Hello, darkness, my old friend...

Okay, it's Australian release time again, and this time, it's "Sounds of Silence", by Gregory Bonsignore. Um, not sure who that is. Let me check.

Previous writing credits include In Plain Sight, Three Rivers, Lie to Me, Squad 85, Bunheads, Homeland, and Transformers: Rescue Bots.

Um, okay. Still not sure who that is. But he wrote this, anyways.

And the title is "Sounds of Silence". Maybe this is like the Buffy the Vampire episode "Hush", where The Gentlemen come to town and no one can talk? Villains that make everypony lose their voices would be kinda creepy. It certainly was there.

Anyways, this is the episode discussion thread, so feel free to discuss anything about this episode here!

--Sweetie Belle

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Ready to discuss silence, then?

(Though I haven't watched it yet, naturally.)

--Sweetie Belle

Is this the episode with the Kirin?

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I have yet to see the episode. I just wanted to post that.

If Autumn Blaze doesn't become the hot new character for everyone to make fan fics about I'll be shocked. Prepare yourselves Kirin based fan fics are coming in droves. Their design is great, their lore is open, and they turn into fiery rage monsters when they get angry.

6564185 So chinese unicorns are canon now? Yay!

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That's it I'm calling it, first the hippogriffs now the Kirin, the staff at mlp are afraid to have actual hybrid characters they don't want to entertain the idea that two different creatchers could create a hybrid, so they turn all the opportunities to do that into there own races.

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This, I seem to behind a lot of folks.

So... There's a chance for Sparity?

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The anti-Kirin fiery rage monsters are called... Nirik.

Are y'all even tryin'?

Episode needed some tension and scares. They had about ten seconds of suspense, it could have used maybe five minutes' worth.

I feel a fixfic coming on, I should probably go lie down until it passes.

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Yeah it sounds... uninspiring

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Those Kirin were adorable. Spike shipping material for days.

One of the best episodes of season 8, and best songs.

I just saw the episode and I am so excited; these guys have Pyrokinesis.

After so long, there is finally a equine-esque species in the show that isn't antagonistic and can use fire! (Cue the 1812 Overture finale bit!)

I am sssoooooo going to be using this in my fanfic.

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Both Kirin and Nirik are from Chinese mythology. Kirin become Nirik when in the presence of people with bad/impure intentions.

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Finally, another Applejack episode. It's been a while since we've had one of those. I also love the addition of the Kirin to the Equestria universe, we get to see some more creatures from Asian mythology. I also liked how they were introduced by not talking and were communicating either by pointing or sign language, that was an interesting touch. I also like how their rage forms are controlled by will and can change from that and back to their original forms. A kind of mind over matter creatures.

And it's time for the us release of this episode!

--Sweetie Belle

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I think both Mitch and DGJabberwocky were referring to the name. Mind you, given what the writers were going for, I can't really think of a better alternative. It's not like in Xiaolin Showdown where Xiaolin (or Shaolin, to use the more standard spelling) means Little Forest, and you can swap out 'little' for 'black' to get Heylin.

Also, was it just me or was Applejack's normal talking voice extra loud this episode?

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Woo-hoo! Another Applejack/Fluttershy episode. Or should I say:

I've been waiting for this tag-up since Viva Las Pegasus! I will say, though AJ is the best pony, the new writer made AJ a little overbearing. But the song was awesome! Best song of the season! And the way AJ and Fluttershy talked in unison, it reminded me of the way AJ and Pinkie Pie talked in Hearthbreakers. Maybe Applejack has another cousin in Ponyville?

I just wish that this had been a two-parter, with AJ and Fluttershy actually dunked in the stream and losing their voices. It would have been interesting to see that. Although, they could do a follow-up with Pinkie Pie getting dunked. Now that would be a lot of fun to watch.

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Oh yeah, the song was definitely very good.

I was a bit confused at the dunking scene, at first. Applejack and Fluttershy were clearly above the water when Autumn Breeze told the kirin to put them down. I initially thought the kirin dropped AJ and Fluttershy out of surprise, which would have meant both ponies taking a dip in the stream. That they ended up on dry land instead confused me.

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No, they set them down on dry land. I really thought it'd be great if Applejack and Fluttershy couldn't talk. It'd be like the prison scene in Starlight's village.

But you know who should be dunked in the stream?

Big Mac! Or DJ Pon-3!

Dreadnought

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It kind of makes sense for them to have another team up. Because they barely did anything in the movie and having them team up a second time might counteract that mistake, to show that they do exist. I'm sorry, that still irks me.

Autumn Blaze is my Favorite Kirin for me =3

Which Kirin do y'all like as a Favorite? =3

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Oh, you have no idea! I wore my favorite Applejack shirt to the movie, and by the end I was half-happy... happy that we finally had the movie, but sad that Applejack and Fluttershy were minimized. But, on the other hand, Ashleigh Ball and Andrea Libman weren't marginalized - Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had plenty of screen time. The writer's did say at EQLA that they had plans for AJ and FS, but their scenes were cut for time and pacing. But they did say if they get to make another G4 movie, they would try to showcase those two more. We can only hope. Until then, I'll keep writing AJ fanfiction and trying to convert those Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy fans to come back from the dark side.

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It was still a little strange to see that even Rarity and Spike had more screen time in the movie than AJ or Fluttershy, and those two were mainly used for comic reliefs. Not that's a bad thing, but even they didn't have much a role in the movie like the rest of the cast. Especially with the amount of development Rarity went through, you'd think they would use her more often.

the amount of development Rarity went through

Not sure what you mean. Could you explain?

I'm just watching it again for Berrytube comments, and I noticed a few things.

Firstly, that train conductor pony reminded me of a Courage the Cowardly Dog character.

Secondly, does this episode mean Twilight is part kirin?

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I thought the train conductor was a little nuts. Maybe being stationed way out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and nobody else makes one go crazy.

Secondly, does this episode mean Twilight is part kirin?

What makes you say that?

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To be fair, I'm only basing my assessment of Twilight being part-Kirin on one scene where she gets so angry, she bursts into flames. It's probably too loose a connection to be tenable.

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I think I remember that. Wasn't that in "Feeling Pinkie Keen"? I think that it was done more for cartoonish comic relief than to give clues to her heritage. But your theory would make a great fanfic prompt.

I'm actually hoping that the Kirin send a student to the School of Friendship