MLP Marathon Bonanza S7 E10-12 · 3:39am Dec 9th, 2017
Well, I took a break for a few days to go have my gall bladder removed, but now that I’m (mostly) recovered from surgery it’s time for more ponies! Let’s do this.
A Royal Problem
Hey, look at that, we finally got an episode just about Celestia and Luna’s relationship. That’s actually really cool and something I’ve been wanting for a long time. I’ve always liked to imagine that they're rather playful with each other, never really forgetting that they're sisters and just messing around with each other. That’s not really what happens in this episode, but it is quite a good episode nonetheless. I thoroughly enjoyed their interaction and we finally get to see what their daily routines are like. It’s amusing to me that Celestia makes pancakes every morning with smiley faces. That seems like something she would do. She does have a bit of sweet tooth, or at least that’s what fanon has always led me to believe. In any case, this is a really solid episode with some pretty sweet scenes and a nice resolution about learning to appreciate others and their talents/responsibilities. It’s quite cute.
“You got your cutie mark on my butt!” “You got your butt on my cutie mark!” And then they touched butts.
So, aside from all the things we get to see with Celestia and Luna’s relationship, I think this episode is also quite strong in how it characterizes Starlight. As I’ve said before, the more we get to see of her, the more I like her. She plays really well off Twilight’s hyper-aware-of-details personality with her bluntness, and I kinda love it. I also really like that the writers are playing with Starlight’s apparent cutie mark magic. It’s really interesting and not something the show has ever explored before. In fact, switching cutie marks is something that has never occurred to me in any way, so I thought it was a clever and unique way to handle this episode. They don’t just try each other’s days out, but actually switch, and that’s really cool. Plus, it’s always nice to see more of the dream world. I really hope there’s some good fics out there exploring this space with Luna, because I think it would make for some really fascinating stories. Oh, and of course Daybreaker is pretty awesome. It’s a sick name, and the design is quite cool too. I can imagine a killer action fic starring Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker just kicking ass. That would be fun.
I can’t believe I’ve never noticed before, but armored wings are pretty fucking cool.
Not Asking for Trouble
Eh, not much to say about this episode. It’s pretty unremarkable unfortunately. The lesson is kinda shitty, that being stubborn works out in the end, but there’s at least something nice to say about helping others when they need it, even if they refuse to ask for it. I guess that’s a reasonably nice moral, even if the implication is that the yaks are fine for being dickheads about it with Pinkie Pie, but eh. It’s hard to complain too much about this episode.
Something something yakety sax.
So, even though this episode isn’t great, I still like that we get to see more places around Equestria. The yaks may be giant assholes, but I like their design quite a bit. I assume they’re basically Mongolians, which is kind of interesting, but I like all the jewels they have hanging off them. It’s kind of a nice touch and a bit more visually interesting than ponies who generally don’t wear anything (lewd, I know). Uh, other than that little bit, I kind of enjoyed the jokes about snow sandwiches and stuff. That’s mildly amusing, and Pinkie is not irritating in this episode either. I think she plays fairly well off the yaks since they’re big stubborn monsters and she’s a goofball. I mean, the episode definitely could have been a lot worse. I dunno. That’s all I have to say. 5/10.
Gummy doesn’t get enough love. He’s pretty cute.
Discordant Harmony
Between this and last season, I’ve really come around on Discord. I used to find him mildly irritating because of the whole “random” thing he’s got going on, but maybe now that he’s been toned down a bit I like him a lot more. Or maybe I’ve just grown to like him since my own cynical assholey-ness has been toned down. In any case, this was an exceedingly cute episode. There’s something undeniably adorable about Discord trying so hard to please Fluttershy. I like that Discord isn’t a one note character where he’s just weird for the sake of being weird. There’s a sincerity about him when it comes to dealing with Fluttershy that makes him really appealing. On top of that, this episode has a nice lesson about not changing yourself to suit others, even though I’m fairly sure that’s been a moral before.
Whoever this pony is, she’s pretty cute.
So, when this episode was getting near the end and Discord started to fade away, I was a little disappointed because it felt like a sort of cheap way to get Fluttershy to the realization that Discord had changed to try and make her feel comfortable. However, when Fluttershy starts going around changing Discord’s house to make it more chaotic I thought it was pretty clever and really sweet. Like I said before about Discord, I like that Fluttershy has changed because of her friendship with Discord and wants him to be happy just as much he wants her to be happy. It’s a really good friendship, and this show could always use more good friendships. That’s what it’s about after all. Also, there’s a good amount of comedy in this episode, especially with the impromptu fashion show. That’s silly and cute. All in all, this is a really good episode that delves a little bit more into Discord and Fluttershy’s friendship while also showing us how much they care for each other. I fully approve of this and look forward to seeing more Discord. He’s becoming more and more enjoyable with each appearance. I am disappointed the singing ginseng didn’t have a song though. What a shame.
I assume this is the episode that spawned your pinata avatar, PP.
A Royal Problem and Discordant Harmony were fantastic episodes, and they were a treat to watch in my opinion. The former had great character interactions and gave Celestia and Luna some much needed time in the spotlight, while the latter was just plain adorable. I've got a similar opinion concerning Not Asking for Trouble, as the episode was kinda blah in my opinion. Not much else to say.
Also, I hope you feel better soon, and I'm glad your surgery turned out well.
Yikes! I'm glad the surgery went well for you. Here's to a swift and full recovery. :)
Daybreaker is so great.
But just wait until you watch one more episode!
I like the confirmation of the long-held fanon theory that Discord quite literally needs chaos to exist at all. Wonder how many people noted that detail?
That's a weird idea for a vacation
You are correct! :D
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Don't even trip, dawgs. I had my appendix removed two years ago and that was way worse of a recovery. I'm basically fine already, well, minus the missing organ I suppose.
Let's see... text file open... Well, there's Moonlight, in which Luna recruits Scootaloo to dreamwalk when ponies are trapped in their dreams... and Endless Dreamer by Tineid, in which Luna takes Apple Bloom (styled as "Applebloom") into another dream, and learns that she has a skill... Oh! And here's one I know you'll be interested in checking out: Trixie Lulamoon of the Dreamguard by Hoopy McGee.
Also, while it isn't really about it near as much as the others, Living in Equestria by Blazewing has had Luna enter into Dave's dreams a couple of times. (The fic in general also has a goodly amount of Trixie, if that helps.)
I'm not sure if it's good or not that we haven't seen Daybreaker as an actual day-themed counterpart to Nightmare Moon; so far as we know, she's just someone Starlight feared Celestia becoming.
DH makes me imagine what he might do with various kinds of tea. Would rooibos hop around? Would chamomile be really long and blend in with its surroundings?
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I'm gonna go check out that Trixie Dreamguard fic. It sounds pretty interesting, as does the Scootaloo one now that I think about it some more. Man, dream stuff just has the potential to be really cool.
I think A Royal Problem is one of the best episodes of the season, it was just great all-around.
What I love is the visual aesthetic of Daybreaker. She's just like Nightmare Moon at a glance, but her complete opposite when you actually look deeper. NMM's armor is a lighter color to contrast her dark coat; Daybreaker's armor is a darker color to contrast her light coat. NMM's armor is all swoops and curses like the moon; Daybreaker's armor is all spikes and points like a fiery blaze. That even carries into their wings, NMM's wings and feathers have rounded edges but Daybreaker's are pointed. And yeah, just a great name too, way better than anything the fandom has come up with ever.