Nov
11th
2020
Thoughts sparked by someone else's video · 10:55pm Nov 11th, 2020
Here's a YouTube video which purports to show the debut of the show's various antagonists. (Edit: And now here it isn't anymore. Well, hopefully the rest of the post still works.)
Now, the selection and ordering may be somewhat off... but the key point is that this is the first time I've seen most of these scenes since they aired, so here's a bunch of comments/questions.
- Nightmare Moon's very different manner of speech from Luna has been brought up before, no doubt. So what I'll mention here is that she seemingly knew the "legend" and "signs" of her own return (or at least, that there were some). And she also arrives in Ponyville very quickly, given that the place was definitely not there back when she was around. Sure, maybe she was drawn by Celestia - but then what happened between them? I suspect a clash of alicorns would have been a bit noticeable.
- I've said it before and I'll say it again - the Shadowbolts are clearly the products of a rather particular kind of magic. They obviously draw on Dash's subconcious - how could NMM know she was an aspiring Wonderbolt? - and yet they recast her dreams in a shadowy tone.
- Can't have been cheap for Trixie to get her wagon rigged to pop open like that - no wonder she was so upset when it got wrecked. (Besides the whole "all her worldly possessions" thing.)
- It seems at least some of Diamond Tiara's issues come form the same place as Apple Bloom's - cutie marklessness angst. She does seem to have been the third-last in her class to get one, and after Silver Spoon - possibly well after. And while (dreams aside) AB knows her family will love and accept her whether she has a mark or not, DT's mother is another story. And so possibly months and months of worry translate once she's got her mark into scorn for those who still lack them.
- Theory - parasprite reproduction is somewhat less explosive within the Everfree, where the rules on nature work a bit differently.
- Hydras seem to stink more than the usual bog stench.
- Cockatrices are scary... but still promising tools for preservation of the dying.
- Diamond dogs seem to know of both ponies and dragons, but not that you really shouldn't mess with them.
- Spike has a pretty useful attack with his tail there.
- Discord being a mix of all sorts of creatures may somehow reflect a certain strain of thought in pony society - that such different kinds can never really co-exist in harmony. (A clear contrast to the alicorn form, which shows that all ponykind is one when it comes down to it.)
- Given timberwolves' particular nature, I doubt they're carnivores... so why do they chase ponies? Some illogical instinct, or is it just fun? And why does the sound of a banging pan send them fleeing?
- Either cider underproduction is a common problem all over Equestria, or Flim & Flam had the Apple family marked as targets before they even came near Ponyville.
- The lever in that ancient tomb looks awfully modern... or is that just how Rainbow Dash imagines it?
- I do wonder if Garble and his gang were the only teens hanging out at the Migration. Were Ember or Smoulder around somewhere, for instance - and how might Spike's life have gone differently if he'd met them first?
- Either a form worn for a while takes longer to "take off", or Chryssy just can't resist a good show. (Probably the latter, given her following speech - but then, how often does she get to brag to anyone but drones?) I wonder where she's hunted before Equestria...
- Sunset really is NMM/Luna redux, isn't she? Inexplicable knowledge, totally different personalities as villian and not, beloved by fans anyway...
- So, what was Tirek up to between his escape and Celestia noticing? Was he feeding on unicorns (in which case, there will be some who were either powerless for a long, traumatising time, or who were... silenced)? And if not, why, and what else was he doing?
- The Dazzlings use of the name "Equestria" for their homeworld is presumably for the benefit of viewers, as they were banished when said nation was still young. (I wonder how much time they spend stirring up food, and if they need to work together?)
- However old Starlight is, I'm pretty sure she acts older - possibly a reaction to her father's constant babying.
- Are later villains just less interesting, or am I just running out of steam?
- The Pony of Shadows mentions having embraced the darkness "so long ago". Is said darkness messing with his head, or was he active for an extended period?
- On the one hand, as I've said before, Tempest could have possibly made a stronger main villain for the movie. On the other hand, her interactions with the Storm King are somewhat amusing. Hmm... maybe he could have been a spirit advisor or something, looking to restore his long-destroyed body and power with alicorn magic?
- Ocellus doesn't speak very good puckwudgie. (And I still don't get how they're a threat to Smoulder...)
- ...why was Sludge a flaming meteor, and was it a coincidence he crashed right next to the only dragons in countless miles?
- They really should have done more with Cozy and the Crusaders - they never get to do stuff in two-parters.
So... any thoughts, on my thoughts or the scenes? Or are these just too many to respond to?
Gosh darn it, why'd you have to go and give me another plot bunny? The ones I've already got are multiplying like... well, rabbits!
:P
5396705
"Spike wanders into the other crater where the teenage girl dragons are hanging out" has been an idea since long before we had any canon characters who fit that description.
Uh, I don't see how you can lump things like hydras or cockatrices in with actual world ending threats? It seems like considering them all "antagonists" is a bit of a stretch.
5396815
Well as I said, I didn't make the video. They are all antagonists, though, same as folks not in here like Gilda and Suri - the show has a broad variety,