The My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic Thread

[pokeplayer984]

~ONLINE POST~

So far, I'd say that wasn't a bad episode.  We'll see how I feel about it tomorrow.

Until then, link to the episode below.

Season 7 Episode 23 - Secrets and Pies Dailymotion Version

I'll see all of you tomorrow for my reviews.

[The Chronicler]

(spoilers)
Pinkie makes a special pie to give to Rainbow Dash for her 73rd Wonderbotls training session (because Pinkie was too impatient to wait for the 100th). But after Rainbow takes it with her, it's not long before Pinkie sees that pie in a trashcan. This becomes the catalyst that makes Pinkie uncover a long-running trend where she has never seen Rainbow Dash actually eat any of her pies, and said pies always seem to end up just about anywhere else.

Pinkie comes to the conclusion that Rainbow doesn't like any of her pies, and decides the solution is to practically force her to eat them while watching very closely. After a series of crazy attempts, Pinkie only ends up further convinced of her suspicions and ultimately lashes out at Rainbow and then refuses to hear another word from her.

Although Rainbow admits to her friends that she had been getting rid of all those pies, she just simply doesn't like pie in general (so it's nothing to do with Pinkie's baking), and only faked eating them to avoid hurting Pinkie's feelings (which is exactly what just happened). Rainbow decides the only way to make it up to Pinkie is to have Pinkie watch her try to eat a giant pie that pretty much looks like it's made of garbage. Of course, Pinkie stops her from attempting such a disgusting thing, and after a little talk, she realizes that, as much as Rainbow hates pie, she does appreciate the hard work Pinkie puts into making them. With the full truth now out, they agree to be more honest with each other from now on.

Before I saw this episode, I had assumed that Rainbow Dash throwing away a pie given to her by Pinkie Pie would've been just a simple misunderstanding on Pinkie's part. Partway through the episode, as we saw Rainbow truly has been throwing away pies for some time, I had assumed that she was simply overwhelmed by all those pies and simply couldn't take it any longer. But then we found out that Rainbow really doesn't like pie at all, and was simply reluctant to admit the truth to Pinkie.
(end spoilers)

Looks like Equestria Daily failed to point it out again, so instead, have a direct link to this week's Equestria Girls short.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_TSxi90a04

[pokeplayer984]

~REVIEW EPISODE POST~

Okay, a little extra something has popped up that I need to talk about.  So, after I'm done with my two reviews, I will talk about the extra subject in question.  For now, my thoughts on Secrets and Pies.  Spoilers below.

I'm just going to come out and say that this isn't a bad episode at all.  I can see how it could possibly rub you the wrong way, but I feel it was actually well done.  This is an episode that focuses highly on comedy, has a simple premise and a good lesson.  Many saw it as an episode that would follow in the guidelines of Seasons 1 and 2.

The idea is simple.  Pinkie loves making pies.  She makes one for Rainbow's 73rd training session. (She wanted to wait until her 100th, but was too impatient.) After Rainbow seemingly tries it, she takes it with her and Pinkie about to be on her merry way.  However, the janitor is passing by with a trash can and Pinkie suddenly spots her pie on top of all that garbage.  After going through a contamination as to whether or not that was her pie in the trash, Pinkie starts an investigation to find out if Rainbow had been eating her pies.  She had never seen her Rainbow eat her pies and Rainbow often got rid of them in other ways. (Having a whole classroom of kids eat them, giving it to another pony, "sharing" it with the Wonderbolts, (Rainbow's never seen in having any herself.) having Tank eat it. (Which got the poor tortoise sick.)) Pinkie comes to a horrifying to her conclusion.  Rainbow hates her pies.

Pinkie tries to deny this.  It's just that no one has seen Rainbow eat a pie.  So, to put her mind at ease, Pinkie attempts to make Rainbow eat a pie and see it happen.  She goes to great lengths to pull this off.  She even gives everyone else in Ponyville a pie and attempts to literally keep her eyes open to see Rainbow eat a pie in front of everyone.  She actually attempts not to blink, but the strain becomes too much and Pinkie has to blink.  Rainbow takes that small opportune moment to tie it to a balloon and make it go flying away.

Having enough of Rainbow's antics, Pinkie explodes.  She knows full well that, despite not seeing it, Rainbow never once ate one of her pies.  Rainbow tries to continue the ruse, but her case isn't helped by the fact that the pie in question falls onto Pinkie.  Seeing the truth, Pinkie runs off, refusing to hear Rainbow Dash out.

Rainbow admits to Twilight and Applejack that she doesn't like pie in general.  It was really nothing against Pinkie.  Rainbow only did what she did so she wouldn't hurt Pinkie's feelings.  Rainbow decides to make it up to her.  Rainbow appears in front of Sugar Cube Corner with a giant pie made of garbage and tells Pinkie that she is going to eat it right in front of her.  However, Pinkie stops Rainbow from doing so and they talk it out.  Rainbow may not like pie in general, but she admires all of the hard work Pinkie puts into making them.  She may be the odd one out, but she won't disrespect Pinkie's work like that again.  They promise to be honest with one another from now on.

A simple story that was well done and full of enjoyable comedy.

Next week, Starlight and Trixie go to The Crystal Empire.

However, next post will be for the movie.

See ya later!

[pokeplayer984]

~REVIEW MOVIE POST~

So, after all this time, how do I feel about the movie?  Well, I did enjoy it, but there are problems.  Spoilers below.

I found this one good.  However, let me get the bad out of the way first so I get to the good.

The pacing wasn't that great.  It could be argued that this was an extended episode with a bigger budget.  It really didn't feel like a movie in that regard.

Twilight is pretty much the bad guy here.  She ends up using her friends to try and save Equestria, only for it to horribly backfire.  On top of that, she ends up being wrong and right about some things.  Plus, make her feel bad all around.

Tempest was actually turning out great.  A very serious pony who was dangerous and clever.  However, we then get her backstory.  She was playing with some friends when their ball goes into the Everfree Forest.  Tempest goes after it and runs into an Ursa Minor, which attacks her, giving her a scar and destroying her horn.  She tries to play with her friends, but her magic is now dangerous and her friends abandon her.  The backstory has shades of Starlight's.  It seems they wanted to try and do it right, but ultimately failed in the end.

Storm King, however, was worse.  Okay, how did this guy become the head of an evil army again?  He wants the magic of all four princesses and promised to use said magic to fix Tempest's horn.  However, once he has it, he's like a kid on Christmas morning.  Just playing around and not using it responsibly.  Finally, surprise, surprise, he breaks his promise to Tempest.  Only thing that saved him was how he went out, which I'll talk about in the good.

So now the good.  Unlike a certain someone here, I liked the animation.  The animation definitely screams bigger budget, but I sadly think that's where most of the budget went.

Twilight's friends are better than Twilight is in this movie.  They just be themselves and get help in plenty of ways.  Twilight really should have trusted them more because she's the reason everything backfires.

The songs were good.  All of them well made and a joy to hear.  I really can't pick one bad song out of the bunch.

Okay, so they actually killed someone in this.  The Storm King is literally killed.  He gets turned into stone and falls to his doom, shattering into pieces upon landing.  This was shocking to see.  In a series that promotes love, friendship, good lessons and peace, this is the last thing you expect.  We've had villains be defeated in other non-violent ways.  We've had spell removal, turning to stone, sent hundreds of miles away, banished and sent straight to Tartus.  NEVER have we had someone killed before.  The scene was good and it was the best way to get rid of a character I didn't like.

The final good part.  Turns out, Tempest Shadow isn't her real name.  It's actually Fizzlepop Berry Twist.  A name I can't help but love.  She's going to be quite interesting for the fandom.

So yeah, it's a good movie, but it has it's problems.

Okay, time for the next thing that I feel is important to talk about.

[pokeplayer984]

So, this appeared a few days ago on EqD.

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2017/10/scoo...nfirmed-by.html

Yep!  Scootaloo lives with her aunts, who are lesbians.

I have nothing wrong about this, but I am not happy with how the fandom has handled it.  It's complete chaos in the comment section.

Maybe it will appear in the show, but if the fandom is reacting worse than babies about it, I don't think we deserve it.

[The Chronicler]

Big news for Equestria Girls:
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2017/10/eque...s-to-be-45.html

Starting November 17 and continuing every Friday onward, there will be a new episode of Equestria Girls on YouTube for a total of 45 episodes. So it looks like once the rest of the summer shorts become officially available, we will almost immediately continue with more Equestria Girls and apparently will continue every week until at least September next year. That's a lot of new content, and I'm definitely looking forward to it.

[pokeplayer984]

~SUMMARY POST~

Well, I apologize for all of the editing I did on that post.  Someone at EqD messed up with the timer, but it seems we have a new episode tomorrow.

Get the summary below.

-----------
Title: Uncommon Bond

Summary: When Starlight gets a visit from Sunburst, she discovers that he has tons in common with her friends and starts to wonder if he still has anything in common with her.
-----------

Well, another Starlight episode!  Let's see how it goes!

I'll see ya tomorrow for the usual stuff.

[pokeplayer984]

~LIVE STREAM POST~

Hey there, everyone!  It's time for a new episode of pony!  Get the link to the Live Streams below!

Season 7 Episode 24 - Uncommon Bond Live Streams

As always, expect the online link later today and my review tomorrow.

Until then, see ya later!

[pokeplayer984]

~ONLINE POST~

Thanks to the leaks, here it is early!  Hope you enjoy the jealousy!

Season 7 Episode 24 - Uncommon Bond Dailymotion Version

Tomorrow shall be my review!

See ya later!

[The Chronicler]

(spoilers)
Sunburst comes to visit Ponyville and Starlight Glimmer is very excited to have the chance to spend time with him like they used to when they were younger. However, it's been so long that either Sunburst developed a new interest or Starlight forgot he had that interest, but the first thing he wants to do is visit the town's antique shop. While there, they meet up with Twilight, who says she's usually the only one there, and she and Sunburst get along quite well and have a good time, leaving Starlight feeling left out.

Later, back at the castle, Twilight and Sunburst notice how left out Starlight feels, so they suggest trying something she wants, and it happens to be a board game they used to play when they were younger, featuring dragons, a volcano, and trap doors.

The next morning, in an effort to ensure she'll get to spend time with Sunburst, Starlight wakes him up very early and takes him outside. They first visit the apple orchard, but encounter Trixie, who is always enthusiastic to show off her tricks to new ponies, and it's not long before she and Sunburst start getting along and having a good time, leaving Starlight again feeling left out.

Starlight then decides to show Sunburst the mirror pool (in the process, breaking the barrier that had been in place since the incident with Pinkie Pie back in Season 3). Before they can even consider trying the mirror pool themselves, they hear some digging in a side tunnel and they find Maud Pie, whose home cave turns out to be connected to the same cave system. Sure enough, it's not long before Sunburst starts getting along and having a good time with Maud as well, once again leaving Starlight feeling left out and she decides to just go home.

Back at the castle, Twilight offers advice to Starlight to think of things they like to do, and Starlight gets an idea. When Sunburst meets up with Starlight again, she has developed a new spell that turns the surrounding room into one from their childhood and turns themselves into foals, all for a fully authentic experience of playing their favorite board game like they used to. However, Sunburst thinks that's going too far and refuses to play, so Starlight undoes the spell and sadly walks away.

Sunburst feels bad for Starlight feeling left out, so he talks to all three ponies he had just spent time with for advice on what would make her happy. They decide to surprise her with a life-size version of that board game, with each of them contributing to make it happen: everyone is in dragon costumes for the pieces, a room was cleared out in the castle to provide the board, Maud made the dice, Trixie provided special effects for the volcano, and once Starlight agrees to join, she adds in that final touch of the trap doors.

Finally, as Sunburst leaves town on the train, he opens up the mystery barrel he had purchased at the antique shop and discovers a bunch of old books inside, one of which turns out to be foreshadowing for the upcoming season finale.
(end spoilers)

Well, that's two weeks in a row that Equestria Daily has failed to mention the Equestria Girls summer shorts being added to Hasbro's YouTube channel. Had to do a lot of digging around before I could finally find this week's addition. If anyone here is a member of Equestria Daily, please let them know that they need to keep track of this. I would really hate to see this trend continue once the new episodes start showing in a few weeks. Anyway, here's the link for this week's summer short:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSNIfyw0Mhc

[pokeplayer984]

~REVIEW POST~

Well this was a good episode.  It's too bad the Starlight haters can't agree.  They're so angry with her existence, they don't pay attention to certain key points of the episode.  Anyways, on to my review.  Spoilers below.

This was a fun episode.  Sunburst contributed a lot with this one.  I was first surprised with how much he packed, despite only being in Ponyville for a few days.  He has the mindset of the old Rarity when it comes to packing.

He then got along with Twilight quite well.  To the point where I'm not surprised people shipped it.  Heck, I'm guilty of it and I'm the type that wants real proof before becoming committed.

The board game at hand seems interesting.  Hopefully someone will make a real version of it.  Who would have guessed it would become the catalyst in keeping the friendship between Starlight and Sunburst alive?

Trixie appearing was kind of a surprise.  I'm not a fan of her, but I've come to tolerate her.  She does prove that she needs some practice with her magic tricks, though.

The one I expected the least was Maud.  Sure, she lives near Ponyville now, meaning she'll make appearances more often, but I was still surprised.  What I'm most worried about is how her cave connects to the Mirror Pool.  I'm thinking it'll have future implications.

Of course, with what has come to be expected of Starlight, she tries to use magic to solve all of her problems and it backfires again.  It happens so often, it has become a running gag with her by now.  I mean, making them be in a different room was fine, but making them foals?  Yeah, going a little far.

Finally, there was the big version of their game to make up everything for Starlight.  I kind of liked where they were going with it.

However, we now have the finale hook with the black book.  We'll see what it all means soon.

Next week, the finale.  Hopefully, it'll be good.

Okay, with that done, I need to be real with everyone for the next post.

See ya in a bit!

[pokeplayer984]

So, time to be real about something with me and this show.

What this boils down to is that I'm leaving the MLP fandom after the final episode has aired.  It'll also be the last time I'll be contributing to this thread like I have.  Maybe I'll pop in from time to time to express my thoughts on the season, but that's it really.

Fact is, with this thread, it's been difficult for me.  I do plenty as is to get my thoughts for the episodes up and sometimes, I don't feel like talking about an episode when there's nothing that really interested me in the episode as a whole.  On top of that, I usually have a nap before work to the point it's become routine.  If I don't get it in, I can be a little cranky at work.  So, it's kind of important.

With when I take my nap, I have to wake myself up early just to watch the episode.  After that, I get into talking about the episode so much, I don't get my full nap in.

Unless something major happens, I won't be doing next season, period.  It's not worth it anymore and I struggle as is.

As for the fandom, look, I've tolerated a lot with it.  I really have, but I can't take it anymore.  The reaction to Scootaloo's Aunts was my breaking point.  I do not like how the fandom handled it at all.  I'm glad there are those whom supported it and even defended it, but if plans are to make this a reality next season, then I choose not to be around to weather through the storm.  I want to be as far away as possible if and when it happens.

Add on all the tension that the fandom has now and it just hasn't become a fun place anymore.  I've chosen to leave before things get ugly.

Doesn't mean I won't watch the show, though, but I'll do it on my own time from here on out.

I've made my decision and it's not changing.

Well, see ya next week for my final big contribution.

[landbeforetimelover]

So, time to be real about something with me and this show.

What this boils down to is that I'm leaving the MLP fandom after the final episode has aired.  It'll also be the last time I'll be contributing to this thread like I have.  Maybe I'll pop in from time to time to express my thoughts on the season, but that's it really.

Fact is, with this thread, it's been difficult for me.  I do plenty as is to get my thoughts for the episodes up and sometimes, I don't feel like talking about an episode when there's nothing that really interested me in the episode as a whole.  On top of that, I usually have a nap before work to the point it's become routine.  If I don't get it in, I can be a little cranky at work.  So, it's kind of important.

With when I take my nap, I have to wake myself up early just to watch the episode.  After that, I get into talking about the episode so much, I don't get my full nap in.

Unless something major happens, I won't be doing next season, period.  It's not worth it anymore and I struggle as is.

As for the fandom, look, I've tolerated a lot with it.  I really have, but I can't take it anymore.  The reaction to Scootaloo's Aunts was my breaking point.  I do not like how the fandom handled it at all.  I'm glad there are those whom supported it and even defended it, but if plans are to make this a reality next season, then I choose not to be around to weather through the storm.  I want to be as far away as possible if and when it happens.

Add on all the tension that the fandom has now and it just hasn't become a fun place anymore.  I've chosen to leave before things get ugly.

Doesn't mean I won't watch the show, though, but I'll do it on my own time from here on out.

I've made my decision and it's not changing.

Well, see ya next week for my final big contribution.

I've never personally been part of the "fandom" so to speak.  People are freaking crazy.  I download the episodes when I can from YayPonies and watch them anywhere between 1 and 3 days after they air.  

To be honest, I couldn't care less what random people on the internet think.  The only place I actually read opinions of MLP is here on GOF (which is mostly your reviews and Chronicler's).  Why?  Because I've gotten to know the members on GOF well.  What do I care about some random commenters on Equestria Daily?  

I highly recommend distancing yourself from the fandom.  I tired to get into the fandom early on, but it was just too offensive and people were far too crazy for my taste.  

I have my own opinions of the show.  Personally, I wish they had continued on like season 1, keeping the universe small and focusing on the mane 6.  Twilight shouldn't have a brother that was never mentioned for 26 episodes.  I don't like Twilight as an alicorn.  I have no love for Starlight.  I don't hate her, but I wish they'd get rid of her.  Send her away to study friendship in some faraway land or something.  Maud is annoying, and so is Trixie.  

The show is nothing like it was when I first got into it.  This is NOT the show that I fell in love with in 2011.  I still watch it, though honestly the only reason I've kept with it is for those rare moments when we see deeper into a main character.  I loved the first episode in season 7 when we saw a different side of Celestia, and seeing Celestia and Luna feuding like sisters was a real treat in episode 10.  But honestly, those are the only episodes in the entire season that got ANY real character development.  Season 7 is the worst season BY FAR with about 1/2 of the episodes being pretty flat.

Honestly, it's been a long decline but ponies are really just a sellout.  It doesn't seem like anyone as Hasbro cares about making decent stories anymore.  We haven't had any episode showing any of the mane 6 growing for a long, long time.  And I'm getting REALLY sick of background characters getting all the main focus.  You could say that since these background characters are getting so much screen time that they're no longer background characters anymore, but just showing some shallow background character doing stuff doesn't really make you get to know them or actually care about them.  I couldn't care less about characters like Ember.  I mean, heck.  I barely have a connection to Spike, and he's been in almost every episode!

Season 1 (and to a lesser extent, season 2) will always have a place in my heart.  But things have been on a downward spiral for so long, I don't know if I really care to watch any more episodes.  The only characters I really care about are the mane 6, and Celestia and Luna.  Cadence has a very consistent character, and I do like how kind she is.  She's probably the only background character I've formed even a small connection with.

[Serris]

I personally prefer some of the more mature and polished fanfics the fandom puts out like Starworks, Seesaw or my personal favorite: Heart of Courage over the show.

My personal favorite genre is the HiE first-contact/worlds in contact scenario.

Those are pretty much my reasons for staying in the fandom.

[The Chronicler]

Personally, I just don't see why all this fan drama should be such a big deal. I've read comments on new episodes on Equestria Daily (mostly so I can gain a better understanding of some parts that I might otherwise have never even considered, but that's usually after I've posted my review here), and the worst I've ever reacted was to simply laugh at some ridiculous remark and then move on to the next comment like it's no big deal.

I'll continue to remain part of this fan group for a few reasons. First, I've always had this completionist tendency for all of my favorite shows, meaning that if I find it interesting, I need to watch every episode to ensure I'm not missing out on anything. Second, even though I have my favorites (the Season 5 finale is among my favorites because I'm quite fond of time travel) and those that I don't like much (episodes with a lot of cringe moments tend to be ones I'm not favorable of), I continue to find the show overall to always remain enjoyable. And finally, I've been writing a fanfiction series (LEGO Equestria Girls) for the last few years, and since I can see from the comments that at least some people are always looking forward to more, it encourages me to keep going with it.

I'll continue to do my usual reviews here (or more accurately, summaries within spoilers), especially now that I know some people actually regard them as a source of information. I'll definitely also be doing so for the Equestria Girls weekly online episodes, once they start (though I will admit that I have some reservations regarding the so-called "choose your own adventure" format they'll supposedly have).

To put it simply, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

[pokeplayer984]

~SUMMARY POST~

So, unless something happens, this is going to be it.  The final summary post.

Time for Twilight and friends to face a new evil!  Get the summary below.

-----------
Title: Shadow Play Part 1

Summary: When Sunburst discovers the lost journal of Starswirl the Bearded, Twilight becomes obsessed with saving her magical idol from a thousand-year-old prison.

Title: Shadow Play Part 2

Summary: With Starswirl and the other Pillars of Old Equestria back from limbo (where they’ve been trapped for a thousand years), Twilight and her friends must work together to defeat the Pony of Shadows.
------------

Expect the usual tomorrow for the final time.

In the meantime, a little something popped up.  Looks like a certain Season 4 Finale Villain is returning.

Season 8, you seriously can't come soon enough.

See ya later!

[pokeplayer984]

~LIVE STREAM POST~

Good morning internet for the final time!  It's time for a new villain and the Mane 6 need to take it down.  Get the link to the Live Streams below!

Season 7 Episode 25 & 26 - Shadow Play Live Streams
Season 7 Episode 25 & 26 - Shadow Play Live Streams

As always, expect the online version soon after the episodes and my final review tomorrow.

Until then, see ya later!

[pokeplayer984]

~ONLINE VERSION~

Well, I found this to be a good one.  We'll see if I continue to believe that by tomorrow.

Anyways, time for the links below, thanks to the leaks.

Season 7 Episode 25 - Shadow Play Part 1 Dailymotion Version

Season 7 Episode 26 - Shadow Play Part 2 Dailymotion Version

See ya tomorrow for what may very well be my final review.

[The Chronicler]

(spoilers)
Directly following last week's episode, Sunburst shares with the main ponies and the princesses that one of the books he found in that mystery barrel is a journal by Star Swirl the Bearded, containing probably his very last entries before his mysterious disappearance over a thousand years ago. He had teamed up with the five other legendary ponies we've heard about this season (Rockhoof, Mistmane, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, and Meadowbrook) in a group known as the "Pillars of Equestria", each representing a different value (Strength for Rockhoof, Beauty for Mistmane, Bravery for Flash Magnus, Hope for Somnambula, Healing for Meadowbrook, and Sorcery for Star Swirl). Together, they had to defeat the "Pony of Shadows" (formerly a regular unicorn named Stygian who had brought them together, but was cast out for taking their special items and attempting a spell on them, then later sought vengeance by embracing some powerful dark magic) and none of them were ever heard from since then.

After some time researching (and thanks to Starlight being able to understand Star Swirl's sloppy writing), the ponies find an ancient site known as Ponehenge and by bringing the journal there, they witness a projection showing exactly what happened there all those years ago. Twilight does some more research and discovers that what actually happened is that to banish the Pony of Shadows, the Pillars had to pull him with them into limbo. Even more, she figured out how to bring them out, and since time doesn't exist in limbo, they'll come back just as fine as the moment they had left.

To pull it off, they need the special items connected to each of the Pillars. They already have Star Swirl's journal, and thanks to the magic map, Twilight's friends are able to go out and recover the rest of them. Applejack finds Rockhoof's shovel at an archeology site after saving some ponies from a falling boulder. Rarity is given Mistmane's flower after restoring the overgrown garden into a much more beautiful state. Rainbow Dash, with assistance from Spike, recovers Flash Magnus's Shield in the dragon lands, first by Spike beating Garble in lava surfing (as a fan of Bionicle since the very beginning, I was quite excited to see the concept of lava surfing here), and then when Rainbow challenges Garble to a flying race, she tricks him into dropping the shield by claiming that it would slow him down. Pinkie Pie, with assistance from Daring Do, recovers Somnambula's blindfold from the bottom of the green slime pit, draining that pit in the process. Finally, Fluttershy goes back to the swamp to get Meadowbrook's mask from Cattail, but not before using it to move the flashbees' hive to a higher branch so the other creatures can safely go into the water.

Once all of the items are together at Ponehenge, despite Starlight's reluctance, Twilight casts the spell. The six Pillars of Equestria are brought back... but so is the Pony of Shadows. Since Twilight never anticipated that, she didn't even consider a reversal spell, and before Sunburst has a chance to come up with one, the Pony of Shadows destroys Ponehenge to render the banishing spell useless. His attempt to strike down the Pillars are thwarted by Twilight's magic, then with Starlight joining in, and he is forced to flee to an unknown place.

In need of a map, the group of 14 ponies gather at Twilight's castle, and Star Swirl discovers that the castle and the map are linked to the Tree of Harmony, which he and the other Pillars had planted long ago in hopes of of preserving their ability to protect Equestria even in their absence. This means that rather then luring the Pony of Shadows to one particular site, they can bring the Elements of Harmony (and the six ponies who represent them) with them to banish him from any location. They first try to figure out where the Pony of Shadows had gone, but after a lot of searching (because of course we need to see a moment where the ponies lost from the past are confused by how much the world around them has changed), they find no trace of him because after thousands of years of development, there are simply fewer dark places for him to hide.

At the same time, Star Swirl's stubborn pride becomes problematic. He refuses to accept any help from Twilight, and relents only when all of her friends insist on giving her a chance (because after all, they're needed for the banishing spell to work). Twilight's modification to the spell will allow all of the ponies to stay, though the Elements will still be lost in the process. However, Star Swirl is so dismissive that villains will always be villains that Starlight, a former villain herself, finds it offensive and decides to ask the other Pillars what their foe was like back when he was their friend Stygian. Despite Starlight's efforts, Star Swirl remains dismissive of any hope of reforming Stygian, and Twilight (who we all know has idolized Star Swirl since we first heard of him) reluctantly sides with him.

Once everyone is ready, all they need now is to simply find the Pony of Shadows. Suddenly, the map summons all six main ponies to Hollow Shades. Not only do they agree that that is where they will likely find the Pony of Shadows, but they also note that the only other time the map had summoned all six of them was to Starlight's village, which just makes Starlight even more convinced that banishment may not be the solution here.

With the Elements of Harmony with them, the 14 ponies go to their destination and, after falling into a pit, encounter the Pony of Shadows. Working in pairs, the Pillars and the Main ponies open a portal into limbo, but before Twilight can make the final push, she discovers Stygian within the shadowy monster and dives right in to talk to him. He reveals that for all the effort his did to bring the Pillars together, he never received any recognition, and the spell he had attempted wasn't meant to steal any power. And when he was cast out, the shadow monster was the only one who listened to him, thus explaining why he succumbed to darkness. The ponies outside hear all of this and realize all this trouble was due to a simple misunderstanding, and they all work together to pull Stygian out of the shadow beast. Once Stygian is freed, the monster is banished and nothing else follows, not even the Elements of Harmony, since they were used to heal (as intended) rather than banish.

After all of that, they meet with the princesses in Canterlot, and Star Swirl concedes that his pride had clouded his judgement and he gives multiple apologies for his behavior. As for him and the other Pillars (now including Stygian), they decide to travel Equestria for a while to see more of how much it has changed before they decide on where to settle down.

I have to say, I'm definitely counting this episode among my favorites. The original heroes of Equestria, the so-called Pillars, were apparently brought together to stop the threat of the three sirens, who we all know ended up in the Equestria Girls world, so that was a nice call-back (as well as another confirmed connection between the two worlds). The Pillars had been gone for thousands of years and were brought back in the present day, so that covers my fondness of time travel. Of the six Pillars, we had previously heard the voices of only three of them (Mistmane, Flash Magnus, and Medowbrook), and now we got to hear them all (including Rockhoof, Somnambula, and of course Star Swirl (I personally had hoped for something close to Morgan Freeman, but I'll accept what we got)). You may recall in the Season 3 finale that Twilight was able to properly complete Star Swirl's spell because he didn't understand friendship like she did, and his attitude in this episode certainly showed that (at least he ultimately acknowledged where he went wrong and apologized). We also got to see the Elements of Harmony come back and be used in a way we haven't seen since before they were given to the Tree of Harmony back in the season 4 premier, so that was a nice bit of nostalgia right there (though I'm sure they just gave the Elements back to the Tree once they were done using them, at least it's nice to know that this means they aren't necessarily gone for good). And finally, we've got the possibility that we could be seeing the Pillars again in future episodes, so that'll be something to look forward to.
(end spoilers)

Glad to see Equestria Daily is now back on track, which means I don't have to go digging through YouTube to find this week's Equestria Girls short added to Hasbro's channel:
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2017/10/eque...g-off-page.html

I'll probably be continuing with my reviews on the Equestria Girls episodes, once they start in a few weeks (and of course, I'll be sure to post the links to them on YouTube).

[pokeplayer984]

~REVIEW POST~

Well, this is it at last.  It's been quite a journey for me.  I'll be doing a lot less activity on this thread after this.

For this episode, I've chosen to approach it the same way I did the movie when it comes to reviewing it.  So expect that format for it.  Otherwise, it'll practically be a copy-paste of what Chronicler wrote and I don't want to do that for something so special.  So here we go!  Spoilers below!

This season finale was really good.  I'll always consider Season 4's Finale the best, (Despite what certain haters are spouting lies about it.) but boy was this good.

Let's talk about the bad first so we can get to the good.

First up, The Pillars of Equestria.  Most aren't bad, they're just blah!  I understand that we only have a single part to get their personality and we are supposed to "know them" from what we were told, but when you get down to it, they really aren't given a chance to show off who they are as individuals.  Maybe we would have gotten that if this was three parts, but still.

The exception is Starswirl.  He was given time to get a personality.  Even though it is one that fits for what we have been told about him, especially for someone who doesn't understand friendship at all, I just can't like him in the end.  I mean, Twilight really picked an idol there!  Seriously!  I mean, he gives Applejack a run for her money in terms of stubbornness.  Twilight writes up a spell and he doesn't even look at it until her friends pretty much convince him.  We also have the problem of how he treated Stygian.  I could argue all day long of how Starswirl was the real reason Stygian went evil.  I'm glad he got his ego destroyed so maybe he'll be a better character now because of that, but he was not a good one in this episode.  Not at all!

The pacing was too fast for this episode.  They fit a lot in here and everything is resolved so quickly.  It could have definitely benefited from being a three-parter instead.

On top of all that, Pinkie was doing herself no favors with this episode.  Seriously, just listen to some of the stuff she was spouting out.

That was it for the bad.  Let's get to the good.

Twilight wasn't a bad character.  I will defend her forever with this episode.  First off, her releasing the Pillars of Equestria was nothing but good intentions.  On top of that, despite the fact that she unwittingly unleashes The Pony of Shadows, she does all she can to own up to that mistake.  She goes to the effort to create a spell to banish The Pony of Shadows.  Sure, it needs Starswirl's help to be completed, but at least she put in the effort to show she was willing to make up for it.  A bad character isn't someone who makes mistakes, but one who doesn't try to own up to those mistakes.

Second, during the final confrontation with The Pony of Shadows, she tries to save Stygian in the end.  Sure, it takes multiple ponies to pull him out in the end, but she was the first to leap in and get him out of there.

Another good character was The Pony of Shadows.  He had a good backstory.  We really don't know what kind of evil Stygian embraced, but boy was it evil.  An evil I can practically like.  He even had a good voice.  To the one that voiced him, they did a great job.  He wasn't on screen much, but for what we got, he was good.

However, the one that shined the most was Starlight.  Okay, I may not be a fan of Starlight still, but she has come a long way since the end of Season 5.  With her being a redeemed villain, it's no wonder she would be against Starswirl in this episode.  She took the effort to talk to the other Pillars of Equestria to find out what Stygian was like.  Even she understood it was a problem of the pony embracing evil and likely a misunderstanding.  Heck, she was the one who recognized it was a friendship problem and planted that idea in Twilight's head.  She had to jump in to convince Stygian to give up the evil, using herself as an example.  I even like the idea that she was the only one who could read Starswirl's sloppy writing and how she can read it because she's a sloppy writer herself.  Mainly because I'm one too.

Overall, this was pretty good.  A very good way to end this season on.  Definitely one of my favorite Season Finale's of the show.

Well, that's it for me.

See ya later!