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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Live Reactions & Discussion)

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A thread to discuss My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the tie-in media.

All of the usual forum rules apply. In addition, please remember that the thread is discussing a kids' show, and it's primarily focused on the work itself, not the fanfic — in particular, we don't want to see lewdness creeping in.

     Original OP text 
I don't know WHAT the Hell happened (I blame shenanigans) but we're going to start from scratch. Post your feels for this awesome show again! Naow!

Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 26th 2024 at 10:24:26 AM

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#71001: May 10th 2014 at 12:11:17 PM

It was implied that when Tirek was zapped, all the powers he had absorbed went back to their original owners; as he'd absorbed Twilight's alicorn magic, that probably went back as well.

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CDRW Since: May, 2016
#71002: May 10th 2014 at 12:12:55 PM

I think it was more than implied. They showed them getting their magic back.

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#71003: May 10th 2014 at 12:12:56 PM

Ah. i kinda thought they'd still have lost their powers XD;

Did Tirek die?

The Protomen enhanced my life.
MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#71004: May 10th 2014 at 12:16:52 PM

Why the heck does the FIM recap page spell it "Tirek" while the My Little Pony TV Specials page spells it Tirac?

Is that how the writers got around the copyright issues?

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#71005: May 10th 2014 at 12:19:11 PM

Also, random thing I noticed: when they go to the box for the last time, the tree isn't in the forest any longer. You think they cleared a path or something?
I thought the Tree of Harmony and the mysterious box were at the bottom of a gorge with no trees. So the rest of the forest wouldn't be in the shot when they're next to the box.

Darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#71006: May 10th 2014 at 12:27:14 PM

The Specials page also has Tirek. His name is a minor source of contention, older fans were hoping for confirmation in the s4 credits. Which does it go with?

Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#71008: May 10th 2014 at 12:39:53 PM

God, that took way longer to watch then it should have between errands, chores, and the Hubworld's annoying video player.

That all aside. . .shows over everybody. Or at least that's how it feels like since I have no idea where they would go after this without a big shake up to the format or stagnation.

The first part was honestly pretty annoying. Between Celestia's cavalcade of bad decisions and a betrayal you could see coming from space. I was initially annoyed by Twilight's mopyness about her lack of duties, since she initially didn't want to be one in the first place. Though thinking about it it does oddly map to the opinions of some of the most ardent Twilicorn critics. Initially not wanting it to happen, and then annoyed that nothing came of it after words. Though lampshading such a thing really does not make the critiques any less valid for this season.

The second half was much more visually impressive and epic. I'm still surprised that a fight like that actually happened in the show, but I guess with the way the show has been progressing I really shouldn't have. There was some interesting use of Discord as a character in this, but I still do not by this "I really value your friendship for real this time", thing. Rainbow Power was surprisingly cooler then I thought it would be. I also don't remember it being referred to as such (probably for the best).

So final verdict: Tirek is best villain, Celestia is no longer best Princess (position abolished), Discord and his friendship is still stupid, visiual effects were amazing, everything else was alright I guess.

Eagal Since: Apr, 2012
#71009: May 10th 2014 at 12:41:42 PM

Was Celestia ever Best Princess? Sure she's great and all, but there's not much to her compared to Luna, Twilight, Cadance and Discord.

edited 10th May '14 12:41:52 PM by Eagal

Rainbow Pomeranian Lover from Central Illinois (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
Pomeranian Lover
#71010: May 10th 2014 at 12:42:30 PM

That was a great way to tie everything together, so a GREAT ending to season 4! Some things I noticed/have comments on:

  • I would note that Discord kind of gave all of them their keys or at least led them to realize that the other 5 objects were the keys, plus he directly gave Twilight her key as well. Also, some people had guessed that the medallion from Three's A Crowd would be Twilight's key. It wasn't that one, but her key WAS a medallion that Discord gave her.
  • In the end, Spike has a little throne next to Twilight, showing that she didn't leave him out too. I didn't notice it until I saw a screenshot of the 7 thrones, though.
  • If anyone has ever seen the animated version of The Phantom Tollbooth, the part where Twilight tries to raise the sun and messes up at first reminded me of the part where Milo tries to do the same but he just makes the sun and moon go crazy.
  • I noted another possible reference to G1, in that the plot of the villain sucking up the ponies' powers and leaving them drained and listless is similar to the plot of Bright Lights where the cloud monster Erebus steals ponies' shadows. It also had a pony named Knight Shade who initially helped Erebus but then realized that he had made a Deal with the Devil, stuck with it out of fear of Erebus for awhile but ends up helping the ponies in the end. That role is similar to Discord's role and his relationship with Tirek here, although not exactly the same (since Discord didn't repent until he felt betrayal himself). The part that really reminded me of Bright Lights was where Discord was doing a magic show and Tirek came out of the hat and drained the unicorns' magic, since the ponies' shadows were often stolen during Knight Shade's concerts.

The inclusion of Tirek AND Scorpan, who looked very similar to their original designs in G4 pony style was a great callback to veteran pony fans like me, since I've been a pony fan since I watched the original G1 series on videos as a young girl. Plus, Bright Lights was one of the videos I owned and watched a lot when I was younger, so seeing what could have been a homage to that episode was a nice surprise to me.

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#71011: May 10th 2014 at 12:44:35 PM

Anyone else think that fireball between Tirek's horns may have been a nod the crown of fire that Hellboy occasionally has? Here's a pic from the comicbooks and here's a pic from the movie.

Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#71012: May 10th 2014 at 12:44:49 PM

So in honor of the season finale happening, I've decided to binge the episodes I haven't been able to watch due to work exploding. Starting with Maud Pie.

Note, I've been avoiding this thread for spoilers and will continue to ignore most of the posts for that reason until caught up. So all I know from here out is that Pinkie caught Twilight's Suddenly Other Sibling Disease and the resulting viral spawn is probably kind of a bitch who had a lot of porn drawn about her. Also Dailymotion does what Youtube don't. By which I mean episodes and not porn, though they probably do porn too.

FOR PONY!

That rooster is secretly a cat.

With Pinkie Pie, you have to be a little more specific than "I hope everything's okay." That trait may not be immediately discernible from standard Pinkie Behavior.

Pinkie in a sous hat and SCIENCE goggles. Probably cooking meth.

"All except you Dashie." WHAM. "No wait! The voices have spoken and you're welcome again!"

The candypocalypse. We all knew this was a possibility when we signed up.

And now they're the Elements of Diabeetus. Pinkie Pie is the Element of Polyphagia, and Fluttershy is the Element of Frequent Urination.

I love how they all Excalibur Face at the mention of more candy.

Wait, WAIT. Rock candy is actual rocks? I get the feeling Maud just told Pinkie they're "special" rocks so she could giggle at Pinkie eating them.

Rock science. Maud is now Jack Black.

Rarity's hat appears to have taken an unfortunate trip through Niflheim and been molested by a feral herd of rhinestone cowboys.

Pinkie showed up alone. Turns out Maud was an imaginary friend.

Possibility 2: Gummy took her to a Stalliongrad gulag, and she doesn't notice because she's too busy geeking out over the rocks.

Okay, Maud is real. Also more interested in the rocks.

Um...yes. Most rocks in random meadows are in fact sedimentary, on account of both the other types requiring some rather more extreme conditions not typically found in random meadows.

Oh my God, she's the Raven voice. No wonder there's so much porn of her.

Maud's idea of geeking out actually made Twilight feel awkward. On the upside, Maud would be more likely to stave off crushing despair in a Stalliongrad gulag by categorizing all the rocks. (SPOILER: THEY'RE PROBABLY ALL SEDIMENTARY).

Oh shit, Rarity just got served. Logic all up in this bitch.

A pet rock, surprising no one — wait, did you just throw it on the ground?! Somepony call the ASPCA.

FIM may be the only show I can think of where the words "bestest friends" flag a dread chord of low brass.

Aw, she's giving the rock some of her sandwich waii

I'm almost positive that wasn't one of Maud's "special" rocks. So she's actually a hideous lithovoric test tube science spawn.

I get the feeling Maud invented Camouflage to get Pinkie out of her mane, and would not be the least bit offended if the other ponies just racked off.

Yeah, Maud's fucking with them. Though she does have a daring sense of avant-garde fashion.

OH GOD ADORABLE SPIDER BRO.

Oh no. Emo poetry incoming.

Meh. I've head worse in English classes. Fucking wheelbarrow.

Twilight never left that library.

Holy shit, she's fucking Hulk.

I love how Applejack just kinda throws Twilight under the bus.

Applejack actually makes a really valid point. Sometimes friendship just doesn't take, and that's okay. Unless it's Equestria, in which case that makes you a horrible person and we make cartoons to shame you.

To be fair, Pinkie was going to have trouble figuring out what to do with 200 pounds of rock candy even with their help. Unless she was planning on turning Sugarcube Corner into a Qilinese sweatshop which she totally hasn't done before.

I'm pretty sure I've seen the name "Pinkie-Rainbow-Rari-Twi-Apple-Flutter-Maud Fun Time" before. It was rated Mature.

Those costumes were from the Pony Sentai seasons that never made it to film.

Oh no! Maud when you're near me, Maud can't you hear me, SOS!

Well, at least now we know how she eats rocks.

And predictable but surprisingly honest ending. Next up is something about Sweetie Belle.

edited 10th May '14 12:48:30 PM by Pykrete

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#71013: May 10th 2014 at 12:46:20 PM

Season 5's been confirmed, so the show IS still continuing.

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#71014: May 10th 2014 at 12:47:45 PM

@Eagal: Two of them are bland and the other is an overblown windbag. Seemed like an easy decision to me until the other one become truly dumb.tongue

edited 10th May '14 12:48:18 PM by Mio

AkoSiKuya23 Since: Sep, 2009
#71015: May 10th 2014 at 1:10:57 PM

Looking back at our arc villains:

  • Nightmare Moon = Reformed
  • Discord = Reformed
  • Chrysalis = Blasted away (Imprisoned in the comics)
  • Tirek = Imprisoned
  • Sombra = Dead

MetaFour AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN from A Place (Old Master)
AXTE INCAL AXTUCE MUN
#71016: May 10th 2014 at 1:11:17 PM

wild mass guess"Rescue at Midnight Castle" is how Tirek's initial defeat actually happened in pony history.wild mass guess The flashback from this episode is just the memory of that event, distorted by generations of retelling.

How did Firefly get from pony Earth to human Earth so easily? Apparently the barriers between universes were thin enough back then that an inherently magical creature like a pegasus could break them without a thought.

Though lampshading such a thing really does not make the critiques any less valid for this season.
It's not that lampshading makes it better. It makes it deliberate. The writers apparently decided, way back when they were first planning this whole season, that the finale should have Twi struggle with feelings that she's the pointless princess. The writers couldn't very well do that if Twi had a lot of princessly duties all through season 4, could they?

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#71017: May 10th 2014 at 1:21:12 PM

But Tirek got torn to pieces and blew up in G1.

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#71018: May 10th 2014 at 1:27:17 PM

@Meta Four: It being deliberate doesn't make it any less of a bad decision in my mind. Especially when this wasn't an issue until this episode. In fact most of the time it came it up it was quite the opposite with Twilight not wanting her royal duties to be a big deal. Either the writers weren't talking or this was an attempt to try to acknowledge an obvious absence.

JapaneseTeeth Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing from Meinong's jungle Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
Existence Weighed Against Nonbeing
#71019: May 10th 2014 at 1:41:56 PM

Eh, I don't think that Celestia's decisions were that bad. I mean, she had no reason to think that Twilight would've stood a chance against Tirek anyway (by her own admission, Twilight is still learning the ropes of alicorn magic), so sending her into battle would've been a terrible decision (especially as there were no elements available). Her decision basically came down to whether to trust Discord or for herself, Luna, and Cadance to battle Tirek themselves. Which isn't exactly ideal either, given the whole "magic absorption" thing Tirek had going. If she thought that Tirek couldn't absorb Discord's magic, trusting Discord isn't that much more risky, as at least if that fails, they still have their magic.

I can't say it was a good decision, but I also think that no matter what she did, it would be possible to interpret as her having made the wrong choice. It's not like she had an obviously superior alternative available. Also, keep in mind that this is a universe that literally runs on The Power of Friendship and Easily Forgiven; that alone is enough for her to give Discord a shot.

As for whether giving Twilight few duties was the right call or not, I do think it raises some questions, but for the most part I have no problem with it. My only issue is that they didn't hint at Twilight's issues (That she believes she can't help much) would've been referenced earlier. Like if during "Trade Ya" she had made some snarky comment about how this is the first actually Princessing she got to do.

edited 10th May '14 1:43:54 PM by JapaneseTeeth

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Darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#71020: May 10th 2014 at 1:47:20 PM

I do like that idea of a distorted legend, though yeah he did get blown to bits. Though maybe as in Greek mythology, you can't really kill beings of that nature, and they're kept in Tartarus so they won't bother the surface world.

Also I really liked Discord and T-Rex's conversation, had that great immortals discussing long periods of time and seemed to be between equals. They clearly know, or at least know of each other by reputation. There's got to be a lot of other beasties of that caliber.

KingKix Typing the internet since '90 from Dante City Since: Jun, 2013 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#71022: May 10th 2014 at 1:49:17 PM

I think G4 takes place before G1. Maybe. And that's how Tirek was captured in one show and blown up in another.

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#71023: May 10th 2014 at 1:49:33 PM

Alright, so I'm up to the Sweetie episode.

We begin with Sweetie Belle needing a costume for something that apparently involves a blinged-out karate gi. TBH I may want to read that play more than watch a CMC episode.

All Rarity has to do is stay calm. What could possibly go wro-oh fuck we're doomed.

Sweetie, you don't need a bit of expertise. You need a flamethrower and a clean slate.

Okay, so Sweetie is trying to be an independent mare. This has actually resulted in destruction of property before.

Sweetie apparently wrote a play consisting of no lines, but just standing there hoping the audience applauds at the costumes for two hours.

Sweet merciful Luna, the play would probably have been better if it had no lines. DOHOHOHO

Yes. Gracious and classy. I predict Kardashian—wait that was just a joke! Don't actually...dammit CMC.

The horseshoe drops. The play was terrible and they really were just applauding over the dresses for two hours. They were so fabulous they gave Donny Swineclop his other eye back!

I'd be disturbed at what Rarity's making, but in all honesty I've probably seen weirder in music videos.

Dear Princess Celestia: today I learned good friends ditch each other at the first sign of distress.

I hate to break it to you Sweetie, but Rarity probably is a considerably better actress. Though ironically, Sweetie's best acting thus far is her Rarity impression.

...why does Sweetie have a queen-sized bed clearly built for two NO DON'T ANSWER THAT

Little does she know, violence against pillows was classed a hate crime last July.

"If the world will not love me, I'll teach it to    FEAR ME.   "

"Coincidentally, the winner of the prize for Most Self-Aggrandizing Dream Sequence also goes to...Sweetie Belle!"

Apparently that trophy was made of marzipan. This is probably better than a real trophy in every circumstance other than a rainstorm.

Curse you Nightmare Rarity!

Best Princess is on the scene.

Oh, yeah. This is probably exactly the sort of thing Luna would be best equipped to talk her through. Naturally, she doesn't and just drops Sweetie down ALL THESE STAIRS. Dammit, she's got wet dreams to perv on.

Well yes, coming downstairs looking like some kind of diseased hooker clown would indeed make an entrance.

Whoa, whoa. Luna's seeing events in Sweetie's subconscious that she wasn't present for. This is like, the magical equivalent of CSI panning security camera footage around to see shit it wasn't actually pointed at!

So the moral of the story is Rarity is pretty much the coolest sister ever under most circumstances, and Sweetie just has terrible taste in preschool friends.

"Erm...you weren't supposed to follow me. I just saved you from drowning in the collective unconscious. But I guess we can have another flashback while we're here."

I'd make a G-Major joke, but the episode's been out long enough I'm sure someone — yep. [lol]

"Princess, I'm pretty sure the last time you gave in to your instincts it was worse than getting snubbed by a pop star. And it probably didn't involve ski jumping off Rarity's mane and into her mouth. Also, this horror montage is just Rarity on a Tuesday. Specifically, LAST Tuesday."

At least Sweetie has better taste in music than the others.

Sapphire Shores appears to be going through an 80's exercise video phase.

That bouncer actually can't hear you. His Bluetooth is blasting the music from indoors.

Sweetie just looked at the surrounding scenery exactly the say I do in Tomb Raider and Uncharted.

Why exactly are they running from Rarity again? She's probably the best pony to put that stitch back in. Then again, Sweetie is aware enough of her technique to instantly identify the key stitch despite not being present for the exposition about it.

"Hey, let's save that headdress by throwing it around and using it as a banister slide and springboard!" Also Rarity forgets she has magic.

Luna shows up in person to help random fillies with their social problems. Best. Princess.

I'm pretty sure the random dolphin doesn't really jive with the Egyptian theme though.

Even if Luna cheated because she's Best Princess.

And ultimately that's the moral of the story. Don't sabotage your sister's career out of petty spite, and Luna is pretty much the best pony ever.

edited 10th May '14 1:50:28 PM by Pykrete

IrishZombie Since: Dec, 2009
#71024: May 10th 2014 at 1:49:54 PM

Something I just realized.

Return of Harmony: Discord's power > Celestia + Luna's power (at least, without the Elements)

This episode: Celestia + Luna + Cadence + Twilight's power ~= Discord + the entire pony population of at least Canterlot, Ponyville, Appaloosa and Cloudsdale

Conclusion: Either Tirek just didn't get a good grip on the magic he stole from Discord, or the four princesses could theoretically fight Discord on even terms, without having to resort to the Elements. Alternatively, Discord just isn't as strong as he used to be.

edited 10th May '14 1:51:00 PM by IrishZombie

Crowfall Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hoping Senpai notices me
#71025: May 10th 2014 at 1:50:40 PM

@JT: I question Celestia's judgement mostly because last time a major villain showed up she told Twilight she'd have to do things on her own, which she didn't, and now again she's advising Twi not to involve her friends. She really should realize by now that Twilight is most powerful with her friends around.

Speaking of power, I wonder if that rainbow thing was a one off or if they can Super Saiyan it up whenever they want now.

edited 10th May '14 1:51:18 PM by Crowfall


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