Amending Fences Review · 5:29pm Jul 5th, 2015
You know the kind of pony who does nothing but study and then wonders why she has no friends? Well, that was me. Every time my old friends tried to hang out with me, something was always holding me back. Studying. That's when I realized, I had to change. So I made a list of every pony I was ever a bad friend to, and one by one, I'm going to make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be better friend.
My name is Twilight.
XD I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. This episode reminded me of My Name is Earl. :P (Hey, there was an Earl pony featured in The Return of Queen Chrysalis #1! XD Not too far-fetched!)
So anyway, our episode features Twilight going back to her old roots and realizing she may not have been a good friend to her childhood buddies!
Spike brings up the fact that Twilight did actually have friends back in her childhood in Canterlot. Friends she didn't even say goodbye to or keep in touch with for some time since leaving for Ponyville. Realizing this, Twilight and Spike depart for Canterlot to find a way to make it up to them. We then meet Minuette (originally nicknamed Colgate!), Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine. Twilight reconnects with them in a sense, and they're very understanding.
One pony, however, also among their friends, was Moon Dancer, and she took it all the hardest. We see that back in the pilot, Twilight was invited to a party Moon Dancer was throwing for her friends, and truly wanted Twilight to be there. When she realizes how much she hurt Moon Dancer's feelings, she's determined to make it up to her. Especially upon seeing just how much of a parallel to the two of them have. Moon Dancer is, essentially, what Twilight would have become if she never was sent to Ponyville and never made friends. Kind of similarly to Sunset Shimmer, except from a different angle.
So Twilight gets her secret weapon... in the name of Pinkie Pie! She wants to throw Moon Dancer a party to make up for the one she'd missed. Moon Dancer is less than pleased by this, having been determined all this time to not make friends. She was hurt and betrayed by Twilight's absence at her party and for not saying goodbye when she left. Twilight wants to try all she can to make it up to her, and to remind Moon Dancer that she shouldn't let one incident prevent her from making friends.
It turns out that they also invited the librarian, book seller, and Moon Dancer's sister to the party, too! Sometimes, making friends can also be about reconnecting with old friends. Our episode ends with Moon Dancer in better spirits, hanging out with her old friends, and Twilight having learned an important lesson about being a good friend. This time, from the perspective of old friends you have lost touch with. Friends you felt you weren't truly there for, and have a chance to mend the fences.
Overall, it was quite a nice episode! We get to see some more elements of Twilight's childhood in Canterlot, we see that she actually DID have a little social circle, and a clear picture of what could've happened if she didn't make friends. This episode is a wonderful showcasing of how far Twilight has come since we first saw her back in the pilot. For the past five seasons, she's learned so much about friendship and how to just be a better person (pony, I know).
It also shows that she still has things to learn, and even with that, she can still pass the wisdom on to others. This episode showcased these elements wonderfully. It was simple and very low key, but still enjoyable and very sweet.
I wholeheartedly agree. Originally I was confused that Twilight choosing to go or not go to the party would've been a no-win situation as if she had, she wouldn't have read up on Nightmare Moon's return, wouldn't have discovered she was the Element of Magic and eternal night would've ultimately come about and killed everyone. But after thinking about it, it's still keeping in character with Twilight's OCD and she is pretty justified for still feeling horrible about it, regardless of the whole Nightmare Moon incident.
Season 5 continues to impress me, and I'm not surprised. I'm one of the few people who think that Season 1 and 2 were incredibly mediocre, and the series has only gotten better since Faust left. Some would say,"Oh, I don't think Lauren leaving has made it better," but I'd argue it would. Lauren Faust has amazing ideas, but when it comes to executing them, she's pretty bad. The series premiere was rushed to all hell, and was incredibly flawed. Was it bad? No. Was it amazing? No.
Season 1 and 2 are the only seasons to have episodes that I find deplorably bad: Dragon Quest, a Friend in Deed, Owl's Well That Ends Well, Putting Your Hoof Down, A Bird in A Hoof, and many others. There's also a lot more "meh" episodes too.
I've heard the phrase,"Faust is a great show-starter, and McCarthy is a better show-runner," and I believe it whole-heartedly.
Season 5 is amazing thus far, and I believe the best is yet to come.
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Well, I still hope they run with Lauren's idea that something transformed Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon and caused Discord to escape his original imprisonment.
I wonder how long it'll be before writers start doing stories involving Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine and Moondancer going on adventures with the rest of the Mane Six. I can already sense the Pinkie Pie/Minuette shippers and the Twilight/Moondancer shippers growing.
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I don't know where the show is headed, but Starlight Glimmer had a cameo in this weeks episode, meaning she could return.
Honestly, I like the idea of Nightmare Moon just being a physical manifestation of Luna's own jealousy. Now, if the thing that helped her was kind of like a voice in her ear telling her that everyone hated her, that would be interesting. It'd still be her own jealousy, but there would be a reason for it to begin. It'd also explain why Cerberus left his post at Tartarus.
I didn't even know Lauren intended that. I knew she wanted Twilight to take over for Luna and Celestia, which I think should still happen, and I think that's part of the progression.
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You're thinking of Sunset Shimmer. There quite a few ponies with similar names.
As for Faust's original idea, I learned about it over at TvTropes. Do a little research and see for yourself. Incidentally, I'm thinking up a story idea involving that very concept. The villain I'm thinking of for the story dates back to Equestria's founding and explains how the Elements of Harmony were created and that the Mane Six were destined to be friends even before meeting.
3210051 No, not Sunset.
Starlight, the villain of the season.
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Really? I thought someone said it was Sunset who cameoed in this episode. I must've been mistaken.
3211373 They probably made the mistake.
I feel like all of these villains are supposed to be dark mirrors to Twilight. Sunset was a dark mirror to the fact that she was a student of Celestia, meaning she could just have likely turned against her as well. Starlight is a representation of Twilight being the Princess of Friendship, Starlight being obsessed with friendship as well, but having the wrong interpretation of it.