Double Feature: I Like Turtles & Appleloosa 911 · 12:29am May 3rd, 2015
First things first: new chapter goes up most likely sometime tomorrow. My semester is ending soon and some things are happening at work, so life is just really getting in the way for me. Same goes for my proofreader, he's got his own stuff to handle.
Now, I've got no clue if people are reading my thoughts on these episodes. But let's say, for the sake of being able to write the opening, that you are in fact reading, and you do actually care! In that case, I'm sorry. The good news though is that we've entered the season for real by this point. Tanks for the Memories and Appleloosa's Most Wanted are the first episodes that don't wrap up any loose threads from Season 4. This means that not only are they some of the best yet, but I surprisingly don't have much to say!
Many Dash episodes involve her stubbornness and something she can't come to grips with. May the Best Pet Win has her denying that a tortoise is a rad pet, Read it and Weep focuses on her fear that reading makes her an egghead... I could go on. It's the same case here, but her issue isn't quite as self-centered as those examples. This time, she's also worried for Tank, and she wants him to enjoy himself. Her writing was on point with plenty of bullheaded statements. The animators got some great facial expressions in. And we even see exactly what can make Rainbow feel weak or powerless, which is a much different thing than what she normally expects to cause that (see previously mentioned episodes).
Obviously everypony's complained that Rainbow Dash totally got off scot-free with nary a slap on the hoof. But maybe that's good for fanfic authors. There's plenty of stories of Twilight abusing her power and such; we can interpret this as nepotism and good stories can come from it. No, my only complaint is that Fluttershy went way too far with her comments. Even farther than Pinkie Pie can go when the writers are having an off day. Of course she's become more sure of herself and less of a pushover, so maybe some of that tough love act she pulled is rooted in those experiences, but up until then she was still sort of a doormat. At least we got some great writing and imagery out of that scene (The pile-up of weeping ponies, followed by "Applejack cries on the inside!").
While I thought it was too soon to have another CMC episode, it's certainly not a typical one: Trouble Shoes learns the big lesson and the fillies are just along for the experience. They even stop worrying about their own cutie marks just for the sake of helping him! That's a good thing in my book. While the CMC are defined by their wish to discover what they're good at, this fleshes out their characters and shows they've been learning. And speaking of such things, Braeburn now has another side of his personality. Honestly never thought I'd see him again in an episode, and I wasn't clamoring for his return, but it's rare for me to be pleasantly surprised by an unexpected turn of events in this show.
On the other hoof, Trouble Shoes is basically still screwed for life! In the lottery of potential cutie marks, I really feel he got the short end of the stick, the shortest straw, the rawest deal... you get it. Sure, he's no longer alone in his rotting old wagon, but his cutie mark is still based around being a klutz. Does it make ponies laugh? Well, I'm not so sure that's the power of his special talent. Putting your Hoof Down was proof that ponies are absolute dicks, you guys! The way those ponies treated Fluttershy was pretty much the worst. Many are also very fickle trend-followers, like the Canterlot socialites in Sweet and Elite. My interpretation is that his peers are laughing at him, not because he's funny or talented, but they're just total raging tools. How long until he snaps and goes "Jason Vorhooves" on a motherbucker?
Right, that's everything. Seriously though that chapter's coming very soon. I gotta admit it's a little short, but maybe the previous two chapters were too long, right?
