On the Horizon / Too Many Pinkie Pies Review · 5:04am Nov 20th, 2012
So, the next chapter of Mezza Voce is up. Huzza! The chapters have been do- *Shot for meme use* Ow. At any rate, the new chapter is up and hopefully the next will not take as long to do! I also hope you enjoyed the little bought of light-hearted insanity there towards the end. The one thing about Flare just sorta struck me and I was all "Ooooh! That would be SUCH a Vinyl thing to add, or Berry on a drunken stupor!" I am intentionally leaving it for you guys to decide what was Vinyl playing things up, and what was our favourite spirit-loving pony slowly slipping from the steely claws of sobriety at about ten in the morning! I kinda think she'd justify it by saying something along the lines of "It's 9 pm SOMEWHERE! =D"
Anyway, recent postings aside, I have been debating for the past few months to do what I did to Words are Louder (updated overhaul) to another story of mine, arguably my most famous one. That's right, after finishing off Mezza Voce, I will be doing a re-write of Sunset! Don't worry, the original will still be viewable on my Deviant Art page and will be linked, but the version here shall be updated to be less cringe-worthy. Not only is it going to get a spelling/grammar overhaul and some expanded scenes, but I will be re-doing the beginning because I have always sort have felt too much was revealed too soon. It will still follow the same overarching plot and arrive at the same destination though; only a few turns to the rollercoaster will be added.
VVV Here be Spoilers! VVV
As I said last week, Pinkie Pie episodes usually score high on the Entertaining Scale. This trend continued Saturday, leaving a wave of euphoria, obnoxious amounts of laughter, and some awkward explanations lying in their wake. Too Many Pinkie Pies had a tough act to follow, being fresh on the heels of the epic season opening last week. The plot was solid, some questions were raised, Twilight demonstrated a merciless disregard for sentient life and poor Applejack resumed her role as best background pony. Aside from one major animation glitch (seriously, what happened to Rainbow's wings while she was first sitting in the beach chair!?), and a disturbing flashback to G3, it was well animated and very clean.
I kid about the G3 hate, by the way. It was bad, (I have actually seen a couple episodes of it) but not nearly bad enough to warrant some comments I have seen. Alas, I digress!
Our pony of choice this week needs no introduction. Pinkie Pie is generally regarded as the class clown by both fans and ponies alike, so much so that to think of her as anything but flamboyant, crazy and borderline obnoxious is... well, unthinkable. Seriously, she doesn't break the fourth wall nearly as much as many people let on. Many of the clones this episode were exactly as many perceive Pinkie and to that, they do a good job of being absurd and generally causing a mess. However, I personally loved how Pinkie herself (the original) was able to show her seldom-seen analytical and level-headed side.
The episode starts off with our resident egghead, Twilight, trying to turn an apple into an orange and comment on it being a difficult task. Some might say this is a step back, since we've seen her turn rocks into a tuxedo and top hat (ironically in another Pinkie episode), but taking into consideration the Orange-Frog we see near the end, the spell is actually a PERMANENT altercation and not just temporary. That, or it is a measure of how much she has GROWN since season one. Confound you, Twilight, you distract me! x_x Anyway, stuff happens and Pinkie vows never to miss out on anything fun again. (Aside to mention Rarity's dress in her only notable scene: absolutely smashing!)
Naturally, this leads Pinkie to recount a tale her Nana Pie (Granny Pie?) once mentioned about a fabled magical artifact in the forest: the Mirror Pool. This might be me as an author speaking, but this whole scenario brought the Pool of Midnight from For Want to mind. x.x Using the mystic powers of the pool, she duplicates herself and "doubles her fun."
I'm so sorry.
However, even that is not enough, as she soon learns (by which I mean her clone) that more than two of her friends is having fun at the same time. Distressed, she seeks out the original and they come up with the best plan ever: more clones! Naturally, this gets out of hoof faster than a lead shoe company in a town of gangsters. Don't ask where I get these sayings from; it's a mystery. The Pinkie Swarm annoys the buck out of the citizens of town to the point of having them congregate outside the library and demand the spell caster/librarian/best pony, Twilight, to do something. After a quick search of the library that reveals a hidden book (again, I am ashamed to say this flashed 'Sunset' in my mind, what with the crawlspace of books and all) which conveniently contains the cure.
This is where things take a turn for the creepy.
The original Pinkie is moping to herself where the episode began, regretting her ill-devised plan and watching helplessly as her seagull-smart (Finding Nemo reference?) pony counterparts wreak havoc on the populace. Spike goes over to talk to her, actually being smart enough to know that Pinkie has more depth than 'PARTY' and 'MOAR (sic) PARTY!", to which she determines the best way to find the real Pinkie is a test, to which Twilight agrees and bounds off to prepare. This sparks and existential crisis the likes of which is rarely seen in children's programming as Pinkie begins to doubt that she is even the real one.
Soon after, all of the Pinkies are herded up by the Apple Clan (plus the stray real Pinkie by Rainbow) and placed in town hall where Twilight directs them to sit. The test for them is simple, but would strain the sanity of just about anyone alive or dead: watching paint dry! Those who do not comply... well... let's just say that, while not strictly an offensive spell, unicorn horns are now confirmed for heating up when too many high-strength spells are used at one. Like a gun. She kills sends back Pinkie clones with all the ruthless efficiency of a... I'm uncomfortable saying it, but I am sure you know what I mean if you studied world history in the 1940's.
But yeah, in the end the real Pinkie prevails and we get a heartwarming letter to the princess. The end. Sorry for the long synopsis, but a lot of what I wanted to say was tied to the plot.
Along the way, we see callbacks to earlier episodes, be it raising a barn (likely in the location Dash smashed the old one in Lesson Zero) or Dash reading a Daring Do book. As well, we also saw 'Harry the Bear' who was part of the most epic Fluttershy scene ever, There were some things I liked and did not like, such as the way that NONE of her friends, not even Rainbow, could pick her out as the real one when ALL of the others were still hyper and energetic. I will admit, they probably never see her serious or sad side, but she is obviously the odd-one-out and a good place to start looking, ESPECIALLY considering that the clones do not know the names of her BEST friends. As well, the test could have been more simple and less... unsettling than a mass slaughter where simply looking away was grounds for execution dispelling.
So, final thoughts time! Although it is not the BEST Pinkie Pie episode ever, it is still highly enjoyable and entertaining. It is nice to see the writers putting a nice spin on typical clone stories and how it is actually resolved so nopony can ever misuse the pool again, but it isn't exactly as great as the last episodes, or even the third episode of last season. However, Crystal Empire is a tough act to follow in any regard, so it is understandable.
Next week is our first CMC-centric episode of the season, so there is always that to look forward to. Seriously, they have grown on me a LOT since Call of the Cutie. Until then, this is Ciroton, signing out!
Oh, right, rating. Uh... If you stuck a gun to my head? 80/100
Okay, that's it! You can stop reading now. (And read Mezza Voce if you haven't. Seriously. =3)
I suspect that attempting to alter things that are inorganic are easier than organic.
PS:Pinkie did say she was off to double her fun.
Sunset is the type of story that should be read by many, many people. Better have it streamlined!
520063
Hence the quotation marks. I was just apologizing for going the most obvious route.
Twilight's "dispel clone" spell really was unsettling. It's the equivalent of shooting a clone dead on-the-spot if they so much as act a hair out of line, and could have been disastrous if she picked the wrong Pinkie. Seriously, there wasn't a fraction of a second between a clone's action, and her subsequent zapping of them. She's on a bloody hair trigger! Ah, well. It was no big deal. I still liked the episode.
Also, I didn't notice that Dash animation glitch at first. Is Discord still a-lurking?
520110
I have seen art of Human!Twilight holding a gun and dead Human!Pinkies lying all over the place with one clone crying over a corpse and Twi readying the gun with a crazed look in her eyes. You were not the only one.
Seriously I was thinking things along the line of this:
Fix your title
520119
Well, there goes my night's sleep.
Yeah, I already did my own in-depth review of this, as well as someone else I'm watching (probably more on this site). Though few things people seem to also be forgetting, as did I in my own blog review.
Well, while the mirror pond Pinkies may have been able to demonstrate ability to learn, they didn't exercise much common sense like real Pinkie would, at least. In knowing not to cause utter destruction or at least, less annoyance than the real Pinkie would've. Not saying I support this since others beside you seem to feel this way, but I think multiple Pinkies on a permanent basis (especially if they're not as smart as the original to begin with, as demonstrated in a few scenes), would've been bad for Ponyville.
Well, didn't see this one, but I DID see in later re-watching that when all the Pinkies were together and Twilight zapped three at once, there were only like ten give or take shown on-screen, but next scene with a Pinkie giving herself fingers, there were plenty in the background behind those two.
I agree with this, but I didn't think FIRST of the scene in Feeling Pinkie Keen, that people seem to be pointing out or thinking of. I actually thought of Season 1 finale, where in beginning, she turned an apple into a CARRIAGE, for pony's sake! But couldn't turn an apple into a different fruit? That seems like wouldn't be that much harder, considering an apple/orange is SMALLER than a carriage. And for all we know, the carriage was permanent as well, maybe. Even though the transformation of the objects Spike held into clothing were changed back, after he lost focus, I think.
Totes agree with you, something pointed out on my own review.
While I didn't call on this one, someone else did in comment in response to the only other review seen so far by someone am watching. And yeah, it's Finding Nemo where that happened.
Well, it started BEFORE the final commercial of the episode, when they all started saying they were the real one and just because they all looked alike, real Pinkie couldn't keep it in her own mind that she WAS the real one, despite knowing full well she was, likely.
Again, I agree, this kinda disturbs me what with all the others shouting "FUN" over and over again, and being the ones who were causing destruction/chaos, everywhere they went.
All in all, thought it was a good and funny episode myself! Despite the Season 3 premiere being interesting to me as well, I don't think it set a higher bar for me, even if Sombra didn't get much time to do anything other than try to take over the empire and get the Crystal Heart, before being banished(?)/defeated again. And now, despite my initial thoughts (figuring others would do it, at least if final Pinkie was NOT the real Pinkie), I kinda want to do a short one-shot story on this episode, focusing on some of the things neglected: like how Pinkie would apologize to her friends and such, why she'd explain for why she did what she did (at least, my own theory), and her own role during the time of the Pinkie storm, as others called it.
Maybe also explain why Twilight and the others couldn't spot real Pinkie being the saddened one, bringing callback to Party of One events. Also dunno if should take a little something that seemed to imply a certain thing, in one scene when Dash held Pinkie in her hooves. But eh, we'll see, might not submit it right away (as I already started another story for this site, at least, and might wanna submit that first, when I finish it). Sorry to ramble! cdn.broni.es/images/emotes/mlp-tblush.png
oo oooo oo after you remake the Sunset can u continue on with that story ark (twilight coping with her princess and her experience in the Pool of Midnight)
and demand the spell caster/librarian/best pony, Twilight, to do something.
Not so subtle much?
Also I begin to wonder if that episode makes MLP:FiM still fit to be called a 'children's show'...
...on an end note, never make Twi angry...
520335
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment! =D This is actually only my second time doing a review, and I do miss some things. The 'sentient life' bit was just me being snarky, but I guess it didn't really come out that way.
*Goes to read your review*
520362
There is an idea for that, but it might not necessarily be next. Depends on how I feel at the time.
520387
I'm about as subtle as a brick to the head most of the time. =P I also wasn't claiming to be, just inserting some best-pony propaganda.
520435
Thought maybe you were serious. And lemme know what you think! That is, if you want (if didn't see on my page, don't really have anything up or many watchers, and the ones I do have have either already seen or not been on in some time). Though I know you're probably already done and saw it was long-winded, covering my own feelings over as much of it as I could remember (time isn't entirely accurate either, was after I made a few updates to couple areas and added few things).
Well, I can't say I know how a lot of the fandom feels, just what I've read on this site in a few cases over last few days.
And about Sunset/For Want of a Dawn, do think maybe your points about the pool and other moments do fit, even though can't say I've entirely read those series... for most part, yeah, but I sorta skimmed over Sunset for most part to know what happens, and read most of For Want of a Dawn in its entirety, but did some chapters quickly or skimmed, if not didn't at all or forgot to. Didn't address those before in case you replied and missed an edited point that didn't call attention to.
It may have been disturbing but I laughed my ass off when I viewed it 6 times.