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My Little Pony: Pony Life series announced (G4.5)
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
- Start date
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I haven't been posting fan content related to Pony Life in this thread, but I thought it was worth highlighting the first fan animation I've seen. Or at least the first one that reflects having actually watched episodes.
9. The Fast and the Furriest / Disappearing Act // 10. Badge of Shame; Discord's Peak
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The Fast and the Furriest / Disappearing Act // Badge of Shame; Discord's Peak
It's kind of surreal actually seeing the pets do stuff again, lol. Though Angel looking nice and cuddly and seemingly not being a jerk anymore is really weird.
Speaking of weird, Rainbow and Twilight having a rivalry. I don't think it really made sense enough that I'd consider it a consistent relationship between them, but it was interesting. We also got Applejack as a narrator a lot this set of episodes.
Rarity acted a lot more like Trixie than herself in the second story of the first episode, though she amused me. It was also kind of nice to just have the CMC act as a single unit ala FiM season one. Their voices sound older; I imagine it's because they saw a new show as an opportunity to use voices closer to their natural voices.
Something about "Badge of Shame" just felt nice.
"Discord's Peak" was interesting for seeing Discord in Pony Life, and Fluttershy's relationship with him. Covering the second first, wow, they're really pushing Fluttercord, huh? She has hearts when talking to him, and she makes a volcano erupt to make the hike more exciting for him. I know some people are uncomfortable with Fluttercord, but as this is an AU, you could headcanon a different backstory for him. He's no longer voiced by John De Lancie, but rather Peter New. Voice feels a bit off, of course, but it isn't bad. Discord also comes off as less of a jerk. Oddly enough, he's also far less random.
I enjoyed the second episode more than the first, though I liked the first fine.
This is the first set of episodes to have male writers, and they haven't written for pony before, it seems. Dave Horwitz most recently wrote for Rick and Morty, and Greg Levine worked on Parks and Rec.
It's kind of surreal actually seeing the pets do stuff again, lol. Though Angel looking nice and cuddly and seemingly not being a jerk anymore is really weird.
Speaking of weird, Rainbow and Twilight having a rivalry. I don't think it really made sense enough that I'd consider it a consistent relationship between them, but it was interesting. We also got Applejack as a narrator a lot this set of episodes.
Rarity acted a lot more like Trixie than herself in the second story of the first episode, though she amused me. It was also kind of nice to just have the CMC act as a single unit ala FiM season one. Their voices sound older; I imagine it's because they saw a new show as an opportunity to use voices closer to their natural voices.
Something about "Badge of Shame" just felt nice.
"Discord's Peak" was interesting for seeing Discord in Pony Life, and Fluttershy's relationship with him. Covering the second first, wow, they're really pushing Fluttercord, huh? She has hearts when talking to him, and she makes a volcano erupt to make the hike more exciting for him. I know some people are uncomfortable with Fluttercord, but as this is an AU, you could headcanon a different backstory for him. He's no longer voiced by John De Lancie, but rather Peter New. Voice feels a bit off, of course, but it isn't bad. Discord also comes off as less of a jerk. Oddly enough, he's also far less random.
I enjoyed the second episode more than the first, though I liked the first fine.
This is the first set of episodes to have male writers, and they haven't written for pony before, it seems. Dave Horwitz most recently wrote for Rick and Morty, and Greg Levine worked on Parks and Rec.
11. A Camping We Will Go / Campfire Stories // 12. Friendship Gems / Dol-FIN-ale
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11. A Camping We Will Go / Campfire Stories // 12. Friendship Gems / Dol-FIN-ale
It's here, the end of the Finn Tastic story arc! I will say, it's weird that Pony Life has had tighter continuity than FiM, lol.
The first story reminds me of "Sleepless in Ponyville" of course, which also had Rarity complaining about camping. I was surprised the story actually treated Rarity well, telling her that she was doing fine camping already. That said, it did mean the story felt low-conflict.
In a reference only old-time PonyEra stream viewers will get, here's a clip of Rarity meeting Aya from Super Gals.
The second story not actually being connected to the first is strange, given the titles. A minor thing, but I appreciated the lesson about plugging in too many things. This was fun, though I felt like the ways the girls' stories differed didn't really reflect their characters as strongly as they could have.
But forget all that, story three has freaking TRIXIE.
No Starlight, alas, and it also doesn't seem like Trixie had any friends other than herself. The story of the episode was a bit odd, with the Finn Tastic stuff being unconnected to the Trixie stuff, and Trixie herself learning friendship through friendship bracelets, but it was fun.
Rarity lying about the invitation; I love Tabitha's delivery here. Nicole Oliver mentioned in whatever convention was last that Tabitha improvised a lot of her Pony Life lines; I imagine the "congratula-fins" part was all her.
Trixie with wings!
Fluttershy being weird
Trixie's transformation
And at last, we see the dolphin himself! Finn Tastic actually turned out to be a pretty swell guy. Let's give him the Element of Honesty. Things worked out for everyone, in fact. And now the CMC's troupe has more leaders than members! It was a fun story, and I enjoyed the bits with Fluttershy on her own, though everything resolving so easily did feel weird. Also Celestia out of nowhere, who already knew what was going on.
Biggest fan
Rarity being weird
They really had fun with the gree-ee-ee-eets
It's here, the end of the Finn Tastic story arc! I will say, it's weird that Pony Life has had tighter continuity than FiM, lol.
The first story reminds me of "Sleepless in Ponyville" of course, which also had Rarity complaining about camping. I was surprised the story actually treated Rarity well, telling her that she was doing fine camping already. That said, it did mean the story felt low-conflict.
In a reference only old-time PonyEra stream viewers will get, here's a clip of Rarity meeting Aya from Super Gals.
The second story not actually being connected to the first is strange, given the titles. A minor thing, but I appreciated the lesson about plugging in too many things. This was fun, though I felt like the ways the girls' stories differed didn't really reflect their characters as strongly as they could have.
But forget all that, story three has freaking TRIXIE.
No Starlight, alas, and it also doesn't seem like Trixie had any friends other than herself. The story of the episode was a bit odd, with the Finn Tastic stuff being unconnected to the Trixie stuff, and Trixie herself learning friendship through friendship bracelets, but it was fun.
Rarity lying about the invitation; I love Tabitha's delivery here. Nicole Oliver mentioned in whatever convention was last that Tabitha improvised a lot of her Pony Life lines; I imagine the "congratula-fins" part was all her.
Trixie with wings!
Fluttershy being weird
Trixie's transformation
And at last, we see the dolphin himself! Finn Tastic actually turned out to be a pretty swell guy. Let's give him the Element of Honesty. Things worked out for everyone, in fact. And now the CMC's troupe has more leaders than members! It was a fun story, and I enjoyed the bits with Fluttershy on her own, though everything resolving so easily did feel weird. Also Celestia out of nowhere, who already knew what was going on.
Biggest fan
Rarity being weird
They really had fun with the gree-ee-ee-eets
13. Potion Mystery / Sick Day // 14. Meet Potion Nova! / Pony Surfin' Safari
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13. Potion Mystery / Sick Day // 14. Meet Potion Nova! / Pony Surfin' Safari
This was a pretty fun set of stories.
First of all, freaking Sonic reference.
I liked Giraffeshy too.
Twilight also gets shiny, but unlike my Rarity fanfic, it doesn't make everyone start hitting on her.
It's interesting to see Potion Nova be portrayed like a fae in this first story, given that they don't push those qualities as much in the last two stories. I liked the visuals used for her here.
With the second episode, I mentioned how appropriate the reaction to Dash being sick in a previous episode was, but wow, this is even more appropriate. And to think this was almost definitely written last year.
It was pretty fun. And wow, that ending.
That "blah" from Tabitha is hilarious.
Third story, that's quite some lampshading.
I was a bit disappointed Potion Nova isn't played up in a more mystical way, but she's charming enough.
Also, Twilight dropping her monster condom.
I was surprised to see them stay on the beach for the next story. Pony Life is getting beach stories while FiM didn't. I like the beach house designs, so I hope we're here for a while longer.
Probably unintentional Fyre Festival reference; though it's fitting enough that I could see it being intentional.
I can relate to Applejack trying to get everyone to stop having fun and just gather in a group for a fun group event.
It is a bit odd that the Potion Ocean itself doesn't seem to be particularly magical, but I liked the part with the Cutie Triangle. Also, we see the fate of Bubbles the cat!
As you can tell, there were a lot of moments I had to find or make clips of. These stories were good.
This was a pretty fun set of stories.
First of all, freaking Sonic reference.
I liked Giraffeshy too.
Twilight also gets shiny, but unlike my Rarity fanfic, it doesn't make everyone start hitting on her.
It's interesting to see Potion Nova be portrayed like a fae in this first story, given that they don't push those qualities as much in the last two stories. I liked the visuals used for her here.
With the second episode, I mentioned how appropriate the reaction to Dash being sick in a previous episode was, but wow, this is even more appropriate. And to think this was almost definitely written last year.
It was pretty fun. And wow, that ending.
That "blah" from Tabitha is hilarious.
Third story, that's quite some lampshading.
I was a bit disappointed Potion Nova isn't played up in a more mystical way, but she's charming enough.
Also, Twilight dropping her monster condom.
I was surprised to see them stay on the beach for the next story. Pony Life is getting beach stories while FiM didn't. I like the beach house designs, so I hope we're here for a while longer.
Probably unintentional Fyre Festival reference; though it's fitting enough that I could see it being intentional.
I can relate to Applejack trying to get everyone to stop having fun and just gather in a group for a fun group event.
It is a bit odd that the Potion Ocean itself doesn't seem to be particularly magical, but I liked the part with the Cutie Triangle. Also, we see the fate of Bubbles the cat!
As you can tell, there were a lot of moments I had to find or make clips of. These stories were good.
Pony Life will only be worth it if we find out the Social Media site all of Equestria uses is called Trotter.
15. All Bottled Up / All That Jitters // 16. I, Cookie / Keynote Pie
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15. All Bottled Up / All That Jitters // 16. I, Cookie / Keynote Pie
It's disappointing to see we left the beach setting after all, but it seems like Potion Nova is straight up a recurring character now.
I thought the first story was pretty fun. Twilight wanting to hide away in the potion bottle actually reminded me of a certain fanfic where Twilight is sealed away and the seal is partially powered by her own desire to be so.
Also, it had Rarity addressing Pinkie as "Pinkie-Poo-Pancakes".
The second story was more cute than anything. I liked the dialogue and animation when Twilight freaked out. It seems like Potion Nova's personality is just generally calm and relaxed, but I like her well enough.
Also, Twilight being frustrated.
Pictures:
The third story was an odd one, but I liked it. I'm glad the cookies weren't eaten or otherwise implied killed. Pinkie's imitations were fun; she was spot on with Fluttershy.
Interesting that it's Rarity that has a devoted book shelf in the bakery. Also, that's a big plushie Fluttershy has. I'm surprised that Twilight's duplicator from that Rainbow time travel episode returned.
The final story seems to be the biggest source of fan art so far, though just of the ending bit.
That quiet "Pinkie" is really funny to me for some reason.
Overall, both episodes were good.
BTW, it seems next week's episodes will be reruns.
It's disappointing to see we left the beach setting after all, but it seems like Potion Nova is straight up a recurring character now.
I thought the first story was pretty fun. Twilight wanting to hide away in the potion bottle actually reminded me of a certain fanfic where Twilight is sealed away and the seal is partially powered by her own desire to be so.
Also, it had Rarity addressing Pinkie as "Pinkie-Poo-Pancakes".
The second story was more cute than anything. I liked the dialogue and animation when Twilight freaked out. It seems like Potion Nova's personality is just generally calm and relaxed, but I like her well enough.
Also, Twilight being frustrated.
Pictures:
The third story was an odd one, but I liked it. I'm glad the cookies weren't eaten or otherwise implied killed. Pinkie's imitations were fun; she was spot on with Fluttershy.
Interesting that it's Rarity that has a devoted book shelf in the bakery. Also, that's a big plushie Fluttershy has. I'm surprised that Twilight's duplicator from that Rainbow time travel episode returned.
The final story seems to be the biggest source of fan art so far, though just of the ending bit.
That quiet "Pinkie" is really funny to me for some reason.
Overall, both episodes were good.
BTW, it seems next week's episodes will be reruns.
17. Ponies of the Moment / One Click Wonder // 18. Zound Off / Unboxing Day
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17. Ponies of the Moment / One Click Wonder // 18. Zound Off / Unboxing Day
And we're back!
Both stories in the first episode were pretty weak, honestly. The first one didn't feel cohesive as all: in particular, Rarity not helping with the cupcakes ended up being completely irrelevant to the story. Rarity wasn't even the one who put the video online. The second story was better, but still wasn't great.
It did have ponified memes, though.
Also, the most blatant alicornized unicorn yet.
Second episode was better, though the first story was just alright. The ending with Rainbow realizing she's a soundboard herself didn't really work for me. However, I enjoyed the second story a lot.
Derpy returns! Addressed as Muffins.
Fluttershy not knowing how to open a box doesn't really... make sense, but it's cute and dumb, and I like it. Subscribes.
Overall, the weakest set of episodes in a while, but the second half was fun enough.
And we're back!
Both stories in the first episode were pretty weak, honestly. The first one didn't feel cohesive as all: in particular, Rarity not helping with the cupcakes ended up being completely irrelevant to the story. Rarity wasn't even the one who put the video online. The second story was better, but still wasn't great.
It did have ponified memes, though.
Also, the most blatant alicornized unicorn yet.
Second episode was better, though the first story was just alright. The ending with Rainbow realizing she's a soundboard herself didn't really work for me. However, I enjoyed the second story a lot.
Derpy returns! Addressed as Muffins.
Fluttershy not knowing how to open a box doesn't really... make sense, but it's cute and dumb, and I like it. Subscribes.
Overall, the weakest set of episodes in a while, but the second half was fun enough.
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19. Don't Look a GIF Horse in the Mouth / The Root of It // 20. The Mysterious Voice / The 5 Habits of Highly Effective Ponies
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19. Don't Look a GIF Horse in the Mouth / The Root of It // 20. The Mysterious Voice / The 5 Habits of Highly Effective Ponies
Alas, the first story doesn't involve a GIF. It was pretty alright, and featured a good Rarity moment.
The second story featured an odd ennui among the Mane Six that we've seen fairly often in the show. Given this is in theory aimed at a younger audience than FiM, the world-weariness of the leads is pretty unexpected. I thought this was a good story, and featured some unexpected Friends (or rather, Chums) references. I suppose a lot of kids would have watched it when it went up on streaming services.
With the third story, I find I'm getting much more used to Tabitha St. Germain's Spike voice now. It was alright.
Last story featured cute moments of Fluttershy imitating the other characters. The lesson about patience was a bit odd when Fluttershy had already waited two weeks, but whatever. Also, great Rarity moment. With this first clip, I'll note that Andrea Libman has gotten good at making sure Fluttershy's voice doesn't bleed into Pinkie's.
Overall, fun set of stories.
Alas, the first story doesn't involve a GIF. It was pretty alright, and featured a good Rarity moment.
The second story featured an odd ennui among the Mane Six that we've seen fairly often in the show. Given this is in theory aimed at a younger audience than FiM, the world-weariness of the leads is pretty unexpected. I thought this was a good story, and featured some unexpected Friends (or rather, Chums) references. I suppose a lot of kids would have watched it when it went up on streaming services.
With the third story, I find I'm getting much more used to Tabitha St. Germain's Spike voice now. It was alright.
Last story featured cute moments of Fluttershy imitating the other characters. The lesson about patience was a bit odd when Fluttershy had already waited two weeks, but whatever. Also, great Rarity moment. With this first clip, I'll note that Andrea Libman has gotten good at making sure Fluttershy's voice doesn't bleed into Pinkie's.
Overall, fun set of stories.
21. Game Knight / Director Spike's Mockumentary // 22. Whoof-dunnit / Dear Tabby
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Game Knight / Director Spike's Mockumentary // Whoof-dunnit / Dear Tabby
This was a pretty fun set of episodes.
"Game Knight" did a lot of amusing stuff with Twilight, with her overly complicated game and Fluttershy and Rarity's reactions to Twilight's weather machine.
Good timing with Katie Chilson's credit
RP explanation with humans
Twilight weather machine stuff
Twilight's actual house is nice. What's with the stone structures around? The statue reminds me of Steven Universe.
The highlight of "Director Spike's Mockumentary" was definitely Rarity's song, which was just adorable. Also, Tabitha singing instead of Kazumi Evans.
Rarity song
Fluttershy can't control her legs
Couch push
"Whoof-dunnit" notably had our first writer to have worked on FiM proper (some writers have written for Equestria Girls), GM Berrow. This was a really fun story, as Detective Rarity stories always are.
Rolling pin puns
Marie Pondo
Vinyl Scratch appears!
Fluttershy snapping, then asking for Rarity to go on a moonlit stroll with her, with narrow eyes
Visors and Twilight's bangs don't mix
In "Dear Tabby", Tabby is an unexpectedly direct reference to the VAs, specifically Tabitha St. Germain. Both characters they suggest she could be (and who she actually is) are even voiced by Tabitha. Speaking of unexpectedly direct references, the Game of Thrones stuff.
Mane of Thrones
Apple vs. Cupcake rap battle
Daenerys Rarity
I notice that between "Dear Tabby" and "Director Spike's Mockumentary", Spike really doesn't seem interested in Rarity.
I think one of the charming minor things of this series is the way characters will immediately react off screen to things the speaking character says, going, "Aww," and such.
Overall, good episode, as you can see from all the clips.
This was a pretty fun set of episodes.
"Game Knight" did a lot of amusing stuff with Twilight, with her overly complicated game and Fluttershy and Rarity's reactions to Twilight's weather machine.
Good timing with Katie Chilson's credit
RP explanation with humans
Twilight weather machine stuff
Twilight's actual house is nice. What's with the stone structures around? The statue reminds me of Steven Universe.
The highlight of "Director Spike's Mockumentary" was definitely Rarity's song, which was just adorable. Also, Tabitha singing instead of Kazumi Evans.
Rarity song
Fluttershy can't control her legs
Couch push
"Whoof-dunnit" notably had our first writer to have worked on FiM proper (some writers have written for Equestria Girls), GM Berrow. This was a really fun story, as Detective Rarity stories always are.
Rolling pin puns
Marie Pondo
Vinyl Scratch appears!
Fluttershy snapping, then asking for Rarity to go on a moonlit stroll with her, with narrow eyes
Visors and Twilight's bangs don't mix
In "Dear Tabby", Tabby is an unexpectedly direct reference to the VAs, specifically Tabitha St. Germain. Both characters they suggest she could be (and who she actually is) are even voiced by Tabitha. Speaking of unexpectedly direct references, the Game of Thrones stuff.
Mane of Thrones
Apple vs. Cupcake rap battle
Daenerys Rarity
I notice that between "Dear Tabby" and "Director Spike's Mockumentary", Spike really doesn't seem interested in Rarity.
I think one of the charming minor things of this series is the way characters will immediately react off screen to things the speaking character says, going, "Aww," and such.
Overall, good episode, as you can see from all the clips.
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New Pony Life Teaser, and Reveal That It's Heading to Youtube
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media
Pony Life will be airing on YouTube, rather than Discovery Family like originally advertised. I figured this was what was going on, after Pony Life failed to air in the summer: for whatever reason, the Discovery Family deal fell through.
Though it was clearly already designed for this, with the five-minute short format. Although COVID and YouTube's changes to how recommended videos work for kids videos have pushed kids videos to be 20+ minutes anyway.
23. Pie vs. Pie / Superb Six // 24. The Debut Taunt / Flutterdash
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23. Pie vs. Pie / Superb Six // 24. The Debut Taunt / Flutterdash
First episode was alright. Despite introducing a new Pie sibling, Octavio, it didn't really stand out for that. Fat Twilight and the return of Buttershy honestly felt like the more interesting part of the episode.
Fat Twilight
Snips and Snails showing up in the second story was unexpected. It was an odd story in that they were clearly setting up for Snips and Snails to embarrass themselves at the gala, but Pinkie actually realizes the mistake before they can actually go inside and no one gets embarrassed.
Twilight and Rarity high hoof
The second episode was more entertaining. The first story had a ton of Rarity, so it was fantastic, of course. Though even so, the conflict of the episode was oddly light.
Rarity's entrance
Another short Rarity song
Rarity inviting the others
No talking!
Rarity crying
The second story was pretty interesting, and had a fun concept. And then, of course, there's the hilarious ending.
Transformation sequence
Track run
Tug of war
Buckball ending
Looking at next week's synopses, we're continuing the Sportactular Spectacular. We're also getting episode 26 next week, which involves the closing ceremonies, and no episodes have been announced past that point. I suppose that means it's the season finale. Possibly the series finale.
First episode was alright. Despite introducing a new Pie sibling, Octavio, it didn't really stand out for that. Fat Twilight and the return of Buttershy honestly felt like the more interesting part of the episode.
Fat Twilight
Snips and Snails showing up in the second story was unexpected. It was an odd story in that they were clearly setting up for Snips and Snails to embarrass themselves at the gala, but Pinkie actually realizes the mistake before they can actually go inside and no one gets embarrassed.
Twilight and Rarity high hoof
The second episode was more entertaining. The first story had a ton of Rarity, so it was fantastic, of course. Though even so, the conflict of the episode was oddly light.
Rarity's entrance
Another short Rarity song
Rarity inviting the others
No talking!
Rarity crying
The second story was pretty interesting, and had a fun concept. And then, of course, there's the hilarious ending.
Transformation sequence
Track run
Tug of war
Buckball ending
Looking at next week's synopses, we're continuing the Sportactular Spectacular. We're also getting episode 26 next week, which involves the closing ceremonies, and no episodes have been announced past that point. I suppose that means it's the season finale. Possibly the series finale.
Season 2 and G5 info
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Pony Life Gets a Second Season in Spring of 2021
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media
Licensing Summit Online выход сериала G5, второй сезон Pony Life / Срочно в номер / Табун - место, где пасутся брони
Сегодня в рамках Licensing Summit Online прошла презентация российского филиала Hasbro. О бренде My Little Pony были озвучены две
tabun.everypony.ru
Pony Life season 2 coming in Sprint 2021. Given the short timeframe, I imagine both seasons were made together.
We also have G5 info! Movie's coming Fall 2021, then there's a 44 minute special in Spring 2022, then the series proper starts Fall 2022. I suppose the special is going to be the Return of Jafar to the movie's Aladdin.
25. The Rarity Report / The Great Divide // 26. The Great Collide / Sportacular Spectacular Musical Musak-ular
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25. The Rarity Report / The Great Divide // 26. The Great Collide / Sportacular Spectacular Musical Musak-ular
We've reached the end of season 1!
This set of stories was a bit weak overall, especially for a season finale. A bunch of characters came back, but I was disappointed they didn't really do much. Not the worst stories, though.
"The Rarity Report" was the best of the lot, since it was just Rarity being Rarity. Also confirmation that Rarity knows stage fencing. That ending gag was really strange, though. Why end with a random reporter making something that isn't even a pun?
"The Great Divide" / "The Great Collide" was pretty weak. They spent way too much time on set up, and the conflict of the girls not wanting to be in conflict was odd. Gags like Rainbow being faster when there's honey at the finish line were simply strange.
As for the final episode, the song was alright, but also well below the singing standards of these characters. I suppose it comes down to the fact that Tabitha St. Germain is singing for Rarity and Andrea Libman is singing for Pinkie.
I'm glad there's a second season coming if only because this would have been a letdown as an ending. I'm hoping season 2 does more to explore returning characters, especially Potion Nova, who wasn't around nearly as much as I expected. Maybe we'll get a full-on anti Mane Six to finish out Dishwater, Buttershy, and Octavio. I also hope they do more with story arcs, since that's something that really helped differentiate this from FiM.
We've reached the end of season 1!
This set of stories was a bit weak overall, especially for a season finale. A bunch of characters came back, but I was disappointed they didn't really do much. Not the worst stories, though.
"The Rarity Report" was the best of the lot, since it was just Rarity being Rarity. Also confirmation that Rarity knows stage fencing. That ending gag was really strange, though. Why end with a random reporter making something that isn't even a pun?
"The Great Divide" / "The Great Collide" was pretty weak. They spent way too much time on set up, and the conflict of the girls not wanting to be in conflict was odd. Gags like Rainbow being faster when there's honey at the finish line were simply strange.
As for the final episode, the song was alright, but also well below the singing standards of these characters. I suppose it comes down to the fact that Tabitha St. Germain is singing for Rarity and Andrea Libman is singing for Pinkie.
I'm glad there's a second season coming if only because this would have been a letdown as an ending. I'm hoping season 2 does more to explore returning characters, especially Potion Nova, who wasn't around nearly as much as I expected. Maybe we'll get a full-on anti Mane Six to finish out Dishwater, Buttershy, and Octavio. I also hope they do more with story arcs, since that's something that really helped differentiate this from FiM.
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Finally got a US start date: November 7! So it'll be about four and a half months between the Canadian and US airings.
Uhh, so how does one watch this? My daughter is looking for more MLP content, but I don't see this on Hulu and discovery family only has the last 5 eps on their app.
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It's very strange, but there's no legal way to watch full episodes in the US it seems; you just have to catch it on Discovery Family, or watch cut up chunks on the official MLP channel.
I suspect they intended to have the full episodes on YouTube, since the US airing announcement seemed to indicate that. However, that hasn't happened yet. The season 1 finale did just air on Saturday, so maybe they'll start putting up episodes this week? Hopefully.
Doh, thanks for the response. I'm assuming you watched it? Is this something that ppl that like FiM will like? My kids fave show.
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I enjoy it, but I feel like this may be the sort of thing that gets a kid to stubbornly say "this isn't my Little Pony!", remembering how I used to act. The art style is different, and the comedy is goofier, there isn't serious drama. You can try it out with them, but be ready for them having that reaction. You may be able to find episodes if you look.
The voice actors have a lot of fun with it, and they're improvising a lot. Ironically, I feel like older viewers would appreciate that aspect more.
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Season 2 airing in the US starting on April 10. It's starting in the UK on April 2.
The Wild Siders are odd in that they seem like toy-based includes, yet they almost definitely won't get toys.
Anyway, looking forward to this. I'll probably watch it based on the UK airings.
The Wild Siders are odd in that they seem like toy-based includes, yet they almost definitely won't get toys.
Anyway, looking forward to this. I'll probably watch it based on the UK airings.
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Pony Life Season 2 Only Has 14 Episodes
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media
This appears to be referring to 11-minute chunks. So seven half-hour chunks total.
That's a big shame, since that won't allow the same mix of story lengths as season one. Plus, you know, less show. I wonder if this was the intended length from the start, or if there were COVID issues.
I have a friend who literally haunts a pony forum and this is pretty much them right now.
201. Cute Impact / The Crystal Capturing Contraption
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Season 2 has started in the UK! One 11 minute episode aired today, and a new episode will air every weekday starting from Monday.
US airing starts on April 10, but six episodes would have aired by then.
Airdates here:
Cute Impact / The Crystal Capturing Contraption
Season 2 opens with another story arc! Well, sort of. It seems like this will be resolved in a 22 minute chunk, which I assume is how it'll be aired in the US.
There isn't much to laugh out loud about in these stories, and there isn't much to pick out for tweets, but it's nice and cozy. And the pacing isn't weird like at the start of season one.
It was actually a pretty nice twist for Twilight to desperately research the menacing new astronomical phenomenon, only to find that it's actually a good thing. And then the remaining stories are all about the different aspects of the comet's arrival and the celebration.
In the second story, it was nice to see Fluttershy push herself by being a reporter, though the lesson about her and Pinkie considering each other's feelings was very basic. It was amusing when Pinkie said she needed Fluttershy's help to get up high, and I thought she meant by using her wings, but then Fluttershy used her size changing powers that I had forgotten about.
Overall, nothing too remarkable, but it's nice to have the show back.
Cute Twilight moment
Rarity book
~~~
www.equestriadaily.com
Finally, an official way to stream the show!
US airing starts on April 10, but six episodes would have aired by then.
Airdates here:
Simple Ponyclock - My Little Pony Countdowns and Dates
All important Countdowns and Dates of My Little Pony in your Timezone. You will not miss a single Event.
simple.ponyclock.com
Cute Impact / The Crystal Capturing Contraption
Season 2 opens with another story arc! Well, sort of. It seems like this will be resolved in a 22 minute chunk, which I assume is how it'll be aired in the US.
There isn't much to laugh out loud about in these stories, and there isn't much to pick out for tweets, but it's nice and cozy. And the pacing isn't weird like at the start of season one.
It was actually a pretty nice twist for Twilight to desperately research the menacing new astronomical phenomenon, only to find that it's actually a good thing. And then the remaining stories are all about the different aspects of the comet's arrival and the celebration.
In the second story, it was nice to see Fluttershy push herself by being a reporter, though the lesson about her and Pinkie considering each other's feelings was very basic. It was amusing when Pinkie said she needed Fluttershy's help to get up high, and I thought she meant by using her wings, but then Fluttershy used her size changing powers that I had forgotten about.
Overall, nothing too remarkable, but it's nice to have the show back.
Cute Twilight moment
Rarity book
~~~
Pony Life Season 1 Now on Hulu
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic News, Brony and bronies, my little pony merchandise, pony art, pony music, pony media
Finally, an official way to stream the show!
Last edited:
202. The Comet Section / Cotton Candy-Colored Glasses
OP
OP
Decided to follow the US airings, since it's not like anyone's going to spoil me about later episodes; even My Little Pony Out of Context is choosing to follow the Canadian schedule for posts, and that's airing stuff after the US!
With that,
202. The Comet Section / Cotton Candy-Colored Glasses
The first part was a nice little Rarity and Twilight story. Got a hug, got Rarity helping out with Twilight's calculations, so I'm satisfied. It was a pretty fun story otherwise too, with Rarity's celebrations getting pared down each time.
Second story involves Rainbow planning to be a scalper, but then Dishwater buys up all the stock first and scalps even harder. OK, I guess the idea was that Rainbow was going to sell the glasses at a normal price, but it was unclear. In any case, Rainbow and Applejack then deciding to provide for the whole celebration was nice. This story was alright.
Hug!
Cat music
Rarity helping with the math problem
Scalper identified
Nice to see Applejack and Rainbow help everyone out
With that,
202. The Comet Section / Cotton Candy-Colored Glasses
The first part was a nice little Rarity and Twilight story. Got a hug, got Rarity helping out with Twilight's calculations, so I'm satisfied. It was a pretty fun story otherwise too, with Rarity's celebrations getting pared down each time.
Second story involves Rainbow planning to be a scalper, but then Dishwater buys up all the stock first and scalps even harder. OK, I guess the idea was that Rainbow was going to sell the glasses at a normal price, but it was unclear. In any case, Rainbow and Applejack then deciding to provide for the whole celebration was nice. This story was alright.
Hug!
Cat music
Rarity helping with the math problem
Scalper identified
Nice to see Applejack and Rainbow help everyone out
203. Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind / The Tiara of Truth // 204. Terrorarium / Bubble Trouble
OP
OP
203. Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind / The Tiara of Truth // 204. Terrorarium / Bubble Trouble
With these episodes, we now know for a fact that this season will retain the heavy use of story arcs, since this story with the balloon hasn't ended by the end of this 30 minute block. Though it also looks like they've completely dropped the potion concept.
Individually, all of these stories were a lot of fun, but all together, it's weird that no one is doing anything about these balloons. Especially since Twilight says they need to get to the root of this at the end of "Terrorarium", but come the start of the next story, she's just waiting around in Sugar Cube Corner and just reacting to another balloon.
There isn't too much to say about each part, since they're all "weird thing shows up, the characters react" stories. I did enjoy the last one the most, since there are fun visuals and both Spike and Tank get involved. "Terrorarium" marks the first appearance of Big Mac in the show, and the choice to make his head even bigger rather than make his body larger is... a choice.
Rarity in "Lambilton"
Too many apples
Twilight's secret hobby
Title card
Spike stealing the bubble wand
Striking landscape shot
Charge!
With these episodes, we now know for a fact that this season will retain the heavy use of story arcs, since this story with the balloon hasn't ended by the end of this 30 minute block. Though it also looks like they've completely dropped the potion concept.
Individually, all of these stories were a lot of fun, but all together, it's weird that no one is doing anything about these balloons. Especially since Twilight says they need to get to the root of this at the end of "Terrorarium", but come the start of the next story, she's just waiting around in Sugar Cube Corner and just reacting to another balloon.
There isn't too much to say about each part, since they're all "weird thing shows up, the characters react" stories. I did enjoy the last one the most, since there are fun visuals and both Spike and Tank get involved. "Terrorarium" marks the first appearance of Big Mac in the show, and the choice to make his head even bigger rather than make his body larger is... a choice.
Rarity in "Lambilton"
Too many apples
Twilight's secret hobby
Title card
Spike stealing the bubble wand
Striking landscape shot
Charge!
205. Time After Time Capsule / The Great Cowgirl Hat Robbery // 206. Planet of the Apps / Back to the Present
OP
OP
205. Time After Time Capsule / The Great Cowgirl Hat Robbery // 206. Planet of the Apps / Back to the Present
The weird thing about these episodes is how quickly they drop the entire time travel concept. One short about the past, one short about the future, and one short about an alternate present. There's so much more they could have done with all this. I thought that with the direct references to previous stories while the girls were putting things into the time capsule, we'd get a Back to the Future Part II situation with them revisiting past episodes, but no such luck.
That said, "Time After Time Capsule" is a nice cozy story. The others are a mixed bag, mostly in the sense that they're wasted opportunities. As one off settings for five-minute stories, each setting is pretty under-baked. This was especially an issue for "Back to the Present", which didn't sell the idea of this alternate reality well, especially with regard to why things were different and what was significant about the new characters, the Wild Syde. They were presented in an extremely blatant "well, here are the new toys" way, which is especially odd when they aren't getting toys.
I will say that in "The Great Cowgirl Hat Robbery", I liked the knitting mare who rolled her eyes at everything.
Some interesting taste in dolphin-themed movies...
Fluttershy's Finn-tastic pillow
Rarity's monologue
He has issues
Robot Pinkie
Alternate Mane Six, gone too soon
The weird thing about these episodes is how quickly they drop the entire time travel concept. One short about the past, one short about the future, and one short about an alternate present. There's so much more they could have done with all this. I thought that with the direct references to previous stories while the girls were putting things into the time capsule, we'd get a Back to the Future Part II situation with them revisiting past episodes, but no such luck.
That said, "Time After Time Capsule" is a nice cozy story. The others are a mixed bag, mostly in the sense that they're wasted opportunities. As one off settings for five-minute stories, each setting is pretty under-baked. This was especially an issue for "Back to the Present", which didn't sell the idea of this alternate reality well, especially with regard to why things were different and what was significant about the new characters, the Wild Syde. They were presented in an extremely blatant "well, here are the new toys" way, which is especially odd when they aren't getting toys.
I will say that in "The Great Cowgirl Hat Robbery", I liked the knitting mare who rolled her eyes at everything.
Some interesting taste in dolphin-themed movies...
Fluttershy's Finn-tastic pillow
Rarity's monologue
He has issues
Robot Pinkie
Alternate Mane Six, gone too soon
207. Magical Mare-story Tour / Life of Pie // 208. The Rarest of Occasions / Portal Combat
OP
OP
207. Magical Mare-story Tour / Life of Pie // 208. The Rarest of Occasions / Portal Combat
Time to explore The Wild Side characters! Suffice it to say, five minutes each wasn't the best way to present them.
The first story's title notably uses a reference that was already in FiM—and for one of the most important episodes of the series! Still, it was pretty fun, though more for how it revisited locations from season one and actually gave us a map. It is notable how wistful I felt for season one. I was even a bit excited when it looked like potions were going to come up again! Though they didn't.
The second story was alright, though I really don't get Lightning Chill's powers. It makes me think of a JRPG summon where the summon's effect has nothing to do with the animation.
The third story was also alright, though it's really weird how we hear so much about how funny Sugar Snap is, but she still gets little to do. I actually would have really liked to have seen Rarity bond with a fellow actress, but for some reason they decided this story would have a B plot, which gave even less time to them.
The fourth story, however, was pretty good. Rainbow having to run from a portal for days (I guess) while Twilight tries to figure things out was a fun visual, and this is the kind of sci-fi weirdness I can get behind. Also, stretchy Dash. Oh, and Echo was there I guess.
Overall, the Wild Side... I wouldn't call them a flop, per say, as I don't dislike them. But they only served to bring down the show. The pacing of the show simply doesn't allow them to be well defined, and it's hard to connect with them knowing how little we'll see of them. I'll also mention that I accidentally watched episode 209 instead of 208 first, which doesn't involve the Wild Side, and I liked that a lot more.
World map!
JRPG summon
Rarity's channel reaches its 100th video
Rarity singing
Echo in Food Wars
Coleslaw and Order
Dash Master could have gone better
Figuring out ApplePie
Spaghettified Dash and fixing the portal
Stretchy Dash flying by
Time to explore The Wild Side characters! Suffice it to say, five minutes each wasn't the best way to present them.
The first story's title notably uses a reference that was already in FiM—and for one of the most important episodes of the series! Still, it was pretty fun, though more for how it revisited locations from season one and actually gave us a map. It is notable how wistful I felt for season one. I was even a bit excited when it looked like potions were going to come up again! Though they didn't.
The second story was alright, though I really don't get Lightning Chill's powers. It makes me think of a JRPG summon where the summon's effect has nothing to do with the animation.
The third story was also alright, though it's really weird how we hear so much about how funny Sugar Snap is, but she still gets little to do. I actually would have really liked to have seen Rarity bond with a fellow actress, but for some reason they decided this story would have a B plot, which gave even less time to them.
The fourth story, however, was pretty good. Rainbow having to run from a portal for days (I guess) while Twilight tries to figure things out was a fun visual, and this is the kind of sci-fi weirdness I can get behind. Also, stretchy Dash. Oh, and Echo was there I guess.
Overall, the Wild Side... I wouldn't call them a flop, per say, as I don't dislike them. But they only served to bring down the show. The pacing of the show simply doesn't allow them to be well defined, and it's hard to connect with them knowing how little we'll see of them. I'll also mention that I accidentally watched episode 209 instead of 208 first, which doesn't involve the Wild Side, and I liked that a lot more.
World map!
JRPG summon
Rarity's channel reaches its 100th video
Rarity singing
Echo in Food Wars
Coleslaw and Order
Dash Master could have gone better
Figuring out ApplePie
Spaghettified Dash and fixing the portal
Stretchy Dash flying by
209. What Goes Updo / Communication Shakedown // 210. Lolly-Pop / Little Miss Fortune Pony Life
OP
OP
209. What Goes Updo / Communication Shakedown // 210. Lolly-Pop / Little Miss Fortune Pony Life
With the dimensional travel behind us (and all the orbs forgotten about I suppose), we reach a pretty fun story arc about a carnival.
The first featured the first appearance of Cadance! Similar to Big Mac, it's weird that she's the same size as everyone else. She's presented as more of a celebrity here; it's odd that the Mane Six seem starstruck by her, but she's pretty fun. I wonder if her "yass" was improvised. I have to say, Rarity vomiting gems is great.
The second story had a more overt moral than most in the show, and one that specifically couldn't be done in FiM (but could in EQG), which was interesting. It was fun seeing everyone in the different attractions, particularly Applejack getting a big apple. The moral was just kind of there, but learning that text doesn't do a great job depicting tone is certainly an important lesson.
The third story is one I'd seen screenshots of a lot, with Fluttershy as a clown. It was nice seeing her enjoy herself, and hey, Flim and Flam are doing something that isn't at all a scam! I thought the story did a good job navigating Fluttershy's clown interest and Applejack's fear of it, and there were fun visuals.
The fourth story featured the first appearance of Shining Armor! Who's apparently in charge of the traveling circus now. I suppose things are dull in the Crystal Empire now. Twilight's reaction to her fortune was great. Rainbow's motivation for joining the circus and the resolution felt quite perfunctory, but her routines were still fun. The Cutie Mark Crusaders showed up again, but they didn't appear to have the same voices and no one was credited for them; I suppose because all they did was cheer, so they had the other VAs cover them.
Cadance yassing to hairdos
(distant yass)
Rarity's screaming and gem vomiting
AJ living the dream
Fluttershy on the cup ride
Flim and Flam clowning things up
AJ scared of Fluttershy
AJ as a clown, ending with her upsetting her evil clown reflection v_v
Fluttershy fixing her clown makeup
Fluttershy reacting to AJ's fear
Twilight reacting to her fortune
Shining Armor is a ringmaster???
With the dimensional travel behind us (and all the orbs forgotten about I suppose), we reach a pretty fun story arc about a carnival.
The first featured the first appearance of Cadance! Similar to Big Mac, it's weird that she's the same size as everyone else. She's presented as more of a celebrity here; it's odd that the Mane Six seem starstruck by her, but she's pretty fun. I wonder if her "yass" was improvised. I have to say, Rarity vomiting gems is great.
The second story had a more overt moral than most in the show, and one that specifically couldn't be done in FiM (but could in EQG), which was interesting. It was fun seeing everyone in the different attractions, particularly Applejack getting a big apple. The moral was just kind of there, but learning that text doesn't do a great job depicting tone is certainly an important lesson.
The third story is one I'd seen screenshots of a lot, with Fluttershy as a clown. It was nice seeing her enjoy herself, and hey, Flim and Flam are doing something that isn't at all a scam! I thought the story did a good job navigating Fluttershy's clown interest and Applejack's fear of it, and there were fun visuals.
The fourth story featured the first appearance of Shining Armor! Who's apparently in charge of the traveling circus now. I suppose things are dull in the Crystal Empire now. Twilight's reaction to her fortune was great. Rainbow's motivation for joining the circus and the resolution felt quite perfunctory, but her routines were still fun. The Cutie Mark Crusaders showed up again, but they didn't appear to have the same voices and no one was credited for them; I suppose because all they did was cheer, so they had the other VAs cover them.
Cadance yassing to hairdos
(distant yass)
Rarity's screaming and gem vomiting
AJ living the dream
Fluttershy on the cup ride
Flim and Flam clowning things up
AJ scared of Fluttershy
AJ as a clown, ending with her upsetting her evil clown reflection v_v
Fluttershy fixing her clown makeup
Fluttershy reacting to AJ's fear
Twilight reacting to her fortune
Shining Armor is a ringmaster???
211. Playwright or Wrong / The Shows Must Go On // 212. The De-Stress Ball / Mad Props
OP
OP
211. Playwright or Wrong / The Shows Must Go On // 212. The De-Stress Ball / Mad Props
We're approaching the end, and it's disappointing that it doesn't seem to be doing anything particularly special. The Trail Trotters arc last season was six 12-minute episodes, and it's a shame nothing like that is happening here.
None of these episodes are particularly laugh out loud, but the stories are nice and cozy.
First story was set up, not much to see here, other than the bit with Trixie.
Second story had a lot of fun moments with Rarity, including an evolution of her gem vomiting, and her dialogue is just a joy to listen to throughout. It's nice to see her and Sugar Snap still getting along, but we don't see much of that overall. Fluttershy being a mime is a nice bit of continuity with her clown interest.
Third story was fun, though Applejack being the one to get stage fright is a bit odd with Fluttershy right there—and explicitly not getting stage fright until later. Chamomilia is a fun character, and the imagination sequences have some fun visuals.
Last story, with the play in action, was good. The story of the play seems surprisingly heavy, with some clear inspiration from Death of a Salesman; the girls' requests for the play seem to have been incorporated more naturally than you'd expect. Discord's pranks on the play were fun, and I liked the bit where they fought the prop monster, though it's a bit odd to have that revelation be an ending cliffhanger.
Presenting the Mane Six
Cute Rarity
RIP teapot
Super gem vomiting
Angel and Queen Rarity
Closed due to magic
AJ has stage fright
Chamomilia seems nice
Chamomilia scaring Applejack
Chamomilia scaring everyone
Rarity stealing the spotlight
Twilight with that thing around her neck is a good look
Surprised Contextless MLP didn't have any clips of the props going awry. I may edit in some clips I made later.
We're approaching the end, and it's disappointing that it doesn't seem to be doing anything particularly special. The Trail Trotters arc last season was six 12-minute episodes, and it's a shame nothing like that is happening here.
None of these episodes are particularly laugh out loud, but the stories are nice and cozy.
First story was set up, not much to see here, other than the bit with Trixie.
Second story had a lot of fun moments with Rarity, including an evolution of her gem vomiting, and her dialogue is just a joy to listen to throughout. It's nice to see her and Sugar Snap still getting along, but we don't see much of that overall. Fluttershy being a mime is a nice bit of continuity with her clown interest.
Third story was fun, though Applejack being the one to get stage fright is a bit odd with Fluttershy right there—and explicitly not getting stage fright until later. Chamomilia is a fun character, and the imagination sequences have some fun visuals.
Last story, with the play in action, was good. The story of the play seems surprisingly heavy, with some clear inspiration from Death of a Salesman; the girls' requests for the play seem to have been incorporated more naturally than you'd expect. Discord's pranks on the play were fun, and I liked the bit where they fought the prop monster, though it's a bit odd to have that revelation be an ending cliffhanger.
Presenting the Mane Six
Cute Rarity
RIP teapot
Super gem vomiting
Angel and Queen Rarity
Closed due to magic
AJ has stage fright
Chamomilia seems nice
Chamomilia scaring Applejack
Chamomilia scaring everyone
Rarity stealing the spotlight
Twilight with that thing around her neck is a good look
Surprised Contextless MLP didn't have any clips of the props going awry. I may edit in some clips I made later.
213. Magic is Ahoof / Journey to the Center of the 'Cord // 214. One Last Wish / Wild Heart Beats (FINAL)
OP
OP
Sorry for the delay, just was busy.
Made some more clips for "Mad Props"
Rarity hamming it up in the play
Really cute "yes", or rather "yays", from Twilight
Twilight's sad acting is legit good
Final bit of solo singing from Rarity!
When all the props magically disappear, you gotta do what you gotta do
Fun monster fight
Now, for the final episodes
213. Magic is Ahoof / Journey to the Center of the 'Cord // 214. One Last Wish / Wild Heart Beats (FINAL)
The end is finally here. While the episodes are alright in and of themselves, as a conclusion for the entire show, I found them disappointing.
There's some attempt to tie the chaotic magic to the Cotton Candy Comet, but there were problems right off the bat with how the "gacha bubbles" were handled. They disappeared after the time travel story, but no one mentioned them, so I and other viewers were left to assume they were still around. They still don't get mentioned here, but there's some visual indication in the last episode that they were gone and then reappeared as the chaos increased. I would have appreciated acknowledgment of this in the dialogue.
Tying Discord into things would have made sense to explain the dimensions falling apart, but it doesn't look like he he anything to do with that? At least no one brings it up. It's just needlessly confusing. They specifically flash back to the Cotton Candy Comet episode and show him there, so continuity was already being evoked, so it's strange.
Anyway, aside from the weird way of tying things together, the first story was a nice last look at Noir Rarity, with Pinkie joining in. Though not as much was done with it as I would have liked.
The second story was pretty fun. I liked the bits inside Discord's mind we got, and we have a final use of potions—and the first of this season.
The third story was an odd followup to the previous, though it's a fun idea on its own, with them trusting Discord to use his birthday wish to fix things. I think it would have worked a lot better if it was developed more. Anyway, we get a very unusual appearance from Cheerilee here. I'm convinced Nicole Oliver was voicing a normal background pony and just decided to use her Cheerilee voice, so they went with it. Regardless, it's a funny performance from her.
The last story was nice for bringing back all the characters that showed up this season, though I'm disappointed season one characters like Potion Nova didn't. The final song of G4 is alright; stronger than the song in the PL season one finale, but still not up to FiM's level. The goodbye at the end still gave me feelings.
With the ending stinger of Discord's vial of chaos cracking, I wonder if this was intended to be the end of the series as a whole.
Overall, this was an alright set of episodes, but as an ending for the show, it's disappointing. Pony Life season 2 in general was weaker than season 1, though I still enjoyed watching it.
I'll have a big post about Pony Life in general later this week, hopefully.
Horsies to hug!
The stallions on the beach seem pretty gay tbh
Crazy for crafting yarn
Fan out!
Discord's security
Discord's first birthday - One thing I thought was cute in Pony Life was the quick responses the other ponies have when one pony's talking.
Cheerilee, everypony!
Rarity's reference-ful props
Body swap
Singing Fluttershy
"Wild Heart Beats", the final song of G4!
And how G4 ends; maybe we'll meet again someday
Made some more clips for "Mad Props"
Rarity hamming it up in the play
Really cute "yes", or rather "yays", from Twilight
Twilight's sad acting is legit good
Final bit of solo singing from Rarity!
When all the props magically disappear, you gotta do what you gotta do
Fun monster fight
Now, for the final episodes
213. Magic is Ahoof / Journey to the Center of the 'Cord // 214. One Last Wish / Wild Heart Beats (FINAL)
The end is finally here. While the episodes are alright in and of themselves, as a conclusion for the entire show, I found them disappointing.
There's some attempt to tie the chaotic magic to the Cotton Candy Comet, but there were problems right off the bat with how the "gacha bubbles" were handled. They disappeared after the time travel story, but no one mentioned them, so I and other viewers were left to assume they were still around. They still don't get mentioned here, but there's some visual indication in the last episode that they were gone and then reappeared as the chaos increased. I would have appreciated acknowledgment of this in the dialogue.
Tying Discord into things would have made sense to explain the dimensions falling apart, but it doesn't look like he he anything to do with that? At least no one brings it up. It's just needlessly confusing. They specifically flash back to the Cotton Candy Comet episode and show him there, so continuity was already being evoked, so it's strange.
Anyway, aside from the weird way of tying things together, the first story was a nice last look at Noir Rarity, with Pinkie joining in. Though not as much was done with it as I would have liked.
The second story was pretty fun. I liked the bits inside Discord's mind we got, and we have a final use of potions—and the first of this season.
The third story was an odd followup to the previous, though it's a fun idea on its own, with them trusting Discord to use his birthday wish to fix things. I think it would have worked a lot better if it was developed more. Anyway, we get a very unusual appearance from Cheerilee here. I'm convinced Nicole Oliver was voicing a normal background pony and just decided to use her Cheerilee voice, so they went with it. Regardless, it's a funny performance from her.
The last story was nice for bringing back all the characters that showed up this season, though I'm disappointed season one characters like Potion Nova didn't. The final song of G4 is alright; stronger than the song in the PL season one finale, but still not up to FiM's level. The goodbye at the end still gave me feelings.
With the ending stinger of Discord's vial of chaos cracking, I wonder if this was intended to be the end of the series as a whole.
Overall, this was an alright set of episodes, but as an ending for the show, it's disappointing. Pony Life season 2 in general was weaker than season 1, though I still enjoyed watching it.
I'll have a big post about Pony Life in general later this week, hopefully.
Horsies to hug!
The stallions on the beach seem pretty gay tbh
Crazy for crafting yarn
Fan out!
Discord's security
Discord's first birthday - One thing I thought was cute in Pony Life was the quick responses the other ponies have when one pony's talking.
Cheerilee, everypony!
Rarity's reference-ful props
Body swap
Singing Fluttershy
"Wild Heart Beats", the final song of G4!
And how G4 ends; maybe we'll meet again someday
OP
OP
And now for overall thoughts on the series.
The short of it is: it was good, could have been better.
The long of it is a semi-organized ramble.
First of all, there's the characters. Many would say Pony Life is a series where Pinkie Pie is the lead character, and I'm sure that's what they were thinking at the start of development, but those who watched a lot of it would know that that the actual lead character is Rarity. This is a series where the voice actors took control with tons of improv, and no one did this more than Tabitha St. Germain.
Compared to FiM, Rarity in this series goes for more of a theater diva persona. Not exactly much room for nuance, but Tabitha is having a blast! For the sort of sitcom set up of Pony Life, shifting Rarity's focus from dressmaking to theater was great. It makes for good set up for stories, and allows her to make references to the projects she's working on. Her new tendency to reference shows like Game of Thrones but with pony puns seems like something execs threw in, but then you look at Tabitha's live reading scripts at conventions, and you realize, no, that's 100% Tabitha.
Next for Pinkie Pie, she is the driving force behind the first arc of the series, with her participating in a cooking competition, but she falls back into being another part of the ensemble after that. A very interesting shift for Pony Life is that she actually comes off as more responsible and focused, and even more of the straight man, here. She often has to act as the voice of reason and calm, and shows more ambition than she generally did in FiM.
She's still fun and goofy, but even after the competition arc ends, she's interested in innovating with her desserts and episodes often start with her presenting a new food experiment. She's often concerned with keeping Sugarcube Corner as a successful business. We hear mentions of Pinkie having participated in further competitions after the first one in season 2, and I would have liked to have seen that.
Something I hadn't mentioned is that every character gets some new magical gimmick, most of them oddly just signs of their distress/excitement and nothing more than visual gags. Not so with Fluttershy. Her new magical gimmick of changing size works so naturally with her character, I would like to see it in future generations that use Fluttershy. It's great for visual gags and is a perfect visual representation of her mood.
As a character, Fluttershy does feel rather unfocused, though. The later FiM seasons have certainly expanded Fluttershy into getting openly excited and stubborn, but there are points where she doesn't feel shy at all. When animal movie stars are involved, she can even turn into a jerk, though she does realize her mistake by the end. As a story arc, I would say the Trail Trotters is the best presentation of Pony Life's potential, though Fluttershy herself got exaggerated a bit too much. On the other hand, her sudden interest in being a clown in that season 2 episode worked pretty well, especially when she showed concern about Applejack's fear of clowns.
In Pony Life, Applejack got a new gimmick: being able to break the fourth wall. I thought it was a pretty genius way to give her something more to do in a pure comedy series, though it ended up pretty underused as the series went on. She ultimately falls back into the stubborn straight man role, and there isn't really much to say about her. Pinkie even starts breaking the fourth wall!
Twilight as a character is fairly middling in Pony Life. She gets stories where she worries about something, just like you'd expect from FiM. We see flashes in season 1 of her acting like a mad scientist, which could have been fun if expanded more, but this gets dropped by season 2. That said, Tara Strong is still having a lot of fun playing Twilight, and there are a lot of cute little noises and Twilight-isms.
Rainbow Dash is Rainbow Dash. She's just kind of there, and I couldn't point out any differences from FiM that wouldn't just be saying Pony Life is more of a sitcom than FiM. It's really weird that she got a time freezing power, yet she almost never uses it.
Spike is voiced by Tabitha now, which felt odd at first, but I got used to it after a bit. He doesn't show up too much, but he's fun when he does.
One big failing of Pony Life is its use of other characters. Existing FiM characters barely appear, with notably Luna and Starlight being completely absent despite Celestia, Cadance, and Trixie appearing. The new to Pony Life characters don't fare well either. Potion Nova is presented as a very intriguing character, and is the only new character with her own toy. However, after her introduction arc, she's gone until the season one finale song, and then is gone for good. This is especially strange given how they established that Twilight is apprenticing under her.
Then there's the Wild Siders from season 2. Chill Lightning has a nice voice, and her archetype is surprisingly something we haven't really gotten in FiM. But... what were they doing here? They didn't even get toys, so it's baffling.
There were a couple fun one-off characters in season 1, but they didn't really show up again either. There weren't any interesting background ponies either.
The thing is, all of the problems with characters I brought up are things that could have been addressed if there was just more of the show. The strengths could have been emphasized more, the weaker characters shored up, and we could have seen more use of the other characters. Seeing a FiM character show up was always a joy, even as a one off.
Second, I want to talk about the art. The characters themselves look decent. The simplified designs don't look bad, but it doesn't take full advantage of them with squash and stretch. The really interesting part, however, is the backgrounds. Inspired by UPA, there's a lot of neat abstract details in the background, and even some beautiful shots like this one of the moon below. This made each new setting a joy, including the new designs for each pony's house.
Third, there's the story structure. I think Pony Life is at its strongest when it plays into its ability to have story arcs focused around one concept that can last longer than two 30-minute blocks. However, I think its standard story length of 7 minutes was to its detriment. During early season 1, they generally had two 7 minute stories together as a two-parter, making it seem like a standard 15-minute story. However, as the series went on, they dropped that structure and just had 7 minute stories.
Some stories worked at 7 minutes, but especially season 2's time travel arc really would have worked better with 15 minute stories. Season 2 still had story arcs, but in total, they were shorter than a 30-minute block, so not much of an arc. As I mentioned before, the strongest instance of a story arc in the show is the Trail Trotters arc. Despite not having any two-parters, the arc concept was good, there was a specific central character and something to look forward to at the end, and it led to the ponies going on connected adventures, with each story getting appropriate focus. I think if they had the opportunity to continue the series, we could have seen more arcs along those lines.
Last, I want to talk about the metatextual circumstances of the show. Fans being suspicious is something I don't think I have to explain more, but there were a few big factors that prevented fans from checking it out. First, there's the fact that Hasbro was much more aggressive with taking down clips from YouTube. I myself have tried to upload clips, only to be completely stymied; hence opting for Twitter instead. Besides clips, this also means fans can't make PMVs.
Second, there's the way it aired in other countries well before the US. We've seen before with FiM that this does split the fan experience, but more importantly here is that once it came out in the US, there wasn't an official way to watch the episode again for the longest time. FiM went up on iTunes, but they didn't do that for Pony Life. There were some early indications that Pony Life episodes would be put directly on YouTube, but that didn't pan out.
And third, COVID preventing the voice actors from going to in-person conventions. If you've listened to their virtual panels over the last two years, you'd know that Tara, Tabitha, and the others all plug Pony Life frequently and talk about how great it was to work with. I have no doubt that if they could have, they would have pushed the hell out of it to con goers.
If these issues weren't present, then I'm not sure the fandom would have accepted the show, but it would have had a much better opportunity.
Overall, Pony Life had the opportunity to play into the strengths I mentioned and forge a strong identity for itself, but unfortunately, season two went in another direction, and then it ended. A FiM spinoff that played into the idea of the voice actors improvising, with a stronger emphasis on longer storylines, could have been fantastic, but in the end, it just goes halfway there. I enjoy Pony Life for what it was, but I do wish we got more of what it could have been.
The short of it is: it was good, could have been better.
The long of it is a semi-organized ramble.
First of all, there's the characters. Many would say Pony Life is a series where Pinkie Pie is the lead character, and I'm sure that's what they were thinking at the start of development, but those who watched a lot of it would know that that the actual lead character is Rarity. This is a series where the voice actors took control with tons of improv, and no one did this more than Tabitha St. Germain.
Compared to FiM, Rarity in this series goes for more of a theater diva persona. Not exactly much room for nuance, but Tabitha is having a blast! For the sort of sitcom set up of Pony Life, shifting Rarity's focus from dressmaking to theater was great. It makes for good set up for stories, and allows her to make references to the projects she's working on. Her new tendency to reference shows like Game of Thrones but with pony puns seems like something execs threw in, but then you look at Tabitha's live reading scripts at conventions, and you realize, no, that's 100% Tabitha.
Next for Pinkie Pie, she is the driving force behind the first arc of the series, with her participating in a cooking competition, but she falls back into being another part of the ensemble after that. A very interesting shift for Pony Life is that she actually comes off as more responsible and focused, and even more of the straight man, here. She often has to act as the voice of reason and calm, and shows more ambition than she generally did in FiM.
She's still fun and goofy, but even after the competition arc ends, she's interested in innovating with her desserts and episodes often start with her presenting a new food experiment. She's often concerned with keeping Sugarcube Corner as a successful business. We hear mentions of Pinkie having participated in further competitions after the first one in season 2, and I would have liked to have seen that.
Something I hadn't mentioned is that every character gets some new magical gimmick, most of them oddly just signs of their distress/excitement and nothing more than visual gags. Not so with Fluttershy. Her new magical gimmick of changing size works so naturally with her character, I would like to see it in future generations that use Fluttershy. It's great for visual gags and is a perfect visual representation of her mood.
As a character, Fluttershy does feel rather unfocused, though. The later FiM seasons have certainly expanded Fluttershy into getting openly excited and stubborn, but there are points where she doesn't feel shy at all. When animal movie stars are involved, she can even turn into a jerk, though she does realize her mistake by the end. As a story arc, I would say the Trail Trotters is the best presentation of Pony Life's potential, though Fluttershy herself got exaggerated a bit too much. On the other hand, her sudden interest in being a clown in that season 2 episode worked pretty well, especially when she showed concern about Applejack's fear of clowns.
In Pony Life, Applejack got a new gimmick: being able to break the fourth wall. I thought it was a pretty genius way to give her something more to do in a pure comedy series, though it ended up pretty underused as the series went on. She ultimately falls back into the stubborn straight man role, and there isn't really much to say about her. Pinkie even starts breaking the fourth wall!
Twilight as a character is fairly middling in Pony Life. She gets stories where she worries about something, just like you'd expect from FiM. We see flashes in season 1 of her acting like a mad scientist, which could have been fun if expanded more, but this gets dropped by season 2. That said, Tara Strong is still having a lot of fun playing Twilight, and there are a lot of cute little noises and Twilight-isms.
Rainbow Dash is Rainbow Dash. She's just kind of there, and I couldn't point out any differences from FiM that wouldn't just be saying Pony Life is more of a sitcom than FiM. It's really weird that she got a time freezing power, yet she almost never uses it.
Spike is voiced by Tabitha now, which felt odd at first, but I got used to it after a bit. He doesn't show up too much, but he's fun when he does.
One big failing of Pony Life is its use of other characters. Existing FiM characters barely appear, with notably Luna and Starlight being completely absent despite Celestia, Cadance, and Trixie appearing. The new to Pony Life characters don't fare well either. Potion Nova is presented as a very intriguing character, and is the only new character with her own toy. However, after her introduction arc, she's gone until the season one finale song, and then is gone for good. This is especially strange given how they established that Twilight is apprenticing under her.
Then there's the Wild Siders from season 2. Chill Lightning has a nice voice, and her archetype is surprisingly something we haven't really gotten in FiM. But... what were they doing here? They didn't even get toys, so it's baffling.
There were a couple fun one-off characters in season 1, but they didn't really show up again either. There weren't any interesting background ponies either.
The thing is, all of the problems with characters I brought up are things that could have been addressed if there was just more of the show. The strengths could have been emphasized more, the weaker characters shored up, and we could have seen more use of the other characters. Seeing a FiM character show up was always a joy, even as a one off.
Second, I want to talk about the art. The characters themselves look decent. The simplified designs don't look bad, but it doesn't take full advantage of them with squash and stretch. The really interesting part, however, is the backgrounds. Inspired by UPA, there's a lot of neat abstract details in the background, and even some beautiful shots like this one of the moon below. This made each new setting a joy, including the new designs for each pony's house.
Third, there's the story structure. I think Pony Life is at its strongest when it plays into its ability to have story arcs focused around one concept that can last longer than two 30-minute blocks. However, I think its standard story length of 7 minutes was to its detriment. During early season 1, they generally had two 7 minute stories together as a two-parter, making it seem like a standard 15-minute story. However, as the series went on, they dropped that structure and just had 7 minute stories.
Some stories worked at 7 minutes, but especially season 2's time travel arc really would have worked better with 15 minute stories. Season 2 still had story arcs, but in total, they were shorter than a 30-minute block, so not much of an arc. As I mentioned before, the strongest instance of a story arc in the show is the Trail Trotters arc. Despite not having any two-parters, the arc concept was good, there was a specific central character and something to look forward to at the end, and it led to the ponies going on connected adventures, with each story getting appropriate focus. I think if they had the opportunity to continue the series, we could have seen more arcs along those lines.
Last, I want to talk about the metatextual circumstances of the show. Fans being suspicious is something I don't think I have to explain more, but there were a few big factors that prevented fans from checking it out. First, there's the fact that Hasbro was much more aggressive with taking down clips from YouTube. I myself have tried to upload clips, only to be completely stymied; hence opting for Twitter instead. Besides clips, this also means fans can't make PMVs.
Second, there's the way it aired in other countries well before the US. We've seen before with FiM that this does split the fan experience, but more importantly here is that once it came out in the US, there wasn't an official way to watch the episode again for the longest time. FiM went up on iTunes, but they didn't do that for Pony Life. There were some early indications that Pony Life episodes would be put directly on YouTube, but that didn't pan out.
And third, COVID preventing the voice actors from going to in-person conventions. If you've listened to their virtual panels over the last two years, you'd know that Tara, Tabitha, and the others all plug Pony Life frequently and talk about how great it was to work with. I have no doubt that if they could have, they would have pushed the hell out of it to con goers.
If these issues weren't present, then I'm not sure the fandom would have accepted the show, but it would have had a much better opportunity.
Overall, Pony Life had the opportunity to play into the strengths I mentioned and forge a strong identity for itself, but unfortunately, season two went in another direction, and then it ended. A FiM spinoff that played into the idea of the voice actors improvising, with a stronger emphasis on longer storylines, could have been fantastic, but in the end, it just goes halfway there. I enjoy Pony Life for what it was, but I do wish we got more of what it could have been.