My Little Pony LVI:S Has Left the Playground!

[Anarion]

In an odd twist if fate, I only managed to find the episode by trying to figure out what was up with all the gak.

In future weeks, make sure to check out Equestria Daily's stream/discussion post.

[Deadly]

Regarding Crystal Ponies

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I think the idea was that the kingdom was highly magical. Maybe the crystals work like magic amplifiers or it's located at a magical nexus or something? They never said that the crystal ponies were the source of all positive feelings, what they said was that good feelings from the crystal kingdom would emanate outwards over the land and evil power from Sombra would do the same thing. So I'm definitely thinking magical nexus of some sort. Perhaps crystal itself is a magically conductive substance in Equestria?

I also agree that they seem like an earth pony variant. Their association with a magical material may make them have some latent magic though, so it's not unreasonable that when they collectively channel their emotions into a crystal artifact that it has a widespread affect.

That makes sense to me, and seems fairly reasonable.


Also, damn, why is the 1080p version taking so loooooong, I want it now

[Trixie]

....wait is there a King Sombra toy? That is so badass, he is definitely my favourite villain, appearance-wise, if there is a toy I must have it!

I don't think so. In fact, outside of one exception, I don't think theories about anything added to show as marketing ploy ever turned out to be true.

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For me, my rating of villains would be Discord > Chrysalis > Nightmare Moon > King Sombra. As you've noted, DeLancie does a lot to sell the character, and he could have been much less entertaining. However, I have to disagree with you on some points; for example, if Discord had been a simple bit of chaos magic, he wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining; he couldn't have corrupted the mane six; he'd have been defeated in short order.

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Why not? We saw Sombra's trap corrupt Twilight and Spike, down to green eyes, and that was inanimate object, not even force of nature. Just have high concentrations of Chaotic magic affect ponies adversely or something. Discord's gag were mostly visual ones, that can be done with unintelligent object, too.

Something else that bumps Discord to the top of this list for me: he won. He took out Celestia's crack squad, turned them against each other, and so thoroughly broke their leader that she no longer cared. Arguably, he was more powerful than Celestia and Luna, since they needed the elements of harmony to beat him before, and they did nothing as he raged across the country. Only through sending letters to her student could Celestia do anything at all.

Eh, I disagree here. He didn't won - he deus ex machina'd his way to win. Fluttershy scene ruined corruption by showing us he didn't really needed to bother trying with them. Following episodes ruined corruption entirely by showing ponies can act far worse than discorded ones on their free will - such sa Rageshy being worse than Rudeshy, or Twilightmad worse than Twilightsad. It's really hard to car about deus ex machina that doesn't do anything bad (Twilight's mind rape looked a lot more worse than Discord's...), really, then loses sure victory through sheer stupidity, by, say, failing to notice defeated ponies are no longer grey. Discord had easy way to win, and worked really hard to lose. Chrysalis, for example, had easy way to lose, yet managed to win without cheap deus ex machinas.

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Same with Sombra, he really looked and acted dangerous, if only through his traps, and to be honest, dark side of the force makes better villain than lame jokes.

Had Discord needed more than snap fingers, actually did something bad, and went down fighting instead of gazing on obviously re-armed opponents with slowly charging weapon, maybe he could have been great. But as it is, he fails to cause any emotions but laughter.

Just because Rainbow is a jerk sometimes doesn't mean that she's incapable of tenderness; for example, Hurricane Fluttershy. She holds herself back, is gentler than normal, and respects Fluttershy's wishes.

The same Rainbow that dumped a bucket of cold water on head of supposedly ill friend only to drag them off to highly stressful activity? Or fought Fluttershy with potentially lethal weapons? I'm sorry, but I really don't see that

[Soras Teva Gee]

I don't think so. In fact, outside of one exception, I don't think theories about anything added to show as marketing ploy ever turned out to be true.

You mean aside from Cadance, and Cadance being an alicorn?

[Anarion]

You mean aside from Cadance, and Cadance being an alicorn?

Also the balloon, the train, Carousel Boutique, pets, Twilight's magical wing spell, and the gala dresses.

[Soras Teva Gee]

Some Amazing Episode Art:

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[Eakin]

Why Am I feeling that the first two episodes are

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just the beginning for last two episodes. Maybe King Sombra grew from the horn and began to wreck havoc on Equestria (See Desolated Apple Acres and Carousel Boutique Screenshots might be either his rule or nightmare and fear of Applejack and Rarity).

On the speculation:

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What is the beginning of Crystal Ponies?
- Earth Ponies who were mutated from Crystal Hearts.
- Product of Extensive Unicorn- Earth Pony interracial romance, ala Bretons from Elderscrolls.
- Magic Shampoo that shines when they are happy.
Scootaloo is
- an orphan?
- a pegasus raised by earth pony parents, thus her inability to fly (Maybe she fell from the clouds as a baby and fell into a cabbage patch).

Ponies generally have a pretty symbiotic relationship with their surroundings anyway so I'd say

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Crystal ponies were influenced by the Heart over many generations. I think all the crystal around that area has the same property, not just the heart

III 1, III 2 [Geekery]

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Mention was made of Reverse Gravity, but this two-parter also shows, IMHO, that Twilight can cast Desecrate to turn the throne room into dark crystal and reveal the secret passage (from the animation it's clear this was an [evil] spell), Detect Secret Doors to know the throne room was the spot to do so, Dread Bolt to still the moving door at the bottom of the secret passage (another [evil] spell), and Passwall to blast that door out of the wall. Two of those aren't on the Wizard list, but we've already seen her cast Animate Objects, and that isn't on the Wizard list either.

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Secret door could have just been a lucky guess rather than a spell, and how much of the darkness comes from her is up for debate. The crstal focus could either just channel power or it could actively enhance it. It did seem clear that she was channeling something evil though. I was surprised they let that go by without comment or even a throwaway line about self control.

So this was brought up on another board (S3):

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Crystal ponies seem to be a fourth pony type, similar to earth ponies, but they have crystalline eyes and their appearance improves along with their mood.

But what's their schtick? Earth ponies are in tune with naute, unicorns have magic, pegasi have flight and weather control, but what place do the crystal ponies have in Equestria?

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Add me to the category of emotions/spirit. They're in tune with the emotion enhancing crystals they live around the same way Earth ponies are in tune with the Earth, Pegasi with the air, etc. etc

[Maxtronaut]

LOOK AT ALL THESE SPOILER TAGS!

Oh, I also got a vinyl Derpy figure. I will never have to go to the mall again.

[MCerberus]

Episode

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I prefer to think that her immortality has warped her ability to sense the flow of time as a normal pony does. While she has a daily routine, after a few years time just seems to blend.

NMM? Thousand years
Crystal Ponies? Thousand Years
Discord? Wait that was before NMM... Two thousand years!
That time she and the griffin ambassador got really drunk on cider and she can't remember all of that night? Thousand years.

[Anarion]

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I prefer to think that her immortality has warped her ability to sense the flow of time as a normal pony does. While she has a daily routine, after a few years time just seems to blend.

NMM? Thousand years
Crystal Ponies? Thousand Years
Discord? Wait that was before NMM... Two thousand years!
That time she and the griffin ambassador got really drunk on cider and she can't remember all of that night? Thousand years.

I guess that's one way to explain how Luna ended up on the moon.

[Balmas]

Some Amazing Episode Art:

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This fandom amazes me. Assuming they started the instant the episode started streaming, whoever made this did it in under six hours; five, if they started at the end.

Eh, I disagree here. He didn't won - he deus ex machina'd his way to win. Fluttershy scene ruined corruption by showing us he didn't really needed to bother trying with them. Following episodes ruined corruption entirely by showing ponies can act far worse than discorded ones on their free will - such sa Rageshy being worse than Rudeshy, or Twilightmad worse than Twilightsad. It's really hard to car about deus ex machina that doesn't do anything bad (Twilight's mind rape looked a lot more worse than Discord's...), really, then loses sure victory through sheer stupidity, by, say, failing to notice defeated ponies are no longer grey. Discord had easy way to win, and worked really hard to lose. Chrysalis, for example, had easy way to lose, yet managed to win without cheap deus ex machinas.

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Same with Sombra, he really looked and acted dangerous, if only through his traps, and to be honest, dark side of the force makes better villain than lame jokes.

Had Discord needed more than snap fingers, actually did something bad, and went down fighting instead of gazing on obviously re-armed opponents with slowly charging weapon, maybe he could have been great. But as it is, he fails to cause any emotions but laughter.

I don't see how the ability to deus-ex-machina your way to victory makes him a weaker villain.

Certainly, he lost because he had a moment of stupidity. In his defense, however, he thought he'd won. He'd seen their leader be discorded; the elements hadn't worked before; why should they now?

But yeah, it was stupid how he got beaten.


As for RD: The same RD who knew that her friend was faking sick. The same Rainbow Dash who pushed her friend to exceed. The same RD who left her job because her friend was crying. Rainbow Dash, the pony who is blunt with everypony else, toning it down and speaking gently to a hurt friend.

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As for the lethality, I'm fairly sure that I saw blunt tips on those lances. Besides, who else could she pick? AJ was guarding the stone, Pinkie was being pinkie, Rarity was manning a stall... Fluttershy was standing next to a petting zoo, not really doing anything. If anything, picking Fluttershy over Pinkie Pie could be seen as wishing to spend more time with Fluttershy.

[Eakin]

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I prefer to think that her immortality has warped her ability to sense the flow of time as a normal pony does. While she has a daily routine, after a few years time just seems to blend.

NMM? Thousand years
Crystal Ponies? Thousand Years
Discord? Wait that was before NMM... Two thousand years!
That time she and the griffin ambassador got really drunk on cider and she can't remember all of that night? Thousand years.

I'm taking this one step further and making it my new head-canon: One Thousand Years is literally the only interval of time Celestia understands.

C: My faithful student, your next lesson in magic will take place in ONE THOUSAND YEARS!
T: So, same time next Thursday?
C:...Yes

[MCerberus]

No, Celestia understands weeks and days of the week. We've seen this when she accidentally? (hint: no, this is Celestia) trolls Twilight after she breaks into the Starswirl wing.

[Balmas]

Logical Consequences:

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Potential header image for the next thread? S3

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[Eakin]

No, Celestia understands weeks and days of the week. We've seen this when she accidentally? (hint: no, this is Celestia) trolls Twilight after she breaks into the Starswirl wing.

Maybe she just says everything was a thousand years ago so historians don't constantly pester her with questions about what happened. They know she'll just troll them.

You know what? This is going on my list of future fanfic premises.

Behind the last 4 chapters of Duel Nature...

And the Die-Hard-meets-Groundhog-Day fic...

And the Daring Do/Lovecraft fic...

And Always Has Been...

I have too many ideas.

[SiuiS]

So, ponies. Crystal ones.

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I enjoyed it.

[Anarion]

No, Celestia understands weeks and days of the week. We've seen this when she accidentally? (hint: no, this is Celestia) trolls Twilight after she breaks into the Starswirl wing.

I think she's probably good up through a decade or so. She might have 5-year plans for the kingdom, and she probably remembers when Twilight was a foal.

It's just that long stretches of time blur together, so that the time she accidentally bankrupted the cake industry 783 years ago, and the problems with the crystal empire before Luna's banishment are all "1000" years ago as far as she's concerned.

Logical Consequences:

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Potential header image for the next thread? S3

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Haha, those are great!

[Balmas]

So, ponies. Crystal ones.

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I enjoyed it.

I believe that this is the shortest post I've ever heard from you.

On the origin of Gak:

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[BlasTech]

As far as I can tell from the ponythread spoiler comments:

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This episode was bad and peeps should feel bad for making it.

My S3 Thoughts

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I think I have a new favourite two parter.

Sure, Discord was probably a better villain, but at least this one felt better in terms of pacing, tension, songs and overall enjoyment. The first five minutes and last five minutes of S2 premiere are where it's most egregious. By contrast, I don't have anything bad to say about this episode honestly, only that the whole "future studies" thing has me worried about what direction that is going to take and how it might be handled.

So ... to sum up. Best. Premiere. EVER!

Pinkie is best spy, the Fluttersuit gag made me crack up. The Dark Door scenes got me in the feels. Seeing everyone working together during the fair felt almost bang in character to me. Sure RD was a bit more abrasive than normal, I'll put that to her being on edge.

I loved both songs, rythem felt a teeny bit off, but I figured that was just to mix it up a bit. I appreciated the reprise at the end the most I think, especially when Rarity kicked it off and everyone else backed Twi up.

Sombra was more a force of nature than a villain, so his appearances (or lack therof) were fine in my mind and really felt menacing; I was genuinely worried for Shining when he stayed behind in the opening five minutes.

Yay more Luna!

Pinkie yelling "Flugelhorn" into the horn while blowing it was a nice touch.

I was so sure the heart was under that carpet after Spike got told off.

Twilight + books was adorable. Twilight + gravity was OP. Twilight + dark magic is scary.

Stairs ... why did it have to be stairs.

I went in to this fairly spoil-free. I only had some vague picture of Crystallion in my head due to stumbling along some fanart, and I knew that Cadence and SA would return sometime in S3, wasn't sure about here.

Scientific proof™ that spoilers reduce episode enjoyment? Or just proof that I'm easy to please?

Just so that this isn't completely spoilers, have a spoiler free imagebomb. Fresh from today's drawfriend.

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[Winthur]

So after the

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obvious Zerg invasion

in the last season's end, this season 3 episode

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really makes me wonder if Blizzard has former employees currently working in Hasbro

[Dusk Eclipse]

My S3 Thoughts

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I think I have a new favourite two parter.

Sure, Discord was probably a better villain, but at least this one felt better in terms of pacing, tension, songs and overall enjoyment. The first five minutes and last five minutes of S2 premiere are where it's most egregious. By contrast, I don't have anything bad to say about this episode honestly, only that the whole "future studies" thing has me worried about what direction that is going to take and how it might be handled.

So ... to sum up. Best. Premiere. EVER!

Pinkie is best spy, the Fluttersuit gag made me crack up. The Dark Door scenes got me in the feels. Seeing everyone working together during the fair felt almost bang in character to me. Sure RD was a bit more abrasive than normal, I'll put that to her being on edge.

I loved both songs, rythem felt a teeny bit off, but I figured that was just to mix it up a bit. I appreciated the reprise at the end the most I think, especially when Rarity kicked it off and everyone else backed Twi up.

Sombra was more a force of nature than a villain, so his appearances (or lack therof) were fine in my mind and really felt menacing; I was genuinely worried for Shining when he stayed behind in the opening five minutes.

Yay more Luna!

Pinkie yelling "Flugelhorn" into the horn while blowing it was a nice touch.

I was so sure the heart was under that carpet after Spike got told off.

Twilight + books was adorable. Twilight + gravity was OP. Twilight + dark magic is scary.

Stairs ... why did it have to be stairs.

I went in to this fairly spoil-free. I only had some vague picture of Crystallion in my head due to stumbling along some fanart, and I knew that Cadence and SA would return sometime in S3, wasn't sure about here.

Scientific proof™ that spoilers reduce episode enjoyment? Or just proof that I'm easy to please?

Just so that this isn't completely spoilers, have a spoiler free imagebomb. Fresh from today's drawfriend.

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To be honest I prefer the Royal wedding as a 2 parter, the songs are simply so awesome; but I agree the premier isn't bad.

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Btw, am I the only one who kinda prefers the crystal ponies look when they are more depressed? I don't like the implications; but their happy, cut-gem looks doesn't appeal that much to me. >_> <_< I am little weird like that.

[Anarion]

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Btw, am I the only one who kinda prefers the crystal ponies look when they are more depressed? I don't like the implications; but their happy, cut-gem looks doesn't appeal that much to me. >_> <_< I am little weird like that.

Crystal pony looks

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I don't like the flat and straightened manes. It makes them look very listless and weak. I do kind of like the muted colors though, it's an interesting contrast to most of the technicolor cast, and I wouldn't mind seeing regular ponies in the future that have more dark blue, grey, or burgundy in their coats, as those are all quite nice colors.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Crystal pony looks

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I don't like the flat and straightened manes. It makes them look very listless and weak. I do kind of like the muted colors though, it's an interesting contrast to most of the technicolor cast, and I wouldn't mind seeing regular ponies in the future that have more dark blue, grey, or burgundy in their coats, as those are all quite nice colors.

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I don't think the manes were the reason they looked so weak, for me it was more their stance with their heads low and how they dragged their hoofs on the ground. A more normal stance+that mane style would look pretty good in my opinion and I completely agree that seeing darker ponies would be very neat.

[BlasTech]

To be honest I prefer the Royal wedding as a 2 parter, the songs are simply so awesome; but I agree the premier isn't bad.

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Btw, am I the only one who kinda prefers the crystal ponies look when they are more depressed? I don't like the implications; but their happy, cut-gem looks doesn't appeal that much to me. >_> <_< I am little weird like that.

S3 related-ish

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Yeah, the canterlot wedding is pretty identical in terms of best-ness in my mind. The only thing I didn't like about that one was the whole "Hey look, love!!. What love? *Splat*" rushing of the ultimate confrontation.

Have a picture of a gryphon with a gun.

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[Soras Teva Gee]

So after the obvious Zerg invasion in the last season's end, this season 3 episode

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really makes me wonder if Blizzard has former employees currently working in Hasbro

Nope. To either.

There's really not anything there just some of the vaguest casual resemblances.

[MCerberus]

You know, since Gustaf, people have been getting pretty good using feather coloring to make griffins unique.

[Trixie]

Also the balloon, the train, Carousel Boutique, pets, Twilight's magical wing spell, and the gala dresses.

Except that all but 2 are not only in opening episode, but in the show pitch bible too. So, unless Faust added toy elements unasked, I just don't see it. Especially seeing a lot of pro-toy ideas were actually cut but Hasbro team from Faust drawings (and good riddance in most cases).

Train, maybe, but it also shown up in notes long before toy.

I don't see how the ability to deus-ex-machina your way to victory makes him a weaker villain.

Weaker in sense you're stopping caring. Let's take Ubercharge in TF2, it's great for breaking stalemates and actually forces enemy team to think about survival for 8 seconds, but let's suppose there is a class that can deploy it at will. What then? Most people facing it stop caring about the game and quit.

Certainly, he lost because he had a moment of stupidity. In his defense, however, he thought he'd won. He'd seen their leader be discorded; the elements hadn't worked before; why should they now?

Color coded for his convenience?

But never mind un-discording them. All he needed to do is stop Celestia from sending letters (or discord her too), turn them into cake, or take Elements as trophies and no one ever would be ever able to challenge him.

As for RD: The same RD who knew that her friend was faking sick. The same Rainbow Dash who pushed her friend to exceed. The same RD who left her job because her friend was crying. Rainbow Dash, the pony who is blunt with everypony else, toning it down and speaking gently to a hurt friend.

She knew Fs was faking? How?

You know, there is one moment that would convince me of RD/Fs shipping. Rainbow sees broken Fs leave field, cringes...

And promptly goes back to what she was doing. She mouths some excuse, but does not go comfort her, have moment of character growth, or cares past that. I'd agree seeing some care here, but as it is, all I see is Dash always dragging Fs without care for her feelings, only that Rainbow Dash has some company that can yell how RD is awesome. It's not shipping, it's narcissism.

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As for the lethality, I'm fairly sure that I saw blunt tips on those lances. Besides, who else could she pick? AJ was guarding the stone, Pinkie was being pinkie, Rarity was manning a stall... Fluttershy was standing next to a petting zoo, not really doing anything. If anything, picking Fluttershy over Pinkie Pie could be seen as wishing to spend more time with Fluttershy.

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Blunt tips or not, hit with a metal lance with kinetic energy of pony behind it can easily kill, and Fluttershy wasn't even wearing face protection.

Who could she call? Audience, for example, why not compete with some colts thus also ensuring they're too busy to ask about heart?

[Winthur]

Nope. To either.

There's really not anything there just some of the vaguest casual resemblances.

I figured as much, I just can't help connecting stuff like that for my own amusement. Especially after that very well done PonyCraft 2 video

...

DON'T RUIN MY FUN

STAY OUT OF MY SHED D:

[BlasTech]

S3 Premiere

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Something I just noticed on a rewatch, but there are some interesting architectural bits in the crystal empire. Namely that they use crystal gryphons and pegasi as statues.

Now to ponder what geopolitical implications this has with regards to a city that vanished for 1000 years.

<snipp'd>

You miiiight want to get rid of that post before a mod gets to it. I understand that linking to youtube eps direct isn't allowed on the boards.

[Trixie]

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All I can say to this is GAK >_<

Also, I totally thought about Smooze being Gak before that pic, in fact, that Trixie one still sort of haunts me :P

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I think I have a new favourite two parter.

I was so sure the heart was under that carpet after Spike got told off.

Stairs ... why did it have to be stairs.

Scientific proof™ that spoilers reduce episode enjoyment? Or just proof that I'm easy to please?

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Come to think of it, weren't stairs under carpet?

And second, IMHO :P

Regarding Twilight's failures:

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Dragonshy: Twilight didn't fail. She brought Fluttershy to deal with the dragon and it worked. Things just took longer than Twilight thought and her backup plan wasn't as good.

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I'd say it was the same as S3 opening - Twilight gets personal mission/test from Princess, almost gets everyone eaten, is saved last minute by Fluttershy. Why wasn't she worried this time?

Bridle Gossip: Nobody failed. Twilight was eventually convinced of something incorrect, but they solved the problem and learned to not dismiss a book by its cover.

Twilight let her friends railroad her from good, but flawed thinking into superstition and was cured (with others) by child intervention. She had no idea how to solve Joke on her own.

Swarm of the Century: Granted here. Twilight's spell failed to solve the problem and made it worse. Nobody seems to blame Twilight during the episode though, as the problem was so bad that any effort was considered justified at that point.

Yes, you could say Twilight tried her best, was sabotaged by Pinkie a few times, but in the end, she wanted to build replica of Ponyville in a minute. So, fail

Green isn't your Color: Sort of a failure. She actually reveals the secret to an empty room and it's only known because of Pinkie's cheater stalker powers.

I meant more listening to Pinkie at all and trying to solve the issue by hurting Fluttershy instead of having a talk with both without revealing secrets. Problem solved itself somehow, stil no points for Twi.

A Bird in the Hoof: They don't catch the bird, but Fluttershy and Twilight were both misinformed and Philomena is fine and recovers. The only failure is that they didn't ask Celestia about the problem, and that's Fluttershy more than Twilight.

Twilight idea to help: Tough luck baby! *force feeds ailing bird random stuff*

Lesson Zero: Admitted failure, but the whole point of the episode is that it doesn't really matter, what's important is taking friends seriously when they're worried about something.

And call the cops when the friend goes deep end of the pool?

I still don't think solving problems of others by causing disasters in the first place was good idea.

Cutie Pox: She succeeded in researching that it wasn't curable by normal means. Not sure I'd call that a failure.

I mean yes, but she was researching wrong thing (ancient disease instead of potion that had only similar results). Ok, not big fail, as asking someone trained in the field is good idea, but she still offered to do it herself and ran into the wall.

Secret of My Excess: I'd count this as a failure in that she's not able to contain Spike or find a cure before he goes out of control. Similar to the parasprites, the situation was adequately bad that nopony seems to blame Twilight.

Well, yes, but here, it was more knowing so little about he best friend and not alerting Celestia at once but going to local veterinarian. Which, incidentally, is incredibly demeaning to Spike or Pony vegetarians define their job differently.

It's About Time: No failure here, stable time loop. Twilight learns the lesson, no disaster happens, she had to go back in order to avoid a paradox.

Not the time loop part, the 'I'll avert disaster by FREEZING time forever!' part. It's kind of drastic and not solving the issue, don't you think?

Had Twilight had a bit more time to research that spell, it would have been the last episode ever