When the Cutie Mark Crusaders are magically transformed into grownups,they discover that growing up the right way means gaining experience and wisdom that simply can’t be rushed.
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When another author releases his own version of the events in AK Yearling’s Daring Do books, Rainbow Dash is furious, while Fluttershy is curious to know the truth.
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Starlight decides to hire a Vice Headmare in preparation to take over the School of Friendship from Twilight. But she soon realizes that hiring the right pony for the job is going to be a lot harder than she thought.
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Twilight's hopes of keeping her Trivia Trot winning streak alive are waylaid when she's unexpectedly paired up with Pinkie Pie, who has never been to a trivia night before.
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When Starlight gets a visit from Sunburst, she discovers that he has tons in common with her friends and starts to wonder if he still has anything in common with her.
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Loved it, I liked that it show how friendship are not immutable and can change over time, how the perceptions of the past friendship could be very different depending on the person, and how the simple common interests could blossom into friendship when your a kid, how it can also be the uncommon bonds that can also be a unifying actor too.
This was an interesting Starlight character episode in many ways. We see a lot of things that are normally only hinted about her: Low self-esteem and insecurities that all crystallise out around her relationship with Sunburst. She's so afraid that he wouldn't want to be her friend (and this is an insecurity that has held strong since the Season 6 opener) that she almost makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We also again see Starlight's weak-to-shaky understanding of the concept of 'consent' when it comes to transformative magic. If it helps her, she has a difficult time processing why others might not want it done to them! I'm pretty sure that this is a real and concrete behaviour and mental flaw in her.
However, what really comes out about this episode the most is that Sunburst is a very nice stallion who is genuinely good-natured. Yes, he gets on well with Starlight's other friends but, in the end, he would prefer to do things with Starlight or at least include Starlight in what he does with Twilight, Trixie and Maud. His reaction to Starlight's unhappiness and Starlight's need for his friendship has only solidified the StarBurst ship in my mind.
Finally... It's another Book with Star Swirl the Bearded's cutie mark on the cover. The last time we saw something like this, a new Alicorn Princess was created. I wonder what world-shattering consequences will happen this time? (No spoilers, please; I don't want my enjoyment of Shadow Play affected)
BenRG's Rating: 7.5/10 - Extra half-point for excellent technical and writing quality as well as Sunburst being a nice stallion.
Starlight turning herself and Sunburst back into foals to relive her childhood with him? Gotta work on those deep-seated abandonment issues, girl.
Maud is right. Maud is very funny.
Also, Sunburst just bought a barrel of random stuff from a shop; damn, even Equestria cannot escape the plague of lootboxes!
Overall, this was a cute episode. Lots of interesting and entertaining character interactions, and it's nice to see Starlight reconnecting with Sunburst.
At last we get an episode about Starlight that actually focuses on character development rather than making her be the sponge-y, vacant-minded recipient or sudden hero of whatever lesson they needed for the week. And it had Sunburst stealing all the waifus.
I think what really helped this episode is that it didn't push any one pony too hard in our faces. None of Starlight's friends are strong enough to carry an entire episode, so it was better seeing them in small doses. It used what they established before about Starlight instead of just foisting new traits on her. It made sense. And it didn't end with Starlight and Sunburst splitting up forever, which would have been dumb. They are making an effort to explore their newfound interests instead. Very much in keeping with the theme of the show. Even if that newfound interest is apparently kinky roleplay.
Without getting spoilery, an episode with Starlight, Twilight, and Sunburst sets up the finale well. Episode 24 was a good spot for this episode, which helps it to be more than the sum of its parts. It was nice to see Trixie and Maud in small roles, it helps them to feel more and more like a natural part of the cast.
That was actually really good. It's nice to see the show going back to actual realistic friendship problems and teaching about realistic every-day situations.
4704249 Why would he notice when he bring up the subject Starlight denied it? And, was so wrapped in his fun with out any any objections got him to presumed that she though the same.
4704267 that excuse may work the first two times, but come on, if your so called best friend is unhappy you would notice something eventually, without being clobbered over the head with the clue bat.
How many fans are going to ship Sunburst with Twilight, Trixie, and Maud after this episode?
This is the best Starlight-focused episode so far, unless you count "A Royal Problem" or "To Where and Back Again." It's one of the best, at least. And I say this as someone who hasn't always been a fan of Discount Lavender Unicorn. Starlight's use of magic to solve her friendship problem was only brief, and she explored other options before resorting to unicorn magic (although, once again, she really should have explained what the spell did to the other pony before casting it).
The story was a bit predictable, but it did go in a slightly different direction than I expected. When Trixie showed up, I thought she was going to get jealous of Starlight spending time with another friend, but instead, Sunburst and Trixie got along well.
All in all this is a good episode, and without spoiling too much, it nicely sets up the season finale.
One of the things I liked the most in this episode was how Starburst (and a degree Twilight) was constantly going out of his way to make Starlight feel included. It really jumped out to me while watching this episode -- it would have been entirely possible for the other characters to come off as mean-spirited or just plain obvious, but this came a long way to fixing that issue. Starburst was pretty clearly aware Starlight was feeling bored or left out and wanted to help her enjoy herself too, and that came a very long way towards making everyone involved stay sympathetic.
Also, I still can't get over how much I love Maud as a character.
We also again see Starlight's weak-to-shaky understanding of the concept of 'consent' when it comes to transformative magic. If it helps her, she has a difficult time processing why others might not want it done to them! I'm pretty sure that this is a real and concrete behaviour and mental flaw in her.
This is something about Starlight's character I've found very... let's say interesting. It was honestly my biggest issue with her in Season 6 -- she constantly bludgeoned her way through other people's minds and was never really called out for it. The way it's being played out in more recent episodes, however, I find more acceptable as an actual character trait. At this point, I would be quite surprised if she didn't do questionable mental magic when pushed -- it's a stupid mistake to make, absolutely, and highly morally questionable, but it's a canonically consistent and in-character mistake for Starlight to make, and that's important. At this point, it's fairly well become a reliable character flaw -- Twilight loses herself in obsessive work for the sake of work, RD's a self-absorbed braggart, Starlight has a very questionable understating of privacy and the moral limits of magic. What I would really like, now, is an episode focusing on this issue -- it's already established as a negative character trait on her part, now there's some good potential for working a story and some character growth out of it.
First off, I'm low-key fascinated by what's going beneath the earth in Ponyville and environs. We've got the gem cave, then there's Maud's little paradise cavern connected to that, now there turns out to be a passage connecting Maud's lost world with the Mirror Pool's cave... what's next, the Diamond Dogs?
(Please please please let there be the Diamond Dogs too)
You know, if I ever get my hands on the right software, I might have to make a map for these caverns.
Second thing: I didn't notice this until I saw a picture and then rewatched the scene in question, but did anybody else catch this?
Sunburst's enthusiasm is so cute. Next time you hear someone gushing about memorizing train timetables or chess openings, think on the true meaning of "otaku."
I still ship him with Moondancer, though. Even though he gets all the mares.
I found this episode to be tedious. Not bad, but not really interesting, either.
It feels like it relies too much on those montages, and the direct conflict between Starlight and Sunburst is not fully explored. Has some cool cinematography, though, especially the P.O.V. shot from Sunburst putting on his glasses.
Not a bad episode but I finding it a tad annoying in some senses, plus when sunburst says the spell is new isn't quite accurate depending on how you look at it. Considering even back in season 3 there was an age spell, which was said to be an extremely powerful and hard to pull off spell. Maybe starlight does need to be nerfed a bit
Great episode. But damn, Sunburst gets all the mares!
And I saw that foreshadowing at the end coming. Those damn episode leaks always makes me grin maniacally like a naughty kid stealing chocolate cake from a refrigerator.
This episode hit rather deep, i have a few old friends that i loved sharing a past with (some of the happiest memories of my life), but after meeting them so many years later, we have so little in common now. honestly i dont know how to feel about this. on one hand im saddened by the lack of common interests when we used to be as thick as theives. on the other hand i cherish the memories we made and wouldnt dream of giving them up. i can feel for Glimglam.
4704295 wuh... Boulders alive?! or can the mirror pool anything animate AND inanimate?
The episode was alright. Normally the very sight of Sunburst makes me cringe but he didn't seem quite as bad in this one. Yeah the episode was likely a 6.4/10 tops but nothing to write home about and still the lowest rated episode this season for me so far.
Regardless of what happens in the future, this will always be the ship of my ponyverse.
I generally don't pick up on all the work the animators put into an episode on first viewing, but after seeing those pictures with Boulder... that made me laugh more than anything else. My second-best reaction came from Trixie casually performing the only two true magic spells she knows with practiced ease (I don't know whether that was written in the script or added by the animators, but it was some really good acting).
Props to Sunburst for going the extra mile in doing something nice for Starlight in order to salvage their friendship. Although that ending didn't really convince me that their friendship was still hunky-dory. It seems like Sunburst has moved beyond his childhood interests, whereas Starlight is still trying to live in the past. I'm sure they can reconnect through their shared interest in advanced magic, but it didn't appear that either of them had quite found that bond yet.
It would have been interesting if the episode had gone that route: Sometimes friends just drift apart. For example, I don't know what happened to either of my two best friends from elementary school. One of them, I last saw about ten years ago, and it was clear that we were two very different people now -- I haven't seen him since. And that's okay. I'm sure it's not a subject a show subtitled "Friendship Is Magic" would ever address, but wouldn't it be interesting if they decided to do a story where a character had to accept that as a fact of life?
Finally: Sunburst, you're a learned pony. I know you know that one unit from a set of dice is called a "die." And yes, I know that word is usually verboten on an elementary-age-targeted cartoon, but I'd think they could use it in that context. Either that, or just depict the game as being played with a pair of dice. Heck, the sound effect they used for the single small die being rolled on a crystal floor was the sound of two dice being rolled on a cardboard game board, so they were halfway there already.
I feel ya. My friends and I always hangout and do a lot of fun stuff. But ever since I graduated I lost contact with all of them, except for a few I chat with online.
Was expecting an episode with Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst. Didn't expect Trixie and Maud to show up. It was a very good surprise, though. I always love interaction between unfamiliar characters (Sunburst & Trixie, and Sunburst & Maud) and the ones in today's episode was no exception.
4704273 Not all people are socially attuned to other peoples need or emotions, especially those how think in a more logical sense then emotional, and Sunburst fit that category to a T. Unless he is told right in his face what bothering,he won't pick up on at all or will dismiss the following conserves because she said 'it was nothing'. You can'T expect everyone to have the same sense sensibilities for each other or for the same things, even if it's not meant to be mean or being insensitive at all.
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That sounds totally awesome yes
Good episode. Nice to see Sunburst.
Glad Sunburst is back in an episode again, and getting some character focus at that!
Loved it, I liked that it show how friendship are not immutable and can change over time, how the perceptions of the past friendship could be very different depending on the person, and how the simple common interests could blossom into friendship when your a kid, how it can also be the uncommon bonds that can also be a unifying actor too.
That's a great picture.
In a way, this kind of feels like Starlight Glimmer's version of "Amending Fences", and yet done in the more unique way...
I personally give this episode 7 out of 10. Nothing groundbreaking, but a decent episode all around.
4704186
Ditto.
4704185
Here, have another Sunburst/Starlight piece then courtesy of Shutterfly.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/4/1/1121454__safe_artist-colon-shutterflyeqd_starlight+glimmer_sunburst_the+crystalling_blushing_boop_cute_eyes+closed_female_glasses_glimmerbetes_goatee_g.png
This was an interesting Starlight character episode in many ways. We see a lot of things that are normally only hinted about her: Low self-esteem and insecurities that all crystallise out around her relationship with Sunburst. She's so afraid that he wouldn't want to be her friend (and this is an insecurity that has held strong since the Season 6 opener) that she almost makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We also again see Starlight's weak-to-shaky understanding of the concept of 'consent' when it comes to transformative magic. If it helps her, she has a difficult time processing why others might not want it done to them! I'm pretty sure that this is a real and concrete behaviour and mental flaw in her.
However, what really comes out about this episode the most is that Sunburst is a very nice stallion who is genuinely good-natured. Yes, he gets on well with Starlight's other friends but, in the end, he would prefer to do things with Starlight or at least include Starlight in what he does with Twilight, Trixie and Maud. His reaction to Starlight's unhappiness and Starlight's need for his friendship has only solidified the StarBurst ship in my mind.
Finally... It's another Book with Star Swirl the Bearded's cutie mark on the cover. The last time we saw something like this, a new Alicorn Princess was created. I wonder what world-shattering consequences will happen this time? (No spoilers, please; I don't want my enjoyment of Shadow Play affected)
BenRG's Rating: 7.5/10 - Extra half-point for excellent technical and writing quality as well as Sunburst being a nice stallion.
Starlight turning herself and Sunburst back into foals to relive her childhood with him? Gotta work on those deep-seated abandonment issues, girl.
Maud is right. Maud is very funny.
Also, Sunburst just bought a barrel of random stuff from a shop; damn, even Equestria cannot escape the plague of lootboxes!
Overall, this was a cute episode. Lots of interesting and entertaining character interactions, and it's nice to see Starlight reconnecting with Sunburst.
4704196
derpicdn.net/img/2015/7/30/947148/medium.jpg
To be fair, they seemed to be a more illusionary magic an actual physical transformation.
OK laid back ep before the season 7 finale
4704191
Thanks.
4704202
Well, now we know age-regression spells are canon, so that should please some people... (Not meant to be insulting, just pointing that out.)
4704186
Who says an episode has to be groundbreaking to be good?
4704224
Not exactly what I meant, I still liked it.
At last we get an episode about Starlight that actually focuses on character development rather than making her be the sponge-y, vacant-minded recipient or sudden hero of whatever lesson they needed for the week. And it had Sunburst stealing all the waifus.
I think what really helped this episode is that it didn't push any one pony too hard in our faces. None of Starlight's friends are strong enough to carry an entire episode, so it was better seeing them in small doses. It used what they established before about Starlight instead of just foisting new traits on her. It made sense. And it didn't end with Starlight and Sunburst splitting up forever, which would have been dumb. They are making an effort to explore their newfound interests instead. Very much in keeping with the theme of the show. Even if that newfound interest is apparently kinky roleplay.
7/10 finally a Starlight episode I didn't hate.
Sunburst kinda irked me in this episode, Because for the most of it he's absolutely oblivious to Starlights mood.
Another good episode, one of many this season.
Without getting spoilery, an episode with Starlight, Twilight, and Sunburst sets up the finale well. Episode 24 was a good spot for this episode, which helps it to be more than the sum of its parts. It was nice to see Trixie and Maud in small roles, it helps them to feel more and more like a natural part of the cast.
That was actually really good. It's nice to see the show going back to actual realistic friendship problems and teaching about realistic every-day situations.
4704249
Why would he notice when he bring up the subject Starlight denied it? And, was so wrapped in his fun with out any any objections got him to presumed that she though the same.
4704267
that excuse may work the first two times, but come on, if your so called best friend is unhappy you would notice something eventually, without being clobbered over the head with the clue bat.
Josh Haber is one damn good writer. I enjoy his episodes the most.
Twilight, can you NOT be adorable for two goddamn seconds?!?!
How many fans are going to ship Sunburst with Twilight, Trixie, and Maud after this episode?
This is the best Starlight-focused episode so far, unless you count "A Royal Problem" or "To Where and Back Again." It's one of the best, at least. And I say this as someone who hasn't always been a fan of Discount Lavender Unicorn. Starlight's use of magic to solve her friendship problem was only brief, and she explored other options before resorting to unicorn magic (although, once again, she really should have explained what the spell did to the other pony before casting it).
The story was a bit predictable, but it did go in a slightly different direction than I expected. When Trixie showed up, I thought she was going to get jealous of Starlight spending time with another friend, but instead, Sunburst and Trixie got along well.
All in all this is a good episode, and without spoiling too much, it nicely sets up the season finale.
4704280
For some reason, I like the Sunburst x Maud ship.
Maud: I love you. *In her deadpan*
Sunburst: I, uhh... love you too?
Maud: That was a joke...
4704278
He is pretty good, with the notable exception of the S6 opener. I tend to enjoy his episodes too.
One of the things I liked the most in this episode was how Starburst (and a degree Twilight) was constantly going out of his way to make Starlight feel included. It really jumped out to me while watching this episode -- it would have been entirely possible for the other characters to come off as mean-spirited or just plain obvious, but this came a long way to fixing that issue. Starburst was pretty clearly aware Starlight was feeling bored or left out and wanted to help her enjoy herself too, and that came a very long way towards making everyone involved stay sympathetic.
Also, I still can't get over how much I love Maud as a character.
4704196
This is something about Starlight's character I've found very... let's say interesting. It was honestly my biggest issue with her in Season 6 -- she constantly bludgeoned her way through other people's minds and was never really called out for it. The way it's being played out in more recent episodes, however, I find more acceptable as an actual character trait. At this point, I would be quite surprised if she didn't do questionable mental magic when pushed -- it's a stupid mistake to make, absolutely, and highly morally questionable, but it's a canonically consistent and in-character mistake for Starlight to make, and that's important. At this point, it's fairly well become a reliable character flaw -- Twilight loses herself in obsessive work for the sake of work, RD's a self-absorbed braggart, Starlight has a very questionable understating of privacy and the moral limits of magic. What I would really like, now, is an episode focusing on this issue -- it's already established as a negative character trait on her part, now there's some good potential for working a story and some character growth out of it.
Summary: Starlight wants Sunburst, but finds out he is also an irresistible magnet to other socially awkward mares.
Okay, two other things:
First off, I'm low-key fascinated by what's going beneath the earth in Ponyville and environs. We've got the gem cave, then there's Maud's little paradise cavern connected to that, now there turns out to be a passage connecting Maud's lost world with the Mirror Pool's cave... what's next, the Diamond Dogs?
(Please please please let there be the Diamond Dogs too)
You know, if I ever get my hands on the right software, I might have to make a map for these caverns.
Second thing: I didn't notice this until I saw a picture and then rewatched the scene in question, but did anybody else catch this?
derpicdn.net/img/2017/10/8/1555425/large.jpeg
4704295
No way!!!
I would never have notice that till u pointed it out.... Now the world will face clones of bolder!
Starlight legit has developmental issues.
Sunburst's enthusiasm is so cute. Next time you hear someone gushing about memorizing train timetables or chess openings, think on the true meaning of "otaku."
I still ship him with Moondancer, though. Even though he gets all the mares.
I found this episode to be tedious. Not bad, but not really interesting, either.
It feels like it relies too much on those montages, and the direct conflict between Starlight and Sunburst is not fully explored. Has some cool cinematography, though, especially the P.O.V. shot from Sunburst putting on his glasses.
4704294
I agree 100%. Let us set sail together.
derpicdn.net/img/2016/4/10/1129471/medium.png
4704191
And one for you, good sir.
img00.deviantart.net/ebc6/i/2016/088/3/e/mlp_fim___starlight_glimmer_and_sunburst_by_joakaha-d9wxjwq.jpg
Good to see some people with superb taste in ships.
Not a bad episode but I finding it a tad annoying in some senses, plus when sunburst says the spell is new isn't quite accurate depending on how you look at it. Considering even back in season 3 there was an age spell, which was said to be an extremely powerful and hard to pull off spell. Maybe starlight does need to be nerfed a bit
He's as bad as Rarity with all that luggage of his
He said to the naked mare.
Great episode. But damn, Sunburst gets all the mares!
And I saw that foreshadowing at the end coming. Those damn episode leaks always makes me grin maniacally like a naughty kid stealing chocolate cake from a refrigerator.
This episode hit rather deep, i have a few old friends that i loved sharing a past with (some of the happiest memories of my life), but after meeting them so many years later, we have so little in common now. honestly i dont know how to feel about this. on one hand im saddened by the lack of common interests when we used to be as thick as theives. on the other hand i cherish the memories we made and wouldnt dream of giving them up. i can feel for Glimglam.
4704295
wuh... Boulders alive?! or can the mirror pool anything animate AND inanimate?
The episode was alright. Normally the very sight of Sunburst makes me cringe but he didn't seem quite as bad in this one. Yeah the episode was likely a 6.4/10 tops but nothing to write home about and still the lowest rated episode this season for me so far.
Regardless of what happens in the future, this will always be the ship of my ponyverse.
pre00.deviantart.net/8b3e/th/pre/f/2016/145/a/3/mlp_shipping___starlight_glimmer_and_trixie_by_ramseybrony17-da3qnju.png
I generally don't pick up on all the work the animators put into an episode on first viewing, but after seeing those pictures with Boulder... that made me laugh more than anything else. My second-best reaction came from Trixie casually performing the only two true magic spells she knows with practiced ease (I don't know whether that was written in the script or added by the animators, but it was some really good acting).
Props to Sunburst for going the extra mile in doing something nice for Starlight in order to salvage their friendship. Although that ending didn't really convince me that their friendship was still hunky-dory. It seems like Sunburst has moved beyond his childhood interests, whereas Starlight is still trying to live in the past. I'm sure they can reconnect through their shared interest in advanced magic, but it didn't appear that either of them had quite found that bond yet.
It would have been interesting if the episode had gone that route: Sometimes friends just drift apart. For example, I don't know what happened to either of my two best friends from elementary school. One of them, I last saw about ten years ago, and it was clear that we were two very different people now -- I haven't seen him since. And that's okay. I'm sure it's not a subject a show subtitled "Friendship Is Magic" would ever address, but wouldn't it be interesting if they decided to do a story where a character had to accept that as a fact of life?
Finally: Sunburst, you're a learned pony. I know you know that one unit from a set of dice is called a "die." And yes, I know that word is usually verboten on an elementary-age-targeted cartoon, but I'd think they could use it in that context. Either that, or just depict the game as being played with a pair of dice. Heck, the sound effect they used for the single small die being rolled on a crystal floor was the sound of two dice being rolled on a cardboard game board, so they were halfway there already.
4704349
I feel ya. My friends and I always hangout and do a lot of fun stuff. But ever since I graduated I lost contact with all of them, except for a few I chat with online.
Was expecting an episode with Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst. Didn't expect Trixie and Maud to show up. It was a very good surprise, though. I always love interaction between unfamiliar characters (Sunburst & Trixie, and Sunburst & Maud) and the ones in today's episode was no exception.
4704333
My guess is that most of those suitcases are empty so Sunburst can use them to bring home all the antiques he buys.
4704300
That would imply development is taking place. This episode clearly proves that it's not.
At this point, I don't even care enough to tell them all "I told you so".
4704273
Not all people are socially attuned to other peoples need or emotions, especially those how think in a more logical sense then emotional, and Sunburst fit that category to a T. Unless he is told right in his face what bothering,he won't pick up on at all or will dismiss the following conserves because she said 'it was nothing'. You can'T expect everyone to have the same sense sensibilities for each other or for the same things, even if it's not meant to be mean or being insensitive at all.
4704338
Aren't ponies pretty much always naked...?
4704295
Boulder made a duplicate of himself...?
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was an Easter egg. :P The animators being cute.