Tanks for the MLP details · 3:43am Apr 26th, 2015

Well, I just watched Episode 5: Tanks for the Memories (where in the opening scene I half-wondered if Tank might die, illustrating the importance of coping with pet death for kids, but then again, that's kind of dark). So, what interesting observations can be made in this twenty minute (ten, if you discount the crying and irrational attempt at sabotage) look into the MLP universe?

Rainbow Dash: Tank Commander

First... Cloudsdale moves!! Wow, this is kind of cool. I mean, yes it makes sense that it would be mobile, being a cloud city and all. But I've always gotten the impression that it was in a fixed position, especially since it's right there on the official map. The possibilities for using this mechanic in fics is pretty cool.

Second... Ponyville is next up for winter? Does winter rotate around Equestria? What a fascinating concept because it completely disconnects the idea of winter being associated with "time of year". It also justifies why we haven't seen winter in Ponyville since season two. Although, I do think this may simply be a case of the writers simply not giving a flip about continuity. After all, Fall Weather Friends is two episodes after Winter Wrapup in season one, and winter seems to come and go in a single episode (place your bets on whether it will still be winter in episode six). Also, Rainbow Dash gets Tank in season two episode seven, where Hearth's Warming Eve is four episodes later in episode eleven! Dash acts like this is Tank's first winter with her. *sigh* Sadly, I think this might be what's actually happening, and we, the fanfiction writers, are spinning plates trying to make rational sense of it all.

Still, the concept of a localized winter that comes more or less based on "when it's your town's turn" is absolutely fascinating, and has a lot of potential in fics. It also heavily implies that years don't necessarily work the same way as they do for us. Are annual holidays actually annual? Does Nightmare Night always happen in the autumn? Does Hearth's Warming Eve always happen in the winter? And if it does, perhaps it isn't even an annual event. Maybe it's Hearth's Warming in Ponyville at a different time of year than in Manehattan. How does the passage of time even work in Equestria? Does this perhaps explain why the CMC still have yet to get their cutie marks? Maybe four years haven't actually passed for them since the show started!

On a related note, we've seen the moon go down and the sun come up from the same spot that the moon just went down. Forget that silly rising in the east business. All bets seem to be off in Equestria.

Further Observations:

* Fluttershy the veterinarian is adorable. It's also good to see her not cowering when yelled at, though it's bad to see her get yelled at.
* Dragons don't "have to hibernate", but don't they sometimes take hundred-year naps?
* Spike has a bucket of crystals on the floor of the castle presumably for eating. Curious: could Spike eat the castle itself?
Also, Spike's bedroom.
* Dash gets her own "I've lost my mind" episode. cf Somepony to Watch Over Me, Lesson Zero, Inspiration Manifestation, Party of One, Putting Your Hoof Down.
* Who's on First?
* Lightning storage room!
* Wilhelm Scream *sigh* will that ever be retired? People who know what it is can't not notice it.
* Rainbow Dash slippers.
* Applejack: Wrong pony for sympathy. Did Twilight not already know this? lol