My Little Pony |OT| An adventure that never will end

SigmasonicX · Oct 5, 2019

Stream followup, we watched the following
1. X-Files - 320 - Jose Chung's From Space
2. Supernatural - 1316 - Scoobynatural

The former is one of my favorite X-Files episodes, and it was well received. The episode starts out normally enough, aside from the framing story, but the humor increases as it goes on. Mulder eating pie and asking the diner owner about aliens is one of my favorite moments, especially due to how unsurprised Scully is. I adore how confusingly convoluted the story gets as different people tell their stories and then the army pilot references the least likely account and eventually Mulder and Scully just throw up their hands and give up and we're left with little clue what actually happened. Although, if you assume the pre-credits sequence is real, you can get a pretty good picture.

This was my first Supernatural episode, and I thought it was a ton of fun, though I'm told this doesn't reflect most episodes. I was surprised how respectful the show was of Scooby-Doo, and also that Hanna-Barbera allowed all the gore.

SigmasonicX · Oct 5, 2019

Stream announcement, we're watching the following, going through all of Big Mac and Sugar Belle's romance.

1. FiM - 708 - Hard to Say Anything
2. FiM - 810 - The Break Up Break Down
3. FiM - 923 - The Big Mac Question
4. Kaleido Star OVA - The Amazing Princess Without a Smile
5. Kaleido Star OVA - Legend of Phoenix (hour long, subbed)

~~~

Big art dump.

1.Draw your girlfriend by LooknamTCN on DeviantArt - EQG Rarity X Applejack
2.Princesse's morning haircare + SPEEDPAINT by Margony on DeviantArt - Celestia
3.Gala Twilight by TingSan on DeviantArt
4.Confess by TingSan on DeviantArt - Luna
5.Fafa by TingSan on DeviantArt - Pinkie

1.Cadence and shining armor by Rorita-Sakura on DeviantArt - Only MLP art from this artist
2.Starlight and Trixie sticking tongues out by dvixie
3.Sunset by Arcane-Thunder on DeviantArt
4.Twilight x Sunset by riukime on DeviantArt
5.Upset Pinkie (continuing the swearing pony series) by teranen

1.Fall is Here! by Kitsu-chan11 on DeviantArt - Flower ponies
2.Coco Cookies! by Kitsu-chan11 on DeviantArt
3.Magical Flight by Celestial-Rainstorm on DeviantArt - Zephyr Breeze X Treehugger
4.fluttercord by sketch-fluffy on DeviantArt - Fluttershy X Discord
5.College Sunset and SciTwi by 5mmumm5

1.Glim by Esfelt on DeviantArt - Starlight
2.Clear Sky by mirroredsea
3.Pinkie by mirroredsea
4.Fluttershy by mirroredsea
5.Autumn Blaze 9 29 2019 by tohupo on DeviantArt

1.Sunshine Petals by sardaukargt on DeviantArt - Manehattan background pony
2.she is the sun and stars by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Sunburst X Twilight
3.gnarly dude by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Sandbar
4.Starlight and Trixie rocket by kovoranu
5.RD PINK by RacoonKun on DeviantArt - Human Rainbow X Pinkie

1.Lightning Dust by dstears
2.Ami-tea by Pony-Berserker on DeviantArt - Smolder X Ocellus
3.In a teapot by AlexBlueBird on DeviantArt - Fluttershy
4.Twilight Prctice Doodle 003 by CasualColt on DeviantArt
5.Twisty Pop want some love! - EQD Art Event by Kyumiku on DeviantArt - That balloon pony that gave a heart to Rarity and she ignored him

1.Princess Celestia by RetroMirage on DeviantArt
2.Princess Luna by RetroMirage on DeviantArt
3.Comm: Dissociative by pridark on DeviantArt - Twilight, fanfic cover
4.Starlight in bed by breioom
5.Fluttershy by tohupo

1.Chilly Autumn by xXMarkingXx on DeviantArt - Starlight
2.Human Kimono Fluttershy by chizuru_mickey
3.Human Kimono Rainbow by chizuru_mickey
4.Human Kimono Twilight by chizuru_mickey
5.Human Kimono Pinkie by chizuru_mickey

1.Human Kimono Applejack by chizuru_mickey
2.Human Kimono Rarity by chizuru_mickey
3.Human Kimono Spike by chizuru_mickey
4.have a nice day! by mirroredsea on DeviantArt - Autumn Blaze and that brown kirin
5.QTstream by GreenLinzerd on DeviantArt - Silverstream

1.Luna October Happiness by pridark on DeviantArt
2.Cuddle the Nightmare Moon! by luminaura on DeviantArt
3.Upset swearing Applejack by teranen
4.fluttershy by snowolive on DeviantArt
5.twilight sparkle says trans rights by snowolive on DeviantArt - The artist is getting shit about this from losers, so she needs more support

1.Luna by siripim111
2.Bunny suit Luna by dstears
3.Trio by Avrameow on DeviantArt - Sunset, Twilight, and Starlight
4.Fluttercat by RainbowEevee-DA on DeviantArt
5.GHASTLY Gorge by xXMarkingXx on DeviantArt - Spooky image with Scootaloo being attacked

SigmasonicX · Oct 8, 2019

Stream followup, we watched the following.
*.Big mac and Fluttershy PMV - YouTube
1. FiM - 708 - Hard to Say Anything
*.My Little Pony Big Mac & Cheerilee Marry You - YouTube
2. FiM - 810 - The Break Up Break Down
*.The Night We Met - Marble Pie x Big Mac [PMV] - YouTube
3. FiM - 923 - The Big Mac Question
*.[PMV] Princesa (Big Macintosh & Sugar Belle) - YouTube
4. Kaleido Star OVA - The Amazing Princess Without a Smile
*.MLP FIM: Alicorn Big Mac - Animatic - YouTube
5. Kaleido Star OVA - Legend of Phoenix

In the first FiM episode, I forgot that the big song happens halfway through the episode. In general, the FiM episodes were just alright. They never did explore Sugar Belle as a character as much as I would have liked, but they did at least establish a circle of friends for both her and Big Mac.

We finish Kaleido Star for real! The Rosetta OVA was alright, but also not great. It hinted at backstory for the Fool that in the end didn't get explored much. The second OVA was in Japanese, and honestly, it was hard to pay too much attention to because of that. The OVA was alright, though. The final performance at least was pretty neat. The story felt a bit pointless, though.

Overall, best part of Kaleido Star was the first half of the TV show.

~~~

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/873741/the-raritwi-bomb-masterpost

Bunch of RariTwi fics came out today. You might notice a familiar name among them.

RariTwi: Love is War

Rarity and Twilight are in love. Now if only they could get the other to admit it. Inspired by the anime/manga Kaguya-sama: Love is War.

www.fimfiction.net

That's right, after 13 years, SigmasonicX is back in the fan fiction game! ... Doesn't seem like many people have bothered to check mine out, though.

Besides that,

The Enchanted Kingdom

As an ancient alicorn trapped inside a library, Princess Twilight spent many a century dreaming of being rescued from her prison. Now, finding herself in an entirely new Equestria, she realizes she'd never planned for somepony to actually succeed...

www.fimfiction.net

New chapter, and it's a doozy.

This was an amazing chapter, and you did a great job building everything up. When Twilight started arguing alongside her dream self, I was mentally saying, "No, Twilight, that's the nightmare right there!" Though I was expecting the main thrust of the nightmare to be about Twilight making everything about herself and dragging Rarity into her situation. I'm sure that that's also part of it, but having to walk on eggshells around Twilight is definitely the underlying issue.

As painful as it was, you also did a great job showing this was needed for their relationship to go forward. A lesser author would have ended with Twilight going into the maze, but you showed that things are going to get better.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450089/patterns

Rarity reacting to the effect Twilight has had on her career is always interesting to explore, and Rarity and Twilight's shared imposter syndrome was always something I found interesting about them as a couple. Twilight's suggestion of getting opinions from those she can trust is a good one. The RariTwi interactions were adorable here.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450697/the-enchanted-library-the-secret-chapters

(Chapter 4)

Good work! As this chapter involves ghost sex, it is of course the best one, but the others brought smiles too. Poor Moondancer.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450456/how-i-met-my-marefriend

Fantastic! I love the changes you made since I last read this.
[I preread this for the author]

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450930/sleepless-knights

(Prologue)
The Enchanted Kingdom's dream chapter has nothing on this.
Good job twisting the dream cliches in a clever way for Rarity.

(Chapter 1)
Under normal circumstances, I'd assume the stranger is Luna, but this is for a RariTwi bomb... plus Luna is an adult and Rarity is a teen here.
I enjoyed the dialogue and the 100% accurate French dream.

More coming (not from me) all this week.

SigmasonicX · Oct 9, 2019

More fics from Mono's RariTwi bomb

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450686/a-game-of-chess

Good story. Twilight getting overwhelmed by Rarity is always fun. Guessing Rarity made illegal moves that Twilight failed to notice when overthinking.

I liked the grandiose narration, especially as it increased in scope as Twilight came closer to losing. However, I admit I did find myself skimming over some of it as it went on.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450395/lexical-gaps

That was a nice pleasant story. The mood of the setting came off perfectly in the narration, and you did a good job exploring the differences in how Rarity and Twilight handle spending time with each other and their friends.

City of Lights by GaraTheAuthor, which I won't directly link due to it being M-rated. This isn't due to sex, but rather because it contains upsetting content.

This was well written and succeeded at what it set out to do. I can't say I enjoyed the subject, and I was hoping for another ending, but that itself is proof you did a good job, I'd say.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450985/your-name-like-oil-poured-out

No, that ending!

This was really good. Great job writing Twilight and Rarity's experiences with identity. Twilight mentioning feeling like what she's doing in the moment is what she's always been doing is how I sometimes feel, especially when sick. And good to see more trans characters.

I will admit the instigating incident is a bit contrived, though. I feel like giving a more mundane explanation would have been better, rather than them fighting giants on a bus.

SigmasonicX · Oct 10, 2019

Stream announcement, we're watching the following.
1. Boy Meets World - 517 - And Then There Was Shawn
2. The Angry Beavers - 210 - The Day the Earth Got Really Screwed Up
3. OK KO - 138 - Parents Day
4. OK KO - 222 - Monster Party
5. The Amazing World of Gumball - 625 - The Ghouls

I'm nostalgic for that Boy Meets World episode, so when I saw it on one of the pages linked on Discord, I had to include it.
With OK KO, "Monster Party" (the Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School crossover) does reference a previous episode, and that episode is also monster themed, so I figured I should include it. Plus it would be good to include a non-crossover episode.
This doesn't amount to a full two hours, but like I said, I might be late to the stream.

~~~

More RariTwi fics! A lot more, in fact.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451016/prise-de-mare

Fantastic job! I know you were struggling with the right way to write this fight on Mono's Discord, but you should be proud of the outcome.
The story itself is a ton of fun, and manages to include a sword fight for Twilight's honor, dancing lessons, and dancing while sword fighting, so it can't be bad.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450654/tactics

Gotta love the Kakashi method of reading while fighting.

I enjoyed this, though I admit I got a bit distracted trying to figure out where this fit. Rarity being surprised Twilight knew she was interested in her confused me a bit.

And yes, more sword fights are always good.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/45...etting-married-and-i-need-your-finest-dresses

Adorable! Rarity's reaction was great. Not much more that can be said.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451066/spaghetti

That was good, and great job fitting those restrictions. I didn't realize you had to meet certain conditions while reading this, which shows you did well.

Good job, Twilight, proposing during a third date right after a noodle started screaming.

I would have figured Discord was behind the screaming noodles, but Starlight works too.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450929/lost-and-found

And here I was about to joke that maybe Sweetie Belle caused the fire. I admit, I do find it strange that the story chose to focus solely on Twilight and Rarity and left Sweetie only a few sentences, given her involvement in the fire.
In any case, I enjoyed the rest of the story for its portrayal of Twilight and Rarity's relationship.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450964/twilight-de-bergerac

That was adorable! I wasn't too keen on the idea of Twilight being tricked into courting Rarity, but I loved the descriptions of their growing infatuation with each other.
I figured Cadance had to be involved when the wine came into the picture. And hey, nice to see some Spike X Gabby included.

SigmasonicX · Oct 11, 2019

Stream followup, we watched the following.
1. Boy Meets World - 517 - And Then There Was Shawn
2. The Angry Beavers - 210 - The Day the Earth Got Really Screwed Up
3. OK KO - 138 - Parents Day
4. OK KO - 222 - Monster Party
5. The Amazing World of Gumball - 625 - The Ghouls

All the episodes were pretty good.

Boy Meets World is a really nostalgic series for me. Aside from laugh track overuse, this was a legitimately funny episode with tons of great gags. I wouldn't be opposed to streaming more episodes, like the Disney World special.

The Angry Beavers special was a big surprise, because I really didn't remember Angry Beavers looking this good. This had seriously fantastic art and animation, with contrasts between the cartoony beavers and the more realistic looking human characters. I also didn't remember the show feeling so Spielburg like. This was a great special, though there were some odd tone changes, especially with the realistic humans acting cartoony at random moments.

OK KO's episodes were received well. I've been watching the show on my own, but I haven't gotten to season 2 yet, so the second episode was new to me. I'm glad I showed that first episode, because wow, it would have been hard to keep up with the second episode without it, at least without focusing solely on the crossover part. Crossing over with Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School but not Scooby-Doo itself is really weird in a vaccuum, if you don't know how popular the students are online.

This was my first Gumball episode. I of course didn't get everything I could have out of the segments each focusing on different recurring characters, but I enjoyed the horror parodies. The music for that shadow walking toward the screen is catchy.

~~~

Cute new Agrol animation, celebrating the end of the show

And a big collaboration of over 100 animators to celebrate the show's ninth birthday.

~~~

RariTwi bomb was less active today, with only two stories.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451082/bloody-mane

Good story! The way I see it, monsters like the Bloody Mane are drawn to Twilight due to her magic, similar to (Hi)Kari in Digimon with the Dark Ocean.
Twilight and Rarity were written well.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450858/storefronts

Somehow missed the Equestria Girls tag and was confused for a bit by the mention of a unicorn from another world bringing them together, haha.

Post-school EQG is always interesting to explore, and it's intriguing reading about this off-screen relationship between Twilight and Rarity and how they drifted apart. Hope their "break up" goes well.

~~~

1.Bunny Celestia by artiks
2.Starlight hugging Phyllis by ask-colorsound
3.Gooselestia by LolliponyBrony on DeviantArt
4.Vampiress Celaeno - Pirate bound by blood by ZidaneMina on DeviantArt
5.Sweet Chrysalis by 1AN1 on DeviantArt

1.Fluttershy holding the Truth Talisman by artiks
2.Captain's Cap by YinglongFujun on DeviantArt - Twilight
3.Nightmare Night Rarity by Faline-art on DeviantArt
4.Flutterbat by ask-colorsound
5.Twilight haters gonna hate walk by ask-colorsound

1.Pony and EQG Pinkie by switchsugar
2.Rainbow by funi-kun
3.Mermaid Rarity by 5mmumm5
4.Fairy Fluttershy by 5mmumm5
5.FlutterDash blushing by laochi777

1.FlutterDash laying down by laochi777
2.FlutterDash underwater by laochi777
3.FlutterDash personality swap 1 by laochi777
4.FlutterDash personality swap 2 by laochi777
5.FlutterDash personality swap 3 by laochi777

1.FlutterDash flying by laochi777
2.FlutterDash sweaters by laochi777
3.FlutterDash lifting by laochi777
4.FlutterDash training by laochi777
5.FlutterDash training break by laochi777

1.FlutterDash scared by laochi777
2.FlutterDash kiss by laochi777
3.Kotobukiya FlutterDash by laochi777
4.Magical Girl Sunset and Pinkie by 5mmumm5
5.Twilight upset (last part of the series) by teranen - Rainbow Power coloring!

1.All together, everyone's upset by teranen
2.Luna by d.w.h.cn
3.Today's Life is Bitter as well by ColdRivez on DeviantArt - Rarity, song reference
4.Trick or treating season 1 Luna by lollipony
5.Fluttershy by pesty_skillengton

1.Sunset elf by 5mmumm5
2.Sunlight by Avrameow on DeviantArt - SciTwi pony X Sunset pony
3.Twilight by ask-colorsound
4.Vatobot17 commission by RYURED on DeviantArt - Human Sweetie Belle X Human Spike
5.Smoothie Princesses by Marbola on DeviantArt - Celestia and Luna

1.CMC Birdwatchers by Rocket-LawnChair on DeviantArt
2.Cadance X Shining Armor by share dast
3.Halloween Vampire Twilight by detectiveneko
4.Seapony Luna by Andy Price
5.Celestia hugging a wine bottle by Andy Price

Comics
Official fan comic by Bevin Brand! Featuring Flash Sentry and Timber Spruce kissing.

https://bevinbrand.tumblr.com/post/188119578268/an-old-comic-from-2016-i-re-conceived-and-re-drew

Young FlutterDash dealing with bullies by laochi777

SigmasonicX · Oct 12, 2019

In addition to the Sunday stream, we're streaming the final FiM episodes as they air, at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT on October 11.

Speaking of the Sunday stream, I'll post the schedule for it right now.
1. FiM - 103 - The Ticket Master
2. FiM - 124 - Cutie Mark Chronicles
3. FiM - 126 - Best Night Ever
4-6. FiM Finale

~~~

More RariTwi fics!

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451014/lamentations

Just as good as when I proofread this! I love the effect of the interrupted letters stopping at odd points, and how Twilight's narration interacts with it. You did a great job showing her emotions.
Also, other readers, I suppose you can blame me for Rarity's letter having ambiguous meaning, lol.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451192/a-helpful-book

That was really cute, and a clever way to use the Sunset book. I loved Twilight's exchanges with Sunset and Dougworld Rarity. Now if only we could have seen Rarity's reaction to the flowers.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450850/eyes-on-me-darling

That was a great fight sequence. It did throw me off that Twilight needed to use a cloud walking spell, but I noticed the story description refers to Twilight as a unicorn. Rarity being from a military family is an odd detail, but an interesting one.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450698/the-haunted-library

Those are some fun story snippets that could be expanded into larger stories, if you find the inspiration.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451071/rarity-learns-math

That was cute! Some great gags here.

Andrew J · Oct 12, 2019

Andrew J said:
You know, what with Korra and Asami, and Princess Bubblegum and Marceline, and just basically all of Steven Universe, it's high time Rainbow Dash got a girlfriend.

Welp.

SigmasonicX · Oct 16, 2019

Stream followup, the last one ever for FiM premieres.

On Saturday, we watched the following.
*.Make Them Gold [The Final PTR Collab] - YouTube
*.[PMV] On Our Way - YouTube
1. FiM - 924 - The Ending of the End part 1
*.The Pony Appreciation Melody - YouTube
*.PMV | All My Friends (ft. Madeon) - YouTube
2. FiM - 925 - The Ending of the End part 2
*.Light of Hope - [PMV Final] - YouTube
3. FiM - 926 (final) - The Last Problem
*.I Used to Wonder... (PMV) - YouTube

On Sunday, we watched
*.Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle (Animated PMV) [2nd place Drama BronyCon PMV Contest] - YouTube
*.Eternal [PMV] - YouTube
1. FiM - 103 - The Ticket Master
*.PMV Collab | Bones - YouTube
2. FiM - 124 - Cutie Mark Chronicles
*.Language [PMV] - YouTube
3. FiM - 126 - The Best Night Ever
*.[PMV] KEMURIKUSA - YouTube
4. FiM - 924 - The Ending of the End part 1
5. FiM - 925 - The Ending of the End part 2
*.I Used to Wonder... (PMV) - YouTube
6. FiM - 926 (final) - The Last Problem

The Saturday stream had a lot of people, but perhaps surprisingly not the most we've had. It was about the same number of people as the "Daring Doubt" stream.

That said, this was my first time watching an MLP episode for the first time in the stream, and it was fun. And no spoilers from people who knew what happened too!

The Sunday stream, on the other hand, had only a couple people, though one couldn't make it for technical problems only. It's a shame people didn't come for the season 1 episodes at least. They were fun and interesting to watch again. Applejack's voice being different was well known, but wow, I was not prepared for the differences in the CMC voices.

The videos are all PMVs created in the last couple months, at least tangentially tied to the series ending.

~~~

Fell behind on fics for obvious reasons.

October 12

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451123/the-bridge-over-the-neighgara

This was great! Good job imagining Twilight in the Sombra War Timeline and how Rarity could get involved in the front lines. The battle scenes were well done and I was sad to see so many ponies die, and Twilight and Rarity had interesting interactions.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451124/sledding-and-other-horrors

"It will slay us both, Twilight," I said with stern surety.

Correction: It will sleigh them both
I laughed at this line.

This was really cute, and yeah, a good pick me up after both the series finale and the previous war story.

October 13

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451306/making-up-is-hard-to-do

This had some good gags. I was a bit confused who was talking when at points, though. Shame the trio didn't figure things out.

A Lady Fit for Royalty

Ever since Rarity knew she was a filly, she knew what it meant to be a lady. Her prince would sweep her off her hooves any moment now, if only she were a little more lady-like. That's what she tells Twilight, anyhow.

www.fimfiction.net

Story looks good so far. The idea that Rarity has never dated anyone doesn't fit how I view the character, but I'll accept it for this fic, and it's important for the premise. Glad to see multiple fics with trans ponies in this RariTwi Bomb.

Twilight and Doctor Hooves is an old season one era fandom pairing that I was surprised to see again. It'll be interesting to see how that goes.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451385/twice-the-proposal

Aww. Pure fluff, and it's great.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450918/rarity-catches-the-flu

Great job on your first story! That was pretty cute, though I think Twilight should have been more concerned about getting infected herself, lol. You did a good job shifting perspectives with repeated lines but with different tones.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451375/between-the-lines

That was a nice creepy story, with a happy ending. You did a great job with Rarity twisting Twilight's attempts to reach out to her. So this is this universe's version of Discord's attack, huh?

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451357/somewhere-between-heaven-and-earth

I was expecting Rarity to become jealous that Twilight became better at her than something she used to be praised for, but then it went in another, still interesting, direction.

Some of the exposition at the start was a bit awkward, but I thought it was interesting to explore different magic types and creating a virtual magic store. Incorporating computer concepts into magic is usually neat.

You did a good job making Twilight feel alien by the end.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450005/rise-and-shine

That was fun. And nobody was hurt in the end, so it's all fine! Celestia's blasé reaction to being buried was great, and it was nice seeing such friendship between Rarity and Twilight.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451404/a-touching-nightmare

This was a cute story, and a nice way to incorporate a TEL reference. I hadn't thought of how the base premise would work as a metaphor like this, and it makes sense that Twilight would get more self conscious about contact after dating. Though if the base premise is a nightmare, I wonder what this Twilight would make of the actual nightmares in TEL.

And last but far from least.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/451235/in-everything-but-name

Mono's story set around the series finale.

This was fantastic! I just had to jump past the other RariTwi bombfics to get to this, and I'm glad I did. Integrating the series finale with your signature blend of sweetness and sadness then sweetness again is the perfect way to celebrate the ending.

I was worried that Rarity and Twilight would be apart for the twenty or whatever years between the coronation and the epilogue, but thankfully, they're back to being "us" soon enough and we got that great mane dyeing scene.

It's kind of weird seeing you write about later show events and including characters like Gallus, even if he is just playing the guard role. Cheese Sandwich too, though I suppose he's from the same season as Coco, who you do write.

Overall, a great capstone to the series. And nothing will ever contradict it! RariTwi has won forever.

SigmasonicX · Oct 17, 2019

Stream announcement, we're watching the 1991 The Addams Family movie.

~~~

Well, back to this thread for news posts and reviews

Friendship is Magic #83
The subject of this story is a town that holds tortoise races, which Rainbow wanted to submit Tank to, but she couldn't make it, so Twilight and Spike are taking him. They arrive to find the race might be canceled, because the champion has gone missing. Thus, Twilight goes on the case.

This is an odd issue. I can tell what it's going for, and it largely succeeds at that, but there are a bunch of strange things about it.

First of all, bets. Twilight explains that ponies place friendly bets on these races, which already stood out to me. I just didn't expect something aimed at kids to talk about betting like this. Then they keep bringing up the bets throughout the story.

There are a couple typos and grammatical errors, more so than usual for this series.

At one point, Twilight's detective costume completely changes colors for no apparent reason; it stays like that for the rest of the issue. There are also some odd shots.

And there are other things I don't recall at the moment.

In any case, this is going for a full Sherlock Holmes pastiche, complete with a pony named Leigh Stride (the one above) and other ponies named after Holmes figures, and it largely works as that, particularly once Twilight gets her full Holmes outfit. The mystery is more advanced than those of Ponyville Mysteries, but still pretty simple.

Oh right, Silver Quill's review reminds me. Spike is inexplicably without wings, when he had wings in previous issues, and he's oddly off screen in several panels where he's talking. With Silver Quill pointing out that some Spike panels are clearly using shots from the show as reference, it's obvious that the artist had trouble drawing him.

I liked Twilight in this story. She's polite and empathetic to everyone and she figures out the mystery without ever coming off as dumb.

Overall, despite flaws, I found this an enjoyable comic.

~~~

And some art, left over from last week. Still not getting to finale art, let alone art posted after the finale.
1.Oh dang its ponies by Neon-oni on DeviantArt - Mane Six
2.Sunburst and Twilight dressed as Starswirl in front of him by goodmode
3.Ocellus and Smolder by Kerui8D on DeviantArt
4.Twilight saying <3 by tohupo
5.Sunset Shimmer by Flora-GlassYT on DeviantArt

1.Follow Your Dream by ChaosAngelDesu on DeviantArt - Starlight
2.Early Morning: Rainbow Dash by TheNornOnTheGo on DeviantArt
3.Bevin's Scribbles — Doodled while talking to friends recently. As... - SciTwi X Sunset art drawn by someone who worked on the show!
4.Pinkie, Rarity, and Opal tea party by chau_plum
5.Rarity 10 7 2019 by tohupo on DeviantArt

1.EQG Applejack X Rarity by 5mmumm5
2.Rarity X Twilight by _zunpop
3.EQG Pinkie X Sunset by 5mmumm5
4.july by mirroredsea on DeviantArt - Rarity
5.Fly! by Yakovlev-vad on DeviantArt - Fluttershy rescuing butterflies from an OC collector

1.SciTwi X Sunset under a tree by 5mmumm5
2.SciTwi X Sunset reading magazines by 5mmumm5
3.Make a Wish: Fluttershy by TheNornOnTheGo on DeviantArt
4.aphrodite horse by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Cadance
5.Buttercup by Flora-GlassYT on DeviantArt

1.Pinkie GIF by dstears
2.Starlight X Trixie by dstears
3.Tempest Shadow by ZidaneMina on DeviantArt
4.Mwah~ by waterz-colrxz on DeviantArt - Ocellus X Gallus
5.SciTwi X Sunset with a cat by 5mmumm5

1.MLPONYTA by iMoshie on DeviantArt - MLP-ified Ponyta
2.Peace was never an option by handgunboi on DeviantArt - Luna and Goose
3.Trixie putting up poster by dstears
4.Yona by trickate
5.Twilight not saying <3 by tohupo

1.Pinkie by tohupo
2.Rarilight with Kannazuki no Miko ED parody by KinGKerO on DeviantArt
3.Twilight and Rarity react to Monochromatic's book by kingkero
4.Commission - Lunar Rebellion 2 by GashibokA on DeviantArt - Luna vs. Daybreaker
5.Twilight Velvet and Night Light by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt

SigmasonicX · Oct 18, 2019

Stream followup, we watched The Addams Family (1991).

I never watched this growing up, and of the people in the stream, only one person did, excluding people who said they probably caught clips on TV. This is one of those movies where the main story isn't great, but a lot of the stand alone scenes are great. It was pretty enjoyable.

~~~

Well since ED is freely posting these and Hasbro is monetizing them, here are leaked alternate and full versions of songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01IJ22AHAHc

This extended EQG theme is significantly longer. It's alright.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V_Ca4h8u9M

Full version of "All Good" from Spring Breakdown, which in the special got interrupted by Rainbow showing off. This is also significantly longer. It's fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNsMQK2bSq0

"Invisible" from Forgotten Friendship got interrupted by Sunset stealing from Wallflower. That last line "soon I will be gone" is pretty morbid... or hinting about the end of G4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuZBtwSmyrQ

"So Many Wonders" wasn't interrupted, but this does have a couple additional lyrics before "squirrels in the trees". It's a bit odd that it was seemingly designed to get cut out, since the music builds up, dips down for these extra lyrics, then swells up again at the end of the extra part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iza8pl-31cI

Oh right, I heard about this. "We'll Made Our Mark" originally had Diamond Tiara sing too. It's nice to hear, but yeah, I think it was to the detriment of the song as a whole. In the final version, there are three distinct segments, while there are four here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ept9Q5_vMr4

"Morning in Ponyville" originally had a lot more singers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deCB5BXkl-w

I don't think I'll link all the demos, but it's interesting to hear different singers and temp instrumentation for songs like "Best Friends Until the End of Time". For those unaware, these demos are used as reference for the final singers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9pfPGnIQow

Oh never mind, this is an interesting one. This original demo version of "So Much More To Me" is really different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3__ThGQWNE

The demo version of "A Kirin's Tale" is also completely different. A lot more somber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePnbtuQIQ-c

"My Little Pony... Girls"
I guess that was the working name for EQGs. But that "girls" is added on so awkwardly.

~~~

Finale art I didn't post in the finale thread.

These are all from before the US airing.
1.First Luster Dawn fanart by andaluce
2.Last scene by unknown artist
3.Older Twilight by not-ordinary-pony
4.Last scene by shad0w-galaxy
5.Li'l Cheese by unknown artist

1.I Love You (Older AppleDash) by XFaithyHedgefoxX on DeviantArt
2.luster by trinoids on DeviantArt
3.-SPOILER- Luster Dawn by BloodyBagels on DeviantArt
4.Older Rarity and Rainbow by kabayo
5.Trixie by wilshirewolf on DeviantArt

1.Older Hug by littmosa
2.Tempest and Sunset celebrate being canon by manly man - For some reason this image caused people to melt down
3.Pinkie, Cheese, and Li'l Cheese by unknown artist
4.Sleep well, Fluttershy uwu by JeffaPegas on DeviantArt - X Discord
5.So much to say, not just today but always... by MyLittleGodzilla on DeviantArt - Older Twilight

1.gal pals getting married by emiiambar on DeviantArt - Human Bon Bon X Lyra
2.Equestria Girls Luster Dawn by Gouhlsrule on DeviantArt
3.Human Applejack X Rainbow by alyciusky
4.Aw Geez Aunty Twilight by Moonlightdisney5 on DeviantArt - Older Flurry
5.Legion of Doom by jotakaanimation on DeviantArt

1.Chaos Alicorn Cozy by not-ordinary-pony
2.Pinkie and Li'l Cheese by t-0-rtured
3.Pinkie Pie X Cheese by Phoeberia on DeviantArt - And Li'l Cheese
4.Alicorn Cozy Glow by broozerpunch
5.Princess Twilight grown up by SakishiTheWolf on DeviantArt

1.Li'l Cheese and "Muffin Macintosh" by heretichesh
2.A New Destiny by StarIcy097 on DeviantArt - Twilight hugging herself
3.Li'l Cheese by princessmuffinart
4.Did you know that you're all my very best friends? by GlitterStar2000 on DeviantArt - Mane Six
5.Older Rainbow being platonic with Applejack, also Fluttershy by mkogwheel

1.Twilight by joselyn565 on DeviantArt - Older
2.My Little Pony Princess Twilight Sparkle by santamouse23 on DeviantArt
3.Demon Cozy Glow by MelSpyRose on DeviantArt
4.Luster Dawn logo Boruto style by Supernova Explosion
5.Human Applejack X Rainbow by nounoo

1.Twilight Sparkle (Spoilers) by Tillie-TMB on DeviantArt
2.Twilight Headcanon by turnipBerry on DeviantArt
3.Seeing Stars by Cascayd on DeviantArt - Twilight
4.Lil' Cheesey by Cascayd on DeviantArt
5.New Ruler of Equestria by DeannaPhantom13 on DeviantArt - Twilight

1.Old wives by IncendiaryBoobs on DeviantArt - Rarity X Rainbow X Applejack
2.Soulmates - Fluttercord by IncendiaryBoobs on DeviantArt
3.I dont wanna grow up by Emerald-Light on DeviantArt - Twilight and Older Twilight
4.Tea party by Shepherd228666 on DeviantArt - Older muscular Spike and Li'l Cheese
5.adult Spike by Shepherd228666 on DeviantArt

1.{My Rendition of Twicorn} by Amura-Of-Jupiter on DeviantArt - Twilight
2.Older Rarity by hc0
3.Pinkie pie happ by DuckoIII on DeviantArt
4.Speedpaint - MLP Princess Twilight Sparkle by SeaNekoGirl on DeviantArt
5.Princess Twilight sparkle by amyszek on DeviantArt - And unicorn Twilight

1.Older Mane Six by nokrats
2.Fluttershy and Creepy Discord by nokrats
3.Tempest X Older Twilight by mangoshibi
4..:Hold the Future Tightly:. by RazorSketches on DeviantArt - Twilight
5.twilight and Flurry by ColourBlossom on DeviantArt

1.Princess of Friendship by Evianix on DeviantArt - Twilight
2.Older Rainbow X Applejack by unknown artist
3.Older Male Trixie and Starlight by shadowbonz
4.Rainbow Dash Headcanon by turnipBerry on DeviantArt
5.Pinkie pie Headcanon by turnipBerry on DeviantArt

1.[FINALE SPOILERS] apple family extended by guzzlord on DeviantArt
2.Discord and Fluttershy tea party having by rubtox on DeviantArt
3.MLP: Young princess by LymaMynsay11 on DeviantArt - Twilight
4.Pinkie saying it was fun by reiduran
5.Sunset saying things'll be okay by reiduran

And comic
legacy.png by jonathantaniuchi on DeviantArt - Story of Starlight and Sunburst

I haven't even finished the images that came out before the US release.

PaulloDEC · Oct 18, 2019

That alternate version of the unused Equestria Girls credits track is straight-up hilarious. The word "girls" really is literally just jammed in there.

Some of the others are quite interesting too. So Many Wonders is weird for the exact reason you mention, whereas Morning in Ponyville isn't bad at all.

SigmasonicX · Oct 18, 2019

PaulloDEC said:
Some of the others are quite interesting too. So Many Wonders is weird for the exact reason you mention, whereas Morning in Ponyville isn't bad at all.

Yeah, "Morning in Ponyville" isn't bad, but it's clear why they cut it. Magical Mystery Cure is packed as is, and we don't need to hear from other ponies. Plus the song being interrupted works better when it doesn't go on so long.

This reminds me, the full version of "Find a Way" was actually officially released over five years ago.

I suppose I'm posting these here now.

Love how the adult versions are just scaled up, and how they skip Pinkie. Also Taz.

Next in the "Different View of" series, with Pinkie in space with time frozen. It's a bit hard to tell that's what happened on first watch. It's interesting, and it does have a happy ending for those worried.

SigmasonicX · Oct 19, 2019

Stream announcement, we're watching the following.
1-2. Tangled - 301-2 - Rapunzel's Return
3-6. Shiki - 1-4

We're returning to Tangled, with the start of season 3.

And for Halloween stream, we're watching the first four episodes of a horror mystery anime, Shiki. Note that this is on the slow end.

~~~

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/XBOzZy

MLP Movie concept art. Most of this was already in the Art Of book, but this is good for those who haven't read it.

Good remix

SigmasonicX · Oct 21, 2019

Stream followup, we watched the following.
*.My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic Theme Song! - YouTube
1-2. Tangled - 301-2 - Rapunzel's Return
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Pinkie Pie - Laughter Song | HD - YouTube
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Pinkie's Gala Fantasy Song | HD - YouTube
*.MLP:FiM | Music | The Ticket Song | HD - YouTube
3. Shiki - 1
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Hop Skip and Jump Song | HD - YouTube
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Evil Enchantress (Pinkie Pie's Version) | HD - YouTube
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Evil Enchantress (Flutterguy's Version) | HD - YouTube
4. Shiki - 2
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Winter Wrap Up | HD - YouTube
5. Shiki - 3
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Cupcake Song | HD - YouTube
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Art of the Dress (The First Part) | HD - YouTube
*. MLP:FiM | Music | Art of the Dress (Reprise) | HD - YouTube
6. Shiki - 4

It's the start of season 3 of Tangled! And we get a story with odd parallels to the season 3 premiere of FiM. Crystals, Rapunzel learning she can't do it on her own and needs her friends, a kingdom under attack. That's about it really. After the serious start with Cassandra, the rest of the episode was pretty goofy, which threw people off. There's also the returning villains who are in-universe acknowledged as being forgettable; I'm not sure if any of them besides the leader and Varian are even actually returning. Varian's easy forgiveness was also seen as odd.

After that, we started the horror mystery Shiki, with character designs straight out of Yu-Gi-Oh. Heck, Yuki even looks like he could be a YGO protagonist, if there were more colors in his hair. The first episode wasn't too well received; I was honestly glad that pink haired girl died. However, the other episodes were much more interesting, especially once the medical examination aspect came into play. It looks like we'll continue watching this even past October.

EDIT: Forgot, we're watching MLP songs between everything now. The ones we watched were added above.

~~~

I published a new fanfic!

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/452120/i-cant-click-this-book-auntie

This started as part of a conspiracy to make Li'l Cheese non-cis in fanfics, but I needed an actual story, so I was inspired by this Jargon Scott comic.

SigmasonicX · Oct 22, 2019

Well, this is complete now

And a cute "deleted scene"

~~~

More finale art

1.self indulgent fluttershy pic by simpleoddities on DeviantArt
2.Li'l Cheese by summer-cascades
3.Armored Alicorn Cozy Glow by katya using a base by vvolllovv
4.Lil Cheese's Birth by RubyG242 on DeviantArt
5.Older Twilight X Older Spike by jbond

1.Lil Cheese by WitherMoon on DeviantArt
2.Dat Face by AryaTheEditor on DeviantArt - Older Twilight
3.spoiler alert ! Pinkie x cheese and lil cheese by SweetKllrVane on DeviantArt
4.Older Twilight hugging Tempest by ejlightning007arts
5.Princess Twilight Future Ending by harmonyvsinsanity on DeviantArt

1.Human Fluttershy X Discord by citi
2.Older Twilight by unknown artist
3.I was just like you by Batrina on DeviantArt - Older and unicorn Twilight, Luster Dawn
4.Li'l Cheese by CindyPinkArtje on DeviantArt
5.Luster Dawn by CindyPinkArtje on DeviantArt

1.Rarity Headcanon by turnipBerry on DeviantArt
2.Applejack Headcanon by turnipBerry on DeviantArt
3.Fluttershy Headcanon by turnipBerry on DeviantArt
4.Older Applejack X Rainbow by dysphoriyl
5.Older Flurry Heart by katya

1.Rare ship - Older Twilight X Braeburn by nuazka
2.Flurry Heart MLP by Lilith1Light on DeviantArt
3.Applejack by Dusty-Onyx on DeviantArt
4.Older Twilight X Fluttershy by akitapawz
5.Older Twilight by siripim111

1.MLP Flurry spends some time with Twilight by BrowniePawYT on DeviantArt
2.Offcial full grown Twilight ? by rxiantool on DeviantArt
3.Older Twilight by floofurr
4.Li'l Cheese by euspuche
5.Princess of Equestria by Samoht-Lion on DeviantArt - Older Twilight

Here's where we start getting art uploaded day of the US airing.

1.Oh? You're approaching me? by QueenCold on DeviantArt - Menacing Spike and Garble
2.Old Mane Six by pearlescent
3.Princess Twilight Sparkle by Negatif22 on DeviantArt
4.Starlight Glimmer by RapidFox on DeviantArt
5.Always by Pia-sama on DeviantArt - Older Spike X Rarity

1.Happy Trails And See You Again by saturdaymorningproj on DeviantArt - Older Mane Six
2.Friendship lasts forever by JPHyperX on DeviantArt - Older Twilight
3.The friends we've made by viwrastupr on DeviantArt - Older Twilight
4.Chaos by Moonatik on Newgrounds - Chaos Pinkie
5.Our Happily Ever After by TrebleSketchOfficial on DeviantArt - Pinkie, Cheese, and Li'l Cheese

And that last image was made for this song.

Of course the Pinkie fan voice that already shipped Pinkie with Cheese would have this prepared for the US airing.

SigmasonicX · Oct 22, 2019

https://hasbropulse.com/products/ponies-the-galloping-playmats-by-ultra-pro

MLP playmats sold out already.

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/magic-the-gathering/products/ponies-the-galloping

I was able to get a card set, though.

https://hasbropulse.com/blogs/unboxed/the-art-of-ponies-the-galloping

Also, this article briefly talks about the art process and includes some alternate sketches.

cheesekao · Oct 23, 2019

So I have never really seriously sat down and watched an episode of this series. Seeing as to how the current series just ended, I decided to jump in and see what the hubub all those years ago was about. These are my thoughts after completing the first season.

General Thoughts
It's pretty clear that the show is geared towards a younger audience but it isn't too overt as something like Dora The Explorer. I would have noped out pretty hard if that was the case. Another thing I was surprised about is how the main characters are young adults that have actual jobs. I had always assumed they were teenagers so them being young adults is a plus in my book.

Characters
Twilight Sparkle - The straight pony. I don't dislike her but she doesn't really have any defining personalities compared to the others. She's fine I guess.

Apple Jack - The resident cowgirl. Outside of the stuff that comes with the cowboy/cowgirl territory, she's pretty normal compared to the others as well so I don't really have much to say except I'm a sucker for southern accents.

Pinkie Pie - The local loon. She's kind of a hit or miss for me. I find her to be pretty grating when she's being loud and obnoxious. However, in situations like when she's constantly stalking twilight sparkle to make sure she doesn't reveal her friend's secret, that's when I enjoy her presence.

Rarity - The prim and proper lady. Most characters of this archetype in media have the glaring flaw of being extremely stuck up and pompous. Rarity does have a bit of an ego and brags from time to time but compared to other depictions of the archetype I've seen, she's pretty humble and gets along well with her friends. Her highlight of the season was definitely when she was kidnapped by dogs and annoyed them to death by turning her personality up to 11.

Flutter Shy - The kind of shy but not really one. The first episode painted her as really awkward and super shy but over the course of the season, she's portrayed as more of a soft spoken individual who doesn't like drawing attention which is pretty endearing.

Rainbow Dash - The sporty and punky one. Pretty much your standard tomboy archetype played straight. She's okay I suppose.

Cutie Mark Crusaders - Put a bullet through my head

Conclusion
Overall, first impressions are pretty positive and it's time well spent for the most part. The episodes with the kid ponies made me blank out hard though. I can kind of see now how the show grew beyond it's intended target audience as it treats its viewers with more respect than most other shows targeted at a young audience. The show's themes are pretty gender neutral as well beyond surface level things like most characters being females and the art style. It's one of the better cartoons I've seen in a while. Let's see how things fare in season 2.

This is a lot of words for an OT that's pretty much dead but eh, I've got time to kill anyway.

SigmasonicX · Oct 23, 2019

cheesekao said:
So I have never really seriously sat down and watched an episode of this series. Seeing as to how the current series just ended, I decided to jump in and see what the hubub all those years ago was about. These are my thoughts after completing the first season.

General Thoughts
It's pretty clear that the show is geared towards a younger audience but it isn't too overt as something like Dora The Explorer. I would have noped out pretty hard if that was the case. Another thing I was surprised about is how the main characters are young adults that have actual jobs. I had always assumed they were teenagers so them being young adults is a plus in my book.

Characters
Twilight Sparkle - The straight pony. I don't dislike her but she doesn't really have any defining personalities compared to the others. She's fine I guess.

Apple Jack - The resident cowgirl. Outside of the stuff that comes with the cowboy/cowgirl territory, she's pretty normal compared to the others as well so I don't really have much to say except I'm a sucker for southern accents.

Pinkie Pie - The local loon. She's kind of a hit or miss for me. I find her to be pretty grating when she's being loud and obnoxious. However, in situations like when she's constantly stalking twilight sparkle to make sure she doesn't reveal her friend's secret, that's when I enjoy her presence.

Rarity - The prim and proper lady. Most characters of this archetype in media have the glaring flaw of being extremely stuck up and pompous. Rarity does have a bit of an ego and brags from time to time but compared to other depictions of the archetype I've seen, she's pretty humble and gets along well with her friends. Her highlight of the season was definitely when she was kidnapped by dogs and annoyed them to death by turning her personality up to 11.

Flutter Shy - The kind of shy but not really one. The first episode painted her as really awkward and super shy but over the course of the season, she's portrayed as more of a soft spoken individual who doesn't like drawing attention which is pretty endearing.

Rainbow Dash - The sporty and punky one. Pretty much your standard tomboy archetype played straight. She's okay I suppose.

Cutie Mark Crusaders - Put a bullet through my head

Conclusion
Overall, first impressions are pretty positive and it's time well spent for the most part. The episodes with the kid ponies made me blank out hard though. I can kind of see now how the show grew beyond it's intended target audience as it treats its viewers with more respect than most other shows targeted at a young audience. The show's themes are pretty gender neutral as well beyond surface level things like most characters being females and the art style. It's one of the better cartoons I've seen in a while. Let's see how things fare in season 2.

This is a lot of words for an OT that's pretty much dead but eh, I've got time to kill anyway.

Funnily enough, your thoughts actually reflect those of the general fandom early on in the series, although people generally started appreciating the CMC by the end of the season. In any case, they're much better after season one; there is less focus on their single-minded cutie mark search, and we see them interact with other characters.

Twilight goes through a pretty significant personality change, or rather a shift in what gets focused on, early on in season 2 (you'll know it when you see it).

Glad you're a Rarity fan! And Fluttershy too, I suppose.

About the thread, most of the regulars have moved to Discord. A lot of people still read the thread, but they only post if they have something to add.

Looking forward to your thoughts on season 2.

UberTag · Oct 23, 2019

cheesekao said:
Cutie Mark Crusaders - Put a bullet through my head

Conclusion
Overall, first impressions are pretty positive and it's time well spent for the most part. The episodes with the kid ponies made me blank out hard though.

I was rather lukewarm on the CMCs in Season 1. Episodes like Sisterhooves Social (Season 2) and Sleepless in Ponyville (Season 3) went a long way towards changing that perception. (The Apple Bloom standalones... not so much. Although I enjoyed seeing her interact with Zecora.)

Seeing how I now consider Crusaders of the Lost Mark the best episode in the entire series, needless to say that sentiment has largely changed. There was a certain endearment watching these fillies (and the VAs that voiced them) grow up and evolve over the course of the show. And that growth wouldn't have been anywhere as profound without having them start off as grating, immature and bratty.

cheesekao · Oct 23, 2019

SigmasonicX said:
Funnily enough, your thoughts actually reflect those of the general fandom early on in the series, although people generally started appreciating the CMC by the end of the season. In any case, they're much better after season one; there is less focus on their single-minded cutie mark search, and we see them interact with other characters.

UberTag said:
I was rather lukewarm on the CMCs in Season 1. Episodes like Sisterhooves Social (Season 2) and Sleepless in Ponyville (Season 3) went a long way towards changing that perception. (The Apple Bloom standalones... not so much. Although I enjoyed seeing her interact with Zecora.)

Seeing how I now consider Crusaders of the Lost Mark the best episode in the entire series, needless to say that sentiment has largely changed. There was a certain endearment watching these fillies (and the VAs that voiced them) grow up and evolve over the course of the show. And that growth wouldn't have been anywhere as profound without having them start off as grating, immature and bratty.

I was thinking of skipping any future episodes that revolve around that group but I suppose I'll just have to power through those. I sincerely hope they do indeed get better.

UberTag · Oct 23, 2019

cheesekao said:
I was thinking of skipping any future episodes that revolve around that group but I suppose I'll just have to power through those. I sincerely hope they do indeed get better.

My takeaway from Season 1 more or less mirrored yours... and I definitely felt rewarded for powering through and sticking with them. There are good and bad episodes to come (CMC-centric or otherwise) as there is with any series, although Season 2 starts quite strong and remains one of the best seasons in the series, IMO - along with Seasons 5 and 7. Main drawback for me on Season 2 are some of the Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash focus episodes that play up their annoying qualities.

On the CMC front, The Cutie Pox (Episode 6) will likely prove to be a tough grind as it's similar to the Season 1 CMC fare. Hearts and Hooves Day (Episode 17) and Ponyville Confidential (Episode 23) are significantly better.

SigmasonicX · Oct 23, 2019

cheesekao said:
I was thinking of skipping any future episodes that revolve around that group but I suppose I'll just have to power through those. I sincerely hope they do indeed get better.

"Sisterhooves Social" is a pretty solid CMC episode (well, Sweetie Belle episode) that's early in season 2, so you can see how you feel about that. "The Cutie Pox" right after is more along the lines of a season 1 CMC episode, but you might like it more by then.

Like Uber hinted, the VAs for the CMC were actual kids (well, young teenagers), so it's interesting seeing their voices and characters change over the series.

SigmasonicX · Oct 24, 2019

Stream announcement, we're watching the following.
1. Ghost Stories - 9 (the rabbit episode)
2. Bob's Burgers - 402 - Fort Night
3. Phineas and Ferb - 444 - Night of the Living Pharmacists (hour long)

I decided I wasn't really comfortable showing a Regular Show special when I wasn't too familiar with the show and the second special looked more interesting than the first but I also didn't see anyone actually rank them. I didn't want to choose and choose wrong, basically.

Next Thursday stream will actually be on Halloween, so I plan on just showing Halloweentown to make it easier on me to just get up, answer the door, and come back to the stream.

~~~

Bunch of stuff from over a week ago.

Great animation.

And generally non-finale art.
1.Mane Nine by artiks
2.Show ending celebration GIF by mrponiator
3.Morning Dew by xXMarkingXx on DeviantArt - Rarity
4.SciTwi and Sunset getting movie snacks and holding hands by 5mmumm5
5.SciTwi and Sunset fistbump with snacks in theater by 5mmumm5

1.EQG Applejack and Mermaid Rarity by 5mmumm5
2.Mane Six and Spike by hiccupsdoesart
3.Sunset Shimmer by Avrameow on DeviantArt
4.Frail - #inktober Day 8 by Zetamad on DeviantArt - Fluttershy
5.Friendship is Magic by Cozmicpandawolf on DeviantArt - Mane Six, Spike, and Sunset

Raridashdoodles dumped a ton of EQG Rarity X Rainbow art
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5. - There are images following after this, but they're lewd.

1.Thank You! by johnjoseco on DeviantArt - Mane Six and Spike
2.S09E23 by DimFann on DeviantArt - Sugar Belle and Big Mac wedding
3.Bunch of pones forming a heart by sibashen
4.Winter Twilight by tohupo
5.Thank You with Mane Six by ratofdrawn

1.SciTwi X Sleepy Sunset by 5mmumm5
2.After Party by dstears on DeviantArt - Bunch of pones
3.Alicat :P by MagnaLuna on DeviantArt - Luna
4.Togetherness by OinkTweetStudios on DeviantArt - Big Mac and Sugar Belle wedding
5.The Mane 8 by Poulped on DeviantArt - With Starlight and Spike

1.Book-kiss by Julunis14 on DeviantArt - Twilight X Thorax
2.in love in october by MrScroup on DeviantArt - SciTwi Pony
3.2010-2019 by negasun on DeviantArt - Twilight hugging the pilot book
4.Bevin's Scribbles — This could just be my eyes playing tricks on me,... - Official fan art of Sunset dancing with Flash and getting handsy
5.Mane Six and Spike by osawari64

1.Smolder playing baseball by maren
2.thank you!! by tyuubatu on DeviantArt - Mane Six
3.Twilight Sparkle 10 14 2019 by tohupo on DeviantArt
4.Inky Rose by unousaya on DeviantArt
5.cocoa by MrScroup on DeviantArt - Fluttershy

Comic
Twilight and Celestia talking about the end by artiks

SigmasonicX · Oct 24, 2019

Stream followup, we watched the following.
1. Ghost Stories - 9 (the rabbit episode)
2. Bob's Burgers - 402 - Fort Night

Everyone else had to leave, so we didn't watch Phineas and Ferb.

The episodes we watched were both good. The Ghost Stories episode is a repeat of last year, but I forgot a lot of it, including the rabbit girl randomly raising her voice. The Bob's Burgers episode is new for me, and it was a lot of fun.

~~~

As some have requested, I'm going to start a poll for the best song. Check this spreadsheet for the matchups on the Round 1 sheet.

Out of the following five songs, vote for your favorite!
Match 1
A. Shake Your Tail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdVdpRzUzR0

B. BBBFF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM-V2bZgSD8

C. Fresh Princess of Friendship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNINwCzSms4

D. Flawless

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbCxNOOXrts

E. Glass of Water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHyKquU97Y0

It's actually coming down to Flawless vs. Shake Your Tail for me.

~~~

Made by a different person, but a good match for the style

SigmasonicX · Oct 26, 2019

For Round 1 Match 1, "Flawless" seems to be the clear winner. "BBBFF" comes in second place, meaning that will head off to the loser bracket if this holds. However, voting will last for the entire round.

Match 2 is
A. A True, True Friend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4cNwdWkGN0

B. Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L11htG8a_Y

C. Run to Break Free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqN9R45JHuQ

D. Mad Twience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLlzEeyQXJo

E. Perfect Day for Fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K57F3iFmvkc

Now "A True True Friend" seems like it would be the clear winner, but "Run to Break Free" is a pretty well regarded Rainbow song. And "Mad Twience" has some cute SciTwi.

"A True True Friend" starts kind of weak but keeps getting grander as it goes on. There are a lot of individual moments I like; Rarity saying "Pinkie Pie is in trouble"; everyone cheering for Pinkie; the big hug.

I like the Flim and Flam song, though it's there to serve a story purpose rather than to work as a song by itself.

"Run to Break Free" is conceptually interesting, but it doesn't really click for me.

"Mad Twience" is cute, though the chorus is kind of weak.

"Perfect Day for Fun" is cute, though the lyrics aren't the best.

~~~

Trailer for a nice looking upcoming animation.

And a Twilight for every season

PaulloDEC · Oct 26, 2019

I was too slow with the last vote, but I'm here now to throw my weight 100% behind True True Friend. One of the best songs the show has produced.

Curative Tonic is fine, but it's really just a slightly less good Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

Run to Break Free I'm just hearing now for the first time, and I dig it. It's got a different vibe to any other MLP/EG song I've heard, which I like.

Mad Twience is weird, don't like it.

Perfect Day for Fun is the most generic Equestria Girls song I could imagine.

SigmasonicX · Oct 26, 2019

PaulloDEC said:
I was too slow with the last vote, but I'm here now to throw my weight 100% behind True True Friend. One of the best songs the show has produced.

Curative Tonic is fine, but it's really just a slightly less good Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

Run to Break Free I'm just hearing now for the first time, and I dig it. It's got a different vibe to any other MLP/EG song I've heard, which I like.

Mad Twience is weird, don't like it.

Perfect Day for Fun is the most generic Equestria Girls song I could imagine.

You can still vote for the first match, and all the matches until the round ends.

PaulloDEC · Oct 26, 2019

SigmasonicX said:
You can still vote for the first match, and all the matches until the round ends.

Oh, neat. Well, here we go:

BBBFF - I don't know how much I actually like this song, but it has the benefit of Season 2 nostalgia, and the competition is exceptionally weak.

Flawless feels more like an EG song than a MLP song to me, but I think it has more merit than anything of the other three in the list.

Shake Your Tail is, again, cookie-cutter Equestria Girls pop fluff. Not bad, not good. Just there.

Fresh Princess has novelty going for it, but that's all.

Glass of Water is painful. I like Discord and all, but this is a painful song.

SigmasonicX · Oct 26, 2019

Round 1 Match 2 is a pretty close race between "A True True Friend", "Run to Break Free", and even "Mad Twience" surprisingly enough. It's hard to tell which way it will go.

Round 1 Match 3 has some really strong competitors too. Also the first short song; it's hard to tell how well those will do in general.

A. Say Goodbye to the Holiday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo6jcgKE3Fo

B. You'll Play Your Part

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh04qMxfSi4

C. Tricks Up My Sleeve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOEKu8L5UqQ

D. We Will Stand for Everfree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w895BH9BF0

E. Hush Now Quiet Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy4MbpDxVI0

A is a good villain song. B is a song using all four princesses, but Celestia and Luna's solo parts are oddly weak; I imagine this is why they changed Luna's singing voice later. I really like Cadance and Twilight's parts, though. C is fun, but I don't know, it just doesn't capture me. I suppose because it's just like an anime image song and isn't really telling a story. Perhaps if it had a proper video as opposed to movie clips it would have done better. D is on the weak end of villain songs; it really only has that "for Everfree"/"forever free" pun going for it. E is fun, but it's hard to say it's enough to beat longer songs.

~~~

Stream announcement, we're watching the following.
1. Tangled - 303 - Return of the King
2. Tangled - 304 - Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?
3. Phineas and Ferb - 444 - Night of the Living Pharmacists (hour long)
4. Shiki - 5
5. Shiki - 6

SigmasonicX · Oct 27, 2019

https://www.resetera.com/threads/my...ow-october-12-at-8-pm-et.146535/post-25838946

Made a new art post here, BTW.

PaulloDEC · Oct 27, 2019

You'll Play Your Part is one of my favourite songs in the show. Easy first place for me.

Say Goodbye to the Holiday is probably my least favourite song from Hearthswarming Tail, but I still really enjoy it.

We Will Stand for Everfree isn't far behind, it's a really cool, dramatic villain song.

Hush Now Quiet Now is just fun and silly in a way that only a S1 MLP song can be.

Tricks up my Sleeve is funny and interesting, but I wouldn't say I particularly like it.

fony · Oct 27, 2019

Well since ED is freely posting these and Hasbro is monetizing them, here are leaked alternate and full versions of songs.

The leaks were pretty insightful. There are some early season rejected scripts that ended up being made into episode. Slice of Life started out (by AKR) pretty differently.

Hasbro's edits increase but they looked more like plot hole and continuity concerns! Stuff you'd see on discussion boards like these. I didn't feel like plot logic was better as a result of this though.

Oh never mind, this is an interesting one. This original demo version of "So Much More To Me" is really different.

It really is. I like the final version of "So Much More To Me" way better though.

SigmasonicX said:
Great animation.

This is quite a catchy song. I remember seeing it linked to on Era, maybe even in this thread.

I don't really know what some of the parts where Luna is just moving slowly are supposed to be. We'll know if or when this is done. Really hope it does. Great faces at the end there.

SigmasonicX · Oct 28, 2019

fony said:
The leaks were pretty insightful. There are some early season rejected scripts that ended up being made into episode. Slice of Life started out (by AKR) pretty differently.

Hasbro's edits increase but they looked more like plot hole and continuity concerns! Stuff you'd see on discussion boards like these. I didn't feel like plot logic was better as a result of this though.

Interesting. I've only really seen the stuff people posted on Discords I go to.

fony said:
This is quite a catchy song. I remember seeing it linked to on Era, maybe even in this thread.

I don't really know what some of the parts where Luna is just moving slowly are supposed to be. We'll know if or when this is done. Really hope it does. Great faces at the end there.

I don't think I've ever posted that song before. Maybe you're thinking of another Celestia and Luna song?

~~~

Stream followup. Largely due to DST mix ups, we only had one other person and he had to leave after Tangled.
1. Tangled - 303 - Return of the King
*.Hush Now, Quiet Now (Stare Master) | MLP: FiM [HD] - YouTube
*.MLP:FiM | Music | Cutie Mark Crusaders Song | HD - YouTube
2. Tangled - 304 - Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?

The cool thing about these episodes: we got all the horse names! Also the real names of Angry and Red. And also Eugene's given name is actually Horace, tying into the horse names.

The second Tangled episode at least worked for a Halloween stream, with its werewolf. The episodes were good.

~~~

With Round 1 Match 3, "You'll Play Your Part" is on top.

Round 1 Match 4's results will more or less depend on just how much people like the Dazzling songs. Otherwise, we get a pretty good Flash Sentry song, a fun Pinkie diddy, Rebecca Shoichet having a (romantic) duet with herself, and a great villain song (better for the Twilight part though).
A. Cheer You On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyFcOjS1QWI

B. Pinkie's Gala Fantasy Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjm4zw6X12s

C. Monday Blues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmhifH1Wx8k

D. Unleash the Magic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfDfINPa1tE

E. Battle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6bXoAiSlA

~~~

EDIT: Not sure if I posted about this before

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/449984/81-days-to-celestias-front-door

There's a sequel to 80 Days 'Til the World's Farthest Shore ! Currently ongoing. Due to the RariTwi Bomb and other things, I read the first chapter when it came out but didn't catch up until just now. Here's the review I posted, for through chapter 3.

Nice to see a continuation of this story... though I suppose this is before the framing story of the previous story. During the journey through the swamp lands, I thought it was a neat detail how Twilight knew there was a refuge there but she wasn't able to find it; it really adds to the mythical and historical quality of the region. Interesting how this story seems to be focusing more on particular characters that they're meeting.

SigmasonicX · Oct 29, 2019

In Round 1 Match 4, surprisingly enough, we currently have a tie between "Monday Blues" and "Battle".

Round 1, Match 5
A. Photo Booth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9At08hT38Q0

B. Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2_s_P2bXaM

C. Welcome Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afAMwxGNY6Q

D. Bats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFx93FOD7u4

E. Cheese Confesses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zelzuf-j02o

On request, the holiday album songs and others have been added to the contest, and thus the later groups have all been rearranged. Here's the spreadsheet again.

~~~

Completely forgot to post this. January comic solicitation.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #86
Mary Kenney (w) • Casey Coller (a) • Kate Sherron (CVR A) • Sara Richard (CVR B) • Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou "castpixel" (1:10 RI CVR)

When painfully shy Marble Pie tries to make friends at school, she ends up panicking and agreeing to throw a party instead! Good thing she's got a sister who's known for throwing just about the most amazing parties in all of Equestria-wait, it's not supposed to be Maud!
Estimated Street Date: January 22nd, 2020

I suppose we're only going to get one FiM series. It only makes sense; the show is over. In any case, this story looks fun. I wonder if this is a flashback, if Marble is going to a university like Maud, or if Marble is just going to high school for reasons.

PaulloDEC · Oct 29, 2019

Don't have time right now to re-listen to all the Match 4 songs (most of which are EG songs, so I'm not too familiar), but I can rank the Match 5s:

Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again
Cheese Confesses
Pinkie's Welcome Song
Bats
Photo Booth

SigmasonicX · Oct 30, 2019

Round 1 Match 5 has a close race between Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again and Bats.

Round 1, Match 6
A. Embrace the Magic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF74b_aeh6M

B. Pinkie the Party Planner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFXF_MYAC4o

C. Friendship Games (Intro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiut2z1Er_0

D. Equestria, the Land I Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eER_ddASco

E. Living in Color

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-7MlWtH6gA

~~~

Caught up on this Li'l Cheese fanfic, the first one to get put on FimFiction.

A Slice of Cheese

If everyone could see themselves as L'il Cheese saw them, the world would be a much brighter place. A story about love in the shape of laughter.

www.fimfiction.net

My review, through chapter 4.

This story was a lot of fun, and yes, totally wholesome. I felt bad for Rarity at first, but she's exactly where she wants to be in life, it seems, at least after talking to Cheese.

~~~

Small amount of finale art from over two weeks ago.
1.MLP - Thank You by Dusthiel on DeviantArt
2.I Used To Wonder What Friendship Could Be... by SpindleSpice on DeviantArt
3.The Final Glimmer by StellarDusk on DeviantArt
4.Older Twilight happily crying in front of show screenshots by toyminator900
5.The Magic of Friendship Grows by emiiambar on DeviantArt - Pinkie
6.Big Older Twilight and smaller others by machacapigeon
7.Older Rainbow by notadeliciouspotato

Fluttershy X Discord comic by sadistjolt

PaulloDEC · Oct 30, 2019

SigmasonicX said:
Round 1 Match 5 has a close race between Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again and Bats.

Wait a second... people like "Bats"?

Next rankings:

Pinkie the Party Planner - A classic episode opener and a great Pinkie mission-statement song.
Friendship Games - I don't love all of this one, but it's got a great chorus.
Equestria, the Land I Love - I'm a little torn on this one; it's a got a nice melody, but it's almost unbearably cheeseball.
Living in Colour - It's fine. I have no real strong feelings about this one.
Embrace the Magic - I actually thought this was a totally different song. The one it actually is is just okay for me.

UberTag · Oct 30, 2019

With the G4 song tourney in full swing, I thought I'd take the opportunity while combing through each of the groups and weighing my favorites to compile my own personal Top 10 song roster. So here's what I've thrown together...

10) ART OF THE DRESS
Performed by: Kazumi Evans (Rarity)
Lyrics by: Charlotte Fullerton
Music by: Daniel Ingram
Episode: Suited For Success (Season 1, Episode 14)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_V_niMzmM0

This was literally the first episode I watched and the first musical number I listened to when hopping aboard the Friendship is Magic fandom train. It remains the one Season 1 track I have the most affinity for (sorry Winter Wrap Up) and the most iconic song for my fave pony character. That's not to say Rarity peaked early and many of her other songs (Becoming Popular, Generosity, etc.) definitely provide fun moments... but Art of the Dress remains the complete package.

9) THE PLACE WHERE WE BELONG
Performed by: Gavin Langelo, Vincent Tong, Lauren Jackson, Shannon Chan-Kent & Katrina Salisbury (The Student 6)
Lyrics by: Nicole Dubuc
Music by: Daniel Ingram
Episode: Uprooted (Season 9, Episode 3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0Xn3S765es

This is my sleeper inclusion to my list. For what is essentially a redo of Make This Castle a Home both thematically and in terms of musical pacing, I think this song pulls off the rare feat of improving upon the original by making it more imperfectly perfect... if that makes any sort of sense. The Student 6 bring about an unassailable charm of harmony and connection that just reverberates throughout this entire song and what came off initially as merely a sweet musical number has grown over time to make a vivid and lasting impression in a way that the series finale's The Magic of Friendship Grows hasn't quite reached.

8) SMILE
Performed by: Shannon Chan-Kent & Andrea Libman (Pinkie Pie)
Lyrics by: Amy Keating Rogers
Music by: Daniel Ingram & Steffan Andrews
Episode: A Friend in Deed (Season 2, Episode 18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZYZJwGPX4

What can I say about this song that hasn't already been said? It encapsulates everything that makes Pinkie Pie who she is and remains her trademark song to this day for a good reason. How can you listen to this song and not smile in response? It's impossible... unless you don't have a soul.

7) THIS DAY ARIA
Performed by: Britt McKillip (Princess Cadance) & Kathleen Barr (Queen Chrysalis)
Lyrics by: Meghan McCarthy
Music by: Daniel Ingram & Steffan Andrews
Episode: A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 (Season 2, Episode 26)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kChdy3emKY4

Ingram's first attempt at aping a Disney villain vamp power ballad was a rousing success and remained the show's most accomplished musical number for a handful of years. It singlehandedly elevated the 2nd season finale from something wholly one-dimensional (everypony doubts Twilight for no good reason, Shining Armor gets brainwashed, the princesses are dumbasses, generic villain reveals their plan and ponies kick some changeling ass, etc.) into something fondly remembered.

I was actually surprised to see this not receive a bye in Sigma's tourney but, in retrospect, Britt McKillip's vocals are just okay. I mean, at the time this aired we all thought it was the cat's meow, but we've been spoiled with songs sung by the likes of Lena Hall, Emily Blunt and Rachel Bloom... heck, even Ashleigh Ball's a professional musician. Britt McKillip is just a Vancouver VA that does cartoon voices and bad Canadian television. She does just fine but the vocals aren't the high point here and I suspect the show's staff felt similarly or they would have given Cadance more than one more song over the next 7 seasons. Instead we just wound up getting callbacks to Cadance and Twilight's silly butt dance.

6) THE PONY I WANT TO BE
Performed by: Chantal Strand (Diamond Tiara)
Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram & Amy Keating Rogers
Music by: Daniel Ingram, Caleb Chan & Trevor Hoffman
Episode: Crusaders of the Lost Mark (Season 5, Episode 18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCKsaxPyQaM

Simply the best song from the show's best episode courtesy of the since-forgotten Diamond Tiara, whose utility to Hasbro as a makeshift arch-nemesis for the Cutie Mark Crusaders effectively ended after this song. That said, if you're going to go out, might as well go out in style.

The song effortlessly takes 5 years worth of Diamond Tiara antagonism and flips it on its head to make her a sympathetic character. The animation dances with the lyrics to effectively put you into her mindset and Chiara Zanni delivers each line with just the perfect balance of pathos and sensitivity. Even the chorus smartly avoids falling into the trap of so many other songs that recycle animation sequences and the reprise blends with the end of Light of Your Cutie Mark to evolve from a song of personal introspection to one of personal victory. I think it's brilliant.

This is one of those odd situations where everything about this song and the intangibles for this episode just works. The writing, the vocals, the delivery, the pacing, the music composition, the storyboarding, the emotional payoff... and yet the actual animation feels underwhelming - and not due to budgetary reasons, either. That said, I sort of feel like that approach works for the CMCs to accentuate the comparative stakes of their adventures up until this point. It's weird.

5) SHINE LIKE RAINBOWS
Performed by: Ashleigh Ball, Shannon Chan-Kent, Kazumi Evans, Andrea Libman & Rebecca Shoichet (The Rainbooms)
Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram
Music by: Daniel Ingram, Caleb Chan & Trevor Hoffman
Film: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGYS1o-pnVU

Now you might believe that I don't much care for Equestria Girls given its absence from my Top 10 thus far... but you would be completely off the mark with that assumption. At least when it comes to its music - which remains its best quality and shares its pedigree with the mainline franchise from which it was spun off. It's just that this is a Top 10 list and many of the standout EQG songs would probably wind up in the teens or twenties if I was ranking everything outright in terms of reverence. But that's not the case for Shine Like Rainbows, which made its debut during the credits of Rainbow Rocks. It has remained a fixture at the top of my EQG ensemble song list ever since - along with Cafeteria Song, which I would have probably ranked 11th.

4) OPEN UP YOUR EYES
Performed by: Emily Blunt (Tempest Shadow)
Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram, Meghan McCarthy & Michael Vogel
Music by: Daniel Ingram
Film: My Little Pony The Movie

Open Up Your Eyes (Song) - My Little Pony: The Movie [HD]

My Little Pony: The Movie •Song: Open Up Your Eyes•Character(s):Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt)•Music by: Daniel Ingram•Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram, Meghan McCarth...

www.youtube.com

I have a fair number of grievances with My Little Pony: The Movie... it still feels like a film released 3 years too late that invariably failed to capitalize on the franchise revival's early-year momentum. Many of the challenges with its release have made me largely apathetic to what I assume will be similar pitfalls in their attempt to launch Gen 5 in a couple years. But casting and music are not one of them... they set out to one-up themselves in the villain torch song department and they absolutely nailed it.

3) YOU'RE IN MY HEAD LIKE A CATCHY SONG
Performed by: Felicia Day (Pear Butter)
Lyrics by: Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco
Music by: Daniel Ingram
Episode: The Perfect Pear (Season 7, Episode 13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gP2J__gQHQ

Perfectly sweet. Perfectly serene. This love song became an iconic moment in Friendship is Magic lore as soon as it aired on Discovery Family - errr, as soon as it was leaked onto the Internet weeks in advance of its air on Discovery Family. But at least it was aired, unlike...

2) WHAT MORE IS OUT THERE? {UNRELEASED DUET CUT}
Performed by: Rebecca Shoichet (Twilight Sparkle & Sunset Shimmer)
Lyrics by: Josh Haber & Daniel Ingram
Music by: Daniel Ingram, Caleb Chan & Trevor Hoffman
Film: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

What More Is Out There - Duet (Song) - MLP: Equestria Girls [Friendship Games]

MLP: Equestria Girls - Friendship GamesThis is a deleted scene from the movie.Watch in 1080p.LYRICS:[Sci-Twi]I've walked through all these halls beforeI've b...

www.youtube.com

An unfortunate casualty of the plot of Friendship Games getting excised into a warmed-over retread of the original Equestria Girls special with an uninspiring forced school rivalry plot device that wouldn't even be properly realized until the release of Dance Magic. While a version of this DID make the cut as a Sci-Twi solo effort, the real majesty of this Rebecca Shoichet self-duet was left abandoned on the cutting room floor. It's a shame we never got to see the special that would have lived up to this song. Then again, it's a shame we never really saw anything from Equestria Girls that would live up to its songs.

And my #1 all-time favourite song from the Gen 4 My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic franchise is...

1) THE MAGIC INSIDE
Performed by: Lena Hall (Countess Coloratura)
Lyrics by: Amy Keating Rogers & Daniel Ingram
Music by: Daniel Ingram, Caleb Chan & Trevor Hoffman
Episode: The Mane Attraction (Season 5, Episode 24)

Powered by the vocals of Tony-award winning actress Lena Hall ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch"), this was a case of all of the elements of what makes My Little Pony a musical tour de force all coming together at the top of their game and then being elevated by a musical performance that simply outshines the level of vocal talent that we've grown accustomed to and taking it to a higher stratosphere of excellence. Lena's performance raised the bar and effectively laid out a challenge that I believe both the animation department and the instrumental accompaniment welcomed and strove to match.

This episode would be Amy Keating Rogers' swan song as she would leave My Little Pony for Disney upon its completion and, in many ways, feels like the turning point of the show into its 2nd half with Starlight Glimmer's reformation on tap for the very next week during the Season 5 finale.

SigmasonicX · Oct 30, 2019

Good write up. I'm not one for ranking myself, which is part of why I went with this tournament format.

UberTag said:
I was actually surprised to see this not receive a bye in Sigma's tourney but, in retrospect, Britt McKillip's vocals are just okay.

I considered it, but I only had five slots I gave myself and Smile was already in, so I didn't want two from season 2.

UberTag said:
An unfortunate casualty of the plot of Friendship Games getting excised into a warmed-over retread of the original Equestria Girls special with an uninspiring forced school rivalry plot device that wouldn't even be properly realized until the release of Dance Magic. While a version of this DID make the cut as a Sci-Twi solo effort, the real majesty of this Rebecca Shoichet self-duet was left abandoned on the cutting room floor. It's a shame we never got to see the special that would have lived up to this song.

We have all the deleted scenes, and I don't think we ever heard about changes beyond those getting cut. The story was the same before, just that Sunset had a subplot that I personally didn't think made much sense from the deleted scenes, with her wanting to go back to Equestria because magic makes more sense there (with no other reason brought up); and SciTwi was going to stay at Crystal Prep, but they mentioned on Twitter she was going to appear in Dance Magic and Legend of Everfree regardless.

PaulloDEC · Oct 30, 2019

Nice list Uber. You reminded me how good Shine Like Rainbows is.

I thought I'd take a crack at making an (unordered) list of my favourites, but the best I could manage was a "Top 22" before I reached a point where I wasn't willing to cut any more songs. That's just FiM as well, I didn't even try adding EQG songs.

SigmasonicX · Oct 31, 2019

Stream announcement, we're watching the following on Thursday, Halloween.
1. Halloweentown

Just one movie, that I can easily step away from to answer the door.

~~~

Round 1 Match 6 has a three-way race between "Embrace the Magic", "Friendship Games (Intro)", and "Pinkie the Party Planner", in order from most to least votes (last two tied). I'm surprised, because before this, I considered "Embrace the Magic" a very forgettable song.

Round 1 Match 7
A. Babs Seed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQlU6EMh-_s

B. Dance Magic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpIp5ORI0rw

C. Equestria Girls ("California Gurls" parody)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc1wi0VMhbA

D. You Gotta Share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL0-ITI5tvc

E. Shake Things Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiebgcDjqw4

This will be another close one, it seems. All of these songs are appealing in their own ways, so it will come down to personal taste... more than usual, I mean.

~~~

New Feats of Friendship comic finally came out!

Feats of Friendship #2
Last we left off, Swift Foot revealed to the reader that she's the Storm King's daughter.

Now, the Feats of Friendship itself has started. Swift Foot is surprised her goading hasn't broken the Student Six, so during the games, she continues doing it, and by the end of the issue, it seems like that did the trick. It doesn't help that the Mane Six aren't pulling their punches for the Feats. Two of the three involve big monsters, and one involves a hidden true objective that Gallus figures out but the others don't listen to him.

The big reveal of this issue is that there were actually four different pony tribes at the founding of Equestria on Hearth's Warming. For currently unknown reasons, King Thrace's faction (seemingly also earth ponies) was excluded and he went on to found the island nation of Thrace. This is a pretty classic type of retcon, and I'm sure it will be revealed he was a jerk and that's why he was left out. I'm curious what the connection is to the Storm King. Swift Foot mentions he "didn't need anyone's help to survive the storm", so I assume he was the original Storm King and the one we know took his title.

I thought it was realistic for the Students to get past the issues they had last issue, but for it to guide their actions here. Yona speaks yak despite no one understanding her. Both Smolder and Silverstream push back against Gallus taking charge. Ocellus is upset Silverstream transforming is OK but she needs to get permission so people don't freak out. Sandbar says things are bogus.

The Feats we saw seemed fun. Gathering apples but then an orthos comes barreling in. The teams have to build bridges, but it turns out they each only have enough material if they all work together. Last we see, the teams have to get a chimera into a cage, though oddly we don't see the other teams for this.

Ocellus is shown to be way more OP than she is in the show, if that concerns you.

Overall, this is a transition chapter, but I enjoyed it.

This miniseries is only 3 issues long, which is a shame. And this is the final miniseries as far as we know.

From Silver Quill's review, this page I didn't pay much attention to has tons of details in the background. Every pony in the stands is actually distinct, and included recognizable characters, including Sunset Shimmer.

~~~

Look what I got in the mail!

SigmasonicX · Oct 31, 2019

Oh! Right. Reminder that we actually do have a bit more G4 coming this Saturday.

(Actually shorts bundled together into a special)

As far as I can tell, this, "Let It Rain", and "Cheer You On" are all that's left of EQG that hasn't been "officially" released yet.

SigmasonicX · Oct 31, 2019

Speaking of shorts compilations

This is "My Little Shop of Horrors", "Unsolved Selfie Mysteries", and the second half of "Spring Breakdown" (taking the vast majority of the video). I'd say that Fluttershy costume party short is a weird exclusion, but (1) it is a CYOA, which would be awkward, and (2) it isn't on Hasbro's YouTube channel yet.

SigmasonicX · Oct 31, 2019

Oh right, Halloween art day. I'll clear out some other week-old art first.
1.Let's take a break.. by Marenlicious on DeviantArt - Applejack
2.Friends forever by Avrameow on DeviantArt - Mane Six
3.Reflections by Ljdamz1119 on DeviantArt - Twilight
4.Friendship Is Magic by SadTrooper on DeviantArt - Mane Six, Princesses, Spike
5.You are so cute~ by Marenlicious on DeviantArt - Fluttershy

1.My Little Pony: Thank you by BlazeMizu on DeviantArt - Mane Six, Princesses, Starlight, Discord
2.Press F to Pay Respects by Atlas-66 on DeviantArt - Mane Six and Spike
3.Old Lady Mane Six by 5mmumm5
4.tsk :P by MagnaLuna on DeviantArt - Twilight
5.Flower :'3 by MagnaLuna on DeviantArt - Luna

1.Slice of Equestria by Jowybean on DeviantArt - Pinkie and Applejack
2.Pinkie by vannah92138445
3.Applejack 10 18 2019 by tohupo on DeviantArt
4.Ask Sunshine and Moonbeams - Laser pointer by anticular
5.Samurai Applejack by silfoe

1.Pinkie in a dress by silfoe
2.Work Kisses by Pastel-Pony-Pictures on DeviantArt - Rarity X Twilight
3.Rarity and Twilight wedding by j_kei
4.Beginning by JumbleHorse on DeviantArt - Mane Six, Spike, Celestia, and Luna
5.When I Started Out... by EeviArt on DeviantArt - Mane Six

1.Best Friends by bobthedalek on DeviantArt - Mane Six
2.Mane Six by j_kei
3.:Time Traveller: by SoundwavePie on DeviantArt - Dr. Hooves
4.Retro Dagi by DANMAKUMAN on DeviantArt - Adagio in Sailor Moon era anime style
5.Is there someone better than Me?.. by Vird-Gi on DeviantArt - Lightning Dust with hairy ears

1.Nightmare Moooon by JAEneth on DeviantArt
2.another sunburst sketch by EnzymeDevice on DeviantArt - Sunburst
3.Student Six by jadedjynx
4.THEY'RE M A R R I E D by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Lyra X Bon Bon
5.Wicked by MindlessSketching on DeviantArt - Trixie and Starlight

1.Shy by AutumnVoyage on DeviantArt - Fluttershy
2.Sugar Belle X Big Mac by djkaskan
3.My Little Pony Twilight Sparkle by SK-REE on DeviantArt
4.Such Stories to Share by Rocket-LawnChair on DeviantArt - Mane Six
5.Chant of Mirth Commission by TheFloatingTree on DeviantArt - Pinkie

1.Some Raritwi by TheFloatingTree on DeviantArt
2.Applejack in Asia by YinglongFujun on DeviantArt
3.Pilot episode scene with Twilight and Spike by dimfann
4.Celestia and Twilight looking at tiny grumpy Luna by magnaluna
5.IF MLP NOT GONNA MAKE EM CANON I WILL by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Pinkie X Rainbow

1.Starlight and Fluttershy plushies by nekokevin
2.Adding Sunset and Trixie by nekokevin
3.Adding Tempest by nekokevin
4.+Slurrrrrp+ by CynicalSonata on DeviantArt - Starlight
5.Snuggles by Marbola on DeviantArt - Twilight X Fluttershy

1.Badass Twi by Shad0w-Galaxy on DeviantArt
2.Twilight ice cream by SweetPea-and-Friends on DeviantArt
3.Rarity Ice Cream by SweetPea-and-Friends on DeviantArt
4.Morning Mixup by bobthedalek on DeviantArt - Twilight, Starlight, Sunburst
5.Chrysalis by ZidaneMina on DeviantArt - With ponytail

~~~

And fics

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/438665/i-vow-to-thee-my-country

My review

This was a really sweet story, and I liked how everyone was portrayed. Including, yes, the friendship between Rarity and Twilight mentioned in the comments.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/372252/dense-as-diamonds

Ah, so I did read this before after all. Still good, though.

SigmasonicX · Nov 1, 2019

Stream followup, we watched
1. Halloweentown

This is a Disney Channel original movie that I was nostalgic for. Though slow paced and the villain is defeated in an underwhelming way, the creature costumes and the Benny animatronic are pretty well done, and it's fun in general. It seemed like no one else in the stream had seen it, and they seemed to enjoy it well enough.

~~~

Round 1 Match 7 has "Dance Magic" in the lead, followed by "Babs Seed" and then "Equestria Girls".

Round 1 Match 8
A. We Got This Together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b29_SumLQv8

B. Pinkie's Lament

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuhEySsZp_E

C. The Last Laugh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIglsOpOTQ

D. The Perfect Stallion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-XM39lAres

E. Rainbow Rocks (Intro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4TOqcgsHfw

~~~

A short but cute Pony Sims video

Not Halloween related, but worth checking out.

~~~

Halloween art
1.Best Spooky Partners by Loyaldis on DeviantArt - Sunset and Eevee
2.Stressy by bobthedalek on DeviantArt - Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie
3.Craving by Marbola on DeviantArt - Flutterbat and Trixie
4.*fluttershy voice* um,,,, boo,,,,, by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Flutterbat
5.Skellinore by nignogs

1.KDA Tempest by SpindleSpice on DeviantArt - Probably not Halloween themed, but eh
2.FlutterWitch by GrapheneDraws on DeviantArt
3.Ma's Monster by bobthedalek on DeviantArt - Sunburst and his mom
4.Twilight and Sunset Thriller by TheRETROart88 on DeviantArt
5.There's Always That One House... by Rocket-LawnChair on DeviantArt - CMC

1.Halloween Rarishy by occultusion on DeviantArt
2.Trixie Halloween by mysticalpha on DeviantArt - And CMC
3.Witch Derpy by chaosangeldesu
4.Witch Trixie by dstears
5.Flutterbat by shadowreindeer

1.Happy Halloween!!! by WanderingPegasus on DeviantArt - Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow
2.My Little Pumpkins by ChaosAngelDesu on DeviantArt
3.Sunset dressed as Twilight by artiks
4.IT IS DA SPOOKEH MONTH! [Animation] by Below-Depth on DeviantArt - SciTwi and Midnight Sparkle GIF
5.Witch Marble by garammasara

1.Nightmare Night by bobthedalek on DeviantArt - Starlight
2.Society Cozy by Moonatik on Newgrounds
3.Student Six #330 by Sintakhra on DeviantArt
4.Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy by softyshy
5.Costume Conundrum by Pirill-Poveniy on DeviantArt - Pony Sunset and Fluttershy

That thumb hide trick by NekoJackun on DeviantArt - EQG Trixie and her band

Celestia and Twilight trick or treating by jargon scott

SigmasonicX · Nov 2, 2019

In Round 1 Match 8, "Pinkie's Lament" is the clear frontrunner, with the other songs each getting only one vote, with the exception of "The Perfect Stallion" getting none. That song was pretty prominent at the time as the first proper CMC song (that wasn't intentionally bad), but it doesn't stand up to their later ones in terms of vocal quality. I was a bit surprised "The Last Laugh" got a vote, but the song isn't bad on a relisten; at least the chorus.

Round 1 Match 9
A. I'll Fly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhp1dklhdyI

B. Best Friends Until the End of Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhVcq5FS7-s

C. Room to Grow (My Little Shop of Horrors)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-w_tRKnuZo

D. Pony Pokey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbohUVBpk2c

E. It's Gonna Work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPuGs8T8J7Q

"I'll Fly" is the obvious frontrunner; the race here will be more about second place, I imagine. B is super catchy and has cute visuals. C has some top tier adorable SciTwi. E is pretty fun. D is the clear loser of the round.

~~~

I think people don't really realize how different Fluttershy sounds in season 1 compared to later in the show; this is a pretty good demonstration of that. Also lots of "sharing kindness"

Nice finale song cover, first orchestral and second with show lyrics

~~~

Some more final art, from over 19-20 days ago.
1.Older Mane Six by pixelgrip94
2.Older Mane Six by caoscore
3.what older twilight should actually look like by polymercorgi on DeviantArt
4.Older Twilight and Luster Dawn shirt design by santamouse23
5.Twilight Moon(GIF) by FlutterLuv on DeviantArt - And Spike

1.How The Magic Of Friendship Grows by RossmaniteAnzu on DeviantArt
2.Princess of Friendship:Twilight Sparkle by geraritydevillefort on DeviantArt
3.Older Twilight by dyonys
4.Crying Twilight by littmosa
5.Equestria Girls Luster Dawn (MLP SPOILERS.) by StarDustSentryYT105 on DeviantArt

1.Older Mane Six by jbond
2.Older Applejack X Rarity by waackery
3.Thanks, MLP. by MKogwheel on Newgrounds
4.Stone Chrysalis by underpable
5.The Magic of Friendship Grows by emiiambar on DeviantArt - Twilight

1.Lyra and Bon Bon wedding by egophiliac
2.Twilight's Sparkle by Darklight1315 on DeviantArt
3.Luster Dawn by theluckyangel on DeviantArt
4.MLP FIM - Older Twilight Sparkle by Joakaha on DeviantArt
5.~Luster Dawn~ MLP by Empty0Point on DeviantArt

1.Shutterbug by Moskowizki on DeviantArt - Chrysalis in disguise
2.Equestria Girls and MLP Next Gen: Luster Dawn by Lhenao on DeviantArt
3.New Adventures Waiting by RuushiiCZ on DeviantArt - Older Applejack and Rainbow
4.Princess Twilight by ashidaii on DeviantArt
5.Lyra and Bon Bon by ask-alternate-mane6

1.Older Trixie toy by krowzivitch
2.Older Starlight by krowzivitch
3.Season 9 Challenge - Complete by sonofaskywalker on DeviantArt
4.Ascension AU! Twilight by turnipBerry on DeviantArt
5.Dashtober 14- Where Do You See Yourself In 9 Years by DocWario on DeviantArt

1.Your Queen by Last-Star-oc on DeviantArt - Twilight
2.Older Derpy by cookieboy011
3.Big ear Older Applejack is here to stay by heir-of-rick
4.Ruler of equestria by illumnious on DeviantArt - Twilight
5.Friendship never dies by Chickenwhite on DeviantArt - Olders
6.Older Mane Six by mad-zilla

PaulloDEC · Nov 2, 2019

Last two rounds:

Pinkie's Lament
We Got This Together
The Last Laugh
Rainbow Rocks
Perfect Stallion

I'll Fly
Best Friends Until the End of Time
It's Gonna Work
Room to Grow
Pony Pokey

SigmasonicX · Nov 2, 2019

(sets off happening alarm)

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/11/possible-2020-g5-movie-designs-revealed.html

Toy images

The ponies look weird facing the screen, but they look better at an angle. I'd have to get used to them, but they aren't bad designs, I think. Definitely closer to Unikitty than G4. Also keep in mind that the early G4 toys didn't look too much like the show versions.
Now if this does reflect G5, then it looks like they decided to keep everyone their G4 race after all.

I speculated more about these on Discord before it was pointed out to me that Fluttershy and Pinkie's boxes say Potion Dress Up, meaning they probably took potions to transform into different things, and Rarity's says Magical Mane, which probably means there's a gimmick to her white hair like it turning purple in water.

The G5 movie isn't coming out until 2021, making these oddly early. Perhaps it isn't G5 but rather a tie in to some in-between special airing in 2020?

EDIT: A source confirmed with ED that these indeed aren't tied to G5.
Perhaps they're market testing these changes to get more data for a G5 line. Like if prominent hooves or the head size turn customers away.

SigmasonicX · Nov 2, 2019

Holidays Unwrapped
Well, here it is, the final G4 special that we know of. And this is actually a collection of shorts anyway.
30 minutes to school and they decide to put all their effort into faking a snow day instead of preparing more for the test. SMH, Pony Principal Twilight would be disappointed.
Pinkie vs. raccoon
Fluttershy's bunny ear cap is cute.
Woah WTF Sunset can read a snowflake's mind.
I'd have been disappointed if their plan actually worked.

Pinkie lists off her friends' names, and Zecora exists in EQG?
Hey, the Dance Magic stick figure art style is back.
Watch out! Anti-government protests!
Hey, Photo Finish.
RIP Trixie.
LOL, Twilight dragging herself through the snow in slo-mo.
RIP Winona.
Sunset using her video game skills to stomp a snowball.
Flash coming to help now. RIP Flash.
RIP Sunset.
LOL, that snow covered side of her face.
Rarity just using her shield.
That was a fun one.

These are out of order, I guess. Was snowing before, now there's zero snow.
Flam Flam Apple rivalry showing up in EQG. Before, Flim and Flam didn't seem to have any particular connection to the Apples.
Oh, so that's all those pet worm screencaps I saw before amounted to?
Another montage.
Wait, the Apples were fooled by the standees too?

Spy movie parody too. And there are actual computers in this world, so it makes sense to have a hacker and spy tools!
SciTwi brings up network concerns.
Didn't think AJ would be so insistent about using their powers.
Oh, so this is where the Thanos transformation comes in.
Figured Twilight's plans would be to just call Celestia.

Background human hugs!
Twilight looks menacing.
Extended Rainbow and Zephyr interactions.
That woman at the front of the line is so disappointed.
Rainbow (talking to self): "But only because you love Fluttershy"
Oh, so that's where that image of Rarity blushing while reading comes from.

Rainbow: "I could barely function. Wait, was that a math pun?"
And Twilight follows up with another math pun.
A third montage!
Oh, so here's where the fruit and vegetable costumes come in.
Could have just put the costumes on at the photoshoot area.
They don't look bad, so weird that they'd get so much laughter.
Well, I guess that works as an ending for EQG.

Oh, new writer, I think. Anna Christopher.

Overall, I found it just alright. The snowball fight short was the best.

My Little Pony |OT| An adventure that never will end

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