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My Little Pony's Justice 2 - Official MLP Thread v2


Sean

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Only got to watch the last eight minutes so I dont know how good the episode is overall, but what I saw blew my mind for one reason:

DERPY! Like, holy shit, a lot of Derpy. She wasn't just a background gag either. She was standing with the other main cast and got a load of quality screentime. You have no idea how happy that made me!

Also, this was another of those key episodes. That rainbow light from Rarity Takes Manehattan? Its here. Which is cool, I guess. I bet the next key episode will be Pinkie Pride. I just know it.

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Hoo boy. I bet someone is making a Fluttershy/Bulk Biceps shipping fanfiction right now.
 
Anyway, my thoughts on this episode:
 
First off, Derpy! I know Meghan made a tease about the fandom going nuts over today's episode and there were rumors about her making an appearance, but I'm really happy she's back and they did it in the best way possible. After all the drama surrounding her last time, they had her hang around, but not be too flashy which is perfect!
 
Secondly, I love how they portrayed Rainbow's conflict in this episode. It reminds me of her conflict in Friendship is Magic Part 2, but this time they really hit her where it hurt the most. I especially loved how Twilight called her out on her bullshitting and left her to make up her mind in what to do.
 
In regards to the Wonderbolts, it's nice to see them make a return and be expanded on. I have to wonder why Rainbow would still want to join them after they lied to her although I give them credit for making up for their mistake in the end.
 
There were two things that disappointed me though. The first is how they made Bulk Biceps to be an idiot in this episode when he wasn't in the previous ones he appeared in. The second is why couldn't they consider Twilight for joining the team? Here she is with wing and she's just staying in the ground.
 
Finally, it wouldn't surprise me if the items shining with those Rainbow colors turn out to be the keys. We have on for Rarity and now one for Rainbow. I'm curious to see what we'll have for the rest of the Mane 6.
 
All in all, while this episode felt clumsy in the first half, it made a huge comeback in the second half!
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Didn't really like this one especially when compared to last week's. It felt pretty average and kinda slow for an RD episode esp. in the beginning. 
 
Bulk Biceps who stole much of the show for me along with Fluttershy with some funny slapstick here and there. Though I was kinda hoping his character would have tone it down a bit and be more like a Patrick Warburton character archetype like Brock Sampson or even Joe Swanson who can be loud at times yes, but still a bit grounded and still can be witty/snark in their dialogue, which felt lacking here, despite looking like the 'muscle bound meathead' stereotype. 
 
With some griffons in sight, I'm actually wondering if Gilda is going to make a reappearance during the games which would be neat to see. 
 
The plot felt pretty weak as it is just the whole Shadowbolt scenario extended crossed with Sweet and Elite and felt like it was repeating a lesson that should have already been learned with Dash and done better previously. Also, writing felt weak as well with the humor having some hits, but mostly misses. The Wonderbolts returning was a bit of a surprise and I liked Soarin to get more screentime. Though actions and attitudes of Spitfire and Fleetfoot were questionable and 'antagonistic', making them feel like jerks throughout the episode which felt predictable and kinda OOC in a way especially when they lied to RD. Not to mention the whole faked injury moment felt forced and cringeworthy rather than funny. Heck, her moments in the hospital during Read It and Weep was much funnier and interesting than that. 
 
AJ, Pinkie, and Rarity could have been easily cut in the episode as they didn't do much and to me, weren't as funny. Seriously, Rarity? You managed to make good dresses out of hotel products and hat out of twigs and that fashion disaster is what you made for the Ponyville team? Really? Oddly enough, RD gets some recognition and acknowledgement out of some ponies during the beginning yet surprise surprise nopony seems to give a d@mn that there is an alicorn princess in their midst. Also, Twilight is becoming more or less a Celestia 2.0 with her spoon feeding the moral to Dash than having RD realize it herself and it's part of the aspect of her that is boring, IMO, esp. now as a princess. I hope this is subverted in the upcoming episode Twilight Time. Heck, it makes me wish that the current comic book arc with the evil bookworm was animated. 
 
As for Derpy coming back, yeah, it would have been much more surprising if Meghan didn't tweeted/hinted at it. Though I'm not that much of a Derpy fan and just think as her as okay. I'm not one who praises her as much and definitely, not something that would bump up points for the episode. Besides, after the appearance of SlenderMane from last week, I'm actually hoping more appearances from him than her and that he'll be able to play a major role somewhere down the line as villain. Just hopefully nothing like Derpygate/"Too Scary for Kids" happen as well as maybe copyright issues. 
 
So all-in-all, this felt very average and I wasn't feeling it most of the time. Not as strong as last week's and just mostly to expand on the key and box subplot which the whole rainbow effects starting to feel a bit grating.
 
EDIT: Oh crap, down votes are back at EQD. Blech!
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I like this episode quite a bit.  More world building, (With Rainbow Falls looking very lovely) more stuff about the Equestria games, pretty good charactarization and conflict for Rainbow Dash, a role for Derpy that suits her just fine.

 

However, I'd say the biggest problem I had with the episode was the way Spitfire was written. I don't recall her ever acting this cruel... I mean, sure she wasn't pleasant in "Wonderbolts Academy," but she was meant to be a drill sergeant, so it was a bit expected for her to act like that. Here, she's just needlessly mean for the sake of the story.

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Another Saturday, another episode! But before I talk about it I just wanted to quickly bring up something that happened yesterday. The closing of that huge tumblr blog starring Molly (I think that's the non offensive term for this Celestia look-alike) and Gamer Luna. Now I know the blog has been the center of a heated debates on morals since the very first post but I have to say I'm sad to see it go. I haven't followed it as much as I do other blogs but it was the longest running pony tumblr and was there basically since I first started watching the show. Hell, I think it's what got me into tumblr blogs in the first place after a couple of infrequent visits. I understand that all things must come to an end at some point and the people behind it are moving towards other things but I really hope this isn't the complete end. After doing some searches on the guy who ran it he has done some fantastic pony art outside the blog and I hope this doesn't mean the end for him on that front. He is one of the better artist I've seen thus far in the fandom (I know that's a bold statement with so many incredible artist). 

 

This blog was also what seemed to have started/ really bring Gamer Luna into the spotlight. I know this is twice in a row for bold statements, but Gamer Luna is still probably my favorite fan creation at this point. If it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't be as big of a Luna fan as I am today. I even think my first profile pic of Luna was done by this guy. I really hope that at least this part of the blog is picked up by someone in the very near future. Anyways, it's a shame to see such an abrupt ending to something that has been in the fandom since the first few days. No matter what your viewpoint of it is, it was (from what I did see) well made, well maintained, and an overall silly tumblr. I wish the man/ team behind it luck in their future endeavors.

 

 

Anyways, on to the episode. Another one I enjoyed quite a bit actually.

 

Pros:

- Nice to see some more continuity with the Equestrian games.

- I honestly thought throughout the first part of the episode that Rainbow was going to go with the Wonderbolts and that the episode itself would become another "Oh, I made the wrong decision and I'm really sorry for abandoning my friends" episode but I'm glad to see she never did. It speaks volumes to her as a character to have been able to call out Spitfire like that directly.

- I love Twilight's line "Choosing not to choose... isn't really a discussion." as it came off as great side moral that really out shinned the overall moral for me.

- Big Mac has some competition for best male pony with Bulk Biceps.

- The slapstick between Bulk and Fluttershy was hilarious.

-  Another new and great location that I hope is revisited.

- I liked how it was explained why Bulk and Fluttershy were the only ones available to represent Ponyville and not the other pegasis we saw in Hurricane Fluttershy,

- Soarin gets some great screen time.

-Of course, Derpy makes a welcomed comeback that honestly surprised me... almost as much as when she first spoke. I don't know if I've ever stated this, but I had made the decision early before the season started to not read up on new episodes like I've done in previous seasons. I've wanted to keep what happens in them a surprise. In fact, the only thing I know about the upcoming episode is that Pinkie is in it. From reading some of the post here it seems that Meghan let the cat out of the bag with this one so I guess I probably find it a bigger plus than some.

 

Cons:

- I... don't know how to feel about Spitfire as a character anymore. I mean, the episode ended on a nice note with her but throughout the middle act it just made her come off as a jerk to Soarin and Ponyville. I can understand the mindset events like this bring to competitors like her (honestly though, if Soarin ended up not feeling 100% during the competition and messing up the tryout for them it would of been a huge blow to the Wonderbolt's rep) but I'd never thought that she would stoop to such a level; being the leader and all. Though it made for some great character building on Rainbow's part, it kind of ruined my viewpoint of her as a leader of (what we've been lead to believe is) an honest team of great flyers. It's really going to be interesting to see what they do with the character next time around.

- Am I the only one that felt for Saorin after we learn that his wing has recovered and that he's basically just been sitting in the hospital without even a visit from his team? There's professionalism on Spitfire and the other pony's part but then there's just being jerks.

 

Side notes:

- Is it just me or does Spitfire's voice hit an equal pitch of how it was in Wonderbolts Academy (drill sergeant) and how it was before that in this.

- So I guess Derpy is going to be a mute character from now on. I honestly can't blame them for doing this after the amount of crap they got for her voice the last(roundup) time around.

- So I'm confused, is Soarin a good flyer? I mean, he's on the Wonderbolts and all but this episode made him seem like a weak link.

- I think I'm finally starting to figure out these strange rainbow endings. I guess they're the keys to the box we saw at the end of the season opener. Though, I still don't know what to make of all those other weird endings.

- Wow, they really want to put each of the main six in these episodes don't they. This isn't a con for me since it wasn't done horribly in this but it's really starting to to get noticeable. Rarity and Applejack could of easily been written out of this episode (though I don't really want to say Pinkie as well because her inclusion seemed to fit quite well oddly enough XD).

 

Overall, this was yet another great one. Though I think Spitfire's character suffered a bit it still had some great morals and humorous moments that kept me entertained from start to finish.

 

 

P.S. Fun stories with Stricker time!

So this week I was working after school at my school's technical theater program. I was with the stage head while he was reading through some emails on his phone when he then reads an email from someone named Lauren Faust who wanted to come to the school and use the theater for a improv session or something. I (like most people in this fandom probably would of done) completely stopped what I was doing and said we needed that to happen. He was still on the edge so he gave me his phone to read through the email and that's when I found out it was a different Lauren Faust that went to my high school just a few years back. I guess I was so caught in the moment that I didn't even think of a reason why Lauren (a writer) was doing something like that. Needless to say, it was short and silly highlight of my week.

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I enjoyed "Rainbow Falls" quite a bit due to it having a pretty strong moral about loyalty.  The jokes were pretty good for the most part and the inclusion of Snowflake Bulk Biceps as actual character and not just a quick gag was nice.  Have to admit that Rarity's uniforms were kind of not up to her usual work.  And what's the deal with Spitfire and the Wonderbolts?  Pick a personality and stick with it.  At least Soarin seems to be his usual goofy self.  I also felt that... Oh who am I kidding? DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPYDERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPYDERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPYDERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY

 

Now Rainbow Dash knows how Applejack felt.

528453__safe_rarity_applejack_image+macr

 

 

 

 

Also, "Ask Princess Molestia + Gamer Luna" is gone.  Such a shame, I found it way more humorous than offensive.

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Now, that's how you make Derpy fan-service! They went the safe route and I'm glad they did. Hoping to see more of her!

Especially in no-Applejack episodes. Y'know, in this way people will talk about AJ and not Derpy. Yeah, I'm still sour about The Last Roundup.

 

 

 



Also, "Ask Princess Molestia + Gamer Luna" is gone.  Such a shame, I found it way more humorous than offensive.

 

Yeah, I heard about it too. I used to follow it, I hope the best for Mr. Joseco.

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6c4.png

 

I saw this today. I'm sorry but what in the flying feathering fuck is wrong with Derpy being shown!? Like, I'm actually on the verge of tears because this saddens me. I hope to GOD that this is fake but it seems too real. Now they have to fucking redo scenes again.

 

I'm done with your shit people that complain about Derpy. Just done. Can't even.

 

Edit: What Makro said. If it was legit, I think the world would explode

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Also, "Ask Princess Molestia + Gamer Luna" is gone.  Such a shame, I found it way more humorous than offensive.

 

Good riddance to that awful tumblr page :3

 

6c4.png

 

I saw this today. I'm sorry but what in the flying feathering fuck is wrong with Derpy being shown!? Like, I'm actually on the verge of tears because this saddens me. I hope to GOD that this is fake but it seems too real. Now they have to fucking redo scenes again.

 

I'm done with your shit people that complain about Derpy. Just done. Can't even.

 

Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with people? "That horses eyes aren't straight, she can't be in the show!" seeing her in the last episode was awesome and they have to go and ruin it...

 

Edit: I checked her Twitter and am not seeing any tweets like that :|

Edited by Makronette
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People like to fake Meghan tweets. A lot. The only tweet she's made after the episode aired is one about sleeping in. 

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So, it's fake?

 

I'd honestly be surprised if that tweet was true, because I've noticed some of the people who were angry about Derpy in The Last Roundup seemed to be perfectly content of how she was portrayed in this episode.

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People like to fake Meghan tweets. A lot. The only tweet she's made after the episode aired is one about sleeping in. 

I'm calling bullshit on it as well since there's no such tweet made on Meghan's page.

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Let's live it up with this upcoming episode.

 

 

 

 

 According to the Hub Network's episode press release for "Three's a Crowd", the episode marks Discord's "first ever musical performance."

But when Discord’s diva like demands get ridiculously out of hand, Twilight’s generosity and friendship skills are put to the test during her special weekend

 

But when Discord’s diva like demands get ridiculously out of hand, Twilight’s generosity and friendship skills are put to the test during her special weekend

 

 

 

 

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Ask Princess Molestia is gone, only to be replaced by the apparently cleaner Ask Gaming Princess Luna:

 

tumblr_mzoxacVGxG1rlpbqmo1_1280.jpg

That didn't take long.

 

YAY!  More Luna/Derpy goodness.  Wonder if Mol Celestia will appear at all?

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Ask Princess Molestia is gone, only to be replaced by the apparently cleaner Ask Gaming Princess Luna:

 

tumblr_mzoxacVGxG1rlpbqmo1_1280.jpg

That didn't take long.

 

YAY!  More Luna/Derpy goodness.  Wonder if Mol Celestia will appear at all?

Considering how often Gamer Luna appeared in Ask Molestia, I wouldn't be surprised if she does.

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Ok I'm finally caught up on the last 3 episodes (though I still haven't seen Bats and uhh that other one I haven't seen) and I'd figure I'd post a small recap of what I thought. I thought it was an extremely strong 3 episode streak and overall this is shaping up to be one of my favorite seasons.

 

Rarity Takes on Manehatten was really good, but not my favorite of the 3. Despite Rarity being my favorite pony, I've actually never been a huge fan of her episodes. I think maybe it's because they all tend to center around her generosity trait, but it's always kind of awkward to show conflict with that. I liked the overall plot of this one, but I didn't care for the Spikeabuse as well as the other ponies' attitudes (the trip was for Rarity's show, too bad if you didn't get to go see a show that you got free tickets for /from fucking Rarity/). Also wasn't a huge fan of the song, as it laid on the generosity theme too thick and didn't seem that well suited for her voice, but I'm also not a fan of Becoming Popular either (I think I should just stop holding my breath for another Art of the Dress). 

 

Pinky Apple Pie is by far my favorite episode of the season. Apples to the Core has got to be one of my favorite songs of the entire series, and it's pretty much the first Apple Jack (and Pinky now that I think about it) song that I've liked....even if the wonky Pinky bouncing animation throws me off everytime. I liked the episode for actually showing that the Apples do have their problems, rather than just always being FAMILY IS THE BEST (I know that there's been other episodes like this, but they usually just show one Apple causing the problem, rather than it just being a common thing in families to have conflict). I also liked that in the beginning I thought it would be an episode where Apple Jack would have a hard time dealing with Pinky being in the family and Pinky would be played up as the "bad guy", and instead I was delightfully surprised to see it was completely different. Pinky usually gets shoehorned in wacky annoying and Apple Jack into 'the voice of reason' so I'm glad to see this didn't happen in this episode.

 

Lastly Rainbow falls, which is up there with my other favorite Rainbow Dash episode. I liked the inclusion of some background characters, and thought that the episode was pretty funny (best part was Fluttershys scream). In a tradition I'm noticing this season of lessening character traits I find awful, it actually made Fluttershy and Twilight more tolerable to me. Fluttershy was actually giving her best for her friends rather than showing reluctance to fly which made her character enjoyable for me. Twilight, while still having me groan at discovering Rainbow's deception and being all like 'blah blah I'm always the voice of reason', actually was much more subtle about it rather than using her super powers of guilt and eyerolling. While making the Wonderbolts the 'villains' was a little strange, I liked how they showed them to be redeemed in the end rather than just having Rainbow Dash admiring a team of meanies for the whole series.....extra comedy points for making Fleetfoot the most villainous because she hardly had any character before so plot convenience. 

 

Overall 3 great episodes, and rocking radical 80s rainbow ponies are awesome and if you don't think so you're totally just, like, so un-narly. Gag me with a spoon.

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This blog was also what seemed to have started/ really bring Gamer Luna into the spotlight. I know this is twice in a row for bold statements, but Gamer Luna is still probably my favorite fan creation at this point. If it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't be as big of a Luna fan as I am today. I even think my first profile pic of Luna was done by this guy. I really hope that at least this part of the blog is picked up by someone in the very near future. Anyways, it's a shame to see such an abrupt ending to something that has been in the fandom since the first few days. No matter what your viewpoint of it is, it was (from what I did see) well made, well maintained, and an overall silly tumblr. I wish the man/ team behind it luck in their future endeavors.

 

...

 

Ask Princess Molestia is gone, only to be replaced by the apparently cleaner Ask Gaming Princess Luna:

 

*Big and awesome picture*

That didn't take long.

 

YAY!  More Luna/Derpy goodness.  Wonder if Mol Celestia will appear at all?

 

Well, I just found a new blog to follow. I knew Gamer Luna was too popular of a character to be put down like that but man did this turn around happen fast! Here's hoping this one stays around even longer than the last. *clicks follow and awaits another post* :3

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"P" IS FOR OVERANALYSIS!



Episode 75: Rainbow Falls

 

The episode starts somewhere in Ponyville where Rainbow Dash is giving some little instructions to Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps (formerly known as... many names), as it turns out this 3 are Ponyville's Aerial Relay Race team for the Equestrian Games (well, if they qualify)! While this happens Pinkie decides to come up and act as a cheerleader and Applejack brings some home made nutritious device for the competitors.



Once the introductions are done, Dash decides to test how her team can perform and... Well it doesn't go welll...

 

527774__safe_rainbow+dash_pinkie+pie_flu
And then Fluttershy died, THE END!



Okay not really, the first act begins in the Rainbow Falls, where the qualifying rounds for the games will take place, all kinds of fliers and non fliers have assisted to the event and our heroines are no exception! Once in the place some people start commenting about Dash's skills (finally! Acknowledgment o/) but all that talk is suddenly cut when the Wonderbolts arrive! As it turns out they are going to be Cloudsdale team for the games (and pretty much a sure medal for the Pegasus city), the bolts find Dash and they share some pre-competition banter and then they leave, Rainbow is more than excited at the idea of competing against her idols and is actually pretty confident that she will be able to qualify as long as her team gives their best, Bulk and Shy agrees, Pinkie cheers for them and then everyone starts looking at Twi, who just realized she actually isn't doing anything for the team! So in a spur of the moment she decides to be cheering the team with Pinkie (I'm going to take a little moment to say how much I loved this scene, and the mini story it unlocks for purplesmarts, I found it really cute).

A few moments later we see our team's first practice session, Bulk shows us his suddenly retconned flying skills and Fluttershy shows us a clumsy side of her when it comes to pass the horse shoe, which Rarity intercepts and in a clear display of not giving a feather about the competition (as it tends to happen when she's in the fashion zone) she takes away the shoe in order to make it prettier. Dash begins to realize that taking with her a bunch of ponies that seem to think that taking a vacation is the same thing as competing for the most important sport event of the region (so far) might not be the best idea, but no problem! She's still awesome and carry the whole town if she has to, she just wishes they would be a little more up to the task...

In order to inspire her team to do better Dash sends the group to check how Cloudsdale is doing but suddenly what was supposed to be an educative trip turns into something else, Soarin gets distracted by the city's cheerleaders and hits one of the rainbow rings with his wing, severely damaging it and making him loose control and spiral to the ground.



I already did the death joke so let's skip right into the second act! As mentioned before Soarin is about to inspect the ground with his face but he's quickly stopped by Rainbow Dash (you'd think his teammates would react faster... They did when Rarara fell 3 seasons ago)! Unfortunately, the fact Soarin isn't dead doesn't mean he hasn't hurt his wing for hitting that ring, he is quickly taken to the infirmary when he'll be treated and hopefully back in shape for the qualifying round... Still, this leaves Cloudsdale with 1 less pegasus to train with (it's not like they don't have an entire entourage to help, nor "Not-Surprise" which was seen in the background), so they decide to ask Rainbow dash to be her new teammate... For training... Until Soarin gets better of course... Dash has some doubts about this because she'd like to be on top condition to help her team but Spitfire knows she can take it and goads her a little into joining them, after thinking about it a little, Rainbow accepts.

 

528426__safe_twilight+sparkle_fluttershy
...



And so we get the Dash's version of Sweet and Elite for a few seconds. But unlike that episode Twi catches the competitive Pegasus in the act, and she doesn't take it as well as it happened with Rarara, she points out that Ponyville might need her a little more than Cloudsdale but RD calms her down and says she's not only able to keep with both training routines, but she'll also be able to take Ponyville to the games. Or so she thought, Spitfire and Fleetfoot arrive and tell her that Soarin won't be able to make it for the competition s they offer to make her a permanent part of the Cloudsdale team. Dash is a little overjoyed at the fact her idols want to fly her (is pretty much one of her dreams, she even sung a little song most of us love about that back in S1) but then Twi reminds her about Ponyville's team...
 
And this is one of my problems with the episode, Twi starts guilt-tripping Dash about how Ponyville team won't do it without her, but for all the wrong reasons. It's not like AJ only cooked only for her, nor Pinkie will only cheer for Ponyville (the other cheerleaders didn't have any problem to cheer for a friendly team later), nor Rarity's "uniforms" will be only wore by her (which BTW; she didn't wear at the end anyway so that point is null). Twi could have just pointed that the team wouldn't qualify without our cerulean blue heroine's help, but then again, Shy and Bulk didn't mind at all that Rainbow would accomplish her dream and were more than willing to let go their possible place in the games as long as Dash enjoyed herself (they probably joined the team for that reason anyway)  All of this kinda gets sorted out at the end, but it's not because what Twi said was right, she tried to act as a mentor figure here but I don't feel she pulled it off so well.
 
Anyway, the next day arrives and there is a commotion between the participants,because it seems like Rainbow Dash somehow managed to break all her hooves while falling in a boogeysthingymrgangrahgan ! Everyone but Twi are shocked about this unfortunate turn of events and they quickly send her to the hospital. As it turns out, the doctors can't tell what's wrong (more competent doctors would actually tell her she's acting like an hypochondriac and kick her) and Rainbow is to remain there until she feels better. In a bit of a sweet moment RD's friends start doing all kinds of cool things to cheer Dash, AJ gives her food (I'll touch this up later) and Rarity makes her a scarf, ironically, the only one not cheering for Dash was Pinkie (which makes me feel a little odd, and by odd I mean shippy but I'll also get to that later), Even Fluttershy and Bulk comes to calm Dash, they tell her to not worry at all about not making it to the race because they got a replacement:
 
 

527612__safe_solo_animated_derpy+hooves_

Rumors of my exaggerate have been greatly demised!

 
 
And then the collective bronydom exploded!
 
But lets keep going with the episode for now! Because Ponyville's team wasn't catastrophic enough to truly represent the town, they somehow got Derpy to join, after this big reveal Dash has a bit of a post traumatic episode but I'm going a little out of focus here so... Fluttershy didn't only get a replacement for Dash, since everyone knows the rainbow Pegasus loves winning they are willing to forfeit their medals and give them to her (in the near impossible case they even qualify, Shy feels mighty confident this episode), this little act moves Rainbow but before she does anything Twi convinces the group to leave, but not without remarking that avoiding the responsibility isn't really a way to (not?) go... I guess Twi wasn't a fan of Rush (I sure wasn't and haven't heard of them til this episode :V)... Anyway They all leave Dash alone, or so we think because it turns out Soarin was also in the same room, then he proceeds to tell us how he pretty much is the Spike of the group and was left behind. >_>
 
Or something like that, it turns out no one came to visit him but somehow they told him that despite the fact his wing is pretty much healed they've already got a replacement for him so he should just stay there and rest, Dash realized she was that replacement but she never really accepted to join the team, not to mention that the bolts told her Soarin wouldn't make it which was a blatant lie! Soarin assumes that since Dash is "hurt" that means both Ponyville and Cloudsdale are out of luck now (though he could go back to his team anytime after finding out the truth, he's just not feeling like going until they actually call him), Rainbow is a little distressed about this development but then suddenly a very very weird refraction happens and some rainbow-like light points her to Ponyville's flag! This triggers... Something in her and so she suddenly takes flight!
 
Back at the training grounds Twi feels a little down about Ponyville's chances to qualify without Rainbow but then the loyal Pegasus comes walking like if her injuries never happened! (nice acting Twi!... I guess...) In fact, they never happened at all! She goes straight to confront Spitfire and Fleetfoot and confesses how things went, after that Fluttershy says she should just go with the better team and follow her dream (they even got a replacement so it's not like they need her rite? :U), but then Dash says she should have know that sticking with Ponyville was the right thing... Because it turns out the Wonderbolts are dicks and would ditch a teammate just because they found someone better. Spitfire admits that and despite the fact she didn't feel any remorse at all during the episode she acknowledges Dash is right and asks for Soarin's help for the competition, who happily accepts.
 
The next scene shows us the competition itself, Cloudsdale passes with flying colors (First place if the order of the medals was anything to go by) and then its Ponyville's time to show their stuff! Bulk gracefully crosses the obstacles, Fluttershy manages to fly in a competent way and Dash... Dashes all the way to the finish line right in time for the town to qualify for the games!
 
 

e02O3Bp.png 
Fifth place out of four! Not bad!... ... Wait a minute-

 
 
So the medals have been given and it's time for celebrations! But let's leave all of that offscreen because we are running out of time, Dash writes yet another entry on the diary and leaves a little trinket Spitfire gave her in the award ceremony before joining in whatever childish thing Pinkie and Twi were doing (which I found absolutely adorable BTW). But then the camera zooms in the trinket and a Rainbow-like glow appears from it, pretty much destroying any doubt people could have that this random things our ponies are gathering are the keys for the box.
 




 

FGChi.png


And now let's start talking about characters!

Twilight gave me some mixed feelings in this episode, as I said in the review part of this post the way she delivered the moral wasn't the most effective, mentioning that without Dash's presence the whole team efforts would have been in vain, but it's hard to feel very bad about that when the combined team effort (sans AJ and Rarity, and Rarity was in a completely different channel so I'm not sure if she counts) didn't amount to much. She also was kinda guilt tripping Dash into choosing Ponyville, well, she gave Dash the choice of decide on her own but not before telling her how awful it'd be to not chose to stick with her friends which left a bit of a bitter taste on my mouth.
 
Having said that, the little arc of her becoming a cheerleader is freaking adorable and one of my highlights of this episode, it all starts in a pretty mundane way, Dash asks for her team to give their best and they all agree, Pinkie also joins the group confirming her intentions of cheering for them and then everyone starts looking at Twi... That's the moment she realizes she's the only pony doing absolutely nothing for the group! And if episodes like Winter Wrap Up taught us something is that Twi doesn't like to be in that kind of position and will do anything in her reach to help others. So! With little time to think she nervously says she's with Pinkie as a part of the cheering squad (I loved that awkward "hooray!"), you'd think that's the end of the joke but across the episode you see her messing around with some pompoms and by the end of the trials she's wearing a cheerleader costume (that made many question if there was a hidden voice actor joke somewhere) and doing her best to support the team.
 
 
 
 
Rainbow somewhat fluctuated between her S1 and S3 self, for starters her constant need to remind everyone how awesome she is and how much she enjoys flying with the winners might showcase a bit of a negative side of her (I say "a bit" because I don't really feel like there is much wrong on being competitive) and the time she was having doubts about what team to go with might have given people some flashbacks to Flight to the Finish when she scolded the Crusaders for leaving Scootaloo behind. Then there is the fact that due some extraordinary circumstances she could even have the option to ditch the team she already agreed to be part of just to join a better one (there is a time and place to do this sort of transactions in the sports world, and in the middle of a qualifying round isn't one of them).
 
On the other hand, she had a both a bit of a Sweet and Elite scenario (I want to be with both of them so I can't choose, hence I'll be with both at the same time) and a Ticket Master one (I don't want to disappoint anypony, so I'll forfeit my own chances of being in that place I always wanted to), though the later one is kind of a negative version of it because by not wanting to chose Dash managed to screw up both teams in the process. >_> Anyway, at the end she managed to pull through and taught the Wonderbolts a thing or two about loyalty. And that's something I'm really loving about this key episodes so far, it's not only that the ponies learn a lesson but they are also reaching and touching others lives making them better in the process. Maybe Spitfire was a dick on this episode but at the end of the day she learned to better herself thanks to Dash (or so the episode makes you think), the mane 6 are actually building a better world and influencing others to do so which gives me some good feels.
 
 
 
 
 
Pinkie didn't do much in here since she was just a cheerleader and accomplished that task, having said that, there is a bit of an odd point on the episode where the pony who wants to make everyone smile doesn't feel like cheering them up and that's when Dash got "injured". I found a little odd how all her wish to spread happiness banished the moment Dash said she wouldn't be able to take part of the race which makes me think Twi's comment ("Pinkie won't have anypony to cheer for") starts making more sense, I can't explain why but you can tell she really looks up to the Pegasus and how she can be affected by just seeing her suffer (this actually gives me some hype fuel for her upcoming episode, since Dash's birthday is part of the story).
 
 
 
 
 
Applejack was so freaking plain I found it hilarious! XD She was a like robot... Or more like a breathing infomercial who could think of nothing else but Apple Brown Betties and I'm not sure why but that single focus made all of her scenes funny to me. Probably because she first start talking about them as a good product and then proceed to force feed them to both Bulk and Rainbow and ar the end she's so much into her food that she literally gives no bucks about whatever is going on in the race.
 
Also, this is freaking hilarious! Lets make a bet about how much Rarity will last without having a taste of the Apple (this sounds so wrong even with context).
 
 
 
 
 
Rarity was in a completely different channel than the rest of the ponies and only cared about making pretty things, I honestly don't see why so many people complain about the uniforms she made, yeah, they are awful if you are going to use it for sports (and they were supposed to be for that) but Rarara probably never had that thought in her head, she just wanted to make something nice and IMO, Fluttershy looked really cute in it, Dash could have worked if she ever bothered to wear it and Bulk was more or less an afterthought (she had to do something that matched with the others, and Bulk didn't mind one bit so...)
 
Still...
 

528006__safe_fluttershy_animated_clothes
The fact the dresses are semi transparent only makes me question them further! >_>

 

Fluttershy was weird! Here we have this Pegasus who across the last episodes has been shown to not be willing to help ponies if it's something outside of her comfort zone, who crumbles under the idea of flying in front of others and would most likely beat up someone who dared to send her bunny flying. And we barely seen any of that on this episode! She's goes way out of her comfort zone and participates to the most important sports competition of the region (so far) to help a friend, she puts up with what's pretty much the canon version of Solrac and Bulk Biceps Pinkie Pie, she doesn't get her wings locked or gets paralyzed at the mere idea of flying in front of others, and despite the fact she was way out of practice she doesn't perform that bad. Hell She was somehow considering the idea of keep trying for the games and bring Dash a medal when things looked really grim for them!

 

It's like suddenly they decided to give her some of the developments she was supposed to get across the seasons!

 

I also found a little odd her reaction after Dash saved Soarin, I felt that she was talking like Pinkie Pie would...

 

Also, she lifts.

 

 

 

 

 

And now lets dig a little about our guest starts, Bulk Biceps as I mentioned across this post was a total bro, and had no problems participating in any of the crazy stuff the rest of the cast put him through... Having said that, he seems to be a few apples short of a bushel so that might explain some things.

 

 

 

 

 

Derpy came back from the depths of the bus and it was almost as awesome as many bronies hoped for! Her lack of name and voice felt a little jarring to me but I got over that really quick, because it's awesome to have her back! And all in all is pretty understandable why would they handle her like they did in this particular episode. It's barely any different than the little shots of her back in S2 and I really loved those, hopefully we can see more of that again from this episode onward.

 

Also, I hope we get to see her again in the games, maybe replacing a pony who got hurt?

 

 

 

 

 

And the last but not least guest star on this episode is the "used to be" lovable Spitfire! Who acted like a bitch on this episode but it's a bit hard to hold it against her when you consider some things:

 

Most of the lies and underhanded stuff she pulled were at least done with some tact, she knew Soarin would want to participated even if he wasn't at his best so she told him they already got a replacement, she knew Dash wouldn't abandon her friends unless there was a need so they tell her Soarin won't be able to make it.

 

You can also take into account that teams that aim for the best are not unheard of making cold decisions to keep themselves on the top, it just happens that like what I said in the Dash paragraphs, there is a time and place for that sort of stuff... Having said that, if she wanted Dash to fly with her so much why doesn't she make her a Wonderbolt already? What's stopping her? She pretty much said they can learn a lot from Rainbow and that she's better than most of the current team lineup.

 

I also can't say I found her to be OOC in this episode, disappointing perhaps, but I can't remember any stance in the show when she was portrayed as a pony who puts much value in her friends and doesn't care about results that much, if anything, most of her appearances in S2 kinda support this current portrayal of her. >_>

 

It's also worth noticing that she pretty much had her own episode at the same time as the Rainbow Dash, she make up this lies to invite this cool flier to her team but things spiral out of control when they find out about them, she gets called out for being a liar, learns her lesson, makes amends with Soarin and episode ends. Of course, it would have worked a lot better if her "redemption" didn't felt so fake (almost no reaction whatsoever between "I knew you'd join us and be awesome Dash!" and "oh yeah, you are right! We were being dicks to our friend, sorry lol").

 

But yeah, while I don't like this portrayal of Spitfire I can't say it felt like something the writers purposely messed up to deliver the point of this story.

 

 

 

 

 

Spike raided Sweet Apple Acres while no one was looking.

 

 

 

 

 

ITkzi.png

Well, that happened...

 

 

 

527580__safe_comic_derpy+hooves_screenca

 

 

 

 

 

 

So... I actually had a lot of fun watching and posting about this episode! it has some very noticeable flaws that brings it down like some consistency thrown aboard just for the sake of setting up the story, the first moral about friend/career doesn't work so well, and it was done before and better. There is also this issue with the Wonderbolts, it's an organisation that Dash and most of us as fans idealized across the series but he moment we get some time to truly know their faces it makes us question how the team even manages to work to begin with. It also makes you wonder why Dash hasn't joined them yet? (they all recognize her skills) And why Dash would even want to join them to begin with now that we know how they roll?  (though I have a feeling she's getting over this)

 

But it has many good things too, the interaction between Shy and Biceps was awesome, Derpy's return was awesome, Twi's cheerleader sidestory was adorable and while it wasn't given the proper focus I feel like the second moral of this episode works a lot better than the first one: It isn't just about picking your friends over your career (which is a lesson most of us could argue about), but to be close to the right kind of people, your friends, the ones who actually care about you and will stay with you through thick and thin. And I feel that's a lesson that's could both apply in friendship and in a career (though we don't always get the choice in the later).

 

Dash for a moment forgot to be that kind of pony, but after a little rainbow epiphany she got better, managing to convince Spitfire to change her ways at the end too (which as I already pointed before, I like it, I love the idea of our main characters teaching lessons to other ponies). Hopefully the next time we see the bolts they are actually a team worth of Rainbow Dash's respect. (funny how the tables have turned eh?).

 

 

 

 

ps. Soarin's life is sad, I demand happy fics with him! D8<

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I knew it was only a matter of time 'till even Big MMacintosh sang ( and beyond his stock phrases at that too)! Now I can collect on that bet I made last year.

But seriously "Apples to the Core" was a solid tune. Great song to go with as wonderful episode.

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I actually really like the animatic version shown at comic-con (I think I prefer it, even)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOC7qHZ8CMY

 

From how cute some of the drawings are, to the facial expressions, and the clapping....it's just really cool to me.

 

(and the pinky sliding wasn't supposed to look so damn weird)

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Heh, looks like the next MLP movie is another EG one. And apparently it's a battle of the bands type of thing called Rainbow Rocks.

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Heh, looks like the next MLP movie is another EG one. And apparently it's a battle of the bands type of thing called Rainbow Rocks.

As if one crappy/bland movie mainly about multi-colored Barbie ripoffs was bad enough, like we need another esp. that there haven't been a movie based solely on the pony universe made yet.

 

Also by the premise, if Hasbro wanted to do Jem and the Holograms, then why the crap not just revive the Jem franchise instead?!

 

Oh right, they need to milk FiM for all its worth. But it's sad that I know better and much interesting ideas for spin-off movies that many will buy into such as about Daring Do, future/adult CMC, the daily lives of the fan favorite background ponies and heck, even an anthology of stories hosted by Discord a la Tales from the Crypt style. But nope, Hasbro decides to extend the life of this dumb cliche'd Monster High ripoff. 

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I don't really think that's completely true, but if it is, I wouldn't be mad. After all, I absolutely adored the first one (it's my favorite episode). Though I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit disappointed that the next movie wasn't completely pony. But whatever.

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