S09:E12 - The Last Crusade

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

Forget the first one. I only just realized I haven't watch the episode, sorry for that 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Scootaloo: [sighs] Me. Growing up, I never thought I'd be the best at anything, because nopony ever told me.

For all these years, Scootaloo's parents just did nothing to cheer her up. They may be the badass couple ever but as parents, they are terrible. Worst parents so far.

 

[CypherHoof 26,483]

29 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

Scootaloo: [sighs] Me. Growing up, I never thought I'd be the best at anything, because nopony ever told me.

For all these years, Scootaloo's parents just did nothing to cheer her up. They may be the badass couple ever but as parents, they are terrible. Worst parents so far.

 

Yeah. Even Diamond Tiara's parents were better; Her father has been trying to get her to integrate into the Ponyville herd for years, and her mother, while domineering (and wrong), was at least trying to help her daughter achieve a higher social status.

Her aunts are clearly nice and caring though, despite the fact this is the first time we have seen them in nine seasons....

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

21 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

Yeah. Even Diamond Tiara's parents were better; Her father has been trying to get her to integrate into the Ponyville herd for years, and her mother, while domineering (and wrong), was at least trying to help her daughter achieve a higher social status.

Her aunts are clearly nice and caring though, despite the fact this is the first time we have seen them in nine seasons....

It's hard for me to accept Spoiled Milk is lesser evil here...

Now Scootaloo's aunts will take care of her, mentally and now physically. The parents don't have to do anything now, just focus to their truest daughter, THEIR CAREER. They learned nothing! People says Scootaloo going with them will be more realistic conclusion but I prefer my fantasy with Scootaloo being adopted by more precious parents: Bow Hothoof & Windy Whistles. 

[CypherHoof 26,483]

31 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

It's hard for me to accept Spoiled Milk is lesser evil here...

Sad, but true.  And Filthy rich isn't as bad as she is, of course.

 

31 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

Now Scootaloo's aunts will take care of her, mentally and now physically. The parents don't have to do anything now, just focus to their truest daughter, THEIR CAREER. They learned nothing! People says Scootaloo going with them will be more realistic conclusion but I prefer my fantasy with Scootaloo being adopted by more precious parents: Bow Hothoof & Windy Whistles. 

More curious to see what Dashie does now she doesn't "have to" foalsit Scoots every weekend...

[ImpctR 155]

15 hours ago, KH7672 said:

Oh for watching once, so there was Diamond Tiara. Yes I think some small conversation between her and CMCs would have been better, since she was not seen or speaking since seasons ago (than crying for a minute or two in the episode).

[Sinvanor 25]

There was no lesson. There was no moral. Scoot just got what she wanted. Usually the show is good at having a decent moral or life lesson wrapped up in the 30 min slice of life story. Kids move, their parents have work and take them with. But this, I dunno. The episode was fun, but basically a fan fic. It also makes so little sense to me because this is the last season of MLP. Having a lesson about moving away, but still keeping in contact is a good growing up send off. However, her parents were kinda really bad at the whole parenting thing. I dunno. The show doesn't like admitting to death, even though AJ and Apple Blooms parents are clearly deadaroony, but hamfisting them in just because was weird.

Anyone else get vibes that the aunts were together? I usually don't have any form of gaydar or even consider it, but this one felt like they wanted that to be the case, but with out explicitly saying it by having each aunt be related to one of the parents respectively. Which is pretty cool if that's the case. I know everyone thinks Rainbow is one, but this one felt more like a relationship proper.

Side question, where as Scootaloo even been living this whole time? I forgot and it wasn't shown very often. I thought it was with the Cakes, but I'm not sure.

Her getting adopted by her aunts would of made much more sense had her parents been outright crappy people beyond the obvious that work matters more than their kid problem. My partner thought they were gonna be scam artists and that she was idolizing them when talking about what they do. Much like with the Spikes "dad" episode. That would of been a fantastic lesson actually, because not everyone has decent parents. Probably a bit too real though for the show.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Sinvanor

[Senko 459]

4 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

It's hard for me to accept Spoiled Milk is lesser evil here...

Now Scootaloo's aunts will take care of her, mentally and now physically. The parents don't have to do anything now, just focus to their truest daughter, THEIR CAREER. They learned nothing! People says Scootaloo going with them will be more realistic conclusion but I prefer my fantasy with Scootaloo being adopted by more precious parents: Bow Hothoof & Windy Whistles. 

I suggest you read "Best adopted filly" on fimfic".

3 hours ago, CypherHoof said:

Sad, but true.  And Filthy rich isn't as bad as she is, of course.

 

More curious to see what Dashie does now she doesn't "have to" foalsit Scoots every weekend...

I doubt it'll change anything as I've said Dash has practically adopted her anyway and its obviously because she cares not because she considers it a duty.

1 hour ago, Sinvanor said:

There was no lesson. There was no moral. Scoot just got what she wanted. Usually the show is good at having a decent moral or life lesson wrapped up in the 30 min slice of life story. Kids move, their parents have work and take them with. But this, I dunno. The episode was fun, but basically a fan fic. It also makes so little sense to me because this is the last season of MLP. Having a lesson about moving away, but still keeping in contact is a good growing up send off. However, her parents were kinda really bad at the whole parenting thing. I dunno. The show doesn't like admitting to death, even though AJ and Apple Blooms parents are clearly deadaroony, but hamfisting them in just because was weird.

Anyone else get vibes that the aunts were together? I usually don't have any form of gaydar or even consider it, but this one felt like they wanted that to be the case, but with out explicitly saying it by having each aunt be related to one of the parents respectively. Which is pretty cool if that's the case. I know everyone thinks Rainbow is one, but this one felt more like a relationship proper.

Side question, where as Scootaloo even been living this whole time? I forgot and it wasn't shown very often. I thought it was with the Cakes, but I'm not sure.

Her getting adopted by her aunts would of made much more sense had her parents been outright crappy people beyond the obvious that work matters more than their kid problem. My partner thought they were gonna be scam artists and that she was idolizing them when talking about what they do. Much like with the Spikes "dad" episode. That would of been a fantastic lesson actually, because not everyone has decent parents. Probably a bit too real though for the show.

Problem with parents move, kids follow is that the Crusaders have been shown as old enough to effectively be running their own business successfully enough for adults to take them seriously and word to reach other countries in a culture that has no internet. In real world terms they'd be 16 old enough to leave school and work to support themselves but are instead doing it part time during school term and full time in vacations while finishing year 11/12/colledge to increase their ability to do this. So there's an argument her parents couldn't force her if she truly stood and said "No I'm not going."

Her aunts have been confirmed by Hasbro as being a lesbian couple officially.

Scootaloo has apparently been living in a house (that her parents sold in 3-4 day's and may have been in the process of doing so BEFORE even telling her) where Ponyville has been sending a rotating stream of caretakers to check in on her (Aunts, Cakes, Rarity, Dash, Me ). It's her home and apparently her parents owned it but the only one permanently living there was her. Blast it that girl needs a proper caregiver rather than a caretaker.

The worst part is you see from the way she talks she's internalized the message that her parents job is more important than her. She loves them but she just accepts that she has to take second place to work. Someone hug that filly.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Senko

[Megas 27,624]

Just gonna repost what I said somewhere else

Quote

It was a great episode, but I do have an issue with Scootaloo’s parents, in that I think they they got scared and really played it safe with Scootaloo’s parents. I mean, I guess they didn’t want to portray them as neglectful parents that Scootaloo didn’t really like, as they probably don’t think the show was suited for that, but given they kind of did allude to that in past episodes like Parental Glideance, which kind of sets up child neglect, it just feels like a missed opportunity, and it’s really weird to see Scootaloo completely admire her parents while still making it well known that they haven’t been around for most of her life. I mean it’s clear that they love her, and I get they wanted them to be amazing people but it’s hard to relate. Not to mention, you could still have them be good people that love their daughter and still be bad parents, Ryotaro Dojima from Persona 4 is a good example of this. 

Honestly, they may be good people, but let's be real they're pretty shitty parents. To me her aunts are more of her parents, same with RD's parents, and even RD herself

Issues aside I still think it's a good episode. If this is the last CMC episode, it's a pretty good last outing for them

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,594]

1 minute ago, This Whomps said:

Just gonna repost what I said somewhere else

Honestly, they may be good people, but let's be real they're pretty shitty parents. To me her aunts are more of her parents, same with RD's parents, and even RD herself

Issues aside I still think it's a good episode. If this is the last CMC episode, it's a pretty good last outing for them

For real. 

[Sonic5421 423]

Well, this has to be one of the best episodes I've seen come out of either Season 9 or the whole series itself. Not only do we get to see Scootaloo's parents at long last, but also her two aunts as well. Honestly, the lesson here is pretty clear. While Scootaloo's parents wanted to have her move away from Ponyville to live with them while they are working their jobs as explorers, looking for rare and interesting creatures to catch and research, Scootaloo did not want to leave Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and break up the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Luckily, with a little help from Rainbow Dash, the rest of the Mane Six, the Student Six, Starlight, Mayor Mare, Trouble Shoes, Bulk Biceps, Starlight, Babs Seed, Gabby, and more, Scootaloo's parents are convinced to let Scootaloo stay in Ponyville with her aunts, but would visit her when they could, allowing the Crusaders to remain together.

I don't think I have much else to say about this episode. A perfect 10/10 from me as my final rating for the episode.

[CypherHoof 26,483]

9 hours ago, Senko said:

I doubt it'll change anything as I've said Dash has practically adopted her anyway and its obviously because she cares not because she considers it a duty.

Yeah, and Dashie won't want to lose that - but she is good at pretending she doesn't care about stuff like that, so curious how she will achieve her goal now she doesn't "have" to...

9 hours ago, Senko said:

The worst part is you see from the way she talks she's internalized the message that her parents job is more important than her. She loves them but she just accepts that she has to take second place to work. Someone hug that filly.

Yeah, I sometimes wonder if her flight disfunction is psychological (after all, it seems Futters' is) and her parents treating her like this would seem a reasonable reason for it.

9 hours ago, This Whomps said:

I guess they didn’t want to portray them as neglectful parents

And yet clearly they are portrayed that way - which makes it even more painful to see how Scoots loves them and wants their approval.

 

[Senko 459]

1 hour ago, CypherHoof said:

Yeah, and Dashie won't want to lose that - but she is good at pretending she doesn't care about stuff like that, so curious how she will achieve her goal now she doesn't "have" to...

Yeah, I sometimes wonder if her flight disfunction is psychological (after all, it seems Futters' is) and her parents treating her like this would seem a reasonable reason for it.

And yet clearly they are portrayed that way - which makes it even more painful to see how Scoots loves them and wants their approval.

 

Which is why I said it might be better if she were an orphan. As an orphan she'd be adopted and loved by a pony who's there but this... There's no way anyone's taking her away from parents that clearly do love her, see to her physical needs and are loved in return, doing so would probably make things worse as both parties obviously mean a huge deal to each other. There's nothing here to justify taking her away from them which is going to leave her in the situation of being second place to her parents job because its "so important".

Even in this "Look we can be together after we found out about all these bad things happening." she's still second place because they're not finding work in Ponyville to be with her they're taking her to Shire Lanka so she can be with them and their jobs but don't worry there's a train every month so her friends can still visit as long as they can get a month spare to spend in Shire Lanka before taking the next train back. They only give her a weekend to pack up and go even selling the house (which is a topic i've already raised elsewhere and had people say yes things can be sold that fast though its unlikely). I mean seriously if Dash hadn't shown up and she'd gone with them her aunts would have shown up next week only to ask the ponies now living there where their neice is. Seriously that's a really bad message to be sending. Epsecially since they state that give her a weekeend to completely abandon her entire life with plans they obviously know nothing about as if its a generous gift she should be grateful for. I don't dislike them as ponies but they're not good parents, at least now when she's what 16ish? she'll have her aunts on a permanent basis but she needed someone when she was younger. I know Pinkie works fast but the fact remains neither her aunts nor her parents were there at her Cutecenera one of the most important events in a ponies life. On a non-canon note my current timeline (halfway through season 7) is now up to 5 years so for me she's been living with a string of random pony caretakers for 5 years just on the show runtime (which is canon as opposed to my previous head canon of her living with her aunts offscreen). I know she's fiction but I'm still tempted to write a fanfic of another aunt say a younger sister of her mother who was the towns librarian and has been on a paid sabatical for awhile now (cough, princess override, cough) who's been living with her and taking care of her properly or one of a pony taking this rare visit as a chance to verbally tear strips off their flank.

I'm sure Dash will find some excuse. A part of me pictures something like this Embarassing Reading. or her "I need a sports massage" attempt at the spa. I can see her arranging a thunderstorm localised on Scootaloo's house and knocking on the door "Hey kid its raining pretty heavily mind of a crash here for the night?"

Her flight problems are pretty clearly indicated to be phsyical but I can see this impacting that too all else aside did Lofty or whoever was caretaker at the time show her how a pegasus flies? Is Dash assuming her family would be doing that for her? Is it an unconcious cry for someone to help and be there for her? Personally I think it is physical but then again Bulk's wings are relatively smaller for his size than hers and he can fly even if not well so there's that doubt there.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Senko

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

2 hours ago, CypherHoof said:

And yet clearly they are portrayed that way - which makes it even more painful to see how Scoots loves them and wants their approval.

The biggest problem of this ep is they trying to sugar-coat the parents's actions. If Scootaloo looks up to them, she should mention them at least once in the past 8 seasons not fangirling RD all over the place. This retcon requires your suspension of disbelief. This ep is just getting worse everytime i think about it.  

Season 9 so far is a decent season but as a season to wrap thing up, season 9 is a lackluster finale. 

[Senko 459]

13 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

The biggest problem of this ep is they trying to sugar-coat the parents's actions. If Scootaloo looks up to them, she should mention them at least once in the past 8 seasons not fangirling RD all over the place. This retcon requires your suspension of disbelief. This ep is just getting worse everytime i think about it.  

Season 9 so far is a decent season but as a season to wrap thing up, season 9 is a lackluster finale. 

My theory is that it wasn't "Yay my parents are amazing" but rather "YAY MY PARENTS ARE COMING TO SPEND TIME WITH ME!!!!" that was going through her head. It was a brief moment that made her feel validated and important to them. She know's their work is important but its not cool or amazing like Rainbow Dash. However this time they are putting that important work aside. That they are coming to Ponyville to be with her after who know's how many years. That they are finally going to spend time with her. This is what got her so giddy and excited. The idea that now finally she is more important than their work and she can tell all her friends how important that work is, how dangerous, how its still not as important as HER the flightless pegasus filly who's still plagued by that quiet doubt did they leave her behind because she isn't good enough.

Then they tell her she's got one weekend to pack up and abandon her life before they all go to a remote location so her parents can still continue their important work but maybe have a bit of time to spend with her as well.

Like I said I want to tear strips off their flank for this.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Senko

[CypherHoof 26,483]

1 hour ago, Senko said:

Her flight problems are pretty clearly indicated to be phsyical

I don't remember that ever being shown, but of course my memory isn't infallible; if you compare to (for example) Bulk Biceps' rather small wings, there doesn't seem to be a physical reason Scoots can't fly - plus of course Pegasus Wingpower is a form of pony magic, as their wings couldn't possibly lift even a slim pony against gravity, never mind (for example) a fully laiden cart or moving lorry...

I don't think it would simply be a matter of training though, as no doubt Dashie has tried to improve her flight ability before now.

[Senko 459]

6 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

I don't remember that ever being shown, but of course my memory isn't infallible; if you compare to (for example) Bulk Biceps' rather small wings, there doesn't seem to be a physical reason Scoots can't fly - plus of course Pegasus Wingpower is a form of pony magic, as their wings couldn't possibly lift even a slim pony against gravity, never mind (for example) a fully laiden cart or moving lorry...

I don't think it would simply be a matter of training though, as no doubt Dashie has tried to improve her flight ability before now.

It hasn't been stated just the impression I get from her being able to manage short flight or use them to increase her speed on her scooter. To me that came across as more something physically lacking (either they're too small, don't have enough magic or she's just trying too hard) than something mental. With Fluttershy we see her wings clamp to her sides when she panics or gets scared but Scootaloo is flapping harder than Dash does just to hover and we've seen plenty of Toddler ponies flying fine. My personal theory is that she has something wrong with the magic she needs to channel to fly as like you said Bulk's are smaller proportionally. We also know not all unicorns are equally capable magically. Though I suppose that could be an issue with not being trained or some deep seated issue that's not been addressed. Dash is a great flyer but her teaching is harder to judge. We know she picked up on Sky Stinger's issues quickly but she might not realize a filly is having trouble flying because of some mental trauma. Then again maybe she does and that's why she's so confident Scootaloo will fly one day because she know's its all in her head.

On another hoof I've read some good fanfics where Fluttershy is better able to teach Scootaloo because she needs to work at flying and is aware of basic fundamentals that Dash isn't because to her its pure instinct. She doesn't need to know how the wind flows around mountains she feels it.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Senko

[CypherHoof 26,483]

1 hour ago, Senko said:

It hasn't been stated just the impression I get from her being able to manage short flight or use them to increase her speed on her scooter. To me that came across as more something physically lacking (either they're too small, don't have enough magic or she's just trying too hard) than something mental. With Fluttershy we see her wings clamp to her sides when she panics or gets scared but Scootaloo is flapping harder than Dash does just to hover and we've seen plenty of Toddler ponies flying fine. My personal theory is that she has something wrong with the magic she needs to channel to fly as like you said Bulk's are smaller proportionally. We also know not all unicorns are equally capable magically. Though I suppose that could be an issue with not being trained or some deep seated issue that's not been addressed. Dash is a great flyer but her teaching is harder to judge. We know she picked up on Sky Stinger's issues quickly but she might not realize a filly is having trouble flying because of some mental trauma. Then again maybe she does and that's why she's so confident Scootaloo will fly one day because she know's its all in her head.

On another hoof I've read some good fanfics where Fluttershy is better able to teach Scootaloo because she needs to work at flying and is aware of basic fundamentals that Dash isn't because to her its pure instinct. She doesn't need to know how the wind flows around mountains she feels it.

Yeah; the sad thing though really is - Scoots is disabled because the narrative required it, so it isn't going to be "fixed". Surf and/or Turf was heartbreaking though, when she found out she could "fly" underwater, and sweetiebelle, instead of being happy for her, just wanted to get back to the grass.

[Brainstorm 4,108]

Seeing Scootaloo's parents was cool, it was also cool seeing all the creatures have helped.

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

On 6/15/2019 at 9:42 PM, Senko said:

You know on thinking about that sold sign some more it means one of three things.

1) Lofty and Holiday managed to buy the nieces home without realizing what they were purchasing or telling her.

2) The Ponyville housing market is so busy a place can be listed, moved out of and sold within 3-4 day's.

3) Scootaloo's parents were in the process of selling her home out from under her without telling her. Even if they were confident she'd move to Shire Lanka with them what happens if the buyer showed up and told their daughter "Oh hi filly I'm just inspecting the house I'm buying." How do they think she'd react to that?

Even so it feels out of place to me this isn't tied in to anything else. Its not some visting guest pony or the like its the father and aunt of a main character who has no traces of said accent. Which admitedly does make sense considering they've apparently just been leaving her in the care of strangers her entire life.

I get the need for some adult supervision its just why the cakes don't think of them as the loving, responsable adults we know them to be from the show think of them in regards to their relationship to Scootaloo. They are looking after the friend of the sister of a friend of their live in employee when they have 2 younger foals of their own.  Unless there's some offscreen relationship between them and Scootaloo's family (such as Holiday being Mrs Cake's sister) why are they taking care of her? It just feels to me like no one in Scootaloo's immediate family really cares (in the sense of bandaging her when she falls or reading her to bed at night) for her. Sure we get shown hugs and tears and praise but the simple fact is her parents have not been around for long enough she gets distracted in school at the idea of a visit and her aunts are happy leaving her in the care of the employee's of a friend of a sister of a friend of hers, the sister of a friend (not I note Sweetie's parents) and an adoptive big sister while they vanish off to another town till next week. Sure they don't have to give up their lives for a niece but how long has this rotating care giver been going on for Scootaloo? Why is she living in Ponyville when its obviously not her parents home (they're always travelling the world) or her aunts home (they live elsewhere). When did her parents buy this house to leave their filly in and has this been her entire life to this point (It would explain a lot about her attitude)?

It also ties into the Crusader age issue are they young enough to have show and tell in school or are they old enough to be effecitvely running their own job and in one case living alone for all intents and purposes.

I know many kids of immigrants and the parents having an accent while the kid does not actually happens a lot more than you might think. I know many people from India and Mexico who have their native gorgeous accent but their kids have an American accent because they were immersed in U.S English language sounds. I even know one family where the parents and one sibling have southern accents but the kids born after the family moved north have northern U.S accents. Scootaloo's mom does not have an Australian accent so it makes sense Scootaloo does not as more language tends to be picked up from the mom in the womb and into childhood. Plus Scootaloo is definitely not around them enough to pick up an accent as far as I can tell.

As for the living situation I think the aunts spend a lot of time with Scoot but have to go home once in a while to check their own house and have a rotation in place for those times. I can imagine the aunts being close with the Cakes but I agree it is a bit convoluted of a set up.  

[Dawn-Sunlight 1,228]

This was an amazing episode, and my favorite part of the episode was when Scootaloo's aunts and the CMC decided to throw Scoot's parent's excuse for why they can't stay in Ponyville right back at them for why Scootaloo can't leave Ponyville.  Scootaloo's aunts are just. . . the best.

[JCKane 345]

The episode was pretty good and a nice "wrap up" for the CMC and their kind of story arc in the series.  Granted, I feel there could have been a bit more to it but *shrug*  Dunno why I've been thinking of that so often with these episodes.  I do like the part at the end where the town does the 'CMC Appreciation' day thing.  Though part of me thinks it should have been more an episode where the CMC split up because they don't think they're needed anymore... but then I think that was already an episode already.  But still... would have been a bit more fun of a wrap-up.

there was one other thing... With the Aunts.  First was this the first time we've seen them?  Honestly been long enough since I've marathoned the series that I can't remember.  But, if so, are those two married?  I mean, I don't think it's strange for siblings to live together, but then the Redhead said: "My brother" to the blue haired one.  So it just makes me wonder.

Also, I noticed that Scootaloo's mother has that "Long leg-itis" thing, which always makes me wonder if that's an 'age' thing or just like something that some ponies have.

[Senko 459]

37 minutes ago, JCKane said:

The episode was pretty good and a nice "wrap up" for the CMC and their kind of story arc in the series.  Granted, I feel there could have been a bit more to it but *shrug*  Dunno why I've been thinking of that so often with these episodes.  I do like the part at the end where the town does the 'CMC Appreciation' day thing.  Though part of me thinks it should have been more an episode where the CMC split up because they don't think they're needed anymore... but then I think that was already an episode already.  But still... would have been a bit more fun of a wrap-up.

there was one other thing... With the Aunts.  First was this the first time we've seen them?  Honestly been long enough since I've marathoned the series that I can't remember.  But, if so, are those two married?  I mean, I don't think it's strange for siblings to live together, but then the Redhead said: "My brother" to the blue haired one.  So it just makes me wonder.

Also, I noticed that Scootaloo's mother has that "Long leg-itis" thing, which always makes me wonder if that's an 'age' thing or just like something that some ponies have.

Yes the aunts are probably married, Hasbro has appraently (I've not seen the article myself) confirmed that they are a couple but I don't know if Scootaloo just refers to Lofty as "aunt" in the same way some people are an honory relative or if they're actually officially married.

I think the long legs are just genetic not age related as we see so few of them.

[Justin_Case001 4,888]

What's poning, ponles?

So...  they finally did it.  Wow.  Scootaloo's parents.  Well, the second I read the one sentence synopsis, I knew exactly what it would be.  This was one of those didn't-even-need-to-see-the-episode episodes.  I guess it wasn't horrible, but I was disappointed.  This wasn't what Scoot's backstory was supposed to be.  Now, I realize that there technically is no "supposed to".  They've never said one way or the other, so they could do whatever they wanted.  It's whatever the writers say it is.  But there were implications, and this just wasn't the way it was meant to be, in my opinion.  Scootaloo was supposed to either be an orphan, or have deadbeat parents that abandoned her.  I always thought it was supposed to be the latter.  That's what it seemed to me that they were implying, especially during Parental Glideance.  The whole "at least you had parents that were proud of you" thing really set up that Scoot had crappy parents that didn't care about her.  She said that she always wished she had parents like Rainbow's, and that nopony ever told her she could be the best anything growing up.  That didn't sound to me like her parents just weren't around much.  It sounded like they were implying that her parents unloving and not supportive.  Having her parents be great, caring, loving parents who just have a far-away job erases the meaning of that whole emotional setup in Glideance.  And that's a real shame, because that episode made Scoots really relatable for people who have crappy parents, or no parents.  That's where I felt like they were going with Scoot's backstory, and this episode was just a 180 that threw away that arc.  That's really why this whole development gets a thumbs down from me.

Here's the episode I wanted.  And yes, I fully realize that they'd never do anything this dark.  I'm fully aware that I have a foolish desire for this show to be more mature than it is or ever could be.  But... still, this is what I wish it could have been:

Beginning is pretty much the same, except that instead of saying that her aunts are watching her while her parents are away, it's just implied that she lives with her aunts, and they are her permanent guardians.  And actually, let's just make it one aunt--the red haired one.  A single guardian.  I like that better for the purposes of my vision.  So, we see Scoot's home for the first time, we have an interaction with her aunt, and then she receives the postcard saying that her parents are coming back.  Scoots is ecstatic, but then we see a worried, concerned look on her aunt's face.  And there's your cold open.

In the first act, the parents roll into town... wait... you know what?  Let's make it just the dad.  Mom's gone.  Presumed dead.  So, yeah, dad rolls into town, and everything seems very nice at first.  It's a happy reunion, and Scoots is overjoyed.  She asks if they are going to be a family again, and her dad says, "Yeah!  Of course!  That's why I came here, lil' slugger!"  Scoots says this is the happiest day of her life, and she runs off to tell her friends.  Once she's gone, her aunt steps in to confront her brother.  The smiles instantly drop.  It goes like this:

Aunt: "Alright little brother, what's the deal?"

Dad: "Whattyu mean?"

Aunt: "What are you really doing here?"

Dad: "What?  You heard me.  I'm here to be a family with my daughter again."

Aunt: "And I'm not buying it.  That's what you said last time, and then you walked out on her and never looked back."

Dad: "Oh, don't start.  You think you've got a right to tell me how to raise me own daughter?"

Aunt (stomps her hoof): "Raise her?!!  YOU didn't raise her!  You weren't here!  I was!  You don't even know her!  After you left, I watched her hope every day for eight years that you would come back.  I saw the emotional toll that took.  And now you just expect you can waltz back in here like nothing happened?  I don't think you've changed, and I'm not going to let you hurt her again."

Dad (snorts): "Well, it's not up to you.  She's not your daughter.  I'm her father.  It's my call."

Aunt: "You can't even take care of yourself, much less that filly."

Dad: "Don't tell me what to do."

He storms off, the aunt looking on with an expression of anger and pain.  Commercial break.

In the second act, we see various scenes with Scoots interacting with her dad, and we gradually see the tone shift.  He becomes more and more short tempered with her.  He's impatient.  At times it seems like he's trying, but then we see his patience drain and he becomes angry with Scootaloo.  She doesn't seem to really care, but instead just assumes that she's done something wrong, and tries her best to appease him so he'll be proud of her and stick around this time.  At one point, Scoots introduces her dad to Rainbow.  Naturally she would want her dad to meet her adopted big sister.  The dad doesn't seem to take a shine to Rainbow, and we can clearly see that Rainbow is worried about Scoots, and doesn't trust her dad.  Later on, the dad tells Scootaloo to pack her things because she's moving in with him in his apartment in Manehattan.  Scootaloo resists this idea, and doesn't want to leave her friends, obviously.  Her dad basically orders to do as she's told, and she runs off crying.  Commercial break.

Next we see Scoots meeting with the other CMC, and they resolve to try to make her dad see how important they are to each other, how important their jobs are, and that they need to stick together.  The three of them confront her dad in their house, but he doesn't want to hear it.  He shouts at her, and it goes a little something like this:

Scootaloo (with tears in her eyes): "But I... I can't leave my friends."

Dad: "I said you're living with me now!  Do as I say!  Pack your things!"

Scootaloo: "But you never even asked how I feel!"

Dad: "I'M YOUR FATHER!  This is not a debate!  We're moving, and THAT'S FINAL!!"

Scootaloo (with resolve and determination): "...no.  I'm not going."

Dad (losing temper): "You never did one thing that I asked!!  I SAID GO.  NOW!!"

He raises a hoof to strike her, but hits a blue wing instead.  Rainbow flew into the scene, and now stands between them.  She glares solemnly at Scootaloo's dad.  She says nothing, but simply shakes her head once.  The dad looks back in angry defiance, trying to weigh whether he should fight or not.  His sister, the aunt walks into the scene.

Aunt: "NO!"  all turn to look at her, save Rainbow, who never breaks her stone cold gaze at the dad.

Aunt: "You don't get to hurt her ever again.  She's staying here.  With me."  She puts a hoof around Scoots.

The dad glares angrily at all of them.  Rainbow's eyes have never looked away from his.  He looks back with defiance  For a moment, it looks like things might turn violent.  Rainbow's eyes narrow slightly, and her head lowers the tiniest bit without breaking eye contact--a sign of dominance and challenge.  The dad wavers, then breaks.  Not even caring enough to fight, he gives up.  He looks directly at Scootaloo.

Dad: "F*ck you, you little sh*t.  All of you.  F*ck this.  I don't need this."

He grabs his bag and storms out the house.  He walks away, towards the train station.  He leaves and never looks back.  Rainbow and the aunt both hug Scoots, then the CMC take their turn.  Fade to a bit later--the whole gang's there, and the CMC apologize that Scootaloo had to lose her dad again.  They say they know how much Scoots wanted them to be a family again, and Scoots says, "I already lost him.  A long time ago.  I just never realized it.  But all of you are the only family I need.  My aunt is the best parent I could ever ask for, and you're all like sisters to me.  I have my family right  here."  Group hug and roll credits. 

Boom, mutha f*ckas!  There's your heartwarming ending with the relatable, bittersweet message that some people just have crappy parents, but that doesn't mean they have to have a crappy ending.

But yes, I'm aware that they would never go so dark as to have her parents be abusive.  Bah!  That woulda been better.  What they did was... okay, not great.  Good ending, though.  And a great title.  All in all, I guess it was okay.  Just not the direction I wanted it to go.  I did think it was a little hokey that her dad was basically Steve Irwin.  Why didn't his sister have an Australian accent, then?  It some kind of accent, but not Australian.  And is no one going to comment on the fact that they let a deadly animal going chomping its way through the schoolhouse?  Just imagine, for a second, how that would have played out in real life.  Imagine if some parents showed up at school with a caged crocodile, accidentally turned it loose, and it chomps desks and almost kills kids.  Yeaaaah, so...  And apparently the red haired aunt is the only one who's related to the dad?  So her and blue haired aunt are, like, a couple then?  That's cool.  Lotta Indiana Jones references on this show.  Crusaders of the Lost Mark, the Last Crusade, and the grail scene in The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone.  Me thinks there be some Indiana Jones fans on staff. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by Justin_Case001

[Senko 459]

 

14 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

Again just quoting as this is in part a response to your comments about abuse as its something that occured to me a few moments ago and I came here to post it.

So putting aside the issues with them just showing up and destroying her life, putting aside the fact the rotations of babysitters seems to have been put in place by the mane 6 not her family, putting aside even the fact that if it took them this long to include her in their job how long until the next "Super, important, just this once" occasion comes along that makes them leave her again or uproot her life again something has occured to me. Something that most will dismiss as "you're overthinking this", something that makes me wonder were Scootaloo's parents actually being abusive in this episode? Now hear me out before you dismiss this (or rather read me out) we know a number of facts.

1) The cutie mark crusaders have found their special talent in helping other ponies with cutie mark problems. This is not a hobby or a club or even just a group of friends sharing their lives any more. It is literally a permanently emblazoned symbol of the fact that for the rest of their lives the thing that is going to give them the most meaning and purpose is in helping others either figure out what their purpose is or in making their lives better.

2) We know these cutie marks are not just a talent but something that apparently can have a permanent actual effect even if the pony in question doesn't understand what it means. We saw it in Trouble Shoes who believed for years that his mark was bad luck when his talent kept manifesting in pratfalls and other clownish behaviour. We saw it in Rarity when her horn literally dragged her to the rock with gems in it. We saw it in Kettle Corn who spoke in Haiku even when she was trying to deny her interest in it. We've seen it in other ponies where their talent manifested without their knowledge or intent.

3) We know her parents are intending to move her to Shire Lanka which (a) has a train only once a month and (b) is almost certainly a remote and dangerous location as that's where their jobs take place.

4) We know the ponies in Starlight's visit were badly affected by their getting a false = cutie mark.

So tell me how many ponies do you think are going to be there for Scootaloo to help with their cutie mark problems? A small town, a village, a train station like we saw near the Kirin home or just a remote jungle camp with her and her parents? Then tell me what do you think is going to happen mentally and physically to a pony who's special talent has no outlet, no way for her to actual perform the very thing that gives her life purpose? Then try to tell me that her father dismissing the physical representation of what his daughter does as nothing more than "you'll always be friends" is not abusive. Especially when he is in the process of tearing that friendship apart because the other two will not only be able to see her once a month maybe but also will probably need a month free to spend there while waiting for the next train.

Edited June 19, 2019 by Senko