To Where and Back Again, various thoughts · 11:04am Oct 9th, 2016
So, it seems the season finale was released by the UK as a result of unknown silliness. (Supposedly intentionally?) So I went ahead and watched it. It was pretty fun.
I have some few thoughts about the episode, so let's get to them.
—And finally we see Starlight being acknowledged as a main character again by being the one to save the day instead of the rest of the girls. Given Twilight's indisposition for the majority of the episodes, I feel like she's indeed on the way to becoming a supporting character to Starlight's new protagonist status. That would be interesting, but I certainly hope Twilight gets some time in the spotlight too.
And finally, Trixie is back and being super cool alongside Starlight. She's grown a lot in this relatively short time, and I love it! Also, Discord tags along, and that's fun. I find it weird he still only seems to even remotely care about Flutters, but his undeniable bond to her is sweet. And that little trick the changelings pulled on him was awful. Thorax is back and in other colours than black, we were right to assume he was special in some way, though not in the way we assumed, and it seems the primary reason changelings had it bad was because Chrysalis had selfish motivations of some sort, but I feel inclined to believe there's something more to it and she still has to make the same mistake Starlight did in order to heal. And now under Thorax's rule, things are likely going to look up for them. I just had to condense this into this paragraph, sorry.
—To elaborate, it's feasible Chrysalis knew that to share love would mean losing the hunger, and she deliberately kept her subjects with it so as to control them better. However, she might still genuinely care about her hive, and her reason for her methods may have to do with something she's afraid of happening, something related to the metamorphosis. And possibly, the ponies. There might be a reason for her grudge against them. If she had legitimate concerns, there must be quite a bit about the changelings' past that we have yet to learn.:3
—Back to Discord, since I've digested stuff, I like his characterisation here, because he shows he's grown enough to consider the rest of the girls his friends. Though Fluttershy was the only one he was terribly concerned about being taken, he did refer to the others as "our friends". Besides, this being Discord, I feel he was just being silly at first. After all, he didn't know there was going to be an issue curb-stomping the changelings as he usually would have. Additionally, after the climax, he suggests everyone join Fluttershy for tea. Not just him. And he offers to help Trixie out, even. He's not as possessive of Flutters and is perfectly willing to make new friends. 
—If there's a seventh Element, as has recently been suggested, I think it might be Faith. And that's Starlight's.
—Luna's brief heart-to-heart with Starlight. I think this is the most we've seen of the former's real self in a while. She's usually so distant, I guess because she can't relate as well to other ponies. I'm glad to see her doing better since being depressed to the point of self-harm.
—It seems changelings really don't have a limit to what things they can turn into (though it probably consumes energy) but they do have to make an effort to get the details right, hence the voices when trying to pose as the girls. (And it seems they CAN disguise their magic, considering the colour of Not Twilight's magic when she opened the doors. It must mean the green is just a type of magic unique to them.) Also, they either don't have hiveminds or it's cost inefficient to make use of it while their intended listeners are near each other. Still nothing threatening that notion, yet. Additionally, it's possible either the queen or changelings in general can recognise a disguise if they look closely. (I'd like to think Chrysalis is the only changeling who has that abnormal limb rotation range.) Final bit about changelings; they're clearly good at acting (especially the changeling posing as Twilight), but their social skills probably need work considering how the changeling girls were failing at presumably trying to comfort Starlight when she told them she fled the festival.
—I'm kinda curious how Luna was being taken while trying to contact Starlight. I think she doesn't go to sleep herself. The question, naturally, how did the changelings semi-enter the dream world to physically drag her out? Was it just a representation of what was happening in the waking world?
—I like Starlight's cunning and Trixie's ability to coordinate herself. That trick she did with Thorax was impressive.
—And Starlight's such a dork who definitely needs to get better reading between the lines when it's not strategically thinking of everything that might threaten your rule. Poor Starlight. 
Everyone, meet autistic magic horse. And that's wonderful. Although, said horse-pony is so much more competent during a finale than Twilight tends to be, so I hope they both can not be stupid in the future premieres and finales when significant characters.
—Given how many times the word "millennia" had been used to refer to a single one thousand years, I can only assume it's how they speak in Equestria. 
—I like how Trixie trusts Starlight enough to believe her when she vouches for Thorax, but still freaked out asks him politely to stay away for a second. (All of this is likely quite a bit outside her comfort zone, but she's learnt to put her life in the hooves of Starlight, and she's willing to do her part. And while she's proud, she knows to put it aside. Though she still hasn't dropped it between Twilight and herself, who it seems hasn't either. Come on, girls, hug it out.)
—Starlight was thrown into a wall and didn't seem too hurt by it. Either ponies are usually sturdier than that, or Starlight has been doing some stuff to her body.
—That one changeling who reacted to Discord's joke was kyuut.
—Thorax said it was "a" changeling hive. That suggests there are more hives, which I hope to see.
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Maybe.:3 Wally's a bit of a character.
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(In general he seems to have a tendency to take things out of proportion. He was told repeatedly the only issue was his off-topicness and said disproportionate reaction, but he had got it into his head he was being attacked for being straight, even after several times being told that wasn't the case.)
I noted he had at a least fair point during an episode discussion, then he decided to make me his accomplice while acting like he was being victimised by everyone else who didn't agree with him.
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Anyway, hope you find this finale interesting when you get to it.
The best we can do is laugh about for a bit and move on, really. It's sometimes entertaining to see how silly people can be.
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Because no soundtrack yet, have this adorable thing
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I loved this scene. Stay flexible!
Hoping to see more StarTrix in the future.
Quietly to myself, I want Starlight to keep a little bit "evil/darkness".
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Yup, hope so.:3 Though I like good guy Starlight too
Hmm. Autistic Starlight? Not a view I'd considered...but then, I remain rather attached to the idea Starlight as "Social Justice Warrior Pony"
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I like relatables. It's a different flavour to Twilight, who's likely more Asperger's.:3
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Anything else to add? .3
As usual, somethings from this week's soundtrack
Also, Luna's theme again.
And here they all meet
This is properly spooky.
I probably could have just linked the playlist, but screw it.
I found Starlight's mission very exciting!
This is true. It also occured to me that the Starlight Search and Rescue Mission is also kinda like a penal battalion or, yes, even a Suicide Squad in which former enemies of the State (The monarchy?) are sent out on a mission which could very well result in them being killed or captured...or, in this case, a fate worse than death - CHANGELING SLIME'D.
Trixie, Discord, T-Rax, and Starlight were all Public Enemies at one time or another, which prompted me to think this.
And finally, Trixie is back and being super cool alongside Starlight. She's grown a lot in this relatively short time, and I love it! Also, Discord tags along, and that's fun. I find it weird he still only seems to even remotely care about Flutters, but his undeniable bond to her is sweet.
He's a bastard, but he's our bastard. Again, this also fits in with the Punishment Squadron War Movie theme this episode has, with regards to the former renegades and enemies of Twilight and Equestria forming what is, essentially, a doomed rescue operation.
And that little trick the changelings pulled on him was awful.
But you would have to be Thorax is back
Whuh? I would have to be Thorax and I am back!
>Path: You are now the Thorax.
I roll a d20 to check to see if there's slime on my mouth. My pedipalps. Arglebargle.
Very true. I'm also glad I finally found out why changelings are different colors now, because it was troubling me for a while.
There's quite an interesting Aesop here about this whole aside you mentioned, regarding the infinite capacity of love: the more you give, the more you have, which is a thing I've read in various texts here and there.
I was positively surprised at how he took charge and started pulling his weight. I was bracing myself for him to be a thorn in everyone's side, for some reason, because he is reformed now and has no reason to do this. I guess I'm just cynical.
But does it end there? Or are there more elements? Food for thought.
Very true. I get the feeling Luna can't deal with people (ponies) too much without using up her spoons, too.
So they can turn into Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles?
A weapon to surpass metal gear...but on the other hand, I doubt nuclear arms would even make a dent in Equestria's defense mechanisms. They have magic! MAGIC! And FRIENDSHIP!
These are nice handicaps that keep the 'lings from being too OP, imho.
They are a little insect-like in appearance, and mimicry is one of the methods of defense certain insects, such as stick-bugs and caterpillars, use to evade their enemies.
You are now imagining a 'ling pretending to be a chunk of wood.
Yep! This is literally the plot of Inception. Glad you asked.
I guess that makes Twixie the navigator. I want to say that Starlight is the squadron leader, but I feel like she wasn't really commanding their military outfit, so I don't know.
One wonders if she is actually stupid or just pretending to be, like Claudius.
Yes, measurements are wacky in Poneworld. Hence all the fics about people picking up cat-sized ponies and so on: their foot is probably equivalent to three inches.
Conversely, maybe ponies are very large.
(holds up hands) I know, I know, this makes me sound like the macro-fic writers who write about a Giant Twilight accidentally sitting on a bridge and crushing ponies under her rump-fat.
Or maybe Twix just doesn't give a shit and is indifferent to what Starlight did.
My personal headcanon is that ponies are very study, so I agree with you on the former.
Yes, he was adorbs.
I anticipated this. In my "Royal Space Navy of Equestria" -verse, a setting for some fics I've been writing, there is a big Ur-Changeling hive out there in space somewhere.
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Maybe, just maybe, that was a reason Chrysalis was opposed to ruling with mutual love.
Because if every changeling had love, the love would be too great.
Maybe that would risk them becoming too weak to function. Maybe it meant they'd no longer be able to draw proper sustenance from it. Something bad as a result of excessive, unrestrained love. Thankies for that. .3