My Little Pony

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Sun Dec 01, 2013 7:57 pm

Radio Blue Heart wrote:Does this mean that Shadow Pony is being set up as a new villain?

There is really no way to tell until they use him/her again. That is exactly what a lot of people are speculating since they said they are going with a season long story arc. However it could easily have just been a classic, "But the ghost was actually real all along." ending that a bunch of tv shows use.

Macsen · Post by **Macsen** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:07 am

Radio Blue Heart wrote:

The universe will never be the same again!!!

Actually, this makes all the sense in the world.

The Blue Fox · Post by **The Blue Fox** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:41 am

Yeah I'm a brony.
It's just the best cartoon series I've seen in years. Cartoons just haven't been that good a-quality of late...
Most modern boys 'toons are all about cardboard cut-out heroes with powers endlessly battling a cardboard cut-out lineup of villains.
And I can't really think of very many girls 'toons that've been made recently. Littlest Pet Shop? Winx Club maybe? That's about it...
Can't say I've ever actually been LOOKING for girls toons, mind...
...but yeah for girls it seems to be all live action shows about teens living teen life and experiencing the stresses and dramas therein.

I actually wasn't really aware Gen 4 existed before the New Year 2012...then I started seeing pony memes and video clips from the show...
...I was drawn in by the sonic rainbooms, and by Valentine's Day that year I was watching full-length episodes on Youtube...and enjoying it!

On May that year, I created a ponysona for myself with a friend...and I never looked back.

I couldn't believe all those rumours of a 4th season after the Season 3 finale...that finale had all the hallmarks of a series finale...yet here we are with Season 4 underway!

I hate the fact that Hasbro made S3 only half the length though...they coulda EASILY filled in the latter half of 13 episodes with an arc centering around the equestria games, where our Mane 6 would represent Ponyville and take part in various contests, depending on what they're good at...such as;
- contests of strength for Applejack
- contests of speed for Rainbow Dash
- contests of concentration and magical dexterity for Twilight
- contests involving animals for Fluttershy
I dunno if there's anything sporty that Rarity or Pinkie can do but maybe Rarity can launch a line of sportswear and have her friends model it in the contests...that would drum up some big business for her...and Pinkie can be a cheerleader for Ponyville and maybe help provide the team with refreshments.

Also, Twilight's ascension to Alicorn princess felt to me like it came too soon...maybe S3's half-length contributed to that, I dunno.

Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:50 am

they only had a half season because they were also making Equestria girls.
and as for the Equestria Games, it seems they're going to happen this season. Not sure how big a part the Mane 6 will play, but at least it isn;t going to be left unaddressed.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 1:04 pm

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:they only had a half season because they were also making Equestria girls.
and as for the Equestria Games, it seems they're going to happen this season. Not sure how big a part the Mane 6 will play, but at least it isn;t going to be left unaddressed.

That is only part of the reason. The other bigger reason is 65 episodes (which they reached with season 3) is a normal syndication package for cartoons. They can now easily sell FIM to other stations to show, if they wanted to.

The Blue Fox · Post by **The Blue Fox** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 1:17 pm

Maaan, BUCK Equestria Girls, man. >_<
Okay, I don't mind the fact that Hasbro tried to connect with us bronies by making anthro versions of our favourite ponies in another world...
What I DO mind, however, is that they went for a "High School Musical" angle with it...
and I'm pretty sure everyone's had quite enough with kids shows being set in high schools all the time. <_<

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Mon Dec 02, 2013 8:14 pm

Alternate Synopsis for Flight to the Finish Well this one, to me anyway, just screams Scootaloo learns she can't fly; and that carrying the flag the best way she can is what will represent Ponyville best.

Post by **Sleet** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 1:21 am

Equestria Girls was not to connect with adult fans. It was to attempt to break into a new doll market.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 1:28 am

Sleet wrote:Equestria Girls was not to connect with adult fans. It was to attempt to break into a new doll market.

Specifically to compete with Mattel and Monster High IIRC. The toys sold pretty poorly as well from what I heard.

Also anyone here ever watch the G1 show or specials? I started watching them a few days ago just for the heck of it and really once you get pasted the bad 80s animation its really not half bad. I mean its not really good but its not any worse then any other 80s cartoon from its time really.

Penwrite · Post by **Penwrite** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 12:18 pm

IceKitsune wrote:
Sleet wrote:Equestria Girls was not to connect with adult fans. It was to attempt to break into a new doll market.
Specifically to compete with Mattel and Monster High IIRC. The toys sold pretty poorly as well from what I heard.

Also anyone here ever watch the G1 show or specials? I started watching them a few days ago just for the heck of it and really once you get pasted the bad 80s animation its really not half bad. I mean its not really good but its not any worse then any other 80s cartoon from its time really.

I've watched G1. It actually isn't all that bad, beyond the animation. I'd even go as far as to say that the specials with Tirek and Grogar, two AWESOME villains, are actually good. Buuuut that's just me.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 3:00 pm

Ok I just finished The Return of Tambelon, that was really really good. I will say if you have ever thought about watching anything G1 but haven't yet I would seriously consider at least watching both The Return of Tambelon and The Movie. Grogar is a really good villain IMO, better then Tirek, (though I admit I watched the two part TV run of Escape from Midnight Castle so maybe some cool things were cut out for time or something. I find this pretty likely because I found Escape from Midnight Castle to be pretty weak overall.) if they brought him back in G4 I would be really darn happy. Also I now actually want to see a crossover special between G1 and G4 even if its just them bringing back an older Megan, Molly and/or Danny.

Edit: Alright just finished all of G1 (might move on to G2 just because its short.) Over all its actually pretty good. It has a ton of nice concepts (and you can see where G4 has taken inspiration from it, and not just in terms of characters) that are some times weirdly or poorly executed. Also a major reason (among a few others) I would love to see a G1/G4 Crossover: I would love to just see a part where Twilight and Wind Whistler just talk, uninterrupted for about a good 5 minutes. Heck those two on screen together talking for any real length of time about almost anything would be seriously awesome IMO. (For those that haven't watched G1 Wind Whistler is somewhat a pony version of Spock; basically in the same way that Discord is the MLP version of Q.)

Radio Blue Heart · Post by **Radio Blue Heart** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 6:39 pm

I don't mind G1. The pilot episode had great animation, but the rest of the series must of had a lower budget. One thing I thought was weird was that the character of Megan went from dressing like a farm girl to a homemaker. The addition of her siblings just annoyed me.

You have to admit that the witches were pretty lame villains. The mother sounds like "Mom" from "Futurama".

One thing that G1 gave us it all they crazy fan stuff that popped up when the older generations were unearthed.

Like this awesome comic!

I highly doubt that they will introduce humans to the pony world after the "Equestria Girls".

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 7:02 pm

The witches were pretty lame its good that they only show up in the movie and End of Flutter Valley though. Hydia was voiced by Tress MacNeille (Mom,Gadget, ect) in the series. (in the Movie she was voiced by Cloris Leachman, in fact the Movie had a lot of big named actors in it for its time really)

Also a thing I found interesting about the voice work for the series; Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson) voiced one of my personal favorite characters Gusty in the series. (though my number 1 favorite is Wind Whistler for sure) I also found myself actually liking Megan quite a bit more then I though. Really her Danny and Molly are about the only human characters I think would be acceptable to put in G4 for like a Special or Movie since they are legacy characters.

Another thing I want to bring up is the fact that the G4 fandom really, really ignores Bonnie Zacherle,Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno. (the latter two are borderline unknown to anyone in this fandom from what I've seen. I mean at least Bonnie has an Alicorn OC made by the fandom even if its rarely used.) I really think its very sad that they are ignored and everyone pushes Faust over them. Not that I'm discounting Faust's work here mind you, its just G4 wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for those 3.

Penwrite · Post by **Penwrite** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:33 pm

I agree with you there, my friend. Faust deserves our appreciation for bringing MLP back better than ever, but those three deserve our appreciation too.

Edit: finally managed to watch Castle-Mania. I do believe this is going into my top five.

Radio Blue Heart · Post by **Radio Blue Heart** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 6:18 pm

Kitch wrote:
Radio Blue Heart wrote:

The universe will never be the same again!!!
Actually, this makes all the sense in the world.

"Its the Happy Helmet, Gilda! Now you'll always be happy! And I use this dial to control how happy you are!"

"You sick little monkey! Why I ought to..!"

Penwrite wrote:I agree with you there, my friend. Faust deserves our appreciation for bringing MLP back better than ever, but those three deserve our appreciation too.

Edit: finally managed to watch Castle-Mania. I do believe this is going into my top five.

Indeed. Some of the past generations you can tell that the creators just cynically threw them together. Faust really brought her A Game to Friendship is Magic. She literally turned nothing into something. Mostly in developing the characters and making them deep and well rounded.

Also, the past generations gave us some HILARIOUS commentaries from Pony Pokey.

Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:30 pm

Radio Blue Heart wrote:
Kitch wrote:
Radio Blue Heart wrote:

The universe will never be the same again!!!
Actually, this makes all the sense in the world.

"Its the Happy Helmet, Gilda! Now you'll always be happy! And I use this dial to control how happy you are!"

"You sick little monkey! Why I ought to..!"

*sings Pinkie Pinkie Pie Pie*

Edit: this is done now

Post by **Sleet** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 2:49 am

Cuteness. Though why does she need her mouth to use a pickaxe? She's a unicorn!

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 3:07 am

Well Sweetie Belle isn't good with magic so she couldn't. Also to make it closer to the actual game I guess? That really was adorable as heck. Jan always does good stuff

Edit: Well that was a good episode, I really really enjoyed RD in this one (her reaction faces were amazing and adorable) Her fangirling over meeting Daring Do was very nice, as was her and Twilight's debate over the books story. I liked that they made Daring real (even if it was spoiled by any previews for the episode) that is going to be fun to see what the fandom does with that. I have to admit for a while I was expecting it to turn out to be RD writing a fanfic at the end.

However some of the bad things about this episode were the mane 6 doing NOTHING to help Daring when she was getting beat up in her house. Also the fact that Daring Do looks like a color swapped RD was not commented on at all though I guess you could chalk that up to its pretty common in Equestria for that to happen. Over all I would give it a 7/10 not as good a the others but still high up there.

Sat Dec 07, 2013 2:08 pm

IceKitsune wrote:However some of the bad things about this episode were the mane 6 doing NOTHING to help Daring when she was getting beat up in her house.

If you just found out that the author of a popular book series was actually the main character, would you be able to get past the initial shock fast enough to help, especially when she appeared to be handling it well enough until the very end?

I love How well RD and Twi illustrated fandoms: arguments about trivia, being overly excited for a big development and expecting everyone else to be just as excited, claiming to be the biggest fan even if you personally someone who's just as big or bigger of a fan, Giving up on life when the big development is delayed.

now I wonder How daring handled that final fight in the book. I assume most of the adventure happened before the episode, so she would have to just randomly introduce new characters near the end. though I guess RD being on the cover means that what we saw may have been the entire adventure, but then only RD's part in the final confrontation would make sense from a writing standpoint: She appeared at the beginning in Daring's house claiming to be a fan of her work, tried to help on the adventure and seemingly got DD captured, then came in at the end and proved to not be useless. But the rest of the main 6 only appear once at the beginning and then again in the climax. I suppose she could have gotten the story of what happened with their group while she wasn't with them, or maybe give them a bigger part at the beginning. don't mind this part if it's too long, just random ramblings of thought.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 5:33 pm

I just think it took the mane 6 (who have saved the world multiple times) a little too long to get over the surprise is all. I think it might have been more that they drug the scene out a bit to long perhaps, rather then them getting over the shock of that not being realistic.

The really weird thing is headcanon and fan fiction wise this brought quite a few fan fics closer to show canon then before that I thought would never be (ones that had Daring as a real person) and destroyed some that I though would be far more accurate. As for how she likely handled it in the book I would guess she just kind of reworked anything that she already wrote to fit in Dash at least. I would guess the other 5 are left out simply because they didn't do much.

However I think a better question is does Celestia know about Daring Do? I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't know at least something, I mean apparently Do lives just on the other side of the Galloping Gorge or close to it so she isn't that far away.

Edit:You know I think this episode is the first time we've seen legit Pony criminals, as far as I can remember no average pony has been an actual criminal before; and the only one who has was Luna and she was likely possessed or something.

Sat Dec 07, 2013 11:47 pm

IceKitsune wrote:As for how she likely handled it in the book I would guess she just kind of reworked anything that she already wrote to fit in Dash at least. I would guess the other 5 are left out simply because they didn't do much.

while it's true that they didn't do much, rewriting the final scene to not include them would take more than just leaving them out. Either she kept the fact that she needed help lifting the rings from the pedestal and needs another character to keep ahuizotl distracted, or she has dash distracting him while she lifts the rings. I suppose it the second option wouldn't be too much of a problem, but then she would't be able to include herself throwing the "you can flap too, you know" line back at Dash.I think she'd at least keep one of the Mane 6 (or a character in their place) to fill the distraction role.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 11:52 pm

That is a good point, I would think from a book sales perspective if she did keep at least one of them it would be Twilight since she is a new princess and all.

Also this is a thing that came out PONIES The Anthology III

Foxstar · Post by **Foxstar** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:42 am

I thought it was a good ep and in a way it was a fairly firm poke to fans who get too caught up in things. Not that those fans will listen of course.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:03 pm

This wasn't something I mentioned at first but when I first watched the episode I found Twilight's line that the 6 of them were in over their heads to be a bit of a problem. However when I watched the episode again and thought about it a bit more it actually makes sense. While they have saved the world quite a few times all of those times were with the Elements, which they no longer have anymore. The only time they did try to save the world with out them (Canterlot Wedding) they lost and were captured. So yeah without the elements its logical for Twilight to think they would have been in over their heads in a fight with thugs and whatever you would consider Ahuizotl.

JeffCvt · Post by **JeffCvt** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:47 pm

I leave this here for you all to see.

Post by **Sleet** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 1:55 am

As contrived as "Daring Do is real" is, that episode was great enough it's totally worth it.

Is it just me or is this the debut of any serious pony-on-pony violence in the show?

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 1:59 am

Sleet wrote:As contrived as "Daring Do is real" is, that episode was great enough it's totally worth it.

Is it just me or is this the debut of any serious pony-on-pony violence in the show?

Yep it is, its also the first time we have seen actual pony criminals on the show.

The Blue Fox · Post by **The Blue Fox** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:31 am

JeffCvt wrote:I leave this here for you all to see.

Whoa...owo...that...actually sorta makes sense...I never woulda thought of that...mind officially blown.

Penwrite · Post by **Penwrite** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:40 am

IceKitsune wrote:This wasn't something I mentioned at first but when I first watched the episode I found Twilight's line that the 6 of them were in over their heads to be a bit of a problem. However when I watched the episode again and thought about it a bit more it actually makes sense. While they have saved the world quite a few times all of those times were with the Elements, which they no longer have anymore. The only time they did try to save the world with out them (Canterlot Wedding) they lost and were captured. So yeah without the elements its logical for Twilight to think they would have been in over their heads in a fight with thugs and whatever you would consider Ahuizotl.

You forget that they also didn't have the Elements when going to save the world from King Sombra, and there it was only dumb luck that let them win.

On a different topic, I haven't seen it discussed here yet, but there's been an official soundtrack release. You can find an album containing remastered versions of such classics as Winter Wrap-up and Find a Pet on iTunes. Pretty awesome, right?

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 4:29 pm

Penwrite wrote:
IceKitsune wrote:This wasn't something I mentioned at first but when I first watched the episode I found Twilight's line that the 6 of them were in over their heads to be a bit of a problem. However when I watched the episode again and thought about it a bit more it actually makes sense. While they have saved the world quite a few times all of those times were with the Elements, which they no longer have anymore. The only time they did try to save the world with out them (Canterlot Wedding) they lost and were captured. So yeah without the elements its logical for Twilight to think they would have been in over their heads in a fight with thugs and whatever you would consider Ahuizotl.
You forget that they also didn't have the Elements when going to save the world from King Sombra, and there it was only dumb luck that let them win.

On a different topic, I haven't seen it discussed here yet, but there's been an official soundtrack release. You can find an album containing remastered versions of such classics as Winter Wrap-up and Find a Pet on iTunes. Pretty awesome, right?

They had the Crystal Heart and Sombra was clearly going to win before that came into play. As for the Soundtrack yeah its pretty cool and I might pick it up eventually. They did put a good selection on there.

Penwrite · Post by **Penwrite** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:09 pm

Well yes they had the Heart, but only thanks to luck. If Spike had gone with Twilight down the stairs from the get-go, he would've been caught by the evil door with her, and so wouldn't have been able to snap her from its spell. It was only by waiting, and then going after her that let things turn out okay.

I hope we get another album with the rest of the songs someday. I wonder what went into picking those songs specifically.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:15 pm

Still that doesn't discount the fact that Twilight thinking they were in over their head was a logical thing to think like some people are saying. The only time they have ever directly confronted an enemy in a fight they lost.

The songs were likely chosen at random or are just Ingrams Favorites from those seasons.

Macsen · Post by **Macsen** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 2:30 pm

I like how "Daring Don't" played out. Especially the Foe Yay between Daring Do and Ahuizotl.

Penwrite · Post by **Penwrite** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 4:01 pm

The expressions on this show just get better and better.

JeffCvt · Post by **JeffCvt** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 6:24 pm

Penwrite wrote:The expressions on this show just get better and better.

^My thoughts when I saw that expression.

It looks a lot creepier in that gif than in seemed in the show though. (It didn't seem creepy in the show at all to be honest)

Post by **Sleet** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:19 am

You like Krabby Patties, don't you, Twilight?

Macsen · Post by **Macsen** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:06 am

JeffCvt wrote:
Penwrite wrote:The expressions on this show just get better and better.
^My thoughts when I saw that expression.

It looks a lot creepier in that gif than in seemed in the show though. (It didn't seem creepy in the show at all to be honest)

I think it has to be seen in context. I mean, she's seeing a scene she that she'd only read about previously. She's biting her lip.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:43 am

Episode 9 Announced Just the title Pinkie Apple Pie nothing more yet. From the title its obviously the one with the Apples to the Core song

Kyderra · Post by **Kyderra** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 10:11 am

Just gotten this in the mail

Best 99 cents spend this year

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:31 am

That is actually very adorable Kyderra.

I really liked this episode quite a bit, more then the last one and I thought that one was already good. I both liked and disliked that they kept Scootaloo being able to fly or not somewhat ambiguous. The only thing I disliked about how they handled it was they only kept it ambiguous at the end, and not throughout the episode so it kind of comes across to me as being kind of a last minute change. Like originally they were going to just outright say she can't but at the last minute decided it would be better if it was vague. The vagueness seems rather superficial and tact on IMO. However it really was nice that they did at least try to keep it a bit up in the air as well, as its more fun that way.

Outside of that I really, really loved the song in this episode and the cameo from Harshwhinny was nice to see. Also Dash being overly excited again was adorable especially her trying to be Professional. The interactions of the CMC with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were great. I also loved when Scootaloo was working Applebloom and Sweetie Belle to exhaustion that part was really well done. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo getting more bonding is always a massive plus IMO and this episode had a good amount of it.

Also Scootaloo has a house.

Overall I give this one an 8.5/10 really good one of the best of the season so far.