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S08:E23 - Sounds of Silence


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Warning, there will likely be spoilers in the Episode discussion threads so venture in at your own peril. 

 

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Episode Rating  

121 users have voted

  1. 1. Did you like or dislike the Episode?

    • This episode makes me so angry, my fury could burn a whole forest (HATE IT
      0
    • This episode made me want to let out a brief ring of fiery anger (Dislike it)
      1
    • My Silence makes it hard to say whether I like this episode or not. (MEH)
      5
    • This Episode makes me wanna make rainbows. (Like it)
      17
    • This Episode makes me so happy I could Siiiiing! (LOVE IT)
      98


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1 minute ago, Victoria Sponge said:

Pretty good! I'm surprised this is the first time the map has chosen the same pair for a second time.

They needed a much BETTER and more fitting mission than that Flim Flam Con-Job that funded the founding of Friendship University!

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First of all... Fire Ponies?!?  YES!!  It's like they've taken parts of my own fan creation and made it canon!!  :O  (ok still some changes but still.)

"Cloudsdale's in the clouds and Crystal Empire's made of Crystal..." Don't forget Ponyville is the home of Ponies!!  :P  But still Funny :D

I really enjoyed this episode.  The song was well done and these new Fire ponies.  Woo!  Sadly, it just seemed short for me... yeah I know they're like 20+ minutes long but still this one felt shorter than usual.  (seen a few like that) maybe it's cuz I was more enjoying it?  or the song extended it, I dunno.

I can say that Twilight's school now needs one of them ponies!  They're too cool a concept to just throw away on a "Lesson in Anger".


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I guess this isn't without its moments... some of what Autumn Blaze says is funny, the worldbuilding is once again surprisingly imaginative for this show, and the song is catchy. But I dunno, I just found most of it deeply unfunny. Maybe I was just set in a sour mood by the cold open, which once again called attention to the map being obeyed unquestioningly for no apparent reason, but Fluttershy and Applejack's bickering annoyed me a lot, as did Autumn Blaze's endless blathering. I kinda barely registered half of the things she was saying because I just wanted her to shut up. Fluttershy and Applejack felt kind of like decently convincing impressions of what they'd be like if their friendship was completely meaningless and Fluttershy was stupid. 

More significantly, this is simplistic even by this show's standards. It's an incredibly threadbare version of this storyline, with an aggressively simple moral which probably would have been solved if any of the Kirin had half a brain, and the only time it develops any sort of mystery or tension is when it's once again forcing in high stakes where they weren't at all necessary. Instead, what I feel this episode is mostly filled with is constant stalling. Applejack learns the problem because Autumn Blaze spends an eternity explaining it, and Fluttershy just sort of explains her version of the problem late into the episode. And then it's all solved almost immediately, because they come up with a better idea which the Kirin probably should have been able to come up with themselves. I kind of hated this. 

The Kirin are kinda cute though, I will admit. 

Score:
Entertainment: 3/10
Characters: 4/10
Themes: 6/10
Story: 4/10
Overall: 43/100

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Just now, AlexanderThrond said:

I guess this isn't without its moments... some of what Autumn Blaze says is funny, the worldbuilding is once again surprisingly imaginative for this show, and the song is catchy. But I dunno, I just found most of it deeply unfunny. Maybe I was just set in a sour mood by the cold open, which once again called attention to the map being obeyed unquestioningly for no apparent reason, but Fluttershy and Applejack's bickering annoyed me a lot, as did Autumn Blaze's endless blathering. I kinda barely registered half of the things she was saying because I just wanted her to shut up. Fluttershy and Applejack felt kind of like decently convincing impressions of what they'd be like if their friendship was completely meaningless and Fluttershy was stupid. 

More significantly, this is simplistic even by this show's standards. It's an incredibly threadbare version of this storyline, with an aggressively simple moral which probably would have been solved if any of the Kirin had half a brain, and the only time it develops any sort of mystery or tension is when it's once again forcing in high stakes where they weren't at all necessary. Instead, what I feel this episode is mostly filled with is constant stalling. Applejack learns the problem because Autumn Blaze spends an eternity explaining it, and Fluttershy just sort of explains her version of the problem late into the episode. And then it's all solved almost immediately, because they come up with a better idea which the Kirin probably should have been able to come up with themselves. I kind of hated this. 

The Kirin are kinda cute though, I will admit. 

Score:
Entertainment: 3/10
Characters: 4/10
Themes: 6/10
Story: 4/10
Overall: 43/100

Just wanted to comment a few things on your review.

For one, I found Autumn Blaze's 'endless blathering' quiet funny but I understand that's a personal opinion type thing.

As for the problem solution thing... well, for starters I think the 'solution' type thing being 'solved to fast' was due to it being put into a 30 Minute (less than that if you include comercials) show.  They could of gone more indepth into the solution or even the issue.  After all, yeah they COULD have come up with a better solution but for all we know it could of just been something they had to deal with for a long time.  The occational arguments/anger episodes leading to them changing forms and what not.  Just when the final argument escalated so badly that it was more a 'final straw' and the only thing they could think of WAS to just get rid of the problem.  Which is something that other people tend to try and do as well.

As in instead of try to 'fix' the problem or really 'deal with it' they just remove the problem or what 'causes' the problem.  Which isn't a good thing at all, which is also part of what the episode was about.

Not to mention a lot of these things are watered down.  They take a 'lesson for kids' and construct a more interesting narrative out of it.

Also, the "Follows the map without question"... well, you mean how they just leave without being like "Nah maybe we shouldn't"?  If that's the case, it was kind of covered the first time it did it's thing. That there's ponies that need their help in that area and thus they're heading there to help.   If you mean how they'll only let the two ponies summoned to go?  Well, that has come up a few times and well in this case (and others) Twilight's part of he reason why.  As she's a 'strickler' for Rules and in her mind, the 'rules' say that only those who are summoned by the cutie map are supposed to go.  Thus she obey's said rules.  They've also seen each time that the 'map does know what it's doing' as each time they've found out that the ponies it chose to send were the exact Ponies needed for the job.  So it's like, why question what works?


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11 minutes ago, JCKane said:

For one, I found Autumn Blaze's 'endless blathering' quiet funny but I understand that's a personal opinion type thing.

She's good-natured, I'll give her that, but it's kinda like the MLP Movie: I guess I just don't like that much noise at once. I think my complaint is that most of what she's saying is kinda banal; she's talking just to talk, which I guess didn't charm me the way it did everyone else. It might be more accurate to say that I can see myself enjoying that character, but didn't think this episode gave her enough to say which was interesting or funny. 

11 minutes ago, JCKane said:

As for the problem solution thing... well, for starters I think the 'solution' type thing being 'solved to fast' was due to it being put into a 30 Minute (less than that if you include comercials) show.  They could of gone more indepth into the solution or even the issue.  After all, yeah they COULD have come up with a better solution but for all we know it could of just been something they had to deal with for a long time.  The occational arguments/anger episodes leading to them changing forms and what not.  Just when the final argument escalated so badly that it was more a 'final straw' and the only thing they could think of WAS to just get rid of the problemWhich is something that other people tend to try and do as well.

As in instead of try to 'fix' the problem or really 'deal with it' they just remove the problem or what 'causes' the problem.  Which isn't a good thing at all, which is also part of what the episode was about.

Not to mention a lot of these things are watered down.  They take a 'lesson for kids' and construct a more interesting narrative out of it.

I can somewhat accept that the Kirins might not have thought of this solution, but the show's penchant for awkward pacing due to the time constraint is something I would have expected it to find ways to deal with by now. Instead, I feel it's only ever gotten worse. 

11 minutes ago, JCKane said:

Also, the "Follows the map without question"... well, you mean how they just leave without being like "Nah maybe we shouldn't"?  If that's the case, it was kind of covered the first time it did it's thing. That there's ponies that need their help in that area and thus they're heading there to help.   If you mean how they'll only let the two ponies summoned to go?  Well, that has come up a few times and well in this case (and others) Twilight's part of he reason why.  As she's a 'strickler' for Rules and in her mind, the 'rules' say that only those who are summoned by the cutie map are supposed to go.  Thus she obey's said rules.  They've also seen each time that the 'map does know what it's doing' as each time they've found out that the ponies it chose to send were the exact Ponies needed for the job.  So it's like, why question what works?

I guess it just bothers me to have parts of the show dictated by an unexplained force which isn't governed by any sort of rules. Maybe I would have been more comfortable with it if the ponies had questioned it more in season 5, and if it didn't constantly call attention to itself. To me, the show might as well just break the fourth wall and admit that's just what the writers felt like writing at that time. 

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This was a decent episode, I think. I think it had a few issues that crippled it in my opinion.

 

The Bad

  • Applejack. Just... Ugh. If Applejack weren't such an a** it would have been MUCH EASIER TO SOLVE THE ISSUE IN THE FIRST PLACE. She didn't listen to ANYTHING Flutters was saying the entire time. If she had, it would have saved so much time and so much grief. She was the right choice for the job, but she definitely had the wrong attitude.
  • The whole reasoning behind the Vow of Silence made literally no sense whatsoever. A couple of people got angry, so... force every one to shut up? How the actual f*** is that supposed to make any sense to any one with an ounce of common sense, Mr. New Writer with few if any real credentials?
  • Fluttershy was underutilized here, and that is highly unfortunate. She really needed more air time this season, and that she hasn't gotten thus far.

 

The Good

  • The song was absolutely fantastic. It fits Autumn Blaze absolutely perfectly. It's words aren't exactly in line with the beat and while making a coherent and well-told story, the words seemed to be conjoined in random, awkward fashions that actually made the song better as a whole.
  • The world building here was quite amazing, and definitely interesting. To know that there are parts of Equestria that ponies haven't even been, and species that are still hardly known if known at all by ponies. Also, the Kirin make a pretty interesting race to tack on to what we have as of yet.
  • Autumn Blaze herself was a load of fun. Her and Pinkie interacting would definitely be an interesting thing to see for sure. Their random thoughts and outbursts just being passed along to each other is an interesting thing to think about.
  • When Fluttershy was utilized, she was done so with optimum effect. She was as in-character as she was out of it in "Fake It 'Til You Make It." I really liked the parts she yelled at Applejack for being a total and complete s***head. :fluttershy:

 

This episode in my opinion is probably about an 7.5/10 episode in my book. It had a lot of good in it, but it wasn't good enough to be among the best of the season so far because of a couple of major faults. I consider the whole backstory of the Vow of Silence and Applejack's characterization both major issues. If they weren't written in by Mr. Zero Credentials, this episode would easily be up there with "Mean Six" and "Rockhoof and a Hard Place" with the best episodes in the season. 

 

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5 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

She's good-natured, I'll give her that, but it's kinda like the MLP Movie: I guess I just don't like that much noise at once. I think my complaint is that most of what she's saying is kinda banal; she's talking just to talk, which I guess didn't charm me the way it did everyone else. It might be more accurate to say that I can see myself enjoying that character, but didn't think this episode gave her enough to say which was interesting or funny. 

I can somewhat accept that the Kirins might not have thought of this solution, but the show's penchant for awkward pacing due to the time constraint is something I would have expected it to find ways to deal with by now. Instead, I feel it's only ever gotten worse. 

I guess it just bothers me to have parts of the show dictated by an unexplained force which isn't governed by any sort of rules. Maybe I would have been more comfortable with it if the ponies had questioned it more in season 5, and if it didn't constantly call attention to itself. To me, the show might as well just break the fourth wall and admit that's just what the writers felt like writing at that time. 

Her talking just to talk was charming for me for two main reasons.

1. Her voice isn't high pitched. I found it pleasant to actually listen to.

2. She's speaking so much partly because she hasn't gotten to actually speak to anyone for a really long while. So she's making up for lost time. She's trying out words she hasn't used in ages. That sets her apart from a lot of other motor mouth characters because it's kinda motivated by the plot of the episode.

Edit: I've said this before, I kinda think this could've made a good Starlight episode. Because the Kirin's issue is kind of a mix between All Bottled Up and Cutie Map.

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Just now, gingerninja666 said:

2. She's speaking so much partly because she hasn't gotten to actually speak to anyone for a really long while. So she's making up for lost time. She's trying out words she hasn't used in ages. That sets her apart from a lot of other motor mouth characters because it's kinda motivated by the plot of the episode.

Well, I'm glad this was enough for you; justifications don't really do that much for me when I'm not having fun. Mostly, I didn't find 80% of what Autumn Blaze said amusing at all. 

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Just now, AlexanderThrond said:

Well, I'm glad this was enough for you; justifications don't really do that much for me when I'm not having fun. Mostly, I didn't find 80% of what Autumn Blaze said amusing at all. 

What I'm getting at is, that justification MADE it more fun for me. If she was saying the exact same things and was just a random fast talker, it wouldn't be as charming.

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6 minutes ago, gingerninja666 said:

What I'm getting at is, that justification MADE it more fun for me. If she was saying the exact same things and was just a random fast talker, it wouldn't be as charming.

No, I understand you. It didn't work for me here. 

It's probably also worth noting that it took several episodes for me to warm up to Silverstream, and that I tend to like her the most when she mellows out. I guess enthusiasm and noise isn't enough for me on its own; Pinkie at least has pure absurdity backing her up. 

Edited by AlexanderThrond
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13 hours ago, ImpctR said:

It was long ago since we saw Mane 6 focused episodes, even though the lesson was for the very target of the friendship quest. It's been some time since I mentioned it but, I like Fluttershy episodes being my fave of the Mane 6, and this with AJ (when was the last time they ever had an episode that would fit?), is simply awesome! Like the last 2 episodes, I give it a solid 5/5 and the biggest of all, from all the creatures and places that exist out there, even more world exploration , Jungle ponies?? I don't know how else to call them. And this time no Starlight, no Student 6, just like previous seasons, a feel of the actual Main 6 season. (some of my text got completely lost, rebuilding it)

So this episode starts with a place that looks like Australia with the Ayers rock, then in the beginning Fluttershy's assertiveness is seen again when she is caught by AJ 'fooling around with other critters'. It turned out the flowers were the ones they needed from the very beginning, only after rewinding could I see that lol:

 

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I don't know what mythical creatures they represent and what country or ethnicity are they similar to. A pony that becomes a fire creature with horns like a moose, no not even that, hmm.

I was watching the village and the silenced ponies with curiosity, whether this was a curse or their nature to be non-talking ponies! This was so interesting seeing this new types that one could only make guesses.

 

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Then came Autumn (something) and her ceaseless speaking. And the song that I've mentioned not caring much about songs but okay learning about their story.

And these creatures, what are they? Ohh I did a small search, Chimeras.. I know them I just had another idea of Chimeras, a lion and goat but in Equestria single headed lion-goat hybrid. And their queen is like the jungle version of Celestia! And the ponies overall remind me of how the ponies and the Mane 6 became jungle ponies when  hiding from Chrysalis during one of the timelines Twi was sent into by Starlight in 'The Cutie Re-mark'.

 

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And then after this nice view of their village, a row between the Mane 2 and wow they have the ability to lift like unicorns and just when the Mane 2 were about to be silenced, that would have caused a big problem but still curable if other Mane's came to the rescue, then this pretty blaze wall of blue and red fire, very interesting. Then the new jungle ponies start talking and oh my good job by the artists, this new world, like amazons or I don't know what they are, is soooo good!

 

Loved the new place! And just when you thought the Equestria world already had plenty of species and cultures, a brand new part of the world! Amazing episode!

I love posting pics of new interesting places, looks pleasant for the eyes, almost like taking pictures of being there:

 

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They represent the "Kirin or Qilin" which is a type of Chinese unicorn/dragon sacred beast that appears on the birth/death of a sage or to punish the wicked. I don't recall anything about fire anger transformation and am fairly sure that's a construct of the show. Annoyingly I can't locate my book on monsters and mysterious beasts so I can't give more detail. Still a google search for Kirin or Quilin should get you information about them. Here's one of the early results https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/gentle-and-benevolent-qilin-chinese-mythology-001933

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8 hours ago, Dusk Noire said:

The whole reasoning behind the Vow of Silence made literally no sense whatsoever. A couple of people got angry, so... force every one to shut up? How the actual f*** is that supposed to make any sense to any one with an ounce of common sense, Mr. New Writer with few if any real credentials?

They had to take the drastic measures they did due to that fact that the anger spread and it caused the entire village to burn down, so I partially give them a pass on their solution.

In hindsight, however, a better solution than going silent and having no emotions would've been to rebuild their structures out of stone instead of wood. This is why their fire-breathing relatives live in caves and not thatch huts. :)

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Just now, Truffles said:

They had to take the drastic measures they did due to that fact that the anger spread and it caused the entire village to burn down, so I partially give them a pass on their solution.

In hindsight, however, a better solution than going silent and having no emotions would've been to rebuild their structures out of stone instead of wood. This is why their fire-breathing relatives live in caves and not thatch huts. :)

I didn't entirely, simply because the Vow of Silence isn't necessarily going to do anything. In fact, I'd say that it shouldn't have done anything. It's very possible to be silently angry.

... You think? It wouldn't restrict their freedoms and only unrealistically solve the problems at hand. 

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6 minutes ago, Dusk Noire said:

I didn't entirely, simply because the Vow of Silence isn't necessarily going to do anything. In fact, I'd say that it shouldn't have done anything. It's very possible to be silently angry.

... You think? It wouldn't restrict their freedoms and only unrealistically solve the problems at hand. 

That's why they did the even more drastic step of removing all their emotions in addition to taking a vow of silence. Logically, removing their emotions should have been enough and then we'd have a bunch of Mauds/Spocks whenever they speak. But they may have surmised that due to the argument being the catalyst that got all of their britches in a bundle, also preventing any meaningful conversation would be better than risking being homeless again. They are, by all accounts, a very closed and insular society. Group-think may have taken hold and the proverbial notion of "nuking the site from orbit" in terms of a final solution may have been the only option they felt would ensure the survival of their village.

So that's why I'm willing to give the episode a pass over the drastic nature of the decision they made for the good of their society.

It's interesting that the moral in this episode is like a rebuttal to the moral in "Honest Apple" if that moral were taken to an extreme. I didn't like that episode at all, but that wasn't because of the moral it presented (learning to bite one's tongue at times is an appropriate message). It was because Applejack (and to a lesser extent, Rarity) were so poorly written it made them both appear unsympathetic.

 

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33 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

I'm probably the only person who didn't like the song & felt like it went on for *way* too long. :sealed:

I liked the song well enough, but I agree that it was way too long... but then, I didn’t like Autumn Blaze that much to begin with. 

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54 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

but then, I didn’t like Autumn Blaze that much to begin with. 

 

Me neither. I didn't care for Autumn Blaze's fast talking & hyper personality. 

Edited by Sparklefan1234
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Another spectacular episode!

And Phantom of The Opera reference! Woot Woot!

The writers did an amazing job with portraying this lesson, and really, we should all take this lesson to heart. Anger is a powerful yet destructive emotion, and it's ok to be afraid of anger, but ultimately, gotta make a choice what to do with it when things don't go your way. Everyone needs to watch this episode, no matter a brony or not. 

Edit: The song was amazing and I'm looking forward to making piano sheets for it. 

 

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Man... this is going to be one of those episodes that people gush over while I just sit here and think, It was fine... I guess. There’s nothing really wrong with the episode, but nothing in it really stood out to me, or won me over.

 

Applejack served no personal purpose, you could have replaced her with anyone else and the story would have remained the same. That goes against the very idea of what a Map mission is supposed to be about, the Tree is supposed to send the people best suited for the problem. And what was the problem? The Kirin are hurting themselves by taking an extreme solution to avoid the possibility of future pain. Gee, doesn’t that sound familiar? Starlight should have been sent instead of Applejack, not only would that have been a great chance for her to interact with a main six member other than Twilight, it would have made the solution less contrived and rushed.

Fluttershy is once again used for her talents alone instead of for her personality or experiences. It’s getting old, it seems like it’s the only reason she’s ever sent on these missions, to pull a clue or resolution of of thin air so the writers can save time. And that”s not even going into all the little ways she annoyed me in this episode.

Autumn Blaze was... fine? There was nothing offensive or terrible about her, but the episode focused on her so strongly, and she didn’t do anything for me. Her rambling way of speaking could have been a good joke about her having to get used to talking again, but it just went on and on. It wasn’t that funny to begin with and it completely wore out it’s welcome by the end.

The song...ugh. The song was fine, I enjoyed it. It had a good beat, fun lyrics and such, but it took what should have been a 30 second explanation and turned into a 3 minute song. And to make it worse, Fluttershy goes ahead and gives the 30 second explanation anyways. The song actively damages the storytelling by making the conclusion rushed, which has Autumn solve the problem completely on her own, which makes the reasoning for Applejack and Fluttershy even needing to go there just hopelessly irrelevant.

 

There’s nothing really that wrong with this episode, it just... doesn’t do anything for me. And that’s really disappointing, especially as an Applejack fan. I want more from her than to simply be a part of good episodes, I want her to be the good part of good episodes.

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The debut of the Kirin into the Friendship is Magic lore of Equestria, and I really enjoyed the episode myself. The design of the Kirin is very impressive. Kind of a cross between a Chinese Dragon and a pony with the scales on their backs, down their muzzles between their eyes, the lion-like manes around their faces, especially on Rain Shine, their leader, and how whenever their anger reaches a certain point, they turn into Nirik, though I don't think we actually see Rain Shine in her Nirik form, despite her being taller and bigger than the other Kirin.

As for Autumn Blaze, I don't blame her letting her loneliness make her start to talk to imaginary friends to help pass the time until she met Applejack and finally had another person to talk to. Choosing to not submit to the Vow of Silence and the Stream of Silence's effects again and leaving her village can really do a number on one's psyche when in isolation for so long. However, her last minute save of Applejack and Fluttershy with stopping the other Kirin from submitting them to the Stream of Silence was impressive, showing how she had gained control of her Nirik form, and could use it to protect Applejack and Fluttershy, and show how if one of the Kirin is ready to turn Nirik, they can simply go somewhere to vent their anger and frustration without it causing collateral damage to their village.

Once Fluttershy and Applejack find more of the flowers that can reverse the effects, showing that they still grew outside where the Kirin lived, Autumn is able to restore her village back to normal, and is praised by Rain Shine for her efforts to show them that her earlier decision to have everyone take the Vow of Silence was in error, and welcomes Autumn back into the village with open arms, ending with Fluttershy and Applejack sharing a hoof-bump as they have completed their second friendship mission assigned to them from the map.

Wonderful episode, and I'm giving it a full 10/10 as my rating.

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1 minute ago, Sonic5421 said:

The debut of the Kirin into the Friendship is Magic lore of Equestria, and I really enjoyed the episode myself. The design of the Kirin is very impressive. Kind of a cross between a Chinese Dragon and a pony with the scales on their backs, down their muzzles between their eyes, the lion-like manes around their faces, especially on Rain Shine, their leader, and how whenever their anger reaches a certain point, they turn into Nirik, though I don't think we actually see Rain Shine in her Nirik form, despite her being taller and bigger than the other Kirin.

As for Autumn Blaze, I don't blame her letting her loneliness make her start to talk to imaginary friends to help pass the time until she met Applejack and finally had another person to talk to. Choosing to not submit to the Vow of Silence and the Stream of Silence's effects again and leaving her village can really do a number on one's psyche when in isolation for so long. However, her last minute save of Applejack and Fluttershy with stopping the other Kirin from submitting them to the Stream of Silence was impressive, showing how she had gained control of her Nirik form, and could use it to protect Applejack and Fluttershy, and show how if one of the Kirin is ready to turn Nirik, they can simply go somewhere to vent their anger and frustration without it causing collateral damage to their village.

Once Fluttershy and Applejack find more of the flowers that can reverse the effects, showing that they still grew outside where the Kirin lived, Autumn is able to restore her village back to normal, and is praised by Rain Shine for her efforts to show them that her earlier decision to have everyone take the Vow of Silence was in error, and welcomes Autumn back into the village with open arms, ending with Fluttershy and Applejack sharing a hoof-bump as they have completed their second friendship mission assigned to them from the map.

Wonderful episode, and I'm giving it a full 10/10 as my rating.

They actually look alot like the picture in that link I posted earlier, not 100% exact more poniish but close. Well the first picture in that article anyway the second is more dragonish and the last is very like a giraffe.

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Edited by Senko
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