History YMMV / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E25TheCutieRemarkPart1

** Many fans have snarked at the yak's war declaration in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E11PartyPooped "Party Pooped"]], saying that Celestia alone could make the war a CurbStompBattle. But in this episode we find that, at least when fighting against Sombra and his forces, even with Celestia directly involved in combat, Equestria is barely keeping up with the Crystal Empire.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While the comics had already rescued him, this episode does it for Sombra in the show, showing just how much of a threat to Equestria he really is. Without anypony to oppose his return, he forces the Crystal ponies to become his soldiers (wearing kickass armor to boot) and declares war on Equestria. While he does meet resistance, it's clearly a war of attrition, with Celestia's forces, supplies, and morale dwindling as the war wages on.

** Spike's line "Well, that didn't work," for fans of ''Fanfic/EakinsHardReset''.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: King Sombra's showing here may serve as this to fans who found his original appearance underwhelming.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While the comics had already rescued him, this episode does it for Sombra in the show, showing just how much of a threat to Equestria he really is. Without anypony to oppose his return, he forces the Crystal Ponies to become his soldiers (wearing kickass armor to boot) and declares war on Equestria. While he does meet resistance, it's clearly a war of attrition, with Celestia's forces, supplies, and morale dwindling as the war wages on.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: King Sombra's showing here may serve as this towards fans who found his original appearance underwhelming.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: The Rainbow Dash of the future in which Sombra reigns, due to her more badass look, including a cybernetic wing, an eye scar and a piece of her ear missing.
* FridgeHorror: With the war of attrition against Sombra's forces, one can imagine how many ponies that fell in battle along with those who didn't appear on screen.

** At the time this aired, the [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW comic book]] was going through a story arc in which Sombra had legitimately returned to try and re-claim the Crystal Empire.
** The entire plot of the episodes revolves around someone going back in time to stop the Sonic Rainboom, which prevents the mane cast from meeting and becoming friends, and showing the effects it had. [[FanFic/AWorldWithoutRainbows A plot that revolves around showing what the world would be like if the Rainboom never happened? Sounds slightly familar...]]

** Twilight's cry of "I don't know!" sounds less like she's despairing over how to stop a terrible future from happening and more like she can't work out a maths problem.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While the comics had already rescued him, this episode does it for Sombra in the show, showing just how much of a threat to Equestria he really is. Without anypony to oppose his return, he forces the Crystal Ponies to become his soldiers (wearing kickass armor to boot) and declares war on Equestria. While he does meet resistance, it's clearly a war of attrition with Celestia's forces, supplies, and morale dwindling as the war wages on.
* SpoiledByTheFormat: Twilight's original plan to simply go further back in time and forcibly stop Starlight Glimmer from changing the timeline sounds like it might work, and in most other time travel stories doing this would likely serve as the climax. A real pity the first half of a two-parter isn't even done when Twilight tries this.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The music playing during the apple canning scene sounds similar to the middle section of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse", as heard in many Warner Brother's cartoons.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: While the {{Bad Future}}s looks bleak and awful, some would've preferred that Starlight took over with the alternate timeline with her being the ruler.

** Many fans have snarked at the yak's war declaration in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E11PartyPooped Party Pooped]], saying that Celestia alone could make the war a CurbStompBattle. But in this episode we find that, at least when fighting against Sombra and his forces, even with Celestia directly involved in combat, Equestria is barely keeping up with the Crystal Empire.

** Spike's line "Well, that didn't work," for fans of Fanfic/EakinsHardReset.

* {{Narm}}: The war scene in the Sombra timeline would've been a lot grimmer if the actual fighting didn't consist of [[https://derpiboo.ru/1032144/ this.]]

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The music playing during the apple canning scene sounds similar to the middle section of Raymond Scott's ''Powerhouse,'' as heard in many Warner Brother's cartoons.

** At the time this aired, the [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW comic book]] was going through a story arc in which Sombra had legitimately returned to try and re-claim the Crystal Kingdom.

* HarsherInHindsight: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime The last episode]] to prominently feature time travel had Twilight speculate on the possibility of an epic pony war. This episode shows us how such a war could have looked.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** King Sombra's showing here may serve as this towards fans who found his original appearance underwhelming.
** Some worried going in that the only BadFuture we'd see would be one that Starlight won, meaning she had defeated not only the other alicorns, but all of the other villains as well; basically giving everyone a big serving of TheWorfEffect. This thankfully did not happen and the crux of the BadFuture story lines is still with established power houses.

** Some worried going in that the only BadFuture we'd see would be one that Starlight won, meaning she somehow defeated not only the other alicorns, but all of the other villains as well. This thankfully did not happen.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: King Sombra's showing here may serve as this towards fans who found his original appearance underwhelming.

* HilariousInHindsight: Spike's line "Well, that didn't work," for fans of Fanfic/EakinsHardReset.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: For detractors of ''Siege of the Crystal Empire'', Sombra's showing here, and for many who didn't like his original appearance either.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While the comics had already rescued him, this episode does it for Sombra in the show, showing just how much of a threat to Equestria he really is. Without anypony to oppose his return, he forces the Crystal Ponies to become his soldiers (wearing kickass armor to boot) and declares war on Equestria. While he does meet resistance, it's clearly a war of attrition with Celestia's forces, supplies, and morale dwindling as the war wages on.

* HarsherInHindsight: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime The last episode]] to prominently feature time travel had Twilight speculate on the possibility of an epic pony war. This episode shows us what such a war could have looked.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Sombra Won!Rainbow Dash, due to her more badass look, including a cybernetic wing, an eye scar and a piece of her ear missing.