Crystal Ponies · 9:44pm Nov 10th, 2012
So, how about that season premiere, everyone? Since this is the closest thing to a soapbox I've got, I'm going to post my thoughts on the episodes here. Spoilers ahoy, by the way, so if haven't watched it yet, stop reading my ramblings and go watch the work of actually skilled writers :P
The theme of this episode, rather than being on friendship and solving problems through working together, seemed to be personal growth and advancement. Solving the crystal kingdom's problems was presented to Twilight as a test. The real question is why Celestia was testing Twilight. Luna was shown acting rather suspiciously as well, but we'll have to see where and if that goes anywhere.
King Sombra was kind of a boring villain, literally just a looming back smoke cloud on the horizon, threatening in only the vaguest of ways. Kind of a disappointment compared to Discord. He did, however, whomp Shining Armor's ass and screw up his horn so he couldn't cast magic. Even that, though, wasn't nearly as concerning as it looked like it should have been.
Cadance was rather absentee throughout the episode, although I guess she had an excuse what with the magic love shield she had to keep up ("Not so easy, is it honey?") It was rather interesting how she was still able to fly and use telekinesis after using the very last drop of her magic (quite literally. Apparently magic is fluid in nature. Fair enough).
It was really great that Spike was actually a participant this time around. Actually, he played quite a big role. He even got his own stained glass window in Canterlot Tower. The dark angry magic that Celestia and Twilight displayed was kind of interesting. Twilight continues to have hax, which was actually pretty awesome. Apparently Shining Armor is capable of pitching Cadance like a javelin. I'm also interested in why they had a train station near where the Crystal Empire appeared. That kind of implies Princess Celestia had been planning for this.
