My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Season 6 Finale: "To Where And Back Again" (SPOILER) · 3:59pm Oct 22nd, 2016
Season finale time, and time to see if we can actually justify and validate Starlight Glimmer as a character!
Hail King Thorax the Deerbeetle!
Part 1
Starlight Glimmer is invited to the Sunset Festival in her old village, and has reservations and fears about returning to the village where she caused so much misery and suffering. Even though the ponies there have forgiven her, she still feels anxious about visiting them again. She has a nightmare about the villagers snubbing her and treating her coldly, and Princess Luna visits her to assuage her fears.
The next day, Starlight talks out her fears with the Mane Six, who comfort and reassure her. Twilight suggests taking a friend along with her (obviously and desperately meaning herself), and Starlight agrees that's a great idea...
...and takes Trixie with her. 
At the village, not only is everyone happy to see Starlight, they're too happy—they want her input, advice, and guidance on everything. Feeling pressed in on all sides by the ponies she once basically enslaved looking to her for leadership, Starlight freaks out. Trixie covers their escape, and they return to Ponyville. Only something's...off. The Mane Six and Spike aren't acting like themselves. They're behaving strangely, coldly.
Starlight has another nightmare, this time about Twilight and her friends behaving strangely. This time, Princess Luna reaches out to her in her dreams—not to comfort her, but to ask for her help. The Princesses and the Mane Six have all been captured and replaced by Changelings.
Waking up in a panic, Starlight goes to see Trixie in the middle of the night. After assuring herself that Trixie is Trixie, she explains the situation. They head to the castle to check things out, and discover that the Mane Six and Spike have indeed been replaced, and Chrysalis has a grand scheme in place to conquer Equestria through wanton body snatching. Returning to Trixie's wagon, Starlight tries to figure out what to do while Trixie has a complete freakout because this is way outside of her wheelhouse. Starlight reasons that if Twilight, Celestia, and Luna have been captured, their best bet for help is Princess Cadance. Thorax shows up to tell them not to expect help from the Crystal Empire, because the Changelings already got Cadance, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. Thorax was sent by Sunburst to get help from Princess Twilight, but discovered it was already too late.
With the situation as dire as it can possibly be, Starlight tries to figure out what they can do, who they can turn to for help. This situation requires more powerful magic than she is equipped to deal with, and all the powerful magical beings who usually handle this kind of thing are already out of commission.
Then Discord shows up, miffed that once again, a problem requiring powerful magical assistance to overcome has risen and he's been overlooked as a potential source of help. Starlight explains the situation to Discord, who seems largely unconcerned until Starlight mentions that even Fluttershy has been kidnapped. Hearing this, Discord suddenly becomes serious and angry, and teleports them all straight to the heart of darkness...the Changeling kingdom.
Things of note in this episode:
- Derpy actually delivering mail.
- Discord breaking the fourth wall when he calls attention to the "collection of secondary characters" that is himself, Starlight, Thorax, and Trixie.
- The first ever Equestria Girls reference in the series proper! Sadly, it's not the triumphant appearance of Sunset Shimmer. It's a throwaway gag: Starlight overhears Trixie talking in her sleep about performing for peanut butter crackers.
(Okay yeah, throwaway gag and not Sunset Shimmer aside, that was HILARIOUS. )
Thoughts:
- Part two needs to REALLY sell the notion of the Changelings managing to abduct all four Alicorn Princesses, the saviors of Equestria, and an alicorn baby (oh, and Spike and Shining Armor) in the span of a few days, because if they don't really, convincingly sell it, especially with the Changeling paranoia seen earlier in the season, then the whole finale is going to fall apart from nerfing the alicorns even worse than they were nerfed in the season premiere.
- We all knew Trixie was going to be part of the hero party for the finale. Some predicted Discord; I didn't think they'd go there, and I will admit I was wrong. I also didn't see Thorax coming and in retrospect really should have.
- I'm disappointed that Derpy and Vinyl Scratch aren't part of the adventure party.
Part 2
Discord is confused as to why he wasn't able to teleport them all directly to Fluttershy. Starlight says that they need a plan before they go charging into enemy territory, but Discord isn't hearing of it because he's Discord. He ends up in an argument with Trixie while Thorax tries to tell them all something important about magic and how it works (or doesn't work) in the Badlands but is ignored. Finally, when Discord's magic stops working properly past a certain point, it stops all the bickering long enough for Thorax to explain that Chrysalis' throne is carved from a stone that absorbs all magic except Changeling magic, meaning they can't even use Discord's chaos magic in the Badlands.
Starlight comes up with a plan: sneak into the hive and destroy Chrysalis' throne so they can get their magic back. Discord hates this plan since it involves walking across the Badlands—mostly because it involves walking, which is something he hasn't done in millennia. On the way to the hive, Discord complains incessantly and Trixie snarks at him. Halfway to the hive, Starlight realizes they need a code phrase so they can identify each other in case they get separated. Discord's constant bitching gives them their code phrase (at his expense): "klutzy draconequus".
They sneak into the hive, which is a weird hive where all the entrances, exits, and passageways are constantly shifting and changing, opening and closing at random. Without Thorax, they'd be hopelessly lost forever. Discord complains some more, then gets into a very shrill fight with Trixie that finally pushes Starlight over the edge, and she yells at them to cut it out because they're really not helping their situation by bickering like foals. Properly cowed, Trixie and Discord stop fighting and ask how they can help, and Starlight admits she has no idea what she's doing since even with magic she doesn't have it in her to bear responsibility for other ponies or make important decisions anymore, and this situation is putting a lot of pressure on her.
Then Thorax realizes they're lost. Trixie throws a fit, complaining that they should all just sit still and wait for the Changelings to feed on their love. This leads to a question about how often Changelings need to feed, and Thorax realizes that he hasn't needed or wanted to feed since being accepted in the Crystal Empire—about the same time his wings changed.
Discord's loud complaining draws the attention of the swarm, and our heroes are now in trouble. Starlight gets an idea to use Trixie's smoke bombs to cover their escape from the Changeling patrol. Trixie and Thorax (disguised as Trixie) distract the patrol, leading them away. When Trixie and Thorax regroup with the others, Starlight notices that two Changelings didn't go with the rest of the patrol when they left. Thorax remembers that with intruders in the hive, some of the Changelings would've gone to the throne room to protect the Queen.
And now the heroes have a plan!
Finding their way to the throne room, they find a patrol of armored Changelings guarding the doors. Realizing they need a distraction, Starlight sends Discord to draw the Changelings' attention while the others sneak in. Discord gives an encore of his stand-up routine from season five's Gala episode, this time with Changeling-themed and bug-themed jokes.
After running away from the Changeling guards, Discord encounters Fluttershy, whose tail is caught under a rock. However, he's savvy enough to smell the setup a mile away. Then a dozen or so Fluttershys surround him and start messing with his head. (Wow, must suck to be on the receiving end of his own bullshit for once...)
Starlight, Trixie, and Thorax are trying to figure out what to do next when Discord returns, being unnaturally helpful and his voice sounding all wrong. Quickly realizing this isn't the real Discord, Thorax recognizes the Changeling guard's trick and knows they're being led into an ambush. Trixie sacrifices herself to draw the Changelings off while Starlight and Thorax press on to the throne chamber. Starlight doesn't want her to go because she needs her she doesn't think she can handle whatever's coming without magic and with the party growing smaller still, but Trixie reassures her that even without magic, she's capable of handling this. Bravely, Trixie faces the danger alone and is captured.
Starlight finally reaches the throne room, only to find Discord, Trixie, and all her friends trapped in pods all around the room. Chrysalis herself appears in the creepiest way possible and taunts her before a swarm of Changelings descend upon her. Chrysalis gloats over how Starlight is so pointless she didn't even find her worth capturing. After an exchange of dialogue, Chrysalis realizes that this isn't Starlight Glimmer, but Thorax disguised as her, and the real Starlight is hard at work trying to destroy the throne. Starlight tries to reason with Chrysalis, telling her that Thorax found a better way, a way Changelings can live without the hunger. Despite the Changelings' interest in Starlight's words, her efforts fail, and Chrysalis gloats evilly as she starts sucking the love out of Thorax.
Then Starlight tells Thorax to share his love freely with Chrysalis. ALL of it.
Thorax does so, and the resulting beam of pure love blasts Chrysalis right through her throne. Then Thorax...changes. Completely. He takes on a newer, brighter form, shiny and stag-horned and magnificent. All around the hive, the other Changelings begin sharing their love, and they all transform into a new, brighter type of Changeling, all with colorful and individually distinct carapaces and eyes.
Discord, Trixie, the Mane Six, the Princesses, and Shining Armor are released from the capture pods. They're largely confused as to what's happening. Chrysalis, now without an army and backed into a corner by some very powerful and unhappy ponies, is given a chance for redemption by Starlight Glimmer, who gives her a speech about how it's better to accept friendship than run away and seek revenge. It almost seems like she's reaching Chrysalis...but then Chrysalis slaps her hoof away, swears unholy vengeance upon Starlight Glimmer, and escapes into the Badlands, a broken Queen.
With the Changelings having become something entirely new, and King Thorax assuming the mantle of leadership, it's time for the ponies to go back to Equestria. Discord suggests sending them all to Fluttershy's cottage for tea, but Starlight Glimmer has a better idea. The collection of ponies head for Starlight's old village to enjoy the Sunset Festival with Party Favor, Sugar Belle, and all the others. Starlight has regained her confidence in herself and realized that sometimes, you just have to step up and take charge, even if you're afraid to.
Thoughts:
- Holy. SHIT. 
- Discord pulling a Trixie out of Trixie's hat is amusing...and very fanficcy. 
- A whole slew of things from the comics turned up in this finale (heck, in this season in general), most notably what the inside of a Changeling hive looks like and the pigasus.
- This marks the second time in the entire series a character has used the word "draconequus". (Actually I'm a bit impressed Trixie even knows what a draconequus is...)
- While I'm still not sold on Starlight Glimmer as a recurring character, this finale did a LOT to redeem her character.
- Trixie was a lot of fun here, as was Discord. Trixcord episodes need to be a thing now. Or at least fanfics. (And oh god will there be fanfics...actually, by the time I get around to posting this review, there will probably already be dozens of them. I mean, 15 days will have passed between the time I wrote this and the time I post it.)
While the "how the hell did the Changelings manage this stunt in just a few days" thing is never satisfactorily explained, I'm willing to give that a pass for the unexpected and jaw-dropping way this finale resolved, and I'm giving this one, both parts, an unabashed 10/10. Is it my favorite season finale? No. Is it is AWESOME season finale? Yes.
And now the six-month wait for season 7 begins!
How many of you had seen the episodes before?
Upvote this comment if this was your first time, downvote if you had seen the episode before.
I had watched it for the first time today.
Sadly my stream was buggy, but what I had seen was good.
(I sadly missed the ending. *insert angry bug noises here*)
I have to re-watch it later to fill the gaps.
Discord getting dangerous at the end of part 1 gave me an evil boner.
And Thorax's transformation in part 2...
Literally.
She was justified as a character from the very moment she was introduced.
I don't think that'll ever happen.
As for me, this episode "merely" made her best pony.
Yup. She was one of the many reasons why I consider this to be the best finale yet.
All in all, this episode goes beyond just best finale, or best episode of the season... It is, without a doubt, the second best episode of the entire series. Which, given that the current best is Crusaders of the Lost Mark, is quite impressive
Flying pigs aren't originally from the comics. They first appeared in The Return of Harmony.
And that's all I'm gonna say about this episode. Anything else and the simmering cauldron of rage in my stomach might just burst.
Since thorax is the king now and with his looks didn't that make him a STAGbeetle
Also I had really hoped there at the end to see chrysalis as a new form changeling
Let the fan art begin
The fact that it's never explain how the Changelings managed to kidnap everyone is the only thing that I refuse to let go for how contrived it is. Well, that and how crappy actors the changelings are, totally ruins any kind of tension in the first part.
Finally. No longer do I need to keep inside anything about the finale! And... after so long I don't think I have much to say other than I'm not a fan of what they did to the changelings. Ah well.
Hmm. Anybody else feeling the urge to start calling them flutter ponies now?
The last few episodes have seen some amazing pony faces made, and this was no exception. Trixie deliciously over(re)acting, Twilight trying so hard to not care that Starlight chose Trixie, and Discord's mad face in particular--reminding you quite firmly that Chaos isn't all funny--really got some laughs out me.
Plus the general expressions of 'wut' on everypony's faces when they wake up in a smoking hive, covered in goo, to see shiny rainbow pony-beetles everywhere.
And honestly, I like that they didn't explain how Chrysalis pulled off her "Gotta Catch 'Em All" captures. Because it leaves lots of open ground for imaginative types, like fanfic authors, to speculate and offer their own ideas on the matter. But if everything is neatly wrapped up and all the loose ends explained, then it is not so easy to get around.
Trixcord you say?
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2278/trixcord
A pretty good finale and I don't think it's that much of a contrivence for how the changelings pulled it all off. In "A Canterlot Wedding" Chrysalis somehow managed to find and abduct Princess Cadence, imprison her, and take her place, without anypony being any the wiser. And in the alternative timeline where she's at civil war with the ponies, she was able to get her own troops past Zecora's defenses and into the village (and we knew Zecora wasn't taking any chances). Chrysalis is a rather skilled planner, but I think she suffer from "Plankton Syndrome" (she has big plans, but never accounts for what will happen if things go as planned, in this case not considering how terrible her acting is).
Honestly, with the one comment Thorax made, I'm rather surprised there hasn't been an influx of SpikexThorax fics.
4266373 Because the ship name would be Sporax and nobody wants to write about Sporax.
thaw my rage for starlight has calmed I still rather never see her again and just replace her with Trixie
I suppose the changelings might have used samples of the same stone as the throne to disable all of their captives long enough to capture them... but if that's the case, it begs the question of why they didn't do so earlier. My only guess is that Chrysalis has been recovering this whole time and only now had the strength to enact the coup.
Yeah, I'm split on this one. The events of the finale are awesome, but the necessary setup consists of the writers repeatedly asking us to take their word for it.
Perhaps Season 7 will finally have Twilight get over the dislike she has for Trixie. This technician-versus-performer crap has gone on far too long, I say.
4266478 if she can forgive starlight for what she did she lost the right to refuse anyone a second chance
4266442 That could be explained away as he was trying to hold down the fort in the Crystal Empire since he was the closest thing to the chain of command they had left. *shrug*
I actually have a possible explanation for how the Changelings could have captured all the Princesses and Mane 6 so easily.
First point, "The Times They Are A Changeling" demonstrated that Changelings can turn into anything, even inanimate objects. How easy would it be for a Changeling to become a bird, fly into one of the Princesses' rooms when they aren't in, and change into a bedsheet? Infiltration successful.
Second, a stone the size of the throne apparently absorbs all non-Changeling magic in an area that size. What would a fragment - say, one of the fragments chipped off when the throne was carved - do if tied around a pony's neck?
So, while the episode didn't blatantly spell out how the capture was done...it provided more than enough information to intuit several possible, plausible ways it could happen...especially since the Changeling who initiated the capture and cocooning of each pony is the one that replaces them...and can simply keep the pony in cocoon in a closet until other agents can retrieve them, assuming they weren't just teleported to the throne room via a link between fragment and throne, using the pony's magic to power the teleport.
Amazing how everyone is willing to let the problem of a lightning speed reformation of all the changelings slide. It thoroughly ruined the episode for me. It was like eating a delicious lobster at a fancy restaurant, and then getting punched in the face by the waiter. It's even worse than Starlight's reformation -- at least she was never presented as a monster to begin with. But they were! Wherever changelings appear, they clearly enjoy being evil, and they clearly have evil in their nature. I've always called them the xenomorphs of MLP. And all it took was a moment of some love display? No, it does not work that way.
On top of that, the show robbed itself of a great concept -- every fantasy setting needs to have an army of evil lead by a charismatic monster. Now it's gone. Who gives a crap about a bunch multicolored smiley flies?
And on that note, are they headed towards ridding Equestrian world of evil completely? I mean, who's left? Chrisi is alone, Tirek is locked up, and Sombra is kinda dead.
Urgh, I just finish watching the final, but had to resolve to see the 480p UK release since neither HD from Youtube or Dailymotion was able to be upload or ban the moment is was.
Anyway great final but nonetheless I'm still don't fill a thing for Starlight.
I really like that Discord and Trixie (did her voice actress changed?) were part of it also.
The metamorphosis the changeling went through did surprise me, though I don't think we can call them Flutterponies. Sad that Chrysalis reject the peace. Maybe in season 7 who knows. Guess for the moment she went back to Flufflepuff.
And it is SCARY.
It occurs to me, the reason the Changelings turned good was because they now had an alternative to always being starving, the only followed Chrysalis (seemingly) because she was the only option.
Split on this.
Lots of funnies, especially around Trixie.
Setup really asks us to accept a lot. Too much in my opinion. And I'm not even in the Alicorns=Gods camp.
And the Changelings' reformed forms... I'm sorry, but they're so, incredibly, ugly. I literally cannot look at them and not either laugh or facepalm.
The repeated mentions of Sunset (festival) triggered me though. I felt as if the writers wanted to rub it in real deep that Sunset has not and likely will not ever appear in the show.
How can it be 10/10 and not be your favorite?
Is your favorite 11/10? Or is it in fact 20% cooler, i.e. 12/10? 
Slight little error, sir.
4266769 It's a faster way for people to say "I disagree" then actually typing out replies.
I loved this season finale. I'd say it's tied with the season 4 finale for my favorite; they were both just so awesome.
I loved Discord doing what he does best, Thorax basically being the new leader, Trixie having a chance to be a hero, and Starlight being fully redeemed. Discord's moments were the funniest in the finale. I did like Discord's arguing with Trixie.
When the changelings ... change, the same magic spiral as in Sonic Rainboom appears. The one when Rarity gets her wings.
And I have to say they look kinda similar. Theories now!
4266649 What would have saved the abduction is any sign of a struggle. Maybe scorch marks in the throne room. Maybe scuff marks on the revealed changelings. Maybe a line from one of the changelings reporting to Chrysalis that the capture was difficult, but they finally pulled it off. Any sign of respect for the ostensible (but clearly no longer) main characters of the show. But no. The queen (read: the plot) wills it, and it is done.
4266649 I don't think the darkstone can just be weaponized unless it is carved into a specific shape, based on what Thorax said.
That said, I agree with your theory that since the changlings can change into anything, it's not that hard to believe one changling with a tray of plates (actually 20 other changlings) could sneak into Celestia's room and then take her by surprise. Based on what we've seen of Celestia and Luna's combat prowess, they could probably take about 20 changlings each, and that's assuming they weren't asleep.
4266715 Being 10/10 doesn't mean it's my favorite. It means it's 10/10. "Twilight's Kingdom" is my FAVORITE season finale.
I have only one major complaint about the episodes...
NO FUCKING EMBER!
Seriously?! why did she not join the party! It would have been awesome to have her there, because of her friendship with Spike and therefor creating a connection between her and Thorax! it was such a waste of her character to throw her completely out and never have her appear, not even as a mention! She could easily have fit in with the group and both be amusing and gave her some more character due to her friendship with spike!
4267015 But... Ten equals Ten?
4266304
Well yes, but then she was unjustified in the season 5 finale, only to now be rejustified.
4266769 Hm, isn't that kind of the point of downvoting?
4267334 Honestly, I feel that the season 5 finale only further justified her existence.
4267338
I feel that comment unjustified your existence.jk, But I still liked her better back when she was still a communist.4267352 Personally, I liked her more after her reformation.
Granted, I liked her a lot beforehand, so it wasn't much of a shift.
4267329 ...how obtuse can you possibly be? Or are you doing this deliberately? Did it never occur to you that I have given MANY episodes, including Twilight's Kingdom, a 10/10 score? That the numerical review score does not equate to "this is my personal favorite"? Giving an episode a 10/10 score does not mean "I favor this episode over all others". It means that's the arbitrary review score I gave it.
Some people don´t like the Changelings new forms, but personally, I kind of like them. True, seeing Equestrians trying to learn to not feel their insectoid form would have been cool, the new ones look rather beautiful
4267478 That's not how math works! I don't want to live in a world where numbers become a matter of subjective opinion!
Moth, what is your favorite season finale? Mine is season 4's
4267600 Season 4, which I'm pretty sure I said in a comment a few up from yours ^^;;