Follow-Up Fun Time: Shadow Play part 1, or, Fate of the Unknown · 11:18pm Jun 15th, 2018
Umm... hello. I'm Twilight Sparkle. The, umm, not princess one. I guess some of you call me Sci-Twi? It's kind of endearing. Umm, you see, I'm here because Sunset is... not available right now, and Mr. Albinocorn—
Twi, please stop calling me 'Mr.' It makes me feel old.
Right, sorry! The Albinocorn needed someone to make a follow-up with him. He calls it 'color commentary.'
It's funny 'cause, your part will be in purple.
I see. Well, we're going to take a look at things happening in Sunset's homeworld. It should be exciting.
*Sigh* I miss Sunset.
Meet the six heroes of old.
Ooh, Equestrian lore! How fascinating! I wonder how long their recorded history dates back to? I know Sunset said time moves faster on that side when comparing the two. Does that mean their world started before us? Or did our worlds begin at the same time and they're just further along? How—
SO! The episode starts off with a narration from the pony long veiled in mystery: Starswirl the Bearded. And the fandom rejoiced?
Sunset's mentioned him before. He's like the Merlin of the pony world, right?
Yep, and we've been waiting a long time to see him in canon. But, as the saying goes.... never meet your heroes.
Elements of Harmony: beta version
Strength, bravery, beauty, hope, healing, and sorcery?
Parallels to the Elements. This one pony brought them together to defend Equestria against the darkness.
But, it turns out the darkness was inside him all along.
Wait, he brought them together, got jealous of them, then tried to steal the heroes artifacts for power? I feel like we're missing a step.
Six heroes vs. the Black Beast.
So, to save the world, these heroes banded together to make one last stand, sacrificing themselves in the process.
I feel like this story is missing a few keypoints. I have a few questions.
Wait for it, Sparky. A good story doesn't reveal everything on the first page.
Well... no, I suppose not.
Baby Harmony Tree!
Plot twist: the ancient Pillars of Equestria planted the Tree of Harmony.
Was the seed of hope metaphorical, or did they actually plant a hope seed? Because, while crystals can grow over the course of thousands of years, I've never heard of one taking on the shape of a tree. Though I guess it would be possible? If you—
Sparky, magic world, doesn't have to be cut and dry. They planted a seed, it sprouted magical evil-blasting crystals. That's it.
*Grumbles about magic and logic*
Hey, the gang's all here!
Yep, if we're starting in a room with every main character plus some, you've reached the season finale.
Mr. Sunburst found Starswirl's last recorded notes, detailing his adventures with the Pillars of Harmony.
Which you can read right now in the Legends of Magic comic series! Located anywhere comics are sold! Buy now for only 5.99 an issue!
"Thank goodness, this isn't the one with the foal pictures."
"But that means it's still out there somewhere!"
"You're right. We still have plan: Hellfire though. No one can see those photos."
It so weird, seeing our principal and vice-principal as ponies. And they're the special ponies too! How does being a princess correlate with being a principal? Sunset said Equestria is a mirror of our world. Wouldn't the mirror Celestia and Luna be in government? Or still be princesses? I mean, it's mostly just for show nowadays but—
SO, the princesses never got to meet the Pillars of Equestria before they vanished along with the Pony of Shadows. Must have been a short-lived team.
"Guys, we're being watched more than usual. I think it's the season finale."
Oh, oh! Actual genuine research? They're going to investigate and see what exactly happened to Starswirl and the Pillars! Oh, this is exciting! I can't wait to see their research methods! And they have magic! That must be really helpful when handling old materials!
"How's that pencil taste?"
"Like disappointment."
I mean, Atomic Theory wasn't discovered in a day. Dedicated research can take years of hardwork and reading!
Yes, but we only have forty-four minutes and change.
Umm... ow?
Twilight, if you keep doing that, you're going to hurt yourself.
... Oh, right. You're talking to that one.
'Ponhenge'... really?
I find the fact that Starlight can read Starswirl's bad horn-writing really funny. Like, that just fits for her.
How does horn-writing work? How could you be bad at it? Well, I guess if your levitation over an object was really shaky it could come out bad? But if this Starswirl the Bearded really is as good as they say, why would his horn-writing be so illegible? He would have perfect control over his magic, wouldn't he? Also—
Ponhenge!
Really? Even the names are parallels? I mean, I like puns, but this is really on the nose.
Oh, sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet.
Rainbow got in a fight with a bush. The bush won.
"Twilight, I think Starswirl is texting you."
Good thing Twilight put the journal down in the most convenient of places.
Let the fan-girling begin!
Amazing! It looks like a hologram! Only with magic! It's projecting data stored within the journal! Ha! Magic that makes sense! Now, if I could learn how it was doing that...
Your evening entertainment, ladies and gentlemen!
It's a literal Night-mare!
...First of all, stallion. Second of all, no.
You're the reason Sunset hates puns. I miss Sunset.
"For our last trick, we're going to make an asshole disappear!"
And like usual, the villain just stands there and takes it instead of moving. Well, tropes are universal I guess.
"So, how many of your fan-fictions do you have to rewrite now?"
She writes fan-fictions too! Ahem, I mean... that's a nice hobby.
Almost as nice as that save.
Anyway! Our heroes found out what happened to their heroes. They banished themselves to limbo to stop the Pony of Shadows. That's really brave of them actually.
...Starswirl seems to have a fetish for banishing things to other dimensions...
Purple Smart being adorable.
As Sunburst said, it would take a normal pony years to figure out what exactly happened at Ponhenge and how Starswirl's spell worked. It takes Twilight a day.
Wow, that's... I see why you call her Purple Smart.
Would you like me to call you Purple Smart, too?
No. I'd rather not have another shared name with her.
"Now kiss!"
That can't be sanitary with a book that old.
Twilight's been practicing her god powers.
She;ll make you disappear, just like that diagram.
Has she been directly replicating that spell? Does that mean there are dozens of diagrams floating in limbo with the Pillars?
That'll make a fun conversation later.
Yes, Starlight, feel the shame of your time travel shenanigans.
I'm not like Sunset. I don't have anything against Starlight. I will say, there's a discrepancy between how the princess treated Sunset's reformation and Starlight's. But, if she had taken Sunset back to Equestria, I wouldn't have gotten to meet her.
I don't care either way for Starlight. I just like picking on her.
God was not pleased by Twilight's abuse of power.
The map remembers 'oh yeah, I'm supposed to be helpful!'
How does the map know where the objects linked to the Pillars are?
The same way it knows when there's a friendship problem.
That... explains nothing!
And so, the mane... 8? 9? Our heroes set out to find all the artifacts to bring the Pillars home!
How does the map work!
There's Indy in the background.
Applejack here to edumacate some ponies on old legends.
"Please. There's nopony strong enough to dig a whole ravine by themselves."
"Need me to buck something else?"
"No, I'm good."
Can... can all earth ponies do that?
Just the best one.
*Zelda item theme plays*
Before.
After.
This has been Gardening with Rarity!
It's nice to see when they get to branch out and use their abilities in different ways. Rarity isn't just about fashion, she's about aesthetic. She can make anything look beautiful.
But how did that one flower live—
Magic. Moving on!
Being a dragon does not come with good dental.
Aww, Spike and Rainbow get to bond. Unfortunately, it's ruined by this red loser.
It's strange, seeing Spike as a dragon... and talking...
Of course the asshat has the shield.
Even if he used it infrequently, metal placed in magma would still melt at a considerably fast pace. How on earth has it... let me guess... magic?
Now you're learning!
Surf's up, dude!
I know it isn't my Spike, but if anything happens to him...
Major air!
Nailed it.
At least he didn't land in the lava. I don't know where people get the idea that dragons can swim in lava. Do you know how hot lava is? It can get up to a thousand degrees, Fahrenheit or Celsius! Even if there scales could somehow resist it, the skin in between would—
And, we're not done yet!
He thinks he can beat Rainbow in a race? I think that's impossible in any dimension.
"It'll be hard to beat me with that piece of metal."
"Oh yeah, thanks for the tip!"
And people call Rainbow dumb. Brash, hotheaded, and easily distracted, sure. Dumb? Nope.
Rainbow horse, away!
He speaks for the bees.
Lightning bees?
Flash bees.
Sure, why not?
"First one to fall in gets free superpowers."
But that's usually how super-villains are made.
Pinkie, that's not healthy! Or sanitary!
I'd say this all makes sense, but Pinkie was a supernatural threat long before this.
"Wanna hear about my newest fan-fiction?"
"No one wants to hear anymore about your fan-fictions."
Jokes aside, Starlight is... actually being reasonable here?
She raises a good point. If the Pillars had to seal themselves with the Pony of Shadows, maybe it was for a reason? What if they didn't want to come back? I mean, they probably do. But there's so many ways this could go wrong.
"Listen here, Glimmer, we've waited seven seasons for this. You're not stopping me from meeting my idol."
I understand where the princess is coming from. If I could find any way to help Sunset, I would take it. But maybe she should heed Starlight for a bit.
"I hear a 'I told you so' coming. And I won't be on the receiving end this time."
Seriously, if the mare who thinks brainwashing ponies just to get out of a friendship lessons thinks this is a bad idea, maybe you should listen.
The man, the myth, the legend!
You want to be happy for cute Twilight, but you know something's about to go wrong.
"An alicorn? Oh god, not another one!"
Wait until he sees Cadence, too.
I mean, does this one count as an alicorn?
So, bringing back the Pillars also brings back the Pony of Shadows. Logically, that makes sense. But, this seems really, really bad.
On behalf of Sunset, oh Twilight, you done fucked up!
But I—
The other Twilight!
Yay! It's back! I really love the interactions with Sci-Twi!
... can we keep her? Pwease?
LOL, really great follow-up. Like Sci-Twi, I also miss Sunset, but Sci-Twi did great here! She was so adorable and funny; maybe sometime she and Sunset can do one of these together.
And as for Starswirl's bad hornwriting, I actually have a theory on that. Starswirl is one of the most powerful sorcerers there is, but maybe not one of the most finesse ones. One sorcerer can cast a spell and have it be far more powerful, but it may come out a bit frantic and messy, while another may cast a weaker version, but done elegantly with finesse.
I hope there's a second part to this; it's awesome!
EDIT: Never mind; reread the blog title.
Silly me.
That's okay, I've got a better nickname for her: Purple Sexy.
Also, having Sci-Twi around for this was FUN!
This hurt. I miss Sunset, too. Not as much as Twi, but still. WE NEED SUNSET BACK IN ACTION!
Otherwise, great review. Both of you!
Welcome aboard Sci-Twi. We all miss Sunset and hope for her safe return.
Beautiful. I actually like the greater contrast between your voice and Twi's voice. You and Sunset seemed rather similar in your commentating.
**baps Sci-Twi with my PipBuck-adorned leg** Welcome to thye madness Purple Tech! Your complimentary pretzels are to the left!
a lot of hte images are broken