History YMMV / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E4SparklesSeven

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The reveal that infant Spike was raised by Twilight's family instead of just by Twilight herself, which was the [[{{Fanon}} perceived way]] as to how he was raised for years, disproved a lot of complaints directed at Celestia for [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything having a filly take care of a baby dragon by herself while she is still studying]].
** The last [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife milestone episode]] [[BrokenBase got some heat from a sizable portion of the fandom]] for having the Mane Six being out of focus throughout most of it. This episode won many of those same fans back in a heartbeat by having its central story be all about the Mane Six (even having the story conceptualized [[WrittenByCastMember by the Mane Six and Spike's voice actors themselves]]).
** Shining Armor finally gets to carry a story on his own. On top of that, we finally see how he became the Captain of the Royal Guard in the first place despite [[FailureHero his poor onscreen track record]] with his planning of the security system.
** One could also make the argument that the episode's plot could be a way to address how useless the Royal Guards often are in a crisis.
** One of the most common critiques on Shining Armor's introduction in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding]]" was that his RememberTheNewGuy status could have been justified if his relationship with Twilight was strained, because it would have given her a good reason to have never mentioned him beforehand. This episode gives us that fix by establishing that Twilight held a grudge against Shining Armour for keeping the Sibling Supreme Crown when he left home.

** Space exists.
*** Space travel exists considering Pinkie's ImagineSpot includes her wearing a spacesuit.
*** How does this work with the sun and moon -- two very prominent celestial bodies -- being magically controlled?

** The reveal that infant Spike was reared by Twilight's family instead of just by Twilight herself, which was the [[{{Fanon}} perceived way]] as to how he was reared for years, disproved a lot of complaints directed at Celestia for [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything having a filly take care of a baby dragon by herself while she is still studying]].

** Spike being reared in Twilight's household. When and how long was it?

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: It's left open-ended whether or not there was any truth to Applejack's "Apple Chord" story.

* RelationshipWritingFumble: A familial example. Spike's exact relation to Twilight is probably one of the most confusing aspects of the show from day one. Some say that it is mother-and-son while others go for LikeBrotherAndSister. In light of "Father Knows Beast" and this episode, things just got even more confusing as they support differing notions. According to Creator/CathyWeseluck, it is actually a [[https://twitter.com/CathyWeseluck/status/1119651493429354497 combination of both]], with an established example by [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Nani and Lilo]].

* HarsherInHindsight: In ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' comic book [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue74 #74]], when Zephyr Breeze appears, he and Fluttershy's relationship seems to be much better than it was previously, with the two having affectionate nicknames for each other and playfully joking around. She even calmly helps pull him out of a panic attack. Come this episode when Fluttershy mentions him to Spike, she says that he (Zephyr) could learn a lot from Spike about being a good little brother.

* {{Retcon}}: Possibly one for Twilight and Shining Armor's relationship. Previous episodes and the comics established that the two were very close growing up, with Twilight considering him her best friend. Here it's implied that the two only got along because they were competing for the sibling crown. It even specifically shows scenes from Twilight's BBBFF song.

** Starswirl the Bearded's cameo was also unexpected to many viewers (even though the scene was among those shown in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8DvEJl4Hh0 Season 9 teaser trailer]]).

* HarsherInHindsight:
** In ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' comic book [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue74 #74]], when Zephyr Breeze appears, he and Fluttershy's relationship seems to be much better than it was previously, with the two having affectionate nicknames for each other and playfully joking around. She even calmly helps pull him out of a panic attack. Come this episode when Fluttershy mentions him to Spike, she says that he (Zephyr) could learn a lot from Spike about being a good little brother.

** One of the most common critiques on Shining Armour's introduction in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding]]" was that his RememberTheNewGuy status could have been justified if his relationship with Twilight was strained, because it would have given her a good reason to have never mentioned him beforehand. This episode gives us that fix by establishing that Twilight held a grudge against Shining Armour for keeping the Sibling Supreme Crown when he left home.

* RelationshipWritingFumble: A familial example. Spike's exact relation to Twilight is probably one of the most confusing aspects of the show from day one. Some say that it is mother-and-son while others go for LikeBrotherAndSister. In light of "Father Knows Beast" and this episode, things just got even more confusing as they support differing notions. According to Creator/CathyWeseluck, it is actually a [[https://twitter.com/CathyWeseluck/status/1119651493429354497 combination of both]], with an established example by [[Disney/LiloAndStitch Nani and Lilo]].

** One of the most common critiques on Shining Armour's introduction in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding]] was that his RememberTheNewGuy status could have been justified if his relationship with Twilight was strained, because it would have given her a good reason to have never mentioned him beforehand. This episode gives us that fix by establishing that Twilight held a grudge against Shining Armour for keeping the Sibling Supreme Crown when he left home.

** In ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' comic book [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue74 issue 74]], when Zephyr Breeze appears, he and Fluttershy's relationship seems to be much better than it was previously, with the two having affectionate nicknames for each other and playfully joking around. She even calmly helps pull him out of a panic attack. Come this episode when Fluttershy mentions him to Spike, she says that he (Zephyr) could learn a lot from Spike about being a good little brother.

** Starswirl the Bearded's cameo was also unexpected to many viewers (even though the scene was among those shown in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8DvEJl4Hh0 season 9 teaser trailer]]).

*** Space travel exists considering Pinkie is wearing an astronaut costume in the ImagineSpot.

** Having Shining Armor blab about their defenses right in front of Twilight seems like a stupid move at first. After the episode is over, the defenses are to be revised after the flaws were pointed out. Workers in the software industry recognize this episode's scenario as a variation of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_test Penetration test]].

** A mild example. The song "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 B.B.B.F.F]]" now has previously hidden aspects of Twilight and Shining Armor's relationship.

** The reveal that infant Spike was raised by Twilight's family instead of just by Twilight herself, which was the [[{{Fanon}} perceived way]] as to how he was raised for years, disproved a lot of complaints directed at Celestia for [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything having a filly take care of a baby dragon by herself while she is still studying]].
** The last [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife milestone episode]] [[BrokenBase got some heat from a sizable portion of the fandom]] for having the Mane 6 being out of focus throughout most of it. This episode won many of those same fans back in a heartbeat by having its central story be all about the Mane 6 (even having the story conceptualized [[WrittenByCastMember by the Mane 6 and Spike’s voice actors themselves]]).

* ContestedSequel: Due to both being milestone episodes, comparisons with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife "Slice of Life"]] over which one was better were inevitable.

** How would the castle defences be revised?

*** How does this work with the sun and moon--two very prominent celestial bodies--being manually controlled?
** How much command Shining Armor exactly has over the defence of Equestria?

** Spike being raised in Twilight's household. When and how long was it?
* GeniusBonus: Having Shining Armor blab about their defences right in front of Twilight seems like a stupid move at first. After the episode is over, the defences are to be revised after the flaws were pointed out. Workers in the software industry recognize this episode's scenario as a variation of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_test Penetration test]].
** While the geese might seem like a joke in real life Guard Geese are something used on farms, as geese are easy to train and remain quiet at night unless spooked while also being hard to distract like some guard dogs.

** A mild example. The song [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 B.B.B.F.F]] now has previously hidden aspects of Twilight and Shining Armor's relationship.
** In My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Comic Book [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue74 Issue 74]], when Zephyr Breeze appears, he and Fluttershy's relationship seems to be much better than it was previously, with the two having affectionate nicknames for each other and playfully joking around. She even calmly helps pull him out of a panic attack. Come this episode when Fluttershy mentions him to Spike, she says that he (Zephyr) could learn a lot from Spike about being a good little brother.
* MemeticMutation: [[https://derpibooru.org/2017738?q=spoiler%3As09e04%2C+Luna%2C+stroking This image]] of Princess Luna ominously stroking a goose while glowering at the group ''immediately'' became a meme.

** No one expected that Zephyr Breeze would be appearing in this episode.

** The last [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife milestone episode]] [[BrokenBase got some heat from a sizable portion of the fandom]] for having the Mane 6 being out of focus throughout most of it. The fact that this episode is all about the Mane 6 (even having the story conceptualized [[WrittenByCastMember by the Mane 6 and Spike’s voice actors themselves]]) was enough to win over many of those same fans in a heartbeat.

* HarsherInHindsight: A mild example. The song [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 B.B.B.F.F]] now has previously hidden aspects of Twilight and Shining Armor's relationship.

** The reveal that infant Spike was raised by Twilight's family instead of just by Twilight herself, the latter notion which was the [[{{Fanon}} perceived way]] as to how he was raised for years, disproved a lot of complaints directed at Celestia for [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything having a filly take care of a baby dragon by herself while she is still studying]].

** This episode not only confirms that Spike is indeed a member of Twilight's family but also makes it clear that he is considered to be Twilight's brother rather than her son. Not only that, the reveal that infant Spike was raised by Twilight's family instead of just by Twilight herself, the latter notion which was the [[{{Fanon}} perceived way]] as to how he was raised for years, disproved a lot of complaints directed at Celestia for [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything having a filly take care of a baby dragon by herself while she is still studying]].

** Apple Bloom being finally shown in a (fake?) flashback shows that she is indeed Applejack's little sister, disproving some of the more outlandish theories about how she was born.