S07E04: Rock Solid Friendship

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S07E04: Rock Solid Friendship

Postby Wayoshi (?) » Wed Apr 26, 2017 2:57 pm

When Pinkie Pie learns that Maud might move to Ponyville, she does everything she can to make sure her sister sees that it has more to offer than just rocks.


This thread is for discussion of the episode. This episode airs at 11:30 AM Eastern / 8:30 AM Pacific on Saturday, April 29!

Official preview clips and images are okay to post, as is speculation about the episode.
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Postby Marimo (?) » Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:07 pm

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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:51 pm

Rarity's mining hat will never not be the greatest. :vogue:
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Postby RudeCyrus (?) » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:55 pm

It's a Maud episode, so I already like it.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:10 pm

I'm kind of over Maud. She was fun, but I don't really care for yet another episode where the joke is that she's monotone and doesn't show emotion.

I'd much rather an episode focus on another side character, and I don't just mean Celestia. Where the hell has Zecora been the last few seasons? Let's revisit Moondancer in Canterlot with Twilight's old friends.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:26 pm

The Doctor wrote:Where the hell has Zecora been the last few seasons?

Rightfully gotten rid of, since her whole character was kind of a perpetuation of the harmful "magical Negro" stereotype, for as good as she herself was. See also how the buffalo are largely forgotten.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 12:13 am

I like Maud, but you can only do so much with her. Based on the preview, things aren't going to change much but maybe I'm wrong.

On the subject of background characters...

Now that we've seen some more of the Changelings and the dragons, it would be nice to somehow work one or the other hosting the Equestria Games into an episode and give Harshie a cameo. Image
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 12:59 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:Rightfully gotten rid of, since her whole character was kind of a perpetuation of the harmful "magical Negro" stereotype, for as good as she herself was. See also how the buffalo are largely forgotten.

Boy, what a shame that she's in three episodes in season 5 and two episodes in season 6, then.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:29 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:Rightfully gotten rid of, since her whole character was kind of a perpetuation of the harmful "magical Negro" stereotype, for as good as she herself was. See also how the buffalo are largely forgotten.


Outside of Magic Duel, her presence has never really been to be a guide and mentor for the others though. She's not usually there to advance the other characters.
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Postby Octavia (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:11 am

Maud rocks. :maud:
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Postby RudeCyrus (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 5:35 am

Octavia wrote:Maud rocks. :maud:

Yes. :maud:

To be honest, I have a soft spot for Maud because we're very much alike, emotionally, and it's rare to see that type of character that isn't a goth or some lonely, tortured soul.
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Postby Aramek (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:14 pm

I'm trying to make a rock pun about how excited I am, but they've all already been made and/or are dirty.

Oh well.

Yay Maud.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 5:14 pm

The Doctor wrote:I'm kind of over Maud. She was fun, but I don't really care for yet another episode where the joke is that she's monotone and doesn't show emotion.

Maud's gimmick isn't really the monotone, her gimmick is that it's hard to tell what she likes. Maud stories are always about the ponies trying to please her, both for her sake and for Pinkie's, and not really knowing how to do that. Part of what makes it hard is her lack of expressiveness, but that's in service of the main role of Acquaintance You Don't Know Quite Well Enough. You like this person but you pray you don't have to be their secret Santa.

That's why this week's episode is a textbook Maud story, and why I doubt Maud will move in permanently or become a regular. If she's too well understood by her friends, then the gimmick's lost and she just is the monotone one.
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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Thu Apr 27, 2017 11:41 pm

RudeCyrus wrote:I have a soft spot for Maud.

I have a rock solid spot for Maud.
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Fri Apr 28, 2017 11:58 am

This'll be a gneiss episode.
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Fri Apr 28, 2017 2:08 pm

:party: Welcome back, Maud! And you brought Boulder, too! How're you doing little guy?
...
:-P Aww he's not too chatty today. Feeling a little shy, maybe?
:maud: Rocks don't talk, Pinkie.
:cheese: ... oh right
:liarjack: ...
Image *psssst* Pinkie, dear, she's sucking the air out of the room!
:maud: Yes, I am, but I'm breathing it back out. That's how respiration works.
:gonkity: She's doing it again!

:maud: Visiting Ponyville is the highlight of my month. I like this town with its thatched roofs and dirt sidewalks.
...
:maud: Its nice.
...
:cry: I can't take this. I'm going to go lie down now.
Last edited by Just Scuds on Fri Apr 28, 2017 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Fri Apr 28, 2017 2:17 pm

Mechanical Ape wrote:Maud's gimmick isn't really the monotone, her gimmick is that it's hard to tell what she likes. Maud stories are always about the ponies trying to please her, both for her sake and for Pinkie's, and not really knowing how to do that. Part of what makes it hard is her lack of expressiveness, but that's in service of the main role of Acquaintance You Don't Know Quite Well Enough. You like this person but you pray you don't have to be their secret Santa.

That's why this week's episode is a textbook Maud story, and why I doubt Maud will move in permanently or become a regular. If she's too well understood by her friends, then the gimmick's lost and she just is the monotone one.

Even if she moves to Ponyville, she still has another gimmick: clowning on Discord.
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Postby Captain Rufus (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 9:08 am

Maud owns. So does Zecora. And Gabby. They should all show up more. If Shimmer and Trixie have shown us anything the show should continue to move past the Mane 6 yet not leave them in the dust. It's more fun and it is to the show and Hasbro's benefit to develop new characters to sell useless plastic crap and tee shirts of. And they already have plenty of new folks we can see more of.

Hell, put those five and maybe one other supporting cast guest starrer and send em on adventures and other cool stuff. Quibble Pants or Cheese Sandwich would cost too much and a couple other choices have legit business to keep them from such things. (Glimmer's old friend, Dragon Princess, Not Indian Cook, Braeburn, Gilda... )
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:41 pm

:-I Starlight out of nowhere
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Postby Octavia (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:42 pm

There are enough Pinkie faces in this episode to give us smilies for years :amazing:
Last edited by Octavia on Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby drunkill (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:43 pm

Maud is an accessory to mass enslavement/communism.
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Postby Marimo (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:43 pm

Wayoshi wrote::-I Starlight out of nowhere

Wasn't Pinkie expecting someone like her to come out of the castle? It was 50/50 her or Twilight since Spike was helping Rarity.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:49 pm

So they're bonding over Pinkie's flaws. :-I
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Postby Octavia (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:51 pm

I hope Pinkie wakes up like that every day :saycheese:
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:00 pm

Maud was...Maud in this one, but I didn't mind her. There's something about her that makes her a fascinating character. I'm glad she and Starlight made friends and found some common ground.

Pinkie was Pinkie. At least she learned a lesson about trying too hard to match friends up.

So Maud inadvertently assisted with Starlight taking over Our Town. Interesting. :maud:

Yay, Lyra, Bon Bon and Derpy cameos.

Extra yay for Pinkie's Maud imitation.

We did get a little emotion out of Maud with her small smile and frowning at Pinkie. But she looked rather weird in curlers.

And Maud is staying in Ponyville, or at least near it. I can live with that. It's a good compromise to have her live in the cave they found. I have the feeling we're seeing the start of a Second Six with Starlight, Trixie and now Maud.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode. Maybe Maud will grow as a character in the company of Starlight and others in Ponyville.
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Postby Octavia (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:00 pm

That was a rock solid episode :maud:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:03 pm

Pretty good episode, but man, I haven't been that annoyed with Pinkie Pie since S1.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:12 pm

The Doctor wrote:Pretty good episode, but man, I haven't been that annoyed with Pinkie Pie since S1.

At least that was the whole lesson of the episode, that you mustn't try to shove all people together even if that's how you are best at socializing. Some take a longer amount of time to open up to others; Maud is her usual reserved self, and Starlight has her guilt issues that make it tough to make friends, and folks like them just do things differently.

I appreciate seeing more of Maud, particularly that the episode took time to dig into who she is instead of merely playing up her now-obvious differences vs. Pinkie and others. In fact, I really wasn't expecting Maud to want to make friends, so props to this episode for actually getting into her like that. Hopefully we'll get to see her at least once or twice more this season.
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Postby adiwan (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:22 pm

I'm pleased.
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:23 pm

I like the Rarity and Spike rock hunting callback from S1.

:maud: The Diamond Dogs have made me their Queen.

:maud: And I rule them through sheer force of charisma.
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Postby Octavia (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:27 pm

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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:36 pm

The people making the show must have a complicated relationship with Derpy.


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"What the ... what kind of pony would ... A PIZZA!" Image
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:36 pm

So, this episode. It was solid. Maud was good and wasn't overbearing on her tropes. Pinkie kinda was but that was the conflict of the episode.

But did it really have to be Starlight? I mean it worked, but why not flesh out another background character in Ponyville instead?
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:43 pm

could be a seasonwide arc - Starlight inadvertently makes her own oddball Mane 6

Two Corns:
Image :smug:

Two Earths:
:maud: Image

Two Pegs:
Image Image

And an oddball mascot of sorts, I guess
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Postby Marimo (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:47 pm

Wayoshi wrote:So, this episode. It was solid. Maud was good and wasn't overbearing on her tropes. Pinkie kinda was but that was the conflict of the episode.

But did it really have to be Starlight? I mean it worked, but why not flesh out another background character in Ponyville instead?

Because neither Starlight nor Maud are background characters, they're either main or recurring supporting characters.

Plus, who exactly should it have been besides Starlight? The two kind of both bonded because of their similarities. That they both study a lot about the stuff that they like, and that they both kind of have this awkwardness to them that makes socializing a problem for them.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:51 pm

Image
Image

That's close enough that I'm checking "Star Trek Reference" on my Bingo Card.

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edit: Dang...

Image

Wayoshi wrote:So, this episode. It was solid. Maud was good and wasn't overbearing on her tropes. Pinkie kinda was but that was the conflict of the episode.

But did it really have to be Starlight? I mean it worked, but why not flesh out another background character in Ponyville instead?


Sadly it looks like Starlight is this season's arc.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:55 pm

Wayoshi wrote:But did it really have to be Starlight? I mean it worked, but why not flesh out another background character in Ponyville instead?

I think it was Starlight because there's still a lot to work off of there, with her still being somewhat awkward about socialization due to her feelings of guilt and general inexperience. Sure, the show could start expanding someone else, but that's already what was happening with Maud in this episode. I don't think FiM's crew want to expand the roster that rapidly.
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Postby DerFurShur (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 5:06 pm

Episode was alright, Pinkie was actually the worst thing about the episode.

Still Flurry Heart episode is still favorite of the season so far.
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Postby Aramek (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 5:30 pm

This owned. Maud owns. Starlight owns.

Starlight really owns.

I loved the cold open. So full of rock puns. So full of Pie family. Limestone being the cutest grump ever, Marble in panic mode, Igneous "comforting" Cloudy in that very Amish way. All of it was great.

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Your MRI results have shown total infection to now be approximately one fifth of the full mass of the tissue.

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Postby Aramek (?) » Sat Apr 29, 2017 5:32 pm

Just Scuds wrote:could be a seasonwide arc - Starlight inadvertently makes her own oddball Mane 6

Two Corns:
Image :smug:

Two Earths:
:maud: Image

Two Pegs:
Image Image

And an oddball mascot of sorts, I guess
Image

You gotta count all of her formerly enslaved villagers. They're up for it too!
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Your MRI results have shown total infection to now be approximately one fifth of the full mass of the tissue.

"So you're saying..."

Your brain is about 20% tumor.
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