Holiday Special - Best Gift Ever

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

@PathfinderCS *Spoilers*

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Too bad the reindeer didn't fly. 

 

Huh? What do you mean? They did just that. o_O

[Will Guide 21,325]

Now if I could just find a viewing of it.

[Lord Valtasar 12,685]

Spoiler

poor marble pie
adobs flurry star
strangely obsessed with tubs of jelly..
then we have obsessed Twily, which is always a treat
and another spike song, finaly, i've been waiting for one ever since i heard his first one
Discord/RD bonding-but-not-really was fun
Rarity's part was my favorite i think
fluttershy/applejack, well. meh..
and lastly, Pinkie, she was great from start to finish, but the deer were kinda anticlimactic, considering they hype they got in the trailer. Yaks are always great though.
some fun cameos all around, a really enoyable laid back special, it was a fun thing to have between seasons and last but not least:
did the show forget it was made to sell toys? i really appreciate the message they give all the more because of that

 

[bwrosas 252]

100/100 #SPARITY4VER 

[bigbertha 410]

I got about what I was expecting. It was cute, funny, and a bit too cheesy. The first song was really great while the second song was meh. Overall, I'd give it a 7 or 8 out of 10.

[bwrosas 252]

This really put me in the Christmas Mood, and Halloween is only 4 days away. Looking more towards Christmas thanks to this special! JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!

And if any doubted Sparity still existing, this proves it's STRONGER THAN EVER!   And as far as it debuting in October, hey Hallmark Channel's already started it's Christmas Movie season, better to get a head start!

 

100/100 on animation, character development, and songs!, but most 100/100 on SPARITY BEING CANON AND OFFICIAL!

[YoshiAngemon 223]

I get that Lord Tirek is in Tartarus with Cozy Glow, but why can't we just have Flim and Flam banished to Tartarus for their petty scamming? I mean, I get that Tirek would suck the magic out of these scammers, leaving them as empty husks of their former selves, while Tirek and Cozy Glow would gallivant about Equestria, seeking revenge on all those who have wronged them in the past, but they deserve to be locked up in Tartarus!

[ggg-2 3,550]

Twiley-nanas is still an adorable expression. Wonder if she was this neurotic as a filly?

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I honestly didn't like the parts with the Flim-Flam Brothers on account of how cringe-inducing it was, but I can understand why they included it. It was to show that the holidays have become far too commercialized for their own good and those like Flim and Flam can take advantage of others who are naïve in nature. At least the brothers got what they deserved on account that they were doing something horrible despite it not being against the law. I did enjoy the references to not only previous episodes, but to other Hasbro properties though it took me a second glance to recognize them. The best one being Rainbow Dash and Discord wearing ninja garb that was taken directly from G. I. Joe though Marble Pie's sadness over seeing Big Mac having a girlfriend through Sugar Belle--glad she was also invited to the Apple and Pie Family get-together--was really touching.

Oh, and I can't ignore the three reindeer, whose names combined are the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. I found that to be a pleasant touch and one that makes a lot of sense though why the connection through Prince Rutherford? I'm glad he showed up but it feels strange that they would connect him with them. Then again, Yakyakistan is way up north and the reindeer do live in that vicinity so I suppose it all makes sense in an Equestria kind of way. Old memes and concepts have gotten stronger through this special and it appears that this one is very likely canon with everything else we've seen. Now, I say 'appears' as an official confirmation would make it absolute. I also liked at the end where we saw so many characters celebrating the holidays despite not seeing them or having them speak but at least they were acknowledged rather than completely ignored.

Plus... I expect the fandom to take full advantage of the new memes this special has created, particularly, Twilight being referred to as Twiley-nanas by Shining Armour near the end when it was clear that she had gone off the deep end. Though, I don't blame her for doing that. The holidays have proven to be very stressful for a lot of people and some struggle to truly grasp all of it at once resulting in their anxieties spiraling out of control. Consider this one of several lessons that this special has provided. Everyone will take this special and reach their own conclusions on what the messages really were. One last thing to mention... make that two. First, Discord was in top form and he wasn't being a douche. He was merely acting like he always does which is what makes him a chaotic being in the first place. And second, we were expecting some songs in this though we only ended up with two. Maybe a third one could've helped but I suppose that would've taken up some precious time--time constraints as always are an issue.

Alright, I do have a third mention. I really want Equestria Girls to tackle a holiday in the form of a special sometime before generation four comes to an end. The show has been doing this roughly eight times now whilst EQG has been limited to a comic which proved rather polarizing. EQG deserves a chance to tackle a holiday.

I give this special a 90%.

[Truffles 2,033]

I guess it's fair to say that this episode should take place during the second year of Twilight's school since the first HWE with the school in existence was "The Hearthswarming Club?" Does this make this episode an early S9-timeline episode instead of a late S8-timeline episode?

The Sparity was strong in this one. I'm not sure how to feel about that since they haven't explored whether Spike's crush has gone beyond a physical attraction or something deeper, and I had pretty much moved on with that narrative and was wondering when he would follow suit. His opening with that song though - whoa. I got some real "You're in my Head like a Catchy Song" vibes there. I mean he really poured his heart out there and Rarity's reaction was not of worry that she'd have to hurt his feelings. I suppose they could have a sort of Nick and Judy/Carrots type relationship where they acknowledge they love each other without going any further and keeping it platonic? Also that's the first kiss he's received from her since "The Secret of My Excess." Yeah it's been that long.

Of course, now he has to compete with Pistachio.

Speaking of romance, the Marble Pie acknowledgement of Sugarmac was a big shocker. I thought the show would quietly forget she and Big Mac had feelings for one another and just move on. but now it doesn't seem like it. Am I watching Friendship is Magic or a soap opera?

I have to admit, that whole ending that included Discord and made Fluttershy the hero was really special. In fact it was brilliant. And it may be Discord's most brilliant moment yet - even surpassing Sugar Belle's broken wagon wheel. He really is a softie.

Amazing episode. Now I have to add this to my list of catching-up to do. I still have some "Father Knows beast" replies and needs to write up "School Raze" - like completely. It's time-consuming coming back from vacation and having to introduce new cats into a household when you're the sole cat whisperer.

[ggg-2 3,550]

"Filly, please!" Weird hearing that out of a colt.

[Will Guide 21,325]

Well, overall it was fun. 

For me, figuring out who was getting whom a gift was a fair game of deductive reasoning. I figured it out at the 10 minutes mark.

As for the Reindeer, I like how the 3 of this represents past present and future. Though for a twist, it's the elderly reindeer that focuses on the past while the young one hopes for the future. The moment the riddle in the middle was mentioned, it was obviously Friendship. Even If I watching this show for the first time today, I would have guessed the same.

And Flurry Heart dressed up like a star is so adorable, that I'm now officially the spirit of Will having an out of body experience from fainting from cuteness overload at the scene. 

Edited October 27, 2018 by Will Guide

[Dynamo Pad 10,777]

I just finished watching the Christmas special and I really liked it a lot. I've heard of Christmas in July, but never Christmas in Halloween.  

Spoiler

I liked how there was a Charlie Brown Christmas and Elf references in the opening song. I was saddened that Marble was sad at seeing Big Mac and Sugar Belle were together. I honestly didn't expect the show writers to put that moment in the special. The song was also pretty catchy and it was cool to see how the mane 6 were preparing for the holidays. I can easily relate to Twilight, as I have done Christmas shopping at the last minute with my sister. It was cool how the mane 6 and Spike got a secret Santa and each one made sense. It was cool how Discord was helping Rainbow, as well as the Beauty and the Beast reference Discord made. It was also nice to see Pinkie visiting the Yaks and how the Yaks were preparing for their holidays. I was so happy to see Derpy talking in the episode and she was simply adorable. It was cool how we got a reference to Chancellor Puddinghead from Twilight as she tried to find a great gift for Pinkie. It was interesting to see a new place in Sweet Acorn Orchard. I like how we are still getting world building, but I do wonder where that orchard is on the map. I hope we get to see this place, as well as other places in the next season.

I like how we got to see Rainbow Falls again after not seeing the place for such a long time. I believe it's the same place like the trading convention back in the episode, "Trade Ya." However, I could be wrong on that. It was interesting to see the Flim Flam brothers again, as well as Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart. I thought it was cool how Pinkie met reindeer's when she reached her destination. I also thought the reindeer's were amazing and I like how they could use magic with their antlers. I flipped out when Discord dressed up to look somewhat like a ninja. I heard somewhere that the outfits were a reference to G.I. Joe, but I'm not too sure on that. Even so, those outfits were pretty cool. The winterchilla was an interesting creature and how it turned into a winterzilla was crazy. It was great to see Cadence and Shining Armor help out as the pudding was attacking everyone. I liked how the gift Pinkie got from the reindeer helped in stopping the pudding, but I was expecting a sort of different result. I thought the gift Pinkie was given was going to magically fix everything that had been going on at the castle. That, and the gift would magically set up all the decorations inside the castle, as well. I thought the song Spike sang for Rarity was pretty sweet and and the song was pretty good, in my opinion. I liked how within the song they said that the group has come a long way from the beginning. It made me tear up as it's been such a great experience to watch the series, as well as being a part of the fandom. I liked the moral of the story and the moral fit well for the theme of the holidays. All in all, I really liked this special and I hope we get more specials like this for Friendship is Magic.  

 

[Kion 7,374]

This was a great special it’s not as good as A hearts warming tale. But it’s up there in the top 5 best of the season. Every character got their chance to shine here. And it was great seeing shining armor again after being absence all of the season I’m not sure if this counts as a shining armor appearance for season 8 thou. 

The highlight of this special are 

Fluttershy saves the day 

Spike solo song 

Twilight solo song 

Shining Armor and Candace.

And pretty much every Applejack moment. 

All in all a fantastic Episode only thing I would of like is a speaking role for Starlight.  

 

Score: 8.5/10

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Is it me, or are the reindeer gonna be added to the MLP Collection from Build-A-Bear Workshop this year, the way Piplup was added to the Pokemon Collection?

Edited October 27, 2018 by YoshiAngemon

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

Though I feel my preference still lies with Hearth's Warming Eve and A Hearth's Warming Tail for my favorite MLP Christmas specials, this special was still very well done. I loved the background nods with the acknowledgement of the Big Mac and Marble ship, Derpy working at a post office in reference to her original fandom bio, and the tie back to Pinkie Pie being Chancellor Puddinghead in the first Hearth's Warming episode. I also found it really funny how they were completely self-aware about Fluttershy stealing the show and getting to be the hero at the end. I guess it was no coincidence that Fluttershy had the best moments early in the episode with lines like, "I wouldn't want to hurt the other foods' feelings", in reaction to being asked about her favorite food. Just the absurdity of that had me laughing, the same with Pinkie's "Were you attacked by a party?" line. I also liked how she hit the rock softly in reference to her famous vent from a Season 1 episode. My favorite subplot of the episode was definitely with Discord and Rainbow Dash because of Discord (obviously) and how perfectly it set up both the climax and conclusion and my least favorite subplot was the one with Applejack and the Flim-Flam brothers, even if only because of it being a story we've seen told enough times already in the show. I do like how it leads to an anti-commercialist message, despite some of that liking being for the irony. Only parts that annoyed me were when Twilight was using Spike as bait to distract the monster to save the ornaments and when Flurry Heart was messing up the pudding. Look "cute" and make things harder for everyone else, those are the only roles of Flurry Heart.  I still found it very enjoyable overall though, even with it airing right before Halloween of all times of the year. That last song is something I can always listen to no matter what the season, however, I must confess. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by CloudMistDragon
Fixed a slight mistake at the beginning I finally caught.

[Sparklefan1234 161,840]

3 hours ago, PathfinderCS said:

Huh? What do you mean? They did just that. o_O

They did? 

I'm obviously forgetting something. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

And Pinkie's mega-pissed that she'll only buy ONE a present. XD

[MangoFoalix 24,898]

I just finished the two-parter and oh my god, it was absolutely perfect. It was all from an episode I ever wanted. All the characters were completely in character. Even if it's a chirstmas special near Halloween, it still was amazing. 10/10

[Sparklefan1234 161,840]

My favorite line in "The Best Gift Ever!"

Spoiler

"Pudding!" followed by Twilight Sparkle's expression. 

 

[Jeric 46,834]

Poll is up. 

 

Yeah this was pretty perfect as far as Slice of Life episodes go. A+ from me. Loved all the small touches and loved seeing the new Mascot of the Rarity Fan Club named Pistachio. Why? 

That was surreal  .... Rarity’s biggest fan is named Pistachio? Are you kidding me? In a Christmas episode surrounding a secret Santa plot?

@Feld0 you still got that time machine man? Did you do that?

 

[Castle Bleck 19,166]

Episodes/specials like this prove that FIM still hasn't lost its touch.

[Sparklefan1234 161,840]

Something about Twilight Sparkle/Tara Strong 

 

*Best Gift Ever Spoilers*

 

Spoiler

Getting excited about making pudding for Pinkie Pie.

 

seemed funny to me considering another character she plays. 

[rainbowdashacademy 114]

I HAD RAINBOOMING emotional tears that spike song touched my heart what he sung to rarity was splendid at the end of this show. Did every pony get the hidden jokes hmmm  about the Chinchila creature Discord reformed chaos of friendship god with Rainbow Dash  got a monsterous  pet after dark he becomes CHINCHILZILLA  THERE GOES PONYVILLE !!!!

[Kevin 160]

That was one of the best specials if not the best special by far in the entire series! So many great lines, funny moments, facial expressions, surprises, and scenes!

It was just so much fun to see each of the Mane 6 go through their own mini adventures. I have to agree with everyone whom said that everything, especially their characterizations were on point which I felt was a big strength of this. On an additional note, it was very nice to see the Maine 6 given the main focus which hasn't been done in awhile.

I absolutely loved the songs in this episode and I just want to say how very sweet the ending song was and it's one of my favorites of Season 8.

I'd say the biggest surprise was hear Derpy speak and getting a full scene. It sounds like she got a different voice actress because she sounds different than in "Slice of Life".

One that last thing I want to say is how awful I felt for Marble when Sugar Belle was kissing Big Mac. Poor thing had her heart broken in half.

Finally.....PUDDING!