It's the night before a new episode, and as usual, I'm putting up the episode thread ahead of time!

So, this week, the new episode is "Gauntlet of Fire", by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco. I think this episode is all about how Spike gets entered into the Tri-Dragon Tournament by somepony working for the dragon that killed his parents and forced him to grow up as a virtual slave for the Sparkles.

Or something like that. I'm pretty sure it's a Spike episode, anyways. And I do like a good Spike episode. Or I would like one, at least...

For a reminder, the two writers are the same ones that did "Castle Sweet Castle", "Rarity Investigates!", and "The Hooffields & McColts". Which gives me no idea how well they write Spike, but "Rarity Investigates!" was good, at least. Let's hope for the best!

--Sweetie Belle

I think this is the episode where they kill of a character.

Accidental dragon breath.

The funeral will be at the end of the episode.

Spike will be revealed to be the love child of Boulder and Tom.

5176842 it does sound like an interesting one.

Too bad I have to go to work tomorrow . There are times I really hate working for a Senior Center but it helps bring in some money. That and I get to speak to a lot of old people.

Lets just hope its not another Dragon Quest

I had a vision where this chapter will be the worst episode ever. I'm not sure how this will go, but I hope I might be wrong.

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For a reminder, the two writers are the same ones that did "Castle Sweet Castle", "Rarity Investigates!", and "The Hooffields & McColts". Which gives me no idea how well they write Spike, but "Rarity Investigates!" was good, at least.

I rather enjoyed "Castle Sweet Castle" and I though Spike was written decently enough there...

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Well, I'm sure they appreciate it, at least, and you can probably find it on youtube afterwards...

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You know, by now I don't really remember Castle Sweet Castle that well, aside from them all deciding it'd be a good idea to get Twilight's mind off losing her library by hanging its dead roots in the middle of her new home. I actually was part of a joint review of "Rarity Investigates!", and it was also a Rarity episode, and had this great film noir thing going, so I remember that one better...

--Sweetie Belle

5176875 true. Just hope I'm not too tired to watch it.

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Well, in all honesty, "Rarity Investigates!" is the more memorable of the two overall and not just because it was the more recent one...

Methinks Spike will get a new title to his name after this episode

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I don't have high hopes for this episode; all three previous writing credits had rather unimaginative plots with slightly forced resolutions.

5176842 The only thing I'm hoping for is that it isn't yet another one that paints dragons as bad and that Spike shouldn't be proud to be one (that's my major beef with Dragon Quest). He was raised by and spends all of his time around ponies so of course he will see things from a pony's point of view, but there should still be something about his heritage that he could be proud of.

5176842 All I can say at this point is "Please be good!"

Usual scenario, usual scenario… wait, is Spike glowing?
…Well, that's new.

Dragonlord, lord of the dragonlands.
Edit: Did Garble go through puberty or something? His voice sounds deeper than I remember.
Double Edit: Torch is freaking hilarious.

So… much… worldbuilding…

I'm already shipping Garble and Flame's Torch's daughter (Didn't quite catch her name. I'm horrible with that.) {Edit} Ember. She's exactly the strong personality to put him in line.
I'm also betting she wins the crown, but shipping is more important.

5177248 Ember. Also, agree about worldbuilding.

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Ember is my new favorite dragon. Sorry Spike.
Even her armor is amazing.

I note that none of the larger dragons are competing (we've seen them before). I suppose that could be explained away as only the young being allowed to compete by the mysterious Dragon Laws, the way the Lord is being forced to abdicate for no clear reason.

Dragons wear armor and walk upright. I can officially have grounds for a upright walking, sword toting, armor wearing dragon. Woot!

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Dragons do kinda seem like scaly griffins...

--Sweetie Belle

5177260 Agreed. Love her design and armor. Also, where it's at, I think you were right about her keeping Garble in line.

Another unique ending theme. It seems we're getting one every episode, now.

I assume Ember will be one of the dragons visiting for the Christmas special later this season; I am officially excited!

(Twilight and Rarity never answered Ember's question about how they were able to get into the cave. Time to make up wild explanations.)

Spike gave best punishment, but I cannot tell you why

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I think they were competing. The dragons fried by the fire blast before they entered the mountain looked pretty big, at least. I think it was more that they failed hard and/or Spike et al were way ahead of them.

Unless you mean dragons like the Dragonquest dragon, in which case, I have nothing. Where is the Dragonquest dragon anyway? Is his Dragon Lord the next street over or something?

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Twilight teleported with Rarity!

--Sweetie Belle

Finally, a decent Spike episode. I loved the worldbuilding, plenty of lore, cool creatures, culture stuff, etc. I wouldn't say it's one of the best, but as someone who adores worldbuilding (and dragons), I can say that I really liked this episode. Ember rocked, I can see plenty of fanfictions arising, Garble was far more enjoyable than the first time round, and I do think that the dragons got presented in a better light. One thing that interested me is that Dragonlord seems to be a title that's handed the newest generation. We saw zero big dragons, aside from Torch, which gives me the impression that there's one Dragonlord per generation, and it's passed down once the new generation is old enough.

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That's not wild enough.

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That was a good punishment.

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Maybe dragons act the way they do 'cause Torch was setting the example, and now with Ember as a leader, they'll be nicer?

--Sweetie Belle

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Ponies are just naturally superior.

#Twilight4DragonLord2016

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You know, if Twilight could turn into a breezy, she should have been able to turn herself and Rarity into dragons, and really blend in. Would've been better then pretending to be rocks an' trees.

--Sweetie Belle

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#MakeEquestriaGreatAgain

-Lumino

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In that case, I propose:

That was a pretty good episode, and probably the best Spike episode so far. I really liked Princess Ember's character, she was so tsundere. Also, best dragon made an appearance:

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That probably would have come with its own set of problems!

Like being expected to run through the chompy stalactites.

Far better to be in the duck blind, observing the primitive nonpony cultures, and following the Pone Directive in noninterference.

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How else is Twilight supposed to become Dragon Lord, tho'?

Of course, they could've just trusted Spike to do his best and waited for him...

--Sweetie Belle

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Well at least they have their puppet government in place now. Soon all will bow to Celestia.

5177293 Ah yeah. Missed her.
5177284 I do hope so.

I also note that, despite Twilight being a powerfully magical Alicorn, she behaved as if she had no defense against Garble should he decide to attack. This could be interpreted as evidence that Alicorns aren't nearly as OP as the fandom makes them out to be, or that dragons are an entire OP species.

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There were a number of much larger dragons that appeared both in Dragon Quest and (I think) when they first arrive in this episode; but they all disappear by the time the Lord starts talking. The one from Dragonshy, for instance, was smaller than the Dragon Lord, but not by much.

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I half-expected that, but I think it would have taken attention away from Spike. And I think someone really wanted to make visual gags about camouflage.

5177292
Much better.

--Sweetie Belle

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Is this the start of a Spike-centered arc? Maybe we'll even learn where he came from!

Hey guys! Do you know what Rarity was in this episode?

A peeping Tom

-Lumino

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If these things work out the way they usually do, wouldn't he be Torch's long-lost son?

--Sweetie Belle

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They should be glad Maud didn't see them like that...

--Sweetie Belle

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I'd be okay with that. Not only would it somewhat fit with my headcanon that Spike is royalty, he'd have the best sister ever.

5176842 This week on My Little Pony, Rarity and Twilight play Prop Hunt.

5176842 Thank the stars above this turned out good!

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Why does nobody ever thank the rocks below? Poor rocks, they're the ones carrying around everyone's weight, but the stars get all the credit just for looking nice…
#RockAppreciationTime

I really enjoyed Twilight and Rarity huggling while dressed as goddamn rocks. That dragon's stupid grin after Garble hugged him in the cave was hilarious to me too.

Did Torch have an Australian accent or was that me being terrible at recognising accents?

Let the Tsundere Dragon Lord shipping begin~

Guys, I can't find the episode. All I got was some How to Train your Dragon show.

Whatever it was, I really liked the characters in this. I liked Ember a whole lot (she reminds me a lot of Gilda) and I got great mileage out of Torch (although I personally think Bonfire might have suited him better).

I think it'd have been weird if Twilight and Rarity managed to nick the Magic Dragon Stick, though. But I guess that wouldn't have fit the episode much.

I really do like episodes with a bit more adventure in them. This one was pretty cool. I can't say I'm a super-big fan of Spike, but it's hard not to like an episode with a bit of oomph to it. The stakes were even pretty high too. Get the Magic Boomstick or Equestria gets dragon'd. That's neato burrito.

An edited down version of my first impressions review on the episode:

(SPOILERS!)

A Spike episode that doesn't suck!? Holy Macerole!

I kid. Spike's reputation has been trodden down by just a few notable bad episodes, with the rest of his record having quite a few really good entries (A Dog and Pony Show, Secret of My Excess)

This one's no different. Spike does a lot to sacrifice for his friends in this episode, putting his life on the line to protect those he loves. Plus we get to see a lot of new characters, such as Dragon Lord Torch (Matt Cowlrick), and Torch's daughter, Princess Ember (Ali Milner). Garble is back, too, still voiced by Vincent Tong.

This time, instead of all dragons being portrayed as brutish sociopaths, they are more diverse. Sure, they are still brutes, but they have their own personalities and quirks, too. Lord Torch is a demanding, strength-obsessed leader. His relationship with his daughter Ember is a little cliche; it's the whole father not wanting his daughter in danger; the daughter wanting to prove she is capable and strong to her father thing. But hey, it's not a bad portrayal.

The premise is that Lord Torch has summoned all dragons to participate in the Gauntlet of Fire, an event where dragons compete to find the royal Bloodstone Scepter, and thus claim title as next Dragon Lord. Lord Torch's attitude towards the competition is fairly amusing. Despite feeling sad that he's stepping down from his reign, he's still as vigorous and uproarious to his subjects as ever.

Princess Ember is not the most interesting character, but she's alright. She and Spike eventually team up to help one another win the competition. Though at one point Ember abandons Spike, saying she can't accept his friendship because "Dragon's don't do friendship." Then a scene later she's back, apologizing. This part of the story could have been dropped with no consequence whatsoever.

Despite the familiar elements within the story, Gauntlet of Fire is a strong entry. It has some nice humor, interesting new settings and characters, and puts Spike in a good light. He is a hero, through and through.