• Member Since 30th Mar, 2013
  • offline last seen Jul 16th, 2016

Smitty91


I've been writing for the past 15 years, ever since I was ten. I hope you'll be kind enough to read my work and leave a comment or two.

More Blog Posts28

  • 401 weeks
    100 Followers?!

    It seems just like yesterday that I created this account. It's been fun writing all of these fanfics for you guys to enjoy, and I hope you're looking forward to the many more I have planned. A big thank you to all of you for liking my stories, faving them, commenting on them, giving me constructive criticism, and recommending them to friends, as well as adding them to various groups. Seriously,

    Read More

    8 comments · 631 views
  • 403 weeks
    The Fetish Fanfic Fapstravaganza!

    The Fetish Fanfic Fapstravaganza!

    Oh, yeah! Really looking forward to this! :twilightsmile:

    0 comments · 420 views
  • 404 weeks
    Going On Vacation

    So starting tomorrow, I'll be going on vacation for a week. I'm hoping a change of scenery will inspire me to start writing again.

    4 comments · 421 views
  • 406 weeks
    What I've Been Up To

    So some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted anything new since late May. (For the record, let me know what you guys thought of Double Your Pleasure.) Well, there's a good explanation for that. You see, I've been in the process of moving, so that's eaten up a lot of my time. Secondly, I haven't been in a writing mood

    Read More

    2 comments · 380 views
  • 408 weeks
    Season 5 of My Little Pony Out on DVD on July 12

    Just thought I'd give you guys a heads-up that the fifth season of MLP will be coming out on DVD on July 12. I'm so psyched! Can't wait to have this in my DVD collection.

    2 comments · 391 views
Dec
1st
2015

The Cutie Re-mark Episode Review · 12:50am Dec 1st, 2015

With how action-packed season four’s finale was, I imagine it was hard for a lot of us to see how the writers were going to top it in terms of entertainment value. The finale for season four had a lot of great action, some good character moments, and it tied everything up fairly well. With all of that, the finale for season five had a lot to live up to. Did the writers succeed? Let’s find out.

We start the episode off with Twilight rehearsing her speech with Spike. Once she finishes up, Spike congratulates her on a job well done. Just to be on the safe side, Twilight suggests going through it yet again, much to Spike’s annoyance. It’s understandable. After all, Twilight had already rehearsed the speech eleven times. It’s easy to see why Spike would be getting bored.

After the commercial break, we see various ponies getting together and sitting down to prepare for Twilight’s speech. In said speech, Twilight discusses the importance of cutie marks and friendship and the significance of the Sonic Rainboom, as we saw in the storyboard reel of this episode back during the summer. Not too long after she mentions the Sonic Rainboom, she spots Starlight Glimmer in the audience. She does a second take, only to find that Starlight Glimmer has disappeared.

Back in Ponyville, Twilight and Spike start heading back to Twilight’s castle, talking about Starlight Glimmer. Spike suggests that maybe Twilight was mistaken, but Twilight doesn’t think she was. Spike says that perhaps Starlight is back to plot revenge, leading to Twilight shaking in worry. He reassures her that he was merely speculating, stating that the very idea is ridiculous. Twilight agrees,, stating that as long as she has her friends by her side, everything will be fine.

Twilight and Spike enter Twilight’s castle, with Twilight stating that perhaps she was more nervous about her speech than she thought. Spike agrees, saying that this idea sounds a lot more plausible than Starlight being back for revenge. They enter the main room, where Starlight is waiting for them. Immediately, Twilight suspects Starlight of foul play. Almost as if to confirm her suspicions, Starlight casts a spell using a scroll, creating what appears to be a tornado in the middle of the room. She tosses the scroll aside, saying that she will no longer need it, before she is whisked away in the tornado ala Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Spike questions as to where she went, but Twilight has no idea, although she doesn’t think that Starlight is up to anything good.

Spike walks over to pick up the scroll that Starlight threw away, only for Twilight to tell him not to. At this point, however, it’s too late, meaning that Spike has already touched the accursed thing. This leads to the tornado reappearing. Twilight grabs hold of Spike, leading to the two of them being whisked away in the tornado. They are pulled through a portal, leading to them being dumped in Cloudsdale.

It’s at this point that my suspicions regarding this episode were more or less confirmed, that Starlight Glimmer’s ultimate plan was to go back in time to alter the past to make it so that Twilight and her friends never met. Needless to say, she succeeds by way of casting a spell on Rainbow Dash, holding her in place while Hoops crosses the finish line. Seeing this, Twilight inquires Starlight as to what exactly she did. Starlight says, “You’re about to find out,” just as Twilight and Spike are once again pulled into the portal.

The two of them are dumped back into the present, but things are a little different. Twilight’s castle is completely different. Oddly enough, however, the map of Twilight’s castle is completely intact. Looking at it, Twilight notes that the Crystal Empire covers over half of Equestria. Curious as to what exactly is going on, she and Spike go around Ponyville looking for their friends. They come across Sugarcube Corner, which is in tatters. They go to Rarity’s, but the place is boarded up and has officially been shut down.

Finally, the two go to Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack. Sadly, they weren’t able to find Flutttershy, Rarity, or Pinkie Pie. Sweet Apple Acres has basically been turned into a factory that does nothing but make canned apples, overseen by Applejack and Big Mac. One can’t help but wonder just happened to Granny Smith or Apple Bloom.

Twilight and Spike come across Applejack. They’re grateful to come across a friendly face, but sadly, Applejack has no idea who they are. Twilight tells her that the two of them weren’t able to find any of their other friends and adds that the Carousel Boutique was all but torn down. Applejack says that Rarity left Ponyville to move to Manehattan a few years ago. At first, Spike thinks that she may have left to become a famous fashion designer, but Applejack points out that such couldn’t be the case. She goes on to say that Rarity more than likely left Ponyville to join the cause, and that Rainbow Dash has also joined the fight in the war against King Sombra.

Twilight takes Applejack to the map to prove to the farm pony that they are indeed friends. Applejack says that it’s possible that the two of them are friends, and Twilight inquires as to how Equestria came to be this way. We get a flashback to “The Crystal Empire.” Because Twilight and Spike weren’t there to retrieve the Crystal Heart, King Sombra quickly rose to power and pretty much took over all of Equestria. He forced the crystal ponies and anypony else to fight for him. Anypony else was on the side of Celestira, fighting against him. We get to see Maud and Pinkie Pie demolishing a humongous rock together, thus saving Rainbow Dash’s life. Rainbow Dash is styling her mane in a different style. We also get to see what war is like in Equestria and, sad to say, it’s basically ponies pawing at each other like a bunch of wussies. Alas, all of Celestia’s efforts are for naught, as King Sombra’s forces are far too powerful.

Back at home, everypony is forced to work day and day out for the cause of the fight. Sadly, try as they might, their efforts are futile.

Twilight reassures Applejack that she will set things right before Applejack walks off. Without any problems whatsoever, Twilight succeeds in casting the same spell as Starlight Glimmer, using the same scroll she used before. It seems as if Starlight Glimmer was expecting them, as the two of them are immediately encased in ice upon their arrival. Starlight shows up and explains that she created the spell just for her, so every time Twilight goes back to the past, Starlight is transported there along with her. She goes on to tell Twilight why she is so pissed off. To her, her village was a sanctuary for ponies so that they didn’t have to feel inferior to anypony else. It was a place where nopony could feel as if they were superior. Since Twilight ruined her life and her village, she plans on ruining Twilight’s as well. She stops talking, noticing that the block of ice that Twilight and Spike are encased in has sunk due to her being on top of it. She goes below the cloud and continues her rant, saying that ruining Twilight’s life because Twilight ruined her life sounds like an even trade to her.

Once again, Starlight succeeds in causing Rainbow Dash to lose the race by way of talking to the two bullies, saying that the two of them should think twice before saying something mean to Fluttershy. Twilight intervenes, disagreeing with Starlight, saying that the bullies should indeed bully Fluttershy. Not surprisingly, Starlight disapproves, saying that it would be much nicer to live in a world where nopony is made fun of or made to feel inferior to anypony else. Frustrated and confused, Twilight goes off to talk to Rainbow Dash, challenging her to a race. Rainbow Dash declines, saying that it wouldn’t be fair since Twilight is a mare and she is just a filly. Twilight agrees, stating that she just needs Rainbow Dash to pull off a Sonic Rainboom, but Rainbow Dash says that such a thing isn’t possible. This leads to Twilight and Spike being teleported to another alternate reality as a result. They end up being surrounded by a tribe of warriors, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy among them. They’re suspected of being changelings, which need to be destroyed, according to Fluttershy.

Thus concludes part one. As usual with two-parter episodes, part two starts off with a recap of part one, followed by the theme song. We quickly get back to Twilight and Spike, who try their best to reassure the tribe that they are not changelings. She points out that Spike is a dragon, leading to Pinkie Pie to asking him to “do something dragonish.” Spike attempts to blow fire, but fails. Zecora shows up and Twilight begs the zebra to listen to her. Instead of doing so, Zecora takes the same green face paint that is on all of the members of the tribe and puts it on Spike and Twilight, saying that it will show them the truth on the inside. As it turns out, the two supposed changelings are telling the truth, which leads to Zecora agreeing to help them.

It seems that Twilight has become quite fluent in understanding Zecora, seeing as how she is able to have a conversation with the zebra without the need of a translation. Zecora understands Twilight’s predicament, stating that even the smallest change in the past can have devastating effects on the future. They go to a refugee camp, where the warriors can train and think of strategies to use against Queen Chrysalis. Shortly after, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack show up, asking for help. Zecora isn’t fooled, however, which is a good thing as Applejack transforms into Queen Chrysalis, and Rainbow Dash and Rarity turn into changelings.

Zecora tells Twilight to get back to the past to set things right while Zecora and the others hold Queen Chrysalis off. As Twilight and Spike make a break for it, a fight breaks out as Queen Chrysalis strikes a deal with Zecora. They make it back to the map in time. However, they are not successful in stopping Starlight Glimmer, thus causing them to be dumped in yet another alternate universe.

This alternate universe is one in which Nightmare Moon seized power and managed to banish Celestia to the moon. We once again get to see Rainnow Dash, her mane in a different style. Twilight tells Nightmare Moon that she managed to use a time travel spell to show up there. Nightmare Moon is skeptical since she thinks she is the only one capable of casting such a spell, and requests that Twilight prove it to her. Twilight declines seeing as how the map is surrounded by timberwolves. Nightmare Moon laughs at this, saying that she can handle timberwolves with ease. She points out that if Twilight should make any attempt whatsoever to escape, she will hurt Spike.

So, Twilight, Spike, and Nightmare Moon go to where the map is. Along the way, Nightmare Moon blasts timerbwolves left and right, proving her statement that she can handle these creatures with ease. Upon seeing the map, Nightmare Moon plans on using it for her own means, but Twilight will hear none of that. She goes back to the past to once again stop Starlight Glimmer.

A fight breaks out between the two unicorns, but it seems that both of them are evenly matched, very much like how Twilight and Lord Tirek were evenly matched. In the middle of this, we hear Rainbow Dash give a cheer. We see Rainbow Dash sitting with the two bullies eating popcorn enjoying the fight. When Twilight says that the three of them are supposed to be racing, Rainbow Dash disagrees, saying that the fight between Twilight and Starlight is much more exciting. Starlight says that no matter what Twilight does, the latter will not be able to stop her

We then get a montage of Twilight failing to stop Starlight and being dumped in one alternate reality after another. Finally, Twilight says that the two of them can continue this endless cycle for all of eternity. Starlight fails to see how any group of friends, including Twilight’s, can be so important. Twilight says that she doesn’t know how any one group of friends can affect the future, but she knows how her group of friends can and drags Starlight with her to the next alternate reality, which is literally nothing but a barren wasteland. This is very much like the Pride Lands during Scar’s reign as king. Everything is destroyed. There’s no food, no water. Starlight demands to know where they are and Twilight says that they are in the present.

Twilight says that she doesn’t understand why, but she and her friends are very important to Equestria. The alternate realities seem to imply, very much like “Magical Mystery Cure”, that the Mane Six are pretty much the only thing keeping Equestira safe and in balance. However, Starlight cannot see reason. She cannot understand what happened to Starlight to make her want to create a society where everypony is without a cutie mark and one and the same. She just hoped that by taking Starlight along with her, she would be able to talk some sense into Starlight and hopefully get her to stop what she’s doing. Outraged, Starlight says that Twilight doesn’t know anything about her, that she was perfectly happy before Twilight and her friends came along and ruined her life. As if she’s speaking to the audience, she says, “You want to know what happened to me? I’ll show you!”

We then get a flashback to Starlight’s childhood. As always, filly versions of the characters are adorable, and Starlight Glimmer is no exception, especially with her girly pigtails. One day while she and her friend Sunburst were playing, a tower of books almost fell on Starlight, but she was saved thanks to Sunburst, who neatly put the books in the shelves. This turns out to be more than enough to give Sunburst his cutie mark. Elated, he runs outside to celebrate with his friends and family. It’s here that we have a situation that is eerily similar to Apple Bloom’s in “Call of the Cutie”, where a friend gets their cutie mark before the main character and the main character feels abandoned by said friend. Sunburst was sent to Canterlot, no doubt having been enrolled in Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns, and Starlight never saw him again. This little incident was more than enough to cause Starlight to swear off friends forever. Why she couldn't simply write to Sunburst, I don't know. This of course led to Starlight creating her own little utopia. As has been shown before, a small change in the past can have devastating effects on the future.

Starlight, Twilight, and Spike are transported back to the present. It’s at this point that Starlight has had enough of playing with Twilight and threatens to destroy the scroll. Honestly, I thought this was going to be the ending to part one. It would have been a much better ending than what we got. I felt that the ending to part one didn’t really end; it just kind of cut off in the middle of the scene.

After the commercial break, Twilight has a talk with Starlight Glimmer, saying that just because one friend hurt her doesn’t mean that everypony she meets is going to hurt her. Very much like Moon Dancer, Starlight has been hurt by a friend and is afraid of being hurt like that again. Through a rousing speech, Starlight agrees to not destroy the scroll and allows Rainbow Dash to complete her Sonic Rainboom.

The three of them are teleported back to the present with Twilight’s castle intact. The others walk in with Rarity wondering just what is going on. As soon as they see Starlight Glimmer, Applejack immediately wonders what she’s doing at the castle. It’s then suggested by Twilight that the group have a talk.

While Starlight waits outside, the Mane Six are inside the main room discussing what Twilight has recently been through. Long story short, the group agrees to give Starlight a second chance. They welcome her into the group, and we get a nice song about friendship, along with a montage of Starlight interacting with each of the Mane Six and becoming friends with them. And the episode ends on a lovely crowd shot of not only the Mane Six, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, but pretty much every single major character and minor character that we’ve come to know and love throughout the entire series.

So, with all that being said, how did this season finale hold up compared to last season’s? Well, as much as I like last season’s finale for the action, I liked this one better. I thought the story was better and the villain was much more complex, threatening, and interesting rather than Lord Tirek, who was basically your standard bad guy who wanted power and control. Starlight, on the other hand, wanted to create a utopia where nopony was different and everypony was equal in every measure, and the lengths she will go to in order to achieve that goal is quite impressive.

While it was interesting to see how different Equestria was based on what happened in the past, the way it was executed was really poor. For me, this was a problem because it was as if the writers and animators went out of their way to make the alternate realities as dark, gritty, and depressing as possible. Yes, the alternate realities were interesting to see and the way the characters interacted in them are very different as well, but I think I can put this finale as being one of the darkest, most depressing episodes of Friendship is Magic. Honestly, the first time I saw this finale, I was about ready to swear off this show for good because of how emotionally upsetting it was, but I rewatched it and realized that this dark, depressing atmosphere is nothing new for this show. I mean, “Return of Harmony’ was just as dark and depressing and I don’t really recall anyone complaining about that. I will say that it would have been nice to see how the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their classmates were affected by these changes. I think it’s always interesting to see how events are interpreted through a child’s eyes. I guess I’ll just have to wait until the fanfics based on this finale to pour in, and I’m sure they’ll be enormous in terms of quantity and quality.

Another thing I did not like was the implied idea that Starlight Glimmer is going to be a pupil of Twilight’s. The reason why this is such a problem for me is the fact that Twilight is very inexperienced as a princess. She is under no condition to be taking on a student at this time. Maybe if she had a few more years of experience as a princess and then took Starlight on as a pupil, that would make sense. Granted, she has had experience working as a teacher, teaching the Cutie Mark Crusaders different skills. This is an aspect of her character that I would really like to see explored in more episodes.

Another thing that I did not like was how Starlight Glimmer was reformed in the end. I understand these characters aren’t going to hold a grudge and are more than willing to give their enemies a second chance to change for the better, but it’s honestly starting to get annoying. True, not all of the villains are like this. King Sombra was more or less killed. Queen Chrysalis was also killed. Lord Tirek was put back in what’s considered hell in this universe. With characters like Diamond Tiara, it made sense for them to reform her because she isn’t exactly evil. (Although, she could be considered evil when she made fun of a character who was more or less disabled.) With characters like Starlight and Discord, it doesn’t make any sense. Just imagine if these two villains were to team up. They would be unstoppable. I just wish that the writers didn’t feel the need to reform every villain that the characters come across. I wish the writers would have the guts to have a villain be a villain at the end instead of being reformed through a rousing speech.

That’s another thing that I really didn’t like about this episode. The resolution was rushed, but how it came to be resolved was also a problem. Starlight is reformed through a rousing speech from Twilight. It seems this show really loves this trope. Very much like in “Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?” the problem is resolved through a rousing speech. Same thing with Sunset Shimmer in Equestria Girls.

Wait a minute. Starlight Glimmer. Sunset Shimmer. Can we just make it a rule that any character with a name synonymous with Twilight Sparkle should automatically be classified as the villain?

Comments ( 17 )

I think the one with Sunset was handled a lot better. Also it was magic based.
I agree with that they should have waited a season until Twilight got her own student.

3583352 But as much as I think Twilight getting a student was premature, I am vastly interested in seeing where they go with this idea in the sixth season. I'm also looking forward to meeting Fluttershy's brother next season, too.

3585334
everything they do now seems too early. This should have happened at the end of season 6.

3585339 Why? Doing it at the end of season six wouldn't have tied it to anything that happened in season five, and most people would probably have trouble remembering that far back about what happened in the season five premiere. I thought this finale was an excellent way to wrap up the season. While I am excited to see what they have in store for us in season six, I do hope that it is the last season we get.

3585608
they should have made Starlight a recurring villain. Slowly exploring her past.

3586255 Same with Discord, but Starlight doesn't exactly have much of a past to explore.

3587966 Because it's a weaker backstory than what Sunset Shimmer was given. She turned bad all because her friend walked out on her and she never saw him again? What, is she too lazy to get up and write him a letter or something? I guess we should be glad that Apple Bloom ran into Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo when she did, otherwise the same thing could have happened to her.

3588022
Well Applebloom had her sister.
However you're right in that back story being incredibly lame. Nightmare Moon had a real deep motive, it was very simple but very powerful.
Sunset's reason is petty but it's supposed to be. She's a petty villain that is dabbling in powers far beyond her understanding. That makes her reformation a lot more believable.

3588061 I find Starlight's reformation to be much more believable than Sunset's. The latter just comes out of nowhere, whereas the former, you were expecting it to be happen.

3588273
Sunset's was more believable because she was always petty so such a childlike persona fits her. Starlight was portrayed as a mature, intelligent and highly capable villain. For her to be so childlike just makes little sense. Also with Sunset's reformation it involved magic and that makes it all a lot easier to accept.
I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting her to be a recurring villain.

3588354

I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting her to be a recurring villain.

I'll admit that would have been cool. Starlight is the only villain to do the impossible, and she is the only villain to ever be able to match and surpass Twilight in terms of magic. But, the subtitle of the show is "Friendship is Magic" and there were a good chunk of episodes that put that motto to the test. With Diamond Tiara being reformed this season, it makes sense that Starlight would be reformed too. I was disappointed that Lightning Dust didn't get reformed. Perhaps that will be a story arc for next season.

3588531
I hope she doesn't because Lightning Dust is not an evil character. I would like it more if she gets reformed off-screen but Rainbow Dash has problems accepting her after she endangered her friends.

Starlight could have served as a foil for Twilight. She has the ability to create strong friendships without magic.

3588538 She nearly got five innocent ponies killed. I'd say that makes her plenty evil.

I wouldn't say the friendships that Double Diamond and the others had in the village were very strong at all. The only reason they were friends to begin with was because of Starlight's brainwashing them. At the very least they were willing to forgive her.

3588596
no, it doesn't make her evil because she never intentioned it.

The bonds were strong because they easily survived the loss of the thing that kept them together. If the bonds were weak they would have abandoned the village.

3589012 Yes, she did not do that intentionally, but even so, she didn't appear to care in the slightest. Like season one Rainbow Dash, all she seemed to care about was winning.

The village was their home. That was clearly stated by Double Diamond. It would be hard for them to leave a place that they have come to call home after so many years. Celestia only knows how long they've been there.

3590533
Yes but she's still not evil.

But it's the bonds they have with each other that make the village a home.

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