S04E20: For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils

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Re: S04E20: For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils

Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:31 pm

Oops, I didn't answer your initial question, Fizzbuzz, but like The Doctor I assume the CMC are in the 8-10 range.

Sorry I'm such a scrooge about the CMC, errybody. :fluttersmith: :v:
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Postby ClaudiaZG (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:43 pm

But like if you don't relate this:

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to this:
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You're wrong

Can't believe that reference, best episode ever :awesomedash:
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Postby PictishBeast (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:44 pm

ThunderBunny wrote:I don't like watching people be assholes


Well there's your problem right there. People being assholes to each other is the foundation of comedy. And drama. :jingo:

I also thought this was a meh episode but the characterization was pretty solid. Sweetie's sabotage was believably cruel in that kind of impulsive, short-sighted way, and Sweetie immediately did everything she could to walk it back as soon as Luna revealed the long-term implications.

And I don't think it's just a kid thing either. I could see Rarity doing something similar if pushed (see how desperately she wanted to sabotage Fluttershy in Green Isn't Your Color).
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:47 pm

ThunderBunny wrote:Oops, I didn't answer your initial question, Fizzbuzz, but like The Doctor I assume the CMC are in the 8-10 range.

Interesting. I actually feel like they're older than that (they feel to me like they're 12 or possibly 13, especially given the way they've been growing up in S4). The thing is, I don't think they're trying to play the "innocent little kid" card when it comes to their antics. They might do bad things, but it seems like they try to take responsibility for what they've done. Look back at Twilight Time, for instance, with the way they all apologized to Twilight at the end, or even farther back to Ponyville Confidential when they realized how terrible and harmful the Gabby Gums column was. We got that same sort of thing here, just with Luna playing the part of Sweetie Belle's conscience.
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Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:51 pm

PictishBeast wrote:
Well there's your problem right there. People being assholes to each other is the foundation of comedy. And drama. :jingo:


While I don't *entirely* agree with that, there is definitely a fair bit of truth to it, and maybe that's why I genuinely dislike 80% of all television shows or movies I try to watch. And I tend to favor problem-driven conflicts over villain-driven conflicts because most villains bore me to death.

And Fizzbuzz, those are good points, re: the fact that they actually learn from their mistakes. That is, after all, the point of these episodes. They are just boring / annoying to me. I should probably stop chiming in on CMC episodes before I make everyone think I am some kind of cuteness-and-joy-hating monster. :v:


Despite any evidence to the contrary, I assure you I'm actually a very pleasant person in real life. :flutterunsmith:
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Postby InC (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:58 pm

Having trouble identifying with people being jerks doesn't make you a bad person. :-)

As for the CMC, I feel like they should be pre-teens in-universe, but being a stand-in for a younger audience fuzzes it up a bit.
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Postby PictishBeast (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:01 pm

ThunderBunny wrote:Despite any evidence to the contrary, I assure you I'm actually a very pleasant person in real life.


In the contrary, I think your comments show that you are a very honest, straightforward, principled person who is probably super nice and pleasant. You are the first person I would try to undermine if we were in the Big Brother house together. :excellent:

But seriously on the subject of ponies being assholes to each other, I haven't seen much discussion of Sapphire Shores. I'm viewing the future vision as a potentially real outcome, which means Sappphire Shores would have gone out of her way to humiliate and ruin her ex-designer over a badly-stitched headdress. Rarity's playing for high stakes in the Equestrian fashion industry. :damn:
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:03 pm

ClaudiaZG wrote:But like if you don't relate this:

Image

to this:
Image
Image

You're wrong

Can't believe that reference, best episode ever :awesomedash:

That was my very first thought when I saw that. :gotcha:
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Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:06 pm

PictishBeast wrote: Rarity's playing for high stakes in the Equestrian fashion industry. :damn:


Heck yes she is. Rarity is amazing and I love her. Maybe that's the REAL reason I disliked this episode. I see someone about to mess with Rarity and I'm like I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!!! :rant:

Sapphire Shores came off really weird to me for whatever reason.
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Postby Sailor Yue (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:11 pm

ThunderBunny wrote:
Heck yes she is. Rarity is amazing and I love her. Maybe that's the REAL reason I disliked this episode. I see someone about to mess with Rarity and I'm like I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!!! :rant:

Sapphire Shores came off really weird to me for whatever reason.

She reminds me of Beyonce, which doesnt translate very well as a pony
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Postby MochaBean (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:14 pm

Angel Beat wrote:That was my very first thought when I saw that. :gotcha:

Same. I figured it was just a matter of time before someone made a Sweetie version of that gifset. :gotcha:
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:15 pm

PictishBeast wrote:
And I don't think it's just a kid thing either. I could see Rarity doing something similar if pushed (see how desperately she wanted to sabotage Fluttershy in Green Isn't Your Color).


I think not. Sure, she was jealous, but she felt terrible about it. Rarity is much, much more self-aware than Sweetie Belle (and an altogether nicer person. “Beautiful heart”, remember?), and there is a heck of a difference between having feelings and acting on them. As soon as she was given the chance to help bury Fluttershy’s career, she risked her own reputation to save Fluttershy’s. (The reader may wish to compare and contrast Rainbow Dash’s willingness to risk her own reputation for the sake of a friend in distress, when it came to jousting).

I don’t have a problem with the CMC being right little bastards from time to time. They’re kids, and anyone who believes in the innocence of youth has either conveniently forgotten their own, or do not spend enough time with children.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:20 pm

Rarity is closer friends with Fluttershy than the other four. She might have fleeting thoughts of sabotaging Fluttershy, but she had no intentions of acting upon them.

On the other hand, she didn't really think twice about upstaging and ruining Rainbow Dash's performance in Sonic Rainboom. :smirk:
Last edited by The Doctor on Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby The Outlander (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:20 pm

sailoryue wrote:She reminds me of Beyonce, which doesnt translate very well as a pony


Sapphire Shores just takes a lot of modern pop artist tropes and smashes them together. If she reminds you of someone, it's probably because at least part of their personality fits into the stereotype. Weird outfits, superstitions, backup dancers, volatile personality, synth-bass laden music. She's got it all.
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Postby Orange Fluffy Sheep (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:23 pm

Horse episode is adequately horse-ish. Though, the constant sound of a washing machine in the background was kind of annoying and I don't see why it was added.

...Wait, that was my washing machine. I just chose a bad time to watch it.

Anyway, this is another instance where pony took a pretty stock plot (Younger Sibling is jealous of Talented Older Sibling) and made it... I don't know quite how to put it... Rarity wasn't being just better at Things than Sweetie Belle but doing things for her, and the situations like Rarity not knowing about the play are all Sweetie's fault because she's an asshole and really the whole episode is Sweetie being an asshole and the consequences are falling on someone else so she has to not be an asshole and instead be the opposite (a mouth?).

Also surreal dream imagery. Needs to happen more often.

It was adequately horse.
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Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:25 pm

LOL, that is a pretty good summation of my take on it as well. You said it much better than me, though. :yay:
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:31 pm

The Doctor wrote:Rarity is closer friends with Fluttershy than the other four. She might have fleeting thoughts of sabotaging Fluttershy, but she had no intentions of acting upon them.

On the other hand, she didn't really think twice about upstaging and ruining Rainbow Dash's performance in Sonic Rainboom. :smirk:


Which is why I regard Sonic Rainboom as the first (of two, so far) Rarity Goes Crazy episode. Still, in the same episode she cajoled the rest and volunteered as a subject for experimental magics (something I would probably caution against, considering Twilight Sparkle’s not entirely stellar record), both exclusively for the sake of Rainbow Dash. Alas, the fabulosity of the wings snapped her mind. :iiaia:
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Postby londonarbuckle (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:43 pm

I can relate to Sweetie a lot in this episode (I have no siblings but I am used to feeling overshadowed by other people, family members or otherwise). I can definitely understand being so mad at someone else for not paying attention to your feeling for what seems like the umpteen-millionth time, that you just refuse to see it any other way. Maybe I wouldn't do anything like Sweetie did here but I'd sure think about it, until I realized I was overreacting after calming down.
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Postby MochaBean (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:46 pm

The Doctor wrote:Rarity is closer friends with Fluttershy than the other four. She might have fleeting thoughts of sabotaging Fluttershy, but she had no intentions of acting upon them.

On the other hand, she didn't really think twice about upstaging and ruining Rainbow Dash's performance in Sonic Rainboom. :smirk:


That's not quite the same, though. Rarity wasn't setting out to explicitly sabotage or beat Dash, she just got caught up in the moment. She even wishes Dash luck at one point IIRC.
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Postby Tears (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:49 pm

Headless Horse wrote:What I really appreciated, though, was the rather unusual, even novel texture of it. It's talky, it's grown-up, it's subtle, and there's hardly any of the comedy we've come to expect from even the heaviest-feeling episodes. Despite the exotic new concepts like the cloud nightmare and the dreamscape and Sapphire Shores' Canterlot studio, it felt like this was one of the most down-to-earth, character-driven slices-of-life I've ever seen the show do.


Yes! Absolutely. Just finished a re-watch and I love love loved this one. That these three little shrill things from Call of the Cutie could mature into completely viable main characters, enough to get starring roles in episodes the way any of the mane six could. That probably isn't music to ThunderBunny's ears but he is by his own admission a cuteness-and-fun-hating monster.

One thing I love about some of my favourite season four episodes is that they, more than for any other season, take advantage of the time we've spent in this world and build on three seasons of context to give this kind of forward motion to a character.

Sweetie and Rarity's conflict (which only Sweetie realises is a conflict) completely builds on what we've seen in Sisterhooves, what we've seen in Sleepless. Sweetie's idea of helping is still to take Rarity's applique drawer and her sequins drawer (well, one of them) and throw the contents on the floor, but Rarity isn't shooing her away or rolling her eyes at Sweetie hanging round while she's filling a big order, instead she tells her how invaluable her help has been.

And Rarity's so good the whole way through. The cold open is a lovely little moment between the two of them, and Rarity makes her dresses great because she knows how important the show is to Sweetie so she makes them as amazing and lavish as she can, which is a lovely thing to everyone but Sweetie, who's had a lifetime of being overshadowed by a gregarious ham. She's still Rarity though, she's much less concerned about Sweetie's rant when she realises people liked the dresses. (also, I buy Opposing Farce's explanation about why everyone showed up for Sweetie's play. Seriously, if you're ever in a village in the countryside, look at the activities advertised on the community messageboard).

Sidenote: possible favourite moment. "Oh, what amazing dressses; oh, how I love the dressses; ooh, dresses dresses DRESSES DRESSES! *squeak*". Damn, Sweetie.

But I love that Rarity wasn't pissed off or even that hurt at Sweetie's rant and subsequent storm-off and subsequent criminally-accurate parodying, she gets that there's something else going on and she's just concerned about Sweetie. It also hints that maybe this isn't the first time Sweetie has gotten pissed at her and stormed off. Rarity herself obviously never dramatically stormed off when she was a kid. Or, like, yesterday.

I actually had a hard time watching the next section first time because I had visions or Sweetie tearing everything apart and I was all "Sweetie nooooo", so I was glad for the contrivance of the hidden stitch and the, ah... big bummer. Fashion horse's first thought in terms of describing her magnum opus was a popular idiom and she was unhappy about that :ohrarity:

And the dream sequences were gorgeously-done (apart from maybe the uvula? but the sinking through the stars into an ocean of dolphins into her birthday party was aces). And I agree that Luna wasn't as flamboyantly fun as in Luna Eclipsed, but I liked her fine, especially the mostly silent way she delivered the lesson, possibly a nod to the terrifying silent final harbinger in Scrooge's dream?

And on Rara being an awesome rehabilitated big sis, her horror at Sweetie's confession turned into a smile when Sweetie said she realised she'd been wrong and fixed it. That's something she could have been legitimately furious about, the betrayal and the damage to something that really mattered, even though it was fixed. Instead she realises that Sweetie's been through some stuff and come to some realisations on her own, and there's nothing to be gained from being angry.

And the end was so lovely, just such a sweet low-key conversation. And the hug was the best thing ever, sap-haters be damned. The cold open and the coda were both two characters having a conversation, and that was rad.

Just one of the most dialogue-heavy, character-episodes ever (not to say it's the only one, by any stretch), and probably my favourite of Polsky's episodes so far this season. And about what was formerly a supporting character!

And I think the lack of jokes really hints at the confidence of the writers, but also of the confidence Hasbro has in the show, and how loose the leash is on the team in some respects. The writers have enough confidence in the show to do a basically gag-free pure character episode, and Hasbro lets them. I remember Lauren mentioned a Big Mac episode she wanted to do with almost no dialogue, but Hasbro stopped her developing it. At this point, I honestly think they could get away with that. Which is pretty exciting for the show, going forward.


(also P.S. Pictish, I liked it so much more the second time, honestly. First time I think I was worrying about how it was all going to play out, but it is so fucking delightful on re-watch)
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Postby Tears (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:03 pm

Niels Olof wrote:
I think not. Sure, she was jealous, but she felt terrible about it. Rarity is much, much more self-aware than Sweetie Belle (and an altogether nicer person. “Beautiful heart”, remember?)


I've loved all your write-ups on this ep Niels (and so many of everyone else's, some really really great critiques in this thread), but look at Rarity in the Cutie Mark Chronicles when she's snapping at her teacher for having the audacity to praise her insufficiently-bedazzled pageant costumes. I bet Rarity had the capacity to be a total hellion when she was a kid :vogue:
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:06 pm

I remember Lauren mentioned a Big Mac episode she wanted to do with almost no dialogue, but Hasbro stopped her developing it. At this point, I honestly think they could get away with that. Which is pretty exciting for the show, going forward.


That's an episode I would have liked to see. :eeyup:
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:07 pm

Well said, Tears. (edit: Oops, on your longer write-up, not the one mentioning me).

It occurs to me that we have seen significant character development somewhere else as well in this episode. Has Opalescence ever shown... concern before?
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:14 pm

Tears wrote:
I've loved all your write-ups on this ep Niels (and so many of everyone else's, some really really great critiques in this thread), but look at Rarity in the Cutie Mark Chronicles when she's snapping at her teacher for having the audacity to praise her insufficiently-bedazzled pageant costumes. I bet Rarity had the capacity to be a total hellion when she was a kid :vogue:


Indubitably (and the "A ROCK!?" incident demonstrated that she also had a temper back then). Sister like sister. Happily, Rarity grew up, and matured. As will Sweetie Belle, no doubt. She's grown considerable in this very episode.
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Postby Tears (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:27 pm

Niels Olof wrote:
Indubitably (and the "A ROCK!?" incident demonstrated that she also had a temper back then). Sister like sister. Happily, Rarity grew up, and matured. As will Sweetie Belle, no doubt. She's grown considerable in this very episode.


I love how their similarities and differences, and how they can be similar even when they think they're being different :wat: :amazed:

I don't want a straight sequel to Cutie Mark Chronicles, but I'd love a low stakes flashback episode just to see Rarity being a little madam when she was a kid.

Actually, a straight sequel to Cutie Mark Chronicles is exactly what I want. Tia writers.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:40 pm

Tears wrote:
I love how their similarities and differences, and how they can be similar even when they think they're being different :wat: :amazed:

I don't want a straight sequel to Cutie Mark Chronicles, but I'd love a low stakes flashback episode just to see Rarity being a little madam when she was a kid.

Actually, a straight sequel to Cutie Mark Chronicles is exactly what I want. Tia writers.


I would love to see more of Rarity's foalhood. I wonder if their parents were as absent back then?

A very nice aspect of the episode btw was seeing that being a great big sister is not a recent development for Rarity—she was really trying her best at Sweetie Belle's fifth birthday. A good thing that Sweetie Belle later fell in with a nicer crowd.
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:42 pm

ThunderBunny wrote:
I see someone about to mess with Rarity and I'm like I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!!! :rant:


My sentiments exactly. :vogue:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:45 pm

It also didn't help that Sweetie was being insufferable, so her getting her comeuppance has you rooting for Rarity on this one.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:47 pm

On the "talkiness" point, I want to point out what is possible the Polskiest Polsky scene since the train-car in Over a Barrel: the sequence of Sweetie Belle lying in bed and too pissed off to sleep.

Tossing and turning. Punching her pillow. Going into the bathroom to get a drink. Just completely consumed with the emotions roiling through her head and the images of the fantasy monster she's ginned up her sister to be.

The show takes its time conveying these feelings, letting them play out nice and deliberately, and with a minimum of out-loud soliloquizing too—even though it's only Sweetie Belle on her own, without anyone else present to converse with, all her body language and the passage of time and the nicely textured music (seriously, punching her pillow) make the point as thoroughly and organically as we could wish.



I feel like I also want to comment more on the "Sweetie Belle's magic" thing. I think it's pretty noteworthy that they had her use it in this episode, and specifically in a way that wasn't really a plot point. I feel like the way the episodes have played out recently, with Twilight Time establishing clearly and unmistakably that the show wants us to know that she can levitate things now, is significant in some way. And they took full advantage of that fact by having her use magic to undo the stitch and to close the box back up. Yet it seems like they didn't have to do it that way. Sweetie could have sewn using her mouth (she's done it before, though of course not well :v: ). It ultimately wasn't important to the story that she be magic-enabled. It made it a little more believable, but it didn't come off as something that had to have been set up properly by prior developments in order to make sense.

I think what I'm saying is that at least with what we've seen thus far, the "Sweetie's magic arc" isn't so much an arc as it is just a sequence of episodes that have to take place in a clearly defined order. There isn't really an endgame to it, unless of course one is still to come. It's just an indication that the show has hurled to the four winds any directive that the episodes must all be able to be rebroadcast in any order without context.
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Postby die Fledermaus (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:39 am

ClaudiaZG wrote:But like if you don't relate this:

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to this:
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You're wrong

Can't believe that reference, best episode ever :awesomedash:


Yea that was my first thought too, great little moment.
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:47 am

Headless Horse wrote:On the "talkiness" point, I want to point out what is possible the Polskiest Polsky scene since the train-car in Over a Barrel: the sequence of Sweetie Belle lying in bed and too pissed off to sleep.

Tossing and turning. Punching her pillow. Going into the bathroom to get a drink. Just completely consumed with the emotions roiling through her head and the images of the fantasy monster she's ginned up her sister to be.

The show takes its time conveying these feelings, letting them play out nice and deliberately, and with a minimum of out-loud soliloquizing too—even though it's only Sweetie Belle on her own, without anyone else present to converse with, all her body language and the passage of time and the nicely textured music (seriously, punching her pillow) make the point as thoroughly and organically as we could wish.

On a bad night, I do this a lot too. :-I Poni really managed to hit home on that part.
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Postby DaBatGuy (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:50 am

This episode is much better on its second viewing, the first time I watched it I found Sweetie's actions in the first act to be really forced but once I understood what happened on her birthday her behavior was understandable. I really love how this episode developed Sweetie Belle as a character and gave her more individuality among the CMC. She’s more than just the squeaky mini-marshmallow pony, we got to see some her past, her motivation, her desires and her potential to become very malicious.

What really great about this story is that it would only work with Sweetie Belle thus showing that the CMC have enough depth as character to not be interchangeable in most situations. Applebloom could become upset with her sister in certain situations but she has enough experience working on the farm to understand the consequences of intentionally harming the business and Scootaloo idolizes Dash too much to ever become jealous or vengeful to her.

While I still enjoy Sisterhooves Social a little bit more I have to commend this episode for fixing a small nitpick/missed opportunity in the former episode. I feel that the only thing keeping Sis. Soc. from being a perfect episode is the lacking of reference to the relationship of the royal sisters. It didn’t have to be a plot point, just having the last few seconds be the princesses reading the letter together would have been enough. FWTSBT goes a step further and uses Luna and her past as a plot point to teach Sweetie Belle.

My only complaint would be the dolphin stitch idea Sweetie had which didn’t make much sense. Yes, Sweetie saw dolphins in her dreams but at no point was it established that the dolphins were from Sapphire Shore’s dream and not just random dream imagery. Simply showing Sapphire swimming with the dolphins during the dream sequence would have been enough to fix that plot point.
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Postby Big Boss (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:01 am

DaBatGuy wrote:My only complaint would be the dolphin stitch idea Sweetie had which didn’t make much sense. Yes, Sweetie saw dolphins in her dreams but at no point was it established that the dolphins were from Sapphire Shore’s dream and not just random dream imagery. Simply showing Sapphire swimming with the dolphins during the dream sequence would have been enough to fix that plot point.


The implication is that Princess Luna told her. Luna's the NSA of dreams. :speakest:
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:07 am

kefkafloyd wrote:
The implication is that Princess Luna told her. Luna's the NSA of dreams. :speakest:


That would really make Inception very difficult...

:twismug: Alright, so now that we're in the first dream layer, you're going to-
:unenthused: What do you think you're doing?
:sheepish: Oh... what a pleasant surprise to see you here...
:unenthused: Out.
:-I Got it.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:14 am

Dolphins were on SShores' stage in the Luna!future nightmare scenario as well. Luna was indeed pretty much Celestia here - had the outcome all set up from the beginning.
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Postby Pocket (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:29 am

ClaudiaZG wrote:Image

My first thought actually was a scene from Home Improvement where Tim complains that Jill has four different red belts, and she clarifies that, no, "these are scarlet, crimson, ruby, vermillion. What I need, is a red belt."

It also puts me in mind of the MLP Wikia's obsession with using the most precise color names they can find for the characters' colors, even when it's clear that not even the editors would have a clue what those color names mean if they hadn't looked it up just then.
Orange Fluffy Sheep wrote:i am not ready for the transhumanist revolution to begin with my butt
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Postby Kitsune (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:37 am

I'm not familiar with names, but having worked with pixel art, no, it is not simply all red :snobtavia:

Kinda surprised I haven't made a post here, but I'm late on seeing the episode so I don't have much to say that hasn't been said.

Episode was a really solid attempt at a more dramatic story than the usual comedy, and it was nice to see these four - Rarity, Sweetie, Luna, Sapphire Shores - in different contexts than we usually see them.

Also I loved the bit on the train because it was like 'hey remember AB and Scoots who aren't really as invested in this' and 'hey remember how Sapphire Shores actually has a job'. I just really like it when stories introduce those little realistic details that don't really matter; it's nice to see characters having actual lives and preferences and stuff outside of the plot.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:50 am

Headless Horse wrote:I feel like I also want to comment more on the "Sweetie Belle's magic" thing. I think it's pretty noteworthy that they had her use it in this episode, and specifically in a way that wasn't really a plot point. I feel like the way the episodes have played out recently, with Twilight Time establishing clearly and unmistakably that the show wants us to know that she can levitate things now, is significant in some way. And they took full advantage of that fact by having her use magic to undo the stitch and to close the box back up. Yet it seems like they didn't have to do it that way. Sweetie could have sewn using her mouth (she's done it before, though of course not well :v: ). It ultimately wasn't important to the story that she be magic-enabled. It made it a little more believable, but it didn't come off as something that had to have been set up properly by prior developments in order to make sense.

I think what I'm saying is that at least with what we've seen thus far, the "Sweetie's magic arc" isn't so much an arc as it is just a sequence of episodes that have to take place in a clearly defined order. There isn't really an endgame to it, unless of course one is still to come. It's just an indication that the show has hurled to the four winds any directive that the episodes must all be able to be rebroadcast in any order without context.

Something to consider is that there isn't a general assumption in our media for this sort of thing. If there were some viewer for whom this was unfortunately his or her first episode, the tiny unicorn doing magic just like her sister is completely natural. And of course, hardcore fans like us have seen every episode and know how she learned magic, so it's only for casual viewers who happened to miss Twilight Time and/or skip around a bunch that this would be weird. Now of course, that latter group will continue to grow as FiM works its way into syndication, so you do still have a point here.
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Postby Just Scuds (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:40 am

That's right. She started by shooting sparks, and then struggling to levitate a broom, and now she can do the same light telekinesis most unicorns already do on a day to day basis. It just happened as a manner of course; the story between the story. Also, Note how the glowy magic matches the color of her eyes.

We're seeing Scootaloo fly a bit further off the ground, too. And we also see Applebloom doing more of whatever it is that earth ponies do.


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Why yes. I am a tiny unicorn. Heh.

Of course she's a long way away from something Rarity can do
Bolt of Cloth + Dress Horse = Dress
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And of course, Twi:

:wingsright: :"Need a spell to reverse gravity? Sure, I can do that. Need to turn into a Breezy? No problem."
Last edited by Just Scuds on Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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So u should - never, ever go by the letter
U're so cool - Everything u do is success
Make the rules
Then break them all cuz u are the best


(Or just be making the best of this sloppy dog's breakfast of a situation. Damn Pinkie.)
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:42 am

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:That's right. She started by shooting sparks, and then struggling to levitate a broom, and now she can do the same light telekinesis most unicorns already do on a day to day basis. It just happened as a manner, of course.
Also, we're seeing Scootaloo fly a bit further off the ground. And we also see Applebloom doing more of whatever it is that earth ponies do.


Prehensile tail stuff :sweet:
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