My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Page 72

1) That introductory song is soooo obnoxious...
2) After reading that post about the characters, meeting them officially for the first time was fun, thinking about them and thinking about how stereotypical they would look to a first time viewer... so I agree, this would be a bad intro episode
3) In cartoon world, pony faces don't have the subtlety to express being-offended-but-trying-to-hide-it, Twilight had so many hoof-in-mouth moments... but they must have felt it, which means every person their had the grace to ignore Twilight's foux paus (sp??? I never have the cause to use that phrase, plus I have no idea how to pluralize it. Foux pi? lol)
4) The story of Celestia and Nightmare definitely had that myth feel to it, where the truth of things is obscured by time and exaggeration, but the core of the story must have some truth to it. Celestia's message to Twilight also had that stink of "Shoo shoo, you're getting too close to things I don't want you to know about." I thought that the Nightmare thing would be part of a plot line that only gets revealed bit by bit over the length of the season, and the character herself might make an appearance by the end of the season. I was disappointed when she showed up by the end of the episode. Uncool. I'll have to see where it goes in the next episode.

And... character responses! (warning: a lot of this will be random rambling)

Twilight - she is definitely the character I would have identified most with, no hesitation, a few years back. But the thing is... it's actually more than just a few years back, from my perspective. When I was in elementary school I was the pensive type wandering around during recess time, reading while at home, socializing only with two or three good friends. As time went on, the number of friends I had expanded... and also various elements of my character. I'm only 19, but "bookworm" stopped being able to define me half a life time ago.

Apple - Southern accents have always annoyed the heck out of me, despite being born and raised in the South (Florida), but not all are bad, certainly not a toned down version like Apple's. The reason I mention it is because there is one thing I do like about certain Southern accents that has nothing to do with audial quality and everything to do with culture, and that is the sense of courtesy that comes along with it. Courtesy sometimes brings to mind the connotation of manners like "Keep your shoulders off the table when you're eating" and all that other nonsense, but I'm talking about the kind of courtesy that says "You're my neighbor, which means we are going to get along just fine, neighbor!" There's this unashamed, unmitigated openness that Apple has that is impossible to dislike, even if it's not your particular cup of tea.*

Did that make any sense whatsoever?

Fast talker - I think we've all been programmed to automatically tune out kids who speak in this manner... probably because if they're spouting this many words, than it's not really important, but when a kid slows down and speaks more quietly, then that's actually when to listen up. I don't know, because I haven't spent any time around kids, and it's not something I made not about when I was a kid. Regardless... I absolutely LOVE her actions upon meeting Twilight: "What's this? A newcomer? Eek! She must be lonely without any friends here. Must welcome her to our home!" which she thinks all in the space of a split second (and it's realistic too, because thoughts can progress with a complexity such that language cannot encapsulate it with any speed, if our brains happen upon a correct sort of abstraction to nibble on), which not only goes hand in hand with Apple's entire courtesy thing I mentioned, but is sooooo cute

Which brings me, of course, to Fluttershy. Watching episode 7 left me lamenting the inanity of the plot and dialogue, but now I can appreciate just how besmokingly cute she is. And I just made up the word "besmokingly;" your guess is as good as mine to what it means

No comment about Fashion Sense at the moment, except that I want to say something about the dragon's reaction to her. His instant crush on her felt weird to me, and I'm sure it's a sign that Fashion's natural beauty matches her beauty of apparel or mane (because young boys don't fall in love for good reasons), but... I guess there's something ingrained in me where if I see a girl going on like that about fashion, and she's speaking with the prestigious British accent (I don't know what that accent is actually called but I've got to distinguish it from the myriads of more fun accents from the Isles) as well... I guess it's an automatic turn-off until I get to know her better (damn first reactions! Boys don't do anything for good reasons, apparently)

OOOOOOOOOh. And I forgot about Rainbow Dash. Though I somehow remembered her name. Weird. Anyway... cool stuffs, I mainly think about the entire "Her aspirations are high but she does her job well damnit so give her respect" and also "chaotic boyish." She should be fun... hopefully

*When I speak of accents, I'm pretty sure no group of people in the real world have accents that are anything like those of Rarity and Applejack. Any accent is possible - imagine a Singaporean who learned English from a British instructor and who has spent the last twenty years in Tennessee - but, despite being just an American, I think I can tell when an accent is more likely contrived than it is from an actual locality or some collective demographic not mainstream. In other words, that ain't Southern that I've heard before, and that wasn't British that I've heard before... but again, anything is possible

SHADOW VOICES: We've been waiting for the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.
RAINBOW DASH: Who's that?
SHADOW VOICES: Why, you Rainbow.
RAINBOW DASH: Really? I mean, uh, of course!

SHADOW VOICES: We've been waiting for the fastest flyer of all Equestria.
RAINBOW DASH: There are many who would dispute who that pony might be.
SHADOW VOICES: True, but I think we both agree that your claim to the title is the strongest.
RAINBOW DASH: Fastest, you mean!
SHADOW VOICES: Haha, yes indeed...

Oh god, that was painful to watch. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cheesy, so... I guess "NOT SUBTLE" might be the best way to put it.

I think this is the part where the Adult in the room goes off to get a drink or check his email or something because he already knows what's going to happen, while the child watching goes "Wooooooooooah, she saved the day!" or whatever =/

--

Also, I don't get how the evil Nightmare sister would turn to crying and regretful and loving all at the turn of... nothing. Either she's acting, or there were some unexplained magics involved, or she's got some serious split personality going on. I understand how a powerful revelation can completely change a person's mind (in extremely rare cases), I just don't see it happening here

What to do if I was in Twilight's shoes?

First off, gauge how much I want to go to the Gala (sp?), and then try to figure out if giving away both tickets would be offensive to Celestia. Not that I'd actually give both away; I just like considering all my options.

Then... we have a pool of 5 potential picks, each with various arguments or desires, enumerated thusly:
1) Sell apples > better business > gold > fix up barn + equipment + get granny a new hip
2) Get a chance to show off flying skills, for another chance to join the flying team
3) Explore the garden
4) Explore the party stuffs
5) Meet the one true love

Ignoring any other considerations for the moment, Apple has by far the most practical of arguments. She has a very reasonable chance of earning that business, I would think, which means she can do actual, long lasting good. Contrast that to Rainbow, who has a much lower probability of success; double goes for Fashion Sense. I'd give Apple the ticket right now but for my second thought: this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if so, that means 3 and 4 stand to gain an experience that is invaluable in a way that Apple's gold would not be. However, it would be impossible to decide whether to give it to Fluttershy or Pinky (Pinkie?), which means giving it to Apple would also be the easier choice.

Other considerations:

1) Fluttershy is the only one of the bunch who did not presume that she would be selected to go see the Gala with Twilight. Every one of the other ponies immediately assumed the extra ticket was for her, and jumped all over Twilight for it. Only Fluttershy asked.
2) I'm guessing the show is going to deus ex machina their way out, as is typical for shows... or stories in general. There will either be a sixth choice, or some clever incident that changes the situation. The only other character I know of is Spike, unless they introduce someone new. It's also possible that Twilight will ask a third party uninterested in going to the Gala - oh, Spike of course! - their advice on who should attend the Gala. Or...
3) Twilight could make every pony there vote for somebody else to get a ticket! It would be an anonymous vote (except Twilight gets to see it, so she can prevent cheating), and with five ponies voting the chance of tie would be low (and in the event that a tie does happen, I guess they could do a random draw). All it takes is for some of them to agree that Apple's pragmatic reasoning is best, or any of the others' dreams (maybe they're all romantics at heart and three of them vote for Fashion Sense, for example), and you've got your solution. Now that I've thought of it, it's what I would do, because it also avoids bad feelings: Nobody will resent me, because I will have no (or little) hand in the choice, and nobody can resent anybody in particular, and nobody should feel too bad if they don't get picked.

Damnit. There was another character to consider besides Spike, and I completely forgot about her. The sixth choice being none at all, combined with teacher-student bargaining, and of course the cleverness from the character. That should have been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay obvious. Though, I guess I was having a lot more fun considering the real life scenario (how to choose between five friends), and in the real life scenario you only get two tickets. But still, I'm embarrassed that I didn't see that.

Okay I realize that the repeated teleportation on Twilight's part while speaking with Applejack is just a nice way to move the scene/conversation/camera/whatever along. But... magic as powerful as teleportation should be treated and handled with respect, as in, have Twilight only perform it whenever necessary because it should be exhaustive.
/endrant

Wait, large (area wise, not mass) scale telekinesis too?
/I said endrant!

Episode as a whole: It's kind of annoying to see the conflict and resolution both shown in the same space of a breath (apples need knocking down? Herd of bulls!***) but it would be a good introductory episode to any studious college kid or anybody who's currently stressed... and good enough for anybody who's ever worked too hard. Which I would hope is like 99% of people on this planet. It's just so hard not to sympathize... but, on the other hand... I don't know. Still missing that something I'm hoping for... though, lol at the muffins. And the stampede of bunnies. I mean... come on.

Stampede of bunnies!! Haha

***That's how you can tell I'm often writing these as I watch, rather than after. I was utterly certain at that moment that the bulls would help her gather the apples. Didn't happen. Much belated edit when I realized a couple days later. lol

Oh god not high school.

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