The Ending of the End and The Last Problem Review · 5:06am Oct 13th, 2019
Well folks, this is it, the grand finale is at last upon us! It's truly been a remarkable ride, who would've guessed back in 2010 that this show would not only be a success but would last for long as it did and inspire such a talented and dedicated fandom? But all good things must come to an end eventually, no one wants to see a show become the next "The Simpsons", the next "Family Guy", or the next "Spongebob Squarepants" a show that keeps going on and on and becomes a shell of its former self. And for the final episodes we have three writers who need no introduction: Part 1 of The Ending of the End is written by Nicole Dubac, whose solo writing track record is unfortunately very poor as of "Daring Doubt", while Part 2 is written by Michael Vogel who has been on a roll all season and shown a tendency to fix what others have broken. And The Last Problem is written by Josh Haber, who is the longest lasting writer on the show and Meghan McCarthy's designated successor, with his writing career this season being pretty good all things considered. But with all three writers penning parts of the finale separately, did they do a good job or did they ultimately just make us glad the show is wrapping up now instead of pressing on for one more season? Well, let's find out, get ready for the feels!
Part 1 of The Ending of the End begins with Chrysalis using her photographer disguise to sow distrust between the unicorns and the earth ponies, and we learn that the other Legion of Doom members have been doing the same with the other pony species. They've also learned through the spell book how to use Grogar's bell, it acts as a magic absorber. And when Grogar finally comes back on the day of Twilight's coronation, the Legion of Doom spring their trap only for Grogar to be revealed as Discord all along.
Discord has all of his magic drained and the Legion of Doom power up as a result of the bell, but they balk at the idea of using chaos magic since it is too unpredictable and they can't control it properly. They also let Discord crawl away and prepare for a divide and conquer assault. Twilight's coronation is about to begin but all of Canterlot is divided and ponies aren't cooperating, yet somehow this has gone unnoticed until now by all our heroes. It takes Discord showing up for things to make sense, and we learn why he brought back all those villains, he claims it's because he wanted to give Twilight confidence to be ruler of Equestria by allowing her to defeat her greatest enemies. Nevermind the fact that he allowed for the Tree of Harmony to be destroyed, and in doing this he has allowed the Legion of Doom to become so powerful, as well as undermining Twilight's confidence because now she thinks that Discord has been helping her with every problem she's faced even though he says he hasn't. I'm not surprised Nicole Dubac wrote this part, she always did seem to enjoy rewriting characters and canon to fit her needs, what was wrong with Grogar as an actual villain? Why did we need something to one up the twist of Cozy Glow as a villain when that was poorly done?
It gets worse when each member of the Legion of Doom is now powerful enough to take out all opposition with little effort. Cozy Glow one shots Twilight and is even able to match Celestia and Luna (because somehow the bell makes her an alicorn because potatoes), Tirek effortlessly takes out all of the pillars and drains them of their magic (turning Rockhoof back into a scrawny little colt), and Chrysalis basically defeats and cocoons Starlight. But at least that one actually feels like a real fight instead of a curbstomp battle, kind of wish they'd have fleshed it out, especially since the snowy environment was the perfect setting to make it a Star Wars homeage.
Just when it looks like Cozy Glow will be defeated though, Chrysalis and Tirek show up with no real explanation and the battle is immediately ended. Twilight's told to run away, get help, and make a plan while everyone else is imprisoned as Part 1 ends with The Legion of Doom destroying the castle in Canterlot. Seems that castle takes a lot of abuse.
Part 2 begins with the Legion of Doom holding everyone prisoner in catacombs beneath the castle while gloating about how they turned everyone against each other. However, Discord sees that they don't want to use Grogar's bell even though it stole Celestia and Luna's magic too, and offers to tell them how to use it. Though Tirek quickly sees through the ruse by claiming Discord won't tell him. Discord points out how Tirek betrayed him the last time and taunts him into attacking so he can steal the bell. Really wish they'd mentioned how Chrysalis imprisoned him, which was probably very humiliating for him.
With his powers temporarily restored, Discord frees Starlight who in turn frees the rest of the mane seven and the princesses. The rest of the mane seven run off to find Twilight, while the others try to hold off the Legion of Doom. The rest of the mane seven travel all over Equestria to find Twilight, which is complicated by the return of the windigos, meaning they're finally officially confirmed to be real. It's understandable, but at the same time their inclusion feels a bit unwarranted since they're never a direct threat. Heck, we soon see that the Legion of Doom is debating on whether or not to deal with the windigos now or wait until they've brought Equestria to its knees first. As for the rest of the mane seven they find Twilight taking refuge in the Crystal Empire, and she's back to Twilighting. This time it's actually understandable, because again Discord screwed with her mind and messed up her confidence because of his plan that makes no sense. And you thought Goku's plans against major villains were bad.
Applejack gives Twilight a pep talk about how bad things happen and it's able to rally Twilight to come up with a plan. Sometime later we see them all march on Canterlot as the Legion of Doom bring Grogar's bell for a final battle. The plan is to have Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash serve as a distraction so the rest can steal the bell, and it almost works. But the Legion of Doom grow wise and stop it, then they prepare to attack and kill Twilight and her friends. But thanks to the efforts of the student six and two random OCs for pegasi and unicorns (seriously, who are they and why do we care about them?) reinforcements arrive from all over the world, culminating in a final battle as even the pillars are freed as the past, present, and future pillars are intertwined, it's just too bad we never got to see the student six partake in a passing of the torch because it would've given this scene a lot more weight before the big finish.
The Legion of Doom are defeated, Pinkie Pie briefly obtains Discord's chaotic powers before they're returned to him (who in turns gives the princesses back their powers, though sadly Cadence and Shining Armor don't participate at any point, not even with Flurry Heart), and the Legion of Doom are all turned to stone. I'm fine with Chrysalis and Tirek getting that treatment, it's probably a better fate than they deserve considering all they've done (immediate destruction and being placed on trial to be made an example of would be incredibly humiliating for them) but Cozy Glow is a child. Considering that Starlight and Tempest committed similar crimes (treason) yet were forgiven because of their past, Cozy Glow not getting the same benefit raises a lot of questions about morality, and crime and punishment in Equestria. Plus, she was kind of trying to teach friendship to Chrysalis and Tirek, even if it was for a selfish purpose. Anyway, Twilight decides to postpone the coronation until the castle is fixed, and Part 2 of The Ending of the End ends with Twilight and the rest of the mane seven enjoying donuts.
We open up The Last Problem with a cut to several years later, Twilight now has a flowing mane and tail like Celestia and Luna, and she has taken over Celestia's school. She has a top student who wants to drop out of the school since she doesn't feel like she has any need for friendship and even thinks there's no point since Twilight isn't with her friends and thus friendships naturally fade away. However, we see a fully grown Spike serving as Twilight's friendship advisior, and it's nice to see that even with how big he's gotten some things still haven't changed, he's still by Twilight's side. Anyway, the episode from there is mostly spent on flashbacks to Twilight's coronation, how it all went wrong because she was stressing out about having to leave Ponyville behind. I do kind of think she could've moved Equestria's capital to Ponyville, there's historical precedent for that in all kinds of histories (in the United States alone the capital city moved from New York, to Philadelphia, and finally to Washington D.C., and several states changed their capital cities over time to better accomadate industry and population) but I suppose Twilight doesn't want to upend everything for her personal desires and it would seem odd to move the capital city just for her sake. Anyway, Twilight's friends were all busy and didn't seem to be treating it like it was a big deal even though for Twilight it was. Now she knows what it's like to meet M. Bison after he destroys your village.
After a slightly jerkish move on Rainbow Dash's part where she admits to not being upset at seeing Twilight move away, we learn that everyone was feeling it but didn't want Twilight to be upset and were trying to work through the pain. We also see Rainbow Dash coaching the Wonderbolts on a new routine and Big Macintosh working on deliveries to Canterlot for the coronation. However, the emotional breakdown and resolution makes Twilight late for the train and she has to teleport everyone onto it. Which is still a problem afterward because not only are they still behind schedule but the train stops because sheep stray onto the tracks. And yet Carl Johnson still won't catch up to it in time.
As a result the coronation was a disaster, but Twilight got through it okay and laughed it off. Interestingly, during the ceremony Celestia and Luna take off their crowns and join them together to form Twilight's new crown. Then they announce after the coronation is complete that they'll be retiring to Silver Sholes though they'll still be there if Twilight needs them, and Starlight shows up with an enchanted book of memories so Twilight can remember her friends. Twilight then announces she'll be making them part of her council of friendship and will have them meet every so often (once a moon isn't clear on the time) and the flashback ends.
In the present, Twilight's friends all gather as we learn that Pinkie Pie has a child named Little Cheese (and Cheese Sandwich is the father), Discord now obtains Ogres and Oubliettes sessions, Rarity is busy in Yakyakistan, Applejack and Rainbow Dash apparently work together on Sweet Apple Acres, and Fluttershy is on her own with Discord stopping by for company from time to time. It leads into the final scene and the last song: "The Magic of Friendship Grows" which starts off a little awkwardly carried but by the time of the hook it grows into something very beautiful. We get to see Starlight and Sunburst at the school (Trixie does appear a bit later on), the CMC are now teachers there, and Yona and Sandbar apparently live in Carousel Boutique and have a family (we do see Ocellus visiting Smolder in a tree, Gallus is shown to be a guard in Twilight's army, but I don't think we see much of Silverstream and I don't think we ever see her and Gallus together). And fittingly, the song ends at twilight as the book from the pilot closes.
And that's the story for the last three episodes of the show, so what do I think of them? Well, The Ending of the End is very clunky in its set up, Part 1 especially suffers from how horribly they wrote Discord. It makes zero sense for him to do what he did, the twist of him as Grogar is poorly done, and Grogar's bell makes the Legion of Doom way too powerful and robs us of much investment during the initial battles. What's even worse is how this causes Twilight to regress and Discord tries repeatedly to downplay it while insisting it was a good idea in his head. A shame really, because there are some good elements with how many characters they brought back, and Twilight not breaking down right away was a nice sign of character growth. Part 2 tried to pick up the pieces and make them fit back in but did so in a very half hearted way, padding out the run time with the search for Twilight and the very sudden defeat of the Legion of Doom after the initial plan fails. The windigos returning is a nice touch as is the student six officially getting recognized after this season kind of forgot about them, but even then Cozy Glow being turned to stone and Discord getting off scot free for the role he played in everything ends up making morality look warped and twisted and the episode doesn't want to address those issues, which overshadows some of the better parts. Thankfully, The Last Problem manages to end the season and the show on a good note, I kind of wish they had gone with the framing device they used here to tell the story of the final battle, because it really does feel like they put Twilight's coronation here since they knew they couldn't rush it into the two parter and do it justice. Getting to see Ponyville years later alongside the mane six and the student six are a nice touch, and the cameos for the CMC and Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie are great too and open up a ton of doors for fanfics. And outside of the obviousness of the moral and the initial rough start of the final song, it manages to end the season and the series on a high note. In the end, I give Part 1 of The Ending of the End a very narrow borderline C+/B- and Part 2 gets a narrow B+, both are weighed down by Discord being an idiot and some other questionable writing choices that overshadow the greater moments. And The Last Problem I'm willing to give it an A+ just on account of how well it wrapped things up, maybe it's not what some of us would've preferred but all things considered I don't think we could've asked for a much better send off than that. As for Season 9 as a whole, it's a definite improvement over Season 8 but I feel it falls just short of Seasons 5 and 7 in terms of overall quality. It's probably good they stopped here, it does kind of feel like the writing quality couldn't get much better from here and we all know what can happen when that threshold is crossed.
Quite well said, SPB12. :-D As I said myself, the finale definitely wasn't perfect, but at least it had the right mix of bittersweet and optimistic to end the series on.
Anyway, now that I know you finally saw the finale:
Here is my rewrite idea for the finale of your "What If?" series:
1. The Ending of the End: Grogar is COMPLETELY real AND he was quite well aware that his Legion lied about not finding his bell; he just played along to lull them into a false sense of confidence and because he genuinely DID find an alternate power source that, COMBINED WITH the bell, will make him more powerful than ever. Anyway, Grogar blocks his Legion's attempt to backstab him and makes an example out of the most powerful among them (albeit in a way that leaves no body to find and would still be appropriate for an "Everyone" rating).
In addition, the final battle DOES take up all three of the final episodes, with Grogar proving so powerful that it literally takes the combined best efforts of all four adult alicorns, PLUS the Mane Six, PLUS the Pillars PLUS Discord JUST to fight him to a draw. Meanwhile, the rest of the Legion takes on Spike, Starlight, Shining Armor and pretty much every other major good guy character you can think of.
As for "the Last Problem", that's a 44-minute post-series special. It actually STARTS OUT with the monthly Council of Friendship meeting. Sunset Shimmer gets a speaking cameo bringing a piece of Council business to the Mane Six and Spike - namely her daughter, Luster Dawn. Pinkie has her foal, Little Cheese (short for Cheese Caken Pie) with her. Anyway, much of the special could involve the Mane Six and Spike helping Dawn learn the value of friendship while ALSO negotiating a peace treaty between the Abyssians and the Diamond Dogs. Of course it ends with "the Magic of Friendship Grows" as Twilight is giving the rest of the Mane Six a ride home because that song is truly a wonderful ending point for the show.
Of course, I can completely understand if you already have something better in mind.
For me, season 9 is easily the best.
Not only was it the most consistently good, but it also had the highest highs.
As for Ending of the End, I loved it the first two times, and loved it even more this time. Mostly for Cozy Glow and Starlight.
Last Problem made me tear up literally every time I saw it.
First time around, it was during the song.
Second and third time around (once the English version got leaked and this airing) I started pretty much as soon as the flashback began.
Heck, this time around, I literally ended up whimpering from the sadness I felt at it being the last episode.
I was really expecting something along the lines of...
then for Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow planning to betray Grogar (not Discord disguised as Grogar) by using the bell against him, but he let them believe they had the drop on him.
I was also expecting a more drawn out battle; maybe the legion might've helped Twilight and the others. Can't say I'm too surprised with Discord, because he's Discord, so you never know with him. I'm really gonna miss the show.
Honestly, my only problem withqith "Daring Doubt" was them reforming Ahuizotl at the end of the episode. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I, like mostly everyone, didn't care about Grogar as a villain. He came off as a grumpy grandpa more than anything else. Besides which, he didn't come off as all that threatening or intimidating. Seriously, compare him in this series to how he was in "The Return of Tambelon."
To me, Discord's plan, deapite how stupid it was, made complete senae. They at least gave him a motivation, unlike last season where they had Cozy Glow being evil "just because."
Why bother bringing this up at all? Seriously, this seems like you're bringing it up just to complain about it.
We clearly saw them doing that in episodes like "School Daze", "The Hearth's Warming Club", "What Lies Beneath", "School Raze", "Uprooted", and even in this episode.
Uh, no, no, no, no, no. Starlight screwed with the timeline, yes, but her actions were completely inconsequential and whatever damage caused could always be repaired by going back anf fixing it. Tempest did commit treason, yes, but it was shown that she wasn't all bad and was willing to change. In both cases, both antagonists were not only willing to change their ways, but also were willing to accept whatever punishment they were given. In sharp contrast, Cozy Glow was not remorseful for her actions at all and in fact flat-out said that she would gladly make another attempt to take over Equestria if given the chance. She not only made an attempt to destroy Equestria, but also outright attacked royalty. I have no issues whatsoever with her getting turned to stone. After all that she did, she more than deserved it.
I'm pretty she said that they would all meet up at least once a month.
I would've been happy if the series ended with the movie. These last two seasons just feel lackluster and clunky compared to the previous seasons. The backwards sliding on certain characters' development is so cringeworthy and the whole idea of Celestia and Luna retiring when Luna hadn't even been back from her banishment for even a decade is just... just....
. There's absolutely NO build up to it! It just pops out of nowhere and the whole concept of it just seems like something out of a pipe dream! Twilight was just fine as the Princess of Friendship. As far as this fan is concerned, the G4 series ended with the movie.
It's a good made ending for a show like this. Still, I feel a bit unsure about Cozy here.
I mean, unlike Starlight, her background was never shown and what Starlight did, altering the past, is more serve that what Coty dd and she was forgiven. Plus, turning a child into a store state is a bit...unsettling for a show like this and the tolerating view of Equestria.
But maybe, I just think too much about it
And that's why I love Gravity Falls.
- When I watched the "Ending of the End", I was completely shocked to see that Discord was Grogar for a plan to help Twilight. I felt really mad at Discord as this was the worst thing he had after done after he reformed. This is probably the second lowest deed he had ever done on my list, the lowest of all was all the things he did in "The Matter of Principal". It could've been worse as Discord could've included the Pony of Shadow. Probably because Discord didn't know how to get him out of limbo or the Pony of Shadow was too powerful for Discord to handle.
At least he made it up by helping Starlight, the Royal Sisters, and Twilight's friends to escape. It was kind of funny to see him throw rocks at the villains. You mentioned that Discord got a small amount of magic to help with the escape. I thought Discord used a small shard to reflect Tirek's attacks to free Starlight.
- I was surprised that Tirek didn't want to use Discord's chaos magic even though he had absorbed it before. This must be because Tirek only used his own magic instead of the chaos magic. I thought Cozy was really scary when she had that powerful form until I saw her attempt to use chaos magic.
- Chrysalis did have a point about the power of rumors. It can stir up trouble as people are not sure who to believe.
- The windigoes were a nice touch as it was a conflict for all of the ponies and creatures to solve so they could band together to stop the Legion of Doom.
- It was funny to see Pinkie use a party bazooka and Fluttershy orders the geese to attack like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz.
- I guessed it made sense Cadence and Shining Armor didn't help as much because they were protecting Flurry and the Crystal Empire because as Twilight mentioned, they were some of their last hope if the Mane Six don't succeed.
- The Pillars did their best to hold off Tirek. I was saddened to see Rockhoof turn back into a small colt. How come Stygian wasn't a part of this finale? That was bugging me.
- The final battle was good as not only Tempest was there, but the Flim Flam brothers were there as well. I guess this was a temporary truce as no Equestria means no bits. The small ponies and the student six gathering all the creatures made sense as it shows that even non-important creatures can make a difference. I'm not saying that the student six and those small foals and fillies aren't important. I just mean characters who aren't expected to save the world or anything.
- Turning the three villains into stone was kind of hardcore. Now they must know how Discord felt.
- The Mane Six eating at a donut shop at the end really reminds me of the Avengers movie. It made sense for Twilight to delay it as she had gone through a lot in the episode.
- Now for "The Last Problem", it kind of reminds me of "The Best Night Ever" where the Mane Six expected for some event to go on perfectly until things really go wrong and they laughed it off while they're together on a table.
- It can be true that people have different ways to hide their fears as a way to prevent other people from dealing with fear.
- It made me surprised and tear up to see so many things that happen in the future. One moment that made me surprise would be that Pinkie has a foal with Cheese Sandwich. I was also surprised to see Gummy so big and Angel having many children (I think). It made sense that Sugar Belle and Big Mac had a child.
- I kinda wished we get to see Flurry Heart at an older age. I also wanted to see what Celestia and Luna were doing in the future, but I guess we can guess based on "Between Dusk and Dawn".
- I also wonder about the stained glass window with the Student Six fighting some kind of red rhino creature in space.
- This episode officially proves that AppleDash is now official along with YonaBar(Yona x Sandbar).
Those were my thoughts on the finale. Even though the show is over, I will continue to value it. I still got a lot of fanfic ideas to write about.
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Grogar had so much potential though, an all knowing, all powerful ancient evil that brings several previous evils together to serve under him. Then in the end he is not only aware of their plans to betray him but also thwarts them and becomes a threat that justifies going all out, justifies a final battle to such an extent.
There was no need for him to do what he did here, especially when he keeps saying it sounded like a good idea in his head. How many times has he tried to do this kind of trickster mentor kind of thing with Twilight, and how many times it has backfired on him? Every single time! Yet because of Fluttershy he basically has a "Get out of jail free" card!
They're made such a prominent part of the episode, particularly in the resolution. I don't hate them but why exactly do we care about them? Why couldn't the CMC have filled the same role, and don't tell me it's because Scootaloo can't fly.
That's not enough to flesh them out or make them worthy of being the new mane six. They're still very underdeveloped, especially Sandbar since we have no clue why he needs to attend the School of Friendship despite being a pony. And like I said in "Uprooted" it felt like they were going to pass the torch to the student six and then didn't, as if they second guessed themselves.
When Starlight was presented with the consequences of her actions, she denied the possibility and threatened to rip up the spell so Twilight couldn't stop her. She never tried to do anything else, and this was all because she mad at Twilight and her friends for exposing her ruse. Tempest never would've turned on the Storm King if he hadn't betrayed her first, at no point did she ever truly question her allegiance to him outside of a brief line that got no real follow-up. Though I can see why she was forgiven, she did ultimately sacrifice herself to defeat the Storm King for good. But my point still stands on how they committed similar crimes to what Cozy Glow could be charged with, yet they were forgiven and yet a child like Cozy Glow doesn't get that same benefit: She gets thrown into Tartarus and then gets turned to stone. No one ever tries to help her, no one ever asks why she is the way she is. They just assume she's a lost cause and toss her in with other bad guys.
She said "Once a moon" which wouldn't be bad if the show ever bothered to explain what a moon stands for. It's not like a made up measure of time like stellar cycles or astro clicks, a moon is an actual, physical thing. So what sort of passage of time does a moon embody if the moon always rises and sets? Even a lunar cycle would make more sense (from new moon to full moon and back again).
Chrysalis was the one willing to let Equestria burn (or freeze in this case), Tirek wanted to deal with the windigos immediately. Chrysalis was also the one who stopped the Legion of Doom from befriending each other, to say nothing of the fact that she intentionally starved her subjects to be loyal to her and her actions painted her subjects in a bad light until Thorax uspered her. I do agree though that Discord should've been turned back to stone, after all he did here he ultimately proved that he learned nothing the whole time he was supposed to be "reformed". If he thought bringing back old threats to teach Twilight a lesson was a good idea, on top of how often he tried to mind screw with her even while claiming to have changed, then he hasn't changed at all. I suspect that if not for Fluttershy being loyal to him in spite of all the evidence he would've gone back to stone.
I forgot one last thing: Spike's an Element of Harmony, or he seems to be a walking nexus of the elements. That's just my opinion, though,
Honestly, I actually liked “The Ending of the End” a lot more than “The Last Problem”. I enjoyed the latter’s song, but wasn’t exactly the most enthused by some things about it.
“The Ending of the End” I enjoyed because of how epic the whole episode was, as well as the fact that they went with something much more fresh with Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow by not reforming them. I also couldn’t help but feel glad that Grogar was never there to begin with, as when the Legion of Doom was developing more and more...he sort of became a worthless and unnecessary element to have around.
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Yes, and that's why I had such a problem with the "twist" that they pulled.
Discord's biggest weakness is him underestimating those around him, as we saw in episodes like "Twilight's Kingdom." He likely didn't count on the three being able to get the bell, let alone figure out how to use it. But, yes, him once again acting like an asshole and getting away with it is why I despise this finale so much! Again, if anypony deserved to get turned to stone it was most definitely him!
No, they weren't. I certainly didn't see anyone else commenting on them.
Why in the world would you want three teenagers getting involved in a war where there is a very high probability of them getting killed?
They were very fleshed out. Episodes like "The Hearth's Warming Club", "School Raze", "Uprooted", and "What Lies Beneath" went far in developing their characters. The writers can't just drop everything and focus solely on these characters while they put the Mane Six in the background. They did that with Starlight Glimmer in season six and received a lot of backlash for it. They clearly learned their lesson and made sure to not make that same mistake in season eight.
And whoever said that characters were required to have a reason to attend the school? The characters in Harry Potter are mneverever given a reason as to why they would want to go to a school where they learn magic. Sandbar going to the school was never an issue for me. As we've seen with characters like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, just because you're a pony doesn't mean you automatically know everything about friendship.
Because they'd already done that with episodes like "School Raze" and "What Lies Beneath." We saw them glowing, representing the Element of Harmony that suits them best.
Yet before that, when they're in the barren wasteland that was once Equestria, Starlight has this devastated look on her face. She was clearly thinking, "My God, what have I done?" Her getting pissed and threatening to tear up the scroll was all a ruse to maintain control. She even flat-out denied what Twilight showed her as being an illusion cooked up by Twilight. First and foremost, Starlight is a control freak, so it only falls to reason why she would try to maintain hold on what little control she had left.
And that line was pivotal to the Storm King refusing to restoe her horn. He was afraid that if he were to do so, she would turn on him, which she likely would have if said line is any indication.
Again, what Starlight did was completely inconsequential. The worst that Tempest did was commit treason and regicide. Both are one and the same in that both come from similar backgrounds. They weren't bad ponies; they were just badly hurt by circumstances ourside of their control when they were little kids, and they carried that pain with them well into adulthood, to the point where they're control freaks.
Cozy Glow is the complete opposite of Starlight and Tempest. She not only tried to destroy Equestria by draining it of all of its magic, but also gleefully smiled at the thought of laughing at her own kind as they slowly died. When her ruse was uncovered, she threw a hissy fit and declared that she would gladly do it all again if given the chance. Every single pony tried their best to help her, but she stabbed them all in the back, hence why she was viewed as a lost cause. By that point, she was beyond saving or being reasoned with, which is why she was sent to the pony equivakent of hell and then turned to atone.
According to Jim Miller, "I always thought of “a moon” being one lunar cycle. On earth, that’s roughly a month. But we never worked out Equestria’s lunar physics to know if that time frame is analogous."
Yet in "Frenemies" she's shown considering the fact that friendship might be a good thing, only to immediately snap out of it and return to her former way of thinking of friendship as a disease. In episodes like "The Mean Six" and "The Beginning of the End Part 1" she's shown being at her wit's end. I truly believe that if she had been brought down to her breaking point she would've and could've been reformed.
Again, i can understand where Discord was coming from. That, and he has a tendency to underestimate those around him. Again, he wasn't counting on the fact that the three would be able to obtain the bell and figure out how to use it, which makes sense since they just barely managed to get a hold of it. The idea that Discord has learned nothing from all the times he's been with the Mane Six is actually pointed out by Applejack herself in the episode itself. At the very least he realized that he had made a grave error in his thinking and made up for it, but, yes, he still should've been turned to stone in the end.
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I will now refer you this. https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/874686/mlp-villain-ranking-grogar
Having villains being evil "just because" isn't a bad thing. Sometimes making them more developed, and thus taking time away from the actual plot, can be a negative. Look at how good Discord, or Tirek was. Or Adagio. Do you know what one thing they share in common is? They weren't given motivations, and so instead the writers got to focus on showing how good they are at being villains. And it's glorious.
Also, there should've at least been some buildup for completely random fillies from the school of friendship to help save Equestria. Sure, not doing that shows how far the influence of friendship spread, but it just would've been a more effective moment if it was a pyoff to something else.
5138880
They didn't need to get involved in the war but they could've rallied the pony types to join forces instead of not trusting each other. The CMC having a bond would strengthen the argument of how ponies are better together than each going it alone.
We don't know if the Storm King could restore Tempest's horn but didn't want to for fear he'd betray her, or if he never actually had the power to do so and was just lying to get Tempest to do his biding. The point still stands that had he not admitted to using her she would've continued serving him because she at no point showed any signs of doing anything else. And regardless of the "Following orders" argument, she willingly hunted down the mane six and Spike and did so with a smile. She had no quarrel hurting anyone who got in her way, be it Verto, Capper, or the pirates. And when Twilight asked her why she was doing this because Tempest was a pony, Tempest's response was "I'm nothing like you! We may be ponies, but that's where our similarities end." which leads into the song "Open Up Your Eyes" where she reveals her motivation: She's willing to do all of this just to get her horn back, she doesn't care about the pain and suffering she'll bring to others as long as she gets what she wants. It makes her an effective villain, but it really hurts the case for her redemption. Especially when her backstory is only slightly improved from Starlight's initial one. And this is coming from someone who considers Tempest the best character in the movie.
Her very line upon seeing the Legion of Doom start to befriend each other was, and I quote: "Betrayal!" She claims that friendship corrupted her hive. In her mind she doesn't think that anything she did or didn't do is what caused her subjects to turn on her, and she no longer cared about anyone but herself. She was too far gone, especially since she had her chance at redemption and rejected it.
Not really, the most he did was free Starlight and then convince the princesses to turn the Legion of Doom to stone, something that he once made it sound like it was the worst thing you could ever do to someone. But now he has no quarrel doing it to others.
5139721
Having a villain bw evil "just because" is basically the writer being lazy. The reason why villains like Syndrome or Scar work is because their motivations for being evil are not only sympathetic but relatable. We don't get that with villains like Cozy Glow. Had tbey actually gpenne into why she was evil, it really would've added to her character a great deal and would've made her that much more three-dimensional. By not giving her a motivation, her character doesn't come off as much of a character at all, but more as a tool thrown around by hack writers. This is akao why the Storm King from the 2017 movie was such a letdown, because the writers couldn't be bothered to give him a motivation or develop his character. I have never in my life heard a writer say, "I'm just going to have this bad guy be evil just because." The only time I've seen tbat hapoen is in shows like Family Guy and South Park with the characters of Stewie Griffin and Eric Cartman, respectively. At least with Cartman you can make the excuse that him not having a father figure jn his life and a mother wbo apoils him like crazy is bis motivation behind his actions. But with Stewie, he's juat evil for the sake of being evil, and that's a serious problem because I makes his character come off as one-dimensional. Thus, it makes it hard to get invested in his character and hia story. At least with Brian they established that he has severe abandonment issues due to being separated from his mother at a young age as the motivation behind his actions.
Finally, it is possible to develop the plot and the characters ay the same time, as we've seen in episodes like "Frenemies" and "The Summwr Sun Setback."
Personally, I hated both Discord and Tirek as villains. Tirek came off as your stereotypical bad guy who just wanted power, which was his motivation. Again, compare him in G4 to how he was in "Rescue at Midnight Castle." His G1 counterpart comes off as much more menacing and threatening. This is why G1 ia fondly remembered so much, becauae of its villains. G4? Not so much. And Discord wasn't really evil as much as he was like a little kid. What makes this worse ia the fact that Celestia says he's evil and the Mane Six believe her and fo off to defeat him without bothering to see if he means any actual harm. Discord's motivation was simoly that he wanted to have fun at other ponies' expense.
Why would we want to see some random kids we don't know or care about when we could see characters we have come to know and care about help save the day? How is that not a good payoff?
5139745
We saw the Student Six doing just that in thia very episode. It really makes you appreciate season eight that much more by seeing that it actually had a big payoff. Besides which, I highly doubt that anyone is going to listen to three teenagers, especially when said teenagers are so stupid that they don't know how to read a freaking train schedule.
It's highly likely that he never intended to restpre her horn to begin with and only said that just as a means of getting her to help him. The comics go far in developing their relationship.
As Fluttershy said, "Sometimes we all juat need to be shown a little kindness." Like Starlight, Tempest was badly hurt in her childhood and she never wanted to be hurt like that again, so she took her angwr out on others, either not knowing or not caring abour how badly she was hurting them in turn. However, once she was shown some kindness, she, like Starlight, begab to have a chsnge ofbheart and decided to try to give friendship another chance. My only problem with her redemeption is that she never suffered any consequences for her actions. I'm sure she would've been mlde rhan willing to serve some time in jail, and I like to imagine that's what happened between the movie and season eight.
Yes, but she said this after ahe came to her senses.
Yes, and that's what made her a great villain. Shw didn't see herself aa evil. She just saw herself as a sturggling single mother trying to feed her babies.
Discord's philosophy on petrification was never centered around traditional morals, just as I also think the reason he didn't kill the Mane Six wasn't. Discord was blatantly talking about normal ponies when he said that. But no, apparently three psychopaths who destabilized the country to the point of bringing back the Wendigos; (you know, the creatures that destroyed their last country) Is completely the same thing as talking about random ponies. Besides which, It wouldn't be the first time that he'd changed a part of his personality at some point over time.
From "The Return of Harmony":
From "Discordant Harmony":
Also, if you're dead or petrified, you stop being fun/chaotic, something which I don't think he'd care for at that point with those three. In addition, he was angry because it happened to him, and he was the exceptional case of being conscious in stone.
I think it should also be noted that according to leaks, it was originally planned that the Rainbow of Light would've turned them to stone then and there, instead of just depowering the villains.
5140741
Using a bad example like "Growing Up is Hard to Do" kind of destroys that argument. The CMC knew how to read a train schedule in "The Last Crusade" when Scootaloo went to go to wherever it was her aunts lived.
Well that's nice and all, but that's secondary canon and we shouldn't have to depend on stuff like comics to flesh out things that should've been in the movie. Even then the comics don't say at any point if the Storm King could restore Tempest's horn. So again, had he just kept his mouth shut about using her she would've seen no reason to betray him and continued siding with him against Equestria. That one line could be interpreted any number of ways, and she gave no other hints that she ever planned to betray the Storm King.
Not knowing about the pain you cause others is a lot different than not caring. Not caring about hurting others is a sign of a lack of empathy, perhaps even pyschopathic tendencies in Tempest's case if she considered it worth it to get what she wanted. And Starlight was perfectly willing to do the same thing, ignoring the pain she'd cause others if she got what she wanted.
Meaning she was the one who rejected redemption and thus prevented the other members from doing the same. She was also the one who planted the idea to backstab what they thought was Grogar, thus undermining Discord's "plan".
The way he spoke about being turned to stone in "The Return of Harmony" and even "Keep Calm and Flutter On" made it sound like he absolutely hated it and thought it was the worst thing you could ever do. And that was before he was "reformed". Him suddenly being okay with it (and even giving the princesses the idea to do it) after he was "reformed" makes him a hypocrite and creates what is called "Protagonist centered morality", a trope I despise. Again, I'm fine with it for Chrysalis and Tirek who knew of the consequences and were given multiple chances to learn but never did. But a child suffering the same fate even when we don't know if she's too far gone or if anyone ever tried to help her (it seems most likely that no one did outside the CMC) just doesn't feel right.
Why do you think classic Disney villains like The Queen of Hearts and Captain Hook are remembered more than modern twist villains like Prince Hans? It's because those villains didn't need some kind of sob backstory or motivation, they were fine as they were. They opposed the protagonists because they saw them as a threat to their plans or felt offended by their presence (and in Captain Hook's case he was furious with Peter Pan for feeding the arm he replaced with a hook to a crocodile). Having a villain who is evil without some kind of deeper motivation is fine, as long as you can roll with it and give them a personality and a presence, something that makes us fear them. It's like "The Dark Knight" famously put it: "Some men can't be bargained with or reasoned with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." The only thing the Storm King was missing was an explanation as to why he was so feared.
5140883
That just shows how bad the writing is in this show.
He's the villain. Gloating is what he's supposed to do. It's very possible that Tempest would have stayed with the Storm King, but there's nothing to say that she wouldn't have switched sides had Twilight and the others found a way to restore her horn. It's not outside the realm of possibility, given what we've seen on this show.
In Starlight's case, she legitimately believed in what she was preaching and thought that it was actually helping others. I don't think Tempest was even aware of fhe harm ahe was doing given that she wasn't in Canterlot that long and even when she was, she was isolated from everyone else being holed up in Canterlot castle.
That just shows how much smarter the villains are than Discord, who really did not seem to plan ahead.
No, it doesn't. He had tried reasoning with them. He had tried reforming them. Neither of his methods worked. What did you expect them to do, just have the villains say they're sorry and have everything be okay? That would've been an atrocious ending. I had no issues at all with him turning the others into stone. It's what they deserved.
So we're just going to ignore the fact that this same child committed high treason, tried to destroy Equestria, said that she'd gladly do it again if given the chance, smiled in glee as she sang about laughing in ponies' faces as they slowly died, attempted regicide, and committed treason yet again by trying to take over Equestria again. Rememeber that in real life children as young as her have committed atrocities and have been tried as adults. Are you seriously suggesting that those children shouldn't be punished for their crimes?
And no one ever tried to help her?
Yes, they did! They tried everything to help her and she utterly refused their help. As far as I'm concerned, this little brat got what she deserved!
Yet you never see them on top ten lists of best Disney villains. The most popular Disney villains are always the ones with a clear motivation, such as Scar, Ursula, Gaston, the Wicked Queen, etc.
Yeah, and Cozy Glow had absolutely none of those things. A good motivation helps the audience understand why a villain is doing what they're doing. Not giving a villain a clear motivation behind their actions leaves the audience wondering why they should care about the villain.
This is why Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow were turned to stone. They were beyond saving or being reasoned with.
5140741
There are different kinds of villains. Some villains, like the ones in pre-Season 5 mlp, weren't meant to be characters in the traditional sense. They were sentient forces meant to be an obstacle for the heroes to overcome. They don't need to be fleshed out because their only purpose in the story is to be a roadblock. So instead these characters are given entertaining traits like cunning and hamminess to make their time on screen enjoyable.
You can do that, but it's not always a good thing. Those two episodes are excellent examples of villain development done properly, but when it isn't done well, it's far worse than any traditional villain could be.
But they were both fun. And no, G1 wasn't remembered fondly for its villains. Most bronies just care about G4, and they do like its villains, because most of them are good. Also, whether or not Discord was evil isn't the point. He was a threat to Equestria and he needed to be dealt with. Also, did you not bring up Adagio because you think she's a good villain?
Uh, YOU said that the random pegasus and unicorn that helped bring ponies together wasn't a problem, not me. That's the point. We don't wanna see random ponies saving Equestria. But that's what we got, and it is a flaw in the writing. A contrivance.
5140999
Don't listen to a brony. Of course they're going to shit all over the original MLP. Ask anyone who grew up with G1 and they'll likely tell you that the best part of G1 was the villains.
I never brought up Adagio. I do not care about Equestria Girls.
I honestly have no clue what you're talking about here. No, we didn't see random ponies saving Equestria. It was the Mane Six, the Pillars, and the Student Six that saved the day, not a bunch of random ponies.
5141058
Something being the best part of something doesn't mean that it's good.
You should. Three of the four movies are awesome, and there were several specials that were extremely enjoyable.
I'm talking about the young pegasus and unicorn that helped convince the older pegasi and unicorns to join in the final battle. I'm talking about the ponies at 0:30 and 0:38 in this video.
5141428 That just adds to the cast of characters to use in future fanfics.
5141508
But it's still not good writing to, at the very end, when you have a whole list of characters you could choose from to fit their role, just have two completely random ponies helping to save the world. I would've loved seeing Applebloom support Sandbar, and having Sweetie and Scootaloo lead the charge in getting the unicorns and pegasi to stop being stupid.
5141516 You're making a big deal out of nothing. It's two characters who are onscreen for literally only a few seconds. As far as we know, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had absolutely no clue what was going on, which makes sense seeing as how they're all the way in Ponyville, nowhere near Canterlot where everything is taking place. Besides which, I highly doubt their families would want them getting involved.
5141531
The point is that they were barely given any screentime and yet they were part of such an important plotpoint. Also, I don't know about scootaloo, but I saw sweetie in the crowd in canterlot. And who cares of their family disapproves? This is more important.
5141551 It wasn't really a major plot point and, no, it's not more important. Their safety is more important than them risking their lives. This is a grown-up situation, something that youngsters shouldn't be getting involved in. Even if they did volunteer to help, they would immediately be told no and to stay out
of it to avoid getting in harm's way. Staying safe should be their top priority. You're basically suggesting that the Cutie Mark Crusaders become child soldiers, something that has happened in real life and it's skmething that can seriously screw you up for life, especially mentally-wise. Again, I see no issue with the writers using different characters to get the job done.
5141636
I think being one of the ponies that brought together an entire race is pretty important. Also, they didn't need to necessarily go out to the villains and fight. I'm saying they could've been switched out entirely with the kids. They didn't fight in the actual episode. I just wanted the CMC to stand in front of the ponies at the school of magic and in cloudsdale and tell them about friendship. I would've been fine if that was all or if they stayed on top of the hill inside the shield.
5142063
Sure, but the CMC had nothing to do with that.
5142082 But they could've been.
5142083 But they were never essential to the overall plotline, mainly due to the fact that they had their own storyline going on in the background. It would seem extremely odd if the writers suddenly gave them a prominent role in a two-parter that largely didn't involve them. Then again, they did play a huge role in "School Raze", but at least there it made sense. I like to think that's the writers making up for the fact that they didn't play a role in the movie. So, I can completely see where you and RainbowSparkle3 are coming from, but to me it's not a big deal. It probably would've helped, though, had Raspberry Dazzle and Hyper Sonic had some sort of role throughout seasons 8 and 9. We at least saw them throughout the two-parter, so them rallying the others to hekp Twilight and her friends wasn't completely out of left field.
Speaking of the movie , I really would've liked it had the CMC escaped from their cage and rallied the other ponies to fight against the Storm King and his minions ala Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It really pissed me off that these three didn't get any screentime or lines. Again, I see "School Raze" as the writers making it up to the fans for that.
5142087 Except they barely did anything in "School Raze". They showed up, tried to help free Starlight, failed, tried to get to Neighsay, failed, tried to distract Cozy, partially succeeded but got tricked, ended up locked in a cleaning closet, and that was it. Their role amounted to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
5142089 They at least made an attempt to help. Sure, it failed, at least they made an attempt. At the very least it bought the Student Six enough time to work out a plan. And, honestly, what do you expect from three teenagers? You should've been expecting their attempts to fail based on past experience. I mean, we had seven seasons with these characters before this point, after all, four of which were deciated to showing them failing time and time again to get their cutie marks.
5142101 Except they had grown out of those failures, they had stopped doing that. And they deserved far better treatment, especially when the synopsis made it sound like it was going to be them who would save the day.
5142087
But they're main supporting characters. It definitely makes more sense for them to help unite Equestria in the end as a final payoff to their arc and really demonstrating their talent in helping others. It certainly would've made more sense than two ponies that were never seen before being used for this. I like how they connected to Twilight talking about how the school would spread the message of friendship across all of Equestria, but it still felt off.
5142247
Only because the writers decided to pull something out of thin air and have them do that for the rest of the series.
I think that may be one of the main reasons why most people, myself included included, didn't much care for this finale. It doesn't help that they're easily tricked and locked in a closet.
5142315 It doesn't help that both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are clearly seen in these scenes in which Raspberry Dazzle and Hyper Sonic are talking.
5142551
Character development does exist.
That's not a big thing. Also, the reason the finale succeeds is because Cozy is hammy as all hell.
Yes. That's what I'm saying.
5142560 So, wait, you're saying that the finale was good because Cozy Glow was over the top? In what way? She wasn't hammy at all. And if you're going to say that the finale was good because Cozy was "hammy", then you might as well be saying that all of the Rarity episodes were good because Rarity was hammy in all of them.
5143026
The crazy facial expressions, the way she relished everything she did, etc. And that's different. The hamminess wasn't as promient in Rarity episodes, and with villains it's generally more effective. Especially because she was soooo hammy. And anyways, most if not all Rarity episodes are good.
5143027
Honestly, this is one of the reasons why so many people hate the later seasons.
That's typical of villains. That's nothing new. I mean, hell, even Discord, Chrysalis, the Storm King, Nightmare Moon, Starlight Glimmer, Tirek, and Tempest did that.
Uh, yes, it was. Go watch episodes like "Rarity Takes Manehattan", "Suited for Success", "A Dog and Pony Show", "Simple Ways", "Inspiration Manifestation", "Forever Filly", "Sisterhooves Social", "Rarity Investigates", "Green Isn't Your Color", "Dragon Dropped", "Made in Manehattan", "Carousel Boutique", etc. Rarity being hammy is one of the reasons why people love her so much.
She wasn't being hammy as much as she was being a little cunt like she's always been. Again i say, this little brat got what she deserved.
Sadly, "Dragin Dropped" completely destroyed fhe running record of good Rarity episodes. I even enjoyed episodes like "Suited for Success", "Green Isn't Your Color", and "A Dog and Pony Show" despute my hatred for the first season of the show.
5143029
Well, they're great. Especially with her.
I can't explain it that well, but she just enjoyed it in a way that really appealed to me.
A normal character being hammy and a character being hammy while doing evil things is different.
And I love it.
Dragon Dropped was great.
5142560 I can think of better examples of hammy evil than Cozy Glow, ones that don't require a huge suspension of disbelief to take even remotely seriously in the way they want you to do with Cozy Glow.
5143030 "Dragon Dropped" was a terrible episode, as it did nothing but showcase Rarity at her absolute worst.
5143031
Perhaps, but I still really enjoyed Cozy every time she was on screen.
“All we had to do was follow the damn train CJ!”
So, in regards to Cozy Glow getting turned into stone with Tirek and Chrysalis. I will let is slide.
Why. Well, here's the thing. Even though she said she's just kid, the way she said it told me she was being sarcastic about said claim. Yeah, a lot are questioning why a kid got 1, sent to Tartarus, and 2, turned to stone.
Well here's the thing. Even though, yes, Celestia and Luna are powerful alicorns with means to move celestial bodies with ease, if Cozy Glow had parents, they'd still be in an uproar for what happened to their daughter, unless they are the most neglectful parents ever, but Cozy never mentions that she did any of this because her parents never loved her.
What I honestly believe is that Cozy Glow is a pegasus who is a "miniature" pony. How to I argue this? A few things:
1. Lack of parents mentioned or seen.
2. Has a thirst to rule over all Equestria and it's neighbors of Dragons, Griffons, etc. (No child should even have the maturity level to have a thirst to rule over that much.)
3. She's got a well thought out plan to take over everything. She read up on her knowledge, and used it to her advantage to, 1, extract all magic from Equestria, and send it to another realm, and 2, know how to trap a fully grown mare in a magic bubble. And one upping a politician they ways she did doesn't seem like something a child has the mentality to be able to do.
4. She knew how to talk to Tirek in Tartarus.
Sorry, I really don't see how a filly as old as the CMC would have been able to pull any of that off, let alone think about it.
As for Cozy becomnig an Alicorn? All I can say is this:
In regards to the episodes as a whole. Well, I enjoyed them. That's just me though. Can't say much against or for them. Though I would have like to see a more grown up version of Flurry Heart in the last episode, rather than just seeing a stain glass window of her in it.
Let us hope that going into G5, it will be something to behold in it's own right. Though, let's hope they give us more world building and character growth.
You said the following: “Cozy Glow being turned to stone and Discord getting off scot free for the role he played in everything ends up making morality look warped and twisted and the episode doesn't want to address those issues.”
What about those innocent kitties in the very first story arc of the comics? The changelings should have been decimated for what they did, and Chrysalis should have been splattered into black ink. But all they suffered was a temporary setback.
About those comic books, you said: “And Chrysalis decides to feed off of their love by, killing them! Yes, you heard me. It's obvious these comics are a lot darker now, your mileage may vary on how good that is.”
The story didn’t care about the kitties at all. Where were the ponies mourning for the kitties — or trying to rescue them? (It’s possible they just fainted, but this doesn’t change my basic conclusion.) No, the writers treated the kitties as just a chew toy for horror comedy, as if they deserved to die for their lovey-doveyness.
Finally, you said: “Needless to say you need to pick up these comics, or read them online if you haven't already. You won't regret it.”
It sounds as if you care more about the wicked child than the innocent kitties.
You want to talk about warped morals? Talk about the very first story arc of the comics. The writers treating a peaceful race of kitties as disposable — that murders the message of friendship.
Clearly, those comics are for older fans who don’t take the message of friendship very seriously. I regard them as the illegitimate child of such people — whose numbers are far greater than I might have imagined.
As for Discord in the show finale — he did suffer serious repercussions. He lost his powers, and he almost lost all his friends. He was lucky the villains didn’t destroy him on the spot. Finally, it’s apparent his chaos powers can easily mess with the head of anyone trying to use them. It’s amazing how gentle Discord is actually capable of being.
There isn’t much negative reinforcement that can be done without the risk of further alienating Discord. That’s the reality of building a friendship with a powerful but somewhat arbitrary ally. Apart from natural consequences, all the punishment he can really receive is Fluttershy staring him down. Yet that is still a powerful weapon.
Finally, as a Christian, I find that people should be forgiven easily — if they really want to learn how to be friends. How quick are we to give up on our own children?
As for Cozy Glow, she has given me every reason to have no sympathy for her. Whether it was wise to imprison Cozy in stone is another question.
I do not like the notion of leaving a murderer in prison to rot. I believe prisons need to be environments where the message of friendship can spread. Of course, if Cozy Glow is not conscious, she isn’t suffering much of a punishment.
As far as I can see, children are often far more intelligent than they are given credit for. I do not believe childhood innocence is universal. Too many times, I believe it is grossly overstated.
I just have one question regarding “The Last Problem”.
Haven’t you ever felt the least bit critical of where that episode took the characters and how everything came out? Or at least the whole thing with Twilight becoming ruler of Equestria?
5175459 The only thing I'm really critical of is the decision to have Twilight move back to Canterlot to become supreme ruler. Surely, Ponyville could function just fine as the new capital city. They already moved from Canterlot to the Everfree Forest and back under Celestia and Luna.
5175546
That’s what I’ve been thinking too. It feels too complicated for Twilight to have to move to Canterlot and for her friends to have to frequently visit her everyday. It’s also ironic that she’d move away from Canterlot since the beginning only to suddenly move back.
5175562 I'd be fine with the coronation ceremony taking place in Canterlot, the city is better suited to a big thing like that. But after Twilight took over it really doesn't seem fair to force her to be cut off from her friends. Let her stay in Ponyville since it's where she made a name for herself and has come to view it as her home. Canterlot could still function even as a joint-capitol or back-up capitol.