Sorting the Episodes by My Ratings of Them · 1:55pm Dec 24th, 2014
I generated this ranking using this program. Warning -- it'll take you a while to use -- 15-30 minutes. The results can be interesting.
Rank Episode
1 1x01 Friendship is Magic - Part 1 - and:
1 1x02 Friendship is Magic - Part 2 - These two episodes are the pilot, introducing all the characters including my own Best Pony, in two lovely forms, Princess Luna / Nightmare Moon. My Sha dow Wars fanon story, Nightmares Are Tragic, is basically Friendship Is Magic from Luna's point of view.
3 2x01 The Return of Harmony - Part 1 - and:
3 2x02 The Return of Harmony - Part 2 - Introducing Discord, my favorite villain and one of my favorite characters from the show. I've directly referenced this two-parter less than I might, perhaps because of all the incredible work done on it by Alex Warlorn. Much of his Pony POVerse -- and hence the Shadow Wars as well -- derives from this.
5 3x01 The Crystal Empire - Part 1 - and:
5 3x02 The Crystal Empire - Part 2 - The Crystal City is one of my favorite canon settings, because it breathes an air of ancient civilization and mysteries long predating Equestria. The Shadow Wars version of King Sombra is Prince Crimson Quartz, and he was very charismatic before the Shadows consumed him (the main Shadow Wars version of him seduces and shatters the sanity of one of the Sisters, and the Reflections version wins the true love of the other one). He stars in the very incomplete (only one chapter so far) Corruption at Nightfall and the City figures in Divine Jealousy and the Voice of Reason.
7 2x25 A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 - and
7 2x26 A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 - Queen Chrysalis is one of the darker villains on the show -- I see her as a Complete Monster with an insatiable hunger to consume love and life -- and the Changelings (especially as ruined Flutter Ponies) one of the most interesting races We see the role of Chrysalis in the breaking of Princess Ceymi, among other evils, in Collateral Damage, and the last days of her dark reign as High Queen Nightmare Hunger in The Fall of Hive Hunger-Prime. This is a tale of suspicion and darkness, and of Love ultimately triumphing over Evil.
9 4x25 Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1 - and
9 4x26 Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2 - This is as epic as the series gets. Twilight Sparkle against Lord Tirek, in my Shadow Wars fanon Tirek the Annihilator, the Undying, the mortal enemy of all Ponykind, a character compared to whom Discord is a rather sweet guy. The best fan version of this I've ever seen is Alara J Rogers' Traitor, which tells the story from Discord's POV and fills the gaps in canon.
11 4x01 Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1 - and
11 4x02 Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2 - The weakest of the two-parters, but still fun. Important character development for Twilight and Discord in particular, and sets up the main story arc for the whole of Season Four. Introduces the Tree of Harmony.
13 1x07 Dragonshy - An awesome exploration of Fluttershy's character, and one of the few heavily action-oriented one-parters. I rewrote this episode from Fluttershy's POV as Dragonshyness.
14 2x04 Luna Eclipsed - The main episode showing Luna's character after she's mostly recovered from the Nightmare. The awkwardness, loneliness and yet high and courageous spirit revealed in this one impelled me to write the (now mostly complete) All the Way Back and the (complete) shorts "A Meeting by Moonlight" and "Feeling Adrift."
15 2x10 Secret of My Excess - Sets the basic parameters for Spike's attraction to Rarity for the next two seasons, up until things change with Nightmare Rarity (set in Season Three) and "Inspiration Manifestation" (set in Season Four). Namely, that Spike's feelings are strong and sincere, that Rarity has known this for a while -- and that she, in some way, returns his affections
16 1x06 Boast Busters - Introduces one of my favorite Ponies, The Great and Powerful Trixie! Also demonstrates quite clearly that she has the heart of a true heroine. This is why I wrote An Extended Performance, about what she did on the Longest Night of Equestrian history, when the Sun didn't rise.
17 3x05 Magic Duel - The Crazy and Evil Trixie under the power of the Alicorn Amulet. Important to my Trixiarc because it makes canon her connection to the Pie Rock Farm and her long quest for power to match Twilight Sparkle's. Also, the contrast with "Boast Busters" and her behavior after being freed from the amulet makes it clear that she's not evil.
18 4x13 Simple Ways - Simply the most hilarious character-based comedy of the whole series. We also get to see Rarity having a crush on another stallion, and get insights into both her own character and Applejack's. We also see how Spike reacts when she does this sort of thing.
19 4x12 Pinkie Pride - Cheese Freaking Sandwich. Pinkie acquires a rival -- who turns out to be her disciple, and possible love interest. Pinkie gets some real character growth in this one. Scoots2 and Sketcha-holic have done whole cycles of stories mostly based on this one episode -- Scoots about Cheese and Pinkie, and Sketcha about Cheese's brother Tomato Sandwich.
20 4x11 Three's A Crowd - Twilight on an adventure with Cadance and Discord. Significant character development for all three of them, especially Cadance. Alara J. Rogers also did a story on this one, namely Love, Friendship and Chaos. Also an actual mid-season adventure.
21 4x09 Pinkie Apple Pie - Pinkie warps reality just to get closer with the Apples, and they have a hilarious Road Trip from Hell together. This is, among other things, the big Pinkie/Mac shipping episode; Alex Warlorn has pointed out that Pinkie's motivation may hav e derived from Pinkie's awareness of an alternate world where she had married Big Mac. Great characterization for the whole Apple Family!
22 2x09 Sweet and Elite - Rarity starts to really achieve her dream of acceptance by Canterlot high society. Notable in that -- though there is the expected Aesop "be true to your real friends," not all the high society types are shallow, Rarity does make a new real friend (Fancy Pants) among them, and Rarity's situation is not reset at the end of the episode. This is remarkably rational and good charaicter and plot development for TV in general, not just "children's animated television."
23 4x08 Rarity Takes Manehattan - A beautiful analysis of generosity-as-rational-selfishness, and gives us our first extended look at Manehattan.
24 1x23 The Cutie Mark Chronicles - Creates chronological depth for the characters, showing something of their lives as fillies. This episode is from where we get the Pie Rock Farm, some of the backstory to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's friendship, some of the origin of Spike, Twilight's acceptance as Celestia's student, andthe Orange connection to Applejack's family.
25 3x13 Magical Mystery Cure - Powerful alternate reality warping magic, and Twilight becomes an Alicorn Princess. 'Nuff said.
26 4x14 Filli Vanilli - We get to see Fluttershy being uninhibitedly joyous with her beautiful singing, and get some analysis of the dysfunctionality of her shyness. This episode is one reason I imagine Rainbow Dash as being able to see, in Divine Jealousy and the Voice of Reason, that Fluttershy is starting to apostheize, and why I saw it as highly-possible that Fluttershy might be falling in love with Bulk Biceps (because of her suddenly ecstatic approach to life).
27 4x10 Rainbow Falls - Introduces a new location (Rainbow Falls) and a new character relationship (Fluttershy's new friendship with Bulk Biceps, which I envisioned developing into romantic love). Adds more depth to the Wonderbolts.
28 1x18 The Show Stoppers - An exploration of the characters of the CMC, culminating in one of the most hilarious musical numbers on this or any other show.
29 1x19 A Dog and Pony Show - Introduces the Diamond Dogs. The first time we get to see Spike being heroic (he's impelled to it by his love for Rarity), and one of the episodes in which Rarity opens all the stops on her social manipulation skills and we realize just how determined and dangerous she can be when she gets manipulative.
30 2x13 Hearth's Warming Eve - Deep historical background, interestingly (and deliberately unreliably) presented as traditional pageantry. Introduces the Windigoes.
31 1x17 Stare Master - Fluttershy showing just how awesome are her psychic powers. She Stares down a freaking cockatrice.
32 2x17 Hearts and Hooves Day - The reason for Cheerimac, and why I Toy Ship them in the last chapter of Collateral Damage. A look into adult issues of loneliness rare in a children's cartoon.
33 1x20 Green Isn't Your Colour - We learn just how beautiful is Fluttershy, how generous is Rarity, and how deeply honorable is Pinkie Pie. And why they can be frustrating to have as friends, from Twilight's POV. Introduces Photo Finish.
34 1x26 The Best Night Ever - A sadly hilarious deconstruction of High Society as viewed from the outside looking in, or even a lonely inside (Celestia and Twilight). Introduces Blueblood and Octavia.
35 4x18 Maud Pie - Introduces my favorite super-equine sister of Pinkie Pie. We get to meet a very unusual Pony, especially given the overall cheerfulness of Equestrians.
36 4x23 Inspiration Manifestation - Rarity nearly gets driven into a Nightmare for the second time (contrast with Nightmare Rarity. Key episode in that Spike's love (expressed as Honesty) brings her out of it, and afterward she seems to permanently treat Spike with greater respect and physical affection. Bookends with "Secret of My Excess," in which Rarity's love is the only thing which can bring Spike out of a similar state.
36 4x24 Equestria Games - More use of the Crystal-Imperial setting. We learn that Spike is a hero in the Crystal City because of his role in defeating Sombra. We also see that Rarity now perceives Spike as heroic in general, a change in her attitude deriving directly from his actions in "Inspiration Manifestation."
38 Mx00 Equestria Girls - Introduces Sunset Shimmer, and a whole parallel universe. A good idea clumsily done, but fun to watch for the songs and humanoid rendering of the characters. The second movie, Rainbow Rocks, introduces the Dazzlings, and their whole type of creature (Sirens), and is done much, much better.
39 2x22 Hurricane Fluttershy - A milestone in the canon Flutterarc, and a big Flutterdash friendshipping episode. Also my reason for giving Fluttershy the power of micro-Shifting -- an ability rare even among Royal Changelings like herself. (Her dramatic improvement over such a short time is Beyond the Impossible, unless she is literally able to reconfigure her body at will).
40 4x03 Castle Mania - A fun story, and one which introduces the idea of renovating the Castle of the Two Royal Pony Sisters. The identity Pony of Shadows is never explained, though what we see at the end may have been Tirek the Undying.
41 2x21 Dragon Quest - Addresses the question of Spike's identity -- and confirms that in his heart, he's more Pony than Dragon. We also see that Rarity loves him enough that she is willing to fight adolescent Dragons hand to hand in order to protect him.
42 3x10 Keep Calm and Flutter On - A crucial episode in continuity, as it is Discord's Heel Face Turn. Fluttershy demonstrates her social technique of Passive Action, and out-twists The Twister himself with it. Fluttershy is awesome.
43 1x11 Winter Wrap Up - A fun episode in which Twilight tries to fit in and discovers that her place is as a leader.
44 2x12 Baby Cakes - Pinkie Pie gets character development learning the difference between playing and babysitting. The throwaway bit at the beginning where Carrot Cake is genuinely disturbed at the possibility of Cup Cake's infidelity is one of the main canon reasons "Why I Cannot Believe in a Free Love Equestria," as his reaction would make little sense in a truly libertine culture.
45 2x11 Family Appreciation Day - Some nice background on the history of Ponyville, in which we learn that Granny Smith is truly awesome and in her youth was an adventurer much like the CMC. One of several eps on the theme that The Old Weren't Always Old and Feeble. Gives some depth to Diamond Tiara's family history.
46 4x16 It Ain't Easy Being Breezies - An okay episode which re-introduces a sapient species (the Breezies) from an earlier generation of the show. What's more, it confirms my concept of The Paradise Entity restoring The World That Was Lost (the latter concept deriving from Alex Warlorn's work).
47 1x10 Swarm of the Century - "The Trouble With Tribbles," G4 Pony style. We get to see how the characters fight an unusual threat. As has been pointed out, Twilight Sparkle nearly makes a fatal error -- one which could have killed her and her friends, and wiped out the town -- when she reprograms the Parasprites' appetites (what if she'd turned them carnivorous?)
48 4x22 Trade Ya! - The ultimate fetch quest episode for Dashie and Shy. Culminates in proof of just how much Fluttershy really loves Rainbow Dash, and vice versa. Also, Dashie sucks as a negotiator -- she really should just fly fast and hit things! Some nice development of Equestrian customs and re-use of the Rainbow Falls location.
49 2x03 Lesson Zero - Or, "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Is Tragic." Probably inspired Alex Warlorn to write Reharmonization. Notable in that it does something very rare in any series television -- psychological damage suffered in one story (Return of the Elements of Harmony) carries through to the next story. I would rate the episode more highly if it weren't so painful watching poor Twilight go mad. Celestia's reactions -- both when she thinks Twilight is going Nightmare and when she is impressed by the willingness of Twilight's friends to stand up to her in Twilight's defense -- are very interesting to watch.
50 1x16 Sonic Rainboom - Okay episode in which Rainbow Dash learns how to do her Sonic Rainboom at will, and Rarity receives an important lesson in the dangers of grand-standing.
51 1x15 Feeling Pinkie Keen - Important Twilight and Pinkie episode in which Twilight learns that Pinkie really does have strange magical powers. The main reason for Precognitive Pinkie and Reality-Warping Pinkie, and why I see the essence of what Pinkie's doing as boosting quantum-mechanical uncertainty into the macroverse. The episode is mostly marred by blatant slapstick [i inflicted on Twilight, though this is in part necessary to show Pinkie's powers. (Fridge Logic: The last thing Pinkie wants to do to Twilight is seriously harm her).
52 2x15 The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 - Fun but not entirely-logical episode which introduces the Flim-Flam Brothers.
53 1x14 Suited for Success - A very cruel episode inflicted on Rarity, notable for one magnificent song, "The Art of the Dress," and also introduces Hoity-Toity. Great exposition of the creative process as it must intersect with clients who do not share one's own talents.
54 2x05 Sisterhooves Social - Explores the dynamic between Rarity and her little sister Sweetie Belle. Rarity's willingness to literally wallow in mud to regain her sister's love shows how much Rarity really cares for Sweetie.
55 1x08 Look Before You Sleep - About the friendship / mutual incompatibility between Applejack and Rarity, and the astonishing naivete of Twilight Sparkle when it comes to routine social experiences (a strong contrast to her calm in formal high society, and the reason I classify her as a Sheltered Aristocrat). This episode is why I can't really believe Rarijack shipping even if I believed them both gay (and I don't -- I think they're the most heterosexual of the Mane Six). I am writing Royal Business as a side story, describing what Spike was doing in Canterlot at the same time.
56 1x13 Fall Weather Friends - A fun episode which introduces Applejack and Rainbow Dash's strong friendly rivalry.
57 3x06 Sleepless in Ponyville - Very significant in that it is one of the two episodes featuring Luna as a Dream-Walker. Explores Scootaloo's character.
58 4x19 For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils - The other episode in which Luna Dream-Walks. Explores Sweetie Belle's character.
59 4x05 Flight to the Finish - Continues the Equestria Games arc from Season Three. Explores Scootaloo's character.
60 4x15 Twilight Time - Explores the important issue of how Princess Twilight Sparkle's new status affects her relationship with other Ponies, and how she is viewed by the CMC. Some depth is added to Diamond Tiara's character (though mostly in the dimension of "Rich Bitch"). Significantly, Twilight Sparkle seems to view one of her important roles as "teacher" -- and she strongly models her style on Celestia.
61 1x25 Party of One - First episode to point out that Pinkie Pie is not just a happy Party Pony, but has deep emotions and can be deeply hurt by perceived rejection. Rather painful to watch if you love Pinkie. The implications of Pinkie's emotional depth, as displayed in this episode, are one of the reasons I have trouble imagining her Promiscuous (is Pinkie really capable of the requisite emotional detachment to succeed as an Ethical Slut?)
62 3x12 Games Ponies Play - Introduces the Equestria Games arc (and, incidentally, the first episode after Crystal Empire to re-use the Crystal City setting); introduces Ms. Harshwhinny.
63 3x08 Apple Family Reunion - Fun episode that among other things shows just how huge is the Apple Clan. My headcanon is that these events started over a thousand years ago as a recruiting fair for the Night Guards.
64 1x22 A Bird in the Hoof - Introduces Philomena and shows just to what absurd lengths Fluttershy can go to be misguidedly Kind. Alex, I bet this greatly inspired Pearls
65 1x03 The Ticket Master - Shows Twilight's interactions with her newly-made friends, in a more normal social situation than fighting to save the world from a mad goddess. The very first Slice of Life episode.
66 1x09 Bridle Gossip - Introduces Zecora, gives Apple Bloom some early character development, and first demonstrates Poison Joak.
67 2x23 Ponyville Confidential - It's somewhat painful to watch the CMC inadvertently piss off the whole town including their families. Notable for its demonstration that Diamond Tiara is an effective -- if rather nasty -- leader.
68 3x07 Wonderbolts Academy - Rainbow Dash finally gets to spend time training with the Wonderbolts. Major character development for Spitfire. Pinkie Pie is emotionally-devastated by Dashie's absence. Introduces Lightning Dust, who really needs to be given a return apperance.
69 3x03 Too Many Pinkie Pies - Demonstrates that Pinkie Pie has emotional depth by having her and repeatedly superficiallyduplicated. Disappointing in that it never explains what the clones actually are -- many shows avoid this issues in clone episodes, but it's notably bad by comparison with this show's normally good writing.
70 1x21 Over a Barrel - Introduces the Buffaloes and the Appleloosa setting. Also introduces Braeburn. Makes it extremely obvious that Equestria is an expanding colonial Power, albeit a fairly humane one.
71 2x18 A Friend in Deed - Shows what happens when Pinkie meets someone with genuinely good reasons for grumpiness. Also implicitly demonstrates Pinkie's powers. Introduces Cranky.
72 4x21 Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 - A potentially-interesting exploration of Rainbow Dash's intellectual limits (and capabilities). A bit marred by the over-the-top technique they use to educate her. Fluttershy makes an alarmingly good Celestia, doesn't she?
73 3x04 One Bad Apple - A Very Special Episode about bullying, and painful as are most Very Special Episodes. Has the great merit of introducing Babs Seed.
74 1x04 Applebuck Season - Applejack demonstrates one great flaw of Honor Before Reason: what do you do when you've made too many promises and have to keep them all? Includes some good development of Big Mac's character.
75 2x06 The Cutie Pox - Apple Bloom's Potion Mastery talent leads her to "Sorceror's Apprentice" level bad consequences. Significantly, inspired the "Story of the Blanks," which has welded itself into many fanons (including mine).
76 2x14 The Last Roundup - Applejack demonstrates the second great flaw of Honor Before Reason: what do you do when you are dishonored despite your best efforts? Here, Applejack chooses "run away in shame," even though her dishonor came merely from losing a contest she'd promised to win. Some logical flaws in the final resolution (why do they abandon Pinkie and Rarity at Dodge Junction?)
77 1x12 Call of the Cutie - The formation of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Vital to their story arc, but not really all that well-done an episode.
78 1x05 Griffon the Brush-Off - I find Gilda a very interesting character, but the show then pretty much forgets she exists -- maybe because of all the Les Yay they implied at least on Gilda's side. It's also a very sad episode -- Gilda's a bitch, but whether her feelings for Rainbow Dash were sexual or not, Gilda winds up utterly heartbroken -- and Rainbow is too mad to care.
79 2x19 Putting Your Hoof Down - Fluttershy's extreme nastiness when she decides to stop being super nice is one reason I can so easily see her as the daughter of one of the worst Complete Monsters in the series, Queen Chrysalis (see Fluttershy Is Free). Fluttershy, absent her Kindness (and fundamental decency) could easily be as evil as is her true sire (as The Fall of Hive Hunger-Prime will demonstrate, though, the two pursue very different paths of emotional and moral development).
80 4x07 Bats! - Meh. It's nice to see Fluttershy show strength (she stands up to all the Mane Six, including Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Rarity) and the ease of her transformation confirmed my concept of her paternal parentage, but the opposition was rather contrived. I did like the song, though. It's rare to see the normally super-sweet Applejack in a menacing role.
81 1x24 Owl's Well That Ends Well - I like the demonstration of Spike's flaws, and we get to meet another full-sized Dragon. But it's not that well done. Owlicious is also not the most interesting character.
82 4x20 Leap of Faith - Some good exploration of Applejack's and Granny Smith's character. Otherwise forgettable.
83 2x16 Read It and Weep - Introduces Rainbow Dash's canon-fangirliness. Drags on a bit, and too obviously aiming at the moral "reading is fun!" And I speak as one addicted myself to the sort of stories Dashie was reading -- my zine Fantastic Worlds is mostly Interwar Era pulp science fiction.
84 2x07 May the Best Pet Win! - The best thing about this episode is Dashie and Shy's duet. The rest is a bit pointless, save in that it emphasizes that Dash actually cares more about Loyalty than she does Coolness.
85 2x20 It's About Time - Has a neat science-fictional concept (the closed time-loop, pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein in "-- All You Zombies -- " written in 1958). Shows Twilight taking decisive leadership steps. I don't know why I don't like it. Important for two reasons, though -- mastering temporal magic is key to Twilight's Ascension, and the seeming throwaway event of Cerberus' escape was actually the start of the Tirek arc.
86 4x04 Daring Don't - Fun but kind of silly due to logical problems. How has Daring Do managed to convince everypony she's purely fictional, especially when her villains are also real? And it was painful to watch the Mane Six -- who have superpowers -- watch Daring get beat up without doing anything to lend a hand. Also, how did Daring heal so quickly? (Magic? Perhaps, but why wasn't it referenced in the story itself?)
87 4x06 Power Ponies - It had its moments, but was ultimately the Mane Six playing the magical version of a computer RPG.
88 2x08 The Mysterious Mare Do Well - Horribly-painful episode in which Rainbow Dash's friends all pointlessly turn on her out of what looks like pure jealousy. Best-explained as Alex Warlorn did, as residual Discording.
89 2x24 MMMystery on the Friendship Express - Everypony (and some non-Ponies) goes insane over cakes. No, really.
90 4x17 Somepony to Watch Over Me - Applejack inexplicably becomes insanely-protective toward Apple Bloom, accidentally resulting in Apple Bloom winding up in real danger. Utterly-implausible, given how tough-minded are the Apples. Could have been justified by Applejack's fear of losing Bloomie like the Sweet Apple Acre Siblings all lost their parents -- if the show would have the guts to admit that said parents aredead. (In my fanon, of course, Jackie has lost four loved ones in her relatively short life so far -- her maternal grandfather Blackie, her parents Melrose and Tangelo, and her lover Landscape, so her attitude makes a bit more sense).
91 3x11 Just for Sidekicks - A Pet Episode, and one epitomizing what is wrong with such episodes. Also, Spike comes across as a moron. The next-to-worst episode.
92 3x09 Spike at Your Service - The worst episode. Spike comes across as a moron, and also as a clumsy fool. This despite the fact that being a personal assistant is his profession. The episode even forgets that he can cook. How many drugs did the team take before they did this one?
Well, that's my list. Comments on any aspects of this are greatly appreciated.
One quick comment:
I tried doing this once before by actually rewatching every episode, but didn't make it through all of them. Green Isn't Your Color and A Friend In Deed got the highest scores from the episodes that I did watch.
I'll probably come back later with more thoughts.
46. It Ain't Easy Being Breezies) Which concept? How does that episode confirm it?
52. Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000) Maybe some sort of magic or some artifact to attract others to their "cause" or to them? It would make sense. They, most likely, have been doing this kinda thing for a while.
57, 58. Sleepless in Ponyville, For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils) Also explores the fillies' relationships with their big sisters, honorary or otherwise. I actually thought you would put them higher, as they explore Luna's powers in quite fascinating ways, the Celestia:Luna; Rarity:Sweetie Belle analogy being particularly interesting to watch.
59. Flight to the Finish) I thought it explored all the CMC's characters and was another example of Dash's loyalty. Although, I don't understand how Scootaloo scooted across all of Equestria with two fillies in tow... and where was Dash?!
61, 69. Party of One, Too Many Pinkie Pies) I absolutely adored how it showed that Pinkie was more than just a one-track minded party pony. Although, I wonder what would have happened if Pinkie had left the party (in 61) before the others could explain what the true purpose of it was.
62. Games Ponies Play) Also shows a little bit of Cadence and Twilight's relationship, in my opinion.
66. Bridle Gossip) Isn't "Joke" in Poison Joke spelled like the word meaning "something to cause amusement" rather than a "J" added to the word "oak"?
68. Wonderbolts Academy) Also shows a teensy bit of Pinkie's powers. Because, seriously, how did being loud enough to blow back mountains not burst anypony's eardrums?
72. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3) That was foreshadowing. I know it was. What are you up to now?
79. Putting Your Hoof Down) Pinkie Pie was adorably awesome in this episode. Rarity was cool too, but less so. Much less so.
80. Bats!) I find it extremely difficult to believe that the girl would be that mean to Fluttershy.
85. It's About Time) It also shows firsthand (hoof?) some of the huge impact Starswirl had on Equestria.
86. Daring Don't) Also, Daring was so rude to the girls. Not only is there a superpowerful Princess among them, they're Celestia's Champions, the Bearers of Harmony, plus all their other titles. One of them is even part of a high-ranking pegasus family!
87. Power Ponies) Although, it was a bit of an important episode for Spike.
Yeah, this was a long comment. Oh well!
2691284
Alex Warlorn came up with the idea of linking all four series together in a coherent history for his Pony POVerse, which I then elaborated upon for my Shadow Wars universe.
Essentially, the common points of our universes as they apply to Earth's history go like this.
Long, long ago two Cosmic entities, Celestia and Discord, dwelt upon the Pony Earth and played games with the planet in the course of (essentially) flirting and playing with one another. This caused the rise and fall of many civilizations and the appearance of many monsters and artifacts of great power. Celestia became too fond of the Ponies to be willing to play harmfully with them any more, and would up rejecting Discord because he played too cruelly. They both left the Earth.
The monsters Discord had raised nearly wiped out the Ponies. Then, a girl from our Earth, Megan, came to the Pony Earth and led the Ponies to fight back against the monsters. The G1 series, My Little Ponies and Friends, depicts the early parts of this struggle.
Many centuries passed. The Ponies of Paradise Estate were rendered immortal by the power of the Rainbow of Harmony. The Ponies defeated the monsters and spread to dominate the Earth. The Earth Ponies grew aggressive and very numerous, and the other Pony Kinds retired to hidden lands. Paradise Estate veiled itself from easy discovery. The Earth Ponies came to regard the existence of other sapients, including other Kinds of Ponies, as myth.
A mighty, global technological civilization arose and climbed to heights not even modern Equestria has yet achieved, developing advanced power and propulsion systems. They reached a point where they stood on the threshold of expanding to other worlds.
Around this time were born seven mares. Their early adolescence together is chronicled in the second (G1.5, often simply called "G2") series, My Little Pony Tales. Touched by Cosmic and mystical forces, their destiny was to rediscover Paradise Estate, and the magics that their technological culture had long since forgotten.
With the powers of magic combined with technology, the Ponies attempted a great project. They would cast a self-sustatining, intelligent Great Wish that would achieve everything they desired without the need for labor or physical instrumentality (rather like the Krell Machine from Forbidden Planet). Their world would a true Paradise, in which all might be happy and immortal, forever.
They cast the Wish. Immediately, problems due to conflicting Wishes ensued. When things stablized, the entire population of Ponies was happy, immortal -- and female. This was not a problem -- they almost never died, and if Ponies for some reason wished for more Ponies, they would be created. One Pony so magically created was Pinkie Pie, wished into existence by Minty, who wanted a best friend.
For many, many centuries, there was Paradise. With no challenges, the Ponies grew soft and indolent, but they were still happy and creative -- if they did not create quite so often as before, they were under little time pressure to create anything quickly. Celestia returned to the Pony Earth and incarnated herself among them as Star-Catcher, forgetting her true nature and enjoying a life of innocent pleasure among the happy Ponies. This is the G3 series, which was released as a set of separate movies rather than a true series. Warning -- their culture really is every bit as syrupy as you might imagine!
But there was a worm in the apple. The Great Wish, inexpertly cast by a civilization which overestimated their understanding of the forces they were manipulating, was fundamentally flawed. Paradox -- violations of causality -- began to accumulate, due to contradictions between wishes which affected the past ("I wish I'd never ...x ..."). The Paradoxes grew, until they threatened to crash the continuum, threatening the existence of the Universe.
However, the Universe has protectors.
The Cosmics -- those of the same order as Celestia and Discord, nigh-omnipotent beings who have existed since the Dawn of Time, have the role of guarding the continuum from destruction, are sent to cauterize the flaw in the timestream by annihilating Paradise. They do so -- but in the last hours of the existence of Paradise some Ponies show the strength of old by fighting back. Though they lose, they impress some of the Cosmics with the worth of their species.
A new timeline is created. When the Great Wish is attempted, massive destruction (evoked by the Cosmic, Destruction) occurs. The great technological civilization is destroyed, and the world cast down into a new dark age. In the middle of this period, Celestia, Luna and Discord are Incarnated: at first, Discord is friendly with Celestia and Luna, but then he Awakens to his true identity and begins a thousand years of tyranny, before the Sisters are able to finally defeat him. Fifteen hundred years later comes the age shown in the G4 series, Friendship Is Magic.
Pinkie Pie is also reborn in that time, a direct reincarnation of the G3 Pinkie who fought fiercely against the Cosmics in a doomed attempt to protect Paradise. Her advent, in my fanon means that the collective intelligence of that lost world is beginning to restore its reality in adjacent dimensions.
And the Breezies?
They are G3 creatures. Who in the episode are shown to live in another dimension.
2692671 Ahhh, okay. Got it.
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ay
The logical flaw in the show is that the otherwise-calm Apples of Sweet Apple Acres were willing to literally "bet the farm" with the Brothers despite the fact that all the Apples win if successful is getting the Brothers to leave town, something they were going to do anyway if they couldn't sell their machine. (And, if they sold their machine, they probably wouldn't have stuck around too long anyway, especially after somepony realized that you needed a permanent on-call unicorn mage of considerable mechanical ability to run the thing). This was
In fact, the plot looked as if something deeper was going on, and the Brothers' plan was always to con the Apples out of their farm. Most notably, the big unanswered question about the Brothers in the three stories (including Friends Forever # 9 that have featured them so far is the nature of their connection with the Apple Family.
Because they obviously have one. Just look at their Cutie Marks. But they don't admit to any. And neither they nor any Apples has yet commented on this obvious point.
I'm guessing that they are the black sheep of the family, and both they and the Apples know it; and they may be illegitimate: with a male Apple Earth Pony probably involved with a female non-Apple Unicorn. Why? Because the love affair may not have ended well -- if legitimate, it probably ended in divorce; if illegitimate, in abandonment and repudiation. And the mare, of course, would have been stuck with the children. And Flim and Flam may have had it in personally for the Apples (though their attitude may have changed, given the good turn Granny Smith does them in their team-up).
There's a dark backstory here that no way, no how can the show (and probably not the comics either) ever tell.
I liked these stories -- I just liked some others more. An interesting thing here is that Luna devoted a lot of time and attention to those two fillies in particular (she even showed up personally and by full daylight to help Sweetie Belle). There are two reasons she might. The first is that these are kin or near-kin (blood-kin in Sweetie Belle's case, near-adoptive kin in Scootaloo's case) of the Mane Six, who freed her of the Nightmare. The second is that she may remember that these were two of the three fillies whom she especially terrified as Nightmare Moon. And yeah: I don't think that Sweetie fully-understood what Luna was revealing about herself and Celestia, but I caught it.
Luna's style of helpfulness is also interesting. It's very much "tough love" -- she is comforting to both fillies, but she emphasizes that they need to act to help themselves. It's very much what I might expect out of the High Lady of War that I imagine Luna to be.
I liked the character bits. Especially the revelation (not entirely unexpected) that Rainbow Dash cares about Scootaloo whether or not she can ever become a good flier (not unexpected because Dashie is a "shining soul," as I have Twilight, Fluttershy and Degraded!Pinkie each separately put it in my stories on different occasions, and besides, not one of her other best friends actually is a good flier).
I, also, noticed the logical flaws.
I thought "Party of One" was good drama -- it's just a bit painful for me to watch because Pinkie gets put through an emotional wringer with only a moderate payoff at the end. "Too Many Pinkie Pies" would have been a very good episode if the Pool and the Clones had been in any way, shape or form explained I'm not asking for the full Twilight Sparkle treatment with blackboard and diagrams, just one or two lines would have been adequate. It was important because Twilight's solution involved destroying them -- and if she'd made a mistake, apparently she might have destroyed the REAL Pinkie).
Granted. Though it was much better shown in "Three's a Crowd."
I have seen it spelled both ways.
Granted. Almost certainly a visual effect of reality warping.
This may actually be making a xenofictional point. Applejack really wanted to protect her farm, so she was very emotionally convincing. Fluttershy's reasoning was less effective. We may be seeing a Herd Mentality in action in that song. That, incidentally, displayes the general disadvantage I assume the Ponies have compared to Humans -- less initiative and ability for independent thinking. The Mane Six, of course, have exceptional initiative for their species, and are essentially all extreme outliers for their Kinds. Here, though, their great personal trust in Applejack betrayed them.
Good point. In fact, all the continuity problems with Starswirl (if Clover was his apprentice at the time of the Migration, how could he possibly have also been Celestia's best friend at the time she first met Good!Sombra, particularly when this was after Luna's Banishment, many centuries later) go away if one assumes he's an immortal or semi-immortal incarnation of something Cosmic (which I do -- he's Wisedreamer, a minor Cosmic who has also been White-Beard the Gray, Trixie's mentor), or has time-traveled alot. This is revealed in the combination of the last chapter of An Extended Performance and the first of Substitute Mentor.
Daring had a clear "you're newbies who rely too much on powers rather than cunning and skills" Badass Normal opinion of the Mane Six, exacerbated by the manner in which they were not only helping, but were actively hindering her at the beginning. And she also seems like an iconoclastic rebel, with little respect for the authorities, while very aware that her courage, knowledge and skills made her essential to said authorities. Note Indy's lack of deference to the authorities in all his movies, coupled with the extent to which they solicit his assistance.
True. And it starts the whole arc that climaxes in "Inspiration Manifestation," continues through "Simple Ways" and has its denouement in "Equestria Games" and to some extent even Twilight's Kingdom, in which he goes from feeling very insecure about his place compared to the Mane Six to being an acknowledged hero whom Rarity is starting to treat not only with increased respect, but also with what looks very much like the early stages of returning his romantic affections.
2693128 It would be interesting (but painful) to see what would happen if Twilight did destroy the real Pinkie.
I really enjoyed Luna's character in her two episodes. No wonder she's best pony.
I wonder if the Flim Flam brothers will ever return.
Easy. The main six are, techinically, national heroes. Before Twilight became a princess, they rarely, if ever, got recognition for their achievements. It's not hard to assume that the villains or Daring's exploits would receive the same treatment. As well, if they did show up, it's quite possible they might believe they're just cosplaying or something. That and her villains aren't idiots, not to mention that it's very likely Celestia herself helps Daring keep it a secret.
I didn't find that scene painful. I honestly found it relatable because when I am shocked, scared, or just amazed, I tend to freeze up and it takes a while before my mind tells me to do something. They just saw something out of a book, done by said characters. It's understandable they were shocked.
Also, she was probably faking it.
Mr. Enter provides a much better analysis than I. I honestly loved this episode.
If I had to choose my least favorite episode, it would be Trade Ya!. I always go into an episode and view it from all angles. Even in episodes I don't care for, I see something I see as clever or just enjoy. Trade Ya! gave me nothing. I never smiled or chuckled at the jokes, the characters felt more like their season one selves, it wasn't a great portrayal of Pinkie, and the whole servitude thing?
Yeah, never going to watch that again.