Points of Canon à la Oliver: S7E15 ❧"Triple Threat"

This episode confirmed a surprising amount of fanon. It also singlehandedly said "no" to my gripes about failings of new changelings, which I had reposted yesterday…
∃ renegade, traditionalist, changelings

Technology!mechanics∃there existsSceneryAbility♪I heard… Magic.
Chiropteral notes (lit. hand-wing) or other anthropomorphismAnimation oddments,visual interest Interaction with 'later'.Chronology note. ❧uncategorized (oft. cultural notes)

blue fire emplacement requires some chemistry, magic, etc.
♪"official friendship ambassador to… the dragons" still nothing proving it official
♪"A war" - war is definitely a thing
ice sculptures in ponyville again? Why? They do seem to last for "hours", still.
♪∃Royal fanfares are a thing.
♪Ember is explicitly a dragon *LORD* not a princess, in case any doubters existed.
♪Thorax: "fire pretty"- ❧mothlike stereotype: true
❧The Friendship Castle is delicious and edible to dragons:confirmed (that was a pretty good joke about smearng favorite food on walls.)
♪"no flowers" -spike thinks dragons don't go in for such things
♪❧"push past the pain…dominance struggles, feats of strength, fire duels" - he's kinda right. (illumination for dragon culture, anyway!)
♪"Mostly just rocks and ash"
Explosive firebreath shots.
Fire sneezes.
Ember can't tell Twilight and Starlight apart, because they really do share a lot of characteristics and mannerisms.
Implied: Dragon interpersonal identification is not based on fine color distinctions.

Spike gets called by the map. By his crest. His headshape is used as emblem. His "spikes" are called that by him, and ar ewhat glows. (I'm surprised it wasn't Ember using the scepter, but she clearly didn't bring it.)
❧He's a dummy or just realllllly trying to avoid that he's next to a friendship problem.
♪Also, "but you created the problem" "and then I solved it!" doesn't preclude a call.

We see a couple of stallions at a table with flower vase. Could be meaningfully "couple", could be un-meaningful.
♪Thorax's changelings are a "pack". Huh.
New changelings do get hungry. For food.
New changelings can change.
Changelings can/do change into bigger shapes for combat…or is that just for intimidation? lacking any strikes, we can't say.

❧Prostration is a thing. I'm pretty sure Spike's done this before, but...

Comments

[Mitch H]

For the longest time, fanon tried to make griffons into Klingons. Then the fifth season came along, and canon seemed to argue that no, dragons are Klingons, and the griffons are Ferengi. And this episode doubled down on that, with Ember giving Thorax Gowron-style leadership advice. Which Thorax really, really needs, because he got elevated for spontaneous altruism rather than anything that looks like leadership qualities. There's a reason theocracies inevitably degenerate into rule-by-vicious-fanatic, and it isn't because religious types are all maniacs. It's because saints make for terrible leaders, and inevitably get elbowed aside by those full of misplaced ambition and *terrible* vocations.