S04E23: Inspiration Manifestation

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Re: S04E23: Inspiration Manifestation

Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:57 pm

Your ideas convince me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. :v:

So...I wonder if we'll see more of the concept of black magic later on in the show.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:20 pm

It popped up in PTS without any real explanation or evident effects, other than the thing with Zecora's potion.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:35 pm

I’ve always just figured that Rarity pulled that couch out of hammerspace.

After all, she doesn’t have the luxury of Spike, what with his pocket dimensions...
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Postby Doctor Wheeze (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:01 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:It popped up in PTS without any real explanation or evident effects, other than the thing with Zecora's potion.

There's also Sombra's smoke-eyes magic that he, Celestia, and Twilight all did.
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..... :hatte:
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Postby Aramek (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:12 pm

That's Alicorn magic methinks.

It is different and dangerous. So Celestia and Luna and Cadance and Twiburger all use "regular" magic for everything.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:14 pm

So are we resolved that the puppeteer is Snips' dad?
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Postby Aramek (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:16 pm

He taught Snips to...

...cut the strings.
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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 Fizzbuzz (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 10:08 pm

Headless Horse wrote:So are we resolved that the puppeteer is Snips' dad?

I've not seen any statements confirming it. However, given their race, colors, and chubby physique, the idea of them being father and son seems like a very safe bet to me.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:41 am

It's a decent headcanon in any case. :allears:
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:23 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:I've not seen any statements confirming it. However, given their race, colors, and chubby physique, the idea of them being father and son seems like a very safe bet to me.


While I'd think it'd be interesting, and it's something I'd accept as headcanon, hasn't the show taught us that colors and race can have nothing to do with their offspring?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:28 am

Blood-related ponies usually tend to have similar colors and hair patterns (consider Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom sharing the same red, orange, and yellow, or Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor both having striped hair, or Rainbow Dash's father also having rainbow hair...), and while the Cake twins have taught us that a child's race can vary, it still seems to be a rare occurrence.
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Postby WandereringPony (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:27 am

Tailspin wrote:One thing I can't help but notice, one episode away from the finale and the castle is still in the same shape it was at the beggining of the season. What was the whole point of them fixing it up in Power Ponies? It's not even any cleaner.


The comics are in the same boat, what with
The Elements of Harmony showing up in issue #18.


Chronological order isn't always the same as episode order, given. But this time, I think it is-how much can six ponies really clean up in their spare time, anyway? At least it's safe enough territory now that Spike cheerfully goes off there on his own for books of dubious magical pedigrees.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:45 am

Regardless of any order shenanigans, disappointingly little has been done with the Castle.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 6:13 am

Aramek wrote:He taught Snips to...

...cut the strings.


Don't you mean PULL THE STRINGS?!

:plonk: Image :)
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Postby Big Boss (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:42 pm

Who wants in on an RT this week?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:51 pm

After being asked to join last week's RT, I suppose I could join in on another one. :pinkietoot:
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:09 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:I've not seen any statements confirming it. However, given their race, colors, and chubby physique, the idea of them being father and son seems like a very safe bet to me.


And whether it's so or not, that's one of the things I like best about this show: that it will throw something like that in there that's up to the audience to figure out.

A lot of cartoons will make things like the puppeteer completely generic or completely out-of-left-field unless there's a specific reason to tie it in with the core story and characters, in which case they'll fall all over themselves to point out how SO-AND-SO IS SUCH-AND-SUCH'S COUSIN :flail: or whatever. But this show will toss in a one-off character with interesting and unique details that lead you to believe it could be someone related to someone in the secondary cast—up to and including making sure there's nothing there to contradict the possibility—but they don't say a word to confirm it. Is that one mare Twist's mom? Well gee, they don't say so, but then again they don't show Twist with any other grownups in a consistent way, do they?

It's like that little offhand reference to "dark magic" at the end there. Unless I'm forgetting, they haven't explicitly called that sickly-green magic color that we first saw with Sombra "dark magic" anytime in the series, have they? Yet I recognized it right away. It's pretty clearly something from the same netherworld of magic that Twilight has only begun to dabble in. (The dungeon where Spike found it in a fangorious necronomicon-type book is also a pretty big clue.) But that entire subplot of the series has been explained only in visuals. If you read the scripts you find nary a mention of anything like " :pcstare: Twilight that is DARK MAGIC you are toying with, do not be too hasty to go messing around with any Alicorn Amulets you might find lying around". But follow the visual storytelling and this evil-looking green magic is a running thread that has been telling its own low-key little story ever since the beginning of Season 3. And it's now paying off in the form of a quip from Twilight during an awesome stinger scene that makes sense if you've been paying attention to the visuals, and gives you enough offhand cues to clue you in, but hasn't led you around by the nose or made you sick and tired of :twonk: DARK MAGIC by turning it into some overused, defanged, overexplained trope that has to be one-upped every time it's mentioned or else it becomes just another part of the landscape, like Goku's power level or whatever.

I mean, clearly sometimes they aren't as good about this as they could be. But so often they do it so well. That's the old-time religion, the thing that I find so unique and invigorating about watching this show for six-year-olds whose interest in it supposedly extends to " :ohboy: pretty pink pony" and no further.
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Postby Pocket (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:31 pm

kefkafloyd wrote:Who wants in on an RT this week?

:idea:
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 8:24 pm

kefkafloyd wrote:Who wants in on an RT this week?


I would like to, please! :anticipation:
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 8:25 pm

If possible, I'll join the RT for this episode as well.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 9:56 pm

kefkafloyd wrote:Who wants in on an RT this week?


I'm in if you have room. Though I'd be happy to wait, because I really want in on the finale RT.
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Postby Frith (?) » Sat May 03, 2014 9:25 pm

So, now that my health problems and internet connection problems are gone, I can finally write something about this episode.

This was (again) good episode. Spike was the star of episode and IMO his performance was really solid. The lesson he learned was also really good. IMO this was the second best Spike episode behind Just for Sidekicks.

I can't say much about Rarity here other than that she was really spot on. Tabitha's performance was again really good and also really funny. Rarity's action felt also natural throughout the episode, even when she was under the influence of the spell.
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Postby diribigal (?) » Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:52 pm

I finally saw this and I have to say it felt a little samey. Rarity crazily changes something, asks for reassurance from Spike, rinse and repeat. The acting was good, but after the beginning I was sort of waiting for the episode to finally end.
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Postby Mordja (?) » Mon Aug 04, 2014 9:51 pm

The first time I saw this, it was during the livestream and my internet was so bad that day that I must have missed a third of the damn episode, so it's about due a rewatch. From minute one, they definitely bring back Spike's crush on Rarity and in a hard way. Not saying that's a bad thing, it's just something that seemed to have been swept under the rug for a while. Anyway, I'm lazy so back to point form! :cheese:

-While Rarity's theatre design was completely impractical, I'm not sure that a puppet theatre controlled by magic is that impressive when you've got magic. :-I
-So this episode was co-written by McCarthy. Ah.
-Rarity deserves to be made an alicorn for being such a big drama queen.
-So Spike can talk to animals too, or just owls? :v:
-Goddamn, a literal mountain of icecream and a box of chocos. Rares must have one hell of a metabolism.
-The BGM used when Spike enters the Boutique is just perfect and pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the episode. Frantic, funny, and a little frightening.
-Applejack used a food euphamism that wasn't apples! Ohgawd! :flail:
-Yeah, I'd completely missed the bird-mansion the first time around, so that was great.
-Kinda shocked Spike didn't try and eat his getup.
-"Oh no! Not U2! Dammit DrDino et al."
-Rarity really was Something Awful. :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony: :iamapony:
-Oh shut up, idgaf.
-Spike, you're such a fucking shiteater. :lol:

So yeah, kind of repetetive? Maybe, but who cares since it was so entertaining the whole way through, and Tabs' performance was simply the best.
Last thought: I wonder who wrote the book in the first place. :ponder:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:20 pm

Mordja wrote:The first time I saw this, it was during the livestream and my internet was so bad that day that I must have missed a third of the damn episode, so it's about due a rewatch. From minute one, they definitely bring back Spike's crush on Rarity and in a hard way. Not saying that's a bad thing, it's just something that seemed to have been swept under the rug for a while.

As I saw it, this was a confirmation that he'd gotten over his crush on Rarity. All through the episode, he talked about how he was worried about losing her as a friend, after all. For comparison, I watched Boast Busters again today, and that episode squeezed in plenty of moments of him being in love with or awkward around her, like that whole thing with the mustache. He still wants to be friends with her, but I think he stopped obsessing over her after Secret of My Excess.
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Postby Ransom (?) » Sun Aug 10, 2014 7:52 pm

So if Spike doesn't stop Rarity, how far does she go before she is stopped, or stops herself? Does she completely redo all of Equestria and become the series villain full force? What does it take to end her creative rampage? The Mane 6, the Equestrian Army, possibly the Princesses, or even Discord (how does he even react to this?). Who else other than Spike is capable of breaking the curse and snapping her out of it? Sweetie Belle, the Mane 6, her parents?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:11 pm

In this case it'd pretty much have to be Spike, since he was the one who kept encouraging Rarity out of fear of making her hate him. She probably valued his feedback far more than she would've valued that of the other five, since he was the one who had started all this by finding that book. I do wish Sweetie Belle had shown up here, though, since I really am curious as to what Rarity's reaction to her little sister would've been.
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:03 am

Welcome to Week Thirty-Four of Let's Re-Watch, where a random episode from the pony pantheon is chosen to be the episode of the week! So yea I might have totally missed posting this in New Year's Shenanigans, oops :modesty:

The basics :
1. Threads will go up on Thursdays! Re-watch day is Saturday. This is the new cookie as of week 32 times 3. You can obviously join in sooner or later, but the first two days are more for reminiscing, while Saturday-Wednesday is for fresh eyes! Sometimes I put this up early on Friday cause it's still Thursday as far as I'm concerned.
2. Each week is a random episode. All episodes are now fair game, except repeats!
3. This is fun, and totally random - I literally roll the episode moments before making the thread. Two-parters are combined so technically have a double chance of being chosen but hey! More fun!
4. :dwi:

In this episode, Rarity shows Equestria the true meaning of bling.

Week Thirty-Four is

Inspiration Manifestation!

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Inspiration Manifestation is the twenty-third episode of the fourth season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the eighty-eighth episode overall. When Rarity loses her creative mojo, it's up to Spike get it back.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:32 am

And with this episode we learn that the greatest threat's to Ponyville are Unicorns. :gotcha:
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 1:58 pm

I'll drop in my original notes for this one:

Uh... yeah, I dunno about this one. It has some experienced writers on it (Megan McCarthy and Corey Powell) but it never quite felt right to me.

I mean, why is Rarity even designing a puppet theatre? Isn't that more, y'know, carpentry? Surely there were other jobs for the fair she could've done? Costumes? Decorations? And why would a dude with a puppeteering cutie mark not have his own damn theatre anyway? Weird.

Spike, you're next. Imagine this scenario: your friend wants to contribute creatively to an event, but their first attempt failed and now they're upset. What do you do? If you answered "Head out to the crumbling ruins of an ancient castle once home to magical beings with god-like powers to take a stone spellbook covered with spikes from a precarious, obviously-intended-to-be-imposing chamber behind a hidden door and a locked gate and bring it back to your friend so you can cheer them up", then you're thinking on Spike's level. It always bums me out when Spike's common sense goes MIA, and it certainly does here. I mean, he lives with Twilight Sparkle, expert in both magic and books. Has he seriously not picked up on the fact that spellbooks can be super dangerous? I mean, why would he even think to go looking for one in the first place?

Once you're past that stuff, the episode is just kinda goofy and fun. Rarity gets to go nuts, racing around turn turning things into other things. Owlowiscious gets to come along for the ride too, because why not? There's some nice funny bits here and there, with Fluttershy's new birdhouse being a favourite.

Also, scruffy Twilight is a lot of fun.


So yeah, odd episode for me. Fantastic performance from Tabitha as always, though.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:01 pm

This episode is so much fun...not only for Rarity's attempts at classying up Ponyville (the clown turning into Octavia gets me everytime) but it's a really good moral at the end of it as well. Tabitha's performance is absolutely wonderful, probably one of the best she's done so far.
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Postby InsertAuthorHere (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:53 pm

For the most part, this was just an okay episode. Nothing spectacular nor profound, just some cute cartoon ponies and their baby dragon sidekick engaging in merriment and whimsy via dark magic.

I did like that the episode went back to Spike's crush, something that hasn't been a focal point for a good while before this. Simple Ways kind of brought it up, but there it was just a wink to the audience over the hopelessness of both crushes, and Spike didn't actually do much of anything. This episode shows his devotion to Rarity, first as a positive when he's helping her get over her depression, and then as a negative when he refuses to speak out because he doesn't want to lose what relationship he has. The ending was a bit cheap (so apparently the book knew you were going to turn evil all along and specifically set up a provision that someone had to tell you how evil you will inevitably become in order to break it), but it handled Spike well and power-mad Rarity was a joy to watch.

Another thing I liked was that there was no reset button. Rarity loses her power, but everything she created and altered is still in that state. As cool as it would have been to actually see Twilight, Luna and Cadance cleaning up the mess Spike and Rarity created, it likely wouldn't have been as funny as a tired, disheveled, and very peeved Twilight storming into the library, throwing herself on her bed, and chewing out Spike for taking obviously-evil books.

Also, please retire the "Who?" joke. It's not funny. It has never been funny. It's tiresome having to go through it every time Owlowiscious and Spike are in the same scene.

Other than that, I don't have much to say. It's a nice little episode, and I had fun watching it again.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 3:00 pm

Agree that "who" is long past its sell-by date, but I always really appreciated how well and how subtly it was handled in Owl's Well. None of Spike's reactions were tiresome and it didn't go on too long; it was actually scaled down from the "Who's on first" kind of archetype it was cribbed from.

It's like, they always knew it was an annoying joke, and they were writing it against their own better judgment, so they were careful to do it as properly and respectfully of its audience as possible.
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Postby Corpy (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:18 pm

Crazy Rarity is best Rarity
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:38 pm

The episode should have just ended with Rarity conquering Ponyville, why didn't it end like that? :gonkity:

It was one of the more fun episodes of S4, at least.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:23 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:The episode should have just ended with Rarity conquering Ponyville, why didn't it end like that? :gonkity:


Obviously, they're saving that for season 5.
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:40 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:The episode should have just ended with Rarity conquering Ponyville, why didn't it end like that? :gonkity:

It was one of the more fun episodes of S4, at least.

It's kind of a shame that this show has to have a resolution at the end of each episode.
We'll never come across a situation where the problem grows and grows until it hilariously bursts its confines and we'll just take it as read that Twilight and friends were able to put things back to something resembling normal at some time in the future, off-screen. :sheepish:
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Postby Applepie (?) » Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:00 pm

A New Year with Re-Watch. This is one of my favorite Rarity and Spike episodes.
Pinkie Pie: So, you see this here? This, um, this is um, a big, round room. It's known for its roundness, and bigness, and did I mention that it's round?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:35 pm

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:It's kind of a shame that this show has to have a resolution at the end of each episode.
We'll never come across a situation where the problem grows and grows until it hilariously bursts its confines and we'll just take it as read that Twilight and friends were able to put things back to something resembling normal at some time in the future, off-screen. :sheepish:

That's kind of what Swarm of the Century and Secret of My Excess did.
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Postby Marioland1 (?) » Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:21 am

Honestly, this episode was pretty forgettable to me. All I can remember is Rarity once again going green. Seriously Rarity. When will you learn that green just isn't your color already?
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