My Little Pony Season 9 News 06/14/2019

GOOD MORNING, FIMFICTION FANATICS!!! This is the Dramamaster829; Critic, Actor, Writer, Motivational Speaker, and Occasional Singer, keeping you up to date with the latest news for the final season of MLP! We are less than a few weeks before we reach the end of the first half of the series. Thus far, most of our fans have been well content with the stories that came out, others were ballsy enough to state it didn’t meet their expectations, and the rest have gone on to say that some of these episodes put together led to some satisfying conclusions while also raising new questions. As the road to the inevitable end reaches it’s first pit-stop by the mid-season hiatus, in which a rather ‘special’ program will air before the month is up, one of our debates focuses on the fate of three of our favorite little fillies: The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

To think it all began when Apple Bloom felt insecure about going to a ‘party’ because she was one of the few fillies not to have a cutie mark, constantly being bullied and teased for it, and tried everything she could to get those fancy flank tattoos to no avail. But it was only when the teasing kept going that two other fillies stood up for her, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bloom, whom like Apple Bloom felt they were the only ones lacking a cutie mark and so a bond was struck as they set out on a mission to discover their hidden talents where no challenge is too big and no hobby is left out. Some fans will technically point out they actually first came together during ‘Nightmare Moon’s’ return from the first ‘two’ episodes (Though I think it was mainly the first as I recall), but they wouldn’t be an established team until several episodes later during the first season. Needless to say, their journey wasn’t easy (Some found that the fact the three were missing the point of what is needed for a cutie mark to be annoying at times) but eventually by the fifth season they would reach the highlight of their journey once they realized that by helping other fillies either finding their cutie marks or reminding them of their ‘true’ nature of said marks would they earn their place. So even though that would mark the end of their own pursuit for their own marks, the fact that they would even set a camp to help inspire fillies to find what makes them unique and even earning a spot at the school as honorary counselors (Even though they haven’t really done much there), it all goes to show how the three have slowly matured as a team.

I go into great detail about the Cutie Mark Crusaders before we even get to the root of this blog if only to show how much they have grown on me during the course of the series. I’ll be among the few to admit that even though I found some of their stunts to gain their marks funny, especially how they constantly failed, at times I started getting bored with the repetitive nature of their journey and I’d always slap my head when they completely miss the point of what it truly takes. Heck, to this day their ‘We Are the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ song, though I applaud for having some stellar rifts with the guitar, is still one of those ‘bad’ songs that isn’t a particular favorite of mine and even though I respect fans who insist it’s a ‘So bad it’s funny’ moment as someone who is a stickler with hitting the proper keys even on karaoke night it’s no surprise that I wouldn’t enjoy that song. But today’s blog is not so much to talk about the past, but where their future as a trio stands as the title gives off some indications as far as the state of their friendship and where it all ends. And no other title seems more appropriate for this season than a reference to one of my favorite movies of all time:

The Last Crusade

Note: I am aware that this episode was released early in Italy and just so we’re clear with this blog… NO SPOILERS!!!

*Clears throat* In a short and sweet synopsis of the plot, the title concerns some unexpected visitors to Ponyville who threaten to break up the Cutie Mark Crusaders forever or at least as it implies. Some faithful readers would deem this as a big spoiler as if suddenly we know what’s to come, but the way I look at it is that it pretty much narrows down who’s likely to lead to their team in jeopardy and whom we aren’t likely to see. The more obvious choices in particular would be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who used to be a problem for the girls but disappeared shortly after they helped Diamond settle her issues with that horrible mother of hers; Babs Seed, Apple Bloom’s cousin who temporarily was a bully so no one would mess with her for lacking a cutie mark but slowly faded when she discovered her talent in Manehatten as indicated by a haircut (Which we never saw); and the other likely candidates being the villains, whom we’d have assumed would use this as part of a warm-up to take down the Mane Six by destroying a notable friendship in town. Again, we have to assume who’d be the characters we may have ‘thought’ would be at the center of this conflict, but never actually assumed would be pulled off for a long time. Even up until the Italian release some fans were ballsy (Or impatient) to see before the episode came out in our country because I am still choosing to wait until tomorrow I’m pretty much going into this episode as blind as a ‘Fate’ without the eye.

As far as my thoughts on the episode in general or what I would think could happen, I’d have thought this episode would highlight the return of ‘Twist’, whom we haven’t seen or heard much of since the very first season whom essentially was Apple Bloom’s friend all because neither had a cutie mark but ever since she got her mark… Well, they never spoke to each other. You’d think that Twist might harbor a bit of resentment for being neglected since Apple Bloom decided to be with other blank flanks and feeling bad Apple Bloom would want to make up for all those years on lost time unintentionally neglecting her own friends and leading to some rifts. But then I think, ‘No, the show wouldn’t take that same plotline as they do with Twilight’ so it led me to reconsider all the other alternatives to determine how to go this episode in a big way. I would even consider the possibility it would be appropriate to determine some characters who we haven’t expected to see and only ever discussed about. Maybe even some family whose been absent from one filly’s life (Not Apple Bloom because her parents well… They died under unknown circumstances) and in Scootaloo’s case, seeing as how we never saw her parents (Much less any relatives), like most fans I’ve always assumed she was an orphan.

But then rumors started coming up that Scootaloo ‘does’ have family in the form of two aunts, not so much ‘sisters’ like the aunts in the ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ series but rather… A same-sex couple, which to some fans is a bold maneuver in the MLP Universe (But compared to how it’s been done in recent cartoons as of late, it was bound to happen eventually). Anyways, the two aunts in question had their shining moment in a book where Scootaloo had a bit of a starring role and it was stated that while she does have ‘parents’ they were always away and we’d think she hardly ever sees them (At least that’s my takeaway). From what I’ve been hearing from several of my followers, they do have unique personalities that balance each other out and the chemistry they shared in the book made it an enjoyable reading experience. Now I am not expecting them to have a ‘major’ role in this week’s episode, they’ll be lucky if they have a few scenes together, but the fact that the show acknowledges that there are pairs that don’t follow the standard ‘boy-girl, black-and-white’ trope that’s been popular for years is for me a breath of fresh air (And that says a lot coming from this womanizer). Now of course, some people have verbally expressed their deep concerns for applying a same-sex couple and exposing this nature to children but to those fans I can only shake my head in disappointment because it seems they’d rather follow the views of another source rather than their own, which to me is what separates between the three groups who handle this level of change: The Leapers, the Bridge Builders, and the Traditionalists (I wouldn’t be surprised if those certain troublemakers follow the latter).

And still we wonder: Could this episode truly be the ‘end’ of the Cutie Mark Crusaders? It’s no secret that this show has made it’s executive decision to end as a result of what this season has to offer, which stands to reason that the theme has ‘all good things’ coming to an end. Still, whether they were our favorites from the beginning or they’ve eventually grown on us as they matured, these three kids have offered us many fun times especially when they did things together and even blessed the fans with some highly catchy musical numbers (Preferably during that Season 5 episode). The story wants to be bold enough to take a direction where it just might be possible and while some fans would want them to remain together out of the nostalgia, for some fans even if it were to happen there should still remain a moral at some point. Just because they may not be a team anymore, doesn’t mean they won’t still be friends and so long as that friendship remains strong they can never truly be apart (That’s just what I think anyways).

But an even bigger question remains: What do YOU think? Be sure to leave a comment below at your earliest convenience.

Until next week’s review, this is the Dramamaster829… Signing out!