Actual episode review · 11:26pm Oct 11th, 2015
Like my new temporary avatar? :V I'm really not into Halloween, but after seeing the newest Horse Wife, I just had to.
So, after watching Crusaders of the Lost Mark, my mind was just too full of fuck to write anything like a coherent review. You don't have to be autistic to be overwhelmed by the literally everything that happens in that episode. One major canon revelation comes after another; it's just too much to do anything but liveblog. So here I go, writing down reactions and so forth while watching the episode and pausing a lot to give analysis and longer thoughts. (This is the first time all season, I think, that I've watched an episode again the day after it airs.) Spoilers below the break.
To make it easier on people who don't give a damn about my rambling, I'm going to underline sections of actual commentary. :B
I had no idea what this episode was going to be (couldn't even remember the title) until I saw Pipsqueak. "Oh yeah, it's that one." I'd been looking forward to it possibly just because it had Pip again.
"We've tried everything!" "We've run out of ideas." Oh hello, every CMC episode ever :V
For some reason, all I could think about in the first scene was how their list of things to do is titled "PMN DltW"
So, 15 seconds and a song. It's not the shortest lead-in ever (I think Party of One was immediate), but it's up there.
AB totally made bedroom eyes at her friends.
But yeah, they're literally just singing about everything they've done in every other episode.
And then Pipsqueak shows up, and it's like, where did he get that hair? But remember, he was wearing a bandanna on Nightmare Night!
I love how much more expressive he is in this episode. It's hard to believe it's been three seasons since we last saw him. It's even harder to remember Sweetie knows magic now.
(So the program I use to watch these videos, including my rewatch of seasons one and two, has a ten-second forward skip. Going through the intro makes some fun phrases; this time, it's "My good and easy friends".)
Pip turns out to be good for physical humor. I love how he can't high-hoof with the CMCs, and I love how he's maybe as tall as Apple Bloom after being put on the box.
If Pip were elected student pony president, he would help the school by riding a sweet-ass Delorean.
Man, the playground got Ti-wrecked. D: Love dat continuity, especially since it shows us that there are repercussions for big battles like that, but they aren't earth-shattering or super grimdark.
Hi, Button Mash. :V Anyone remember the rumor that ShadyVox was actually going to voice him this season?
I'm actually more amazed that Twist is still around.
"Visual appeal". DT is such a stinker. :D
HER MOTHER SPOILED RICH okay so all my fanfics are dead in the water now, just from that :V And of course she's head of the school board, that honestly makes all the sense.
Oh my god, Silver Spoon is so fucking excited about this statue. Confirmation of crush on Diamond Tiara. Sad Spoon confirmed for cinnamon roll: DT is the real bully.
And suddenly another song! :O
I love her campaign pitch. This is honestly some cutting political critique right here, politicians being removed from the desires of their electorates and all.
Oh god, Scoot with the creepface D: IT RETURNS
Wahahaha, the tetherball catch XD SHE IS MAKING THE GRUMPIEST FACE
I love how much the song changes for Diamond's parts. Also, the fact that she's getting (half of a) song, a villain song no less. Although I don't think this is the first time she's sung...?
Of course she's going the blackmail route. Also, Flash Sentry's kid brother is supposed to be dead.
Super-strong hedgehog filly. c.c What?
Mane extensions? Looks more like she got on the wrong side of the Smooze. D: Also, dem teeth, wut
I love that they describe her as tyranny. :D
No, but Diamond has all the best faces in this episode.
Diamond's attempt to bend the electorate didn't work because she actually exposed all those secrets (except for Flash's brother's!), thus leaving her victims free of her power. Also, the bribery not actually involving giving her the backpack. Fantastic.
HAHA BYE BUTTON'S HAT
Yay for Silver Spoon singing. :D Her VA is Pinkie's singing VA. She is so the cinnamon roll. :V
It's honestly kind of amazing how good they are at managing Pip's campaign. I mean, drumming up his good qualities, pointing out Diamond's flaws. Not that either is hard, but they're just on top of everything that happens in this sequence, turning it to his advantage.
HAHA DINKY WANTS SOME OF THAT PIP ASS YEAH YOU BETCHA
Okay, all the fillies and one of the colts does, but that doesn't change the fact that she was first in line :B
We were expecting Flash's brother to accidentally launch Pipsqueak into the air. This would of course end with him meeting up with Button's hat and using it to float safely back to land, miles away.
I am ever so slightly surprised that Pip actually won.
And good on him for immediately crediting them with helping. :D
Cheerilee is so fed up with Diamond's shit (and also isn't this her first speaking role in like, at least a season? I swear she just dried up and blew away sometime after season two c.c)
Gasp! Silver Spoon betrayal! The relationship is over D:
WHOA :O Okay, I was wrong, Silver Spoon is the real power behind the throne, and DT is gonna need a whole tub of ice. She got shut the fuck down! Ice cream spoon cutie mark confirmed.
"Just because she's never cared about anypony else's feelings doesn't mean we shouldn't care about hers." THIS IS AMAZING. This is some transcendental shit, right here. There are SO many people in this world who need to learn this lesson, and it bothers me again and again. I mean, it's one thing to say, "They were in the wrong, they deserve the bad consequences." But if you can find it in yourself to not only forgive, but empathize with a person... Like, your enemies absolutely deserve to be treated decently. God, it just takes so much personal growth and strength, and here are three child characters in a kid's show just up and doing it. I'm so proud of them. ;_;
What is with her mom's Harshwhinny-scrunch? That's about the least agreeable pony face I've ever seen. D: At least we're not supposed to like her.
I love how "Why are you making that face?" given my previous comment. :D
Oh god, her poor butler. And now we get to see two maids, too! inb4 loads of porn
"Transplant from Trottingham" Holy shit, this is the closest we're ever going to get to a racial slur in this show
Is that "as a rich pony" or "as a Rich pony"? :O
HI FANCY PANTS IN PONVILLE FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER
ALSO YOU ARE NOTHING LIKE THIS BITCH, PLEASE KEEP BEING AMAZING
But yeah, I love how apparent it is that, despite her dad being an all-around reasonable sort of person, it's obvious that Diamond gets her attitude from her mother. The bullies are bullied, that's what we learned in Babs Seed!
And then suddenly the whole episode changes with DT getting her own sympathy song. That was like "whoa, wait, what's going on here? Are we doing Diamond Tiara redemption?"
"I thought that diamonds were hard" oh man ;_; She wants to be somepony else? They're killing me.
And it's great, because it shows the CMCs were right to be concerned for her.
Dat school escape cloud
Having paused it to see who's actually there, I can say I'm glad they put a bunch of Snips and Snails in, even if they didn't do anything. We really haven't seen much of them since, what, Rainbow Rocks? (If that even counts for you.)
I'm glad she expects them to treat her the way she treats them. And that's exactly what I'm talking about: you treat your enemy the way they treat you, you're no better than them. It's not a difficult concept.
I'm surprised she acquiesced. This isn't the first time they've tried to make nice with her, right? ALSO OH MY GOD SHE'S SUCH A GRUMPY HORSE :D
"You three are... really lucky." Are you hearing this? This is a 180 from Call of the Cutie. This is some mind-bending character arcage, right here.
I love all the projecting in this scene.
"This mark that's already on my bu--flank!"
BOOTA BOOTA, APPLE? D: SCRUNCH IS FOR NOSES, NOT CHINS!
DT about to cri makes I'm cri ;_;
Goddammit Pip, what did you break this time
"There's no money in the budget!" Yeah, if there's any proof this is retribution from Spoiled Rich for her daughter losing the election, it's right there.
Pip's piggy bank, home to candy and dead sky raisins.
Random chase song
Man, it should not be possible to stop Apple Bloom with apples. I mean, she should be able to just apple her way right through that mess. D:
Ponies in the high-society gathering include Spoiled and Filthy Rich (looking derpy in three-quarters view), Bon-Bon's upper-class cousin (or changeling replacement, or prince-and-the-pauper-style double), Russian pony, and Madmax.
I'm kind of concerned by Filthy giving the same snooty glare as Spoiled. Like, why is he even married to her? He always seemed like such a decent fellow. Headcanon: she's actually his second wife, not Diamond Tiara's biological mother, but the only mother she's ever known, and her sourness has gradually worn off on him CONTINUE
Cuz see, there's actual Bon-Bon :V
It's such a minor detail, but I love that alley door with the two big horseshoes. Also, this alley is more fitting of Mare-Do-Well Ponyville. D:
Yeah, this song is really unnecessary.
Ponies running backwards: really awkward.
Sticking their necks out: also awkward.
So apparently the schoolhouse is located in the Everfree Forest. No wonder everyone was fighting to escape it. :V
Why is everyone just hanging out outside the school?
Snails is enormous. D: Like, he's seriously as tall as Cheerilee and his head is just HUGE.
"Think about the choice you're making right now!" "You can be a better pony!" You can ride in the Delorean! :V
"Confused, insignificant lowlifes." I'm so glad Spoiled Rich turns out to be The Villain All Along. She is quite possibly the most loathsome, reprehensible character this show has ever produced, and I adore her.
Haha, damn, that sick burn about her mom not having friends. :D
"That's enough, Diamond Tiara!" which of course is no refutation of the accusation :V
"These are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they are my friends!" BITCH YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT :O
Can I buy a one-episode turnaround for Diamond Tiara? Yes, but only because friendship is a physical force in Equestria. I mean, I'm sure fanfic has done more believable redemption arcs for, well, just about everyone, but when you've got 22 minutes, you lean on magic juuuust a little to make things happen. And I can suspend my disbelief, because seriously, rainbow laser cannons are what friendship actually looks like.
Wow, she just slapped her momma down :O
"My talent is getting other ponies to do what I want." It's amazing, because now she can be friends with the CMCs while not losing her most core personality traits.
Man, Pip cringing when she comes up to him D: It's gonna be a long, hard road for her if she's serious about this.
I do believe this song has the first instance of the word "boy" being used in the show. "Girl", "lady", I think even "woman" have been thrown around a lot, but not so for the masculine.
Hello, deliverypony Rarity was macking on at the start of Rarity Investigates.
Hah, using the ponies' secrets, that's fantastic. Of course, the colt has super strength too, but just for mouth-holding. SHIP THEM
Hi Twilight, you haven't randomly shown up in an episode like that since season one! :V
And then she gets her cutie mark a second time! >:V
Damn, Sweetie is super-good with the magic now. :O Just spells more and more doom for Scootaloo.
Silver Spoon can't do anything right
THEY CAN GIRLFRIENDS AGAIN
You do? I thought you just helped this one pony figure out her true talent once >.>
And then it happens. The OH SHIT OH NO OH MY GOD IS THIS REALLY AUFDGHDLFBSAILEYGD<FHBV SHHJAPPEINGSUBDGDFGHU OH FSDGUHSAMY ASDOUGODUSHREWFGB I mean I knew they had to get their marks this season because of the Cutie Mark Magic theme, but I was expecting it to happen during the finale. It'll be interesting to see if other episodes finished before this one don't take the airing order into account.
So yeah, the cutie marks? Really dumb. Or at least boring. We've known since Show Stoppers what their special talents are, but now suddenly they get cutie marks because they decide to help others? So here are a few thoughts:
1) Those aren't actual cutie marks. I say this mostly because when we've seen ponies get their mark in the past, it just boom-flash-appears. There's no magical girl powering up. This is something different, possibly along the lines of Twilight finding that "new magic". (On that note, I had a split second where I thought that maybe they had all become alicorns. I can't find the frame that made me think that, but it looked like Sweetie had wings or something.)
2) Their special talent is being themselves, represented by the very EUP emblems in the middle of each mark.
3) They exclaim "We got the same cutie mark!" Makes you think of all those ponies with hourglasses, doesn't it? :V
4) I can actually buy all the bullshit around these cutie marks because, again, friendship. I will say the details are disappointing, but not the fact that it actually happened.
5) Oh, and let's not forget that Sweetie got a music note while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo got far more standard apple and wing emblems. Like, I think that's the most important takeaway if you're not overly thrilled with the way the marks look. (And actually, it's heart-in-apple, note-in-star and lightning-in-wing, so there a ton you could do with any of those.)
Aw yeah, cuteceañera time!
"IF MOM AND DAD WERE HERE" HOLD THE PHONE FORGET FUCKING CUTIE MARKS THEY JUST CONFIRMED APPLEDEADPARENTS! >:OOOOOO Except, okay, let's be reasonable, despite the fact that AJ is crying, they could just be away. Like, afk. :V (away from kids ohIfeelsobadbutIwentthere) Also, Big Jim is trolling us, so it's not set in stone.
But srsly, we know they ded :V
Wow, Rainbow Dash singing about being proud of Scootaloo ;_;
"little buddy" ...BAHAHAHA XD She can't acknowledge her as anything else? I love it. Scootaloo remains the best tragicomic character in MLP history.
But yeah, those marks just don't fit their designs, ugh
oh, hello clip show
My idea for the McDonald's toys comes to life! >:V
HELLO ANIMATION RIPPED SHAMELESSLY STRAIGHT FROM THE INTRO WHY WOULD YOU EVEN DO THAT
Who the fuck is flying with Fluttershy?
Sweetie's all "LOOK AT MY BUTT!"
Doing some VA lookups. Pipsqueak's VA is seriously just a little kid, that's wonderful. Oh, apparently he was in Twilight Time too, forgot about that one. :B Diamond Tiara's VA also voiced her mother and was Starsong and Tiddly Wink in G3.
OKAY, JUST ANALYSIS FROM HERE ON OUT
So a lot of the criticism I've seen is that this does a Magical Mystery Cure "songs instead of plot advancement" setup, and that's a fair point. But I also think it works better in this episode; at the very least, it doesn't feel rushed. Sure, as I said before, DT's turnaround is pretty quick, but they do a good job of bringing her to an extreme nadir, a point from which she can be raised up and set on another path. And, again, she's not leaving behind her core personality trait; I suspect she's just more likely to be generous and less likely to be smarmy in the future. At the very least, I expect she'll be treating the CMCs a lot better from now on.
(Thought: if they hadn't gotten their marks, her mother would have to eat a whole lot more crow in regards to her daughter hanging out with blank flanks.)
Now, what do I think this means for the show? As someone (I forget who, sorry) suggested, this would be the place to start that CMC spinoff that's always been bandied about but never really pursued. Seriously, I swear they were talking about that back in season one. I fully expect to never see the CMCs again, at least not as major characters, but I'm sure we'll get one or two episodes with them in season six. I will say that I can't think of too much to do with them, as they have now officially lost the one trait that made them interesting (and all their episodes boring because it was the only thing they had to do). So I dunno, mixed bag, but just like Twilicorn, I'm all for it. This is definitely the best CMC episode ever. (I wouldn't count Cutie Mark Chronicles as one, since it was mostly about the mane six, even if the CMCs were doing the finding-out. But they're honestly on par with each other.)
Amending Fences
Crusaders of the Lost Mark
Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
The Cutie Map
Rarity Investigates!
Brotherhooves Social
Make New Friends but Keep Discord
Castle Sweet Castle
Canterlot Boutique
Appleloosa's Most Wanted
Tanks for the Memories
Slice of Life
The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
Made in Manehattan
Bloom & Gloom
Princess Spike
Party Pooped
Our Town
The Pony I Want to Be
We'll Make Our Mark
I'll Fly
The Vote
The Rules of Rarity
Sisterhood
Hush Little Sister
Make This Castle a Home
Light of Your Cutie Mark
Dream Flower Song
I shall choose to believe we haven't seen the last of them.
We'll see them again, Maybe as big players in the world now.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Yeah, I'd be very surprised if they really did get dropped as major elements of the show. There's still the question of their marks inside the CMC shield to explore, as well as stuff that could be done with this new "help ponies with their marks" crusade. CMCBFFS for-ev-er!
You're crazy about the chase song, it was a thing of beauty. That running backwards bit, DT's part while running through the rich crowd and through the alley, everything.
Fun review besides those two bits of disagreement, though. On the whole I largely agree.
Two things with that, though. One, they were talented in them, but I wouldn't say they were their special talents. If Rarity can play detective with a cutie mark related to gemstones and seamstress-ing, I think the CMC can be good at singing and carpentry, etc, and have their new cutie marks too. And two, if they did get their cutie marks in those talents, I'd be disappointed it was for the obvious things and ask why it took them five seasons to reach this point.
For plotlines involving them, a friend of mine pointed out a good point - it's actually been a while since a CMC episode has focused on them trying to get their cutie marks, and it's become increasingly uncommon as the show has progressed. Season 5 we've had Bloom and Gloom (angsting over what the marks might be), and Appleloosa's Most Wanted (helping Trouble Shoes). Going back to Season 4 there's For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils, Somepony To Watch Over Me, Twilight Time, and Flight to the Finish.
So are there still stories to tell now that they have their cutie marks? Absolutely, because they're not just the CMC, they're also their own individual characters with their own relationships and backgrounds. If anything, the type of cutie mark they got opens up more story potential where they help other characters (Pipsqueak most prominently) get their cutie marks and/or understand them. I could totally see them being called by the Cutie Map, even.
Ah! Goast Hose Wife! The spoops are real! D:
You would be correct. She had a few lines in the first song of "Pinkie Pride," wherein she grudgingly acknowledged Pinkie's adequacy as a party planner.
One person on Derpibooru posited that Spoiled Rich's muzzle is evidence of plastic surgery in Equestria.
She isn't high enough level to have apple step yet. At least, she wasn't at that point in the episode. Archenemy redemption is worth so much XP in this system, it's not even funny.
Well, there was Trouble Shoes. That's about it, but at least "Appleoosa's Most Wanted" has a reason to exist now.
As for the marks, there is a nice amount of depth to them. Not just the cutie mark counselor roles, but also some literally inner symbolism to be had.
I think they'll find a way to get the Crusaders more storytime. If nothing else, there's a very good question of what they should do individually. Can't be together 24/7, after all. And there are plenty of other "growing up" tropes to explore, plus support roles in stories that focus on their big sisters, biological, honorary, or Orchard Blossom.
In all, I liked this one, but that's me saying that.
(Also, my headcanon for Diamond Tiara's talent was confirmed, so that's me happy.)
You do make a fair point. When a pony gets their mark, there flank lights up. But what happened to the CMC, maybe it does have something to do with that new magic. Maybe Twilight could study them for a little while?
3463074
I think, if anything, I absolutely do not want to see them called by the Cutie Map. :/ And I'm quivering, because that sounds like something that could happen. Well, so long as there's, like, half an episode dedicated to "now the map can call anypony!" I'd be fine with it.
As for the talents thing, I'm gonna chalk this up to lack of creator oversight. Show Stoppers was set up so that we, the audience (and Twilight, and Cheerilee, and pretty much anyone but the CMCs) would recognize the Crusaders' talents where they couldn't. We were let in on the joke, more or less. And you've got a point about hobbies: look no further than Twilight Time. Alchemy, fixing stuff and magic? No one was expecting those to be their talents. But that nod-wink-shh from SS felt like a certainty, and now we've just got... something else. I dunno, it depends on how this plays out over the next season and a half.
3463080
They have a long way to go. D:
Oh, hmm, good point about Troubleshoes. I guess I kinda forgot about that episode. :B
3463146 If they did get called by the map, I'd feel about the same way. If they wanted to, they could sidestep around it by calling Rainbow, Rarity and AJ, and they take the CMC along with them being the ones who solve the problem. But yeah, while it's possible they could be called, they really shouldn't. Though as a whole I dislike the cutie map idea so there you go.
3463157
I like the Cutie Map because it's the closest to "The Princess Chronicles" we'll ever get. :B
See, my headcanon has always been that Silver Spoon's talent is to get others exactly what they need or at least to them happy without realizing they didn't get what they wanted, as in, her talent is not that she was "silver spooned" but that she IS the silver spoon. She would make an excellent assistant, diplomat or negotiator, which is why she had such a good relationship with DT's talent for authority, at least until DT pushed her too far.
That was actually my favorite piece of animation in this episode, and one of the two horsiest things this entire season (the other being Rarity's cute little sideways step in Rarity Investigates), the animators really did their jobs with that.
To be fair, the narrative on this episode very obviously spanned several days, and it's nowhere near as ambiguous as MMC about it, unless you need them to slap "x day(s) later" right there on the screen.
First day, Pip comes to the CMC after school, second day at school for campaigning and voting (if one assumes both took only one single day, though at the start of the voting section of the song they do say "it's now a new day"), DT goes home after school defeated and the CMC follow, third day after school they invite DT to the club house.
Given that it's easier to buy that DT had already been feeling down and in need for a change for a while, so I didn't feel it was rushed purely from the point of view of the story line. And as you mentioned, the way the story itself was told in a way that felt much better paced than MMC.
Season 6 Episode 08
Twilight: Let's invite all of our parents over for Familiy Appreciation Day!
Applejack: My parents are dead Twilight, ok? There, I said it! You happy now?
Bronies: Maybe she just means that they are dead to her, not literally dead.
Flutterthighs, Flutter's and Bluk's daughter.
I do kindda want this as well, honestly I've kindda wanted this for Twilight since she became a princess, because once one becomes a head of state anything that is not directly related to politics makes one look either frivolous, incompetent, or superfluous. But I guess it's a kids show and princesses are allowed to just be pretty pony princesses that sit around being bored and we're supposed to feel sympathy for them.
I digress, I don't know if i want to see more episodes about the CMC doing occupational therapy, which is the best description i can think of for what they described as their talent (except for the part where their subjects are not necessarily handicapped in some way). Just like Twilight at the end of season 3, I think this episode closes their characters up perfectly (If the show had ended at season 3 I would have been perfectly satisfied back then). My greatest hope is that season 6 starts several years later and if we see the CMC again they are adults now and then they might be interesting again, but pretty much anything they do from now until then will only diminish the effect this episode had on their character, i think.
This is true, and to celebrate I've decided that i am going to marathon all of the CMC episodes since season 1, including the individual ones, not just the group ones. As I said, i think this episode closes their story arc in the best way possible and i think that part of MLP:FIM can now be enjoyed as it's own little mini series with it's own great finale.
3463159 Heh, well, I dunno what that is.
I dislike it largely because of how little it's been used - only two times so far, and once more later in the season. Couple that with how many episodes not involving the map still concerns the Mane Six helping solve friendship problems, and I question if the map is necessary at all from a meta perspective. Sure, it provides a plot device to get the Mane Six to travel to new places and meet new characters, but the writers have done that before without needing the map to give a convenient excuse.
As we all know, every evil person inevitably finds themselves as part of a committee.
Indeed, that would be the opening song in Pinkie Pride.
It's not like it's the first time—he was just hanging around in Too Many Pinkie Pies as well.
Anyway, I really like the Crusaders' cutie marks. It actually redeems earlier episodes where they searched for their cutie marks for me. Before, it seemed like the Crusaders were just being idiots in their episodes, searching in all the wrong places even though the answer was right in front of them. But this episode revealed that was not the case—they were working toward their marks all along. Their talent is helping other people figure out what to do with their lives, and they've had a lot of practice at it because they've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with their lives!
It's glorious.
Granted, I didn't like the designs of the actual marks at first (they're overcomplicated, the colors clash with their designs), but... they're kind of growing on me already.
Especially when I looked at fan art, I'm starting to like the way the marks look on them.
You're crazy. Go watch the Comic Con teaser for S5E24 again. Not only do I think the CMCs will continue to be core characters in FiM, as they've always been, but I also think that episode will be (at least partially) another CMC episode.
Mind was all kinds of fucked yesterday, and still partially today even, over that episode. I'm glad I wasn't alone as many of my friends and others I see commenting seemed just as... Confused? Disoriented? I still can't describe what I felt yesterday. But yeah, the LITERALLY EVERYTHING HAPPENS part, happened!
Will have a more coherent reaction post tomorrow. I cannot take in any more Diamond Tiara and Cutie Mark Crusaders related anything until I've gotten a good nights sleep. Carry on, Present Perfect. And yes, this episode broke me. In all the right and worst ways. Never felt so emotionally conflicted in my life and still be so full of love for these characters.
Good night.
YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH
So... You get an episode about all three of them getting a similar, but not identical, cutie mark... Each one having its own variations...
In a season that's been wanking off about cutie marks since episode one...
And this is the conclusion you come to?
Have you been drinking? :P
3463203
Oh absolutely. All of a sudden the entire story arc of the CMC since nearly day one has been wrapped up in a lovely little consistent and coherent bow. We even have an explanation for why their older sisters/mentors never took them aside for a pointer or two. Cutie marks come when they come, and if all of Sweetie's singing, for example, never produced one then clearly something more complicated was going on.
I don't think we'll see the last of them, either. I think they may even play a big part in the ending. Like, what if they have to give up their cutie marks, as the newest granted cutie marks in Equestria, in order to save literally everything? I don't think Hasbro has the guts to take them away forever, but maybe this is one of those fakeouts. Like, Haha, you thought these cutie marks were their final form? Booya!
More like a Heel-Face Turn.
Oh, dude! I thought so too!
As for the cutie marks? I bet Starlight Glimmer will take them off and they'll have to go with the standard ones or something equally Glimmerstupid.
3463335
...Oh god, that would be terrible. D: For numerous reasons!
Holy crap, it all makes sense.
Ponyville School Board confirmed for ownership of secret Cutie Mark energy cannon. Mom galloped offscreen and shot her daughter's new friends to avoid eternal personal shame.
Wasn't Pip in "Twilight Time"?
I bet someone's already covered these, but I'm too rushed to read through all the comments.
I wouldn't worry too much about them getting dropped from the show. I mean, they're just set up to do something new now that will be less repetitive: they find ponies who re having an identity crisis over what their cutie marks mean and help them. It's kind of a cutie map setup, which the show could use some more of, because after hyping it as a major part of this season, they've revisited it exactly twice so far. Bonus points it the cutie map actually calls out the young girls on such missions.
I'm not surprised people made those accusations about the songs, but I don't agree with them at all. The songs delved into a lot of information you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I see that accusation more applicable to a story that had a weak plot, so they packed in music to kill time. But I absolutely love stories where the plot development carries into the songs as well. That's why I love Winter Wrap Up, Suited for Success, The Best Night Ever, and May the Best Pet Win. The music carried a lot of the plot for those, and it did here, too. It explained the campaign situation, it got at Diamond Tiara's identity crisis, and it did as much as the spoken parts did. The only song that really was pretty empty on that front was all the congratulations at the end.
So, yeah, this was a great episode, and it's definitely in my top 10, probably top 5.
3463074 I think part of the idea of the CMC was they practically never really practiced the special talents we all thought they were supposed to have, so that's why they haven't gotten cutie marks in alchemy or singing, etc, in the last 5 years.
I think the real in-universe reason is that the girls were going on and on in this episode about how they didn't really care what their special talent or cutie mark is, as long as they're together. So now they have a group cutie mark they can pursue some kind of counseling business together with, rather than a carpenter, a singer and a dare-devil meeting up every two months in their thirties.
3463080
There was also:
"Cutie Mark Chronicles." After all, it was the CMC questioning the Mane 6 about their cutie mark stories that got them to realize that they all got their cutie marks at the same time and due to the same event. Kind of a precursor to what happened here, seems to me...
Mike
3463945 I interpreted them getting it for a similar reason, though different reasoning. I think a cutie mark is a sign of the destiny you choose for yourself, that moment you realize what you're truly passionate about and truly want to do with your life. Aside from Twilight, who is a special case, that's how the Mane Six each got theirs, and now it's how the CMC got theirs.
3463952 That's a fairly popular theory, and I agree there's definitely a component of self-actualization epiphany. However, there does seem to be some external mysterious force that weighs in on the cutie mark, especially the magical enhancement portion. Isn't one of the main points of this episode that lots of ponies are like DT and Troubleshoes, with cutie marks they don't understand? I think if ponies were choosing their marks, even unconsciously, this wouldn't be such an issue.
3464011 True, though I personally choose to forget Trouble Shoes exists. The entire episode had a lot of odd morals and rewrote a lot of the history behind cutie marks.
3464016 Troubleshoes got his rodeo cutie mark like he always wanted, just with a nasty twist. I actually like the moral of that episode. Sometimes what you love and what you're good at are different, and eventually you have to grow up and find a way to pay the bills.
In any case, I feel like we should probably all kind of wait on cutie marks until the season finale, that will probably rewrite them again.
3464026 I saw it more as "Trouble Shoes is really clumsy and causes trouble, but if you put him in a clown costume, suddenly people will find his antics funny, and he'll feel better about his ineptitude because it makes people laugh." Not to offend anyone, but it's like suggesting someone who has a physical handicap has to make fun of themselves for it in order to be accepted by others.
3464028 Aw geez, I never thought about it like that. Now I doubt I'll be able to re-watch the episode, even with all the hilarious accents.
3464030 I have ruined an episode for someone else. My work here is done! Away!
3464034 "Who was that masked hater, anyway?"
but the true question remains
are you actually autistic
Okay so I sat Ponky down this morning and made him watch the thing, and he said this exact thing. Also "Ooh, this almost makes me want to continue Mantles."
Ponymatrix confirmed? Optimalverse? Must consider.
Noticed that. Didn't give it much thought at the time because episode, but I think this is another one we can attribute to airing order. I bet we'll be meeting this pony soon.
Either that or it's Discord.
3463550
PRINT IT
3463567
Apparently he was and I forgot. :B
3463945
But it's only been a yeeeeaaaarrrrrr
3463948
That feels like a stretch, yet in hindsight it kiiind of fits. :O Bravo.
3464069
Yes.
3464096
I only pointed that pony out because my mind immediately jumped to WHY IS SNOWDROP IN THE SHOW
:V
3463948
The mane 6 didn't get their cutie marks at the same time, just as a consequence of the same event, only Rainbow and Twilight got it at roughly the same time, Flutters soon after, Pinkie only after she put together that party, Rarity after she got back to Ponyville and remade the dresses and had that play, presumably some days later, and AJ after she returned from Manehattan, which could have been days or weeks later, assuming she just didn't run away from her aunts house, which seems unlikely, cause she wasn't there against her will (you know, sit down, say good byes, let granny know she's coming back and all would probably take at least a few days).
They did figure out that they got their start with the sonic rainboom, though, but it might be a stretch to say that that was something they needed help with, they may have eventually figured that out on their own as they spent more time together.
3464330
True enough:
And besides, their memories are demonstrably faulty about the event, the way Applejack sees the sun coming up over Ponyville when she's in Manehattan and all the maps show that Ponyville is west of Manehattan...
Mike Again
3464214 I wish they would lampshade this a bit in a future episode, like Steven King's Stand by Me. "That was the year we all grew up, Tirek and Discord attacked, everyone got their cutie marks, our librarian friend became a princess with a giant castle, and there were 500 days of summer. It felt like that year could last forever...."
3464339
Do we know that the sun rises in the east in Equestria? I mean, the princesses do have essentially arbitrary control over the celestial bodies.
Actually, that just made me realize … we've seen the sun rise in the north before! In the Tirek episode:
vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/7/7b/The_sun_being_moved_all_over_the_sky_S4E26.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20140512110353
That big peak on the right is the mountain Canterlot's on, and by the official map, Canterlot is northeast of Ponyville …
… that must have been a fun morning in the Crystal Empire.
Not quite -- AJ uses it (about Spike) at the end of "The Ticket Master".
3464620
3464339 I see the inconsistent positions of the sun more as a case of animators aren't perfect and shouldn't have to be. It is cool when stuff like that does lineup though, like the map in Daring done.
3464620
3464963
My question has always been:
How exactly does the Equestrian moon go through phases? We've seen crescent moons in the show--at the end of "Apple Family Reunion," for instance--and yet, Luna always seems to be bringing the moon up right at sunset, a thing that in our world would give you full moons every night. It must be that the Equestrian moon has its own luminosity instead of being just reflective the way our moon is, so Luna can adjust it, wax it and wane it each month--which they do call a moon in the show, after all--while still keeping it on display the entire night.
As for the sun, "arbitrary" isn't an adjective I'm comfortable applying to Celestia...
Mike
3464711
Okay. So a bit of a gulf between uses. :B
3465670 Doing "boy" site:mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Transcripts/ turns up a few more -- but the ones that aren't just expressions like "Boy howdy" all seem to be addressed to non-ponies, eg "I helped the Cranky Doodle boy!"
3465832
Eh, that one barely counts, since it's just a parody of the song lyric. :B
3464339
My head canon is that AJ's cutie mark didn't actually have anything to do with the Rainboom, the rainbow she saw didn't even look similar, and if anything it would have been pointing her to Cloudsdale. She just didn't want to be left out. On the night of NMM she went along cause after already saving RD and PP before they got their butt handed to them she figured the group needed at least one (responsible) adult.
3465982 Yeah, bad example. Applejack's "You bet they are, birthday boy" to Spike in "Secret of My Excess" is more representative of what I meant.
3466584
Hah. Well, it makes sense, since he's the token boy character. :B