Season Five Thoughts (Episodes 1-6) · 11:52am May 3rd, 2015
art by Xiao668
Hello to all my fans, friends and fellow lovers of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. After a few weeks away, I’m back with another blog.
As promised, I'm going to spend this blog talking about the first four episodes of the new season of our My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I'm not attempting to do a true review. As per my blog entry It's Okay to Like Things, I'm not interested in picking apart something we enjoy with nit-picky or overly-critical analysis. There are plenty of places to go if you want to indulge in that. Rather, this will just be my personal impressions. If you like this and would like me to write up my impressions of future episodes, let me know in the comments. Likewise, if you don't find this particularly interesting, let me know what you would prefer I write about.
I have to share this amazing piece by L.Y.R.A. Animations. 
First, however, a follow-up on my previous blog:
From Kristine, posted to the GoFundMe charity page:
It is with deepest sympathy to report that my cousin, Sean Rey, has succumbed to his injuries today, April 18, 2015 sustained from the vicious & heartless actions of the 2 cowards that took his life. He was only 26.
His mother posted this to her facebook....
I would like to thank everyone again from the bottom of our heart for your outpouring of love, concern, thoughts and prayers for Sean (Sean Excentrique) and us. I would like to ask that everyone continue to contribute to the GoFundMe Site. Sean did not have any burial insurance and we didn't have any on him either. You never expect to have to bury your children. I always thought that if I refuse to even think it, that it would not happen. How wrong I was. What ever is left (if any) will go for a vigorous campaign to establish bicycle paths, walking paths and nature trails in his honor. Sean walked the Idle Hour Park daily and sometimes 2-3 times a day to include the Nature Trail which he dearly loved. Thank you all again so much. I cannot possibly express the depth of my gratitude. I love what a lot of folks are saying to Sean on his facebook page. They are telling him to fly high. Yes Sean did love to fly. When he was 6 years old flying was his passion. I took him for a flight over Columbus and the Chatt Valley area in a twin Cessna we had hired. He was ecstatic. My dear Sean you are surely flying now baby with just your wings. Always and forever.
There really aren't words adequate to follow.
Nor is there any good way to cut from that news to a review of ponies. Although it is the smallest of comforts to think that, as a brony, Sean certainly watched the new episodes with keen interest. The last new episodes he would have seen are "The Cutie Map" and "Castle Sweet Castle". And they were good ones. I hope they brought him joy.
Rest in Peace. You will be remembered.
This new season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as been amazing so far. The stories are bright, heartwarming and full of humor. The show continues to be a pleasant respite on Saturday mornings.
The art and animation have been top notch. Granted, they have always been good on this show, but they keep improving. I really enjoy the show’s ever-broadening repertoire of expressions and character animations. Poses like the one below show how far the series has come from the first season animations.
I think I ship FlutterDash now.
I also have to commend the details in the backdrops. I love how the art portrays the aesthetic culture of Equestria. Nothing is left bland or utilitarian. Decorative elements are usually thematic or emotionally positive.
Just look at that door!
This season, Rarity even draws attention to what has always been a conscious background design element of Equestria:
"It could certainly use a few more architectural flourishes. Or any architectural flourishes."
The season opening was a brilliant, playing on the themes that strongly reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”. If you have never read “Harrison Bergeron”, it is a short story giving a glimpse of a world where equality has been achieved by handicapping the population to prevent exceptionalism. You can read it here. The story is a classic, but I personally feel the story’s message and impact are undercut by Vonnegut’s “protagonist” whose superhuman flawlessness make him both unbelievable and unsympathetic. However, I highly recommend the movie that was based on the story. It is a highly entertaining and thought-provoking watch, and I believe it did a better job making its core argument.
”You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same. And there’s a big difference!
In “The Cutie Map”, the equal marks served the same function and purpose: they actively hindered or removed any quality that would allow their bearers to stand out. Applejack’s special talent isn’t countryisms, so losing or changing her cutie mark would have had no effect on her dialect. But Applejack’s speech patterns do make her different (at least from the ponies in the village), so the equal mark started to strip that from her.
The opening two-parter brought some great character moments. Seeing other characters save the day after our heroes show them the way was a wonderful change. And the titular cutie map opens up interesting possibilities for the series. The map itself reminds me strongly of the war table in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Whenever the show shakes up their world, I yearn to see episodes that deal with the changes. I felt that last season, as good as it was overall, fell short in dealing with the ramifications and change in character dynamics that should have followed Twilight becoming a princess. (The two-part opener of season four, “Princess Twilight Sparkle” and the mid-season “Twilight Time” were the only episodes that really seemed to consider the issue – and I was particularly appreciative of those episodes as a result.)
So I was very much impressed with the second week’s episode, “Castle Sweet Castle”. I think that this was exactly the sort of episode that the new season needed in the wake of last year’s season finale. And while the mid-episode shenanigans were predictable, the resolution was absolutely beautiful!
I can’t be the only person who saw this and immediately thought of memory orbs.
I’ll admit, I found “Bloom and Gloom” to be a weak offering. The episode wasn’t in any way bad. But it was entirely predictable, and didn’t offer much. Still, I really do like how this season has confirmed and explored, both through that episode and now “Appleloosa’s Most Wanted”, confusion and anxiety about cutie marks. When I wrote Fallout: Equestria, I theorized the possibility of gaining a cutie mark without really understanding what it meant or being thrilled to have it. I do enjoy whenever the show bears out my suppositions.
“Appleloosa’s Most Wanted” was a much stronger episode, starting out with an intriguing situation and moving into heartwarming territory where the Cutie Mark Crusaders did the series proud. Applejack was spot-on (and had some wonderful expressions).
Character development continues in a consistent and pleasant fashion. I loved seeing that Fluttershy has taken the lesson from “It’s Not Easy Being Breezies” to heart, and really exercised the wisdom she gained their last week.
Sometimes, living up to your virtue means knowing when not to.
I also have to comment on the more adult-oriented humor that the season has given us. I especially loved Fluttershy’s "Oh, even tweets don't make sense any more!"
And, of course, there was this:
”Winter is coming!”
But the best comedy bit this season so far has to be the extended bit on the problem with pony names, a rip on the old “Who’s on first” classic by Abbott and Costello.
art by Miltvain
So far, I've only really enjoyed the first two episodes
Episode 3 was poorly paced and focused on the wrong thing (Losing the library)
Also, in my headcanon, it takes place before Cutie Map (ignoring the face said map appeared in the episode, but it's easy to miss)
Episode 4 tried its best; hell, we even had a Fallout Pony and LUUUUUUNAAAAAAA
Episode 5 started out poorly (Dash was a complete jerk and somehow lost 4 season's worth of character development; this should've been back in Season 2, after she got Tank and before Hearth's Warming Eve) and Dash somehow gets away with ruining the entire weather cycle for Equestria - I hope this comes back to bite her in her lovely toned flank
But yay for Fluttershy actually keeping her own character development!
Hopefully Episode 6 will be better, but since it has a clown that's the same size as Celestia, I somehow doubt that, but the premise behind it certainly sounds interesting (hooray, your special talent appears to be bad luck, what fun!)
Really looking forward to Fluttershy apparently befriending the Smooze and Discord being the jealous boyfriend
I can taste the fanfics already...
3040019 well Troubleshoes appears to be a horse as opposed to a pony. Which would explain his size.
I love the idea of the world having those memory holding gems. I wonder how they'd work? To be able to implant your foundest memories or any small bit of memory into them based on size would be so awesome. It gives that sort of Krypton vibe with the crystals, only I see these (or at least these smaller ones) as only being able to hold small glimpses.
It was a nice, though sadly skimmed over, bit of world building. No idea if it's just modern discovery or something that's been around since back when the Three Tribes united under one flag. But that's the fun of it though, being able to have new toys to play with or something that sort of compliments something in one's own story being made all the more plausible, believable.
And yeah, S5's latest episode with the CMC felt so smooth. Had so many small moments in it. I loved Braeburn and AJ getting to actually spend time together, their backstory of being really close cousins and showing how they sort of feel like two halves of a coin was really cute and funny. Lots of small continuity callbacks in just the last few episodes alone. Especially the pre-winter wrap up episode that dealt with some really deep stuff.
3040033 I've yet to watch it, so my opinion will probably change
Looks like a horse, hm?
Perhaps he has some Saddle Arabian blood in him, who knows
I love how expressive the ponies have become in this season
I'm going to be that asshole who points out that you misspelled both "Kurt Vonnegut" and "Harrison Bergeron" and doesn't actually contribute anything to the discussion.
3040045 I believe I saw someone call him a Clydesdale.
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Thanks! This is what happens when I write my blogs at 3am.
Fixed!
Rewatch the first episode when the Equalist Pony's introduce themselves. Then watch as one makes Rarity uncomfortable in the background with the big grinning of there's. Its hilarious to watch!
Yes, the moment I saw those gems the first thing I yelled was "Memory Orbs!"
Also, Fluffy Clouds is best pony.
Y'know, my brother and I thought the same exact hing aloud when we first saw that. I'm beginning to question if the writers have read Fallout: Equestria and just pretend to have never heard of it.
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Y'know, I can't help but wonder if the character Pipsqueak (of Luna Eclipsed fame) isn't a nod to FoE as well. He even has roughly Littlepip's colouration (though spotted also).
And there are plants in Season 4 opening in the Ever free that spew spores at Twilight. There are extremely similar plants which are encountered during the batltle against the Wkbderbolts in FoE.
Just stuff that makes you wonder.
this season has been great so far. though the newest one was slightly meh, it was still only meh in comparison to the episodes that came before it.
what i am actually getting form this season is something i suspected. cutie marks are far more complex and intimiate to a pony than it seemed. the destiny or talent angle is shallow at best. the marks are a representation of their very soul, their very essence.
think the false cutie marks kinda prove it. it was not enough to just remove the mark, they had to surpress the pesonality it represented. i do not even think that the talent itself was gone either, just surpressed as well.
making all the more disturbing...... daaaamn.
I believe that S5 is going quite well in my opinion. I love that they are putting more details in the significance of cutie marks and gave some resolution of Twilight moving into the castle. The animation improvements have been amazing and the references just make even better, can't wait for more. Also, the memory crystals did make me think of memory orbs.
3040019 I don't think it was that far out of Dash's character, definitely a bit exaggerated though. This is her first winter with Tank and obviously loves him and cares deeply about her pet. She does not want to have to live without him and places her loyalty to him over winter, a bit selfish though. Really she seems to keep the lessons she learned and added acceptance of letting go to it.
Also, loved that Fluttershy kept, and used, her tough love lesson from the Breezies.
3040762 First Winter with Tank?
Although in some people's headcanon's, it would be easy to place HWE before May The Best Pet Win, so...
To each their own, doesn't matter; it's a kids show
hi hi
I might not find this sort of thing particularly interesting, but I don't think you ought to worry about that. If you have the urge to write something, by all means go for it. There are almost certainly going to be many who enjoy it.
It is kind of funny, actually. When I was setting up the conflicts in Stable 34, years ago now, I wouldn't have thought that FiM would take aim at those themes, but admit I am curious to see what kind of answers people come up with. Will things be quite so clear-cut when uniformity provides actual legitimate benefits, like immortality? Is it worth being friends with someone who does not have uniquely special talents?
Will Applejack's "We brought real friendship to these here ponies." method, or Pinkie Pie's "There are many different kinds of friends, and many ways to express friendship." method prevail in the end? I suppose only time will tell.
You're right about the gems they used in "Castle Sweet Castle": the very first thing that came to mind (and the first thing I put into the stream chat when I saw them) was "Memory Orbs confirmed!" Glad to see that I wasn't crazy for thinking so - after all, if one can imprint a still image from a memory, how far away can they be to recording them?
Oh, and I know that you get this a lot, but I was extremely late to the metaphorical party and only started reading Fallout: Equestria last month, finishing it in a about two weeks, and it was one of the finest pieces of literature I've ever read. Let me tell you this, though: deciding to begin reading one of the longest fanfics in existence right in the middle of midterms season was not the best idea I've had recently! Don't worry, I pulled through just fine, but would it have killed you to have just one chapter that wasn't a cliffhanger? Ha!
Anyways, just wanted you to know that you've not only provided me with a fantastic story to look back on, but with some inspiration to finish something that I myself am writing. I only hope that they start another round of printing your beautiful story soon: it would be an honor to something so wonderful and influential on my bookshelf.
I haven't read Harrison Bergeron in a while, but wasn't the entire point that the protagonist was "superhuman" from the perspective of the people in the story, but would be considered normal from ours? I seem to recall the story describing him as "flying" when he actually just jumped, staying in the air for what seemed like an eternity to the people who wore weights. For us it would probably have been just a normal jump. There are other examples I could list, but I can't remember them as of now.
This blog was a good read by the way! Sorry for being off-topic. Just had to get this off my chest
Ohhhhh, that's what that was about!
Hadn't really seen any good explanation for her dialect being tied with her special talent (not that I searched very hard). Makes sense that it actually isn't related to her talent.
I might never have figured that out on my own. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and blogs with us.
I do think it's time for the CMC to just get their cutie marks already. I can't imagine there's much more they can do with those three that won't immediately turn their episodes into overdone cliches.
Sean's death filled me with such a black and awful rage; one I must now endeavor to channel into something productive. I'll probably pay for a sizeable chunk of his funeral costs, and when I get back from deployment I'll set to work on getting more bike paths and intersection cameras in Phenix. I likewise cannot find words.
If I can't find words, actions will have to do.
KEEP THEM UP!! I thoroughly enjoyed your take on the episodes.
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Alternately, Applejack's special talent is being the best apple farm-pony possible and that includes the ability to think of farm-related metaphors on the fly.
For the Equality Episode I drew more of a similarity to Ayn Rand's Anthem and Orwell's 1984 then Harrison Bergeron, but I can see the similarities there.