EpicEnergy

I put "other" because I don't like to be tickled at all. It doesn't bother me too much, but as a natural reflex whenever I get tickled my body throws a fit. I'm kicking my legs and throwing my hands all over the place, so it's best to avoid tickling me unless you want to get bruised up

I think this episode was good. One thing I need to address is Twilight’s apology to the CMCs for punishing them. MLP FiM writer Nicole Dubuc said that Twilight’s action of promoting the CMCs to tutors at the school was enough, since “actions are always stronger than words”. Is the staff member right? This discussion occurred in the Equestria Daily pony community soapbox #102 where ElementOfFaith’s post is featured which is titled “Marks for Effort: Saying “I’m Sorry” in Words or Actions?”. ElementOfFaith disagreed with the staff member (see more in the link at the bottom of this comment). Let me give you my view. Remember, I speak only in the context of this episode. I see the harshness of the punishment, as staying away from the school and its students is a nightmare for the CMCs. I also see that the CMCs were super happy and excited when they received their graduation diplomas and were invited to become tutors at the school. Furthermore, Cozy Glow was the one who apologized instead of Twilight, because it was all Cozy Glow’s fault. Therefore, based on these observations, no apology was needed from Twilight because her punishment on the CMCs was based off Cozy Glow’s behavior. Twilight’s actions, the CMC’s excitement and joy, and Cozy Glow’s apology were sufficient enough, there was no need for Twilight herself to apologize. I agree and disagree with Nicole Dubuc, as Twilight didn’t need to apologize in the current situation, but actions alone were not enough. I shall now address the characters and world building. I liked the comparison made with Twilight’s School of Friendship and Miss Cherilee’s school. I was wondering when distinctions between these two schools would occur. Cozy Glow is a likeable character as of now; however, I found the fact that whatever she does turns out differently in the end to be somewhat mysterious. Her Cutie Mark also stirs up my curiosity. Clearly there is more to her than meets the eye. Links: EQD Pony Community Soapbox #102 An error occurred and the post by ElementOfFaith appeared in soapbox #103, this time with the addition of a picture of the staff member’s statements: EQD Pony Community Soapbox #103 Image link and credit: Image source Image by SailorTrekkie92 (DeviantArt user)

I have many things to say about this episode. First, the Cutie Map problem is in here. The problem I am referring to is the mysterious attributes of the Cutie Map that remain unexplained. Some say it is arbitrary and like a plot-device. It does seem that way, especially with it being used to summon Sunburst and Starlight and other characters outside of the mane six for no stated reason. I personally wouldn’t jump to that conclusion yet, but I am starting to lean that way as more ponies and creatures are being summoned. Hopefully the developers will explain this incident in future episodes. Now I will shift my focus toward the plot, characters, and moral. The town ponies are well characterized for side characters, and their occupations add to this. I also love that Sunburst’s Mom and Starlight’s Dad are introduced. The parents of the main characters and some side characters are great parts of the entire MLP FiM series. One never would have thought that the parents of the mane six we watched since season 1 and Starlight since season 5 would suddenly become canon, yet here we are with all of them! I digress. Moving on to a different topic, Sunburst and Starlight are portrayed in a negative way in half of this episode, as they are completely oblivious to the obvious fact that the friendship between them and their parents is the real friendship problem; moreover, it is so obvious that even the town ponies see it. Of course, Starlight and Sunburst eventually recognize this and take immediate action, which then portrays them in a positive way. They took responsibility and told their parents about how they really felt about how they were being treated. This all links to the moral. Therefore, in conclusion to this part of my comment, I am content with the way the characters, the plot, and the moral was handled. I would like to add that I am pleased with the world building. We actually got to see where Starlight and Sunburst grew up and know more about their past in Sire’s Hollow. Despite its mediocre appearance at first, this town is great when you look deeper. The walls give you a feeling of security, but it does spark my curiosity as I wonder what purpose these walls serve. This town also gives you two differing sections – the modern and the classic.

You are right about your first guess, as the stigma is one of the reasons why there is mixed reception; however, there are many other reasons I won't get into that resulted in this mixed reception. In the end, I think the movie was excellent, but obviously not blockbuster material (which should be expected due to the target audience of this movie).

This episode was very entertaining! I commend the character building in this episode. Every so often side characters need to get this, as it gives us interesting stories and opens the door for so much potential. The world building is spectacular, since we don’t get to see Los Pegasus very often in episodes; come to think of it, I think this is the second time we saw this place featured in the entire MLP FiM series. The moral is also great and very practical. Aside from all that, the only thing I wasn’t happy with was Rainbow Dash being the ‘party pooper’ and ruining everypony’s fun all because of some silly list, but at the end I can forgive this. All that being said, I would rate this episode 4.4 of 5 stars. Hopefully Trixie’s dad will be featured in one of the future episodes! I find the resemblance hard to deny. Image Source Image by jharr23 (DeviantArt user)

This episode was great and enjoyable, aside from Mudbriar’s mildly irritating shtick. Maud’s stand-up comedy was fantastic, as it had me laughing all the way through; furthermore, it links in with what Maud said in S7 episode 4, providing a natural feel to this episode on Maud’s part. Aside from all that, I found it interesting that Pinkie, who was friends with everypony, who did whatever she could to be friends with Cranky Doodle, did not even try to get along with Mudbriar at first. It took her sisters to get her to apologize and become friends. I think the reason why Pinkie found it so hard to be friends with him because of his technicality combined with his personality in general. Overall, I would rate this episode 3.75/5 stars.

This episode surprised me in many ways. I thought this episode would be Chrysalis's last, but thankfully it was not. She deserves a 2-part episode since she is the only unreformed villain that has been around since season two. The mean six undoubtedly are the reversed sides of the mane six that the evil Discord manipulated, and it was great to see them return in season 8. What also astonished me was how the tree of harmony defended itself from the attack. Overall, I would consider this episode to be one of the best season 8 has offered so far.

I didn't read the spoiler side of this post (spoilers for the second half of season 8), but I think you are right in saying that testing friendship is the moral for season 8; however, I have a few things I would like to point out. We see this moral appear quite often in season 8, but I think it extends further than that. Friendships are tested in other seasons as well, so I think we could say that this is linked to the theme of the entire Friendship is Magic series; however, friendship is the overall theme of this series, so friendships being tested should be expected and should occur throughout the series. Aside from that, I don't see how this is a moral - I think the word "theme" describes it better. To sum this up, I think friendship is the overall theme of season 8 so far, and that this theme is a secondary theme in the entire Friendship is Magic series. As for Neighsay's potential redemption, it wouldn't bother me if that happened as long as he stops his "speciesism".

"My Season 8 Theories" by AnalyticalGamer Warning! contains season 8 spoilers Introduction This post contains all my current season 8 theories based on the released episodes. Note that only half of season 8 has been released, so I may post more theories during or at the end of the second half of season 8 depending on the circumstances. While I call them all theories, there are a few that are more of facts that have been gained through observations rather than theories, and I will be sure to point this out. I also will use some canonical information that will assist in developing my theories. You might notice how I state a fact or use some canonical information then place a portion of my theory right in with it for it to make sense – I will do the best I can to distinguish my theories from these facts and information, but I might make a mistake or be unclear, so please point anything out where I messed up. One last thing before I begin, most of these theories basically fill in the holes that My Little Pony S8 left unfilled and provide potential explanations to these unstated concepts. Feel welcome to expound on my theories and share your own! Theory 1: Why Ember is Angrier in Season 8 than the Previous Seasons Before I begin, I must explain a concept that will assist in my theory's development; also, this concept is more of a fact rather than a theory. Obviously, there is a time gap between the Movie and S8, because (1) the School of Friendship suddenly appears, (2) the pirates re-build their ship, and (3) the kingdom of the Hippogriffs is rebuilt. I have no idea how long the time gap is, but I will say that it probably ranges from 1 week to 1 year. With that being said, I shall now move on to my theory. Why does Ember act angrier in season 8 (episodes 1 and 2 in particular)? I think there is a background to this – something happened to her before she was first seen in S8 ep 1. In the time gap I previously explained, I theorize that something happened in the dragon-land – something that irritated Ember. I would say that a fight occurred since Ember was trying to enforce a new rule that the dragons must share their feelings with each other to become friends (S7 ep 15), and this probably backfired making them fight even more. She said it herself, competing is in their nature, and I don't think any-creature would change that easily, especially dragons. After this occurred, I think Smolder put up a small fight and was highly reluctant to go to the School of Friendship, making Ember even more angry. On top of all that, she gets offended by Neighsay which makes her even more frustrated. The result is an increase of hostility and anger that was set off as soon as Neighsay revealed his 'speciesism'. Theory 2 Part 1: How the Hippogriff Pearl Works I was thinking how every single Hippogriff possessed one very small fraction of the pearl, and a few questions came to my mind. How many pieces are left? What does the Queen do when she is out of the pieces and new baby Hippogriffs are born? Are there more pearls out there? I will provide a theory to answer these questions, but there are more possibilities out there. I don't know how many pieces are left, but I will assume at least a few since every single Hippogriff seen already has one (except the children); furthermore, I assume that because it is very unlikely to have just enough pieces of the same size for every single Hippogriff. The second answer is the answer to both the second and third questions. I theorize that there are more pearls that have similar characteristics to the one we saw in the Movie. This would mean that the Queen doesn't need to worry about running out of pearl shards and new baby hippogriffs being unable to change forms. On the negative side, multiple pearls would also pose a slight danger and responsibility to the hippogriffs, as there are more pearls to protect from those who would want to use those pearls for evil and selfish purposes. Theory 2 Part 2: How Hippogriff Children Earn Their Necklaces I re-watched episode 6 about a week and a half after it aired, and something sparked my attention – why did no child hippogriff had a necklace? This leads me to my final part of my theory. I think that the children hippogriffs must earn their necklaces, just like how a child pony must earn his or her cutie mark. This would mean that Terramar was not in a position that is comparable to that of earning a cutie mark because he would have already earned his necklace. This final question that comes up about this part of my theory – how do hippogriffs earn their necklaces? I think the simple answer is that they must wait until they become old enough. Of course, this answer would mean that hippogriffs earning their necklaces are not like ponies earning their cutie marks in the sense that there is no special talent to be earned; rather, a special privilege is received at a certain age. Theory 3: Celestia is Immune to Phoenix Feathers According to season 8 episode 11, ponies' ears clog up when exposed to phoenix feathers. This makes me wonder...since Celestia has a pet phoenix, does she ever have clogged up ears from this? Not as far as we know of, so I theorize that Celestia is immune to the phoenix feather effects. Celestia has the power to raise the sun, and phoenixes have sun-like abilities as well, which would render their feathers' effects as harmless to Celestia. One question arises from this theory – is this immunity only for Celestia, or do all alicorns possess it? I think it is only for Celestia. I say this because alicorns are like unicorns when it comes to magic, and Rarity was affected by phoenix feathers. Also, alicorns are ponies and Zecora most likely was referring to pony-kind in general when she said that ponies' ears clog up from phoenix feathers.

I don't see that she has become taller, maybe she just looks that way because of the CMCs and Cozy Glow in "Marks for Effort". They make her look taller than she really is.