S03:E13 - Magical Mystery Cure

[John 793]

So...Let me get this straight... Your argument now is (paraphrased) "Well, she MIGHT be lying...You know...Maybe...No, I don't have evidence but STILL!"

 

Well. I think I have a response video for just such an occasion.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PWvtN5W158

 

 

 

 

 

...I don't get it. What's the problem with the title? Friendship can still be magic. Princesses can't have friends? What's the problem?

 

On the contrary, there's really no evidence that she's telling the truth either.  Overall, I don't think that the banishment was perfectly "fair" or just.

 

Didn't see spectrum's post until now.  Yeah, let's stay on topic.

Edited July 12, 2013 by John

[Xanatos 162]

On the contrary, there's really no evidence that she's telling the truth either.  Overall, I don't think that the banishment was perfectly "fair" or just.

 

Aside from the complete lack of evidence otherwise. If someone's accused of something and there's no evidence either way, the accusation is presumed false by default. 

 

Evil person does incredibly evil things. Evil person is punished with exile. Where's the horrendous abuse of power here?

[John 793]

Aside from the complete lack of evidence otherwise. If someone's accused of something and there's no evidence either way, the accusation is presumed false by default. 

 

Evil person does incredibly evil things. Evil person is punished with exile. Where's the horrendous abuse of power here?

 

There are subliminal clues and hints within the show.  I would be happy to write you a short essay on it.  Its more of a conspiracy though.

 

She had a moment which Celestia considered to be evil, (they never really explain fully what she was upset about), Celestia, instead of looking at it as "its just my younger sister being a bit rebellious," obviously saw it as some sort of threat and gave her sister 1000 years of isolated prison.  Not 10 years while she comes up with a plan; 1000 years.  

Edited July 12, 2013 by John

[Zoraxe 546]

Of coarse Twilight wont be leaving her friends, and she wont outlive them either. I don't know why those were concerns of people, its pretty obvious that wont happen.

 

Its also clear that the writers didn't intend for Celestia to come off as a puppet master. But the fact that Celestia logically comes off as manipulative and controlling is a failing of the writing staff. That 'destiny' line comes off as the writers sloppily and lazily trying to cover their mistake, not too mention its really convenient saying something is a persons destiny after it already happened. Also stupid was the that the moral of the rest of the episode was more or less 'don't let something tell you what your destiny is'. Speaking of which, that change destiny spell, this image I found says it all.

 

 

Geez, it was like this episode was written by amateurs.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Zoraxe

[GreyScholar 1,584]

There are subliminal clues and hints within the show.  I would be happy to write you a short essay on it.  Its more of a conspiracy though.

 

She had a moment which Celestia considered to be evil, (they never really explain fully what she was upset about), Celestia, instead of looking at it as "its just my younger sister being a bit rebellious," obviously saw it as some sort of threat and gave her sister 1000 years of isolated prison.  Not 10 years while she comes up with a plan; 1000 years.  

Why must some fans insist on making Celestia the villain, turning her from the benevolent ruler she is into a tyrant, that Celestia must be manipulating the world to follow a lie. Please keep the cynicism of the real world out of MLP. If the shows says consider how Celestia is shown in canon and do not make her a Ron the Death Eater: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RonTheDeathEater

Geez, it was like this episode was written by amateurs.

I counter with the fact Lauran Faust had never gone any farther on the Nightmare Moon/Luna issue of the Pilot except for that saying that Luna had been changed by some dark spell or magic.

May writers do not go farther when an idea then they need to and I would also say for what they were given the writers did an impressive job of getting the episode to work at all. I feel the only thing the episode needed was the chance to be a season end two parter.

[Lateon 589]

If not even the writers themselves had a full conceptualization of this episode, that, in my mind, renders all judgments of characters - especially this Tyrant Celestia stuff that's being thrown around - null and void.

 

Does that mean that I think that this episode has no deeper meaning that what was displayed on the screen? Pretty much, yeah. Am I okay with this? As long as they don't do it again, yeah, I am. It was confusing enough as it was.

 

Celestia's actions in banishing Nightmare Moon were absolutely necessary. Hatred and rage developing from jealousy and loneliness are not "getting a bit rebellious." Nightmare Moon would have destroyed all life on the planet by tidally locking the planet so that Equestria would never face the sun, and everywhere else would always face it. One half would have tasted death's cold embrace, while the other would have been roasted alive. That's an apocalyptic scenario that had to be dealt with. From what we know, there was no other choice. It wasn't the best, and Celestia did regret her actions during Luna's darkening, but it was her or the entire planet. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," as they say.

 

As for her being like "I knew you could do it," during the second episode of the series, that's not her being a manipulative villain, that's her being a secondary mother to her student. She knew that Twilight would be one of the ponies responsible for the second defeat of Nightmare Moon, but she also knew that Twilight was a hopeless shut-in that wouldn't make friends unless she was forced to. I know this, because I'm the same goddamn way. So, she blew off her pleas for attention about the second Eternal Night on purpose because she already knew about it, and forced her (unbeknownst to Twilight, who merely thought that Celestia thought Nightmare Moon was an old mare's tale) to make friends by going to Ponyville. Now, she couldn't be like "Twilight, I know about Nightmare Moon, but we can't stop her without you making friends first, so hop to it." How unnatural of friendships would be formed if Twilight was cavorting around Ponyville being like "Will you be my friend?! We have to stop Nightmare Moon! Princess Celestia said this was the only way!" No, Celestia's plan was more subtle than that, but no less effective....or desperate - I'll get to that.

 

Hell, you could even say that Celestia knew from the very moment she took on Twilight as her student that she would become the Element of Magic. But seeing that she hadn't made any friends at all, let alone with the other bearers, Celestia had to take drastic action. The Elements were the only things that could stop Eternal Night, and since Celestia could not wield them any more, she was desperate for the one bearer she knew to exist to find the others and make the bonds of friendship necessary to stop Nightmare Moon in time.

 

Now that I think about it, damn, that was a close shave. And super lucky too. But, y'know, laws of cartoons and all that - good guys always win, bad guys always lose.

 

So, enough of this villainizing of Celestia. It's giving me a headache, just like this episode did. Accept the actions displayed in the episode at face value, because there's no point in looking deeper than that when not even the writers did so.

[Sylentmana 271]

Maybe the problem is that the episode is being over-thought. I personally liked the episode though it felt rushed and should have been a two-parter. As for Twilight's duties, I think she'll be something like Equestria's Archmage or head of magical research and development.

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

 Archmage

 I love that fanfic.

 

Anyway, I loved MMC.  If the writers didn't know everything about the change destiny spell because they didn't need to know until making the season 4 premiere, fine.  Just hope they don't paint themselves into a logic corner.  The fact that Twilight could fly well in MMC and not well in Equestria Girls bugs me, but I consider it a flaw with Equestria Girls, not MMC, since it came after and had to follow up what came before.  I bet some of what wasn't explained in MMC will be in the season 4 premiere, but honestly, I'm a fan of stuff like Lost, Silent Hill, and Serial Experiments: Lain, so I really don't need everything to be explained all the time.

 

As for Celestia being horrible to Twilight, I've kinda wondered about that before, but up till now she's done an okay job.  She became Twilight's mentor and let her go to the best magic school, building her up as one of Equestria's greatest mages.  When she saw that this was limiting Twilight's social life, she had her get some friends to balance that out.  And once her magic, problem solving capabilies, and knowledge of friendship were high enough, she made her a princess.  It is kind of weird that she wouldn't tell her in advance or give her a chance to decide, but I doubt Twilight will have too much added responsibility right out of the gate.  I don't think Twilight becoming a princess started with her getting friends.  I think that Celestia may have had it in mind earlier than that, and may have been building her up for possible princesshood much of her life.  Heck, her foalsitter was a princess.  I'd kinda like to know how Cadence became one, come to think of it. 

 

The thing is, whether or not what Celestia did to Twilight was horrible in concept, I doubt it'll be horrible in execution.  There are three princesses to guide her.  Some people are worried Twilight won't have as much time for her friends with the added responsibility, but the Mane Six appeared to be handing most of Equestria's major problems already, and doing it together and strengthening their bonds along the way.  And it's been confirmed Twilight will still be in Ponyville.  I'd kinda like to think Twilight will be to Ponyville what Cadence is to the Crystal Empire.  That said, if Twilight had to occasionally go to Canterlot  to perform some royal duties, that'd be cool.  In the season 4 premiere, it'd be really nice if we dive into exactly what her royal duties are.

 

I'm not worried about Twilight being overpowered compared to her friends.  That just . . . doesn't bother me.  In any way.  Personality and ability wise, they're all special in their own way.  Rainbow Dash is still going to be the better flier I'm sure, and the one more passionate about flying, and she seemed happy having a friend with new flight capabilities.  They're still going to be good friends even if Twilight has better magic now, and wings, and if it does cause some challenges in their friendships, that could make for a great problem to solve in an episode and there's probably a good moral somewhere in there too.

 

Mostly though, I bet a lot of episodes in season 4 will barely address the fact that she's a princess, just the major adventure type ones mainly.  The writers have said they want things to change as little as possible.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Dr. Eggnog

[Sylentmana 271]

I love that fanfic.

There is a fanfic of Twilight as an Archmage?! I must find this! I honestly had no idea when I posted my comment. I'll have to look this up.

 

Edit: I just did and it was dirty. I don't think I'll be reading that.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Sylentmana

[Xanatos 162]

There are subliminal clues and hints within the show.  I would be happy to write you a short essay on it.  Its more of a conspiracy though.

 

She had a moment which Celestia considered to be evil, (they never really explain fully what she was upset about), Celestia, instead of looking at it as "its just my younger sister being a bit rebellious," obviously saw it as some sort of threat and gave her sister 1000 years of isolated prison.  Not 10 years while she comes up with a plan; 1000 years.  

 

 

The imprisonment was her plan...And they do very well explain exactly what she's upset about. Nightmare Moon's upset that people sleep at night, Celestia's upset that her former sister tried to kill all life. All in all, the latter seems far less insane a thing to be upset over.

[John 793]

The imprisonment was her plan...And they do very well explain exactly what she's upset about. Nightmare Moon's upset that people sleep at night, Celestia's upset that her former sister tried to kill all life. All in all, the latter seems far less insane a thing to be upset over.

But they don't do well in explaining the details, which are crucial when analyzing something like this.  Besides, wasn't it Celestia telling the story in the first place?  She's definitely going to try and victimize herself when she's the one telling the story.

 

 

"Kill all life."  What a foolish chain of assumptions based entirely off of the way our ecosystem works, which has proven time and time again to be significantly different than the ecosystem of Equestria.  Luna didn't want to "kill all life," she instead wanted recognition for her efforts of raising the moon and controlling the night.  I think if her plan was to "kill all life" she would have gone about it in a different way.

 

"Former" sister?  That doesn't make too much sense.

 

Overall, Celestia's action was impulsive and selfish to say the least.  1000 years on a floating rock doesn't seem like a justifiable punishment for refusing to lower the moon for a couple of days. 

 

Edited July 16, 2013 by John

[RosemaryPetal 112]

Ugh, the suspense :|

I'm dying to see what they have in store for her next season.

The episode was good in total, but I think the ending was a bit cliche, especially the part when twilight and celestia were up in the sky or whatever.

[CyberDash19 4]

A True, True Friend helps a friend in need. A friend will be there to help them see. A True, True Friend helps a friend in need, To see the light that shines from a True, True Friend

Edited July 18, 2013 by CyberDash19

[ChibiDragon 1]

All we need to do is trust the writers. They'll turn this into something great.

Just go have fun at the Alicorn Party and you'll "Just Fine".

[Shawn Parks 1,798]

Whenever I hear the "True True Friend" song, I think about how complex the music is - with so many different things going on.  Is it more complex than other songs on the show, or did I just not notice before?

[packmule1123 55]

Been awhile since I saw this episode, it was definitely rushed. Twilight took the whole, I'm paraphrasing here, I've been watching you scene a little too well. HELLO! She just admitted she was creeping on you!

[spacestorm 183]

I wanted to leave my opinion of this episode at the end, after I will give my opinion about others.
But already I have some thoughts that I would like to share. I gave up to read whole thread - it's too long.

 

I think that this episode was totally screwed.
But not because it was very rushed - though it's a significant flaw.
Nor because of Twilight transformation - I just think that it happened too early.
I do not even think that this musical style was so bad, although it wasn't fit to my taste. But I think that songs were quite good.
I also think that the idea of replacing cutie marks and destinies was quite interesting.

But I think that this episode had a serious big hole in the plot, which very stinks.

• Why Rarity controls weather herself - where are other pegasi who were helped Rainbow Dash? RD was the leader of a weather squad.
• Animals that want to eat RD, even though most of them are herbivorous. Why in such a short time they have become so aggressive?
• Fluttershy trying to make ponies laugh - why her role is so crucial to maintain a good mood of residents? Are ponies become sad, angry or aggresive each time Pinke Pie is at longer trip outside the village?
• New Pinkamena working on the farm, while rest of Apple family don't even wonder why?
• Applejack making dresses? Are Rarity destiny related to sewing? What about gems? Yes, it is associated with art, but not necessarily just with sewing.

It is difficult to say exactly how much time had passed before Twilight solved the problem. It seems that everything takes place in one day. Then most of my notes appear reasonable.
But looking at the wasting of the orchard and the ruin of Rarity's house, it can be assumed that the events lasted much longer. Then the lack of the reaction from Apple family bothers me most.

Nothing explains the reactions of other ponies because as it turned out, this spell affected only ponies bound with elements of harmony.

[PinkiePieFan777 28]

I really wish that I didn't know about the ending going into this, because it would've been so much better. Anyway, I really liked this episode. Honestly, if the show hadn't gotten renewed for a 4th season, I would have been perfectly happy with this being the finale episode. It was so heart warming, so well done, and the song that Princess Celestia sang brought tears to my eyes.

[Shawn Parks 1,798]

I really wish that I didn't know about the ending going into this, because it would've been so much better. Anyway, I really liked this episode. Honestly, if the show hadn't gotten renewed for a 4th season, I would have been perfectly happy with this being the finale episode. It was so heart warming, so well done, and the song that Princess Celestia sang brought tears to my eyes.

 

I agree with everything that you said there.  I too wish that I could have watched the episode having no idea that Twilight was going to become a princess.  It is a bummer that I missed out on being surprised. 

[Onylex 2,837]

This episode really felt like It came out of no where, like it suddenly just happened. Maybe its just me but, I feel like the previous episodes didn't really build up to this point. As for alicorn Twilight, well... it was kind of hard for me to be suppressed. Im mean alicorn Twilight is just about everywhere so, it was spoiled for me way before I even go to watch this episode. Other than actually being able to see how Twilight became an alicorn the thing that stuck out the most to me in this episode was how much singing there was and thats never a bad thing.

[chloe16 5]

I really like the music numbers. I have them stuck in my head. My favorite was A True True Friend. What did everyone else think?

[Guest]

I really like the music numbers. I have them stuck in my head. My favorite was A True True Friend. What did everyone else think?

A true true friend....by the gods...the song is still stuck in my head T_T....cant get it out,..but all in all i did like the songs,...i just wish that the episode was a two-parter

[Scarlet 16]

Yeah... Last episode was a musical. 

 

True, true friend is  good song. But the best in 3 season was Raise This Barn and This Day Aria in all FiM. 

The best moment was when Twilight appeared in light and showed her wings :3

[Guest]

 

Yeah... Last episode was a musical. 

 

True, true friend is  good song. But the best in 3 season was Raise This Barn and This Day Aria in all FiM. 

The best moment was when Twilight appeared in light and showed her wings :3

 

You are absolutelly true about this day aria..that song was marvelous XD raise this barn was okay , the best moment? I'd have to say it was when everyone was singing a true true friend for me XD

[GreyScholar 1,584]

There are subliminal clues and hints within the show. I would be happy to write you a short essay on it. Its more of a conspiracy though.

 

She had a moment which Celestia considered to be evil, (they never really explain fully what she was upset about), Celestia, instead of looking at it as "its just my younger sister being a bit rebellious," obviously saw it as some sort of threat and gave her sister 1000 years of isolated prison. Not 10 years while she comes up with a plan; 1000 years.

She wanted to force ponies to notice her nights by making sure it would always be night, thus bringing unbalance the threat of starvation... of a life that would grow colder and colder as everything slowly died without the light needed for life.

 

This is not simply a "my younger sister being a bit rebellious" but a threat worse then any war as it could kill everyone because Luna used dark magic/allowed a dark force to overtake her and become 'somepony else', one calling herself Nightmare Moon.

Edited July 31, 2013 by EquestrianScholar