My Little Pony Rainbow Roadtrip/A Friendship is Magic Review Part One

For what it’s worth, the Mane Six are always ‘beautiful’ in this animation.

GOOD MORNING, FIMFICTION FANATICS!!! This is the Dramamaster829; Critic, Actor, Writer, Motivational Speaker, and Occasional Singer, keeping you up to date with the latest news for the final season of MLP! After a substantially long trip to Alaska, and to make up for late posting, I prepare to tackle possibly the biggest subject that the season has to offer (Even though it’s more of a standalone project). A few weeks ago, I got to watch the hourly special where the ponies are invited to a small town only to realize there is a mystery involving the loss of something more precious than gold. After seeing the special, after spending sixty minutes or so watching scene by scene, with one song after another, and getting to see the characters have their moment… Honestly, I’m not sure what to think of the special initially.

Up till now, I won’t deny that most of my reviews had been on a ‘positive’ scale even though some episodes I’ve observed these past few months have had these ‘nitpicks’ I needed to address. Yet there was something about this special, for all the good moments it’s offered, it just left me somewhat… Baffled and confused. Maybe it’s because of the simplicity of the story, maybe it’s because there were some characters I wanted to know more about, or maybe when I listen to the songs… In some ways I felt like I was listening more to a song for ‘Equestria Girls’. Still, this special attempted to do something aiming to provide a story that a certain group in its target audience could understand and from what I’ve seen throughout the special (Despite how beautiful the animation is)… It heavily shows. With that in mind, I’m about to share with you why that is the case as we take a look at the special that’s been promoted for quite some time this year:

MY LITTLE PONY: RAINBOW ROADTRIP

Warning: The following review contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the special, please skip now!

The Story:

I’ve heard of “air mail”, but this is silly even for me.

The story begins not only with a reintroduction to the 2017 film’s animation, as well as a rather interesting pop number to open the special (Which I’ll get into later), but a mysterious letter that happens to be delivered to the home of a pony deemed one of the most popular of the Mane Six (Next to Fluttershy of course).

*Imagines Rainbow Dash as a peacock* Where do I get these thoughts suddenly?

In the brief few minutes of the opening intro, Rainbow Dash and her friends are invited to attend some major event which we are only now just hearing about (It gets weirder later on). So naturally, since they know they are going to some place they know next-to-nothing about, it is best to bring some essentials.

The contrast being Rarity’s bliss and Opal’s worries I admit was cute.

Good thing A.J. is all about bringing healthy snacks.

Uh Flutters, I’m sure there’s a ‘No Pets’ policy on this trip. I would know.

Of course, leave it to Twilight to bring work with her on a vacation.

Now before we actually get to the meat-and-potatoes of this special, which in some case is more like a rare two-part in-between the season kind of deal, I would just like to take a pause for a moment to note the special’s animation for this particular occasion.

Now budget-wise, the animation isn’t quite at the level as the movie (Which to some fans was either a hit-or-miss depending on how you receive it). But given the familiar color scheme effect, the eyes, and even the background work it’s always nice to see the studio attempting to apply this animation for other projects. And in speaking of background, sure we only get to see these characters for a few brief seconds, but it does make for a nice ‘Spot a Character’ game before we get to the root of the story. Plus, it is the first time we’ve seen Ponyville in this type of animation given the town itself wasn’t featured in the flick. Course, we cannot enjoy this atmosphere for long because it’s time for…

Pinkie Pie: ROAD TRIP!!!!

Well actually, no. They won’t be taking any trains or automobiles but instead…

Kind of makes the title misleading when this is the mode of transport.

But anyways, we get a bit of a fun moment between Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, as they make a literal ‘dash’ towards the balloon set to carry them on their trip.

Before anyone asks, Pinkie has proven she can keep up with Dash in early seasons.

As fun as the scene is, as well as the wacky shenanigans that follows soon after, turns out the rest of the Mane Six (Except for one) had already arrived. Course, Pinkie was never intending to race for first place but… Fifth place?

Don’t question it, Dash. It didn’t work with Madame Foster on bowling night.

With all the excitement taking place that involves most of the group getting together, what we as an audience just manage to gather is that there’s little town called ‘Hope Hollow’ (Which sounds like a title choice for ‘Equal Town’), where Rainbow Dash is to be the guest of honor at some ‘Rainbow Festival’.

I dare someone to do a background change with her image in front of a different picture.

After some clarification and a late arrival by a certain ‘princess’, unfortunately a certain member of the team won’t be joining them as opposed to the movie.

Suddenly I have flashbacks to the airport rides back home.

Turns out Spike won’t be joining the girls on this trip, as he’s been placed in charge to look over affairs in ponyville… More like an excuse to give him his three minutes of fame. Meanwhile, Twilight thinks it would be fun to take a few test papers and essays from the ‘School of Friendship’ to grade them on the way. Right… Because grading papers during a vacation is as fun as texting on your phone while whale watching off Juneau.

You’re adorkable workaholic and her assistant, MLP fans!

All strange ideas of fun aside, the girls prepare to make their way to the festival only to realize the basket isn’t taking off. Clearly, there’s a weight issue going on and who could ‘possibly’ be responsible for the extra baggage?

Nice try, darling. But a lady does know when to travel light.

Okay, we can’t deny, most of us would think it’s Rarity given nearly every episode has her luggage packed like she’s moving to a new house. But surprisingly, it isn’t Rarity’s expensive collection of French perfume (Or… Prance?) rather it’s something surprisingly heavier than that.

Like a long overdue review that should’ve been posted weeks ago… Don’t judge me.

After ‘lightening’ the load, our team prepares to sail forth on a ‘non’ roadtrip adventure toward a place where no pony has ever pranced before.

Insert ‘Titanic King of the World’ reference here.

Along the way, we once more see the animation for the special at work.

I must wonder who’s that stallion or mare on the farm. Must be one of the new ‘farm-hooves’.

Now I’m either getting a ‘LOTR’ reference… Or ‘Neverending Story’ (NOT the sequels).

Reviewing the letter of what this ‘Rainbow Festival’ has to offer, the invitation just happens to note some of the festival’s events that are rather fitting for each pony. From a Rainbow Dash Fan Club…

Applejack: Way to build up her ego, Dramamaster.

A luxury resort and spa…

Rarity: You had me at ‘luxury’, darling.

*Blushing, clears throat* Ahem… A butterfly garden, bakery booth, karaoke competition…

Pinkie Pie: Did somepony say ‘karaoke’?! *Squeals*

Ooooh boy… Can’t forget about fishing…

Applejack: Sounds like fun to me, sugar cube.

And of course, an award ceremony… Sheesh, with all this going on you’d think it’s too good to be true. Which leads to a strong point from Twilight Sparkle: With the festival being this famous, how come the Mane Six are only just hearing of this event right now? Heck how had the ‘princesses’ themselves not known about it?! Either this was an invitation that teleported to them a few decades late (Like a Y2K shin-dig)… OR, this invitation was written to lure the girls into a false sense of security ultimately driving them to a trap!

Pinkie Pie: WHERE’S THE DANGER?!?!

Simmer down, Pinkie. The girls still have hours away before they even get to this small town. And what appropriate way to pass the time than…

99 barrels of oats on the wall, 99 barrels of oats...

(Covers ears) The… Most… Annoying… Travel… Song… Ever!

Okay to be fair, it’s not an actual song recorded for the show and this was performed by Sweetie Belle once upon a time, but this is definitely the kind of song my youth sports team would sing on the way to states (Only if we didn’t have a working T.V. on the bus). To be fair, at least it’s more tolerable than Rita Repulsa’s rendition of the song (Shudders).

Twilight represents me on my second flight home… Only it was screaming babies.

One more verse, I’ll strap a fin to your back and hang you out to dry!

Hours pass and it seems like the girls are nowhere close to finding Hope Hollow. Then again, it’s not like the letter had an address they can run by or even some sign that they are close…

Well… That’s convenient.

Fun fact: There is a circumstance when a rainbow ‘can’ be formed from the light of the moon, a feat called ‘Lunar Rainbow’ or ‘Moonbow’ for short (If you ask me, it sounds more like the name for an OC). Anyways, as weird as this circumstance is (Magical or not), our heroes continue onward thinking they’ll just simply fly through it as easily as a cloud…

Well this went pear-shaped fast.

Only under a half hour or so and our heroes are already in danger. And they haven’t even been attacked by any monsters in this special!

Because this works as easily as slapping an unconscious man awake.

With the wrecked balloon dangerously close to the ground, our heroes know they needed to act fast knowing this special could be over before it truly began…

Though some of the girls should really lay off on the sweets.

Fortunately, with some quick timing, Twilight’s able to teleport her friends to safety with a soft landing toward the ground. Can’t say the same about their balloon of course.

Every pony is mourning, while Dash has a dope hammock now.

Having no other choice, our heroes proceed to make their way to Hope Hollow the long way by foot… Or ‘hoof’ in this case. It is only when they reach the center of said town that they notice something rather… Off…

Suddenly getting major ‘Twilight Zone’ vibes… Yes, I’ve seen the old material.

Not only do our heroes find that there isn’t any inhabitant within miles to greet them, but the entire setting gives off the impression of the start of a horror movie: A group of weary travelers stumbling upon a town with little to no activity, boarded windows and doors, fog along the streets, and the whole town as dark as night. Almost makes you forget this is supposed to be part of a lighthearted special, rather the start of a Gothic horror movie (Or FanFic, depending on how you look at it). It is only afterwards do they stumble upon a single mare: Petunia Petals.

If the color contrast doesn’t give anything away, you can tell something’s wrong.

While she seems to give off this nice-girl Midwest welcome personality, at this point I couldn’t help but feel suspicious (Usually any new nice girl they meet turns out to be a bad guy as most stories do). Even more so is when they tell her they were invited to attend the annual Rainbow Festival… She knows nothing about it and gives off a slightly subtle hint this was their ‘Mayor’s’ doing.

She’s not even trying to hide what she knows.

Since they cannot meet with the Mayor until the next day, not like they could tell anyway, the girls inquire about the ‘luxury’ hotel that was promised in the invitation. As we can see…

In the words of Ernie Smuntz, "What a dump!"

This is why I don’t ‘trust’ most travel catalogues, they’ll give any excuse to make us think we’re gullible enough to rent one of their ‘luxurious suites’.

Ms. Marshmallow doesn’t approve in the slightest.

If the fact that the invitation pretty much vainly tried to cover what a dump the hotel is, it’s the fact that the entire facility is as gray as Petunia Petals herself. Either they stumbled into some 1950s black-and-white time-lapse or they got transported into a coloring book page with no colors (Those are two of the ‘nicer’ ways I’d describe Hope Hollow). As if that wasn’t enough, they have to share this space with the one other occupant besides Petunia…

*Pause* I don’t know if I should find this cute… Or ‘Itsy Bitsy’ terrifying.

Okay, it’s cute.

Although their visit so far did not turn out as well as they hoped, Twilight Sparkle makes it very clear that they are all together in the most optimistic way she can. By morning, not like it makes a difference, they’ll approach this ‘Mayor’ and get to the bottom of what’s really going on… If they can make it through the night.

If ‘1000 Ways to Die’ taught me anything… This never ends well.

If we think this was pretty bad, this is nothing compared to a late-night arrival to Santa Cruz, particularly in an area that was rather shady…

Okay, I take it back… They have it worse.

Despite a rough night’s sleep, the Mane Six hopes that the next day will be filled with promise as they hope to get answers from the Mayor… Except as I said, it’s no different during the day than it is at night (Like Alaska, during the winter months).

It really is like being in a blank coloring book.

As we can see, it’s not just Petunia Petals who looked a little gray to the girls. It doesn’t help they stick out like sore thumbs when ‘everything’ is gray: The buildings, the grass, the sky… Heck, every inhabitant they come across is as gray as the ash of ‘Silent Hill’ (Without the scary monsters). Doesn’t help that it only takes one look from each member of the town to know there’s not much of a welcome party.

The stereotype of every small town when outsiders waltz in.

If we thought Twilight thought the ponies in ‘Ponyville’ were crazy many seasons ago, all these ponies act as if they’ve never seen color in their life. Then again, if it’s anything like ‘Pleasantville’ when two modern-day teens were transported into a picturesque 1950s sitcom, of course the Mane Six would stick out like sore hooves. Least some pony was ‘pleasant’ enough to drag their broken balloon into town for extensive repairs.

Or perhaps serving as a warning to outsiders trespassing on their grounds… Your choice.

As if the town and its inhabitants aren’t strange enough, none comes stranger than this worrying, elusive, yet happy-go-lucky… It’s the Mayor, isn’t it?

Without a monocle or even a top hat, I never would’ve guessed.

It is here we meet the Mayor of Hope Hollow, or at least the current one, Sunny Daze. If we thought Petunia Pedals was heavy on the Midwest persona, now this unknowingly elusive mayor really takes it up a notch. And I stress on the word elusive being that one minute he briefly talks how things went bad during the ‘last’ Festival, only to change the subject before dwelling deeper. It is also during this moment we’re introduced to another of the town’s ponies, Torque Wrench the Handy Pony… Technically the ‘only’ Handy Pony.

I will murder you and I’ll make it look like an accident.

Yeah, don’t be surprised how most of the townsfolk act (Apart from Petunia and Sunny being the most ‘cheerful’ of the town). Not only has this town lost its color, but nearly every pony they meet is either scared of out-of-towners or downright unfriendly. Though to be fair with Cranky-Overalls…

I heard that!

Ahem… To be fair, given that she’s seemingly the ‘only’ Handy Pony within the whole town and if it were me in her place, I’d be pretty grouchy too. She never asked to fix either their balloon or even the sign, but only because she’s the only pony available to do it… Even under pretense. The Mayor is just lucky at least the one pony in town who offers to help him without question is Petunia.

Even without the colors, the shippers can sense the hormones for miles.

The next few scenes have the Mayor trying to avoid ‘any’ talk as to why the town, along with every-pony in town, have lost their color. So, he hopes to offer the girls the ‘grand tour’ of all the sights made to promote the Rainbow Festival and… Well…

Something tells me that’s not ‘Chocolate’.

‘Butterfly World’ this town is not.

And just what were you planning to fish in there? Baby Ruth bars?

Hey, Marcus Pfister called, he wants his mascot back.

I mean given how bad everything looks, at least they actually have a karaoke booth. How can anypony possibly screw up with…

OH, COME ON!!!!

Well, there’s no sugarcoating what must be running on the ponies’ minds. As if receiving an invitation to some town they never heard of, promising to be part of an ‘annual festival’ they only just heard about, everything they’ve been expecting off the brochure falls under the ‘false advertising’ dilemma. Not to mention the girls (Least a few) were probably tired, cranky, and have every right to be disappointed that every activity they’ve got is… ‘Underwhelming’. After much pressing and confrontation, the truth finally comes out:

Sunny Daze: There is no rainbow festival!

The blend of disappointment, outrage, and confusion says it all.

In this one moment, any fan can find their situation relatable at best. When my family and I were recommended a visit to ‘Pioneer Park’ to kill a bit of time, saying it’s a sweet joint to visit… It was so dead hardly anyone even showed up for some little art fair that was going on (Although to be fair we came on a Monday that week and my own father didn’t want us going downtown). What’s worse in this case is that the ponies can’t just ‘leave’ knowing that their balloon is still in disrepair (Course Twilight could just teleport them out, but that’s besides the point). But leave it to Fluttershy to be the only pony to allow Mr. Sunshine an opportunity to explain himself.

Darn it, you’ve got to be cold as a stone to say ‘no’ to that face.

*Pause* Let’s forget I just said that. *Clears throat* Anyways, turns out there was a time used to be so full of color and the neighbors so friendly and welcoming, they nicknamed this place ‘The End of the Rainbow’… *Calls out* Sorry boys, there’s no gold or little green men!

Uh… Next slide, next slide!

Goes to show what a difference a fresh splash of paint can give on a weary modern world.

While I’m keeping my thoughts on the song, ‘End of the Rainbow’, on hold for the time being, the way the story plays out offers a bit of background on the situation. Once upon a time, Hope Hollow was the kind of town either our parents or grandparents grew up in. When next door neighbors would greet each other with a ‘hello’, when the doors were open and inviting, and even children threw pennies into the wishing well. Sadly, this doesn’t really happen nowadays… Although I do deliver some food for our neighbor’s farm animals so there’s that.

Remember the ‘Chocolate Fountain’ gag I threw earlier? I take it back.

The only time this ever happened to me was after my wisdom teeth were removed.

Now one word of advice going into later in this review, keep your eye on some of these background characters:

*Insert ‘Grumpy Old Men’ reference here*

All joking aside, if you missed them earlier during the special, you’re about to see them again later on. Moving on… This picturesque town was only made possible by their annual Rainbow Festival, which was the highlight of the town. And Sunny Daze’s grandfather tied it all together with a handy-dandy little device: The Rainbow Generator.

Rumor has it: This was a prototype for the ‘Rainbow Factory’.

But in all sincerity, while the device itself is rather ambiguous on its actual purpose, based on what we can see the Generator itself amplifies light and color shooting them up into the sky. You could say it’s like creating your own ‘Aurora Borealis’… Which would be useful in Alaska, so no one would have to wait till winter. But above all, before every pony started hating each other (For no real reason actually), Hope Hollow was truly the friendliest little town in Equestria.

And hey, Sunny Daze actually does have a hat… Extra special being it’s a hand-me-down.

But as we see with any small town, for no particular reason, suddenly we start to see why the town strives more on ‘Hollow’ than ‘Hope’.

Now that is the face of ‘depression’, like an aunt whose niece doesn’t come to visit.

Desperate to bring the town ponies together, Sunny attempts to make a few modifications to the generator hoping to spark a bigger aurora borealis for the whole town, if not ALL of Equestria, to low and behold.

Though if the story had Torque doing it under Sunny’s instructions, it would justify her bitterness toward him.

And if years of stories where a character attempts to modify their creations has taught me anything, it only takes one spark before imminent disaster befalls.

Going… Going…

And Presto: Hope Hollow is dead…

Okay, no pony got ‘hurt’ so to speak. But as the scene seems to indicate: All the color seemed to have just disappeared when the generator overloaded and only then does it dawn on Sunny Daze that he may be responsible for the pain that came with it. And if things weren’t going bad enough before the color vanished, it appears the town has only gotten worse.

And in that moment the Mayor realized… He “really” bucked up.

So, we can slowly understand ‘why’ the Mayor was desperate that the Rainbow Festival would be better if ‘Rainbow Dash’ took part in it. When we really think about it: A ton of local events we may have heard of would do the same thing. Some events draw a crowd, but then there are days when almost no one shows up. Heck, when ‘Disneyland’ first got it’s start hoping to bring people together… Almost nothing worked. And as it stands, the only ‘color’ left in the town is the Rainbow billboard put on display…

Or, what’s left of it. *Turns* Oh hey Torque, didn’t see ya!
Torque Wrench: Shut up, Dramamaster!

So rather than just hightailing out of a town on a lost cause and actually feeling sorry for every pony, the Mane Six agree to stick around and do their part to make this the best Rainbow Festival possible.

When you finally get the inspiration to put a review together after a two-week funk.

This is pretty much the overall plot of the special from here on: Six pony friends band together to get these ponies to start talking again while restoring the color like a point-and-click computer game. Course, it’s not going to be easy for a town pure ‘gray’ interested in a rainbow festival. But given all the challenges these girls have faced for an immeasurable amount of time (Seriously I don’t know how many years it’s been), there’s only one thing missing…

Insert “Epic Hero” music here.

Torque Wrench: Oh great, more heroes… And another mess to clean up.

*Pause* Your confidence in the girls is ‘really’ reassuring. *Ducks a flying wrench* Anyways, if we didn’t think Hope Hollow was a ‘Stranger Thing’, note the contrast below:

The last remaining black-and-white sitcom in a technicolor landscape.

Which begs the question if this as far a radius that the Rainbow Generator goes when it went off. You’d think the effects of discoloring the perimeter would slowly ooze its way toward the rest of Equestria (Sadly, it’s not that ‘kind’ of special). Then again if that were to happen to the girls if they stay under the circumstance…

DAH!!! No, get that offscreen!

Okay… In an effort to restore the color, Twilight and Rainbow try anything they know to break the curse. I mean, it’s not like magic can’t solve ‘everything’, right?

At least we get a decent ‘Under the Dome’ reference.

If that doesn’t help, there’s always Rainbow Dash’s more ‘direct’ way of putting color into the town.

Least unlike the movie, this tries to help solve a problem.

Unfortunately, the magic is so strong that it shields every magical attempt of restoring the color (Any stronger and ‘none’ of the ponies can leave town). It just goes to show if you’re friends with a magic-user, but they’ve never seen a power of this size, be afraid… Be ‘very’ afraid.

*Hears the screams of two children, turns around*

*Insert comedic crash effect here*

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about those two for a sec.

Pickle Barrel: You zigged when you should’ve zagged!

Barley Barrel: No, you zagged when you should’ve zigged!
Pickle Barrel: That’s the same thing, dummy!
Barley Barrel: Who you callin' dummy, dummy?!

Rainbow Dash: Hey, you two want to fight, take it up with that Springer dude!

Thank you, Dash. Anyways, we get a chance to get reacquainted with one of the more focused inhabitants of Hope Hollow: Pickle and Barley Barrel, the brother-sister duo and co-presidents of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club (Well, at least that part was true). And suddenly Pinkie’s random ‘Pickle Barrel’ talk when Applejack worked in a cherry farm is starting to sound clever.

Though if one of them was named ‘Kumquat’ that would’ve been hysterical!

So apparently, these two are well aware that Rainbow Dash is a member of the Wonderbolts (Which begs the question how old ‘is’ this town prior to the discoloring incident) and as fans of Rainbow Dash’s flying skills, they want to do all the fancy tricks like the ones during her air-shows.

I can’t explain this, but their lack of experience shows.

Of course, Rainbow Dash agrees to be their mentor while she’s figuring out this lack of color fiasco. She even goes as far to say if they show improvement and not try to kill each other (‘Metaphorically’ of course), there’s a chance they may get to perform a show at the Rainbow Festival, which to their surprise they intend to make it happen.

An offer to perform with your favorite celebrity… Who wouldn’t be excited?

No this is not the team animating mid-production, I’d pay attention here.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Torque Wrench work together to repair the rainbow sign (Pretty much their one symbol of ‘Hope’, hint-hint). Clearly, Torque Wrench is not happy about being ‘volunteered’ to do a job… Which kind of defeats the purpose of ‘volunteer’ if you’re not doing it yourself. But this is where Applejack shines in this special: To be a repair-pony for Hope Hollow, hell ‘any’ town for the matter, is ‘a pretty rare talent to have’. And in a way… I actually have to agree with A.J. on this one.

Torque Wrench: Wait... You do?

Well sure. Whether it’s a computer on the fritz, a busted pipe in the bathroom, or even an entire house in need of remodeling, not every person I’d know would call themselves an expert in fixing them. And it’s not often when we see a woman doing a task most men would do (Apart from a certain ‘Loud’ sister, but that’s another network), which in a way is what I respect. Looking back, we don’t take into consideration how hard folks like Torque work hard to keep everything in working order and for them if there’s anything more important than being ‘paid’ it’s the encouragement knowing you’re time spent working for someone is worthwhile. Why looking at her, I’d be proud to see a ‘We Can Do It!’ poster with Torque’s image on it.

Aw shucks, you really are a sweet guy.

Well, after this rather touching scene we move on to see Rarity’s part in solving the mystery and… And…

Lionel Richie: ”Why I’m easy…" (Chorus background)

*Hearts fill the critic’s eyes, if you can visualize how they’d look. He sits in his chair dumbfounded at the sight yet feels this sense of lightheartedness he never felt before. Something about this lass: The hair style, the eyes, the choice of wardrobe, the smile…*

Lionel Richie: “I’m easy like Sunday morning…”
Kerfuffle: Can I help you sir?

*Snaps out of it* Oh… Right! I had a review to finish.

*Clears throat* In regard to some of the new characters we’ve seen during this special, we are introduced to a pony, who in my opinion, is a huge favorite amongst the community: Kerfuffle. Now while I’d go into more of her character later (Though I already know where I’m putting her), not only is this character cute but if there’s one thing I like is this sense of humor she gives off that reminds me of Autumn Blaze or even Jess from ‘New Girl’ (Yes, I’ve seen the show).

Kerfuffle: Well Stack my Pancakes, you think I’m cute?!

Now, now, take it easy. I’m still a professional. Anyways, what I can acknowledge with this character that a ton of fans have pointed out is a key feature of her design.

Move aside Rainbow Dash, there’s a real iron pony in Hope Hollow.

Now, we have seen ponies with artificial limbs enabling ponies with disabilities to walk (Like that one episode at this market) but a full prosthetic limb is just ‘begging’ for a backstory. Now I’ve heard a ton of interesting theories: Some say she was born with one limb shorter than the others and others say it was a traumatic incident. Of course, this is ‘never’ once brought up at all while Rarity is made aware that Kerfuffle not only knows who Rarity is but she makes her living selling her designs (With her own touch of course). Yet when asked why Kerfuffle doesn’t just sell her own material… We are given a relatable issue amongst artists.

Kerfuffle: I mean my work is “good”, but is it “enough”?

One of the major reasons ‘Kerfuffle’ is probably my favorite new character in this special: I can share some of the same issues she’s got. I happen to be part of a group who always have these ideas in my head, especially considering I initially ‘want’ to write my own stories. I can just visualize a concept perfectly, up to the smallest detail, yet I constantly worry that my own artwork is not something that would draw a reader’s interest. Which is why I’ve often been content to being a co-writer for more prominent individuals in the fanfic community, sure at least one or two of my ideas make it into someone’s project but most of the time it’s either ‘No’ or ‘That won’t work’ or ‘That’s not part of my vision’ to the point that one moment I’m used to it… Then I eventually get bitter because I’m treated more like a servant than a valued colleague. In Kerfuffle’s case, had the story been a little stronger we wonder if she’s insecure because either she’ll feel her work doesn’t meet the qualities of the patrons or when ponies look they only see the pony with the prosthetic limb and NOT a pony with artistic taste.

Which is why I will admit that’s why I enjoy the interaction between Rarity and Kerfuffle. Because in the short time these two are on screen together, a rising fashionista and an up-and-coming fan, Rarity does not see a pony with a disability but a pony with talent and artiste equal only to her beautiful…

Uh… I mean ‘intellectual’… ‘Punctual’… ‘Witty’… I’m just going to move on. *Proceeds to next paragraph*

Kerfuffle: He likes me.

As for Twilight Sparkle, it’s not that difficult to know where the ‘Princess of Friendship’ would be when it comes to finding the answers to a mystery.

Not as impressive as the secret library in ‘Forgotten Friendship’, but I’m just nitpicking.

For a ‘book-horse’ like Twilight Sparkle, she would feel right at home (Especially if we recall her home before the castle). As someone who makes a living working in a library, even if it’s mostly office work, put me in a room with shelf upon shelf of books and I’d be a happy man (Nowadays it’s all iPads and tablets and gosh-knows what). And it’s here we see a familiar face whom we’ve seen throughout this feature.

Need I mention the glasses make her look cute?

You know Petunia may come off as overly sweet, even though I’d usually be suspicious when that happens, but we’ve got to admire her work ethics. Considering the insane amount of jobs she already has around town and even the hotel.

She runs everything but the kitchen sink.

While Twilight and Petunia look to research a means of a counter spell, Pinkie and Fluttershy band together to start a baking team to get these hungry ponies some of the tastiest food they’ve ever had. Nothing like a quick trip to the town’s bakery to get things started…

Oh… Well that’s foreboding. Definitely feeling that ‘you’re not welcome’ vibe.

Though all hope is not entirely lost when they find some potential candidates to serve as the baking team. That would be the one major couple we see in this town: Mr. and Mrs. Hoofington.

Hmm… Suddenly I have this itch. They got the ‘Caddyshack’ vibe… Wait!

Before I jump into any conclusions, this seemingly unfriendly nose-in-the-air aristocrat family find Pinkie’s overwhelming cheery demeanor rather ‘creepy’. Course given the levels of creepy we’ve seen in Pinkie, what could possibly be scarier than…

SWEET MOTHER OF BANANAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Clears throat* Startled me a bit. No wait, I think that’s just the reaction from eating one of their poorly sold pies.

She’s lucky she didn’t break a tooth like with those Griffin-Scones.

Anyways, the real issue with the pies is that it seems the apricots themselves are ‘crunchy’. Now I’m not an expert on all things fruit and vegetable related, but unless these two accidentally put ‘seeds’ in their food (Which let me tell you, it ‘hurts’) there’s no way an apricot pie should ‘crunch’ (Unless they’ve sat in the oven too long, I’m no baker). Whatever the case may be, they can only hope by uncovering the root of the matter they can at least prepare some pastries that won’t give the town a severe case of indigestion.

Fluttershy: It would be an absolute honor to work with Hope Hollow’s finest bakers.

Mr. Hoofington: Actually, we moved here from Manehattan.

*Outrage* MANEHATTAN?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

To be continued...