The My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic Thread

[The Chronicler]

Okay, quite a bit of news this week.

First, some more leaks from those infamous hacks have come out, so be careful when searching for other things.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/heads-up-another-massive-round-of.html

Also, one of the 44-minute Equestria Girls specials will premier on February 17, just over a month from now:
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/new-1-hour-equestria-girls-special.html
And a preview video came out just today:
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/forgotten-friendship-promo-appears-on.html
This looks like it'll be very interesting to see, so I'll definitely be sure to watch it.

Finally, there's this week's newly added Equestria Girls short on YouTube:
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/fluttershys-little-birdie-equestria.html
And the direct link (thankfully, no audio issues this time):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og0tY3rq1Y0

(spoilers)
In a math class, the teacher (Mr. Cranky Doodle) assigns a quiz to the students. Fluttershy is seated next to an open window, so when a bird flies in and starts talking to her, she tries telling him to wait until after the quiz, but two more birds fly in and all three try telling her something. When Fluttershy makes a remark about "dividing by 4" while working on her quiz, Trixie seated behind immediately accuses Fluttershy of cheating.

Fluttershy completely denies the accusation, claiming that the birds were simply having a dispute over who should get which sticks for their nests. When Trixie refuses to believe her and challenges her to prove that she really did study for the quiz, Fluttershy boldly accepts the challenge and walks up to the chalkboard. Cranky Doodle picks out a question from the textbook and, with the whole class watching, Fluttershy solves the whole thing and Cranky Doodle confirms that she got it correct. Later on, Trixie attempts to ask those birds to be her math tutor, despite the fact that Fluttershy had pointed out they don't know any math, and not to mention that she simply can't speak with them like Fluttershy can.

If you enjoy seeing moments where Fluttershy behaves very boldly, then this episode is one you'll definitely want to see. Not only does she very firmly stand up to Trixie's accusation, but after she marches up to the chalkboard and grabs a piece of chalk, she asks for a question to solve herself by boldly saying, "Make my day." (I have a feeling that's probably a reference to something, but I have no idea what it could be.) And then there's Trixie completely failing to understand that there was absolutely no connection between the math quiz and why Fluttershy spoke with those birds. At least the fact that everyone is already aware that Fluttershy can talk to animals meant that Trixie's accusation didn't sound completely absurd and thus made it worth having Fluttershy prove that she really did study for the quiz.
(end spoilers)

[The Chronicler]

This week's newly added Equestria Girls short to YouTube (Equestria Daily may be a day late with reporting it, but at least they actually remembered to do so):
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/equestria-girls-short-display-of.html
And the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYaXDBOl8ns

(spoilers)
Rarity is very pleased when Prim Hemline (the owner of the boutique she works at) finally states that one Rarity's latest designs as at least "decent". For such good effort, Prim gives Rarity the opportunity to design something for the window display the very next day, with emphasis on "don't mess up". Despite her initial confidence, Rarity soon confesses to Sunset that the pressure is simply too great for her to handle, and as they discuss creativity, they come across the latest work of local graffiti artist known only as "Fanksy", which gives Rarity some inspiration. However, when Sunset checks on her later, while the dresses are fine, the background artwork is... awful, to say the least, and Rarity ultimately gives up and goes home in tears after seemingly failing her task. But when she returns the next morning, she is astonished to see her window display backgrounds have been repainted in the exact style of Flanksy, and Prim approves Rarity's effort. The episode ends with Rarity seeing Sunset in an alleyway wearing a jacket and hat and with a bit of paint on her face, implying that Sunset is "Flanksy".

To me, this was a rather modest episode, but at least we got to learn about a few interesting things. As I mentioned above, Prim Hemline (whose pony counterpart we've seen only once back in the season 4 episode "Rarity Takes Manehattan") is the owner of that boutique Rarity works at, which makes sense when you understand that Rarity is only a teenager in this world. In addition, it seems we can now add graffiti artist to the growing list of talents and interests of Sunset Shimmer.
(end spoilers)

[The Chronicler]

And this was one in particular that I was hoping Equestria Daily wouldn't forget to mention, but I guess that perfect reliability is simply too much to ask for. Anyway, here's the direct link for this week's Equestria Girls short:

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

(spoilers)
With comic book stylization, we see the seven girls about to spend a day in downtown Canterlot City, but when they see a robber run from a jewelry story with some loot, they decide to take action superhero style (complete with the costumes they had been magically given back when had saved Camp Everfree). They all use their magical powers throughout the pursuit: Rainbow Dash uses her super speed to try to cut off the robber, Applejack uses her super strength to try throwing a bench at the fleeing robber, Twilight Sparkle uses her telekinesis to save a little boy from falling into a fountain, Pinkie Pie uses her exploding sugar to blow a hole in a bush to find the fleeing robber, Rarity uses her diamond constructs to trap the robber, Fluttershy uses her animal communication to ask some birds to take the stolen loot away from the robber, and Sunset Shimmer uses her mind reading powers to find out that the robber stole those jewels just to impress some girl. With the robber captured and later sent to jail, the girls celebrate with cupcakes. The episode ends with the artist of this comic book adventure revealed to be Sunset Shimmer.

I would consider this to be one of my favorites of these shorts because of the whole comic book super hero vibe going on throughout the whole thing. In addition, it looks like we can now add comic book artist to the growing list of talents of Sunset Shimmer. (It does make one wonder how Sunset was able to learn all of these different talents and become so highly skilled at them.)
(end spoilers)

And that's the last of the first eleven episodes that were released early back in November. I've heard that there's a twelfth short that's supposedly available only exclusively as a bonus with the My Little Pony Movie, so I'm not sure if we'll see that next week or if we'll instead see the first of the "choose your own ending" short episodes (that were released early at the end of last month).

(By the way, I still haven't had the chance to see the My Little Pony Movie. It's been surprisingly difficult to find a video of the entire movie on YouTube or Dailymotion, and since I'd rather not use any conventional methods that would almost certainly cause my family to find out, that puts me in a rather difficult position for now.)

EDIT: Looks like Equestria Daily decided to finally report this week's short after all.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/equestria-girls-short-super-squad-goals.html

[The Chronicler]

Equestria Daily has once again failed to mention the weekly Equestria Girls shorts, and this time it's for the first of the "choose your own ending" shorts. For these types of shorts, I'll give a direct link to just the starting part, as the three possible endings are available to select during the last ten seconds of the starting video. So, here's the starting part of this week's short (as as the name of these types of episodes implies, you decide which of the three possible endings to watch):

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

EDIT: Looks like Equestria Daily did report it after all, but not until today, which is two days after it had already become available.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/fluttershys-butterflies-equestria-girls.html

(spoilers)
The school play is coming up, and the main 7 have all decided to participate. However, with auditions starting soon, Fluttershy is suffering from stage fright, even though she intends to audition for a very minor role with just one line. When Rainbow Dash and Applejack find her at the library, they offer to help, though they have different ideas on how to help.

Choose Applejack: After spending some time relaxing at a chicken coop, Applejack suggests that Fluttershy should imagine everyone in the audience as a bunch of chickens. Fluttershy is successful with her audition, but confesses that what she actually did to help was imagine everyone as Applejack. Despite the unorthodox alternative, Applejack is glad that it worked... especially since her backup plan involving real chickens was unlikely to work, since they ended up chasing Big Mac all over the place.

Choose Rainbow Dash: Rainbow Dash takes Fluttershy to a soccer game and gives her the task of announcing the games events. Predictably, Fluttershy is very hesitant and quiet at first, but once she follows Rainbow's advice to "loose yourself in the game", her confidence quickly builds. By the time Fluttershy auditions, she's able to proudly shout her one line out loud.

Choose DJ Pon-3: In the background between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy sees DJ Pon-3. Later, DJ Pon-3 sets up some elaborate special effects at the audition, culminating in Fluttershy appearing on stage through a hologram. While Applejack and Rainbow Dash are left speechless, Rarity remarks on what an impressive entrance that was.

For these types of shorts, I'll include among my final thoughts what my preferred choice was. For this one, I think Applejack was the best choice, as it seemed like the most natural solution, not to mention the use of chickens would help an animal lover like Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was an okay choice, but a little too much cringe for my tastes. DJ Pon-3 was way out there, almost to the point that I'd consider it a total satire, but I guess we can expect such wild possible endings when there must always be three choices, even if only two realistic ones are offered.
(end spoilers)

By the way, a few days ago, I decided to try a more focused kind of search on YouTube and was able to find a version of the My Little Pony Movie that I could watch. It was broken into a lot of short parts, but it was all there, so technically speaking, I have now finally been able to watch the entire movie. Even though I'm at least now completely familiar with everything that happens in the movie, I would still like to eventually get a chance to see it all in one go without any interruptions, so for now, I'll just wait and see if anything comes up for me.

[The Chronicler]

Some big news a few days ago. It was officially announced that Season 8 will begin on March 24.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/season-8-will-premiere-march-24.html
A few images were also included with the official release (you don't have to check out this link if you want to avoid spoilers, but I'm sharing it because these are official releases and not from the leaks).
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/several-season-8-screenshots-released.html

Also, it was recently revealed that the upcoming Equestria Girls special is actually 50 minutes long, so about six minutes of it will be cut from what will be shown on TV next week, but at least we'll eventually get to see all of it once it becomes available on YouTube (though it may be some time before that happens).
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/forgotten-friendship-actually-50.html

Finally, there's this week's Equestria Girls short.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/equestria-girls-short-text-support.html
And of course the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enfRt72N-R8

(spoilers)
At the end of the school day, while Pinkie Pie talks excitedly about her cupcake experiment during chemistry class (which left her lab partners Snips and Snail a complete mess), Twilight suddenly gets a text from Timber Spruce that consists of nothing but some emojis. Twilight has absolutely no idea what kind of message Timber is trying to tell her, so some of her friends offer to help.

Choose Sunset Shimmer: Meeting in the cafe, Twilight still can't understand the emoji text, so Sunset suggests simply asking him what he meant. Twilight agrees, but isn't sure how to do so, so Sunset takes matters into her own hands by grabbing Twilight's phone and calling Timber. Despite Twilight's protests, Sunset talks to Timber and then tells Twilight that he was asking to hang out at a mini golf course, then hands the phone back to Twilight so she can say yes.

Choose Rarity: Out in front of the school, Rarity boasts about being highly fluent in emoji-speak, so she tells Twilight exactly which emojis to use in her reply. When Timber replies, Twilight still isn't sure what any of it means, so Rarity pretty much takes the phone and texts the responses herself. After a little back-and-forth texting and with Twilight still completely clueless, Rarity eventually explains that Timber is asking to hang out and get some ice cream, so Twilight accepts with an emoji text reply that even she can understand.

Choose Fluttershy: Out walking in the woods, Fluttershy tells Twilight which emojis to use in her reply. After sending the reply, Twilight asks what it means, but Fluttershy admits that it was just a bunch of animal emojis. Twilight is left even more confused and frustrated than before, but when Timber responds by asking if they want to hang out at the zoo, Twilight replies yes, with Fluttershy remarking that cute animals can solve any problem.

For this one, I think Sunset Shimmer was the best choice, because she took the direct and most common sense approach by simply calling Timber to ask precisely what it was he was trying to say. Rarity was an okay choice, but considering that the planned date agreed upon is different from the Sunset ending, I'm sure that there was a bit of "lost in translation" going on here. Fluttershy managed to get an ending that was at least as acceptable as the other two, but since the suggested response was just random animal emojis, it is not the kind of realistic solution I would recommend for an issue like this.
(end spoilers)

[The Chronicler]

First, we have this week's Equestria Girls short.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/equestria-girls-choose-your-own.html
And the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT6xk83dy58

(spoilers)
Sunset Shimmer has just failed her driving test. She's been given the chance for a retest, but needs more driving experience before then, so she is offered help from Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy.

Choose Fluttershy: Sunset is excited to practice driving in Fluttershy's car. But as soon as they're in, she quickly gets frustrated by how Fluttershy sings a long of rhymes to herself about all kinds save driving tips. Later, as Sunset is ready to take the test, she remembers Fluttershy's rhymes and is able to get through the first few steps before starting the car.

Choose Applejack: With assistance from Granny Smith, Applejack has Sunset practice in the Apple family's old pickup truck. Unfortunately, they barely even make it out of the garage before the truck gets a flat tire. Granny Smith uses this incident as an opportunity to teach her lesson of "be prepared for anything". Naturally, Applejack uses her super strength to lift the truck so Sunset can change the tire, but then Sunset wisely asks what she should do if she has no one to help her. Later, as Sunset is about to take the test, the car turns out to have a flat tire, so Cranky Doodle considers calling the test a failure right there, but then Sunset is able to show that she knows how to change a tire by using an "apple-jack", so she ends up passing the test.

Choose Rarity: Much to Sunset's confusion, Rarity rents a limo, and seems more concerned with tips on a luxurious limo ride rather than actual driving experience. Sunset is able to get a chance to practice driving that limo, though Rarity continues to care more about relaxing rather than driving. Later, as Sunset is taking the test, she flawlessly completes that always difficult task of parallel parking and remarks that she simply had to "stretch" her limits, and Cranky Doodle gives her a pass despite not understanding the joke.

For this one, I think Fluttershy was the best choice, because she had a clever way of memorizing all the important little details that Cranky Doodle acknowledged were very boring, so definitely a lot of good practical advice right there. Applejack was one that I also think was a very good choice because being prepared for unfortunate incidents like a flat tire is also great advice, but the only thing preventing me from calling this one the best choice was that Sunset was given a pass before even taking the rest of the test. Rarity was a completely ridiculous choice, because it seemed like she had absolutely no idea what kind of advice Sunset was really asking for.
(end spoilers)

And of course, today we had the premier of that one-hour Equestria Girls special.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/02/equestria-girls-forgotten-friendsion.html

(spoilers)
The Main 7 are making preparations for the school's yearbook. As they're meeting, Trixie barges in and demands a page in the yearbook for being "greatest and most powerfulest", but they reject her, despite her threats for vengeance. Oh, and there's also some shy girl with them called Wallflower who no one ever seems to notice. The Main 7 decide to spend the next day at the beach for some more yearbook photos.

The next day, the girls are doing various beach activities, but when Sunset arrives, all of her friends are strangely acting hostile to her. Sunset eventually uses her mind-reading geode powers and discovers that her friends have literally had their memories erased of any trace of her being their friend. Even Twilight's memories of Sunset have been limited to that one time she yelled furiously at her at the Friendship Games. Sunset tries to convince the girls that she really is their friend, but her geode and pictures on her phone are dismissed as fakes.

Desperate, Sunset tries communicating to Princess Twilight in Equestria, and is relieved that she still remembers her well, though the circumstances are serious enough that she agrees to return to Equestria to talk about it. After Sunset explains everything, pony Twilight is just as uncertain what's going on, but determines that she does know somepony who might know, despite the real possibility they might not get along.

Yes, you heard that right. After nearly five years since the very first Equestria Girls movie, the biggest request of the fans, Sunset Shimmer reconciling with Princess Celestia, has finally happened.

Once Sunset and the princesses are confirmed to be on good terms, Celestia admits she also doesn't know for sure what's going on, but she does permit access to a restricted section of Canterlot Library that can only be opened by Celestia and Luna together. Naturally, Twilight is ecstatic at looking through a part of the library she never knew even existed, and they quickly begin researching.

After quite some time, they finally find an old scroll detailing how Clover the Clever was able to chase down an adversary who possessed an object known as the Memory Stone, which could selectively remove memories from anyone, and apparently that stone was ultimately buried in another world, quite likely the human world. Now with a good idea of what to look for, Sunset returns to Canterlot High. Unfortunately, with everyone now remembering her only as the mean bully she used to be, she struggles to get any progress.

Trixie's behavior quickly get Sunset suspicious, but after a rather loud confrontation in the hallway, it turns out that Trixie had nothing to do with the Memory Stone after all. Sunset is devastated by her struggles, and with Trixie starting to sympathize due to her own lonely reputation, an unlikely alliance is forged between the two. At the same time, back in Equestria, pony Twilight finds the missing piece of the scroll and discovers that by sundown on the third day, any memories removed by the stone will be lost forever, so she urgently sends a warning to Sunset that the Memory Stone must be destroyed before nightfall.

Sunset and Trixie ask just about every student in the school, but end up getting nowhere. They eventually realize there's one student they have not yet talked to, and that's the always forgettable Wallflower. As they confront her, Sunset is able to piece together the clues and is able to expose that Wallflower does indeed possess the Memory Stone, and had used it because she was so jealous of Sunset being seen as such a good friend while she was just always forgotten.

Wallflower attempts to get away by wiping Sunset and Trixie's memory of their encounter, but thanks to what she had researched in Equestria, Sunset had thought ahead and used Twilight's camera drone to record everything, allowing them to rediscover that Wallflower has the Memory Stone. Even though the door out of the room is locked, Trixie is able to use her stage magic to get Sunset out of the room.

Sunset confronts Wallflower out in the parking lot in plain view of her friends, though she tries to be nicer than their previous encounter. Wallflower is in so much shock that she ends up blurting out important clues that make the girls realize that Sunset was right about their memories being lost. In response, Wallflower decides to take drastic measures and erase all of the memories of Sunset's friends, despite the fact that it would include memories of each other, but Sunset jumps forward and takes the hit.

With Sunset left completely confused by everything around her, her friends are moved by the sacrifice she made for them, and as they gather around her, their magical geodes activate and with the usual magical rainbow laser, the Memory Stone is destroyed and everyone's memories are completely restored.

Wallflower confesses that when she found the stone, her social anxiety had caused her to frequently use it to make everyone forget about moments she felt were embarrassing, which turned out to be so frequent that it left everyone with very few memories of her, and thus why she was so often easily forgettable. And so, once again, an antagonist is forgiven for their actions. In addition, due to these events, Sunset also ends up becoming friends with Trixie.
(end spoilers)

I have to say, it was actually really nice being able watch something new for once without any early releases to ruin the experience. I was pretty much on the edge of my seat as I watched this and wondered how it would all unfold. After so many episodes and specials spoiled early over the past few years, it was great to actually feel that kind of experience.

[The Chronicler]

Has anyone here seen the Equestria Girls "Forgotten Friendship" special? Based on many of the comments I've read over at Equestria Daily, a lot of people are considering it one of the best installments ever in the entire series, even topping the fan-favorite Rainbow Rocks. I'd like to see what anyone here thinks of it.

Anyway, another week means another Equestria Girls short has been added to YouTube. This week, it's the one that was actually released early a few months ago (the rumors I've heard are that it was released early as a test for the format of the "choose your own ending" shorts). No word of it on Equestria Daily, so here's the direct link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6hV6TFTlXI

Although I did post my review on it when it was first uploaded, I'll rewrite it based on my new format, such as explaining why I picked certain endings over others.
(spoilers)
The students are recording brief videos at the library. After Flash Sentry gives the weather forecast, Rarity comes in for the "trends" forecast. Unfortunately, she forgot to pack her style guide and didn't realize it until she was already on camera, so to avoid embarrassing herself on camera, she decides to improvise some inspiration from one of her three present friends: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash.

Choose Twilight Sparkle: Rarity declares the next trend as "smart is chic", so the next day, everyone is wearing glasses identical to the one Twilight wears while also making somewhat pathetic attempts to behave "smart". Twilight ends up confused, especially since a certain book she wants on some highly advanced subject now has a month long waiting list. Rarity confesses that she took inspiration from her on the trend forecast and apologizes. Twilight accepts the apology, and Rarity resolves the issue by simply declaring a new trend: dramatic capes.

Choose Pinkie Pie: Rarity declares the next trend as "confetti", and Pinkie Pie practically explodes in excitement. The next day, everyone's lockers have been stuffed with confetti, leaving a big mess in the hallway, so Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack get to work cleaning it all up before Principal Celestia finds out. Once the cleanup is done, Pinkie is disappointed, while Principal Celestia thanks the other girls for cleaning up. However, just as Celestia opens the door to her office, tons of confetti literally flood the hallway, and Rarity fears that this will mean detention for her and her friends.

Choose Rainbow Dash: Rarity declares the next trend as "rainbows". The next day, she tries to find Rainbow Dash to ask a favor, but this turns out to be unbelievably difficult because everyone now has rainbow hair. As she wanders the halls and monologues about being in "the Rainbow Zone", she is absolutely freaked out by the time she does manage to find the real Rainbow Dash, who simply remarks that "everyone looks awesome".

For this one, I think Twilight Sparkle was the best choice, because despite the initial awkwardness, Twilight was able to talk it over with her friends, with Rarity apologizing and resolving the issue. The other two choices, while certainly less preferable than Twilight, came really close to each other. I think Pinkie Pie was rather okay because Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack did the right thing to try cleaning up the mess, but Pinkie just had to ruin everyone's day by going too far. Rainbow Dash was the one I least preferred because I found the style it was presented in as just flat out creepy.
(end spoilers)

[The Chronicler]

Completely forgot to post here yesterday, so I'll just get this done today instead.

This week's new Equestria Girls short is actually not one of the "chose your own ending" shorts, but rather the last of the regular shorts that, as I mentioned before, was previously available only as a bonus with the My Little Pony Movie.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/equestria-girls-season-1-road-trippin.html
And here's the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k1_ggLTph4

(spoilers)
The Rainbooms have a gig at Goldie Delicious' farm, so they and their instruments ride in their tour bus with Granny Smith driving. They're already on a tight schedule as they hit the road, so when they encounter traffic, Granny Smith decides to take a shortcut along a dirt road. Along the way, they get a flat tire and Applejack (using her strength to lift the bus) and Twilight (using her levitation on the wheels) replace it, Fluttershy (using her animal communication) asks a herd of grazing cows to move off the road, Pinkie Pie (using her explosive sprinkles) destroys a fallen tree blocking the road, and they speed through a missing bridge that turns out to be just a backdrop for some movie being filmed. The bus arrives at practically the exact moment the Rainbooms are called up on stage.

I found this one to be rather amusing. In their efforts to arrive at a destination on time, they had such rotten luck of encountering one delay after another. Thankfully, many of the girls were able to use their magical powers to quickly overcome each of these obstacles. And of course, we got to see the Equestria Girls version of yet another familiar pony, in this case the elderly cat-loving Apple family historian Goldie Delicious.
(end spoilers)

[f-22 "raptor" ace]

Seen that one was pretty good

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Just nipping in to ask if Starlight Glimmer has appeared in any more shorts since "Mirror Magic"? Pretty much only interested in watching EqG shorts if she's in them

[pokeplayer984]

So, it's taken me some time to figure out what I wanted to say.  Basically, I've been avoiding EqD since the Season Finale last year.  I just hate the comment section of that place at this point.  It's because of certain things that happened in the comment section were unforgivable in my eyes and the admins there did NOTHING to the members responsible.  No punishments whatsoever.  All of them got off scoot-free.

There's a reason why I like this place so much.  It's because the admins here do what they should do when it comes to disrespectful members.  They take the necessary actions when someone won't obey rules.  It makes me comfortable knowing I can have a civilized conversation about certain topics. (So long as someone remembers to behave, that is.)

However, EqD has proven to NOT have a civilized community, and the admins do nothing about it.

As such, when the new season comes, I'll know I'll have to go to EqD to get the latest info.  As such, I shall block the comment section from my computer so I don't have to deal with the uncivilized community that's getting no punishment from their actions.

It will just make me feel more comfortable in the end, so please, don't try to talk me out of it.  I've made up my mind and this time, it's not changing.

[The Chronicler]

Just two weeks left to go until Season 8 starts.

As for this week, we've now got Part 1 (out of what will be a total of five parts) of the Equestria Girls special "Forgotten Friendship" (though it seems to be going by a different title in this version) available on YouTube.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/part-one-of-equestria-girls-forgotten.html
And the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGeRYf85W18
Of course, since this is part of something we've already seen, I won't bother with any reviews on it. However, since these five parts are supposed to be the full 50-minute version (rather than the 44-minute version we've already seen), it'll still be worth watching for any additional content. (According to one comment on EqD, Part 1 has only 12 seconds of material not previously seen, so not much for this one at least.)

In addition, we also got five brand new Equestria Girls shorts, all of them taking place at the beach. I was about to link the announcement post from yesterday and wish you luck trying to find links to each of the videos in the comments, but thankfully, I can now link to a more recent post that simply lists those links.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/new-beach-themed-equestria-girls-shorts.html
As I've done previously with the other Equestria Girls shorts, even though I've already watched them all, I won't post any reviews on any of these until they're officially released on YouTube.

[landbeforetimelover]

I'm pretty excited about season 8.  It's really too bad that season 9 will be the last season though.  I was REALLY hoping to make it to 10+ seasons.

[The Chronicler]

Just one more week to go until Season 8 begins.

Earlier this week, two more new Equestria Girls shorts came out, and like the other five from last week, they also take place at the beach (though good luck trying to find a good enough link in the comments).
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/another-equestria-girls-short-salty.html
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/another-equestria-girls-beach-short.html

And of course, Part 2 of Equestria Girls Forgotten Friendship has been added to YouTube.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/part-two-of-equestria-girls-forgotten.html
And the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hDWkwclNrg
A few substantial additional scenes are included in this version.
(spoilers)
1, Sunset also looks at Rainbow Dash's memories.
2, Sunset notices pony Flash Sentry as she's walking into the library.
3, Sunset, Twilight, Celestia, and Luna walk down some stairs to reach the restricted section.
4, Sunset's attempt to use the restricted section's catalogue machine causes the old contraption to break down, leaving Twilight very excited about having to search through everything.
(end spoilers)

Seriously, even if you're someone who prefers pony over Equestria Girls, I would highly recommend watching at least this part (if only because much of it takes place in Equestria with pony Sunset Shimmer).

[pokeplayer984]

Okay, so here's how it's going to work out.  I will say that little will change from last season.

Pinkie Pie will not be returning.  She has too much going on, plus I doubt I can come up with many scenarios.

On top of that, I have blocked the comment section of EqD from my computer.  The comment section of EqD has had multiple chances to prove itself a decent community and it has greatly failed at that.  As I've explained, it's better this way for me.

I will not be watching the Live Streams, but I will provide the link for those who want to see them.  I'll watch the episodes on my own time.

With that all said, here's how it's going to work out.

Friday NIght - Post the Summary for the new episode the next day.

Saturday Morning - Post the link for the Live Streams.

Saturday After the Episode - Post the Dailymotion Link.

Saturday Evening - I shall watch the episode at this time.

Sunday - My review of the episode after a good night's rest.

That shall be the new schedule for me and I feel it'll be better for me as a whole.

With that said, I'll see ya all Friday.

[pokeplayer984]

~SUMMARY POST~

Well, this is it!  Tomorrow begins Season 8 of Pony!  Get the Summary below.

Season 8 Episode 1 & 2

Title: School Daze

Summary Part 1: When the Friendship Map grows bigger to reflect the world beyond Equestria, the Mane Six realize they'll need a way to spread the message of friendship far and wide. Luckily, Twilight knows just what to do-- open a School of Friendship!

Summary Part 2: With her School of Friendship closed by the EEA, Twilight Sparkle must reunite her students, inspire her friends, and buck the rules to stand up and show what she knows is right - every creature, pony or not, deserves to learn friendship together.

See ya in the morning when I post the link for the Live Streams.  Which I shall not be watching myself anymore.

[pokeplayer984]

~LIVE STREAM POST~

Well, I've got insomnia today!  It had absolutely nothing to do with the new episode.  Nope!  Nothing at all! (No seriously, it had nothing to do with it.  I'm just too used to my sleep routine.)

Anyways, today is a new episode of Pony.  As expected, here's the link to the Live Streams.

Season 8 Episode 1 & 2 - School Daze Part 1 & 2 Live Streams
Season 8 Episode 1 & 2 - School Daze Part 1 & 2 Live Streams

Expect the links to the episode later today and my review tomorrow.

Until then, see ya later!

[pokeplayer984]

~EPISODE POST~

Wow!  That sure took a while to come up.  Anyways, enjoy the new episode.

Season 8 Episode 1 - School Daze Part 1 Dailymotion Version

Season 8 Episode 2 - School Daze Part 2 Dailymotion Version

Enjoy and expect my review tomorrow.

See ya later!

[The Chronicler]

Seeing as pokeplayer has pony covered, I guess I'll continue to cover Equestria Girls. In which case, part 3 of Forgotten Friendship is now up.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/part-three-of-equestria-girls-forgotten.html
And the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdMWJKGTiV4
A few additional scenes in this one too.
(spoilers)
1, In a little follow-up to a previous additional scene, Princess Twilight briefly considers repairing the restricted section's broken catalogue machine as part of her effort to find out more about the memory stone.
2, Back at the beach, Rainbow Dash uses Twilight's drone to record a video of herself before starting the volleyball game, with Twilight giving a quick cheer of "Yay sports!"
(end spoilers)

And now for my review of the Season 8 premier.
(spoilers)
We start right after the events of the movie (good thing I was lucky enough to find a version of it to watch on YouTube a few weeks back), even including a mention of Tempest Shadow, who has apparently gone on a tour to announce the defeat of the Storm King to the rest of the world. Anyway, the Main 7 ponies find that the cutie map has somehow expanded to include the newly explored lands from the movie. With new places to spread the magic of friendship, it is here that Twilight decides to start a school of friendship.

Twilight goes to Celestia for advice, who says the only real concern to worry about is getting approval from the EEA (Equestrian Education Association). She presents her proposal to them, and with them convinced that it would "help protect Equestria from outside threats", they provide a provisional approval, with a thorough inspection to come later, while they also insist that everything be done "by the book" (a rather thick book). With approval granted, Twilight establishes the school in the lake behind her castle (glad to see those rumors I heard of it being far outside of Equestria are false), with all of her close friends to serve as teachers.

On opening day, we get to meet some of the new students: Sandbar the earth pony, Gallus the griffin, Smolder the dragon, Ocellus the changeling, Yona the yak, and Silverstream the hippogriff (I think I'll call this group the Student 6). Each of them already seem to have their own personality quirks, so I'm sure they'll become interesting characters throughout this season. (I had to look through the credits to even remember their names, but I'm sure that'll become easier as the season progresses.)

Through song montage, time passes and while Twilight's friends had ideas that the students found exciting, Twilight's blind insistence of doing everything "by the book" takes away all the fun, eventually reaching a point where the Student 6 decide to simply skip class one day, which just so happens to also be the day of inspection from the EEA. While Twilight and her friends are panicking while trying not to show it to the inspector, the Student 6 are able to have a great bonding experience, but they unintentionally cause a series of accidents. Even so, what ends up really infuriating the head of the EEA was the simple fact that the students consist of many creatures and not just ponies, which naturally insults the attending leaders of the other races. With all of that, the students are immediately pulled out, and the head of the EEA shuts down the school.

(end part one, on to part two)

Twilight ends up so depressed that it makes even Rarity's worst moments seem tame. Eventually, Starlight is able to knock some sense into her by reminding her why she wanted to start the friendship school, and shouldn't worry about how to do it (throwing away the EEA rulebook in the process). With renewed confidence, Twilight asks her friends to go out and ask each of the Student 6 to come back, only for their respective leaders to reveal that they've all gone missing.

With no one aware of where any of the Student 6 have gone, the leaders of the six different races come together and soon start accusing each other of holding the others, leaving Celestia very worried that a war could break out if the issue isn't resolved soon. Twilight and her friends try figure out where the missing students went, and soon realize that they were already becoming close friends with each other. More importantly is that the only one among them not missing is also the only pony in the group, so the Main 7 follow him and find them at the old Castle of the Two Sisters, right at the moment they are suddenly attacked by some porcupine-type critters. The Main 7 save the Student 6, and after seeing how awesome the former really are, the later agree to return to the school.

The Main 7, the Student 6, and the leaders of the different races eventually come together in front of the school. The leaders are still bickering and demand the students all return home, but the students refuse to be separated from each other. Even worse, as soon at Twilight breaks the lock on her school, the head of the EEA returns and only continues to carelessly insult the other races. But this time, Twilight stands her ground and declares that she doesn't need the EEA's approval, because this school will be unlike any other in Equestria, complete with her own rulebook (which turns out to be much thicker than the EEA's). After seeing the close friendships between the students, the leaders end their disagreements and allow the students to stay. And although the head of the EEA still viciously disagrees, the friendship school is back open.

With this season apparently going in an entirely new direction, these two episodes seem to do a good job of setting everything up for what's ahead. I think what I'll be most interested in is finding out more about the Student 6, so we'll see how things go from here.
(end spoilers)

Oh, and just reported on EqD, seven more brand new Equestria Girls shorts have come up from Discovery Family.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/03/7-more-equestria-girls-shorts-added-to.html
I guess I'll start watching these soon. But of course, I won't post my reviews on any of them until they officially release on YouTube.

[pokeplayer984]

So, I'm going to say this.  I have yet to see the episode.  Now I remember WHY I watched the Live Streams in the first place.  It seems that, unless you keep me interested the whole way through, I have a tendency to pause the video or even leave.  I don't hate My Little Pony, but it's becoming less and less engaging for me.  The two ways I can mitigate that are either to watch it Live and have chat help me stay engaged.  Or watch it on TV via YouTube App.

All things considered, I may not watch it until Monday Afternoon.  However, I will make sure to give my review later that evening, regardless.

Now remember, I don't hate it.  It's just become less engaging for me.  We'll see what happens in the future.

For now, see ya later!