S03:E13 - Magical Mystery Cure

[Twinhead B 482]

She is still her student, just in a different way, in wich now they can learn from her too

 

what an incredible turn of events! lmao

 

Socially speaking, the two ponies are equals now (unless there is a heirarchy among princesses), so she's not really Celestia's student, rather that Celestia is simply an equal with seniority.

 

I was also under the assumption that Celestia wanted Twilight to study friendship because she did not fully understand the concept herself.

[Okey-dokey-lokey 4]

I Loved This Episode The Only Thing Is Dont Alicorns Live For Ever? I Mean You Teach Someone How To Make Firends When You Are Just Going To Make Her Live Forever When All The Others Are Going To Die ???

[~Chaotic Eddie~ 479]

I'm sorry, guys. I have officially REFUSED to watch this episode after seeing a summary on TV tropes. And I've heard that: 

• Twilight is now TEACHING the Magic of Friendship as opposed to learning it.
• Most of the episode is taken up by songs.
• The other 5 of the mane 6 at one point BOW DOWN to Twilicorn.

If this is true, I actually think the show is going downhill. Hasbro have screwed up the plot. Now that Twi is an alicorn, I'm worried that the plot's going to focus more around her, and the rest of the mane 6 are going to get shoved to the side. I don't want that happen, because I believe there's still a lot of potential for the show, and for development of the 

[Anadu Kune 668]

1- The entirety of Sweet Apple Acres somehow falls into a barren craphole simply because Applejack isn't there to help, which doesn't make much sense, I don't see how her help was what kept the entire farm afloat, I can see it getting more difficult to keep things running, but run down completely? It was never indicated in the show that she was that necessary to the farms survival, and now, suddenly, without her the farm goes to shit.

 

- Big Mac and Applebloom are never shown helping Pinkie Pie, leaving her to do all the farm work by herself even tho she is clearly incapable of the task. This makes no sense for obvious reasons.

 

2- The citizens of ponyville somehow devolved into an angry, hostile mob where nobody gets along, only because Pinkie Pie wasn't there to make them laugh........seriously? I mean, seriously? First off, that just doesn't make any sense, I don't see why an entire city of people need a clown to entertain them so that they aren't wanting to tear eachother's throats out. You may be able to argue that it was due to Rarity making the town's weather constantly awful, but they were shown to still be miserable even after the weather was fixed, as Pinkie was the last to be cured. Also, there's never been any indication that Pinkie has been the sole source of Ponyville's happiness before, this came out of nowhere. Ya, I don't buy it.

 

3- Somehow, Twilight comes to the conclusion that throwing her friend's respective elements on their necks will remind them of their special talents......despite there being no rational explanation for how she came to that conclusion. It was "I'll use my friends love for eachother to get them to help eachother remember their special talents" and then, somehow she came to the conclusion that throwing their respective elements on their necks would remind them of their special talents.........WHAT?

 

And lastly

 

4- Princess Celestia made Twilight an alicorn princess just for what she has accomplished and learned while living in Ponyville. Okay, maybe you could argue that Twilight has shown that she has the good qualities of a leader, but, even then, why did they even need a third princess? It's never explained, Celestia and Luna have never been shown to have any issues running the country on their own, so it makes no sense for them to need another princess. What is the point, what does it accomplish, why? We got this big event happen, without any justification for it to happen. It just does.

 

So here's a slice of Swiss Cheese:

 

 

As you can see, this episode has more holes than this slice of swiss cheese. I rest my case.

1:You really don't see how the farm would most likely fail without her? Other than her who is really capable of all the heavy lifting? Pretty much Big Mac. Apple Bloom while useful cant really do what Apple jack is capable of and Granny smith is to old. Your also missing the entire point. Its the harmony of the Apple family that keeps the farm running. Its not just Applejack they cant do without its all of them. Its the message that permeates through the entire episode. Pinkie is shown doing everything alone as to focus on her character dilemma. This more a problem with pacing there's not enough time to explore the concepts presented.

 

Of course the fast degeneration of the farm is just as much an artistic representation of this and of course is exaggerated. Then again exaggeration is key in animation and the whole series relies upon it. It is unlikely the farm would deteriorated that fast. Then again we are talking about a world in which all weather phenomena along with pretty much everything else are created and guided by magical ponies so...is this really all that unbelievable? 

 

2:You really haven't seen how Pinkie brings about happiness in ponyville? An entire song was dedicated to it. The Smile song in season 2 was used not only to show that spreading happiness was Pinkie's purpose in life but it also showed that yes she did have an effect on all of ponyville. Effectively that song did show that Pinkies presence was largely responsible for preventing depression and negative emotions from creeping into ponyville. You also missed the point. Again the present theme of harmony and friendship is here. Each of the ponies is an Element of Harmony their presence is integral to keeping the harmony ponyville normally enjoys. The purpose here is to show what would happen when that was taken away. The elements of harmony were scrambled. With each respective pony removed from their proper place in the world so too were the effects of the element they represent.  

 

 

3:Once again you have missed the entire point. Twilight realized that only the harmony of friendship could solve this. Only through the direct personal help and guidance of "a true friend" could the problem be fixed. It was Twilight's accumulated knowledge and understanding of the importance of friendship that allowed her to solve the problem . She knew and it had been established that no form magic spell could help the situation. So she used a lesson she learned earlier in the season in Magical Duel. That being the bond of friendship trumps magical prowess and understanding alone. Using that bond and her clever mind to solve the problem rather than a magical device or spell. 

 

4:Well for one thing princesses have never really made sense in this show. It seems blatantly obvious Celestia and Luna are far more than just princesses their very presence brings balance to all life. So if that's really a problem for you its one that permeates the entire show. What it means to be a princess is never explained. However that wasnt the point of the episode. The point of the episode in regards to the princess thing was to show what lead up to the change and then end on it. Considering this is an ongoing series and the main character is now a princess we are probably finally going to get some answers. As Celestia said though that will come later.

 

Also it seems to be indicated that Celestia merely helped the process along. Notice the magic doesn't come from Celestia, it comes out of Twilight herself. That's the point, Twilight reached this point from her own understanding, her own power within, and its that power that allows her to move to this next big stage in her life.

[Chacobos 160]

  

[King Brony 15]

I still do not like that they made her a alicorn. Who thought is was also a little bit rushed? Now that the season is over. I do not know if I can weight to next season.

[An Old Head 4,815]

I realise that I am extremely late to this thread. I've been in Spain without Internet since Friday, so a lot of thoughts on my mind have probably already been discussed here. 35 pages isn't exactly too appealing, so I'll go ahead and assume that a LOT of people are angry at this episode. Some have even left the fandom.

 

I have one word for everyone in this fandom, whether they're upset over Twilicorn or appreciative of it:

 

OPTIMISM!

 

To those who say the show is ruined because of Twilicorn, where is your reasoning? We've seen about three damn minutes of actual Twilicorn in this episode. The role she'll be assuming in Season 4 hasn't even been applied yet. The most important part is that almost nothing has changed. The only differences that are in effect are:

• Twilight has official leadership over the group now (instead of unofficial, tiny difference)
• Twilight has wings (again, tiny difference because her main skills are in magic)
• Twilight is royal (another tiny difference, there isn't anything distinctly different to royalty other than being looked up to, and Twilight is already looked up to).

 

I must be completely alone when I say that Hasbro pitched Twilicorn perfectly in this episode. They gave their target audience the shiny princess palava (spelling?) that they'd love, and to us Bronies - who wanted as little change in Twilight as possible - they've simply given Twilight the tiny differences specified above. People forget that she's still learning lessons from Princess Celestia, and people also forget that she is the primary protagonist of this series. She deserves to be a princess, frankly speaking.

 

Yes, people will be fuming and will automatically disagree. I'm throwing my point out there even if it already is out there. I feel as if people are losing their true Brony self by not taking the life values from the show they love so much - one of them being to look on the bright side!

 

And with the Twilicorn subject out of the way, the rest of the episode was fantastic! I absolutely loved the idea that they applied - trying to fulfil one another's destiny, and the completely loony yet somewhat pitiful antics that follow. Poor Rainbow Dash trying to take care of all these animals. Poor Pinkie Pie trying to work the farm. The concept was spectacular - my only issue is that it didn't have the entire episode to itself. Twilicorn should have had an episode to itself.

 

Plus, six songs in one episode? That's me totally satisfied.

 

Heh. I'm back...

Edited February 18, 2013 by Flipturn

[poniesforfun 716]

I'm sorry, guys. I have officially REFUSED to watch this episode after seeing a summary on TV tropes. And I've heard that: 

• Twilight is now TEACHING the Magic of Friendship as opposed to learning it.
• Most of the episode is taken up by songs.
• The other 5 of the mane 6 at one point BOW DOWN to Twilicorn.

If this is true, I actually think the show is going downhill. Hasbro have screwed up the plot. Now that Twi is an alicorn, I'm worried that the plot's going to focus more around her, and the rest of the mane 6 are going to get shoved to the side. I don't want that happen, because I believe there's still a lot of potential for the show, and for development of the 

 

That's exactly what I fear. There's a big distance between a boss and his co-workers. They can't really be the same friends they used to been. I mean everyone bows down whenever Celestia arrives, Twilight would be getting the same treatment too. I guess she would move on to bigger matters and she would be going to different cities they haven't been to but it won't feel like an adventure anymore. She wouldn't have to win the hearts of anyone using wit and smarts anymore now that everyone knows she's a princess.

 

Twilight becoming a princess should be done in the end of MLP: FiM or when it's near the end.

Edited February 18, 2013 by poniesforfun

[~Vallo~ 409]

 

Who thought is was also a little bit rushed?

It was only part 1 of a 3 parter, so there's more to come. It was confirmed by one of the shows writers in a tweet. I don't have the screencap, but if I did, i'd post it.

[Anadu Kune 668]

I watched the S3 finale with a bunch of friends yesterday and frankly noticed a lot of issues. The S3 finale simply is not believeable and has difficulty following it's own internal logic and canon. It is written in a fashion that simply doesn't respect the audience's intelligence.

 

I rewatched the episode and here are a few glaring problems:

 

Pony naming

 

- Twilight at 00:56 says and refers to Rainbow Dash. We then see Rarity acknowledge that. Even if their cutie marks got swapped why did Rarity recognise her name as Rainbow Dash? OK so now their names got switched?

 

- At 02:29 and 08:40 as Twilight walks to Fluttershy's house, she refers to Rainbow Dash as 'Rainbow Dash'. Now if their names got swapped, how come the Dashie recognised her name?

 

- At 08:25 when Twilight talks to Fluttershy about Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy understood which 'Rainbow Dash' was referred to. Now if their names got swapped around, how is this possible?

 

 

 

Canon and logical continuity

 

- I thought only Pegasus/Pegasi could control the weather? Rarity is a unicorn!

 

- By the way the Apple family don't seem to care or mind that Pinkie got switched by AJ (you'd think that would raise an eyebrow). The same thing happens at 13:17 with Pinkie with the town people. Oh well..

 

- At 13:45, Twilight says that she knows how to fix the spell. This is after all her affected friends already go back to normal? Twilight has fixed the spell on her friends already. What do you fix now?

 

Yeah we know, go to pony heaven and become an alicorn - jeezus that doesn't make any sense.

 

 

Artistic integrity

 

According to an interview with Tara Strong, in Season 4 nothing will really change with Twilight. If that's the case what the point in changing her (other than the merch sales that we all know about)? Obviously corporate mandate just crapped on the show's integrity.

 

http://www.themarysue.com/tara-strong-interview/

 

 

In summary the episode was horribly rushed, and simply couldn't suspend my disbelief. The only saving grace was Daniel Ingram's songs which tried to carry us through on sheer emotion.

 

However I know the difference between being emotionally inspired and being emotionally manipulated (which was the case in the episode). Quite frankly, realising that makes it suck even more.

 

I'll leave it here, if you've read this far thanks.

Pony Naming

Their names were not switched at all. Rarity never acknowledges her name as Rainbow Dash. She only acknowledges and apologizes for her mistake in soaking twilight with rain and expresses her difficulty in her task. Every other example you brought up is consistent with this. 

 

Canon and logical continuity

 

your first two problems are answered by what the spell actually did to them. It switched their places in the world by swapping the magical essences of the elements of harmony, which as has already been established are tied to the ponies and the ponies to them. Nobody in ponyville seemed to notice the change because of this. This is also indicated by the fact that the ponies had no memory of their rightful place in life. The believed they had always been meant to do what they were doing. Stuck constantly failing at their given task and not knowing why. Twilight and spike of course remembered because the only element not effected was Twilight's. She remained in her place in the world and with the memories that place had as did spike some one heavily heavily tied to her everyday life. 

 

She had fixed her friends, restoring them to their rightful place in the world, and by extent restoring the elements of harmony back to normal. She did not however fix the spell. She fixed the spell's effects. If she were to cast Starswirls spell again it would yield the same result. Thus she had to re write the spell so it would yield the proper effect. 

 

What indication is there that this was a "pony heaven"? I certainly didn't see one. An higher magical plane yes, pony after-life no. After completing the spell of ultimate harmony she ascended to another plane and Celestia met her there to help her through the process. The magical plane was largely an device used for artistic staging so they could convey and reinforce the idea of Twilight's character growth. A growth and theme related directly to the harmony of friendship and its importance. Something that permeates the entire episode. 

 

The musical numbers were not just sheer emotion. That is a big part about what a musical is suppose to do. Express the emotion of the character and reflect that in the scene. However your completely forgetting the visual info conveyed with that. Each song has a very specific purpose in moving the story along conveying the problem and emotions that go with it whilst at the same time having extreme thematic content to them. Its essential the best example of the show dont tell principal. A lot of content is conveyed in a short amount of time, which is probably in large part why they went the musical direction. 

 

Yes it was very rushed, this would have been far better as a two parter. I think this is why people are having a hard time grasping the episode too much is conveyed too fast. Important plot element such as the switching of the elements of harmony are there, but only for a second. The musical set up seems to be throwing some off too. The show does use musical numbers but never in this format for story telling. Though in the form of a musical things are shown and expressed more than shown. It an error which marrs a very deep and thematic episode with great moments. It unfortunate none of those moments has the time to be fully explored.

Edited February 18, 2013 by Anadu Kune

[Betez 1,734]

Eh, somewhat. It really should have been a 2-parter. But, that's behind us now. I honestly liked the song, I thought they were catchy. However, she did find the cure out of the blue without the help of her friends. (But in all honesty, how could they help? They weren't themselves.) We all knew she was going to become an Alicorn. It leaves a cliffhanger for the 4th season.

[Soundgarden 2,757]

The thing I disliked the most in this episodes is the fact that about a third (or more) of the episode was just singing! It was like if the writers had no clue what to do, so they just made some songs to fill up empty space. But then, hey, there's still 2 episodes to go. Just such a shame that S3 had to end with this episode,

[NavelColt 22,876]

I hope a lot gets expanded on in the first episode of Season 4.

 

Responses to the finale don't belong in their own topics, they should be posted here in the official episode discussion sections :3 I've merged your topic, 'I'll be honest, I thought the Season 3 finale was disappointing' with the official S3 finale topic.

[Lighthope 36]

- <Plothole>

 

- <Plothole>

 

- <Plothole>

 

- <Plothole>

 

And lastly

 

- <Plothole>

 

So here's a slice of Swiss Cheese:

 

 

As you can see, this episode has more holes than this slice of swiss cheese. I rest my case.

 

You're absolutely right.  I had a problem with most everything you listed.

 

But as I said in another post, it's a show for six-year olds.  Sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy the ride.  The first time I saw this ep, I was bothered by eveything you listed.  Then I watched it again, didn't dwell on the nitpicks, and just had a fun time.

 

As long as Fluttershy doesn't start eating animals for breakfast or Rainbow Dash forgets she can fly like Daffy Duck does, I'm not going to let a little logic-slip here and there ruin my fun.

 

In the words of Robert Holmes (one of the most famous Doctor Who wrtiers since there seem to be a lot of DW fans in the Brony community), you can't let a little thing like continuity get in the way of good storytelling.

 

Pearls of Wisdom - I was born intelligent. Education ruined me.

 

[Booksmith 87]

I like how she is a princess and she will most likely live in Canterlot while the rest stay in Ponyville. Separating the 6 characters was one of the major things that lead to the end of the world in FO:E 

 

Here's hoping for a pony Apocalypse! Now that would make an awesome season 4. War with the Zebras. 

[Anadu Kune 668]

That's exactly what I fear. There's a big distance between a boss and his co-workers. They can't really be the same friends they used to been. I mean everyone bows down whenever Celestia arrives, Twilight would be getting the same treatment too. I guess she would move on to bigger matters and she would be going to different cities they haven't been to but it won't feel like an adventure anymore. She wouldn't have to win the hearts of anyone using wit and smarts anymore now that everyone knows she's a princess.

 

Twilight becoming a princess should be done in the end of MLP: FiM or when it's near the end.

I don't think this is necessarily true. How many times did she and her friends save the freaking world? I think at least 4. Yet no one seems to care, or treat them differently. The Canterlot elite going as far to mock the very idea that they are important ponies. "important ponies? Oh dear you have to save the world at least five times for that" Does it really take more than defeating a wicked night goddess who has haunted culture in the form of nightmares and legend, looming over everyonr in the moon? Its actually something that really bothers me about the show. 

 

Shell still have to use her wits and smarts, just in different ways for different things. Well have to see. Of course they cant be friends the same way they used to be. Thier bond has become far stronger than it ever was before. Friendships change over time. They wernt the same kind of friends in season 2 that they were in 1. Same with season 3 and Im sure that progression will carry on in season 4.

[Chuckles4lyfe 441]

I really enjoyed the season finale. Twilight's change really gives the show a chance to explore new themes and settings. The musical score for the episode was just perfect in my opinion. Special thanks to Daniel Ingram for creating such masterpieces. Many people are still skeptical about our new Alicorn Princess, but I for one am looking forward to the new adventures and hijinks that are sure to ensue in the fourth season . 

 

Remember bronies, just because Twilight gained a pair of wings doesn't mean that she has changed drastically from when she was just a "plain-old unicorn". Sure she can fly now, but she's still the adorkable, clumsy, egghead that we have grown to love. And as quoted from our new princess herself, 

"Everything's going to be just fine"  .

[Anadu Kune 668]

Socially speaking, the two ponies are equals now (unless there is a heirarchy among princesses), so she's not really Celestia's student, rather that Celestia is simply an equal with seniority.

 

I was also under the assumption that Celestia wanted Twilight to study friendship because she did not fully understand the concept herself.

I think your forgetting the context of her worst fear. Her worst fear wasn't simply not being Celestia's student. It was failing her and disappointing her. Even further than that Celestia shunned and rejected her. How much would that hurt for a mother and mentor figure to do that? For Twilight it would almost be like having her mother say "I have no daughter". Even further than that the fear was also of failing in general not just Celestia but everyone even though it focused on Celestia.

 

In this case Celestia was openly loving and supportive. Stating how proud she was of Twilight. So this was nothing like her worst fear. This was addressed in the episode when twilight asked if she wasn't her student anymore. The answer was not in the same way as before, but ill still be here to support you. So yes the dynamic has changed, they now will teach each other. Not just Twilight and Celestia but the mane six and Celestia.

[Metaright 76]

and one thing that I also noticed... you've been raging for like 2 days on this thread at everyone who actualy enjoyed the episode... so much for love and tolerance.

 

And one thing I've noticed is that you don't understand that disagreeing and not showing tolerance are not the same things. If we're not allowed to talk about the episodes flaws, who's not being tolerant?

Each song was extremely important to the plot and moved the story along whilst conveying emotion. It essentialy the essence of the show dont tell principal in animation.

 

How did the songs adopt a "show don't tell" policy? Did you not hear the lyrics, which existed entirely to tell the audience about what the characters are feeling?

1:You really don't see how the farm would most likely fail without her? Other than her who is really capable of all the heavy lifting? Pretty much Big Mac. Apple Bloom while useful cant really do what Apple jack is capable of and Granny smith is to old. Your also missing the entire point. Its the harmony of the Apple family that keeps the farm running. Its not just Applejack they cant do without its all of them. Its the message that permeates through the entire episode. Pinkie is shown doing everything alone as to focus on her character dilemma. This more a problem with pacing there's not enough time to explore the concepts presented.

For one thing, Applejack has been absent from the farm before, and this is the only time it's gone into disrepair. That's where the plothole lies. You can come up with all the retrospective justification you want, but using plotholes like that is just bad storytelling.

2:You really haven't seen how Pinkie brings about happiness in ponyville? An entire song was dedicated to it. The Smile song in season 2 was used not only to show that spreading happiness was Pinkie's purpose in life but it also showed that yes she did have an effect on all of ponyville.

Yes, she has an effect on their happiness. Does that mean that without Pinkie, the entire town would deteriorate? Of course not. This hasn't happened in the past when Pinkie is absent, so why should it happen now?

3:Once again you have missed the entire point. Twilight realized that only the harmony of friendship could solve this. Only through the direct personal help and guidance of "a true friend" could the problem be fixed. It was Twilight's accumulated knowledge and understanding of the importance of friendship that allowed her to solve the problem . She knew and it had been established that no form magic spell could help the situation. So she used a lesson she learned earlier in the season in Magical Duel. That being the bond of friendship trumps magical prowess and understanding alone. Using that bond and her clever mind to solve the problem rather than a magical device or spell.

Sure, her friendship is powerful and all that. This still doesn't address how she would have come up with such a strange, nonsensical solution to the problem at hand.

The believed they had always been meant to do what they were doing. Stuck constantly failing at their given task and not knowing why. Twilight and spike of course remembered because the only element not effected was Twilight's. She remained in her place in the world and with the memories that place had as did spike some one heavily heavily tied to her everyday life.

That's just fishing for an explanation, and I don't think you can deny it. Twilight's memory is intact because her Element wasn't scrambled. Fine. But there is no good reason why Spike's memories should be intact. The rest of Ponyville forgot, and you can't just explain it away. "Oh, Spike remembers because he lives in close proximity to Twilight!" That doesn't make any sense.

But as I said in another post, it's a show for six-year olds.  Sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy the ride.  The first time I saw this ep, I was bothered by eveything you listed.  Then I watched it again, didn't dwell on the nitpicks, and just had a fun time.

The reason I enjoy watching the show is because I don't have to do that. This show is great precisely because it doesn't give me a bunch of child-pandering crap to sift through. The show has been intelligent in the past, enjoyable regardless of age group. If you had to let go of your own critical thoughts to enjoy it, that's basically an admission that this episode sucked.

[Mr. Jaguar 1,402]

1:You really don't see how the farm would most likely fail without her? Other than her who is really capable of all the heavy lifting? Pretty much Big Mac. Apple Bloom while useful cant really do what Apple jack is capable of and Granny smith is to old.

 

It's never been indicated or implied that Applejack was the sole thing keeping the farm from running down. Also, her siblings still should've helped instead of letting Pinkie run the orchard into the ground.

 

Your also missing the entire point. Its the harmony of the Apple family that keeps the farm running. Its not just Applejack they cant do without its all of them. Its the message that permeates through the entire episode. Pinkie is shown doing everything alone as to focus on her character dilemma. This more a problem with pacing there's not enough time to explore the concepts presented

Of course the fast degeneration of the farm is just as much an artistic representation of this and of course is exaggerated. Then again exaggeration is key in animation and the whole series relies upon it. It is unlikely the farm would deteriorated that fast. Then again we are talking about a world in which all weather phenomena along with pretty much everything else are created and guided by magical ponies so...is this really all that unbelievable?

 

Ya, I don't buy it, sorry. I think it's just poor writing, I didn't get the impression that it was just to show that Pinkie was miserable with what she was doing, that really, really sounds like a stretch.

 

2:You really haven't seen how Pinkie brings about happiness in ponyville? An entire song was dedicated to it. The Smile song in season 2 was used not only to show that spreading happiness was Pinkie's purpose in life but it also showed that yes she did have an effect on all of ponyville. Effectively that song did show that Pinkies presence was largely responsible for preventing depression and negative emotions from creeping into ponyville. You also missed the point. Again the present theme of harmony and friendship is here. Each of the ponies is an Element of Harmony their presence is integral to keeping the harmony ponyville normally enjoys. The purpose here is to show what would happen when that was taken away. The elements of harmony were scrambled. With each respective pony removed from their proper place in the world so too were the effects of the element they represent. 

 

I was aware that she brings joy to ponyville, that was established, what was not established was that she was the sole source of Ponyville's happiness. And also, why were they miserable without her? Why is she the only thing that can make them happy? What's making them miserable? It wasn't Rarity messing up the weather, as they were still grumpy afterwards, it was not until Pinkie came along that they all became happy again. I don't believe that one person can be the sole source of an entire civilization's happiness when there is no reason given as to why the citizens are even miserable to begin with.

 

3:Once again you have missed the entire point. Twilight realized that only the harmony of friendship could solve this. Only through the direct personal help and guidance of "a true friend" could the problem be fixed. It was Twilight's accumulated knowledge and understanding of the importance of friendship that allowed her to solve the problem . She knew and it had been established that no form magic spell could help the situation. So she used a lesson she learned earlier in the season in Magical Duel. That being the bond of friendship trumps magical prowess and understanding alone. Using that bond and her clever mind to solve the problem rather than a magical device or spell.

 

That doesn't address my point at all, which is that she came to the conclusion that slapping their elements back on them would somehow give them back their memories of their special talents, despite no explanation being given as to how she came to that conclusion, as the elements have never been shown to be capable of such a thing.

 

4:Well for one thing princesses have never really made sense in this show. It seems blatantly obvious Celestia and Luna are far more than just princesses their very presence brings balance to all life. So if that's really a problem for you its one that permeates the entire show. What it means to be a princess is never explained. However that wasnt the point of the episode. The point of the episode in regards to the princess thing was to show what lead up to the change and then end on it. Considering this is an ongoing series and the main character is now a princess we are probably finally going to get some answers. As Celestia said though that will come later.

 

Also it seems to be indicated that Celestia merely helped the process along. Notice the magic doesn't come from Celestia, it comes out of Twilight herself. That's the point, Twilight reached this point from her own understanding, her own power within, and its that power that allows her to move to this next big stage in her life.

 

This doesn't address the point of mine you're responding to either, my complaint was that there is no reason given as to why they even needed another princess to begin with. For the entirety of the show, Celestia and Luna have been shown to be able to run the nation just fine without a third princess, now, suddenly, they're making Twilight a princess to rule along with them. Why? What's the point? There is none, that's the problem.

In the words of Robert Holmes (one of the most famous Doctor Who wrtiers since there seem to be a lot of DW fans in the Brony community), you can't let a little thing like continuity get in the way of good storytelling.

 

 

 

Good storytelling doesn't have continuity errors or plot holes, that's bad storytelling.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Mr. Jaguar

[Cheezburqer 0]

My only problem is that I'm afraid of what might happen. Something stupid is probably gonna happen and she'll lose her princess abilities all over again. I just really hope nothing fucks up and things can be okay for once.

[poniesforfun 716]

I don't think this is necessarily true. How many times did she and her friends save the freaking world? I think at least 4. Yet no one seems to care, or treat them differently. The Canterlot elite going as far to mock the very idea that they are important ponies. "important ponies? Oh dear you have to save the world at least five times for that" Does it really take more than defeating a wicked night goddess who has haunted culture in the form of nightmares and legend, looming over everyonr in the moon? Its actually something that really bothers me about the show. 

 

Shell still have to use her wits and smarts, just in different ways for different things. Well have to see. Of course they cant be friends the same way they used to be. Thier bond has become far stronger than it ever was before. Friendships change over time. They wernt the same kind of friends in season 2 that they were in 1. Same with season 3 and Im sure that progression will carry on in season 4.

 

There's a whole difference of being a savior of a city (they didn't really save the world per se) and having a title. If they were given titles then that would give them more resources to work with and that would mean less adventure and less downtime.

 

Goku in DBZ saved the world a dozen times but he doesn't have a title and for that he still remains a very interesting character.

[Spectrum 117 6]

I can't help but say the last episode was really... distasteful. It was all so random, so sudden, and I even winced through 80% of it.
However, while in a conversation with a friend of mine, he thought of the most genius idea: What if it's all fake? What if the release and "rehabilitation" of a certain villain didn't work, and he's really still up to his chaotic plans to ruin everything? 

Did I also mention how random and sudden 'Keep Calm and Flutter On' was? These two episodes seem very... unreal. As if the said villain, Discord, was really faking his alliance with the Mane 6 and the Princesses. 
All I'm saying is that the last episode was extremely out of place and that something might just be putting it up to distract the heroes in MLP.

Anyone agree? This makes way too much sense to me, especially with Discord's release.

[Metaright 76]

I can't help but say the last episode was really... distasteful. It was all so random, so sudden, and I even winced through 80% of it.

However, while in a conversation with a friend of mine, he thought of the most genius idea: What if it's all fake? What if the release and "rehabilitation" of a certain villain didn't work, and he's really still up to his chaotic plans to ruin everything? 

Did I also mention how random and sudden 'Keep Calm and Flutter On' was? These two episodes seem very... unreal. As if the said villain, Discord, was really faking his alliance with the Mane 6 and the Princesses. 

All I'm saying is that the last episode was extremely out of place and that something might just be putting it up to distract the heroes in MLP.

Anyone agree? This makes way too much sense to me, especially with Discord's release.

 

It seems a bit out there. Plus, I don't know which I'd prefer- for Discord to be a recurring character, or for this episode to be the result of stylistic suck.

[immblueversion 331]

I'm sorry, guys. I have officially REFUSED to watch this episode after seeing a summary on TV tropes. And I've heard that:

• Twilight is now TEACHING the Magic of Friendship as opposed to learning it.
• Most of the episode is taken up by songs.
• The other 5 of the mane 6 at one point BOW DOWN to Twilicorn.

If this is true, I actually think the show is going downhill. Hasbro have screwed up the plot. Now that Twi is an alicorn, I'm worried that the plot's going to focus more around her, and the rest of the mane 6 are going to get shoved to the side. I don't want that happen, because I believe there's still a lot of potential for the show, and for development of the 

 

 

Well, here's how I see it:

• I've brought this up several times earlier, but I find the coronation to be a form of knighthood more than anything. Twilight's going to help guide others on what she's learned about friendship, yes, but she still has plenty of room for personal growth.
• Half the episode being made up of songs isn't so bad. The songs are what move the plot forward, as a musical is supposed to do. I'd say maybe one or two are there to take up space, but still, the fact that they managed to put together a more-or-less working plot with so many songs in it is impressive. Besides, the songs are awesome, methinks.
• Again, knighthood. It's a huge honor for Twilight, and her friends are proud of her. Knowing Twilight, she's gonna keep treating them like they're all equals. Maybe they'll even have an episode focusing on her friends trying to do the same.

Edited February 19, 2013 by immblueversion