My Little Pony: Friendship is MAGIC!

[Game_boy]

The greatest episode possible.

[Weeks]

These episodes were fucking awesome.

But ponyless summer =(

[Vaniver]

This episode was everything I dreamed it would be and more.

I watched it with a friend (live) so I didn't take notes, but here are a few afterthoughts:

Spoiler:

Twilight, I know you dumped all your points into Learning, but pick up some Intrigue! When you think someone is evil, discuss it with other people in private first. Telling Celestia "hey, Cadance didn't remember the dance we used to do when we were young, and her personality appears to have changed for the worse. I'm concerned she might be the threat you're on guard for" in private is much better than making a fool of yourself in public (especially if Celestia knew the threat was changelings).

Shining Armor is vying with Big Mac for best stallion :3 (though he is off the market, now, while Big Mac is single in canon, and laughs at the thought of dating Cheerilee!)

The details were all spot on. I was talking with my friend about whether or not Luna would be in the episode ("great, big sis, don't invite me to our niece's wedding. I SEE HOW IT IS"), but then she was exactly where she should be (guarding the night, and then sleeping through the crisis during the day). Spike (and Pinkie) playing with the caketoppers was marvelous. The fights with the changelings were great, Fluttershy's and Pinkie Pie's (oh man the changeling's expression) in particular. (The stallion that started prancing immediately after Shining Armor's spell pushed out the changelings made me laugh way more than I should have.)

I was hoping we would see Celestia be useful on screen for a third time (the only other two that come to mind are the Summer Sun celebration and fixing Smarty Pants), but apparently not. I was gratified that the solution wasn't "just zap em with the Elements of Harmony" as three times would be a little much.

[Angua]

I enjoyed it.

Spoiler:

I did remember thinking in the first scene where you see Canterlot off in the distance, 'Did it always have that pink bubble around it?' Then it turned out that it didn't! Good attention to detail on the parts of the artists there, however Shining Armour and Cadence managed to lose their rings by the time they got in the carriage!

[Vieto]

I liked it, the plot twist was a good one.

Spoiler:

Although how the Changeling Queen handled her late-game plan was somewhat disappointing. I mean, she dismissed the power of love as a threat, even after using said power to defeat Princess Celestia and being surprised at how powerful it was. Still, I liked the song, and the whole battle-royale thing.

[Weeks]

Spoiler:

The battle was the best part of the episode and I loved it to bits. Seriously amazing.

The small bits of Luna in the episode were cool too. I was wishing she'd have more screen time, but at least they didn't forget entirely about her.

[The Scyphozoa]

Right. So. I'm pretty sure I'm never watching that again.

Spoiler:

Bubble around Canterlot. Could you know, maybe have someone on the train mention it when they go through it, so we're not left wondering? It's kind of a basic rule of storytelling, and not all that hard to follow.

I had heard "clones of the mane 6" would be involved, and I was hoping they'd be actually trying to impersonate them. But it was only a battle tactic, which then ended up only being played for laughs.

That fight scene with the mane 6 changelings... just repeating the same 6 shots three times? In what world is that a good idea?

I was also hoping for a bit of explanation about Cadence and how the whole winged-unicorn-princess thing works in the first place. Her NAME would have been a perfect way to do this: "cadence" refers to rhythm, and maybe she at one time had something to do with the balance in the day/night cycle? But no, just winged unicorn out of nowhere. Also no explanation for the Italian. Okay then.

And then... they did it. They freakin' did it. They put in a character who looks (vaguely) like a pony, with a black coat and vertical eyes. I sincerely hope that wasn't intended as a reference to Nyx. If it wasn't I can't fault them for that, but if it was then what on God's green Earth were they THINKING?

I'm not a really big fan of when kids' shows do things that only adults will understand, especially when it's something inappropriate for the adults to explain to their kids. Such as the whole "bachelor party" followed by mischievous look in Spike's eyes.

I really did not care for the songs.

Vieto's complaint is probably the worst thing. "I get power from his love." "Your love is powerless." I think the "lesson" of this episode was supposed to be that love is powerful (and I really expected something more profound from a 2-parter), but it's a little bit odd when you have your villain deliver the lesson and then lose because they forgot that they just taught you that lesson.

Maybe it's just me failing to be perceptive, but the changeling queen's voice sounded quite similar to Nightmare Moon's. I can't find casting information for Cadence or the queen yet but if it turns out the queen is Tabitha St. Germain as well, then, you know, maybe she should have tried to put on a different voice? Or, if it isn't her, whoever DID voice the queen should have just tried to have a more unique voice.

The songs I really did not care for.

Sometimes writers feel the need to have a character present in an episode because of fans' expectations. Princess Luna was certainly one of these cases, considering she's only been seen twice despite her supposed importance to Equestria. But when writers do this, it is much preferred that they write the character into the episode in a way that makes them important to the plot.


Pros? Well, things looked cool. I always think the magic effects in this show look really cool, and today was no exception. The way fake Cadence's eyes flashed when we first saw her use the spell on Shining Armor, that was cool. The changeling queen did a good job of looking revolting. Rotting through her legs. *shudder*

But, yeah. I expected that the fact that the episode was about two characters we'd never heard of before would make me not really care about it. And I was right. Oh well.

[Mat]

I really did not care for the songs.

D: I loved the songs, especially

Spoiler:

This one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzsxfO7dBlA. Changeling Cadence was an awesome villain, though her plan seemed pretty pointless. What's stopping the changelings infiltrating equestria any time they please, other than the (apparently temporary) forcefield surrounding Canterlot?

Spoiler:

Bubble around Canterlot. Could you know, maybe have someone on the train mention it when they go through it, so we're not left wondering? It's kind of a basic rule of storytelling, and not all that hard to follow.

Spoiler:

It didn't seem that odd to me that nobody commented on it until the wedding. What's wrong with being left wondering about something?

Spoiler:

I had heard "clones of the mane 6" would be involved, and I was hoping they'd be actually trying to impersonate them. But it was only a battle tactic, which then ended up only being played for laughs.

Spoiler:

Well there were hundreds of them, so deception wasn't necessary to capture the mane 6.

Spoiler:

And then... they did it. They freakin' did it. They put in a character who looks (vaguely) like a pony, with a black coat and vertical eyes. I sincerely hope that wasn't intended as a reference to Nyx. If it wasn't I can't fault them for that, but if it was then what on God's green Earth were they THINKING?

Spoiler:

I really doubt it. They don't look anything alike except for the colouring.

Spoiler:

Vieto's complaint is probably the worst thing. "I get power from his love." "Your love is powerless." I think the "lesson" of this episode was supposed to be that love is powerful (and I really expected something more profound from a 2-parter), but it's a little bit odd when you have your villain deliver the lesson and then lose because they forgot that they just taught you that lesson.

Spoiler:

Yeah that was a bit confusing. Also that the villains are powered by love but love is used to defeat them.

I think the intention was that the changelings only feed on love directed at them, but love is powerful anyway, so Cadence's loveyness magic recharged Shining Armour's defence magic. Changeling Cadence thought her love was powerless because Shining Armour didn't love her back any more (all his love was consumed by Changeling Cadence), But real Cadence has mastered all the love spells so she was able to make Shining Armour love her back again, and that made the supercharged forcefield work. Or something like that.

Spoiler:

Sometimes writers feel the need to have a character present in an episode because of fans' expectations. Princess Luna was certainly one of these cases, considering she's only been seen twice despite her supposed importance to Equestria. But when writers do this, it is much preferred that they write the character into the episode in a way that makes them important to the plot.

Spoiler:

Yeah WTF. Was she completely absent for the rehearsal? I was really expecting her to try and do something to help. She is almost as powerful as Celestia right? Work together!

Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned

Spoiler:

that if you are suspicious of somepony, it's totally appropriate to make unfounded accusations about them in public!

[eSOANEM]

I was disappointed we didn't get scootaloo as the royal wedding girl. I'd been hoping for that since the episode was first announced.

[Angua]

Re: bachelor party

Spoiler:

I got the impression Spike had no idea what a bachelor party is, or what it entails. I never really noticed a mischievous gleam in his eye, and parents can easily explain it as one last night for the groom to go out with his guy friends and they play lots of pranks on him. Also, the fact that Spike didn't realise it was supposed to be before the wedding was (in my opinion) hilarious.

[The Scyphozoa]

Ah, it's been confirmed: it was NOT the same voice actress. Thank Smooze.

[Weeks]

Spoiler:

I had heard "clones of the mane 6" would be involved, and I was hoping they'd be actually trying to impersonate them. But it was only a battle tactic, which then ended up only being played for laughs.

That fight scene with the mane 6 changelings... just repeating the same 6 shots three times? In what world is that a good idea?

Spoiler:

You said it yourself. Played for laughs. I found it funny.

[RebeccaRGB]

This is the best thing ever written.

Spoiler:

Here it is, my complete list of What Makes This Episode Epic, version 1.0:

1. six songs including reprises
2. Daniel Ingram's musical Easter egg
3. Pinkie Pie sneezing confetti
4. Spike and Pinkie Pie shipping the cake toppers
5. Colgate speaks!
6. Lyra speaks!
7. Luna speaks - thrice!
8. evil bridesmaids - "You're not going anywhere!"
9. the wedding bouquet as a Shiny Object
10. Badass Celestia fighting Queen Chrysalis
11. the Marx Brothers mirror scene with Rainbow Dash
12. the Twilight magic machine gun
13. the Party Cannon
14. Cadence's new tactical friendship weapon
15. Cadence dancing with Pinkie Pie
16. Twilight's parents
17. the Sonic Rainboom
18. Vinyl Scratch - with her glasses off!

[PatrickRsGhost]

Probably one of the best season finales I had ever seen in any show, animated or live-action.

Didyanotice:

Spoiler:

1. Ponified Harry Potter in the wedding congregation?
2. Changelings are sent off into the sky, a la Team Rocket?
3. Evil witch impersonates prince's love, puts him under a spell, sings about it? Why does it seem so familiar?
4. Pinkie Pie uses her confetti cannon to fight the changelings?
5. The homage to WALL-E?

[The Scyphozoa]

Probably one of the best season finales I had ever seen in any show, animated or live-action.

Didyanotice:

Spoiler:

5. The homage to WALL-E?

What?

[PatrickRsGhost]

Probably one of the best season finales I had ever seen in any show, animated or live-action.

Didyanotice:

Spoiler:

5. The homage to WALL-E?

What?

Spoiler:

When Cadence uses her magic to bring Shining Armor out of the trance, then when he tries to defeat the Changelings, but fails, her horn comes close to his, and a spark forms between them, just like when EVE sparked WALL-E near the end of the movie.

[The Scyphozoa]

Oh, maybe. I'm not sure it was SUPPOSED to be an homage, though.

[Weeks]

Bahaha. <3 SherclopPones.

[ConMan]

Random stuff about the finale, roughly in the order I thought it/said it to my girlfriend:

Spoiler:

* So she's been visiting Shining Armour less regularly since she came to Ponyville, but wouldn't we have maybe seen him one of the times she was visiting Canterlot?
* Wasn't one of the *first* lessons the Mane Six learned this season about not dismissing a friend's concerns just because they don't think they're important?
* My girlfriend needs to call her brother her "Baby Brother Best Friend Forever", just for the troll factor.
* Ha, random fanon pony cameos. Including Luna, I wonder if she's going to have more than one line.
* Woo Celestia kicking ass ... nevermind.
* Yes, good, Elements of Harmony, that seems pretty obvious.
* Since they said changelings take the form of someone you love, I laughed when the first transformed changeling we saw was when Rainbow Dash met Rainbow Dash
* I admit, I lost it at the fight scene - first, Fluttershy proved her awesome non-violent solution, then Rainbow dash showed her awesome violent solution, then Pinkie Pie using Twilight Sparkle as a machine gun, by which point I was laughing ridiculously hard. Then all the flash shots came in, and when Pinkie was using the Party Cannon I had to pause to regain my composure.
* So, the power of love is about as cheesy as it gets, but damn - if there was ever a force that could stand up against the Elements of Harmony, this was it.
* Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaaaaaaaaain!
* Woo Real!Cadence going through wedding preparations was cute.
* So that's how they wear wedding rings in Equestria ... so what if you don't have a horn?
* Oh good, Luna got a second line -_- I mean sure, she was pretty obviously handling the night-time stuff, but couldn't she at least have made *some* appearance besides a "What did I miss"? Especially since you'd think she could still have made it to the wedding if it was properly organised.
* It was good! And worth waiting an extra week to see as one piece. Now we just have to wait until season 3 ...

[PatrickRsGhost]

Spoiler:

* Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaaaaaaaaain!

Spoiler:

A little something I whipped up:

Prepare for trouble!
And make it double!
To protect Equestria against devastation!
To unite all ponies within our nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars above!
Manno!
Ward!
Team Carriage trotting off at the speed of light!
Surrender now, or prepare to fight!
Whinnay, dat’s right!

And in case you don't get the reference to the names, they refer to one of the greatest racehorses of all time.

[eeris]

Spoiler:

2. Daniel Ingram's musical Easter egg

Spoiler:

Musical easer egg?

Also, did the start of the villains song remind anyone of this?

[The Scyphozoa]

I think it's late enough that we don't need spoilers anymore.

Yeah, there was something about some musical techniques in some of the songs being called "authentic cadence" and "deceptive cadence". Kinda neat.

[Soralin]

Ok, this thread needs some more content.

Have some Epic:

http://ziom05.deviantart.com/art/Chrysa ... -299086934


http://ziom05.deviantart.com/#/d4x74l7


And apparently we've reached the critical mass where the fandom could just make its own episodes, fan animated, written, voiced, music..ed, etc.
Epic Wub Time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sob1t-iUCmE

Shipping chart, spoiler for large, some of these are just hilarious.
http://ciscoql.deviantart.com/art/Ship-png-296471905

Spoiler:

And here's a Russian version of Pinkie's Brew:
Pinkie's Brew Russian Gypsy Jazz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d1WceA7D40
Which is itself a cover of, Pinkie's Brew (Extended Version):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=682pneYoP0c
Which is itself a fan made song within Friendship is Witchcraft, episode 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsHXWDfgCmg
Which is an abridged(well, altered) version of FiM.
So, how many levels deep are we now?

Edit: Oh yeah, and the real ending of season 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-1dyaFyDLk

[Soralin]

Everfree Radio did some some new interviews: http://everfreeradio.com/

Andrea Libman (Voice Actor: Pinkie Pie & Fluttershy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP61SQA-UWw

Ashleigh Ball (Voice Actor: Rainbow Dash & Applejack)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5_DccQ47w

Edit: And top 10 voted videos for April is out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD1t8vf1pE4

[piwakawaka42]

Is it just me, or is one of the best things about this show the truly awesome fanwork that it inspires? FiW (watched the first episode), Fallout: Equestria (reading that was what got me into FiM), mythbuckers(please update more. Please...), my little dashie (I'm normally immune to the sad stuff. Not this time...), binky pie (looking forward to reading it)...
What are your favourites?

[Weeks]

I'm not really much into fanfics of any kind, but I love FiW, and I'm looking forward to the Fighting is Magic game. :D

EDIT: They've opened castings for Fluttershy! http://www.mane6.com/2012/05/help-wante ... .html#more

[The Scyphozoa]

FiW (watched the first episode)

Oh, you ain't seen nothin yet.

Yeah, I'd have to say I wouldn't be nearly as into this show if it weren't for the creative community.

[eSOANEM]

Is it just me, or is one of the best things about this show the truly awesome fanwork that it inspires? FiW (watched the first episode), Fallout: Equestria (reading that was what got me into FiM), mythbuckers(please update more. Please...), my little dashie (I'm normally immune to the sad stuff. Not this time...), binky pie (looking forward to reading it)...
What are your favourites?

The anthology was what got me into FiM. One of my friends (also a brony) showed it a bunch of us and I decided to watch the original to see what it was like. Half-way through series one I realised, I'm still watching this and it's pretty good. I think now though, FiW is probably one of my favourite things about the fandom along with a lot of the fanart. I haven't really been in that many fandoms to any significant extent, but this is certainly one of the most creative I've seen.

[piwakawaka42]

Oh yes, the fanart is amazing too (Princess luna seems to attract a lot of the best stuff, although I'm quite partial to anything involving pheonixes), and I'm eagerly awaiting fighting is magic.

[Soralin]

So, there's a documentary that's in the making for Bronycon: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/257 ... ocumentary

And, it's being made by John de Lancie.

And recently revealed, that Lauren Faust, and Tara Strong are also going to be involved as producers for it.

And so here's an interview/livestream, that has John de Lancie, Lauren Faust, and Tara Strong all in it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6sEosWguzc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZWBQMA1wcE

[Shivahn]

I just finished watching the second season.

I loved the finale.

Spoiler:

Is it just me, or was that kind of a weird plot for a kids' show? Not that it didn't work super well or anything! I did love it. It's just that "princess is kidnapped and replaced by a shapeshifter in an effort to steal energy and compromise her fiance, the captain of the royal guard, as sabotage preceeding the invasion of the capital city" feels like a plot that came out of Skyrim instead of My Little Pony.

It was only afterwards that I realized "that's... a pretty good plot for a movie, let alone two episodes of My Little Pony."

[Weeks]

It's been over a month, I think we can talk outside of spoilers.

I don't know. It's not really unpredictable or unprecedented. I like that they were willing to get into an invasion plot, but it's not innovative.

[Shivahn]

I don't really watch a lot of children's TV shows so I guess I don't have much to compare it to. It's not the invasion part that struck me as weird, it was the fact that it was covert and involved targeted sabotage as a prelude.

[ConMan]

I don't think it's hugely surprising, especially in the context of MLP where they're actively trying to make the plots much more engaging than the average girl's show. It would have been more surprising, and more appropriate for a modern adult-oriented show, if they'd been leaving in hints about the Changelings from early Season 2 (fan conspiracies about overuse of certain background ponies notwithstanding).

[Shivahn]

Yeah, I guess in the context of "We are trying to make the plots more engaging", the plot being engaging isn't too surprising

I'd forgotten about that. In any case, I'm glad they're doing it. I enjoyed the plot.

[Soralin]

I just finished watching the second season.

I loved the finale.

Spoiler:

Is it just me, or was that kind of a weird plot for a kids' show? Not that it didn't work super well or anything! I did love it. It's just that "princess is kidnapped and replaced by a shapeshifter in an effort to steal energy and compromise her fiance, the captain of the royal guard, as sabotage preceeding the invasion of the capital city" feels like a plot that came out of Skyrim instead of My Little Pony.

It was only afterwards that I realized "that's... a pretty good plot for a movie, let alone two episodes of My Little Pony."

Did you see the real ending to the finale? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-1dyaFyDLk

Or was that the start of the next? (from the writer for that episode): https://twitter.com/MMeghanMcCarthy/sta ... 7214947328

[Shivahn]

Heh. That'd be a great opening to season 3.

[Weeks]

A horror themed MLP would rock my socks so bad.

[Game_boy]

A horror themed MLP would rock my socks so bad.

Leave that to the hundreds of other fantasy series that went "dark" later on to satisfy the fans.

Also terrible [grimdark] tag fanfiction. Premise: What if ponies, but, like, WAR and blood and death and stuff.

[Shivahn]

A horror themed MLP would rock my socks so bad.

You should try the Dwarf Fortress Pony mod. Do adventure mode.

There is something about the description of a pony sneaking quietly up to a night creature and then tearing it to pieces that's just... well, something.

Edit for thought I meant to post earlier:

I love the "This Day" aria. I am learning it on the piano, and have a remix which I've been listening to pretty much exclusively for a couple of days. It's too bad it has the lyric "I could care less about the dress."

I guess it works, because it makes me want to punch the villain in the face? For her grammar? Is that what songs are supposed to do?

Because that is the emotion that line evokes, while most of the rest of the song evokes quite different ones.