight would have been making time to visit her dad on multiple occasions when she was plotting and preparing for revenge on Twilight and the Mane Six. So is Starlight supposed to have made multiple visits to her dad after her reformation? But then I'm not sure that would square with Stellar Flare's statement about Starlight and Sunburst not being home in "ages", although I don't know how much time is supposed to have passed since Starlight's reformation. Or was Starlight's train statement referring to some time(s) that she was away from home and visited, but before the permanent "leaving home" to which her dad referred? Again, I'm not sure what to make of all this.

Now for the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

So the mail in the Crystal Empire is always personally delivered, and the mail pony expects a tip at every house he goes to? I guess the Crystal Empire hasn't heard of mail boxes. What if there are households where no one is home at mail delivery time? Do they just always have to go to the post office?

I guess it's a good thing that Sunburst knew what it meant when his cutie mark was glowing. What would happen if someone was called by the Cutie Map in Twilight's castle and didn't know what it meant?

Sunburst and Twilight talk about what an honor it is for Sunburst to have been called by the Map, and that this is the first time anyone outside of Ponyville has been called before. But I'm not sure how special that should be considered these days. It seems as though the rules that we thought the Cutie Map followed in calling people have been shown not to be the case, so who knows any more if it's actually significant that someone outside of Ponyville was called?

I did laugh at Spike's comments about how he's been on his fair share of missions, and when Twilight points out that he's only been on one, he says "And that's my fair share". It's funny how he's trying to brag, but kind of unintentionally slagging himself at the same time.

It seems a little ironic that Starlight resents her dad treating her "like nothing's changed since I was a foal", when in "Uncommon Bond", Starlight was trying to recreate the same things she did with Sunburst when they were kids, even going as far as to write a spell putting the two of them into their childhood bodies and in their childhood house.

Sunburst and Starlight are surprised by the gate into Sire's Hollow, implying that it wasn't there before. So why was the gate installed? Was it just to have something to activate the automated "Welcome to Sire's Hollow!" message? Did Stellar Flare insist on it in order to enhance the image of Sire's Hollow as being a safe place to shop/visit? Were there actual crime problems or something that warranted the installation of the gate?

If people can't even touch the books at the supposed bookstore, let alone buy them, and the bookstore doesn't seem to be charging people for tours or anything, then how are the two ponies in charge of the bookstore making a living? Does being declared "a site of historical significance" by the Sire's Hollow Preservation Society mean that the Society will pay the two ponies to "preserve" the bookstore?

Firelight says that he wants to preserve Sire's Hollow's rich history for Starlight. Somehow it seems like there's more of a motivation than just that.

Sunburst's and Starlight's reactions to the fruit smoothies implies that the smoothies are terrible. I don't know, it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to at least make an okay fruit smoothie, but somehow the smoothie shop apparently failed to do so.

So when the baker says that the rock-hard bread is "100% ancient pony grains", does that mean that the grain hasn't been artificially selected/genetically modified into the commonly used (and edible) form? Or does that imply that the ancient "grain" used in the bread was actually fossilized?

Stellar Flare's asking Sunburst what his plan is if he's "fired" from friendship quests brings up questions that I've asked before. It doesn't seem as though anyone called by the Map is being paid to go on friendship missions, and thus, Sunburst can't be "fired", since he was never "hired" in the first place. But then who's covering the expenses for meals, travel, lodging, etc.? Do the called ponies just have to pay for that out of their own pockets? Or is the government somehow paying for or reimbursing all of these friendship missions?

Firelight says to Starlight that "I thought the best way to look for a friendship problem in the present was to look back in our town history even farther!". I remember learning that "farther" should only be used to refer to physical distance (i.e., the type of distance measured in feet, meters, etc.), while "further" should be used for any other case of metaphorical distance.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

So, I’ve seen the episode a few more times, and I’ve put my thoughts together.

So, the boring stuff first. This is probably the best showing for Sunburst so far, he’s not only relatable, he’s not being a dick to Starlight for the plot. The big stand out moment for me is the fact that Sunburst was actually expelled from Celestia’s school, presumably because he didn’t have what it took to pass the classes. It does, however, introduce some unwanted confusion into his and Starlight’s backstory.

When did he get kicked out? Did he not go back home afterwards? If he did go back home, was Starlight not there to confront him? Did she run away or leave home at a younger age than previously assumed? This, combined with the train scene that @Music Chart Fan pointed out, introduces much unneeded uncertainty surrounding these two characters backstories. I have always been of the opinion that the problem with Starlight’s backstory was purely a presentation problem. The writing itself didn’t have any glaring plot holes, just elements that weren’t properly expanded upon. In short, it’s passable, but that’s not going to be the case if they keep adding unanswered questions and muddying the timeline with poorly thought out clutter. My biggest concern is that in trying to write a relatable story, they’re either throwing continuity aside, or worse, they still have no idea what that continuity is and are writing the stories without first figuring that out.

There’s also the problem that this didn’t really feel like a homecoming. Outside of their parents, neither Starlight or Sunburst recognize or are recognized by anyone in the town. It makes what should be a big event in their lives, especially if they haven’t been there in a while, feel shallow and underwhelming.

 

 

Okay, boring stuff over, now for the fun observations.

So, first, once again I got more reinforcement that Starlight is far more willing to blame herself than the people she loves for her problems. In the train scene, she confesses that her father is treating her like a foal, and how frustrating that is. But, instead of railing against her dad and how bad he is, she blames herself for her feelings. “I know, I’m a horrible daughter.” That... is probably my favorite low key moment of the episode, I know what it’s like to be ashamed of my feelings, even when I know it’s reasonable to have them.

So, I don’t think I’ve talked about it here, but this episode also further solidifies what I consider to be Starlight’s biggest flaw. No, not her impulsiveness, though that does get her into trouble as well. No, I think her biggest flaw is avoidance. From a very young age, she’s always dealt with her greatest challenges by avoiding them until they blow up in her face. Hurt when her best friend leaves? Avoids other people so she can’t feel the same pain again. Still miserable because she’s all alone? Build a village where she can get rid of the thing she blames for people leaving her, avoiding the possibility of rejection. I could go on, but Starlight clearly has trouble facing her problems.

In the scene where Firelight is explaining the town’s history to Starlight, he mentions how he knows how she can have a hard time concentrating. Possibly an explanation for why she couldn’t get into magic school, if she had a hard time focusing growing up, she might not have been able to pass the schools grade requirements.

48 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Firelight says that he wants to preserve Sire's Hollow's rich history for Starlight. Somehow it seems like there's more of a motivation than just that.

I got the impression that Firelight, while obviously obsessed with the past, wanted to keep the town just the way it was when Starlight was young, so that she could feel safe there like he said at the end.

And speaking of the scene at the end, did anyone else catch Starlight’s reaction to Firelight saying how hard things were for her when she left town? This is the sole thing that makes me think that maybe they do have some plan with Starlight’s backstory, since he could be referring to either a specific hard event that made her leave town, or just a general level of difficulty she had growing up. Either way, I hope we get some real details before the end of the show.

 

So, yeah, good episode, there was some real missed opportunities and some questionable writing, but on the whole an enjoyable 8/10.

[Funnygamer95 30]

Am i the only one think Sunburst mom is the best?

Edited May 7, 2018 by Funnygamer95

[YoshiAngemon 223]

On 5/6/2018 at 4:10 AM, Star Light said:

From kites, skulls, creating her 'utopia' and now being a friendship counselor to younglings from all over Equestria, Starlight really has quite an interesting life that's one thing sure. 

Not to mention that her actions have made me think of Beast Wars Megatron SO much that I hold Starlight Glimmer responsible for getting me back into the TransFormers in the first place! Here is the contrast:

Starlight Glimmer tried to exact revenge on Twilight Sparkle, by traveling back in time to CHANGE the consequences so that the Sonic Rainboom NEVER Happened! She only cared about retaining control over the Village of "Our Town," and not the rest of Equestria. Megatron, The Leader of the Predacons, had stolen the Golden Disc for Cryotek, but really double-crossed the guy and stole it for himself. The Record held a message recorded by the Original Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons. stating that whoever listens to the message must go back in time to Prehistoric Earth, via Transwarp technology, and wipe out the humans, and if all-else fails, KILL Optimus Prime while he's in stasis lock!

While Starlight Glimmer learned from her mistake, Megatron DID NOT! In the aftermath of the Beast Wars, he escaped the roof of the Omega Sigma Shuttle mid-TransWarp, and conquered Cybertron before the Maximals returned, thus triggering the events of Beast Machines into effect! Of course, had Megatron succeeded, the Great War would've been lost to the Decepticons, but in 2005, this would come back to bite the Decepticons into oblivion, as UNICRON invades, and destroys Cybertron. No Matrix, no hope, and Unicron survives, much to the delight of the Tripredacus Council and Tarantulas!

You see, people, Starlight Glimmer is not to different from G1 Megatron, except Starlight got better, and Megatron NEVER LEARNED A THING! And it is thanks to her actions in "The Cutie ReMark" that I got inspired to buy Beast Wars on DVD, and just recently, Beast Machines, YESSSS!!

I hope that one day, if I ever meet the voice of Starlight Glimmer, I can thank her for getting me back into the TransFormers with her character's actions. I guess @SaburoDaimando was onto something when he had Starlight meet Optimus Prime in the recap of "The TransFormers: More Than Meets The Eye."

Spoiler

BTW, Starlight's scream is CUTE when she sees the truck transform into Optimus Prime at the beginning!

And Optimus Prime said it himself to her: "Perhaps there is More to your kind Than Meets The Eye."

Edited May 8, 2018 by YoshiAngemon

[Twilight Luna 31,340]

The problem with their parents has been going on for a long time. Why is the map only telling them about it now?

Edited May 7, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[gingerninja666 487]

3 hours ago, ShootingStar159 said:

So, I’ve seen the episode a few more times, and I’ve put my thoughts together.

So, the boring stuff first. This is probably the best showing for Sunburst so far, he’s not only relatable, he’s not being a dick to Starlight for the plot. The big stand out moment for me is the fact that Sunburst was actually expelled from Celestia’s school, presumably because he didn’t have what it took to pass the classes. It does, however, introduce some unwanted confusion into his and Starlight’s backstory.

When did he get kicked out? Did he not go back home afterwards? If he did go back home, was Starlight not there to confront him? Did she run away or leave home at a younger age than previously assumed? This, combined with the train scene that @Music Chart Fan pointed out, introduces much unneeded uncertainty surrounding these two characters backstories. I have always been of the opinion that the problem with Starlight’s backstory was purely a presentation problem. The writing itself didn’t have any glaring plot holes, just elements that weren’t properly expanded upon. In short, it’s passable, but that’s not going to be the case if they keep adding unanswered questions and muddying the timeline with poorly thought out clutter. My biggest concern is that in trying to write a relatable story, they’re either throwing continuity aside, or worse, they still have no idea what that continuity is and are writing the stories without first figuring that out.

There’s also the problem that this didn’t really feel like a homecoming. Outside of their parents, neither Starlight or Sunburst recognize or are recognized by anyone in the town. It makes what should be a big event in their lives, especially if they haven’t been there in a while, feel shallow and underwhelming.

 

 

Okay, boring stuff over, now for the fun observations.

So, first, once again I got more reinforcement that Starlight is far more willing to blame herself than the people she loves for her problems. In the train scene, she confesses that her father is treating her like a foal, and how frustrating that is. But, instead of railing against her dad and how bad he is, she blames herself for her feelings. “I know, I’m a horrible daughter.” That... is probably my favorite low key moment of the episode, I know what it’s like to be ashamed of my feelings, even when I know it’s reasonable to have them.

So, I don’t think I’ve talked about it here, but this episode also further solidifies what I consider to be Starlight’s biggest flaw. No, not her impulsiveness, though that does get her into trouble as well. No, I think her biggest flaw is avoidance. From a very young age, she’s always dealt with her greatest challenges by avoiding them until they blow up in her face. Hurt when her best friend leaves? Avoids other people so she can’t feel the same pain again. Still miserable because she’s all alone? Build a village where she can get rid of the thing she blames for people leaving her, avoiding the possibility of rejection. I could go on, but Starlight clearly has trouble facing her problems.

In the scene where Firelight is explaining the town’s history to Starlight, he mentions how he knows how she can have a hard time concentrating. Possibly an explanation for why she couldn’t get into magic school, if she had a hard time focusing growing up, she might not have been able to pass the schools grade requirements.

I got the impression that Firelight, while obviously obsessed with the past, wanted to keep the town just the way it was when Starlight was young, so that she could feel safe there like he said at the end.

And speaking of the scene at the end, did anyone else catch Starlight’s reaction to Firelight saying how hard things were for her when she left town? This is the sole thing that makes me think that maybe they do have some plan with Starlight’s backstory, since he could be referring to either a specific hard event that made her leave town, or just a general level of difficulty she had growing up. Either way, I hope we get some real details before the end of the show.

 

So, yeah, good episode, there was some real missed opportunities and some questionable writing, but on the whole an enjoyable 8/10.

My headcanon about Sunny in Tia's school is that Celestia let him stay for as long as she possibly could. In Crystalling she recognized his talents and mentioned that she was happy he was finally able to do something with them. So perhaps she let him stay, hoping he would eventually click, but it never happened.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

"Why couldn't we have been sent to stop a war or something?! " - Starlight Glimmer.

Yeah, the movie, you guys missed a lot of things.

Even the writers knew Starlight's specialty, then why dont they give us some awesome episode like that? 

[RDDash 19,163]

4 hours ago, Twilight Luna said:

The problem with their parents has been going on for years. Why is the map only telling them about it now?

What problem? We don't know how long exactly it's been going on, all we do know is that despite their flows Sunburst Sr and Starlight Sr are respectable members of the community. Entire town never had any issue of doing it their way.

[Twilight Luna 31,340]

5 hours ago, R.D.Dash said:

What problem? We don't know how long exactly it's been going on, all we do know is that despite their flows Sunburst Sr and Starlight Sr are respectable members of the community. Entire town never had any issue of doing it their way.

The problem being Starlight and Sunburst communicating and making up with their parents. We can assume that Starlight left home to start her cult a while ago and the same withSunburst since he came to live in the crystal empire. 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

17 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

How is the season so far?

Outside of two really 'meh' epsiodes I feel the season has actually been pretty strong. While we're probably still missing this season's "Perfect Pear" or "Shadow Play," the premier and every episode since "Grannies Gone Wild" has been excellent!

As for this episode...it's quite possibly my favorite as I feel I can relate to it a bit more, but even then...it's close. Unlike "Parental Glideance" where Dash's parents were a tad over-supportive, "The Parent Map" shows us where the parents have little confidence in how their children are handling themselves, and that detail is key. Add in some really clever writing and we have a great episode overall.

Let's keep this streak going!

[ggg-2 3,552]

I like the callback to Triple Threat by Spike, which actually serves as a nice parallel to this episode. Spike's first Map mission that he kept bragging about in this episode was to solve a problem he inadvertently caused himself, much like how the true friendship problem here was inadvertently caused by Starlight and Sunburst avoiding their parents.

[Justin_Case001 4,881]

 

Two Starlight plot shots in one episode!!  How lucky are we??!!

What a delightful episode!  Starlight and Sunburst development, backstory, no continuity errors, no holes punched in the lore the size of a magnetic accelerator cannon slug, you just....couldn't ask for anything more!    Oh mercy....I get kinda weird when I'm in a good mood.

I really enjoyed this episode, though.  I love seeing development of these two.  And I actually thought the "twist" was pretty well done.  I didn't predict that it was going to be them until quite a ways in.  When their parents compromised and settled their differences, I actually thought they were faking just to appease their kids, and then they'd go back to fighting.  I still thought they were the friendship problem.  So...that was neat.

And we got another exciting ride on the Exposition Train with two ponies who could have easily teleported to their destination!    Or, Starlight could teleport them both at any rate.  (Don't think Sunny B can do that.)  Ah yes, where would we be without ye olde E-Train?  We'd never know what's going on!  Why, without the E-Train, I'd have never figured out that Starlight's dad smothers her and treats her like a filly, even when he's currently smothering her and treating her like a filly!  I'm just poking fun for fun's sake.  I really loved the episode. 

Starlight's old room was a hoot 'n' a half!  She had a "bad" filly phase.    I like that...

I loved the old law that you can't canter or prance after dinner.  That was oddly hilarious.  It's absolutely not an exaggeration, either.  Real life is just as weird.  In the town I grew up in, there's a ridiculous, forgotten, centuries old law that says you're not allowed to whistle on public property.  It believe it was originally intended to discourage men from cat calling women.

So, I'm noticing a mysterious trend on this show regarding missing parents.  What's the deal with Sunburst's dad and Starlight's mom?  Dead?  Both?  Seems like an awfully strange coincidence, as Stellar Flare and Firelight don't seem that old.  This reminds me a similar mystery in The Perfect Pear: Bright Mac's dad (Granny Smith's husband), and Pear Butter's mom (Grand Pear's wife)  What's the deal?  Were Granny and Grand Pear both widowed at a young age?  And then of course Bright Mac and Pear Butter kicked the bucket as well.  Oh yes, and then there's Scootaloo, who we've always suspected is an orphan.  Lotta dead parents in this show.  Geeze.

Why doesn't Sunburst comb his frigging mane, EVER?!  Just once?!  C'mon, dude!  One comb for Celestia's sake!

The best part for me was right at the beginning--Spike's fair share.  That was sooo mean and hilarious!  "You've had one mission."  "And that's my fair share!"  LOL.  It felt like such a sneaky, backhanded little dig from the writers at Spike.  It's like, "Yup.  That's your fair share, all right.  One's good enough for you.  That's all yer gettin', and yer damn lucky to get that, so buzz off."  Yeah....they...they know.  The writers know Spike gets the raw deal.  Poor Spike.  I was rollin'.  

This episode made me think of something very interesting.  Although I've reputedly disliked the cutie map as a plot device, I think they should have an episode where it calls the Sisters.  Like, at first you'd think it impossible, but there's no reason it couldn't if you think about it!  Why in the Tartarus not?!  I think that'd be great.  Do it.  Dooooo iiiiiit....  Make it happen!  What would be even better is if the Sisters' marks started glowing, and then they just went straight to Starswirl and said, "Dammit, Jingle Bells!  Would you turn this sh*t off?!  We don't have time for this!"

[Toastypk 923]

I loved it! Sunburst and Starlight are my favorite duo in the show and I'm real invested in them.

The only thing I wish they did was, they could have had a joke with Sunburst's mom talking about having a blueprint for his future, the perfect character to do this, she could have made a comment about Sunburst needs a mare, and suggests it should be his friend Starlight, to which the two of them would be aghast and say WHAT? together. Would be pretty cute. It would work for them.

 

Sunburst I love you, and this is how I feel about unpleasant smells too

[Hierok 11,831]

A great episode. Especially the relation between Starlight and her dad.

[swordsman 192]

i liked it overall but to me it seems like Sunburst and Starlight  are more like family then friends.  they show Starlight and her dad but no mom and they there sunburst and mom but no dad, also there parents  seem very much alike. 

[Draxon 214]

This episode is so relatable.  And the secondary characters were very enjoyable, too, especially the baker.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

3 hours ago, Hierok said:

A great episode. Especially the relation between Starlight and her dad.

[JH24 385]

I really enjoyed this episode. I don't know what it is but the writing feels on point this season. Directing seems better, characterization is generally well done or great, jokes are executed well, and those expressions and animations are so entertaining to watch.

I really liked the conclusion of this episode. A good moral, interesting dialogue and some nice humour. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by JH24

[Truffles 2,033]

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

So when would those multiple visits back home (such that "whenever I do, my dad treats me like a filly") have occurred?

If I were to take a stab at an explanation, I would say she left home while she was still a teenager and perhaps when things got too tough for her (lack of food and shelter, though as a herbivore food should never be a problem, but I digress...) she was forced back home again and had to deal with her father's smothering ways. Maybe when she got the idea to start her own town, she left for the last time and hasn't been back since. That would at least allow for both situations described by Starlight and Sunburst to be true.

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

What would happen if someone was called by the Cutie Map in Twilight's castle and didn't know what it meant?

They would eventually visit a local doctor and the situation would eventually work its way up to one of the princesses or their associates who would know what it meant. Also I think the map highlights where the mark is flashing in the world and only moves to the destination when they come close to the table. So Twilight may just teleport herself to that conscript subject and explain to them what they need to do. I'd have to go back and look at S6 again and see if that's the case, though.

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Starlight was trying to recreate the same things she did with Sunburst when they were kids, even going as far as to write a spell putting the two of them into their childhood bodies and in their childhood house.

Good point. I guess there is a possible explanation that she wanted to relive the memories of being a foal with Sunburst again without the feeling of being coddled; I can certainly relate to that. I've wished on several occasions I could of had a Go Pro Hero strapped to my head recording all the fun outings our family did from age 1 to 18. XD

In fact, you could relate Firelight's trying to keep things the same as the same kind of motivation that drove Starlight to age regress herself - she was trying to keep things the same (or as they were) between herself and Sunburst since there were suddenly all these new friends he was getting close to which (presumably) wasn't the case when they were young.

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Sunburst and Starlight are surprised by the gate into Sire's Hollow, implying that it wasn't there before. So why was the gate installed? Was it just to have something to activate the automated "Welcome to Sire's Hollow!" message? Did Stellar Flare insist on it in order to enhance the image of Sire's Hollow as being a safe place to shop/visit? Were there actual crime problems or something that warranted the installation of the gate?

Stellar Flare's plans left me with the impression she wanted to turn the whole town into some kind of tourist attraction like EPCOT. I guess since they don't have things like motion sensors and electric eyes, a gate attached to a mechanical switch that triggers a recording seems like it would be a suitable stand-in for this technological era. Maybe she also wanted to be able to "close the park" (as such) after sundown and a gate was the way to do it.

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Does being declared "a site of historical significance" by the Sire's Hollow Preservation Society mean that the Society will pay the two ponies to "preserve" the bookstore?

I would say yes. They're essentially being paid to be security guards to keep everyone out. How they get paid (ie, directly from Firelight or some town fund) is a mystery, however.

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Sunburst's and Starlight's reactions to the fruit smoothies implies that the smoothies are terrible. I don't know, it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to at least make an okay fruit smoothie, but somehow the smoothie shop apparently failed to do so.

While I can't think of a good reason for flavors like strawberry or blueberry, flavors with fruits that have pits may have been ground up with them in place like peach or cherry. And for an orange or banana smoothie, maybe they ground up that peels? That would taste pretty bad. XD

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Or does that imply that the ancient "grain" used in the bread was actually fossilized?

I'm thinking it's this one. Yuck. XD And Starlight even had to deal with Sugar Belle's terrible food back in her town - these must be really bad if that's the case!

 

On 5/6/2018 at 6:54 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Or is the government somehow paying for or reimbursing all of these friendship missions?

In the Griffonstone map quest, Twilight gave Pinkie and Rainbow bits for spending. Presumably, she did the same for Sunburst and Starlight. Maybe not as much since there weren't any greedy griffons to deal with in Sire's Hollow.

 

On 5/6/2018 at 10:56 PM, gingerninja666 said:

My headcanon about Sunny in Tia's school is that Celestia let him stay for as long as she possibly could. In Crystalling she recognized his talents and mentioned that she was happy he was finally able to do something with them. So perhaps she let him stay, hoping he would eventually click, but it never happened.

In "The Crystalling," she acted like she didn't know who he was. It's reasonable to think she simply forgot about him since he didn't make a mark for himself there. I tend to think he realized he was failing and dropped out on his own during the first year. Since he probably didn't have a lot of friends due to his solitary nature, the other students probably barely noticed and didn't try to make him reconsider. Celestia probably just figured he wasn't enjoying himself and felt it best he should follow his path in life elsewhere.

 

11 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

(Don't think Sunny B can do that.)

Ha! I love that nickname! XD

11 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

Why doesn't Sunburst comb his frigging mane, EVER?!  Just once?!  C'mon, dude!  One comb for Celestia's sake!

I guess "disheveled" is the new chic among brainy ponies? XD  I did laugh out loud at his mom trying to snip that goatee right out from under his chin, though. XD

 

11 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

It's like, "Yup.  That's your fair share, all right.  One's good enough for you.  That's all yer gettin', and yer damn lucky to get that, so buzz off."

That's pretty much the same impression I got as well. I guess as long as he's happy about it, I can't complain. He's got lots of stuff to be happy about, anyhow. Lots and lots. =)

 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

3 hours ago, Truffles said:

In the Griffonstone map quest, Twilight gave Pinkie and Rainbow bits for spending. Presumably, she did the same for Sunburst and Starlight. Maybe not as much since there weren't any greedy griffons to deal with in Sire's Hollow.

That's a good catch, I forgot about Pinkie's and Rainbow's spending bits in that episode. I went back and looked, but I don't think we're shown or told explicitly whether the bits which Pinkie and Rainbow were spending on their trip to Griffonstone were from Twilight or not. Twilight says in her guide book "Always carry plenty of bits. The griffons are sure to help you as long as you share the wealth", and it would seem more considerate for Twilight to say that if she had given Pinkie and Rainbow bits to "share", rather than essentially telling them to share their own hard-earned wealth.

So the idea that Twilight hands out funds for friendship missions is plausible enough. The question would just be where those funds come from. Maybe they come from the same mysterious coffers from which Twilight paid for the materials/construction of the Friendship School, haha.

3 hours ago, Truffles said:

They would eventually visit a local doctor and the situation would eventually work its way up to one of the princesses or their associates who would know what it meant. Also I think the map highlights where the mark is flashing in the world and only moves to the destination when they come close to the table. So Twilight may just teleport herself to that conscript subject and explain to them what they need to do. I'd have to go back and look at S6 again and see if that's the case, though.

I wasn't sure about this, either, so I went back and watched the intros to every episode in which characters are called by the Cutie Map. And, in what isn't a total surprise, the show isn't consistent about what exactly happens when characters are called. In a couple of cases, cutie mark holograms rise off the character's flanks when they're away from the Map, and the holograms fly off toward the Map, with the characters following those. In other cases, the cutie mark holograms only rise off the character's flanks when they're already in the room with the Map, and the holograms go directly to the called location on the Map. In still other cases, we never see the cutie mark holograms rise off the characters' flanks at all, and the holograms appear to already be on the Map before the called characters are even there.

I'm not sure there's any obvious rhyme or reason to why the behavior of the cutie mark holograms varies throughout the episodes. So it seems inconclusive how much immediate guidance some random person would get if he/she were called by the Map without knowing what it means, even though, as you suggest, it could probably be figured out sooner or later. I included all my notes on what happens when characters are called by the Map for each episode below.

Spoiler

In "The Cutie Map" (S05E01), the Mane Six are already in the Map room, and holograms of the Mane Six's cutie marks rise off their flanks, fly up in the air to group together, then possibly stop over Ponyville before floating over to Starlight's village.

In "The Lost Treasure Of Griffonstone" (S05E08), we see Pinkie's cutie mark glow and vibrate, but Pinkie leaves without her flank producing any floating hologram of her cutie mark. After a cut, Pinkie, Rainbow and Twilight are already in the Map room with Pinkie's and Rainbow's cutie marks at Griffonstone.

In "Made In Manehattan" (S05E16), Twilight goes to the Map room with Rarity already there, and then Applejack runs into the Map room without following a floating cutie mark. After both Rarity and Applejack are in the Map room, holograms of their cutie marks rise off their flanks, fly up in the air to group together, then go directly to Manehattan.

In "The Hooffields And McColts" (S05E23), when Fluttershy is at her cottage, a hologram of Fluttershy's cutie mark rises off her flank and flies off in the direction of the Cutie Map, with Fluttershy following it. Fluttershy flies to Twilight's castle, and the hologram of Fluttershy's cutie mark phases through the door, presumably to join that of Twilight at the Smokey Mountains on the Map.

In "Spice Up Your Life" (S06E12), Twiilght and Starlight cast a spell to get the Map working again, then after a few false starts, Pinkie's and Rarity's cutie marks appear in the air and drift around a bit before settling on Canterlot.

In "Viva Las Pegasus" (S06E20), Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight are all already standing around the Map, and Applejack's and Fluttershy's cutie marks are already at Las Pegasus.

In "Top Bolt" (S06E24), Rainbow is flying back to Ponyville when a hologram of Rainbow's cutie mark rises off her flank and flies off in the direction of the Cutie Map, with Rainbow following it all the way to the Map room, where it joins Twilight's cutie mark at the Wonderbolt Academy.

In "A Royal Problem" (S07E10), the episode starts off with Starlight at the Map and her cutie mark already at the Royal Palace.

In "Triple Threat" (S07E15), Spike is already in the Map room, and a hologram of Spike's head floats down from the air to Ponyville (I guess Spike doesn't have a cutie mark from which the hologram would come).

In "Shadow Play - Part 2" (S07E26), the Mane Six are already in the Map room, and holograms of the Mane Six's cutie marks rise off their flanks, fly up in the air to group together, then go directly to the Hollow Shades.

In "Surf and/or Turf" (S08E06), the CMC run in to the Map room without following any floating cutie marks. After talking with Twilight, the camera pans to show the CMC's cutie marks already at Mt. Aris, without having to rise off of the CMC's flanks first.

In "The Parent Map" (S08E08), Sunburst's cutie mark glows and vibrates, but we never see any floating hologram of his cutie mark rise from his flank. After a cut, Sunburst, Twilight and Spike walk in to the Map room. Starlight is already there, and both Sunburst's and Starlight's cutie marks are already at Sire's Hollow, without our seeing them rise off of Sunburst's or Starlight's flanks.