Since I've yet to see any other blog posts on this just yet (and oh yes, I know they're coming), I thought I'd record my reaction here first...

Well... yeah.

So, I have to hand it to M.A. Larson for writing an excellent episode. For 22 minutes they managed to squeeze in 6 songs plus a reprise, which will keep the music makers in our fandom happy for several months during the hiatus. And I really did like the songs!

And yes, seeing Derpy in the background right there at the end made me squee a little.

Does anypony else feel like mourning a little, as well, though?

I mean, Celestia herself basically told us that the relationship Twilight now has with all of them is now irrevocably changed. I mean, yes I understand the need to embrace change: Static life is dead life. But it really feels like the end of Friendship is Magic as we know it. So, I feel like our worries were confirmed: Twilight becoming an Alicorn should really have been the end of the series. (And sadly, even though it doesn't sound like they're changing the name, in many ways it is.)

Heck, in the end they had to cram the message "everything will be fine" (clearly aimed at the fandom) down our throats...

I guess, then, we'll have to see what kind of show they try to sell us in this new series.

Two other notes:

* The pacing was certainly rushed. I mean, effectively 7 songs plus a plot and character development in 22 minutes? Are you crazy? I really wonder how long the first draft of this story would have been, and how much editing it took to take it down to 22 minutes.

* This mythology around being a princess... should definitely give the fanfic authors in our community a lot of fodder as they scramble to come up with an awesome enough back-story for Princess Elephant in the Room,.... er.... Cadence for her being a princess to make sense. Especially so far back in her history that she was foal-sitting filly Twilight...  (And I'm sorry, Skywriter, that your ideas there may have just gotten jossed. Maybe a rework can salvage things?)