On Moving Forward · 5:18pm Jul 31st, 2021
It occurs to me that it's not like me to whine about how long it takes me to get my comics and how I'm never actually going to do anything about it.
Weird.
Anyway, let's talk about issue #99 before I need to go.
On an abstract level, this comic significantly echoes "The Last Problem" in reminding us that as life moves forward it will sometimes take friends and family far away, but that doesn't mean those bonds have to be lost, nor does it mean that you're expected not to have complicated feelings about those you love leaving so they can grow (or that they don't similarly wish they could achieve their potential without having to leave). Going-away parties aren't like other parties; they always have this subtext.
Was it really necessary to write this comic in a way that requires the Pie family rock farm to be so close to Ponyville? It's been consistently shown to be a train ride away, so it's suspicious for Cheese to pass through Ponyville on his way there (just so that the Mayor can unnecessarily remind us that Cheese and Pinkie are seeing a lot of each other) and more suspicious still for Pinkie to get misdelivered mail intended for the farm and bring it over herself on the spur of the moment.
It's not like Marble wouldn't have told Pinkie about going to this U of A program whether or not Pinkie was present when she got the acceptance letter.
So what is Marble planning to learn from retired comic book editors in Rockadia, anyway? Other than the history of celebrations, of course. We really don't know what she likes (other than Big Mac).
It's a good thing that AJ is the one to bring up "somepony you love leav[ing]" to Pinkie; the other way around would come off as quite insensitive.
Snide remarks aside, though, it's a good monologue AJ gives. It stirs emotions.
Personally, I would support a cheese station so long as a) it's good cheese and b) it's in addition to a dessert station rather than instead of one. Never forget "Surf and/or Turf"; always choose both options.
But keep them separate. I don't care what anybody else may say; cheesecake needs to pick a lane.
I had the exact same thoughts on the Rock Farm being too close to Ponyville. That said, I think in some books and comics and maps I have seen it said the Rock Farm is really close to Ponyville, so its a continuity error that this comic is probably copying from elsewhere.
Good question on what Marble is studying. The fact that it is called "Rockadia" campus implies geology like Maud, but it is in Abyssinia, and how much do cats have to teach earth ponies about rocks?
You're missing the best part, where Cheese deliberately removes and hides in his pocket the note about the dessert station, to give Pinkie something to improve/get involved in. The actions of a love-struck stallion!