My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season 8 |OT| Princess Twilight's Animal House

[SigmasonicX]

The MLP movie is available on Epix for streaming for people who have that, but yeah, I'd certainly prefer it on Netflix.

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Haven't heard of Epix. Looking it up, it seems like Lionsgate has a deal with them, which explains why The Movie is there.

I haven't been watching live this season, to be honest. Not out of disinterest, though. Still keeping up with the show... and the art.

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That's fine, plenty of people wait for it to come on Netflix. What episode are you up to? And come to think of it, you mentioned the season, but have you been watching the new Equestria Girls stories?

On another note,
If I'm fake I ain't notice cause my money ain't by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt

Chat story based on this coming to the Community thread a bit later.

And two videos


Cute animation



Short and dumb

 

[Strider_Blaze]

Opening Night

 

[SigmasonicX]

Will check that out later, of course. Same with this nah, I can get away with watching this at work.


Some good gags in this one. "How to Be a Scumbag... Or President"

New Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight: Dropping In.

For those who didn't notice, in my earlier post mentioning the end of the fan comic Timey Wimey, I edited in a review of it. I ended up gushing about the Far Future Twilight design used in the epilogue in the chat. (Not embedding because on mobile).
One
Two
Three

Rainbow Power without the cutie mark breakout. This wouldn't be a good look for Twilight in the present, but it really works for an older more Celestia-like Twilight in a way that keeping her hair pattern doesn't. See that brief moment her hair was flowing at the start of "Twilight's Kingdom part 2", and other Older Twilight art (of which there is less than I expected). Her armor is good too, and the multicolored wings. Could go without that crown.

The following episode is airing in Australia in about three hours, for those who weren't taught FSL.
19. On the Road to Friendship - September 1 (August 15 France Discussion) (August 17 Australia)
When Trixie is invited to bring her magic show to the far off land of Saddle Arabia, she can think of nopony better to bring along than her great and powerful assistant, Starlight-but, not all friends are meant to travel together.

 

[Sylvee]

Watched Road to Friendship:

Spoiler

A bit lackluster, not the worst thing ever and definitely some highlights (especially the expressions, they were definitely having a ton of fun with those) but as a whole one of the weaker Starlight+Trixie episodes, although it's got tough competition. I think my biggest problem is that a lot of the problems they had felt like they were due to previously unestablished character traits that they had, like Starlight's snoring, rather then flaws that came out due to continued exposure to each other. All Bottled Up felt better in that regard. Also I figured that their proof of friendship would be them redoing the botched magic show, which would have felt more fitting instead of them trying to invent their own Sunshine Sunshine. The main conflict is not amazing, but there's some fun interactions and jokes so as a whole it's good but not great. I feel like it's a bit weaker then All Bottled Up.

 

[UberTag]

Opening Night

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I laughed for like 30 seconds over Rarity's expectedly hammy performance.

Everything about that clip is gold.
Rainbow's bad acting.
Fluttershy's shivering as you decide who to choose.
Sunset's BS "it's all a metaphor" solution.
Comedic gold.

Watched Road to Friendship:

Spoiler

A bit lackluster, not the worst thing ever and definitely some highlights (especially the expressions, they were definitely having a ton of fun with those) but as a whole one of the weaker Starlight+Trixie episodes, although it's got tough competition. I think my biggest problem is that a lot of the problems they had felt like they were due to previously unestablished character traits that they had, like Starlight's snoring, rather then flaws that came out due to continued exposure to each other. All Bottled Up felt better in that regard. Also I figured that their proof of friendship would be them redoing the botched magic show, which would have felt more fitting instead of them trying to invent their own Sunshine Sunshine. The main conflict is not amazing, but there's some fun interactions and jokes so as a whole it's good but not great. I feel like it's a bit weaker then All Bottled Up.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

Well, if one wants to be technical, Trixie's sleeptalking tendencies are an established character trait as that was introduced in To Where and Back Again. And we've witnessed Starlight snoring in both A Royal Problem and Rock Solid Friendship; granted, not so loudly but it wasn't a plot point there and the volume one snores does have a tendency to fluctuate in a variety of conditions.

No Second Prances is easily the strongest of the StarTrix episodes - and, while I'll agree that the conflict in All Bottled Up came off as more naturally developed given the characters established idiosyncrasies there are aspects of that ep I'm not especially crazy about such as the largely conflict-free Mane 6 escape room subplot where they pretty much just escape and sing a song about it and the utilization of Granny Smith, Bulk Biceps and the pony jeweler one-shot character as vessels for GlimGlam's harnessed anger.

Whereas I feel On the Road to Friendship is heavily bolstered by the exceptional number of sequences featuring Starlight and Trixie being adorable, the strength of the musical number and, most importantly, its use of Trixie as the central protagonist instead of Starlight - which is, frankly, something we haven't seen before. She was portrayed as both earnest and vulnerable as opposed to the snide, cocksure while occasionally self-deprecating Trixie we've largely grown to love through Starlight's eyes and no one else's. This was the biggest surprise from this episode for me as it broke with convention.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Opening Night

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I thought Rarity's acting was just what you'd expect, so I didn't find it especially funny, but damn, that disco dancing.

Instantly became a stream emote.

Pairing up SciTwi and Flash as the parents, bad move whoever decided that.

Choose Twilight Sparkle
* Wait, they're going with full names for these choices now?
* This is the straightforward option, no real surprises here.

Choose Sunset Shimmer
* Well that sure is something. I am in awe of Sunset's improv skills.

Choose Applejack
* And another improv, though this makes a bit more sense. You know, except that they had an apple tree costume when that apparently plays no role in the play.

I hadn't heard anything about the last set of CYOA, so I didn't expect something this good in this set. It's right up there with the two Rarity based CYOA.

Hmm, the writer is Kelly D'Angelo. Is she new? (checks). Oh, she also wrote the CYOA where Twilight gets stressed about the play. That's all in terms of MLP, and her first listing at all was in 2012.

I realize I've forgotten to do followups for, well, all of the past EQG shorts. Well, I'll just do it for this and the previous one.

Constructive Criticism
1.Pinkie hammering on a board
2.Sunset cutely swaying - Also just noticed those tags: "adorasexy", "sexy". lol, Derpibooru peeps really need to calm down.

Spoiler: Screenshots 1

The art for this is from 7 months ago. Hard to believe it took that long for this to air "properly".
1.Rainbow and AJ by sagwamat

Spoiler: Art 1

Opening Night
1.Rarity and Bulk ballet
2.Super strength Sunset crushing coal into a diamond - Or I guess Rarity just put diamonds in all the coal because she's Rarity... nah, Sunset's strong.

Spoiler: Screenshots 2

1.Rarity as Selfie Soot by murai shinobu
2.AJ and Rainbow as the Fairy Bootmother by ryuu - Pretty sure I posted this as normal art before.
3.Sunset Shimmer by danielitamorales on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 2

And I have a lot of general art built up.
1. Plainity and Eyepatch - Undercover by Evergreen-Gemdust on DeviantArt
2. Not really art, but a funny edit - Rarity pulling a gun on Starswirl
3.Plainity and the background pony she was seated next to by shadowreindeer
4.MLP FIM - Plainity by Joakaha on DeviantArt
5. Filly Fluttershy - ATG2018 Day23 by Taurson on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 3

1.SteamPunk Shy by FanaticPanda on DeviantArt
2. Rarity - Winter Rara Winter Rara by PosionJoke on DeviantArt
3. Spike and Gilda - Aurora by INowISeeI on DeviantArt
4.Anthro Fluttershy by aonikaart
5.Moondancer crying over Twilight by urbanqhoul

Spoiler: Art 4

1.Detective Rarity and AJ by whitediamonds
2.Holiday Sunset [ATG 2018 D22] by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt
3. Pinkies - Oops I Did It Again [ATG 2018 D23] by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt
4. Overwatch reference - Fluttershy London Spitfire - Commission by LateCustomer on DeviantArt
5. Species swap - Sphere of swap: Smolder and Scootaloo by Sirzi on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 5

1.Trixie Lulamoon (Starlight Plush) by Vale-Bandicoot96 on DeviantArt
2.Cord and Shy (Discord and Fluttershy) by 1AN1 on DeviantArt
3. Starlight and Spike - Commission: Friendship Baking by DANMAKUMAN on DeviantArt
4.Rarity the Oakland A's fan by whitediamonds
5. Sunset - Wind of Change by tyuubatu on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 6

1.Rarity by tyuubatu on DeviantArt
2.Lightning Dust by tyuubatu on DeviantArt
3. Minor character - Valley Glamour by tyuubatu on DeviantArt
4.glasses sunset shimmer! by tohupo on DeviantArt
5.Wallflower Blush by erufi

Spoiler: Art 7

1.5 to 9 AJ and Rainbow by ryuu
2. Rainbow X Quibble Pants - my sunshine by MirtaSH on DeviantArt - This ship is going to be awkward when Quibble appears with a wife and daughter next time he appears, as implied by Patton Oswalt's wife and daughter recording voices for a Pony episode
3. Luna - pepoepo by Yzarc-Zorah on DeviantArt
4.Tacoshy by Miokomata on DeviantArt - Watch out for Sonata!
5. Chrysalis and Twilight plush - When No One's Around by KlaraPL on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 8

1. Twilight - Sparkle by Imbirgiana on DeviantArt
2. Twilight (followup of above) - Twily by Imbirgiana on DeviantArt
3.With Starlight by DraconidsMXZ on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 9

~~~

Taneysha Artist Interview and Spotlight by Equestria Daily. Interesting to hear that they're a professional artist. I do wonder what it is about Russia that makes Fallout Equestria have more lasting popularity there than seemingly anywhere else.

Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight: Anger Management by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

And with that, the next US episode is
17. The End in Friend - August 18 (August 10 Australia Discussion)
Rarity and Rainbow Dash begin to question why they are friends when they can't find anything they both like to do together.

 

[Chained Prometheus]

Thought Rarity's acting was just what you'd expect, so didn't find it especially funny, but damn, that disco dancing.

Instantly became a stream emote.

Pairing up SciTwi and Flash as the parents, bad move whoever decided that.

Choose Twilight Sparkle
* Wait, they're going with full names for these choices now?
* This is the straightforward option, no real surprises here.

Choose Sunset Shimmer
* Well that sure is something. I am in awe of Sunset's improv skills.

Choose Applejack
* And another improv, though this makes a bit more sense. You know, except that they had an apple tree costume when that apparently plays no role in the play.

I hadn't heard anything about the last set of CYOA, so I didn't expect something this good in this set. It's right up there with the two Rarity based CYOA.

Hmm, the writer is Kelly D'Angelo. Is she new? (checks). Oh, she also wrote the CYOA where Twilight gets stressed about the play. That's all in terms of MLP, and her first listing at all was in 2012.

I realize I've forgotten to do followups for, well, all of the past EQG shorts. Well, I'll just do it for this and the previous one.

Click to shrink...

That was pretty fun. The Sunset ending was the best, I think. Twilight and AJ were the more grounded and seemingly believable picks, but as someone who's actually had to save a play via improv midscene, I related to Sunset's awkward, hilarious plight on a spiritual level. That sort of improv almost never comes off flawlessly and is a bit more awkward than the AJ take on it was. Especially if it's a high school level play.

 

[Sylvee]

Spoiler: More Road to Friendship Stuff

No Second Prances is easily the strongest of the StarTrix episodes - and, while I'll agree that the conflict in All Bottled Up came off as more naturally developed given the characters established idiosyncrasies there are aspects of that ep I'm not especially crazy about such as the largely conflict-free Mane 6 escape room subplot where they pretty much just escape and sing a song about it and the utilization of Granny Smith, Bulk Biceps and the pony jeweler one-shot character as vessels for GlimGlam's harnessed anger.

Click to shrink...

The escape room stuff was largely pointless yeah, but as far as the Starlight+Trixie interactions go I thought it was pretty fun. I felt like it was better at having the conflicts revolve around established character traits, (largely Starlight's reluctance to call Trixie out being because of her fear of losing her first new friend she's made) The new episode does have a change of pace from the formula, but I felt like it lacked some of the character development All Bottled Up had.

Pairing up SciTwi and Flash as the parents, bad move whoever decided that.

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Blame it on the fact that Timber couldn't be in it.

 

[SigmasonicX]

The End in Friend
Alright, you guys were not so subtly hinting at your displeasure with this episode here and in the chat, so let's see how it is.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand

I liked it

I mean, I wouldn't include it in the recommended episode guide or anything, but there were a lot of cute moments, the story was generally pleasant, and I liked the frog. Oddest part was Starlight being the one to propose the book solution to Rarity and Rainbow's problem.

I liked the format of Twilight taking her students on a trip to observe Rarity and Rainbow's outing, only for her to have picked the worst possible time to do this. Rarity doodling during the buckball game reminds me of my sister when I was younger and tried to show her video games. I was kind of disappointed to see Rarity shopping, since I just assumed she made all of her own clothes, but I suppose we've never seen her make shoes, and that's all we saw her buying. Well, that and the sports jerseys later, but that's also something she wouldn't usually make on her own. I liked that Rainbow brought up the point about heels on horses. In the cave, it really was all Rainbow's fault that didn't go well. But with those gems breaking so easily, no wonder Maud wasn't impressed.

I get that Starlight is the guidance counselor, but her role in the episode really seemed like it was meant to be played by Twilight. The sequence of her talking to both of them in the counselor room was even very similar to what we saw in "PPOV". And as mentioned, that book thing is all Twilight. I was kind of surprised that Rarity doesn't read Daring Do books, but I suppose she never said she did in "Read It and Weep". Rarity says she doesn't like the way the action is described, even if she knows it's real, and this is explicitly the fourth book, so maybe there's something to Quibble thinking the books after the original trilogy are unrealistic and AK Yearling should examine how she describes the action now. At last, we finally get a story where Rainbow reads something besides Daring Do! Or tries to for a bit before giving up, anyway. I always did feel like the Shadow Spade novels going into a lot of detail about the clothing was an odd detail from "Rarity Investigates" that didn't connect to the noir detective aspect much, but it being important for the mysteries makes a lot of sense.

Aurora is... (checks) the hippogriff. So they had a connection to water even before the seapony thing. Controlling the tides seems pretty powerful. The ancient cultural treasures being brought up again about guarantees that they'll play a role in the finale, and I suspect the secret passage introduced here will too.

The way Rainbow and Rarity glanced at each other when the amulet went missing seemed to imply they suspected the entire thing was fake, but they seemed legitimately surprised at the end, so I guess they were just giving each other nasty looks.

I hope the amulet's glitter can clean itself up, or at least that Twilight planned to do something about it. Since Spike carried it everywhere (and it took a bit for me to remember he can fly now), I wonder what the heck he was doing to produce that path.

As I mentioned, I like the frog. It's just nice having a random mystical creature show up. Rarity knowing how to make a breath freshening snack out of random plants and a cloud is pretty neat, and it apparently even tastes good. Oh, and there's that boat too. I wonder if we'll learn more about how she knew how to make that, or if it will forever be a mystery.

A random door with the School of Friendship emblem on it... hmm... The fact that neither commented on it made me think they knew it was fake, along with the way they glanced at each other when Twilight described the quest, but they seemed legitimately surprised at the end, so I guess they were just giving each other nasty looks.

Overall, I found it a pleasant enough episode.

~~~

Neat new animation. The song is kind of badly recorded, though, to be honest.


Jeez, only up 5 hours and already close to 16k views. Magpiepony really is doing pretty well compared to other brony uploaders.

Oh right, Australian airings continue today.

20. The Washouts - September 8 (August 15 France Discussion) (August 18 Australia)
When Scootaloo becomes enamored with The Washouts, a touring group of stunt ponies, Rainbow Dash is concerned for her safety and worries that Scoot's day as her number one fan are over.

 

[Ogodei]

In this week's episode Twilight sets up a transparent crisis to save Rarity and Rainbow Dash's friendship. When Twilight reveals the crisis, Rarity and RD give each other the sideye like they know exactly what's being done... then they just go along with it.

Not a bad episode but it stretched itself sometimes.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Oh damn, I completely forgot about the CENSORED videos. There's one for every US episode except for this week's.

This one is especially hilarious. Like every line.


"Learning and (CENSORED)?! Could it get any better?!"


"Two whole weeks without (CENSORED)? How will Ocellus survive?"
My Little Pony Season 8 - Episode 15: The Hearth's Warming Club CENSORED! - YouTube

"I'm Plainity, and I love bland old normal stuff. No (CENSORED) for me."
My Little Pony Season 8 - Episode 16: Friendship University CENSORED! - YouTube

And now to respond to previous posts about "The End in Friend"... and not much to really have a back and forth about. But I did manage to get something to write about in the chat. I'll just post the chat logs, so I don't have to write it out again.

Spoiler: Chat

SigmasonicXToday at 8:59 PM
Hmm, The End in Friend thoughts in the thread don't give much to respond to. People who didn't post anything about it in the thread, what did you think about the episode?
UberTagToday at 9:06 PM
I liked Rarity's scarf.
SylveeToday at 9:12 PM
I try not to

SigmasonicXToday at 9:25 PM
Chained Prometheus , what did you think of The End in Friend?
Chained PrometheusToday at 9:25 PM
I didn't hate it.
It was contrived and meh, sure, but once Rarity and RD got on their pseudo-adventure, it was pretty fun
Meanwhile I still have no desire to ever revisit Friendship University
Bizarre as that probably is
SigmasonicXToday at 9:30 PM
Hmm, I didn't feel it was particularly contrived. Like it didn't seem strange to me that the one time Twilight has the students follow Rarity and Rainbow on their date, it all goes wrong and they fight.
[...]
UberTagToday at 9:44 PM
I suppose the one added detail I didn't much care for is that it once again painted the teachers as the ones struggling with friendship more than their students. We've already had that once this season and it's really leading me to question a lot of the value the "friendship school" concept really has to offer. The Student Six were pretty much best of buddies before the end of the season premiere. They've had minimal conflict between them and the only real mischief they've gotten into was due to one of them not wanting to be separated from the others and relegated to a Christmas miserable back home.
SigmasonicXToday at 9:45 PM
Yeah, it was a weird decision to not only have two Mane Six in conflict episodes, but have both tie into the School of Friendship
It was a common complaint that recent seasons haven't had many episodes about the Main Six coming into conflict with each other, and I suppose they decided to address that now. But it's definitely making the Main Six look like worse friends than the Student Six.
Or just Rainbow, I suppose
Chained PrometheusToday at 9:48 PM
UberTag Yeah, that's what I found contrived about the episode. The idea that Rarity and RD haven't actually already figured out that they don't need to have a lot in common to be friends after all this time, despite supposing to be teachers of friendship. I'm just not a big fan of the school at all.
SigmasonicXToday at 9:50 PM
I didn't find it strange that they'd have fights like that sometimes, and the episode was more about that happening at the worst possible time for Twilight and the School
Chained PrometheusToday at 9:52 PM
Sure, but it's more the idea that it's seemingly never come up between them before now
SigmasonicXToday at 9:57 PM
Oh right, they did emphasize how long they've been friends. But I don't think it's unlikely that they've gotten into fights like this before but just didn't really learn anything from it.

It's really weird that the season where the Mane Six are passing on their friendship lessons to a new generation is the one where they decide to have multiple episodes where the Mane Six have dumb conflicts, and both involve the Student Six. Meanwhile, the Student Six are getting along just fine and being perfect friends as far as we can tell. I like the Student Six as characters, but the entire concept of the Mane Six as teachers clearly hasn't been thought out at all. The lack of episodes where the Mane Six come into conflict with each other is a complaint I've often seen about previous seasons, but it was a mistake to address those complaints now and in this way. The Mane Six don't come off as good teachers at all.

... Well actually, Rainbow is the common denominator of both friendship problems. Maybe she needs to be replaced in G5 too like Applejack.

My first suggestion

Baby cloud would be a better friend.

Bufogren is already best boy, so he would be best friend

Or we could just have Rarity twice

We have a new comic by Raridashdoodles! I haven't heard that name in a long time. Long time.

Spoiler: Comic

Bonus image from that artist

 

[Sylvee]

This one is especially hilarious. Like every line.

Click to shrink...

Legit thought that the thumbnail was some Moliminous video, but then I realized that it's an actual screenshot. Not sure how I feel about that.

We have a new comic by Raridashdoodles! I haven't heard that name in a long time. Long time.

Click to shrink...

They apparently make a piece or two every couple months. Certainly haven't been very regular until this episode though. They also did this art a couple weeks ago:

(Still haven't seen the new Aus episode yet btw, so can't comment on it)

 

[SigmasonicX]

They apparently make a piece or two every couple months. Certainly haven't been very regular until this episode though. They also did this art a couple weeks ago:

Click to shrink...

I looked through the comments of their recent images on Derpibooru, and it looks like that and some other images were actually drawn for private messages and not put on their blog.

New ForgoLorgo animation! Best part is that pegasus.


Aaaaand a YouTube thumbnail just spoiled what would have been a neat and unexpected twist for an upcoming episode.

Spoiler: Episode spoiler

I got a thumbnail for "The Washouts" showing Rainbow facing off against Lightning Dust. I didn't expect her to return at all, let alone here.

"The End in Friend" followup.

NOTES
I've seen some other people mention that the bufogren has a G1 feel, and I agree. The voice, the fact that he's this random monster that happens to speak English and is willing to help (though in G1, it would have had equal chance of wanting to kill the ponies), and the fact that there's a gimmick to the way he speaks and they have to figure out how to interact with him. Oh, and the smell is definitely something they'd do in G1.

Some people elsewhere objected more strongly to the fact that Rarity is shown shopping for clothes here than me. I realized that GM Berrow also wrote Rarity as buying clothes in shops in "Dance Magic", but I let that pass because it was Dougworld. I still don't have a problem with this, really.

One objection brought up in the stream is that the things Rarity and Rainbow used to get through the fake adventure should have been things already established about them, but I felt them using skills we hadn't seen before demonstrated how they still had a lot to learn about each other.

I forgot to mention before that it was interesting to hear that Twilight still casts the wing spell from "Sonic Rainboom" on Rarity, and she uses it to deliver clothes to Cloudsdale.

SCREENSHOTS
1.Lyra and Bon Bon's date - note Bon Bon's eyes
2.Boot to the head
3.Rarity's leisure uniform drawing
4.Rainbow propeller boat
5.Rainbow bicycle kick

Spoiler: Screenshots 1

1.Sonic Rainkick
2.Rarity peeved face
3.Rarity whoopsie
4.Rainbow pulling on her face
5.Rarity pbbbt
6.Rainbow carrying Rarity through the air

Spoiler: Screenshots 2

FAN CONTENT
More was made for this episode than I would have expected. Most was uploaded recently; there was only one image uploaded with the Australian airing.

1.On the Search Through the Swamp by InuHoshi-to-DarkPen on DeviantArt
2.Patches by bobthedalek on DeviantArt
3.Rarity in her athleisure suit by Raridashdoodles
4.Rafting Friend Ship by AssasinMonkey on DeviantArt
5.Shoe Shopping (MLPS8E17) by JonFawkes on DeviantArt - I like that he didn't bother changing the line.

Spoiler: Art 1

1.Rainbow Dash in Rarity's shoes by foal
2.Rainbow covered in glitter by binkyt11
3.Rarity in her camping outfit by lunebat - This is the one art from last week.

Spoiler: Art 2

 

[SigmasonicX]

November comic solicitations

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #72
Thom Zahler (w) • Agnes Garbowska (a & CVR A) • Sara Richard (CVR B) • Sweeny Boo (CVR RI)

Applejack looks to recreate a famous pie recipe that has been lost to her family for ages! The quest will reveal family secrets and some very unusual ingredients!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet Point:

• A heartwarming tale of coming together over food and family!

My Little Pony: Nightmare Knights #2
Jeremy Whitley (w) • Tony Fleecs (a & CVR A) • Brenda Hickey (CVR B) • Jennifer L. Meyer (CVR RI)

Princess Luna assembles her team of ne'er-do-wells: Capper, Tempest Shadow, Trixie and Stygian! Will they all be able to work together and find a way into the most dangerous place any of them have ever been?

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet Point:

• A classic heist story with endearing heart!

Main series issue seems potentially feels heavy. Can't really gleam anything more about Nightmare Knights from the issue #2 description, other than Capper being slick, to revive an old meme.

New Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight, with a twist
Starlight Glimmer Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

And with that, a reminder that Sweden will be airing new episodes starting today, at 8:30 PM PST. They'll finish the season early next week. The schedule is on the Pony Clock. It's listed as Denmark, so maybe everyone else is mixed up about the location.

22. What Lies Beneath - September 22
The students of Twilight's School of Friendship are cramming for "History of Magic in Equestria" exam in the school library when they discover a part of the school that no pony else knows about. When they decide to do some exploring they end up learning much more than they bargained for.

Will edit in an art dump later if there aren't other posts.

EDIT:
1. Fluttershy and bee - Gotcha! by Yakovlev-vad on DeviantArt
2. EQG background human Blueberry Cake - .:Hello 10 - Equestria Girls:. by The-Butcher-X on DeviantArt - There are similar images for the some Shadowbolts, but I decided they're a bit too leggy to post here.
3. Winx Club cosplay - .:Equestria Club:. (Commission) by The-Butcher-X on DeviantArt
4. RariJack - Sudden kiss by LooknamTCN on DeviantArt
5. RariJack - In cafe by LooknamTCN on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 1

1.Snow White Applejack and Queen Rainbow by dcon
2.Another with above theme by dcon
3.The Last Roundup AppleDash-ified by dcon
4. Also Spike - Rarity Doodles by Ipun on DeviantArt
5. Also Spike - Rarinap by Ipun on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 2

1. Limestone X Tom - True Love [ATG 2018 D27] by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt
2. Strawberry Sunrise - Strawberry -Profile- by The-Butcher-X on DeviantArt
3.Fluttershy sleeping on a tree nothing else. by SyntaXartz on DeviantArt
4. Luna and crab - Take it off! by Yakovlev-vad on DeviantArt
5.Inky Rose by 1AN1 on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 3

1. Mane Six, Cadance, Derpy - postcard01 by dustyMunji on DeviantArt
2. Humane Seven - postcard02 by dustyMunji on DeviantArt
3. Rainbow and Applejack - ZapApples by dustyMunji on DeviantArt
4.Pinkie and Spike by Rodrigues404 on DeviantArt
5.Fluttershy anxiety by Rodrigues404 on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 4

1. Silverstream, Gallus, Ocellus - Clothes by Plainoasis on DeviantArt
2.Fluttershy by tyuubatu on DeviantArt
3.Twilight Sparkle tenderness by Light by Light262 on DeviantArt
4. Twelve ponies - Ponies! by SION-ARA on DeviantArt
5.Gambling Cadance by whitediamonds

Spoiler: Art 5

1. DuckTales kelpies - My Little Kelpie by MistyKoopa on DeviantArt
2.Pinkie impressing Silverstream by akainu7
3.Princess of Friendship with Benefits by tjpones
4.League of Legends Twilight by whitediamonds
5.League of Legends Rarity by whitediamonds

Spoiler: Art 6

1.Incomplete Fluttershy as Rolling Girl animation by melodenesa
2.The End in Friend animation by agrol
3.Human Trixie and Pony Starlight by 七目読
4.Braided Human Trixie and Starlight by 七目読
5.Human Trixie showing orange to Starlight by 七目読

Spoiler: Art 7

1.Hipster Twilight by jumblehorse
2.Bear Sweater Trixie by jumblehorse
3.Sunset by noupu
4.Ten character faces by scorpdk
5.Cadance and Starlight faces by scorpdk

Spoiler: Art 8

1. Starlight and her dad - Pulling the Wool Over by bobthedalek on DeviantArt
2. Starlight and her dad - No Sweat(er) by bobthedalek on DeviantArt
3. Flurry + parents, Sunburst - At the End of the Night by bobthedalek on DeviantArt
4.PinkieDash 1 by pinkablue
5.PinkieDash 2 by pinkablue
6.smolder 8 21 2018 by tohupo on DeviantArt
7. Scootaloo - Comm - Sk8 or Die by NCMares on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 9

Comic based on DuckTales
Answer to Twilight by EMositeCC on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Comic

 

[Sylvee]

First, let's all be like Angel today, from someone that has probably never watched the show:

Secondly we got some info on the upcoming Holiday special, which seems to be about Secret Santa. Sounds like it might be the most low-key of the 2-part episodes we've had so far:

As the ponies all prepare for another Hearth's Warming, families come together to celebrate the big holiday. The Pie family arrives in Ponyville and Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash are ready for the big day… but Princess Twilight Sparkle doesn't have time to celebrate!

With her new school taking up her time and Shining Armor, Cadance and Baby Flurry Heart coming to visit, Twilight is behind on her to-do list. She hasn't even begun to shop! Luckily her friends are here to help! Instead of one gift for every pony, they decide to do a Hearthswarming Helper and give just one gift to the pony whose cutie mark they pull out of Applejack's hat.

But now, the pressure's on to find the one perfect gift to make each pony's holiday special. By seeking help from their friends all over Equestria, the Mane 6 and Spike are each hoping to find the best gift ever. With their hopes high, they set out on a magical adventure to make each pony's Hearthswarming bright.

Click to shrink...

Lastly I caved and watched through the foreign language dub of What Lies Beneath, which is written by Michael Vogel. (All the non-voice stuff was still English) Obviously missing the dialogue is a pretty big deal but it looked fun from what I saw.

Spoiler

I think I've decided that these are the two best students:

 

[TheWooniestWoona]

Girlfriend and I watched the movie last night. It was the first time she'd seen it, and she described it as feeling like it was written by someone who had only ever watched one episode of the show. XD

The thing that stuck out to me was the picture quality of the blu-ray. The whole movie looks like it has horrible compression artifacts. I'm not sure if it's a bad transfer, or if it's supposed to be faked film grain. I don't really remember it looking like that in theaters.

 

[Sylvee]

Girlfriend and I watched the movie last night. It was the first time she'd seen it, and she described it as feeling like it was written by someone who had only ever watched one episode of the show. XD

Click to shrink...

I feel like the big intention was for it to be something you could watch if you had watched any of the show, even if you hadn't seen any of the more recent seasons. In the context of the more recent seasons the movie makes very little sense, why is Celestia telling Luna to go seek the aid of some race that they haven't talked to in a while and is pretty far away when there's ones that are already allied with the ponies that are much closer and would definitely help. (And would have been far more useful then the people that the Mane 6 actually ended up getting) It definitely also isn't really for people that haven't seen the show before either, because it really doesn't do much to make you actually care about the characters and seems to assume that you already are invested in them.

 

[SigmasonicX]

First, let's all be like Angel today, from someone that has probably never watched the show:

Click to shrink...

Kicks people out of their house

Secondly we got some info on the upcoming Holiday special, which seems to be about Secret Santa. Sounds like it might be the most low-key of the 2-part episodes we've had so far:

Click to shrink...

Technically, this is an hour long special, not a two-parter /mudbriar

Given we know that (probably) Quibble Pants will appear in this special, it looks like this story will be heavy on cameos, which could be a lot of fun. I didn't expect it to connect to Twilight running the school; I wonder if we'll see the Student Six and if it directly follows up on "The Hearth's Warming Club".

All the non-voice stuff was still English

Click to shrink...

Girlfriend and I watched the movie last night. It was the first time she'd seen it, and she described it as feeling like it was written by someone who had only ever watched one episode of the show. XD

Click to shrink...

It's largely written by Meghan McCarthy, who of course is quite experienced with the show. However, besides the factors Sylvee mentioned, this script was also written back during season 4 and the Movie was meant to come shortly after, but there were complications that greatly delayed it. I don't know the whole story, but Sony not going through with distribution must have been the biggest factor. The script was changed in the years that followed, but the basic plot wasn't changed.

You didn't mention, what did she think of the movie after that? And actually, what did you think? You might have said this back in the Movie thread, but I'd have to go back to GAF to check...

The thing that stuck out to me was the picture quality of the blu-ray. The whole movie looks like it has horrible compression artifacts. I'm not sure if it's a bad transfer, or if it's supposed to be faked film grain. I don't really remember it looking like that in theaters.

Click to shrink...

I remember the Netflix copy of the EQG special "Mirror Magic" messed up the colors compared to the TV and iTunes versions, so the transfer being bad wouldn't be new. Shame it happened on the Blu-Ray, though. I haven't heard about this, but I hadn't been seeking reviews of the Blu-Ray anyway.

~~~

In the chat, the topic of Fluttershy as an idol came up, which somehow turned into a discussion of how the School of Friendship is being handled.

Spoiler: Chat - Idol Fluttershy and the School of Friendship

CappyToday at 1:23 PM
i'm actually a little surprised fluttershy hasn't become a reluctant star of entertainment
SigmasonicXToday at 1:38 PM
You just want to see more idol Fluttershy, Sigma says hypocritically
But yeah, I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been a followup to Filli Vanilli yet
UberTagToday at 1:39 PM
https://derpicdn.net/img/2018/8/23/1814111/full.gif

1
CappyToday at 1:39 PM
it just seems to kinda come up that she'd probably be great in entertainment, but it's not ever a thing for more than an episode
XzeonToday at 1:41 PM
I'd say status quo syndrome but they change shit all the time so I dunno
UberTagToday at 1:42 PM
Outside of Dougworld, I think the big reason Fluttershy hasn't branched out into entertainment is that would inevitably take time away from her pets and critters. Pet care is a 24/7 job.(edited)
And she's already moonlighting as a teacher and stockpiling Teacher of the Month plaques.
CappyToday at 1:44 PM
she should've been music and drama teacher :O
UberTagToday at 1:45 PM
That could have been fun.
They've severely misused the Mane 6 in their teaching capacity.
SigmasonicXToday at 1:45 PM

Music isn't a part of Friendship!

Let me sing about it
CappyToday at 1:45 PM

Surely drama is, though!?
UberTagToday at 1:45 PM
Music and plays are great team-building exercises.
SigmasonicXToday at 1:46 PM

Yes

Plays are fantastic
UberTagToday at 1:47 PM
Applejack using her teaching role as a platform to spread her fruit prejudice is NOT a shining example of fostering friendship.
SigmasonicXToday at 1:48 PM
But yeah, I like the students well enough, but the Mane Six as teachers hasn't been handled well at all. From how they have more friendship problems than the students, to how the students are shown disliking their schoolwork and view the teachers antagonistically
UberTagToday at 1:49 PM
Starlight as guidance counselor is literally the only position they've handled well.
Incidentally, I appreciate that they've kept her tendency to "not think a decision through" before making it as a consistent character flaw.
SigmasonicXToday at 1:51 PM
Yes, ending of her last episode aside, she's been handled well wrt the school.
By which I mean A Matter of Principals
I don't think Twilight has been handled badly either, really. But roping the other Mane Six into the school was definitely a mistake.
Like her being principal and rushing around handling paperwork makes perfect sense. And she didn't really have a job before.
CappyToday at 1:54 PM
one of the perks of being a princess
SigmasonicXToday at 1:54 PM
She didn't have a job before that either
CappyToday at 1:54 PM
one of the perks of being the chosen one

UberTagToday at 1:54 PM
Twilight's job was making friends and saving Equestria.
SigmasonicXToday at 1:55 PM

I do that too but I don't get paid for it.(edited)
CappyToday at 1:55 PM

I make friends for fun!
UberTagToday at 1:56 PM
I suppose you could argue that Twilight did have a job organizing and preserving the local Ponyville book depository. Before it got blown up.
SigmasonicXToday at 1:56 PM

The only ones that actually checked out books were ponies I know, though.(edited)
RhomegaToday at 2:39 PM
Probably got a stipend
XzeonToday at 3:44 PM
Im having a hard time forcing myself to watch this season. Like to me its very apparent no one wanted to do this school storyline, and it continues to be the weakest parts of the season. Its prolly a good thing mlp is ending soon
Ill prolly wait till s8 is over then binge watch the rest
SigmasonicXToday at 3:53 PM
Fair enough

The long awaited MLP Cutie Mark Crew Happy Meal toys are finally coming to the US, in the middle of September.

I don't think this sheet reflects that they're leaving out toys, but this did lead to this chat, which later gets to the topic of cannibalism.

Spoiler: Chat - Left Out Again

SigmasonicXToday at 4:07 PM
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/08/us-happymeal-boxes-for-next-months.html
US Happymeal Boxes for Next Month's Cutie Mark Crew Arrive
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media

1
Finally coming to the US
CappyToday at 4:09 PM
messy twilight hair in that drawing
SigmasonicXToday at 4:17 PM
Huh, yeah. I wonder what's up with that
CappyToday at 4:18 PM

I'm ready for the Cutie Mane Crew!
SigmasonicXToday at 4:18 PM
Also didn't notice the lack of AJ
Twilight needs more alternate mane styles(edited)
CappyToday at 4:18 PM

XzeonToday at 4:28 PM
ITS HAPPENING

SigmasonicXToday at 4:30 PM

(remembers own toy)
CappyToday at 4:35 PM

YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE CREW, SPIKE!
SigmasonicXToday at 4:39 PM

(sneakily shuffles into crew)
CappyToday at 4:55 PM

draws cutie mark on scroll

affixes to butt(edited)

What about now, eh?
UberTagToday at 5:03 PM
Hasbro is already planting the seeds to phase out Applejack, I see.

It's alright. I didn't make the crew, either, AJ. We can start our own club. The G4Ever Club. Trixie is vice prez.

But I used to be part of THAT club. We were the Mane Six. That weren't no lie!

Well, it's over now and you'll just have to get used to it.

Now you just have to recite the club pledge to join Trixie's club. Now, hold up your hoof and repeat after me.

"I, Sunset Shimmer, do solemnly swear..."

SigmasonicXToday at 5:09 PM

The radio crackled. "No Applejack, you are the Sunset."
And then Applejack became a

UberTagToday at 5:10 PM

Trixie feels more special now.
CappyToday at 5:11 PM
those crew designs are kinda cute is there any content with them like shorts or comics
SigmasonicXToday at 5:11 PM
No, just the toys (McDonald's and normal ones in stores)
CappyToday at 5:12 PM
are the normal ones the same scale
SigmasonicXToday at 5:19 PM
I posted pictures in the thread a while ago, hold on
https://www.resetera.com/posts/10154614/
ResetEra
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season 8 |OT| Princess Twiligh...
So I'm years behind on the Pony card game, but my girlfriend and I decided to give it a go after finding some stuff at Target. This thread got me...

CappyToday at 5:22 PM
thx
oh there's 2 leggers too :o
SigmasonicXToday at 5:23 PM
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/07/unboxing-review-hasbros-cutie-mark-crew.html
UNBOXING REVIEW: Hasbro's Cutie Mark Crew!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media

CappyToday at 5:24 PM
oh i see they're blindbags
those look really nice
fluttershy riding along in her sandwich
SigmasonicXToday at 5:34 PM

Fluttershy, no! That's meat!

(edited)
CappyToday at 5:38 PM

SigmasonicXToday at 5:39 PM
Now that I look at them, those are the baby pony eyes
Besides Flurry
UberTagToday at 5:42 PM
I wonder if Twilight, Sunset or Starlight have ever partaken in indulging their carnivorous side while visiting Dougworld.
Surely one of them must have tried eating meat.
It's not like they'd have any ethical hangups about it. Fluttershy would but she hasn't made the trek.
CappyToday at 5:50 PM
twilight might've met the apple acres cows
XzeonToday at 5:59 PM
Yeah the Crew toys do exist in stores but they're all in food like a tiny hot dog or tiny French fries. I think Hasbro is trying to cash in on Shopkins
XzeonToday at 6:03 PM

The McDonald's ones

CappyToday at 6:08 PM
i had seen the mcdonalds ones since the russian release(edited)
SigmasonicXToday at 6:11 PM
After the first EQG, there were plenty of comics and even an animation of Twilight eating meat
UberTagToday at 6:12 PM
https://derpicdn.net/img/2018/2/18/1659558/full.png

I wonder if that's how cannibalism came to be in the MLP universe.
A pony crossed over into Dougworld, developed an appetite for meat, crossed back over into Equestria and couldn't live without eating meat any more and went on a cannibalism spree.
Sort of like the French movie Raw.
SylveeToday at 6:13 PM
What are the pigs in AJ's farm for?
UberTagToday at 6:14 PM
Perhaps they get sold to another Equestrian race like the dragons in exchange for something ponies value.
SigmasonicXToday at 6:15 PM
Faust said they are garbage disposals and look for truffles
CappyToday at 6:48 PM
i had an old post where i conjectured they used the gelatin from the pigs to clairify the apple juice and make the marshmallows, but they probably use another method and have vegan marshmallows
SigmasonicXToday at 6:58 PM

Don't be silly! Why go through all that when you can just pluck them off of marshmallow trees!
XzeonToday at 6:59 PM
Faust also said ponies have pony sex to make pony babies. So can we really trust her

SigmasonicXToday at 6:59 PM

I'll explain when you get older, dearie.
XzeonToday at 7:00 PM
How is babby formed?
SigmasonicXToday at 7:00 PM

I said when you're older!
XzeonToday at 7:00 PM

(edited)

I posted about the normal Cutie Mark Crew toys in July.

Unboxing of the Cutie Mark Crew toys. Bunch of pictures at the link.

(larger)

Click to shrink...

And the McDonalds toys were covered in these two posts.

There's a bunch of countries whose McDonalds are doing pony happy meal toys, including the Philippines, Ukrane, and South Korea. More importantly, Ukraine seems to be referring to Glimmy as Starlight Shimmer. They seem to be confusing Best Pony with Bland Human.

EQD: https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/06/mcdonalds-pony-update-phillipenes-stock.html

Click to shrink...

Is it wrong that I find the Chibi-Shockwave toy more adorable than any of the pony figures? I mean, just look at him.

vsqKqO5nB80

Here's a promotional video that covers both toy lines...

4oZcLFA7TYQ

Okay, I suppose the way GlimGlam putters around is also pretty amusing. But c'mon... that Shockwave is the bomb...

Links to all of the individual toy videos can be found here.

Click to shrink...

~~~

New EQG book revealed: The Starswirl Do-Over

An exciting "Make Your Own Magic" book from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls! This brand new series will tie you into the You Choose the Ending content from the all-new Equestria Girls digital series.

At first I thought this means there would be an EQG special about Starswirl, but the fact that it's based on a CYOA makes that seem unlikely to me. Perhaps there will be a time loop caused by a device of Starswirl, and he won't be involved himself.

~~~

Cute video


And two Pinkie Pie Says Goodnights
Yona Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt
Smolder Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

Oh, and there was a new episode in Denmark.
23. Sounds of Silence - September 29 (August 23 Denmark) (August 31 Australia)
Fluttershy and Applejack journey to the edge of the map on a Friendship Quest to help a group of ponies named Kirin -- who are so afraid of hurting each other's feelings, they've taken a potion of silence.

 

[TheWooniestWoona]

It's largely written by Meghan McCarthy, who of course is quite experienced with the show. However, besides the factors Sylvee mentioned, this script was also written back during season 4 and the Movie was meant to come shortly after, but there were complications that greatly delayed it. I don't know the whole story, but Sony not going through with distribution must have been the biggest factor. The script was changed in the years that followed, but the basic plot wasn't changed.

You didn't mention, what did she think of the movie after that? And actually, what did you think? You might have said this back in the Movie thread, but I'd have to go back to GAF to check...


I remember the Netflix copy of the EQG special "Mirror Magic" messed up the colors compared to the TV and iTunes versions, so the transfer being bad wouldn't be new. Shame it happened on the Blu-Ray, though. I haven't heard about this, but I hadn't been seeking reviews of the Blu-Ray anyway.

Click to shrink...

She was kind of meh on the movie. She didn't hate it, but she didn't think it was as good as the show usually is. I feel about the same. There are some good bits in the movie, but they are usually counteracted by something that I don't like (Like Tempest is cool, but almost every time she does something cool, her little sidekick ruins it by trying to be funny). Tonally I felt it was all over the place. Overall though, I don't really mind it. A few of the songs have been stuck in my head since watching it too, so I can't hate it.

Now the friend I originally went to see it with, she hates it. She despises it to an almost comical level. She was really upset that they reference it in season 8, because she didn't want it to be canon.

 

[Strider_Blaze]

Happily Ever Afterparty

 

[SigmasonicX]

She was kind of meh on the movie. She didn't hate it, but she didn't think it was as good as the show usually is. I feel about the same. There are some good bits in the movie, but they are usually counteracted by something that I don't like (Like Tempest is cool, but almost every time she does something cool, her little sidekick ruins it by trying to be funny). Tonally I felt it was all over the place. Overall though, I don't really mind it. A few of the songs have been stuck in

Click to shrink...

The movie was undeniably stymied by its attempt to appeal to both new and old fans, while throwing back to old animated adventure films where they encounter various wacky characters, while still including all the main characters. All this meant the characters couldn't shine the way they should have, undermining FiM's greatest strength. However, it was still enjoyable seeing the characters on the big screen, the 2D animation was great, Tempest was good, and the songs were solid. I suppose I view the Movie the same way as you on its own, but I can't help but consider what they were trying to do and the Movie's production.

Now the friend I originally went to see it with, she hates it. She despises it to an almost comical level. She was really upset that they reference it in season 8, because she didn't want it to be canon.

Click to shrink...

Them referencing the Movie so directly was definitely a surprise, and without a "previously on" at that. It comes up more than most two parters.

Happily Ever Afterparty

Click to shrink...

I'll watch this later, of course. After this, we should get Rollercoaster of Friendship in five parts, under the name "Me, My Selfie, and I". I wonder what they'll add to it. Establishing Sweetie Belle and the others are in the park before the parade seems like an obvious one, but I can't think of anything else.

Then after that, we should get brand new material, assuming Discovery Go doesn't dump a bunch of shorts at once again. There's at least one short from the December leaks we haven't seen hide nor hair of.

The following episode will air in Australia in English in about an hour.
21. A Rockhoof and a Hard Place - September 15 (August 15 France Discussion) (August 24 Australia)
When Rockhoof, heroic Pillar of the past, is having trouble fitting into the modern world, Twilight and her friends strive to help him find a new purpose.

 

[TheWooniestWoona]

The movie was undeniably stymied by its attempt to appeal to both new and old fans, while throwing back to old animated adventure films where they encounter various wacky characters, while still including all the main characters. All this meant the characters couldn't shine the way they should have, undermining FiM's greatest strength. However, it was still enjoyable seeing the characters on the big screen, the 2D animation was great, Tempest was good, and the songs were solid. I suppose I view the Movie the same way as you on its own, but I can't help but consider what they were trying to do and the Movie's production.


Them referencing the Movie so directly was definitely a surprise, and without a "previously on" at that. It comes up more than most two parters.

Click to shrink...

It surprised me at first, but I like some of the additions the movie brought to the franchise, so I don't really mind. Though it does mean that when introducing someone to the show you have to add it in to the viewing order. My girlfriend and I have been going through the whole show (her first time seeing it), and my friend has been doing the same with her husband. It's been pretty fun hearing everyone's reaction to it. My friend and I have been watching since pretty much the beginning, so it's been weird watching 7+ years of our lives over the course of a few months.

The weirdest thing I've seen from all of them is finding out that all of them hate Rainbow Dash. I mean, I know she's kind of annoying and arrogant, but they despise her.

 

[SigmasonicX]

My girlfriend and I have been going through the whole show (her first time seeing it), and my friend has been doing the same with her husband. It's been pretty fun hearing everyone's reaction to it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, going through the show with someone who hasn't seen it (and likes it) is fun. I did that with my parents years ago. It's a shame I haven't been able to do that recently, but that would require meeting new people outside of work.

The weirdest thing I've seen from all of them is finding out that all of them hate Rainbow Dash. I mean, I know she's kind of annoying and arrogant, but they despise her.

Click to shrink...

I don't hate her, but she's the bottom Mane Six for me. Even back in season one, when everyone was getting hyped about the Sonic Rainboom. Besides what you mentioned, I honestly find her voice annoying.

My order is
1. Twilight
1. Rarity
3. Fluttershy
4. Pinkie
5. Applejack
6. Rainbow

Though I suppose Rainbow has had more good episodes that are actually about her than Applejack.

 

[Sylvee]

The weirdest thing I've seen from all of them is finding out that all of them hate Rainbow Dash. I mean, I know she's kind of annoying and arrogant, but they despise her.

Click to shrink...

Aside from maybe Pinkie I think that Rainbow's flaws are the most immature of the Mane 6, and maybe as people get older Rainbow's attitude becomes more repulsive to people. It also could just be a generational thing too, Rainbow is insanely popular with younger audiences, she's easily the most popular of the Mane 6. Another thing though is that one of her big positive traits is that she's "cool" and highly skilled, and if you don't really care about that there really isn't a whole lot else about her that's particularly admirable. I wish they'd play up her relationship with Scootaloo a lot more as I feel like she looks best when she's being a supportive older sister figure to her.




How much do you reckon Starlight even gets paid?

 

[SigmasonicX]

Happily Ever Afterparty

Click to shrink...

Getting a projector from Cranky is an odd premise for the last CYOA (for now).

Rarity
* Wait, they're called the Cutie Mark Crusaders here after all?!
* Applejack and Rarity pay taxes? And why bring up Applejack specifically? I mean, I know why, but still.
* Lawyer Rarity is great.

Applejack
* Applejack promoting theft, SMH.
* So the Applejack ending of "Opening Night' is canon to this ending.

Rainbow Dash
* Sweetie Drops? I guess she goes by her real name in Dougworld and not Bon Bon.
* Why's the projector in a different place in this reality?!

In the end, Rarity is the only one who got the projector in a moral way.

Applejack says stealing is good and honest!

It's true.

How much do you reckon Starlight even gets paid?

Click to shrink...

She gets paid in friendship.

Tomorrow's US episode is
18. Yakity-Sax - July 20 and August 25 (Discussion)
Pinkie Pie has a new hobby that she absolutely loves - playing the Zenithrash. But when her friends discourage her from playing due to her lack of skill, it causes a series of events leading to Pinkie Pie possibly leaving Ponyville forever!

... Wait. (Twitter)

Anyway, art dump.
1. Pinkie meeting her end - ATG2018 Day28 by Taurson on DeviantArt
2.Cadance looking at Flurry's spiked color by flutterthrash
3.Pinkie not wanting to go to school by flutterthrash
4. Nightmare Moon - Nightmare by Weird--Fish on DeviantArt
5. Rainbow - I'm back :D by Heddopen on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 1

1.Countess Coloratura by Jun1313 on DeviantArt
2. Sugar Belle and Big Mac - Tabletop Night Preview by PixelKitties on DeviantArt
3.TwiDash by jumblehorse
4. Rainbow - First Place Again [ATG 2018 D28] by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt
5.Wonderbolts Derpy by hioshiru

Spoiler: Art 2

1. Silverstream - This... is a bucket! by ZidaneMina on DeviantArt
2.Aloe by jyoka0222
3.Lotus by jyoka0222
4.CMC back to school by tsitra360
5.Seapony Fluttershy by cutepencilcase

Spoiler: Art 3

1. Silverstream and Yona - Welcoming Banquet by TheRavenCriss on DeviantArt
2. Celestia - Walking On Clouds [ATG 2018 D29] by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt
3. Sunset - Graduation [ATG 2018 D30] by VanillaGhosties on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 4

New Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight
Sandbar Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

And some songs
JayB - I Love Everything feat. Fluttershy (Soundnix Remix) - YouTube
Belle De Nuit - YouTube
iblank2apples - Flutterwander (NeverLastStanding Remix) [Drum and Bass] | ASoS: Bubblegum - YouTube

 

[Sylvee]

* Sweetie Drops? I guess she goes by her real name in Dougworld and not Bon Bon.

Click to shrink...

She's not a secret agent yet so she hasn't gotten her code name.

She gets paid in friendship.

Click to shrink...

So does she reimburse Trixie for all the friendship that she gives Starlight, or does Twilight also join in on the friendship giving? Does it become a cuddling 3-way?

 

[SigmasonicX]

You didn't have any thoughts about "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place"? Well, there's another Australian episode coming in about an hour.

22. What Lies Beneath - September 22 (August 22 Denmark Discussion) (August 25 Australia)
The students of Twilight's School of Friendship are cramming for "History of Magic in Equestria" exam in the school library when they discover a part of the school that no pony else knows about. When they decide to do some exploring they end up learning much more than they bargained for.

In the news, Disney Channel Japan is airing MLP's Japanese dub, though there's no indication they'll continue past the initial airing, which just covered through season 2.

And new Nutshell video


Oh, and Idol Fluttershy by oberon826

 

[Sylvee]

You didn't have any thoughts about "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place"? Well, there's another Australian episode coming in about an hour.

Click to shrink...

I haven't watched it yet, I haven't watched The Washouts or Sounds of Silence yet either. I plan on making a post for What Lies Beneath later on, but I'll be busy for quite a while so it'll either be super late tonight or tomorrow.


Really though I wanted to post this. Semi-relevant because their episode is up next in the States:

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

So I'm really behind and with the episode schedule being all fuxy, I guess I'm even extra behind? Just watched "The Road to Friendship" and

Spoiler

had a solid time. Some cute stuff, and I liked the song. Some of the conflict felt a bit forced, like Trixie should know how to budget her time and space better if this is part of her job, right? And I don't see why they didn't just sleep outside given the temperature. I mean, no one looked cold. They're always naked. All of the time.

Stupid complaints on the whole. I had fun with it, and will hopefully catch up on the other episodes soon.[/quote]

Also it seems like there's more EQG stuff to check out. That CYOA with the play was pretty spectacular.

 

[SigmasonicX]

So I'm really behind and with the episode schedule being all fuxy,

Click to shrink...

Sorry to be a bother, but "The Road to Friendship" hasn't aired in the US yet, so please use spoiler tags. Besides the OP, you can use this page to keep track. I could have sworn I put it in the OP; I didn't, but it's there now.

As for EQG, you can find a list with links in our episode guide.

 

[Sylvee]

So I'm really behind and with the episode schedule being all fuxy, I guess I'm even extra behind? Just watched "The Road to Friendship" and had a solid time. Some cute stuff, and I liked the song. Some of the conflict felt a bit forced, like Trixie should know how to budget her time and space better if this is part of her job, right? And I don't see why they didn't just sleep outside given the temperature. I mean, no one looked cold. They're always naked. All of the time.

Stupid complaints on the whole. I had fun with it, and will hopefully catch up on the other episodes soon.

Also it seems like there's more EQG stuff to check out. That CYOA with the play was pretty spectacular.

Click to shrink...

Was about to say that episode hasn't aired in the USA yet so it should be spoiled, but Sigma already beat me.

It's pretty crazy trying to keep up with pony right now though. Between all of the early airings and all the EQG stuff it's pretty overwhelming keeping track of it all.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Sorry to be a bother, but "The Road to Friendship" hasn't aired in the US yet, so please use spoiler tags. Besides the OP, you can use this page to keep track. I could have sworn I put it in the OP; I didn't, but it's there now.

As for EQG, you can find a list with links in our episode guide.

Click to shrink...

Sorry. Spoiler tags added. I've just been going in order that Equestria Daily has them up.

Also catching up on the EQG shorts since I got nothing better to do. These school antics really do work better in short bursts. A lot of these are pretty cute.

 

[Sylvee]

For what it's worth, a group called Film LA estimated that the MLP movie had a 6.5 million dollar budget. The EQD post didn't provide a source for it, and I haven't looked into their methodology or how accurate they've been in the past, but that's what their guess is. Some leaks put the film at $25 million, which is already extremely low for an animated movie, but if it really was just 6.5 that's crazy, which is why I'm skeptical.

EQD post: https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/08/film-la-finalizes-65-million-dollar.html?m=1

 

[SigmasonicX]

Sorry. Spoiler tags added. I've just been going in order that Equestria Daily has them up.

Click to shrink...

Like I said in the chat (but repeating here for others), it's a reasonable mistake. Most other sites are going with the policy that discussion is fine as long as it aired in English somewhere. Sylvee got mixed up and posted some "On the Road to Friendship" art last week in the "currentepisode" chat too.

Also catching up on the EQG shorts since I got nothing better to do. These school antics really do work better in short bursts. A lot of these are pretty cute.

Click to shrink...

Where did you leave off, and which ones are you liking?

For what it's worth, a group called Film LA estimated that the MLP movie had a 6.5 million dollar budget. The EQD post didn't provide a source for it, and I haven't looked into their methodology or how accurate they've been in the past, but that's what their guess is. Some leaks put the film at $25 million, which is already extremely low for an animated movie, but if it really was just 6.5 that's crazy, which is why I'm skeptical.

EQD post: https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/08/film-la-finalizes-65-million-dollar.html?m=1

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I don't buy this at all. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies was budgeted at $10 million and that movie has the same art style as its show, while MLP has a different one, is animated with a different program, has CGI (albeit bad CGI), and had a long production schedule.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Where did you leave off, and which ones are you liking?

Click to shrink...

Uh, not entirely sure. I always was a little scattershot with them. I watched the play ones, which were all enjoyable, and then I kinda picked some at random. watched two song ones, and the one where they did some sailing. I think I did a few others, but they're kinda already leaving my head. THey don't have much sticktoidedness.

 

[Sylvee]

Yeah, I don't buy this at all. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies was budgeted at $10 million and that movie has the same art style as its show, while MLP has a different one, is animated with a different program, has CGI (albeit bad CGI), and had a long production schedule.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, even with the B-list celebrities they got just voice talent probably cost at least 6.5 million alone. (No idea if that's actually true, don't know how much celebrity VAs cost but they also got Sia to make a song for the movie too)

Even still at 25 million budget the movie still probably more then covered for its costs with box office, home video, and merch sales. It was supposed to be a very low-risk movie and that's pretty much what it was.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Uh, not entirely sure. I always was a little scattershot with them. I watched the play ones, which were all enjoyable, and then I kinda picked some at random. watched two song ones, and the one where they did some sailing. I think I did a few others, but they're kinda already leaving my head. THey don't have much sticktoidedness.

Click to shrink...

Fair enough. Fluff in, fluff out.

But wait, you aren't watching them in any order?!

︵ ┻━┻

Some art
1.Sunset by rileyav
2.Lemon Zest Biker Suit by iojknmiojknm on DeviantArt
3. Daisy - S8E18 - Top of the Mornin' by luminaura on DeviantArt
4.Starlight painting Trixie by 1racat
5. Rainbow (and small Sunset) - doki doki dashu by HigglyTownHero on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 1

1.Rainbow and Applejack construction by dusty-munji
2. Yona on the yovidaphone, Ember, Ocellus - Song of Her People by dm29 on DeviantArt
3.Starlight Glimmer mug design by G-Blue16 on DeviantArt
4.trixie mug design by G-Blue16 on DeviantArt
5.fluttershy mug design by G-Blue16 on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 2

1.Luna with all the coffee by lispp
2.[MLP speedpaint] Seapony Starlight Glimmer by Eothnoguy on DeviantArt
3.Anthro Fluttershy hugging Angel by howxu
4. Plainity and Hipstershy - Plain and Hip by Chopsticks-Pony on DeviantArt
5.EQG Twilight by oberon826- Derpibooru - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Imageboard
6. Human Pinkie with the yovidaphone - Yovidaphone (MLPS8E18) by JonFawkes on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 3

And this is interesting! Some "official fan art" (Instagram source) by the director of the Equestria Girls franchise, Katrina Hadley (her Twitter). She's the one who drew the art in the ending credits of Rainbow Rocks, if this style looks familiar. This is the first bit of publicly released MLP art from her since then, as far as I can tell.

Here's a comment she left on the Instagram post:

isitlunchyetdrawsLots more where that came from. Maybe one day we'll be able to share all the extra fan art the crew makes behind the scenes!

Click to shrink...

Crew members of shows drawing "fan art" isn't unusual. We've seen examples of this when upcoming Disney cartoons were announced and crew members showed their enthusiasm with art, same with the upcoming She-Ra. A famous example is with Steven Universe, where a crew member drew art shipping Lapis and Peridot (I think) and she proceeded to get harassed by fans who didn't like that ship.

I hadn't thought about the fact that the same would be true with MLP and EQG. I really want to see it now.

New Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight
Gallus Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

I was wondering why Silver Quill released one now, but then I remembered, Danish Monday morning is during US Sunday! So tomorrow at 8:30 PM PT, we have the last non-finale episode!

24. Father Knows Beast - October 6 (August 26 Denmark) (September 1 Australia)
When a strange dragon crash lands in Ponyville claiming to be Spike's father, Spike is ready to do anything his "dad" says in order to learn how a to be a "real" dragon.

Guessing that dragon isn't Spike's dad; guessing now since there's a decent chance I'll be spoiled about it.

 

[Sylvee]

This article was shared on EQD, although they largely just mentioned the weirder stuff that he barely mentioned. It's a pretty cool piece with the author going away from it pretty positively, would recommend checking it out: https://www.columbusnavigator.com/m...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark


Also Fizzlepop Berrytwist adjusting to her new life:

 

[SigmasonicX]

This article was shared on EQD, although they largely just mentioned the weirder stuff that he barely mentioned. It's a pretty cool piece with the author going away from it pretty positively, would recommend checking it out: https://www.columbusnavigator.com/m...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

Click to shrink...

TBF, he did spend three pictures focusing on the body pillows.

And yeah, it's a nice article, though most articles covering brony conventions seem to follow the pattern of saying they enjoyed their time there, but seriously, check out this lewd art. The article brings up Fallout Equestria, and it still amazes me just how much staying power that has had. You know, I wonder if we'll end up seeing a G5 version of it.

Also Fizzlepop Berrytwist adjusting to her new life:

Click to shrink...

Me among the mighty
You caged at my command

Artist is dstears, for those wondering.

The documentary series The Toys That Made Us is looking for collectors to interview for their MLP episode. I was surprised to hear this, since I assumed they would have gotten that out of the way already, but I suppose it takes less time to set up these interviews than those with the creators. If you have a big collection and are fine with appearing on the show, you should definitely apply.

New Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight, featuring Ocellus, Fancy Pants, and Moondancer
Ocellus Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

And in about an hour and 15 minutes, Denmark will be airing the first part of the season finale! So definitely keep a watch for spoilers.

25-6. School Raze - October 13 (August 27-28 Denmark) (September 7-8 Australia)
When the magic of Equestria mysteriously begins to fail, Twilight leads her friends on a quest for answers, leaving the School of Friendship open to attack from a dangerous mastermind.

 

[SigmasonicX]

And the season finale is airing today in Denmark!
... See above.

Thus far, I haven't heard anything about the first part, so so far so good.

Last Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight using the Student Six, featuring Silverstream and Tempest
Silverstream Says Goodnight by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

Some other comics
Fake It Till You Can't Take It (Commission) by XeviousGreenII on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Comic 1

COM - Flying Is For The Birds (COMIC) by LadyAniDraws on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Comic 2

And neat animation set to "Never Seen" (in Russian) from Dance of the Vampires, a musical.

 

[Sylvee]

I've watched the untranslated version of both episodes as well as the transcript for the 2nd part of the finale. With that I can confirm that

Spoiler

Gallus is best student. He's the element of Main Character. I really hope that they end up following up on what elements that they got in this episode and have those characters interact with their element but I doubt that they will.

Want to do a post on What Lies Beneath but between all the new leaked stuff and business I haven't made the time. It will be happening at some point though.


In the meantime here's a reaction image. (It's from the finale but doesn't have much context to it and doesn't feature any named characters so I doubt it will spoil much. I watched them and can't even remember when it's from)

Spoiler

https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/...iler-colon-s08e26_animated_male_nope_pony.gif

 

[SigmasonicX]

I've watched the untranslated version of both episodes as well as the transcript for the 2nd part of the finale.

Click to shrink...

Now you're a real anime fan!

Ponyville Mysteries #4
Hey, hold on! "The End in Friend" was all about how Rarity and Rainbow had nothing in common, but then this comic follows up on "Applejack's 'Day' Off" by showing them in the spa together!

Anyway, the spa is getting special water from the Everfree Forest, but their source is being diverted by a strange series of pipes. It looks like something the Flim Flim Brothers would do, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders don't realize this until they actually show up later.

Instead, they see the pipes go into the Apple Farm then go underground, which leads to them and the rest of the town suspecting the Apple Family is stealing water to beat the drought (caused by a bad flu going around Cloudsdale that prevents rain). But then Flim and Flam start hawking a miraculous fruit that takes almost no water to grow, and of course they're the ones behind the water theft. The CMC confront them and they run away.

Like usual, the issue is generally pleasant enough, and the art is cute, but there isn't much to actually take out of the story, whether through the mystery or through characterization.

Silver Quill's review points out that this is the first crime down out of malice in this series. And yeah, I forgot to bring up the fact that the Crusaders didn't bother to turn off the pump and unblock the spa's water source.

Oh, and check out this typo.

Only one issue of this series left, and unless the last one knocks it out of the park, this will definitely be the weakest MLP comic series.

~~~

In comic news, Andy Price put up a preview page of issue #71 (Twitter), and it looks great! Features the first comic appearance of the Student Six.

Spoiler: Comic issue #71 page

Art dump
1.As Plainity As Day by dm29 on DeviantArt
2. Twilight X Tempest - Twipest by Fluttersheeeee on DeviantArt
3.Fluttershy (Commission) by Duskie-06 on DeviantArt
4. Bringing all in the above series together - Mane 7 with the Sun and Moon Princesses (HD) by Duskie-06 on DeviantArt
5.Fluttershy has a big heart ~ by Silviasilvar on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 1

1.Yakity-Sax GIF by agrol
2. Pinkie and Rainbow - Yovidaphone Pone by Pony-Berserker on DeviantArt
3.Twilight [Colored Sketch] by Kaleido-Art on DeviantArt
4. Luna - Daily Doodle 695 by Amarynceus on DeviantArt
5. Party Favor X Tempest - For You by Cascayd on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 2

1.Twilight X Tempest by antych
2. Humane Six - The Magic of Friendship MLP by Kachumi on DeviantArt - Note this artist doesn't usually draw MLP, and just did this as a favor
3.Spike gets ALL the Mares by sixpathspony on DeviantArt
4.Flutterbat by master_0130
5.Eg swimsuits Fluttershy by RacoonKun on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 3

1.Rainbow and Fluttershy in kimonos by zakro - This is actually from last year
2.Rarity being fashionable by lilfunkman
3.Bic Mac's Orchard by Ebonyinkstone on DeviantArt
4. Vinyl X Octavia - A Break Nap by Yaaaco17 on DeviantArt
5.Tempest Shadow, Optometrist by dm29 on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 4

1.Applejack 8 30 2018 by tohupo on DeviantArt
2.Colored version of previous Twilight League of Legends art by whitediamonds
3.Anthro Rarity by ladychimaera
4.Rainbow and Pennywise Pinkie by akainu_pony
5.Fluttergoth by gksdmddo
6. Fluttershy and Vannamelon (who does videos voicign Fluttershy) - Vannamelon Park - gift by Light262 by Light262 on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Art 5

And "Yakity-Sax" comic
Power of Appreciation by bobthedalek on DeviantArt

Spoiler: Comic

It's funny that many artists actually did wait for the normal airing of "Yakity-Sax" to release art.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Well damn, it actually happened. MLP:FiM is no longer on Netflix. Equestria Girls is still up, along with the Movie in the regions where it's on Netflix.

... Or not. I just checked and it's still up with no time limit for me. Some people in the article comments are saying it disappeared for a bit then came back. I wonder what's up with that.

Documentary about a Chinese MLP convention. I just skimmed through it, but a lot of it seems to just be raw footage, not much commentary. Still, it seems fun enough.


New Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight
Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight: Onward! by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

And we have an episode airing in Australia today.
23. Sounds of Silence - September 29 (August 23 Denmark) (August 31 Australia)
Fluttershy and Applejack journey to the edge of the map on a Friendship Quest to help a group of ponies named Kirin -- who are so afraid of hurting each other's feelings, they've taken a potion of silence.

 

[Strider_Blaze]

I feel Hasbro and Netflix are probably still negotiating things. I'm still seeing FiM but with a 9/7 expiration date. I gotta wonder how EQG isn't affected but every other Hasbro programming is apparently up for removal.

Speaking of EQG, part 1 of Roller Coaster of Friendship is up.

 

[Sylvee]

I feel Hasbro and Netflix are probably still negotiating things. I'm still seeing FiM but with a 9/7 expiration date. I gotta wonder how EQG isn't affected but every other Hasbro programming is apparently up for removal.

Click to shrink...

It's still back for now. I doubt it'll be taken down permanently given that everything else is staying up: https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/08/friendship-is-magic-returns-to-netflix.html

Click to shrink...

I wonder if Rarity hates making clothing for Pegasi? Making those wing holes would be annoying.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Speaking of EQG, part 1 of Roller Coaster of Friendship is up.

Click to shrink...

Interesting that unlike how Forgotten Friendship was called Most Likely to be Forgotten on YouTube, this is still called Rollercoaster of Friendship. From leaks, we know this had the alternate name Me, My Selfie, and I.

It looks like this upload has no additional footage. I wonder if the additional five minutes will all be clumped together.

It's still back for now. I doubt it'll be taken down permanently given that everything else is staying up: https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/08/friendship-is-magic-returns-to-netflix.html

Click to shrink...

You know, I wonder if Equestria Girls is actually doing better on Netflix than FiM. The movies often appear early in the children's show and animation sections on Netflix, which I didn't think much of until I saw it was the same in James Rolfe's video about Netflix browsing. Anecdotally, parents on GAF had sometimes mentioned their daughters liked EQG more than the show. EQG is continuing to get dubbed in Japan while the show hasn't gone past season 2. And as I've pointed out before, EQG based YouTube videos often get more views than similar pony ones.

Since there have been a few posts, saying again that "Sounds of Silence" will be airing in a bit in Australia.

 

[Sylvee]

Since my thoughts on Sounds of Silence aren't as long as What Lies Beneath, I'll do a post on it now. And YOU can't stop me!


The episode is by Gregory Bonsignore, a newcomer to the show who previously did some episodes for Transformers: Rescue bots as well as being the script coordinator for various live-action TV shows. And he definitely comes off pretty well here as I think this is one of the highlights of Season 8 so far. It's a fun episode that had a good showing for AJ and Fluttershy. (AJ especially can be difficult to write for at times so that is not an easy feat) And although there are a couple problems with the episode, I don't think that overall they do that much to detract from that.

Spoiler

I'm keeping this here because I guess there MIGHT be the potential that some people don't know it exists and Sigma will complain about it, but I really liked the song as well. It was really catchy, although I wasn't a massive fan of the reprise. It's super catchy, has a great length to it so it goes through a variety of different melodies, and is sung well by Rachel Bloom.

Since I'm me, I guess I have to point out the two problems I had with the episode. Firstly, that Fluttershy once again goes on a friendship mission where she solves major problems because animals just tell her the solution. I get that animals are her thing, but it's really unsatisfying for major problems in a story to be solved not due to the main characters working to discover the solution, but because some unrelated characters to the story just tell them the answer. It's nowhere near as bad as Hooffields and McColts but I still don't really like it. And secondly, I felt like the last 3rd or of the episode is pretty dang rushed. The Kirin have presumably been completely against speaking for years due to a really bad experience, and have one interaction where they see that speaking might not be a bad idea and instantly return to being all for it without really having any discussion as to how they're going to prevent it from happening again. And the credits after the reprise legit took me off guard, it was really jarring just having the episode end there.

That being said part of the reason why the ending was so sudden to me was because it didn't feel like the episode was 22 minutes yet, which I think is very high praise for an episode. The time just sort of flew by when watching it. The conflict was interesting, there were plenty of fun lines and characters. (The end of the line guy was pretty fun despite him being completely inconsequential) As I pointed out before, Fluttershy and AJ were well-written and Fluttershy especially I think did a great job at showing off her character growth through the series. The highlight for her was when she interrupted AJ to say that there was a shortcut to the village, which was a fantastic showing of her becoming more assertive while still feeling in-character for her.

And this is going to seem kind of a weird praise given that my biggest issue is how rushed the resolution of the episode was, but aside from that the episode had a great pace to it. Each scene was fairly comfortably long so it didn't feel like we were just blitzing from plot point to plot point, but at the same time none of them felt like they dragged on for too long. It was a very engaging and interesting episode and I guess I can't just come up with more descriptive praises lol.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Alright, so EtcetEra Hangouts is being removed, and instead there will be an Entertainment board, with Hangouts threads being split up between EtcetEra and Entertainment. This means that both this thread and the community thread will be on the same board, which is a bit awkward. For now, the best route is probably to continue to split discussion as is. That is to say, the community thread will include discussion of community events like streams and RPs along with fanfic discussion, and the season 8 OT will discuss the episodes, comics, and non-fanfic fan content. When season 9 comes around, we'll try a combined thread that covers all topics, assuming this board change lasts.

I'd like some feedback about that, actually. Would you guys be upset about fanfic discussion and episode discussion in the same thread? What about discussion of things we stream, which include a lot of non-Pony stuff?

EDIT: Tomorrow's US episode

19. On the Road to Friendship - September 1 (August 15 France Discussion) (August 17 Australia Discussion)
When Trixie is invited to bring her magic show to the far off land of Saddle Arabia, she can think of nopony better to bring along than her great and powerful assistant, Starlight-but, not all friends are meant to travel together.

After it airs, it can finally be discussed without spoiler tags.

And new Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight
Pinkie Pie Says Goodnight: Double Trouble by MLP-Silver-Quill on DeviantArt

 

[Sylvee]

I'd like some feedback about that, actually. Would you guys be upset about fanfic discussion and episode discussion in the same thread? What about discussion of things we stream, which include a lot of non-Pony stuff?

Click to shrink...

For a second I though you said fabric discussion, and I was going to say that might be taking love of Rarity a bit too far.

I've already said my piece on this before although at this point I guess I'm more ambivalent towards it now. I don't care much either way.

 

[Bricks]

Probably the episode I liked the most this season. So many great (mostly Trixie) moments.
I also loved the Saddle Arabian guy. He was just so chill.