Starlight was great as a villain for The Cute Re-Mark, I just feel her good guy conversion was too rushed and simple.
I remember when the movie was first in the works, the threat would be something cosmic, something more akin to a god than Celestia and Luna. I was expecting some sort of grand adventure to find a McGuffin and defeat the bad guy, and the movie is pretty much in line with what I expected, though I don't know how powerful the Storm King and Tempest Shadow really are.
Ah yes, the Sony email leaks. Here's where we discussed them. It's interesting to see what has changed and what remained the same.
By the way, my attempt to track down where we talked about them led me to this post I made about discontinued fanfilm Journey of the Spark. Original version of the song which has a cover linked in the quote.
Pretty good cover of "On Our Way", the one released song from the canceled fan movie "Journey of the Spark". If you didn't know, it was announced back in 2012, between seasons 2 and 3, and set to be released in 2015. The plot was that (unicorn) Twilight does something that allows Canterlot to be wrecked, making Celestia actually angry at her, and she becomes so upset that she runs away. Meanwhile, Discord and Chrysalis team up and take over Canterlot, and the other main six have to go on a journey to bring back Twilight. You can probably see why the long production schedule turned out to be a huge problem, though apparently issues behind the scenes were what led to the project's end. While I never thought the story was going to be any good, it was still a shame to see that effort go down the drain.
Like I said, I didn't like the planned story, but it does point to a path the movie could have taken. EDIT: The original concept trailer is gone, but here's a reupload... Jeez, I remembered this looking a lot more impressive.
On another note, Funtasia Daily still exists. From what I can tell, the Filly Funtasia animated series never actually happened.
Hmm, thought for sure that my randomly bringing up Filly Funtasia again would have gotten a reaction from someone <_<
Started reading "The Mare Who Once Lived on the Moon", but I've made less progress than I expected. I read the first several chapters, which were put on FiM Fiction in February 2015 before taking a break for five months. The setting is interesting, though the colonialism aspects are a bit uncomfortable. The stuff with Pinkie was unexpectedly dark, and I don't particularly like her use as the "genius with mental problems" cliche character. The direction taken with Rainbow Dash is... odd. The leap from Twilight being curious about Luna to wanting to romance her felt very sudden. I'm not a big fan of when fanfics present pony society as being unpleasant, particularly with how Celestia is the core of it here, but it seems to be going somewhere with this. All the science stuff was interesting to read, and I enjoyed Twilight bonding with the characters.
In "The Enchanted Library", I've only made a bit of headway in my backlog of eight chapters.
And because I don't have enough on my plate, I checked out the first chapter of a fic that ED showcased today, "Diamonds Amidst the Stars". It's another RariTwi AU, but with some especially odd complications. The description mentioned five princesses, so I assumed those were the Main Six minus Rarity. Thus, when I opened the first chapter, my reactions was, "Sunset? Wait, what?" Plus confusion at Sunset addressing Twilight as sister, but that was just a title thing. My thoughts are that it's a bit too divorced from the show, particularly with all the other epic fantasy elements added, and the original elements were fairly generic, so it doesn't interest me much. I skimmed the next chapter, and it's all one big fantasy battle. I won't finish it.
Heads Up - It even includes some comic characters.
An ED Nightly Roundup had this Rainbow Rocks concept art in their "This Day in Pony" section. I remember when people were worried this art style reflected the movies. Really glad they didn't go in that direction.
Videos Have Fun Together - Twilight makes a clone without her inhibitions. Actually ends more sweetly than I expected. The Watcher - OC pony animation, pretty neat. I liked the song until it went WUBWUBWUB. My Tiny Pony - Features super tiny Twilight stealing a cookie. Trap of Mind - Sweet animation about fans helping each other.
Nice! The animation is really impressive. There are issues with the video going on too long, but that's partially due to the base Super Best Friends Play video. Still, the added sections are pretty drawn out, especially the fight scenes.
Alright, it's time to open up voting for the season 6 episode guide! Here's where last year's voting started, for reference. As a reminder, the guide will provide two levels of recommendations: episodes that people simply think are worth watching (recommended), and the episodes that are the bare minimum for watching the season (important), with the starting assumption that the finale is necessary (otherwise nothing is really important). I decide the important episodes from the start, but it's open for discussion, and I may change them. The recommended episodes, on the other hand, will be voted on. Using the episode guide I posted below, mark in bold episodes you would recommend, using any metric you like. I'll then create a draft guide based on the votes, which will then be adjusted based on responses.
I don't believe any previous season guides have to be changed. Notable possible changes are to make "Boast Busters" required for introducing Trixie, and at least noting that "Dragon Quest" introduces Garble. For the former, I think Trixie pops up enough in recommended episodes and screencaps that a new watcher that skips those episodes won't be confused by her appearing in "No Second Prances". For the latter, I think it will be fine to have a note under "Gauntlet of Fire".
For the important episodes, starting from the assumption that "To Where and Back Again" is important, then we need "The Times They Are a Changeling" for Thorax. "No Second Prances" is an open question, because I think going into the finale without knowing how Starlight and Trixie became friends could be confusing, but would leaving a note about it in the guide be enough? I'll list it as important for now. With Thorax's intro including Flurry Heart and Sunburst, that means "The Crystalling" is important too. With "Newbie Dash", though Rainbow does finally become a Wonderbolt, it isn't presented as a big enough deal in the rest of the season, I feel.
Anyway, my list, with the important episodes underlined and recommended episodes in bold.
1-2. The Crystalling
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
4. On Your Marks 5. Gauntlet of Fire 6. No Second Prances 7. Newbie Dash 8. A Hearth's Warming Tail 9. The Saddle Row Review
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off
11. Flutter Brutter
12. Spice Up Your Life 13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
15. 28 Pranks Later 16. The Times They Are a Changeling
17. Dungeons and Discord
18. Buckball Season 19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks 20. Viva Las Pegasus
21. Every Little Thing She Does
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
23. Where the Apple Lies 24. Top Bolt 25-26. To Where and Back Again
Even after my season overall post back in the OT thread, I was surprised to see there were choices I had to leave out to remain at 10 non-two-parter episodes. Specifically, "Every Little Thing She Does".
You know, I don't feel right just copy-pasting my old post and leaving it be. I'll add justifications for including and excluding episodes. I'd like to emphasize that no one else has to do this when voting.
1-2. The Crystalling
This story is half an episode too long to be great, but it's still enjoyable. More importantly, it introduces Flurry Heart and properly introduces Sunburst, plus how Starlight acts as a good guy.
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
Mostly boring episode. This leads into "The Saddle Row Review", but it isn't necessary for it. Besides, "Rock Solid Friendship" will almost certainly be in season 7's guide when we vote for it, so no need to represent Maud here.
4. On Your Marks
Mostly boring episode, and the CMC's new status quo is established well enough in "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
5. Gauntlet of Fire
On one hand, Ember's appearance in the season 7 premiere might upgrade this to important. But on the other hand, the season 7 premiere might just be recommended instead of important, thus leaving this as recommended. Well, I suppose that all depends on the season 7 finale. In any case, this is a good Spike episode, which already gives it bonus points, and it largely erases the bad parts of "Dragon Quest". I don't believe this necessitates upgrading "Dragon Quest" in the guide, but rather we can just include a note about it for this episode's part of the guide.
6. No Second Prances
Good episode that established Trixie as an actual recurring character. Starlight and Trixie's friendship going without explanation in "To Where and Back Again" likely upgrades this to important, but I'm willing to be talked out of it.
7. Newbie Dash
I like this episode, but I know a lot of you guys don't. Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt deserves to be called out, but I feel like enough episodes show Dash's rise in the Wonderbolts that the culmination doesn't have to be important.
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
Charming episode with great songs, though it doesn't do a great job showcasing Starlight as a character. Hmm, it might be best to swap this out for another episode then... but it's so charming!
9. The Saddle Row Review
Very fun episode with a unique format, and it introduces Rarity's third shop.
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off
Boring and doesn't showcase anyone well.
11. Flutter Brutter
Fun enough episode, but not amazing. It's a nice demonstration of Fluttershy's character development. Actually, you know what, that's pretty significant. I might have to swap out a vote for this, especially since the season 7 episode meant to demonstrate this, "Fluttershy Leans In", probably isn't going into the season 7 guide.
12. Spice Up Your Life
Decent episode with a fun song.
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
Very fun episode.
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
Meh episode.
15. 28 Pranks Later
Could have been good in season 1, but out of place here.
16. The Times They Are a Changeling
Meh episode, but important for Thorax.
17. Dungeons and Discord
Alright episode.
18. Buckball Season
I enjoyed this episode, but others are more significant.
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
Good CMC episode and Gabby is a fan favorite.
20. Viva Las Pegasus
Good episode, but more importantly, it's a good Applejack episode. It's down to this or "Where the Apple Lies" for that, and I prefer this.
21. Every Little Thing She Does
I like this story, but with season 7 already giving her a bunch of recommended episode, I don't think there's a need to have another Starlight story here. Plus, many don't like it.
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
Alright episode, but it starts stronger than it ends.
23. Where the Apple Lies
A fun story, but its slot in the guide is taken by "Viva Las Pegasus".
24. Top Bolt
I like this episode a lot, and it's the one Twilight focus episode this season where she's presented entirely positively. It also further establishes Rainbow as a Wonderbolt.
25-26. To Where and Back Again
Good finale that establishes character relationships and design changes for the future.
Hmm, I just realized I didn't include any Pinkie Pie episodes, but none seem right to swap in. Maybe "Buckball Season"?
1-2. The Crystalling
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie 4. On Your Marks
5. Gauntlet of Fire 6. No Second Prances 7. Newbie Dash 8. A Hearth's Warming Tail 9. The Saddle Row Review
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off 11. Flutter Brutter
12. Spice Up Your Life
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
15. 28 Pranks Later 16. The Times They Are a Changeling 17. Dungeons and Discord
18. Buckball Season 19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
20. Viva Las Pegasus 21. Every Little Thing She Does
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
23. Where the Apple Lies
24. Top Bolt 25-26. To Where and Back Again
Just changed Top Bolt with Flutter Brutter. I consider the latter as a more "important" episode, and I don't think I like the former as much as many do. Mind you, It's still very good.
1-2. The Crystalling
I think this episode is a poor man's Crystal Empire with some really annoying scenes and no redeeming qualities, but it's a season opener so what're you gonna do.
3. The Gift of Maud Pie
Not a very memorable episode for whatever reason. It's kind of Maud at her most grating.
4. On Your Marks
Attitudes in this episode of the characters, but main and side, felt off to me
5. Gauntlet of Fire
C'mon. Can't we get at least a couple half-decent Spike episodes in our lifetime?
6. No Second Praces
Ok, now we're getting to the good stuff. The Trixie-Starlight-Twilight dynamic is well done and Trixie finally feels like a real character.
7. Newbie Dash
I really liked how they did the rollout of Rainbow Dash getting into the Wonderbolts, and this was a good first step beyond that
8. A Hearth's Warming Tale
It's a musical episode, what else to say? They've yet to disappoint me.
9. The Saddle Row Review
One of the funniest episodes in the series.
10. Applejack's "Day" Off
What the hell?
11. Flutter Brutter
It had a pretty interesting conflict with some good jokes and scenes, only mired by a pretty mediocre song. Interestingly, it did the "Fluttershy progression" from one of S7's episodes that people like to rave about but much much better.
12. Spice Up Your Life
It makes the introduced characters very helpless and stupid even though Rarity and Pinkie are almost just as stupid, but things still manage to work out because...?
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
Read it and Weep was one of my favorite episodes, Daring Don't was one of my least favorite episodes, and this ended up being a... pretty good in-between?
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
Ugh, who gave the sisters Ticket Master-tier lack of social cues?
15. 28 Pranks Later
Am I crazy? Because I enjoyed this one, as I did Mare-do-well.
16. The Time They Are a Changeling
Props to Cathy doing her best singing as Spike.
17. Dungeons and Discord
Boys? In my My Little Pony?
18. Buckball Season
I really want to enjoy the episode where Fluttershy excels at being a goalie with her hair.
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
I really dislike this episode. Gaby is a dumb character that does dumb things and the CMC try way to hard that drags the episode on and on.
20. Viva Las Pegasus
It's astounding unbelievable how the antagonist is able to pull off what he does and the solution is just a bunch of dumb trickery.
21. Every Little Thing She Does
It's bolded barely, just barely.
22. PPOV
I thought this episode was pretty entertaining. Not really much to say.
23. Where the Apple Lies
Very long-winded and a very poor "explanation" for one of Big Mac's traits.
24. Top Bolt
Vapor Trail's voice, y'all
25-26. To Where and Back Again
A damn good episode for the motley crew.
Going through the shorter fanfics showcased on ED I have open in tabs before going back to the longer ones.
Alright, in the end, I did go back to "Diamonds Amidst the Stars", since it was a short story anyway. Surprisingly, the fantasy battle stuff ended with chapter 2, and the rest was romance. It leaned too hard on destiny linking Twilight and Rarity for my taste, but to my surprise, they did end up addressing that in the last chapter (the fourth), with them having a frank discussion about how much they really liked each other and how much was just being swept up in the moment. Of course, they decide to continue their relationship and see where it goes. I liked their interactions in chapters 3 and 4, but I still wouldn't recommend it.
I started reading "Poets Hate Maidens", which... I don't really remember why I opened this. It looked quirky, I guess. Anyway, I wasn't a fan. After the extended sequence where Rarity misinterprets Fluttershy's dream about Big Mac as her wanting to kill him, and Rarity enthusiastically goes along with the idea until she clarifies, I stopped. Now, that sounds like it could be funny, but the key word there is "extended". It was taking way too long for anyone to get to the point, and they didn't feel too in character. I skimmed through the rest and a big chunk is taken up by them explaining the dream to Applejack and taking a long time to do so, and apparently Big Mac himself doesn't actually appear on screen. So yeah, not interested in reading the rest.
Next I read the RariLight fanfic "Weaving Words". I was bothered by the central premise: if Twilight thought Discord threatened to kill her, then surely she'd get help from her friends. She could just go up to Fluttershy, point to her throat, say Discord, and everything would be solved using only one of her remaining five words. It would have been better if Discord erased her ability to say anything except one phrase that will break the spell, and everyone knew this, so it wouldn't be so bizarre that Twilight not only didn't figure out a way to tell anyone, but spent weeks under the spell. Fluttershy would keep badgering Discord, only for him to be stubborn and say, "It's such an obvious phrase! It's not my fault she's taking so long with it!" And there, mostly everything else can be the same. The idea of Twilight figuring out she can communicate to Rarity through colors was clever, but the entire Discord thing bothered me too much.
And lastly, "Strawberry Serenade", that Strawberry Sunrise X Braeburn fanfic I mentioned in OT. It's pretty average, but alright. It managed to avoid the trap of making Strawberry a complete jerk, and it went in interesting directions with her. It didn't quite match how I envisioned her from "Honest Apple", but eh, background pony. With Braeburn, I didn't like the "lol stallions are treated like women are / used to be in our world" aspect, with mares needing permission from his sister to court him. Overall, despite acknowledging itself that this is a random forced ship, it takes itself seriously enough to do some interesting things, though I wasn't a fan of everything. I'd actually recommend this the most of the fics in this post.
Art dump. Since I already know I'm making a post tomorrow, for my Equestria Girls rewatch, I'll save the rest of my backlog for that.
1-2. The Crystalling 5. Gauntlet of Fire - we now know that Ember will be a recurring character - not just in Celestial Advice but Triple Threat as well; Lewis & Songco eps are top shelf; borderline essential 6. No Second Prances - Trixie and Starlight Glimmer are THE premiere tag team; this is their origin story
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail 9. The Saddle Row Review - still my favorite ep of the season 11. Flutter Brutter - grudging inclusion; might as well get all of the family episodes in the guide; probably the best showcase of Assertive Shy 16. The Times They Are a Changeling 19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks - they waste all of that character development on Diamond Tiara in Crusaders of the Lost Mark and then effectively write her out of CMC episodes going forward; I miss that little filly 21. Every Little Thing She Does - I tend to think this episode holds some importance in Starlight Glimmer's development; plus it's a rare highlight of her interaction with the rest of the Mane 6 before she fully adopts her current supporting player enhancement role; I'm admittedly biased as an unabashed fan of the character - flaws and all 24. Top Bolt 25-26. To Where and Back Again
I'm not convinced that any AJ episode is needed from this season. People can watch The Perfect Pear a dozen times to make up for her absence. It's that good.
I also didn't much care for Rainbow's impersonation antics in Newbie Dash. It's a lame plot device and I didn't feel this identity crisis gimmick was earned.
Well, including Paullo and Shiny's votes from last year, I think we finally have enough to check the total. I'll tally it up next weekend, and open things up for other seasons. Paullo, I hope you still have the guide assets.
Equestria Girls
This is a pretty fun song, and it's still amazing that they actually made this, particularly with the shout out to bronies, and the first official use of the name DJ-PON3. That was really mind blowing at the time. Crazy that they got Shannon Chan-Kent for this.
In case you can't tell, I'm talking about the "Equestria Girls" commercial that was parodying "California Girls". I recommend rewatching it, because it's still good. I wonder how this influenced the name of the franchise.
Anyway, back to what I promised.
Equestria Girls
I've said this before, but all this stuff with Twilight getting used to being a princess desperately needed to be in the series proper. Twilight not wanting to wear her crown, her thinking she won't be a good leader, her having trouble sleeping with her wings. Here, it gets dropped pretty quickly in favor of the human stuff. In theory, her experiences in Dougworld are meant to show her getting used to her being a leader, but it just doesn't sync up well.
I forgot about Twilight bumping into Flash Sentry as a pony.
It's been brought up before, but practically everything about Sunset Shimmer's plan makes no sense. Not the least of which, how did she know to do all this at this time?! Also, why didn't Twilight dive after Sunset when she went into the mirror? Celestia moving the mirror to the Crystal Empire is also a big, "But why?" moment.
It's also weird how they go through this big thing to get back the Element of Magic, only to give it and the other elements up in the season 4 premiere.
This beginning pony segment was considered one of the best parts back when this first premiered, but now, there's a ton of stuff that just isn't explained or followed up on, which brings it down a lot.
I forgot about Twilight bumping into Flash Sentry as the first human she talks to.
The first song, "Strange New World", has largely been replaced in my mind by Friendship is Witchcraft's "I Can't Wait" ("pony princess good, high school great"). An interesting thing is that for the first two movies, every song is either sung over a montage, or actually sung in-universe as part of a performance. It isn't until Friendship Games that that we start getting musical-style songs.
Twilight moving her arms and legs to greet Fluttershy in a pony way is cute.
As often brought up, there are easier ways to get the crown on both Twilight and Sunset's end, so them going through with the Fall Formal is silly.
Walk cycles and such look the same as they do in later movies, as far as I can tell, but the unique animations for humans are pretty weird looking compared to later. It does actually work well with Pinkie, though.
Twilight eating an apple with just her mouth and having trouble with a pen are still a cute scenes.
I completely forgot about this entire thing about Sunset separating the Humane Five and making them hate each other. I also forgot about Sunset using Snips and Snails as underlings. Have they even interacted since she turned good?
I also forgot that this first movie was intentionally evoking The Wizard of Oz. Twilight meets people who resemble friends from her own world, and Sunset says, "And your little dog too."
"What happens if you bring an Element of Harmony to an alternate world? You don't know? Seriously?" Still no explanation or followup beyond this movie for this.
Trixie liking peanut butter crackers is one of the few things introduced in Equestria Girls that is carried over into the show.
I forgot about the gag where the CMC put their "We Are the Cutie Mark Crusaders" song on YouTube, and they cut off the song right before they say "pony".
So Cheerilee, no comment on this student clearly not attending any classes? And you didn't bother to check that she left? I forgot about how the group photo from the first year of school clearly made the Humane Five look younger.
Looking at the insulting video Sunset made of Twilight, how exactly did she recover from that with the school? No one even brings it up after the song.
Twilight barely does anything to help everyone make up. They start arguing in front of Twilight, and they figure everything out with Twilight saying little. What a great leader!
You know, Twilight and Dash having a soccer match is a weird scene. We are well aware that Dash is good at sports, we know Twilight isn't (especially as a human), and Dash doesn't actually do anything in the rest of the movie.
Oh hey, it's Flash again. I forgot just how disconnected he is from everything else. I also forgot about Flash being Sunset's ex-boyfriend. He and Sunset don't even interact in this movie, do they? FAKE EDIT: No, they don't.
Rarity coming up with the entire "Helping Twilight Win the Crown" sequence ties into "Dance Magic" in retrospect. On the subject, it's so weird that the official name for this song is "Equestria Girls". It still kind of bothers me that the song lists the elements, but says, "Generous," instead of "Generosity." Also, how do they know the elements? Twilight barely does anything during the song itself, so it's weird that everyone suddenly likes her. Anyway, the song itself is still catchy, but wow, the animation is actually pretty weird, with everyone going off model a lot. I wasn't impressed by the "Dance Magic" animation, but it's like night and day when you compare the two.
The part with Twilight being framed for wrecking the gym literally just lasts a few minutes. It's just there so Flash can have the slightest bit of relevance. I forgot how Twilight was fawning over Flash in this scene.
Twilight being conflicted about revealing her true self to the others is resolved too easily.
"Time for Us to Get Together" is the song that no one remembers from this movie.
I forgot that Sunset's plan would have been ruined if the dance was delayed too! What an incompetent villain!
"This is Our Big Night" is kind of weird because they don't actually do anything important at the dance itself. Also, Twilight posing with her dress makes me think of the Friendship is Witchcraft line, "I'm sexy now!"
So no one besides the Humane Five came to help with a kidnapped dog? As often pointed out, how did Sunset plan on actually destroying the portal? The hammer would go through the portal itself, and I don't think she could destroy the statue base. How is everyone having such a hard time keeping the crown away from Snips, Snails, and Sunset?
Demon Sunset still doesn't make sense. Why is the Element of Magic doing this? Why did nothing happen when Twilight put on the crown? Sunset's plan makes no sense. Well actually, we can assume Sunset can actually hypnotize ponies, but she didn't even try with the Humane Six, so maybe it doesn't work on people who already have magic. In which case, no, she can't hypnotize ponies. Twilight and the others suddenly gaining magic and Friendship Blasting Sunset is also nonsensical, but at least evokes them getting the Elements of Harmony in the first place.
Sunset suddenly begging forgiveness and wanting friends is still weird. As is Celestia acting like a princess.
Twilight hasn't actually done a silly dance in a while, has she? That scene is brought down by Flash.
Somehow I forgot about Twilight bumping into Flash again in Ponyland, and everyone teasing her for having crush on him. So glad this romance is dropped, albeit not until Friendship Games.
Also forgot about the ending song, "Friend For Life". It was kind of unique at the time, but so many other Equestria Girls songs sound similar, so no one really remembers it anymore.
When this movie came out, it got extra credit for not being nearly as bad as everyone thought it would be. Now, not only do we have the negative aspects that were there from the start, but there are also the things that don't link up to the later movies well, particularly with Sunset. We now know that this movie was made under a very tight schedule: the equivalent of three episodes when they had to make a brand new and unusual setting with new assets for even the main characters. Given that, a lot of the weird stuff about the script makes sense, but it's still pretty nonsensical.
I can go and have gone all day on the bad and wasted parts of the premise, so I'm just going over the good stuff. First of all, while I'm still not too keen on the EQG aesthetics and particularly how the Humane Five are designed (I'm largely fine with Twilight), it's definitely way better than the other promotional art we were getting for the dolls. Ultimately, it seems like they abandoned that art style even for the dolls since Legend of Everfree, shifting entirely to Equestria Girls Minis.
Of course, the stuff with Twilight getting used to being human was pretty fun. It was also really nice to see Spike be helpful, especially after "Spike At Your Service".
At the time, all the references to previous episodes was new and refreshing. Since then, and especially since "Slice of Life", this has become a lot less special.
The songs were catchy enough, mainly the big cafeteria song. The show itself didn't really have these pop style songs, so they were interesting.
Still, it really is just the Twilight gags that lift up the movie. I've previously said this is better than Friendship Games, but I might have to revise that. I'll see when I get to it.
1-2. The Crystalling
Agree that this is probably the weakest season opener, but it is a season opener.
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
4. On Your Marks 5. Gauntlet of Fire
6. No Second Prances 7. Newbie Dash
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
9. The Saddle Row Review
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off 11. Flutter Brutter
12. Spice Up Your Life 13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
15. 28 Pranks Later 16. The Times They Are a Changeling
17. Dungeons and Discord
18. Buckball Season
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
20. Viva Las Pegasus
21. Every Little Thing She Does
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
23. Where the Apple Lies 24. Top Bolt
25-26. To Where and Back Again
I'm going through all of the comics in release order for the first time right now. I started way back when the comics started, but the poor art micros and the Nightmare Rarity story really put me off to continuing back then, but now I'm back.
I just wanted to say that Friends Forever #2, the one about Discord helping the CMC get their cutie marks, was so good it should've been adapted to an episode when they had the chance. It's such a great idea for a story, and everything from the costumes the CMC got to wear to the fact that some of Disocrd's ideas having already been tried being hilarious to the really sweet ending, it was a highlight on my comic journey so far.
I'm going through all of the comics in release order for the first time right now. I started way back when the comics started, but the poor art micros and the Nightmare Rarity story really put me off to continuing back then, but now I'm back.
I just wanted to say that Friends Forever #2, the one about Discord helping the CMC get their cutie marks, was so good it should've been adapted to an episode when they had the chance. It's such a great idea for a story, and everything from the costumes the CMC got to wear to the fact that some of Disocrd's ideas having already been tried being hilarious to the really sweet ending, it was a highlight on my comic journey so far.
Discord's redemption story is done so much better in the comics. His friendship with the CMC is one of the things from the comics I want the show to adopt most.
And the FF issue with him and Luna was absolutely fantastic.
Discord's redemption story is done so much better in the comics. His friendship with the CMC is one of the things from the comics I want the show to adopt most.
And the FF issue with him and Luna was absolutely fantastic.
Oh right, rereading the comics is something I could have done instead of rewatching Equestria Girls. Maybe during the season 7-8 gap.
The comics have definitely had their issues, but I've generally been impressed by how they've handled Discord. I really wanted to see his interactions with the CMC and Luna translated to the show proper too.
Helping Twilight Win the Crown is the GOAT MLP song.
Anyway, as I see it, the Elements (and magic in general) in the human world react to an individual's inner feelings, ambitions and desires and "amplify" them, be they positive or negative.
So, Sunset becomes a demon when she's a villain, and a sort of angel when she's redeemed; SciTwi, Gloriosa and Juniper, each one of whom has some kind of not so positive obsession, turn into evil creatures.
Nothing happens to Twilight because she's from another world.
I think it makes sense, though I'm not sure if the creators really thought about it.
I'd be lying if I said that song hadn't lodged itself in my skull on numerous occasions.
It's really something special and arguably the best thing to come out of the first Equestria Girls movie.
I kinda stopped checking this thread a couple months back when there was like a month or 2 where no one posted.
@EQG 1 I've already said most my opinions on this before but I consider it a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I know it's not great but I have a lot of fun watching it. Admittedly I just sorta zone out whenever Sunset's on screen because everything regarding her in this movie is terrible and Flash is the most bland character MLP has ever created but if you can overlook both those things I think there's some good stuff here. Cafeteria Song is GOAT and the rest of the soundtrack is alright. (Arguably the worst of the 4 movies, Friendship Games gives it a run for its money though and even being the worst it's still pretty strong) I really liked the "Twilight learning about the human world" stuff and it's by far the best parts of the movie.
I think the biggest problems with Sunset is twofold. First, McCarthy seems to only really care about making her as much of a generic high school bully as possible with there being almost nothing else to her character. Secondly, McCarthy seemed to have no idea how to string together a sensible narrative and relies extremely heavily on unexplained magic that conveniently works in the exact way that allows the plot to move forward. In general the EQGverse has had a history of magic behaving in a way that directly causes conflict and then later acts as the solution. (SciTwi's magic device being the most egregious offender but the random geodes in LoE is similar) With Sunset there's like no consistent narrative that they try to push forward with her besides her just being a bitch. The scene where she's making fun of Twilight for not knowing how the elements work I felt was supposed to be an indicator as to how much more knowledgeable about magic Sunset was to try to make Twilight seem even further out of her depth. Ironically her apparent knowledge of magic seems to have been one of the many casualties of her personality after getting Rainbow Lasered since the later movies show her knowing very little (At least when it pertains to stuff that involves the plot) and frequently asking Twilight for advice. Her begging for forgiveness at the end feels more like an obligation to have a happy ending and a way to tie up loose ends (since if she was still evil she would presumably show up later) rather then anything that the character was moving towards. Before Juniper came along I put Sunset down with Sombra as the two weakest villains the show has had. (Although I'll probably have to put Sombra above her because at least his castle and alternate timeline were cool) She doesn't actively ruin the movie for me but she does absolutely nothing to improve it.
The callbacks I actually for the most part liked. The CMC checking out their crappy music video and Twilight dancing in a way similar to how she did in Sweet and Elite were both great for me. Also unpopular opinion but Trixie's best appearance by far was Boast Busters up until No Second Prances. All of her other appearances just felt like blatant pandering to me and were not very good.
The movie has a ton of problems when it comes with story and characters (more specifically just Flash and Sunset) but I feel like the other stuff more then makes up for it to me. Also I guess I buy into the setting more then others. I don't like it as much as the main show but I'm a bit more willing to go with the triteness then most.
Also aside from Flash I feel like most the stuff you complain about here are even worse in Friendship Games. Given how much you forgot about this movie I think there might be some things about Friendship Games you might be repressing Kappa
Discord sort of suffers from the same problems Sunset and Diamond Tiara had post-reformation although it manifested in a different way. For all 3 of them the writers didn't really have any idea what to do with the character after they got "reformed." Sunset they replaced with a different character and Diamond Tiara they just started pretending she didn't exist but Discord hasn't really fundamentally changed. Honestly you could swap all of his episodes' airing order around (with the slight exception of the most recent one from season 7 and the season 6 finale) and none of them would feel weird. For what its worth I feel like a large part of why Starlight has generally worked so well as actually being a reformed villain is that the writers actually had planned out what her character arc was going to be before they did it and have for the most part made sure that each episode that has featured has pushed her character forward in some way. (Although to a degree Every Little Thing She Does probably should have aired a bit earlier) Discord doesn't have this luxury and as a whole his character kinda feels aimless right now, like he only exists to be silly he's not striving to accomplish anything. There's nothing wrong with that but I do feel like there's some missed potential there.
Also unpopular opinion but Trixie's best appearance by far was Boast Busters up until No Second Prances. All of her other appearances just felt like blatant pandering to me and were not very good.
Let's see, your last post was during the last art game in March. I didn't think about it, but I guess this explains why you never responded to any of my discussion prompts.
Speaking of which, I realized I never put up one this week. It's down below.
@EQG 1 I've already said most my opinions on this before but I consider it a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I know it's not great but I have a lot of fun watching it. Admittedly I just sorta zone out whenever Sunset's on screen because everything regarding her in this movie is terrible and Flash is the most bland character MLP has ever created but if you can overlook both those things I think there's some good stuff here. Cafeteria Song is GOAT and the rest of the soundtrack is alright. (Arguably the worst of the 4 movies, Friendship Games gives it a run for its money though and even being the worst it's still pretty strong) I really liked the "Twilight learning about the human world" stuff and it's by far the best parts of the movie.
It does seem like this movie aimed more at creating fun moments than a reasonable story. It went out of its way to avoid "boring" scenes like Twilight having to explain herself to the Humane Five (thus, Pinkie doing it for her) and spent time on things like Twilight's game against Dash over her relationship with Flash. In retrospect, it sort of feels like there were a bunch of other scenes that accounted for things like Flash and Sunset's relationship, but were left on the cutting room floor due to the short production time, with priority given to the fun scenes. It's a bit difficult for me to just view this as a series of fun moments, though, given that it did end up being the launch of a new franchise as opposed to a one-off. As for ranking soundtracks, I'll wait until I finish my rewatching.
[...] With Sunset there's like no consistent narrative that they try to push forward with her besides her just being a bitch. The scene where she's making fun of Twilight for not knowing how the elements work I felt was supposed to be an indicator as to how much more knowledgeable about magic Sunset was to try to make Twilight seem even further out of her depth. Ironically her apparent knowledge of magic seems to have been one of the many casualties of her personality after getting Rainbow Lasered since the later movies show her knowing very little (At least when it pertains to stuff that involves the plot) and frequently asking Twilight for advice. Her begging for forgiveness at the end feels more like an obligation to have a happy ending and a way to tie up loose ends (since if she was still evil she would presumably show up later) rather then anything that the character was moving towards. Before Juniper came along I put Sunset down with Sombra as the two weakest villains the show has had. (Although I'll probably have to put Sombra above her because at least his castle and alternate timeline were cool) She doesn't actively ruin the movie for me but she does absolutely nothing to improve it.
I didn't make the connection that her complete bafflement at how magic works in Dougworld doesn't line up with her apparent superior knowledge of how magic works in other dimensions. For villain ranking, similar to Nightmare Moon, Sunset gets a lot of bonus points for her concept, but unlike the former, she didn't even come close to meeting it. I'll hold off on the other Equestria Girls villains for now, but I'd rank Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, Starlight, Sunset, and Juniper as, from best to worst,
Chrysalis - GOAT design, menacing, cunning, and the only villain to recur as the main villain.
Discord - Very amusing as a villain, but a bit out of place among the other serious villains, so he's hard to rank.
Starlight - Reformation aside, she was a very refreshing change from all the other friendship-blasted villains, both as a cult leader and a time traveler.
Tirek - I liked him more when he was being sneaky, rather than when he was breaking down doors and firing his laser, but getting a DBZ battle out of this show was still neat.
EDIT: Sombra - I like him more than many people, I feel. His crystal powers are neat, I liked what his anti-magic prison implied about him, and there was a lot of potential for a return story. However, if I have my timeline correct, Meghan McCarthy was saying he didn't work out like she imagined while season 3 was airing, meaning she likely gave up on him before even seeing the fan response. I think her disappointment at him not matching her vision overrode her ability to see what potential was actually there.
Nightmare Moon - Neat design, but in the pilot, she was stymied by the show not knowing its boundaries yet.
Sunset - Lame.
Juniper - LAAAAAAAAAME.
The callbacks I actually for the most part liked. The CMC checking out their crappy music video and Twilight dancing in a way similar to how she did in Sweet and Elite were both great for me. Also unpopular opinion but Trixie's best appearance by far was Boast Busters up until No Second Prances. All of her other appearances just felt like blatant pandering to me and were not very good.
I liked the callbacks. It's just that a big part of their significance came from how the show didn't really do that sort of thing, so they lost that after the show started making more callbacks too. As for Trixie, what UberTag said.
The movie has a ton of problems when it comes with story and characters (more specifically just Flash and Sunset) but I feel like the other stuff more then makes up for it to me. Also I guess I buy into the setting more then others. I don't like it as much as the main show but I'm a bit more willing to go with the triteness then most.
Also aside from Flash I feel like most the stuff you complain about here are even worse in Friendship Games. Given how much you forgot about this movie I think there might be some things about Friendship Games you might be repressing Kappa
I suppose the difference between the bad stories of the two is that you could tell the first movie was discarding having a sensible story in order to have fun scenes, while Friendship Games is more committed to its dumb plot. I'll see which is preferable in a couple of weeks.
There's really no getting around the fact that they aren't doing as much with Discord as they could. And at the same time, with Discord sticking to his current state, they're arguably doing too much with him. I think they really fear that they'll screw up the character in the eyes of the fans if they change him too much.
Anyway, quick discussion topic.
(source)
I pointed this out in the OT, but your task is to explain what the hell is going on here? Incorporating the IDW comic aura color is bonus points.
Clearly blue is Sunset's original magic color, since it matches her eyes, like other unicorns. Since she started using magic in Dougworld, the nature of her magic changed, to incorporate human magic, if you will. In Equestria, her aura is red because of the bits of human magic now mixed in.
I suppose the difference between the bad stories of the two is that you could tell the first movie was discarding having a sensible story in order to have fun scenes, while Friendship Games is more committed to its dumb plot. I'll see which is preferable in a couple of weeks.
Friendship Games doesn't care if its story makes a whole lot of sense because the focus of the thing is character interactions. The competition itself is just window dressing to facilitate that.
It seems like the general consensus here but elsewhere from what I've seen people either loved everything Trixie (Magic Duel had extremely high ratings in two fairly decently sized surveys done by Reddit and 4chan) or people generally didn't really like her or care for her until No Second Prances happened. I suppose I haven't done that much digging around but outside of here it feels like most people are on one end or the other of the spectrum. IDK
Also forgot about it but this is the best thing to come out of EQG.
My villain Power Rankings would go something like:
Discord/Starlight (Like them for different reasons. Discord is lots of fun and is one of the few villains that really "beat" the Mane 6 in terms of breaking them up. Realistically that would probably be the best way of doing it since their OP friendship magic would prevent you from overpowering them. Starlight is fairly unique when compared to the rest of the villain cast in how "underpowered" she is. She has to rely on outsmarting people and making the most of her powerful but comparatively limited magic to succeed. Also I feel like she works not only as a strong villain but as an actual character. A lot of villains in other media these days usually either only do one of these things well)
Dazzlings (Their visual design is cool and their personalities are fun, even though they largely abandon them when it comes time to actually be evil. Also their songs are some of Ingram's best work)
Chrysalis (Her visual design is god-tier and I really like her concept. My main issue with her is that she seems to lose 20 IQ the second she gets on screen as both of the times she's lost have been because of something that was extremely easily preventable and happened because she ignored it)
Tirek (He's alright but he barely interacts with the good guys until the end and I don't think he really tests them in the same ways that the really good villains do)
Nightmare Moon (Sure her visual design and backstory are awesome but she is so lame. There's a group of 6 ponies just wandering around some woods trying to find some elements to stop her and her way of dealing with them is to minorly inconvenience them indirectly? The most menacing thing she did was cause a cliff to give out)
Principle Cinch (Doesn't really get to do anything cool but she fills her role fine. Also her song is great)
Gloriosa Daisy (idk she just doesn't do it for me)
King Sombra (Crystals/10)
The weather from The Royal Crystalling
Sunset Shimmer
Juniper Montage
For magical auras, what they're based on randomly changes from character to character. Some times it's their primary color of their cutie mark, sometimes its their eyes, sometimes it's whatever the authors are feeling at the time.
Two possible answers that I would enjoy musing over...
- There isn't one; she was always intended to be a unique outlier between both worlds.
- Native-human Sunset Shimmer is now in Equestria.
Almost forgot Cinch existed. I feel like Midnight Sparkle should be in the list somewhere, since she's the one who got a big beam struggle. lol at the weather. As for Sombra, come on, at least those magic traps he made before he was turned into a smoke monster were pretty neat.
For magical auras, what they're based on randomly changes from character to character. Some times it's their primary color of their cutie mark, sometimes its their eyes, sometimes it's whatever the authors are feeling at the time.
Two possible answers that I would enjoy musing over...
- There isn't one; she was always intended to be a unique outlier between both worlds.
- Native-human Sunset Shimmer is now in Equestria.
In "Mirror Magic", Sunset acknowledged that she hadn't seen Starlight in Dougworld, and I believe the crew brought up the possibility that some characters just don't have equivalents in the other world. We haven't seen many of the background humans in Equestria, for instance. Of course, I believe they also mentioned the possibility that Dougworld Sunset went to another world herself, going to a shrimp dimension.
Counting up votes for the season 7 guide before the weekend, in case anyone wants to join in or change votes to tilt things in favor of a certain episode. I'll include the users that voted so you can check if I made a mistake. I'll also include votes for episodes I decided were important.
1-2. The Crystalling - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
4. On Your Marks - DemWalls
5. Gauntlet of Fire - SigmasonicX, ShinySylvee, UberTag, Ogodei
6. No Second Prances - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag
7. Newbie Dash - SigmasonicX, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., Ogodei
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
9. The Saddle Row Review - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off
11. Flutter Brutter - PaulloDEC, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
12. Spice Up Your Life
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, Trigonometrize., Ogodei
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
15. 28 Pranks Later - Trigonometrize.
16. The Times They Are a Changeling - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
17. Dungeons and Discord - PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., Ogodei
18. Buckball Season - Ogodei
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks - SigmasonicX, DemWalls, UberTag, Ogodei
20. Viva Las Pegasus - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, Ogodei
21. Every Little Thing She Does - ShinySylvee, DemWalls, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View) - PaulloDEC, Trigonometrize.
23. Where the Apple Lies
24. Top Bolt - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, ShinySylvee, Trigonometrize., UberTag, Ogodei
7 votes 1-2. The Crystalling
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
9. The Saddle Row Review 16. The Times They Are a Changeling 25-26. To Where and Back Again
6 votes 6. No Second Prances
24. Top Bolt
5 votes
11. Flutter Brutter
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
17. Dungeons and Discord
21. Every Little Thing She Does
4 votes
5. Gauntlet of Fire
7. Newbie Dash
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
3 votes
20. Viva Las Pegasus
2 votes
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
1 vote
4. On Your Marks
15. 28 Pranks Later
18. Buckball Season
No votes
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off
12. Spice Up Your Life
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
23. Where the Apple Lies
We actually did get more voters than usual for this guide. Only season 5 voting got seven voters, with season 4 and 3 getting six, and the rest getting five.
"Dungeons and Discord" was way more popular than I expected. "Gauntlet of Fire" and "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" less so. While it's understandable how it turned out this way, it's kind of sad to see "Spice Up Your Life" and "Where the Apple Lies" down there with "Applejack's 'Day' Off".
Note that like the previous episode guide, it's not so much a system where episodes with the most votes are automatically in, but rather episodes with few votes are much less likely to get it. Due to character representation needs and such, an episode with 4 votes might get in over an episode with 5 votes.
Man I put him above the weather from the Crystalling, it was pretty tough competition. What more do you want from me?
Since Friendship Games seems to go out of its way to make SciTwi not evil I don't really consider her a villain. Also her being an actual villain lasts like 2 minutes.
Guide stuff tomorrow, along with the EQG online shorts. You know, I think I'll start marking with stars the random observations about the movie, for those who want to skip over those for the more detailed points I make.
Rainbow Rocks
Before I watch this, I'd like to say I feel like more heart went into this movie than all the other ones. First of all, there's the huge leap in ambition between the first movie and this. Song sequences are much harder to make than normal show scenes, and this is a movie focused on those. While I'm less impressed by it than others, I remember that Sunset's reformation had a lot more effort put into it than the characters arcs in the other movies. In comparison, Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree feel very unambitious. They don't innovate from this movie, except in general animation quality that comes from working with these character models for so long, and in many ways they even feel like regressions.
Of course, there's the insane number of tie in shorts, with several coming out after the movie but still using the Rainbow Rocks brand. Friendship Games got tie in shorts, but even those feel less ambitious than the Rainbow Rocks shorts. Legend of Everfree got nothing, although "Dance Magic" was originally planned to lead into it.
But all that is higher level stuff, with the shorts particularly likely being an order from higher up to push the Rainbow Rocks toys. The biggest thing for me that signals the care the crew put into this movie is all the extra unimportant stuff. Look at the opening and ending credits! Both demonstrate atypical art styles, while the first movie uses the normal vectors as silhouettes for the opening and a black screen with text for the credits; the third movie opening uses the normal movie designs; and the fourth movie overlays the opening credits over a sequence of a bus driving. There are also small details like how every band in the competition has their own logo, even though we only see them for the briefest of moments during one song, and how they showcase popular background characters more than the other movies.
It seems like the crew was really excited about Rainbow Rocks, much more so than the other movies. Is it just me? Anyway, onto the actual movie.
* The Dazzlings hiding their huge hair under those hoods is still amusing. I'll be honest, not a fan of Adagio's acting.
* You know, Sunset is voiced by Twilight's singing voice and Adagio is voiced by Rarity's singing voice. When will we get a villain voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent?
* The opening credits make it seen like Sunset and Twilight were fighting over Brad, with them facing off and it cutting to torn up papers forming his head. What the heck? Anyway, opening song is alright.
I've talked about this before, but many people prefer how Sunset's reformation is handled here, with everyone being distrustful of her despite her being 100% good now, over how Starlight was reformed. For me, there's a big disconnect in that Sunset acts nothing like she does in the first movie. Her story arc here only works because it feels like everyone in the school is unjustly treating an innocent person badly. It sort of feels like Sunset doesn't have to take responsibility for what she did, because as a different character, there's nothing to actually be responsible for. Sunset talks about how she turned into a demon, but she never really comes to terms with the why.
* "Better Than Ever" is forgettable.
* Go away Brad. They bring up Flash and Sunset having dated again, but it doesn't come up again this movie, I believe. FAKE EDIT: Yup, they never even interact again.
The Dazzlings' interactions are fun, but are pretty base level for their archetypes. Aria seems like she's being set up as a Starscream type, but nothing comes out of that. They have nice songs, but I think part of the reason why they haven't returned yet is that their songs already kind of blend into each other, so they might be worried about new songs sounding too similar. This is perhaps by design for this movie, but they pigeonholed the Dazzlings into a particular song style for all future appearances. Anyway, just by comparing the subtle motions in "Battle of the Bands", you can already see a huge improvement in animation from "Helping Twilight Win the Crown".
* Really Applejack, you see that the Dazzlings have hypnotic powers, and you think Principal Celestia can help? You know, what's stopping the Humane Six from just beating up the Dazzlings, six on three?
* Sunset really has bizarrely good timing. She returns to Equestria right when Twilight is in the Crystal Empire with the Element of Magic, and now she writes in her journal right when Twilight can read it. Plus, in "Mirror Magic", she fetches Starlight right when she's the only person who can stop Juniper.
* In Twilight's Castle, you can see that when Rarity sits on her throne, the cutie mark on it glows. The preview animatics for "The Cutie Map" already showed the map activating, so people noticed this even back then. Twilight is already familiar with the Sirens, so maybe we'll see the full story of Starswirl banishing the Sirens in "Campfire Tales"; that could explain why Legends of Magic #7 has the Dazzlings on the cover.
* They bring up that the sirens were banished ages ago, and Twilight doesn't know why they're resurfacing now. This never gets explained in the movie. For the record, the FIENDship is Magic comic about the Dazzlings explains that Starswirl also sent them forward in time in Dougworld.
* Yeah, the explanation for how Twilight gets back is pretty contrived, along with why no one else goes with her besides Spike. It's kind of funny that now that Twilight can go to Dougworld whenever she wants, she still only goes when they call her for help.
* Ugh, Twilight blushing when she's told Flash was asking about her, and when she bumped into him, is why I dislike Flash more in this movie. Plus later things.
* I forgot the Diamond Dogs were humans in this world too. What's up with that?
* Twilight, they said the gain magic when they play music. So how about playing music when confronting the Dazzlings instead of just holding hands!
The Dazzlings notice that the Humane Seven are magical, which makes the entire thing about sneaking up on them with magic pointless. Twilight, why are you overcomplicating things with a specific counter spell? Just play any old music you already know ponies them up and friendship blast them! I feel like this is a forced conflict because I don't think Twilight would make a promise like this when she has no idea at all what to do, and this is an arbitrary thing for her to get stuck on.
* I forgot Twilight and Sunset's midnight scene was this early in the movie. It's a nice scene, but it doesn't actually lead anywhere. My understanding is that it was a late addition to the script, which explains that.
* "Shake Your Tail" is alright, with a catchy chorus, but I don't like the additional voices when they say "shake your tail" twice. How does no one on stage notice the interference?
* If the Dazzlings all know how Sunset was defeated, that's another sign that hiding their magic is completely pointless.
* "Under Our Spell" is good too. Here's where the band logos I mentioned appear. I like the Scott Pilgrim style band defeats. Here's the biggest Lyrabon scene up until "Slice of Life".
* "Tricks Up My Sleeve" appears in full on the soundtrack, but only in segments in the movie proper. A lot of people like it, but I'm not too keen on it. It's weird that Trixie has these assistants here but not in Equestria. I forgot about the gag where Pinkie keeps noticing where Trixie is hiding. Trixie is still using her portrayal from "Magic Duel", explained by her being under the hypnosis spell. It's clear they just didn't know how to write Trixie as good until "No Second Prances", or rather "To Where and Back Again".
* "Awesome As I Wanna Be" is alright. I forgot about annoyed Fluttershy during this scene. Sunset, there were probably better ways to stop Rainbow from ponying up then tackling her. Oh, I forgot Applejack pointed that out.
* Twilight, everyone is arguing, so why don't you do something? I've mentioned this before, but one of my issues is that to make Starlight look good, they have her be the one to notice the band's issues instead of anyone else.
* Twilight realizes exactly what I pointed out before, with them being able to use any song. My issue is, why did she get hung up on the counter spell part anyway?
* "Welcome to the Show" starts off kind of weak, but it gets better once it picks up and the Dazzlings "pony up". "I Got the Music In Me" sounding like "Music in the Treetops" (from "Filli Vanilli") seemed like a case of unoriginality when it was first previewed, but it being Fluttershy's song is actually a clever way to tie them together. This song also picks up with everyone ponying up. It's weird that they used Rainbow Power, but don't seem to be any stronger than in the first movie until Sunset joins in.
* "Music in Our Hearts" is a good villain defeat song. As I've said before, this final battle is the best in the franchise. I imagine they haven't tried another musical finale because they wanted to live up to this. The Movie is going for a villain team for the first second time since this movie (the Shadowbolts barely count), so here's hoping that has a musical final battle too.
* Worst scene: Twilight and Brad's hug and near kiss.
* "Shine Like Rainbows" is great during the "And that sound that we hear in our hearts // It's a crescendo" part, but I don't like the rest of it.
* Oh, actually forgot about the SciTwi part at the end. She seemed so much more exciting then.
I kept bringing up how I didn't like Sunset being made to look good by Twilight and the others failing at things they'd normally do just fine, so how is Starlight in "To Where and Back Again" any better? The latter literally has everyone be captured so they couldn't do anything. The difference comes down to Starlight's conflict being largely internal to her, with her making hard choices and learning she can trust herself to make decisions. With Sunset here, they're really using Sunset to teach Twilight a lesson about how she can't do everything herself, with fault lying entirely with Twilight for not asking her help earlier.
Overall, I guess I just don't like how the main characters are portrayed in this movie. It's carried entirely by the Dazzlings songs, the midnight snack scene, and the final battle for me. I came out of this rewatch liking it less than I thought I would.
Rainbow Rocks is a movie where most the protagonists hate each other and exactly none of them have an influence on the plot until the narrative runs out of time and goes "whoops all your problems are solved go laser people now". The art and music are fine, but the writing is the exact antithesis of what I watch the show for.
I've already talked quite a bit about Sunset's Reformation arc being completely non-existent. Aside from the video for "My Past is not Today" there's really no times where Sunset seems to be having to come to terms with all the awful things she's done. As you say, she's almost entirely flawless now (aside from a couple scenes where they insert her potentially acting bad even though it's really not like her stopping Rainbow or her yelling at SciTwi in Friendship Games) and really the entire conflict is solved by the Mane 6 realizing that Sunset is right and that they need to let her help them. Sunset doesn't go through any real character development arc, instead the people around her kinda go through one as they realize that she's good now. In the context of the movie her redeeming herself works very well as the movie does a good job at showing the adversity that she faces as she struggles to earn everyone's trust back, but this basically happens at the expense of all the other characters as I can't think of a single productive thing the Mane 6 do in this entire movie. I feel like there was some massive missed opportunity for some character growth with Sunset, but as with a lot of the things that would make her character really interesting it's completely ignored.
The music and the redemption arc really carry the movie for me. You point some of the problems but most of them I think are fairly minor unless you're really scouring for them. The whole "We got to keep our magic secret" deal is definitely a transparent attempt to create conflict but I don't think the characters have to act TOO stupid to keep it going. Also for what its worth the Mane 6 DO try to stop the Dazzlings with magic and it doesn't work. Unless you're saying they should physically attack them which both goes entirely against what the show goes for and wouldn't work anyway since the Dazzlings could probably easily convince the other students to defend them.
The main reason why I'm totally fine with To Where and Back Again is that I always assumed that the Changelings ambushed the mane 6 in their sleep. (Luna getting attacked while Starlight was dreaming kinda made that parallel for me) I think it wouldn't be hard for 10 or so changelings to sneak in at night and attack each member of the Mane 6 while they're defenseless, and I think it would be more unreasonable if they WERE able to fight off such an attack. Admittedly this is headcanon but given that the show itself doesn't show how they were defeated I don't think it's an unreasonable one. Maybe the episode could have benefited a bit from Luna throwing in a line about how they were attacked when they were unprepared for it and were taken by surprise to explain how they were defeated but the episode is supposed to be about Starlight and Co saving the day, and if they weren't captured then everyone would just be asking "ok so this is neat and all but where are the Mane 6 in all of this?" I think that them being effectively written out of the episodes with a semi-plausible explanation as to why they can't help is better then the alternative where they're present but have to not be very useful so Starlight and Co can save the day. Starlight needed to have some sort of redemption arc and the only real way she could remotely make up for the stuff she had done was to save the world. To a degree I can understand not liking the Mane 6 getting sidelined so she could get it but I can't really think of any better alternative. Besides even in the episode she doesn't just solo everything. She relies heavily on the other 3 members of her group, with Trixie having to comfort her both after she leaves her Town after having a panic attack and when Trixie offers to sacrifice herself so Starlight and Thorax can make it to the throne room. And when the Mane 6 are actually in the episode they give her legitimately good advice on how to deal with her anxiety when going back to her old village. The Mane 6's defeat happens off-screen and presumably if they weren't captured they would have also been able to defeat Chrysalis as well. Aside from some questionable choices by Chrysalis (Ok so she didn't respect Starlight but why did she leave Thorax alone? I would assume she would be high on her priority list to capture) and Starlight using a rock to try to break the throne I don't think any of the characters actually shown in the episodes are really demeaned in any way so Starlight can get her redemption arc. Sunset's... well you get the idea.
Rainbow Rocks is a movie where most the protagonists hate each other and exactly none of them have an influence on the plot until the narrative runs out of time and goes "whoops all your problems are solved go laser people now". The art and music are fine, but the writing is the exact antithesis of what I watch the show for.
Hmm, yeah, I guess that does sum it up. Though I don't think the friction between the Humane Five was out of character, it was off that it went on so long without anyone besides Sunset seeing a problem. As a result, most of their scenes were either getting angry at each other or supporting Twilight, which itself is uncomfortable for the audience since we know it's putting pressure on her.
The music and the redemption arc really carry the movie for me. You point some of the problems but most of them I think are fairly minor unless you're really scouring for them. The whole "We got to keep our magic secret" deal is definitely a transparent attempt to create conflict but I don't think the characters have to act TOO stupid to keep it going. Also for what its worth the Mane 6 DO try to stop the Dazzlings with magic and it doesn't work. Unless you're saying they should physically attack them which both goes entirely against what the show goes for and wouldn't work anyway since the Dazzlings could probably easily convince the other students to defend them.
Not much more to add about the Sunset part, or the "To Where and Back Again" part.
I suppose I overstated my issue with Twilight failing to realize they could just sing a normal song to get magic, since I brought it up multiple times in my post. Still, my reaction during my first viewing was confusion about the entire counter spell thing when Twilight had no reason to think of that; I figured maybe there was some trick to reversing the Dazzlings spell, but nope, it was just a song then friendship blast. I was saying they could have just physically attacked them, but that was a joke, and I'm well aware it goes against the message of the show/movies.
By the way, I was reminded of the stage play version of Rainbow Rocks.
Review of the live MLP musical based on Rainbow Rocks that's touring in Singapore, from a local fan that loved Rainbow Rocks, and he's very positive about it. It's interesting to hear about the changes made, such as making it so that Sunset is the main character, making everyone more antagonistic toward her, and making it so that the Sirens are drawn to Canterlot High due to her negative energy and specifically want her to join them. The musical also integrates songs from the shorts (including "My Past is Not Today") and even one from Friendship Games. Plus, Celestia and Luna get to sing.
The relevant bits are how the Humane Five are meaner to Sunset and it incorporates "My Past is Not Today". The latter implies more focus on Sunset actually confronting her past, which is good, but the former makes the Humane Five dangerously unlikable.
Anyway, shorts.
Rainbow Rocks shorts Music to My Ears - This is a fun short. Yeesh, that part where the CMC run to the screen is rough. You know, I remembered this short having a scene inside a classroom, but it doesn't. I guess literally no part of Equestria Girls actually has one. Come to think of it, thanks to the CMC and Twilight flashbacks, there are significantly more classroom scenes in FiM than EQG!
Guitar Centered - Wait, this isn't the short with the Flim Flam Brothers? I guess I just blended this and Applejack's short together. This depicts a rivalry between Trixie and Rainbow Dash, which gets explored in the comics a bit too. It makes more sense than Trixie having a rivalry with Twilight, really. Rainbow Dash, way to cheat with magic. This is alright, but the shred-off is kind of weak. Plus, there's the consistent problem of no one commenting on the magic at all in any of these shorts.
Hamstocalypse Now - You know, we don't really get many team ups between Fluttershy and Rarity. This is kind of weird, because intelligent non-magical animals in the human world are really out of place. Heck, this would be weird in Equestria. Rarity messing everything up because she wanted to dress up the hamsters and give them names is also weird. I remembered the tambourine playing being really lame, but it's... well, still pretty lame, but not as bad.
Pinkie on the One - Don't remember this one at all. I liked Rarity's panicked line about how they've got to find an outlet for all of Pinkie's energy. Otherwise, eh.
Player Piano - I remember that the first trailer for Rainbow Rocks actually had a clip from this short, with Rarity's entrance. The Diamond Dogs being humans is still weird; why even do that? Rarity doesn't seem like the type to be interested in the music coming out of the keytar. This was alright.
A Case for the Bass - Flim and Flam having a static store doesn't feel right. No comment even from Flim and Flam about the magic? Eh.
Shake Your Tail - Weird that they'd make a short for a song fully played in the movie (albeit with things getting messed up). I remember when this came out, people wondered how this tied into the story; it doesn't. The premise is somewhat repeated in "Dance Magic" with everyone coming up with ideas for a dance theme, though Rainbow's idea wins out here. Unlike the version in the movie, this doesn't have weird extra voices during the chorus, so I prefer it. Still, it's just alright.
Perfect Day for Fun - The text messaging gimmick is fun, though they are pretty basic with it. Twilight and Fluttershy is another uncommon pairing, but again, not much is done with it. Song is eh.
Rainbow Rocks encore shorts Life is a Runway - I remember when everyone was really confused about these shorts, wondering if they were cut songs from Rainbow Rocks. They aren't. In some ways, this is similar to the fan video Picture Perfect Pony, but with Rarity instead of Photo Finish of course. I remembered not liking the focus on Rarity's superficial aspects, but there is a bit more of her being presented than I remembered. Still just alright.
Friendship Through the Ages - This could have been a really good song, but it just doesn't build up to anything. Applejack's section breaks the escalation, and Pinkie's stops it completely. Still, I really like the beginning piano section, which is oddly shippy. Sunset riding a horse is still weird. What it really needed after the "Bohemian Rhapsody" part is Sunset getting a solo part that builds into everyone singing together. Anyway, the outfits are nice.
My Past is Not Today - Song starts off well, but it gets worse as soon as Sunset started singing. Then it gets better, but then the chorus is weak. I remember when people thought Sunset gaining wings in this song meant something; it doesn't. Sorry to say, eh song.
Friendship Games shorts The Science of Magic - As I've said when this first premiered, the "field scientist" version of Sunset we see here doesn't really match up to what we've seen before. And with Legend of Everfree and the TV specials, it's clear they ended up abandoning this direction for the character. It's a fun enough short, and it's amusing that they made this whole thing just to go, "It's magic, ain't gotta explain shit."
Pinkie Spy - So, what is Rainbow actually trying to find out by spying on Crystal Prep? Pretty weak short.
All's Fair in Love and Friendship Games - Vinyl getting a short makes sense when she was important to Rainbow Rocks. Lyra and Bon Bon, on the other hand, play no part in Friendship Games. I don't even know what's going on with the peacock vs. owl part. And no, hanging a lampshade doesn't mean this can go without an explanation. Eh.
Photo Finished - Another short sort of covering the same territory as Picture Perfect Pony, but this time no singing. The focus on Dougworld-exclusive background humans was a huge mistake that weakens an otherwise fun short. Besides Cheerilee; that part is fine.
A Banner Day - Ending with a splat, huh? Who wanted a Flash Sentry short where he teams up with EQG-exclusive background humans?
Overall, my previous impression was right: the Rainbow Rocks shorts are significantly more ambitious than the Friendship Games shorts, and are better.
==
Alright, time for the season 6 guide. Vote counts again.
7 votes 1-2. The Crystalling
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
9. The Saddle Row Review 16. The Times They Are a Changeling 25-26. To Where and Back Again
6 votes 6. No Second Prances
24. Top Bolt
5 votes
11. Flutter Brutter
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
17. Dungeons and Discord
21. Every Little Thing She Does
4 votes
5. Gauntlet of Fire
7. Newbie Dash
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
3 votes
20. Viva Las Pegasus
2 votes
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
1 vote
4. On Your Marks
15. 28 Pranks Later
18. Buckball Season
No votes
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off
12. Spice Up Your Life
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
23. Where the Apple Lies
So just going from the top until there are 10 one-parters.
1-2. The Crystalling
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
4. On Your Marks 5. Gauntlet of Fire 6. No Second Prances
7. Newbie Dash 8. A Hearth's Warming Tail 9. The Saddle Row Review
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off 11. Flutter Brutter
12. Spice Up Your Life 13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
15. 28 Pranks Later 16. The Times They Are a Changeling 17. Dungeons and Discord
18. Buckball Season
19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
20. Viva Las Pegasus 21. Every Little Thing She Does
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
23. Where the Apple Lies 24. Top Bolt 25-26. To Where and Back Again
From a character balance standpoint, choosing to count "A Hearth's Warming Tail" as a Starlight and Main Six focus episode, doubling up "The Saddle Row Review" as a Main Six and Rarity episode, and doubling up Twilight in "Every Little Thing She Does" the same way. "The Crystalling" has all of the Mane Six, but of them, Twilight and Pinkie play a much larger role than the others.
Mane Six focus
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
9. The Saddle Row Review
21. Every Little Thing She Does
Twilight
1-2. The Crystalling
5. Gauntlet of Fire
6. No Second Prances
21. Every Little Thing She Does
24. Top Bolt
Rarity
5. Gauntlet of Fire
9. The Saddle Row Review
Rainbow
11. Flutter Brutter
13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
24. Top Bolt
Fluttershy
11. Flutter Brutter
Applejack
None
Pinkie
1-2. The Crystalling
Starlight
1-2. The Crystalling
6. No Second Prances
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
21. Every Little Thing She Does
25-26. To Where and Back Again
Spike
1-2. The Crystalling
5. Gauntlet of Fire
16. The Times They Are a Changeling
17. Dungeons and Discord
Cutie Mark Crusaders
None
Discord
17. Dungeons and Discord
25-26. To Where and Back Again
I know you guys like "Dungeons and Discord" (way more than I expected), but it seems like the best way to help balance things a bit would be to swap that out (-1 Discord, Spike) for one of the following that got two or more votes: "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" (+1 CMC), "Viva Las Pegasus" (+1 Fluttershy, Applejack), or "PPOV" (+1 Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie).
"The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" is a good choice, because otherwise the CMC wouldn't appear at all and it has 4 votes. "Viva Las Pegasus" would give Applejack an episode, but she still appears in Main Six episodes, and that has 3 votes. "PPOV" has 2 votes and again, characters that appear elsewhere.
I think "Newbie Dash" will be fine left out, but I'll probably include a long note in the guide explaining why it isn't recommended.
So, anyone opposed to leaving out "Dungeons and Discords" in favor of "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks"? And any other suggestions?
I'll wait some more before talking about adjusting the guide for previous seasons.
If I'm being honest, I'd rather keep both of those (good) episodes and sacrifice a truly mediocre one, even if "important", like The Times They Are A Changeling. It's so unremarkable that its relative importance within the season ends up being undermined - Thorax is such a nothing character, and his introduction and subsequent acceptance as a friend by the group are so half-assed that I firmly believe one could fully enjoy the season finale just knowing that there's this Changeling that's actually good, as there's little more to him.
Anyway, out of those three alternatives for substituting D&D, Fault is certainly the best choice.
If I'm being honest, I'd rather keep both of those (good) episodes and sacrifice a truly mediocre one, even if "important", like The Times They Are A Changeling. It's so unremarkable that its relative importance within the season ends up being undermined - Thorax is such a nothing character, and his introduction and subsequent acceptance as a friend by the group are so half-assed that I firmly believe one could fully enjoy the season finale just knowing that there's this Changeling that's actually good, as there's little more to him.
Anyway, out of those three alternatives for substituting D&D, Fault is certainly the best choice.
Hmm... yeah, I guess that makes sense. I myself have said that it's more confusing when you miss a change to an existing character you know than when a new character to you is introduced, in the context of the Movie not having to explain that Twilight was once a unicorn. Plus, we're already skipping over Dash becoming an official Wonderbolt.
So unless there are complaints, we can swap out "The Times They Are a Changeling" for "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks". That said, we could also swap out "DnD" for an Applejack episode, but I'll leave that up to you guys.
Interesting how much consensus there is on what the garbage-tier Season 6 episodes are. I remember "Gift of the Maud Pie" being painful to get through because it was one of those FiM episodes that could have been resolved by everyone just speaking their mind in the beginning and the whole plot gets nullified (similar to the Rarity-Sweetie Belle episode this season).
Don't swap out the first Spike song for the dumb episode about the Griffon! That episode is painful for me to get through. On my rewatch of the season it took me a day to watch because halfway through every scene I'd get so easily distracted.
Don't swap out the first Spike song for the dumb episode about the Griffon! That episode is painful for me to get through. On my rewatch of the season it took me a day to watch because halfway through every scene I'd get so easily distracted.
Ahem, I believe you are forgetting "Cloudsdale Anthem" from "Equestria Games" *arms crossed*
Anyway, now that we have a disagreement, I should lay out the different options.
My issue with the current guide is that neither Applejack nor the CMC got any focus episodes. Applejack still appears in Main Six episodes, but as I recall, the CMC don't have speaking roles in any episode in the current guide. Plus, I think it's important to represent the current status quo for the CMC, and it would send the wrong message if the CMC completely stop getting episodes in the guide after "Crusaders of the Lost Mark". Most CMC episodes after that aren't that great, but completely stopping after that makes it seem like the CMC no longer have anything going for them.
The CMC episodes of season 6 are "On Your Marks", "The Cart Before the Ponies", and "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks". Going by votes, the last is the best choice, and among the greater fandom, it's definitely the most popular of the set. While some greatly dislike it, it's also an episode some like a lot, and as I've learned from Magic the Gathering design articles, it's better to include something that some people hate and some people love, rather than something everyone finds mediocre. "Every Little Thing She Does" is another controversial episode that we mostly seem happy to include.
So on the decision of bringing in a CMC episode, the choices presented so far are:
A. Do nothing.
B. Replace "Dungeons and Discords" with "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
C. Replace "The Times They Are a Changeling" with "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
D. Other.
After DemWalls's post, I'm more comfortable leaving "The Times They Are a Changeling" out of the guide and just writing the relevant bits in "To Where and Back Again"'s description. "Dungeons and Discords" seems to be popular, so I won't be as insistent about swapping it out for something else.
For what its worth when I first watched To Where and Back Again I had not watched The Times They Are a Changeling and didn't know who Thorax was and I didn't feel like I was missing that much other then going "oh who is this guy? Whatever it doesn't matter that much because Discord and Trixie are hilarious." Honestly his actual backstory really doesn't matter that much since his character doesn't extend much past him being a good changeling so I feel like it's a fairly easy episode to skip and just have a description of it.
So on the decision of bringing in a CMC episode, the choices presented so far are:
A. Do nothing.
B. Replace "Dungeons and Discords" with "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
C. Replace "The Times They Are a Changeling" with "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
D. Other.
Remember that I can note that the episode has the first proper Spike song, just like I did with "Tanks for the Memories" and Rainbow, so you don't have to get hung up on that part.
Waiting for more feedback before making a choice. In the meantime, really need to offload some art.
Laugh Caught up in the tide of a distant memory - Short haired Fluttershy should be a thing in the show. Temporarily. Mane 7 Charms - If any of these was available on their own, I'd be tempted to switch avatars. Particularly that Twilight.
Videos This is Fluttershy - Cute Fluttershy sketchy animation. You & Me - Animatic of Book of Mormon song, using Rainbow and Scootaloo. PEGA and DJT - Pewter - Video game based music, but the significant part is the sprite Ponyville and the "in-game cutscenes". Decent PMV - Good Times Fluttershy Googles Herself - I haven't posted a Vannamelon video in a while. A lot of "oh no, what is this" repetition, but there are some amusing and cute bits.
Her Deviantart and Derpibooru pages, BTW. I like her art too, and I've posted a lot of her pieces before, though note that a large percent is OC art. She started out four years ago, and here is her first non-stylized art, to show how much she's improved.
Aaaand... screw it, making a decision. "The Times They Are a Changeling" is out. I'll include a note about Spike singing in it.
Here's a draft of the guide with episode descriptions.
1-2. The Crystalling
While the Mane Six travel to the Crystal Empire to meet Cadance and Shining Armor's new baby, Flurry Heart, Twilight convinces Starlight Glimmer to reunite with her childhood friend. This season controversially establishes Starlight as essentially a seventh main pony character, and introduces yet another alicorn with Flurry, though people largely stopped caring by this point. This is the closest the show has gotten to a "slice of life" two-parter, but it essentially stretches 3/2 episodes worth of story into two.
3. The Gift Of Maud Pie
4. On Your Marks
* This appears to chronologically be the first episode after season 5's "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", unless the Cutie Mark Crusaders really waited weeks to have their next meeting. 5. Gauntlet of Fire
Spike is summoned to the Gauntlet of Fire, which determines who will become the new Dragon Lord. This follows up season 2's "Dragon Quest", but all you need to know is that Spike encountered a mean teenage dragon named Garble. This introduces Princess Ember, who was very popular with the fans, and provides much-needed nuance to dragon society.
6. No Second Prances
Twilight tasks Starlight with making a new friend, but when she chooses Trixie (season 1's "Boast Busters", season 3's "Magic Duel"), Twilight worries she'll be a bad influence. This episode intentionally presents every character in a negative light at some point. Trixie is finally made a recurring character here.
7. Newbie Dash
* Rainbow Dash finally joins the main Wonderbolts team, but her relationship with the rest of the team doesn't significantly change from previous episodes like season 5's "Rarity Investigates!", and it's a love-it-or-hate-it episode (with PonyGAF leaning toward hating it) due to scenes of Rainbow embarrassing herself, so there is no need to watch it. Rainbow's call sign is established as Rainbow Crash.
8. A Hearth's Warming Tail
Twilight reads to Starlight her favorite Hearth's Warming story, an Equestrian A Christmas Carol, after learning she doesn't care about the holiday. This full musical episode doesn't advance Starlight's character, since she's "playing" a character, but it's full of great songs and it's a ton of fun.
9. The Saddle Row Review
Rarity has opened a new shop in Manehattan and is ready to read the reviews, but her friends worry about how the opening night will be reported. This episode follows the format of The Office and Parks & Rec, cutting back and forth between the opening night and interviews, making for an unusual and hilarious story.
10. Applejack's "Day'' Off 11. Flutter Brutter
Fluttershy has had enough of her freeloading younger brother, Zephyr Breeze, and forces him to get a job. The many episodes of Fluttershy learning to become less shy lead to a story where her being assertive with her brother doesn't feel out of character at all.
12. Spice Up Your Life 13. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
Rainbow visits a Daring Do convention and befriends Quibble Pants, voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt. They get along great, until she discovers he hates everything after book 3, but they have to work together when Daring Do's enemies show up. This episode is filled with meta jokes about fan conventions and justifies the reveal of Daring Do being real (season 4's "Daring Don't").
14. The Cart Before the Ponies
15. 28 Pranks Later
16. The Times They Are a Changeling
* This story introduces Thorax, a good changeling (season 2's "A Canterlot Wedding") who plays a major role in the season finale, but it's largely agreed this episode is mediocre and not worth watching beyond that, and the fact that this features Spike's first real solo song. You can understand Thorax just fine in the finale without this story. 17. Dungeons and Discord
While Fluttershy and the others go on a trip, a bored Discord decides to join Spike and Big Macintosh in their "Guy's Night". He is horrified when he discovers they spend it playing a role playing game, Ogres & Oubliettes.
18. Buckball Season 19. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
The Cutie Mark Crusaders have settled into their new role of helping others gain and understand their cutie marks, but they might have an impossible task when an excitable young griffon named Gabby asks them to help her get a cutie mark. Gabby was very popular with the fans, but some find her annoying.
20. Viva Las Pegasus 21. Every Little Thing She Does
Twilight tasks Starlight to spend quality time with her friends while she's away, and wishing to finish this quickly, she uses a mind control spell on them, as you do. Of course, this goes out of control. This was a controversial episode, with PonyGAF leaning toward liking it.
22. P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
23. Where the Apple Lies 24. Top Bolt
The map sends Twilight and Rainbow to the Wonderbolts Academy, where they encounter a pair that's holding each other back. This is a spiritual follow up of season 4's "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3".
25-26. To Where and Back Again
Starlight returns to her village to attend a festival, only to run away after a panic attack. When she returns to Ponyville, she discovers that all her friends were replaced by changelings (season 2's "A Canterlot Wedding"). She must join with Thorax ("The Times They Are a Changeling") and other misfits to confront Queen Chrysalis.
EDIT: Seeing this in the morning, yeesh, that's some clunky wording. Will definitely have to rewrite.
That's good enough for me. I'd just rewrite the synopsis for the season finale in a more generic manner, so as not to give everything away, since it's a guide. Something like:
Starlight goes back to her old village to attend a festival, only to run away after a panic attack. Upon returning to Ponyville, she realizes that something's not quite right. She must hence join forces with Thorax ("The Times They Are a Changeling") and other misfits to confront an unexpected enemy.
Oh! I just realized a possible explanation for how Sunset knew what she did in the first Equestria Girls! Celestia could have kept writing to Sunset, keeping her up to date on current events, in the hope that she'd someday come back. I'm pretty sure that plugs up everything, other than Sunset knowing where Twilight was sleeping.
Friendship Games
Hmm... nah, I don't think there's anything I want to say before the movie.
The movie starts with Sunset? I remembered it being SciTwi.
You know, maybe there should be more protection around the constantly active portal to another world.
"All the Way to the Friendship Games" is catchy when it picks up, though it's another song that's just memorable during the chorus. Sour Sweet Sugarcoat being "evil Applejack" is understandable enough, since she's blunt instead of honest, and... (forgot most of the other names, as indicated by the strike through) evil Rainbow is basically just Lightning Dust all over again, but the others are harder to connect. Like seriously, how is Lemon Zest evil Pinkie Pie? Why does Principal Cinch get her own part in the opening credits?
SciTwi's magic analyzing amulet is probably the biggest weak link in this story. How can SciTwi, who has no magic at this point, create a device that she thinks is just a scanner, yet actually absorbs large amounts of magic, without her having any clue it works like that? This is a place where her just finding some magic artifact, like Juniper Montage, would have worked better. She finds it, doesn't know what it does, but it leads her to areas with a lot of magic, so she keeps using it, thinking it will lead her to the truth.
How does Sunset not know about what Crystal Prep does? As a bully, she would have known about these bullying rivals.
The Friendship Games being every four years seemed odd given the rivalry between the schools, but I forgot they mentioned they have other competitions too. Though shouldn't Rainbow at least have taken part in these other competitions? How did they lose then?
"Wondercolts Forever" is a fun song. It's kind of funny that the apparent outcome of the events of Rainbow Rocks is that they still constantly bring up Sunset turning evil and wrecking the school, but Sunset doesn't say anything anymore, both here and when she tells everyone about SciTwi checking the statue. I like the design of the band leader. Weird that they emphasize her so much during the song when she doesn't appear again.
It's still funny that the reason they have to hide their magic is because they don't want to be accused of cheating. The competitions being completely unknown is still so dumb.
Funny how to establish Crystal Prep as the hoity-toity school, they include background characters from Canterlot. And Suri Polomare from Manehattan.
Oh, I guess SciTwi does say the amulet tracks and contains the strange energy, but how did she make it contain so much without even coming in contact with magic before? And doesn't that mean anyone can recreate it?
"I Know There's More That's Out There" breaks my previously mentioned pattern of every song being a montage or sung in-universe. Unless SciTwi really is singing, which is why she says people look at her like she's strange. The song is alright. I'll talk about the deleted scenes and how this song was supposed to go later.
Cinch is threatening SciTwi into competing in the games, even though she should know SciTwi isn't skilled at athletics. Plus, surely there's an easier way to get her to compete than threatening her.
Flash's treatment makes it seem like this is the first movie to start production after fan reaction to the first movie really came in.
I completely forgot about these outfits during the welcome party. This is the one scene where the much hyped rivalry comes into play, and it ends quickly. So Twilight, you have peripheral vision, right? No comment on Pinkie flying in the air? Or, you know, the portal you just created?
Wait, wait, wait! Apple Bloom is shown in the same class as some background humans the same height as the Humane Six! Either she's taking a super advanced class, or this is proof that she's high school age in Dougworld.
"Acadeca" is a fun song, but seriously, what's with these competitions? This song and other moments build up a huge rivalry between Sunset and SciTwi, but they really don't do anything with it. It's a weak conflict.
The scene with SciTwi and Fluttershy is nice. So SciTwi, really not going to talk to these obviously magical people about what's going on?
Cinch, if you don't know what the events are, what's the point of spying on anyone? And if you do know, why not cheat by telling them? Plus, the next (final) event was just a few minutes away, apparently. Also, I just realized, Sunset and the others seem unconcerned about the fact that Twilight knows about magic, when they were told to hide it so they wouldn't be accused of cheating.
This archery segment seriously over-complicates everything. And Sour Sweet knows about Spike being a talking dog! And Applejack transformed in front of everyone! No one seemed to care about that. Rarity has really strong legs, I guess, with her being able to fling Pinkie like that. Haha, I somehow forgot about the motocross racing! And the fact that no one really reacts to the giant plant monster. Cinch reacts more to Dash gaining wings, and everyone is just cheering on Sunset as she leaps a ramp! And holy crap, at the end of the race, no one even acknowledges the plant monster, despite it still being there!
Sunset snapping at SciTwi is understandable enough, but no one chased after the girl with the dangerous magic device? Also, the worry here is that Crystal Prep won't believe they lost if there's magic involved?
This is a seriously lame final event. A scavenger hunt? Really?
"Unleash the Magic" is a decent song that gets better once SciTwi starts singing.
Midnight Sparkle is a neat design. The portals the Equestria were a wasted opportunity; they didn't even have anyone falling through turn into a pony or be noticed by anyone in Equestria. You know, it's weird, if Midnight is as strong as she's presented here and can freely absorb magic from Equestria, she's actually the most powerful villain in the entire franchise. Well actually, she doesn't absorb magic as Midnight Sparkle, so maybe she can't actually do that. Alright, back to being a lower level villain.
So Sunset, why absorb everyone else's magic into yourself and call it friendship magic, instead of actually working with your friends?
Principals, and Dean, the excuse about no one believing Cinch when she says magic exists doesn't work when you don't even try to hide it.
Woah, I don't remember the movie ending (before the "post credits scene") with two stars representing Sunset and Twilight. They really were trying to establish a ship! As for the "post credits scene" (in quotes because it's after the movie logo but before the credits), it's a shame they didn't really follow up on that, in an online short maybe.
You know, I don't remember the ending credits song. This sounds familiar... wait, is it "Your Friends Are Always There For You" but sung by Twilight instead of Starlight? Oh never mind, it sounds different after the first few lines. "Right There In Front of Me" is pretty generic, I can see why I forgot it. There's a bit more effort during these credits than I claimed during my Rainbow Rocks review, with all of these candid photos, but it's still the normal movie art style with normal vectors, not something they put special effort into making. Plus, some are apparently shots from the movie?
In conclusion, I come out thinking basically everything in this movie is half-baked. SciTwi's conflict, Sunset's conflict, the entire magic plot, the rivalries, the Friendship Games themselves. SciTwi's conflict culminates in her turning into Midnight Sparkle, who wants to know about magic at the expense of everything else, but this isn't something we really see from SciTwi. She's just bumbling around absorbing magic without actually doing anything with it, and no one really confronts her about this. Like Juniper, there isn't any real intention behind her acts, but at least Juniper's dumb magic form logically came from the thoughts she was expressing. Sunset's grumpy about not understanding magic, until she isn't--I'll get to the deleted scenes later. Magic is wacky as hell here, from how it acts to how everyone reacts to how you demonstrate friendship magic by absorbing everyone else's without permission and acting on your own. The rivalries... don't exist. They barely do anything with the Shadowbolts, and it might have been a stronger movie without so many of them. And of course, the Friendship Games events are nonsense. Oh, and Cinch! I already forgot she existed when writing this, until I scrolled up again.
It results in a movie where things happen, and it's kind of nice when characters get along, and there's some flashy scene that doesn't make much sense. There isn't some grander point to it, besides perhaps introducing SciTwi into the main cast (despite deleted scenes showing that wasn't the original point). The first movie ostensibly was about Twilight learning to be a princess. The second was about Twilight learning she can't solve everything on her own and Sunset learning to stand up for herself. This one... magic is bad except when it isn't? The movie is just fine, I suppose, with a really dumb plot and none of the standout comedy or emotional scenes from the first two movies.
Concerning the songs, there aren't any real weak links, but there are no stand outs like in Rainbow Rocks. I remember mentioning before that I agreed with DrForester that this had an overall better soundtrack, but I think I'll retract that now.
Also, it's weird, I remember SciTwi being voiced differently than Princess Twi, but she isn't really here. I guess that's something developed in Legend of Everfree and the specials.
Deleted Scenes The links in this post don't work anymore, but they're easy enough to find if you look.
Alternate "What More is Out There" as a song is better, but the lack of follow up on Sunset's part in the movie, including the deleted scenes, really weaken it. I guess it's nice that there's some follow up of the events of Rainbow Rocks. If there's one deleted scene you watch, make it this one.
Twilight and Sunset at the cafe is a good scene to remove, because what exists of Sunset's conflict loses a lot of, well, conflict if she did actually talk to Princess Twilight about this. Also, seriously Sunset, if you want to go back to Equestria, just visit for a bit! No one's stopping you!
Alternate Hallway scene continues the dumb subplot of Sunset wanting to go back to Equestria because the magic is weird, not because she wants to see Celestia or go back to her family or anything. Wait, this is the first time I've noticed someone addressing her as Sunset instead of Sunset Shimmer! Is that why is was deleted?! /s
The Alternate Ending shows they originally had SciTwi stay at Crystal Prep and leave at the end. It provides more of a follow up with the Shadowbolts, which is good, but them suddenly getting along with SciTwi is odd too. It's honestly kind of baffling that they were planning to focus on SciTwi so much in the movie and then ship her back to another school for long enough in the process for it to get boarded. Though there's definitely an argument to be made that it would have been better for the franchise if they continued focusing on Sunset only, it would have been a bizarre move given that the rest of this movie exists. The logical question after watching this would have been, "So, what's going on with SciTwi now?" and it would have been silly not to have her in the next movie. At that point, why make an excuse for why a Crystal Prep student keeps showing up at Canterlot High events? The resolution of Sunset's subplot is dumb: just visit! Also, I guess they decided they wanted that moment where the two Twis actually meet, instead of just having Sunset tell Princess Twi about SciTwi.
EDIT: Oh right, I can confirm that it doesn't feel like they went above and beyond with this movie, like I feel they did with Rainbow Rocks.
If you allow, let me rewrite the movie.
* SciTwi is interested in the magic of Canterlot High, and after checking the portal, she notices some magic goes into her pendant, similar to how it did with Juniper's sunglasses guy's mirror. She notices that it's leading her somewhere, and it drains magic like it does in the movie.
* SciTwi explicitly doesn't like being at Crystal Prep, and wishes to have individual study because she wants to be left alone. She doesn't know what to do with her life, but she believes if she studies this strange energy, she'll find her purpose.
* Sunset is given a message from Celestia that she wants her to come back, not as a student, but as an advisor. This drives her conflict over whether to stay or leave. For now, she's staying for the Friendship Games.
* The only notable Shadowbolts are SciTwi, Sour Sweets, and maybe Sugarcoat. For Cinch, just... make her better, I don't know.
* When SciTwi encounters magic, she excitedly asks the Humane Six about it. When they don't provide solid answers, she's frustrated.
* At the end, though SciTwi is pushed into unleashing the magic by Cinch and the Shadowbolts, she justifies it to herself more as a way to get actual answers. This better leads into Midnight Sparkle.
* Sunset and the others pony up normally to fight Midnight and beat her that way.
* Sunset decides to stay in Dougworld so she can fight against these new magical threats.
EDIT: Imagining a scene like this.
Sunset: Being one of Celestia's advisors was my entire goal in life. Well, until I discovered becoming a princess was an option, which Celestia was hiding from me, but, well, we can see why she did that.
It's a movie about learning to trust people. Underneath all the wackiness of the premise, that's the central conceit that Sunset, Twilight, and (for what little screen time they have) the Crystal Prep crew all go through.
Sunset doesn't really trust anyone, least of all herself, and the only person she does have any faith in is MIA. So when some responsibility is handed to her, she completely overstresses herself instead of reaching out to anyone and blows up at a key juncture. It's only when she finally internalizes all the lessons about friendship she's picked up that she can open up and trust someone else to do the right thing as well. And it works—Midnight is on a very short list of top-tier threats who don't have to be purged by a great rainbow laser explosion.
Cinch doesn't trust anyone, and consequently fosters an environment where nobody else does either and power and influence reign supreme. The Shadowbolts bought into her ethos completely, while Twilight doesn't have the spine to stand up to it and prefers to retreat into herself as a self-defense mechanism. The script proceeds to be extremely blunt about the social effects of the Crystal Prep ethos vs. the CHS ethos, and like her pony counterpart, she's only saved when she realizes that she really isn't all alone. Cinch doesn't lose the competition, strictly speaking, but she's still very much defeated in the end; her power over the Crystal Prep student body shatters the moment they stop buying into her worldview.
It's well-trodden ground for FiM, but it's also the only EG movie with real heart at the core of it. The franchise lives and dies by its character dynamics. As long as they make sense, everything else can (and regularly does) stretch credulity as far as it wants.
^ I don't know, I didn't really get the feeling that Sunset or SciTwi had trust issues. But I guess the trust theme is at least as strong as the "learning to be a princess" theme in the first movie, so I'll concede on that point.
Legend of Everfree
Right off the bat, I'm impressed by the backgrounds, with SciTwi's room. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but this seems like a big improvement from the previous movies.
Wait, no one ever said the name Midnight Sparkle! Though that's to be expected from this franchise, with everyone remembering character names like Chrysalis and Garble that never got revealed in dialogue. Everyone getting dissolved by her is a neat effect. The entire thing with Twilight fearing she'll become Midnight Sparkle again doesn't really tie into her personality; we don't even see her desire to learn more about magic or use it in this movie.
Here's the mention of everyone raising enough money for the class field trip, which is where "Dance Magic" was planned to slot in, as we now know.
"Legend of Everfree" mentioning history so much makes me think they originally planned a story that placed more emphasis on historical events and legends. The song is decent.
It's nice that everyone is wearing pants and not-boots for once.
SciTwi getting creeped out by Flash is great. As I've mentioned before, I'm fine with SciTwi and Timber dating, because SciTwi isn't Twi. That said, I find it weird that SciTwi is so comfortable flirting with a boy when she's more socially awkward than Princess Twilight, who I really can't imagine flirting without planning it all out.
It's kind of weird how Filthy Rich is evil here, when season 6 went out of its way to portray him as well-meaning in "Where the Apple Lies".
Ahaha, jealous Flash and Sunset telling him to give up on any Twilight.
Timber making lanterns out of solar paneled garden lights doesn't seem like a great idea.
It's still funny how the lesson learned from Rainbow Rocks is that it's fine to keep randomly bringing up their friends being former villains.
"The Midnight in Me" has a part that sounds exactly like "Luna's Future". It's weird, parts of the song sound good, but they don't link up together well. Also, it's oddly short.
Wow, everyone's powers besides Twilight and Sunset's are being introduced way later than I remembered. It's almost halfway through! I don't really see the purpose of giving everyone particular powers like this, since they barely come into play in the resolution of this movie or any of the specials. Pinkie gaining Gambit powers is weird, since a TV-Y show won't use them effectively, and Fluttershy gains a power that Pony Fluttershy just does normally and is barely considered a power. And as we've seen, Dash's super speed is absolutely useless.
I forgot Derpy spoke here. First time since "Slice of Life", I believe, and they didn't really bring attention to it.
So, anyone going to clean up those lanterns they're launching in the air, many of which have flames inside, after they fall?
Sunset's empathy power is a bit strange for the narrative, since it bypasses the ability for characters to hide things without going out of their way to avoid Sunset or having her conveniently forget it.
"Embrace the Magic" is pretty plain and forgettable.
Ahaha, Sunset can't be less interested in what Flash is talking to her about.
I just realized, this is another Scooby Doo story. Hold on, Gloriosa's memories show that she's in charge of the camp finances, which is proof that she is, in fact, past high school age. This doesn't necessarily mean Timber is that old, but it's not a good look.
Gaia Everfree Gloriosa attacking the campers just feels low level, though the magic she demonstrates is another example of something at a larger scale than typical pony villains. Well, the magic to surround the camp, not the magic she uses to attack people. "We Will Stand Forever Free / For Everfree" is alright.
Everyone's powers being completely useless against Gloriosa doesn't exactly do much to sell their importance.
SciTwi actually having the risk of turning into Midnight Sparkle is really weird. They again undermine the entire friendship thing by having SciTwi take out Gloriosa on her own. I completely forgot about everyone having special magical girl costumes. I don't have a big problem with SciTwi having wings, but it would have been cool if they had her just be a unicorn, since she didn't go through the entire princess thing.
I forgot about "The Legend You Were Meant to Be". It's almost good, but it's just missing something to make it stick out. Plus, it seems more like a credits song.
Wait, is that the director from "Movie Magic" in the crowd?! I'm impressed they were planning that far ahead. I forgot about SciTwi and Timber almost kissing.
I forgot about the actual credits song, "Hope Shines Eternal", and it is indeed forgettable.
It's weird, I remembered not being that interested in this movie, but this time, I found it to actually be pretty easy watching. That is to say, fewer things stood out as negative than the previous movies, up until the climax. The character interactions were nice, I liked a lot of the dialogue, and it was fun. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's better than Rainbow Rocks, but it's perhaps in second place now.
Also, I guess I just imagined SciTwi being voice acted in a notably different way than Princess Twilight. It's probably that we don't hear her get excited and happy as much.
Overall, I think it's safe to say that Equestria Girls is pretty enjoyable when it isn't focusing on magic and is just about slice of life interactions. Its attempts at deeper stories largely fall flat. Rainbow Rocks had an exciting climax and a character arc that many liked, but that feels like a fluke at this point. It's funny, when Equestria Girls started, some people said they were more excited about it than the main show because they wanted more slice of life stories that focused on the Mane Six, which they felt the show was deviating from, but if anything, EQG does that far less than the show. And the hints we got about a possible EQG series demonstrate that even that would do it less than FiM.
==
On the episode guide, I feel like it might be best to have a section at the top of each season for overall season stuff. As is, it's kind of awkward explaining things in the opening two parter section. Also, I'm thinking it's best if we include a new page describing Equestria Girls overall, after the Introduction page, particularly to mention the fact that it's heavier on continuity than the main series, and thus if you want to watch anything, it's best to watch everything before it too. Conveniently, we don't have to spoil Princess Twilight at all, though that's kind of a moot point with the movie. Also, the first half of season 7 will be on Netflix before the movie premieres, so we might as will include a temporary section on that. Really, I just want to be able to include the Equestria Girls specials, so "Mirror Magic" can be described as, "Sunset finally returns to Equestria, where she meets Starlight Glimmer. They become fast friends, and Starlight visits the human world with her. But forget about that interesting stuff, the Equestria Girls must face off against the worst villain in all of My Little Pony!" Maybe also have a page about the online shorts.
And let's open up modifying guides for previous seasons, starting with seasons 4 and 5. Current guide. Season 4, and season 5.
Here are the votes I had recorded from last year.
Season 4
3. "Castle Mane-ia" - SigmasonicX, DrForester, Rhomega Beta, PaulloDEC
4. "Daring Don't"
5. "Flight to the Finish" - SigmasonicX, Rhomega Beta, PaulloDEC
6. "Power Ponies" - Rhomega Beta
7. "Bats!"
8. "Rarity Takes Manehattan" - SigmasonicX, DrForester, Rhomega Beta, Jay RaR, UberTag
9. "Pinkie Apple Pie" - SigmasonicX, UberTag, DrForester, Rhomega Beta, PaulloDEC
10. "Rainbow Falls" - DrForester, Jay RaR
11. "Pinkie Pride" - SigmasonicX, UberTag, DrForester, Rhomega Beta, PaulloDEC, Jay RaR
12. "Three's A Crowd" - Jay RaR
13. "Simple Ways" - PaulloDEC
14. "Filli Vanilli" - SigmasonicX, Jay RaR
15. "Twilight Time" - UberTag, DrForester, PaulloDEC
16. "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" - DrForester, Jay RaR
17. "Somepony to Watch Over Me"
18. "Trade Ya!" - DrForester, UberTag
19. "Maud Pie" - SigmasonicX, UberTag, DrForester, Rhomega Beta, PaulloDEC
20. "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" - SigmasonicX, Rhomega Beta, Jay RaR, UberTag
21. "Leap of Faith" - DrForester, Jay RaR
22. "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" - SigmasonicX, Rhomega Beta, PaulloDEC
23. "Inspiration Manifestation"
24. "Equestria Games"
Season 5
3. "Castle Sweet Castle" - wookieofdoom, DrForester
4. "Bloom & Gloom" - SigmasonicX, McNum, Rhomega Beta, DrForester, UberTag
5. "Tanks for the Memories" - PaulloDEC, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, DrForester
6. "Appleoosa's Most Wanted" - McNum
7. "Make New Friends but Keep Discord" - SigmasonicX, UberTag, Rhomega Beta, Jay RaR, DrForester
8. "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" - PaulloDEC, McNum, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR, DrForester
9. "Slice of Life" - SigmasonicX, McNum, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR, DrForester
10. "Princess Spike"
11. "Party Pooped" - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, UberTag, Jay RaR
12. "Amending Fences" - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, UberTag, McNum, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR, DrForester
13. "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" - McNum, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR
14. "Canterlot Boutique" - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, UberTag, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR, DrForester
15. "Scare Master" - SigmasonicX, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR
16. "Rarity Investigates!" - SigmasonicX, McNum, Rhomega Beta, Jay RaR, DrForester, UberTag
17. "Made in Manehattan" - McNum, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, DrForester
18. "Brotherhooves Social"
20. "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" - PaulloDEC, McNum, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, Jay RaR
21. "Hearthbreakers" - SigmasonicX, PaulloDEC, UberTag
22. "What About Discord?"
23. "The Hooffields and McColts" - McNum, Rhomega Beta, wookieofdoom, DrForester
24. "The Mane Attraction" - PaulloDEC, UberTag, McNum, DrForester
Let's look back at places where I deviated from the votes.
4 votes
3. "Castle Mane-ia"
20. "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils"
3 votes
5. "Flight to the Finish"
15. "Twilight Time"
22. "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3"
2 votes
10. "Rainbow Falls"
14. "Filli Vanilli"
16. "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies"
18. "Trade Ya!"
21. "Leap of Faith"
1 or less votes
4. "Daring Don't"
6. "Power Ponies" - 1
7. "Bats!"
12. "Three's A Crowd" - 1
13. "Simple Ways" - 1
17. "Somepony to Watch Over Me"
23. "Inspiration Manifestation"
24. "Equestria Games"
I mainly just went down the highest votes, with the only real choice being "Filli Vanilli" over all the other 2-vote episodes. I don't think any changes need to be made, other than adding a note to "Power Ponies" that the heroes turn into superheroes. This is relevant to "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" and "Movie Magic".
Season 5 7 votes
12. "Amending Fences"
14. "Canterlot Boutique"
6 votes
8. "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone"
9. "Slice of Life"
16. "Rarity Investigates!"
5 votes
4. "Bloom & Gloom"
20. "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows"
4 votes
5. "Tanks for the Memories"
7. "Make New Friends but Keep Discord"
11. "Party Pooped"
13. "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"
17. "Made in Manehattan"
23. "The Hooffields and McColts"
24. "The Mane Attraction"
3 votes
15. "Scare Master"
21. "Hearthbreakers"
2 or less votes
3. "Castle Sweet Castle" - 2
6. "Appleoosa's Most Wanted" - 1
10. "Princess Spike"
18. "Brotherhooves Social"
22. "What About Discord?"
This season is a lot more open to change. Most notably, when counting down the votes (9 episodes, since "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" is automatically in), I excluded "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" and "Tanks for the Memories" in order to include "Party Pooped" and "Hearthbreakers". I still think "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" isn't needed to introduce Cadance being pregnant, and "Party Pooped" is important for demonstrating Twilight being diplomatic and Pinkie feeling the pressure, but "Hearthbreakers" turned out not to lead to more appearances from Pie Sisters besides Maud. We'd still need an Applejack episode, though, especially since we don't have any in season 7. Maybe "The Mane Attraction" is preferable? I'll leave it up to you guys.
==
Ask Nerd Dash started only a month ago but has a ton of comics. It's an EQG comic, and from skimming, it seems to take place in community college. Rainbow Dash is now a nerd, has a one-sided rivalry with SciTwi, and is shipped with Applejack. It seems pretty fun, though the art is very basic.
Pinkie Tales: Raripunzel - Next in the Pinkie Tales series, this deviates heavily from any version of Rapunzel. I like it a lot more than the previous one (Egghead and the Beast), and there's a lot of cute art, particularly once Rarity is properly introduced.
Royal Vacation - A dumb video about Celestia going on vacation.
My reactions catching up were, roughly in order:
Huh
Wow, really?
Awwwww
Awwwww
Huh, that explains things
Oh no!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Oh no!
Go! Go! Go!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS
Quite a wild ride, as you can see.
Twilight sealing herself in the library was a big gut punch, along with the timeskip, but Twilight proceeding to break out of the library on her own was great! That said, I feel like Twilight successfully breaking out removed the core conflict of the story. You no longer feel like they have to succeed at their mission as soon as possible, since now Twilight and Rarity are free to do shippy stuff whenever they want. I suppose that's why the author is specifically ending the story here, and making the other books different fics.
I didn't vote then (I wasn't registered, duh), but I'm not a fan of Party Pooped. Not a bad episode, but pretty forgettable. Personally I'd swap it for Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? (which, honestly, I'm surprised didn't get more votes), or keep Hearthbreakers in its stead and add The Mane Attraction - if you really think the worst pony derserves an episode of her own.
Anyway, found my new favourite artist (NSFW due to delightful grotesquerie):
