S04E23: Inspiration Manifestation

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Re: S04E23: Inspiration Manifestation

Postby Sobana (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:12 am

I was watching the show and the most shocking thing I noticed was that Sear's swimsuit commercial. Kinda weird to have that on a show for little girls...

But any way, I loved the idea for the book. I wonder what else was in that book? I mean there were a few more pages in there then needed for a for a few written lines. I wonder what would happen if a non-unicorn read it?

Also, is it just me or is anyone else wondering how you store tubs of ice cream without a freezer or electricity?

:-/
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:25 am

I never noticed that with the backgrounds in the episode, I guess making all of the unique background ponies last week and all of the events must have taken a toll on the animators.
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:52 am

Sobana wrote:Also, is it just me or is anyone else wondering how you store tubs of ice cream without a freezer or electricity?

:-/

There's an actual in-show explanation :excite:

It's literally an old timey icebox.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:13 am

I am generally pleased with that answer, thank you...

Next thing, that is an odd color for vanilla and oats ice scream...
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Postby Stuff (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:24 am

Wow. I seriously enjoyed the crud out of this one. I mean, it's way up there in my mind. Rarity going 100% mad with (fabulous) power really made this episode remarkable. I could watch this again... something I really don't do often! Great humor, wonderful moments, and a nice lesson leads to a :vogue: / 10
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 9:07 am

Sobana wrote:But any way, I loved the idea for the book. I wonder what else was in that book? I mean there were a few more pages in there then needed for a for a few written lines.

I'm not sure there is any more to it. Before Rarity transforms it into an actual book, it's just a couple of stone tablets with spikes glued on:

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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:24 am

Sobana wrote:Also, is it just me or is anyone else wondering how you store tubs of ice cream without a freezer or electricity?

:-/

Actually, refrigeration is another one of the techs that Equestria has researched. Back in Somepony to Watch Over Me, Applejack explicitly referred to the thing where the soup for Apple Bloom was kept as a refrigerator. And while they have never directly referenced electricity, it's been implied enough times (even to where Ponyville has a hydroelectric dam) that I think we can safely assume that ponies know how to use it. They do not need it quite as much as we do for various reasons, but they have it.
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Postby acksed (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:31 am

I liked this. It wasn't top-tier, but considering the competition it was still good.

Considering that the things created stuck around, the spell would have been fantastically useful in a mediaeval era, so I can see why it was kept around. Also, "dirt magic"? Was this a creation of a rogue Earth pony?

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Postby Space Ghost (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:09 am

I just realized I was partially correct in my joke prediction:

Tailspin wrote:The spell results in Rarity ascending to godhood, destroying the world and remaking it in her image.


She didn't really destroy the world, but she was powerful enough that it took three princess to undo her work and she did remake the world in her image.

So yay me.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:16 am

Well, she really only remade Ponyville in her image but she was planning on getting to the rest of Equestria.
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Postby Gnot Syndrome (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:35 am

Rarity episodes are already fun to watch for Tabitha's voice acting alone. "MY...CREATIVE...GENIUS!" :heehaw:

I also liked seeing that Twilight is now officially the one to turn to when the town goes to shit. Before, it was "well, she and her friends are important for some reason, so we'll just panic while they take care of it." Now, there's a real reason! And I loved that she saves those ponies by just phasing them right through the wall. :twience:
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Postby mr man (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:30 pm

I enjoyed this episode. For some reason I like it when the characters become a bit unhinged. In fact, Tabitha does Rarity so well it would have to be pretty terrible for me not to like it.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 1:05 pm

Tears wrote:
The way I took it wasn't so much that the spell changed Rarity. Okay, I'm mis-speaking slightly and this is the last time I'm gonna caveat myself in this post because I wanna talk about the ideas the episode set up for me, so inaccuracies abound below. Non-canon.

So yeah, the spell clearly changed Rarity slightly, it made her ideas run away with herself (was the book explicitly black magic? I'm gonna ignore that for convenience' sake for now), so much as the capacity to just create, with none of the painstaking time and effort the process of creation takes, was what made her crazy.

Take a hugely creative person, and remove all the roadblocks on that creativity, so that she can just make things. No sketching, no stitching, just make make make make. Just conceptualise a thing, and it exists. And it's great on one level because she can make a whole season's outfits in ten minutes. But it's also a form of imprisonment, because everything else falls away in the wake of the ability to create. She doesn't sleep, she doesn't eat, there's nothing else other than the mania of untrammelled creative potential.


Indeed, this was creation without (self) critique. Considering how important the critical phase has been shown to be for Rarity (every scene ever when she's agonizing over some detail in her designs—she is usually the Perfectionist's Obsessive Perfectionist) as well as for most creatives, taking it away could only lead to... less than glamorous results. Though I'm sure that after few design iterations (because if she had not been stopped, she would not have been content to redesign everything once, oh no), Equestria would have been fabulous indeed. Or running low on ice cream at any rate.



I'm actually in London and a few of my friends are spitting blood, because every date sold out in about 15 seconds apart from the Platinum-class tickets, or whatever it is you call paying £500 for a ticket because it comes with a nice view and a bottle of prosecco.


Ah well. The Tour of Life was probably the optimal time to see her anyway—while I enjoy her recent efforts, her young voice is, for me, unsurpassable. Now, a Hounds of Love tour, that would have been something [shivers].
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Postby Space Ghost (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 2:44 pm

ROBOT B9 wrote:Well, she really only remade Ponyville in her image but she was planning on getting to the rest of Equestria.


Ponyville pretty much is the world, as 99% of the show takes place there. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby SoundMonkey44 (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 4:41 pm

The way the Puppeter pony says "PLENTY AH ROOM FOR MAH PUPPETS!" Amuses me for some reason.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 4:44 pm

I wonder how many awesome Rarity smilies we can get from this episode...I say we get one of the deranged Rarity screenshots.
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Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 5:34 pm

SoundMonkey44 wrote:The way the Puppeter pony says "PLENTY AH ROOM FOR MAH PUPPETS!" Amuses me for some reason.

Ditto. My partner and I laughed super hard at that.
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:42 pm

SoundMonkey44 wrote:The way the Puppeter pony says "PLENTY AH ROOM FOR MAH PUPPETS!" Amuses me for some reason.


Same, that VA delievered the line in a really good way.
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Postby Wylie (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 7:11 pm

Let's have a word of praise for those puppets as well. They strictly followed the "googly eyes" rule- their eyes always looked down unless they were moving around, in which case gravity worked on them as expected. They also "acted" appropriately- look at one of them pointing out the harness to the other one when they went to move it.

They rode the line between "creepy" and "adorable" admirably, I'd say.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 7:31 pm

Nope, they were entirely creepy. :-I
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 7:36 pm

They should have had the puppet master call Rarity "my little chickadee." :starity:
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 7:58 pm

:3: :"Rarity my dear - I was out kicking clouds the other day, as I am wont to do."
Image :"Yes?"
:3: :"I was suddenly surrounded by a flash of magic and - surprise of surprises I found a thick sleeved dress upon my person."
:starity: :"Yes?"
:saddash: :"And it did impede my flight most horribly. As a matter of fact, after a short dramatic struggle, I found myself colliding with the side of a building."
:wat: :"Merciful heavens! Are you all right?"
:rainbert: :"In truth, I am far more injured in pride than in body. But I ask you, how did this clingy garment manifest itself?"
:sadrarity: :"I am certain I do not know."
:grumpydash: :"Cut the crap."
:gonkity: :"I was under some dark magic spell that Spike brought to me! I don't remember!"
:offendash: :"UGH! That's just a convenient excuse for everything!"
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Postby londonarbuckle (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:45 pm

acksed wrote:Also, "dirt magic"? Was this a creation of a rogue Earth pony?


I think she said DARK magic.
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:53 pm

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Right before your very eyes, ah will make a flower spring from this here pot of dirt!

:yikes: Nothing's happening.

:hilarious: It's slow working magic. Give it a couple of weeks with regular watering.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 9:08 pm

londonarbuckle wrote:
I think she said DARK magic.

I thought she said "dirt" as well, but the closed caption on the Hub website has "dark magic"
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:00 pm

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:Image
Right before your very eyes, ah will make a flower spring from this here pot of dirt!

:yikes: Nothing's happening.

:hilarious: It's slow working magic. Give it a couple of weeks with regular watering.

I guess Apple Bloom has showed us that alchemy is the true magic of the earth ponies.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:12 pm

Dirk Niblick, of the Magic Brigade!
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Postby Rainbow Crash (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:26 pm

She says "dirt magic"

As in, it's really hard to turn those streets of gold back into dirt
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Postby WandereringPony (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 12:35 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:Actually, refrigeration is another one of the techs that Equestria has researched. Back in Somepony to Watch Over Me, Applejack explicitly referred to the thing where the soup for Apple Bloom was kept as a refrigerator. And while they have never directly referenced electricity, it's been implied enough times (even to where Ponyville has a hydroelectric dam) that I think we can safely assume that ponies know how to use it. They do not need it quite as much as we do for various reasons, but they have it.


More notably, the whole Reflections arc in the comic points out that most pony technology was
traded for/taken from worlds beyond the mirror portal Starswirl invented.


Given that, the bits of 1930-1940ish tech mixed in with the general ponyworks makes sense, along with it's relative rarity. Technology is likely copied more than intuitively understood, though likely there are lower-magic, higher-tech ponyverses out there said technology was gotten from. I'm guessing Celestia was VERY careful on what got brought out into public, even if
Starswirl brought back at least one gun from their travels.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 2:06 am

Guys. Guys.

You've not mentioned the best thing about this episode—the most meta line of dialogue in the entire show to date:

:vogue: "Just because the attendees are young doesn't mean they don't deserve my best creative work."


:jingo:







...Okay, I lie, the best thing about the episode is far-and-away the final minute with Twilight. That's the best freaking Tara voice acting I've heard since, like, Season 1. :twonk: Never, ever, EVER ever EVER everEVEREVER take another book out of the library at the castle without asking!

And the way she keeps glaring at Spike as she walks up the stairs is amazingly funny. That's the kind of ridiculously subtle, superhumanly perceptive animation that makes this show what it is, right up there with the highest-shelf feature animation. It's never going to not amaze me that such a thing exists in a cheapo TV cartoon.


Speaking of glaring over-the-shoulder looks, the puppeteer's puppets googling their eyes menacingly at Rarity like they're flipping her off oh my god :lol:
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Postby PictishBeast (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 2:33 am

:yay:
Headless Horse wrote:...Okay, I lie, the best thing about the episode is far-and-away the final minute with Twilight. That's the best freaking Tara voice acting I've heard since, like, Season 1. :twonk: Never, ever, EVER ever EVER everEVEREVER take another book out of the library at the castle without asking!


Yep, that last scene put this episode over the top for me. As unexpected and funny as "Dear Princess Celestia: I didn't learn anything!"

In a typical story, the magic crap would disappear the moment the spell wore off. Or at least it's something that would be resolved off-screen; that's what I figured they were doing when they cut to Spike writing in the journal.

But then Twilight storms in and she's been working for hours, and she looks like hell, and it was such a pain in the ass because she had to reverse dark magic, and it was such a pain in the ass that she had to call in Luna and Cadance, and she's rightfully pissed off at Spike for starting the whole thing and he STILL gives her snark in return.

Rainbow Crash wrote:She says "dirt magic"


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Postby Kitsune (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 3:28 am

Clearly, Twilight was referring to how they used magical dirks to dispose of all the gems :wingsright:
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 3:32 am

It's too bad the ep wasn't that engaging really until that last minute, though.

Although puppet pony was somewhat engaging just because of the voice.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 3:48 am

Headless Horse wrote:...Okay, I lie, the best thing about the episode is far-and-away the final minute with Twilight. That's the best freaking Tara voice acting I've heard since, like, Season 1. Never, ever, EVER ever EVER everEVEREVER take another book out of the library at the castle without asking!


PictishBeast wrote:In a typical story, the magic crap would disappear the moment the spell wore off. Or at least it's something that would be resolved off-screen; that's what I figured they were doing when they cut to Spike writing in the journal.

But then Twilight storms in and she's been working for hours, and she looks like hell, and it was such a pain in the ass because she had to reverse dark magic, and it was such a pain in the ass that she had to call in Luna and Cadance, and she's rightfully pissed off at Spike for starting the whole thing and he STILL gives her snark in return.

Let me be the third person to love the ending. Generally I'm indifferent to how a lot of Pony episodes end, but the ending to this one was just perfect, for reasons you all described.

Why yes, a pony princess spent hours cleaning up dark magic.
Why yes, she's super stressed and a big mess.
Why yes, she's pissed off at her dragon.
Why yes, the said dragon doesn't give a fuck.

My Little Pony, ladies and gentlemen. :-I
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:45 am

A couple of people have noted that this ep had a very "first-season" kind of feel to it, almost as though they're consciously trying to hark back to the early texture as much as possible. Well, here's something I noticed:

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Oh hi face I haven't seen since S1. :-I
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:47 am

Can that be an emote please? :anticipation:
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 5:29 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:Can that be an emote please? :anticipation:

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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 5:41 am

Headless Horse wrote:...Okay, I lie, the best thing about the episode is far-and-away the final minute with Twilight. That's the best freaking Tara voice acting I've heard since, like, Season 1. :twonk: Never, ever, EVER ever EVER everEVEREVER take another book out of the library at the castle without asking!

:


Most of the time Twi is happy to play the chipper teacher that's always ready to deliver a lesson :excite:
:twiright: "Compromise is a tenant of frienship!"

But when somebody moves her cheese, god help you. :twonk:


I like how this changes up the old "everyone laughs" ending, ending with a grunting unicorn :-/
Last edited by Just Scuds on Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:05 am

I think it was really great to see that side of Twilight again and I hope we have it pop up more often.
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Postby Homeswirl (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:09 am

Niels Olof wrote:Indeed, this was creation without (self) critique.

One thing that seemed to be implied was that the spell also fed on Spike's unquestioning praise. Maybe it's not just that truth would break it, but that the brown-nosing would enhance it, and is the mechanism by which the spell's power grew over the course of the episode, even to the point where the book was no longer needed.


ROBOT B9 wrote:I think it was really great to see that side of Twilight again and I hope we have it pop up more often.

Yes. When you think about it, this really is exactly the Princess Responsibilities factor we've waited for. :party:
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