Fanfiction Review: Infallible

It's been quite a while, but the reviews have returned. And let's get it started in here with the Pegasus Rescue Brigade's offering, Infallible.

Ponies and Technology

Ponies and technology. Two good things that go great together, right? Well, yes and no.

Setting a hard technology level for Equestria is a real hassle for a number of reasons, all of which we'll hopefully be able to address. But suffice to say that Faust's intent was quickly moved away from in favor of convenience and expanding the possible stories, and for the most part I feel that was a good move. But if we're to approach ponies with machinery, just what is considered going “too far” and breaking the setting?

Thoughts on the Pets

We've looked at a lot of characters, haven't we? The Mane 6, Spike, Trixie, Celestia and Not-Celestia, and so forth. But you know who we haven't talked about? At all? None other than those lovable critters, the pony's pets. And since they're technically characters in their own right, why not take a look at them and see if there's anything to mine?

April Fools Day Review: So Many Ways to Play

Happy April Fools Day, everybody! I hope you're having fun with...whatever your favorite sites are doing this year, because there will be no hope and joy in this post. Today, we're going to use this holiday as an excuse to look back on the very last thing produced in G3.5 and see just how badly Faust and her team needed to swoop in and save this franchise.

Yes, we're looking at the infamous Newborn Cuties and one of the two animated straight-to-DVD cartoons bundled with the toys. This is So Many Ways to Play.

Thoughts on the Mane 6: Fluttershy

Well, here's the updated Fluttershy post, complete with discussions about that Discord episode.

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From the moment Fluttershy was introduced, she became one of the most popular (and celebrated) ponies in the fandom. Her first meeting with Twilight was one of the most awkward moments in the entirety of the pilot, and her sheer cuteness created such an indelible mark on the fan base that she quickly skyrocketed in the polls. Even better, however, was that large swaths of the first season was devoted to her. She got to take out dragons, defeat cockatrices, and destroy an entire ballroom, all without losing any of her cuteness.

And then Season 2 happened.

Fluttershy basically faded back into the ether for almost all of the season. Sure, she had a few appearances, but her importance in the series had almost sunken to Applejack levels by the time she finally got some time in the limelight again. Even worse, the writers were getting lazier and lazier with her, although this ties into one of her most important appearances in the first season. While she still ranked highly with a lot of Bronies, she wasn't the powerhouse she once was, as other characters had the chance to shine.

Season 3 initially did little to change that fact, as Fluttershy continued to be treated like a cowardly punchline in “The Crystal Empire” and “Magic Duel.” That changed, however, when Celestia entrusted our heroes with the task of reforming Discord. She was the only one who was willing to give the enterprise a chance, offering to become the fiend's friend if it would mean he'd stop tormenting ponies. And Discord proceeded to exploit this for all it was worth, ready to stick a knife into Fluttershy's back when the time was right and escape. Fortunately, our shy little mare was not a naive, gullible fool, and her kindness won through to Discord's black heart and won him over to the side of good. Then, during the Cutie Mark incident, she tried (and failed) to become a party pony like Pinkie usually was, and was ready to leave to go back to Cloudsdale when Twilight convinced her to give animals a chance. And thus, she was the first one to be restored to normal.

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Fluttershy is a Pegasus, and yet is not at home in the clouds. Rather, she prefers to hang out on the ground, taking care of her animal friends. Indeed, she is capable of communicating with Equestria's non-speaking residents better than anypony else, to the point where she can seemingly understand their language and they hers. Her house is filled with various houses, shelters, pet beds, and other assorted safety places for her cuddly critters. Her years of playing Doctor Dolittle have also given her some experience with veterinary skills, although she seems to be more of a forest ranger or the like than a vet. She also seems willing to give her pets away, although she most likely would want to know they'd be going to a good home before she signed the papers.

Fluttershy is, well, shy. Her voice is always hushed and barely audible, she avoid eye contact with just about everypony, and she seems to prefer the company of her animals over other ponies. All of her friends have tried various schemes to get her to open up more, and while they might meet temporary success, Fluttershy will never fully change. Being a quiet, introverted pony is just who she is, and she's comfortable like that. It doesn't stop her from hanging out with her best friends, nor does it keep her from saving Equestria twice so far.

When it comes to physical prowess, Fluttershy is horribly overshadowed by everypony else in Ponyville. She is not a great runner, her flying skills only scratched adequate after several straight days of intense training, and she is too self-conscious to perform publicly. Despite all this, however, she can reach Rainbow Dash-levels of power when the chips are down. If somepony was tumbling down a cliff, she would jump down after them without reservations, glide them to safety, and then completely forget to do what she just did.

By far her most powerful skill, however, is The Stare. When Fluttershy is especially upset with somepony, or needs to command that something be done, she's capable of turning her eyes into the most dangerous weapons Equestria has ever known. Her powers are so great that she was able to drive a full-grown dragon to tears with just a stare and a stern talking-to, and that's not to mention the time she managed to intimidate a Cockatrice into repenting his evil ways...even while it was turning her to stone. Unfortunately, Fluttershy has no control over when this happens. Also, the Stare is not very effective against Discord, perhaps because he far outstrips her power-wise and knows he has nothing to fear from her. This is good, since if Fluttershy could have overpowered him, then nothing would have stopped her from using her mighty Stare to conquer all of Equestria...

Fluttershy is the most motherly of the ponies. She frequently speaks in a smooth, calming tone to her friends, and does her best to make sure they're not feeling too low or in distress. She knows plenty of lullabies for whenever animals or ponies need help getting to sleep, and can give a lecture on misbehavior that would make the most disciplined schoolmarm blush in shame at having no hope of ever reaching her level. Sadly, she also has a tendency to spoil her charges, especially her bunny, Angel. He, in turn, slaps her across the face and throws her out of her own house when she won't make his perfect salad. (Although to be fair, Angle doescare about Fluttershy. Right after the slapping incident, he turned around and helped train her to fly better and overcome her self-consciousness. And in “Just for Sidekicks,” he seemed to genuinely miss her and want to get back to her, even while making Spike's life a living hell.) Even worse, she can also completely blow it when it comes to cheering her friends on, like that time she set Rainbow Dash on the path to ruin by reminding her of her real odds of winning in "Sonic Rainboom"...

Still, Fluttershy has a dark side, and a rather vicious one at that. It might take a lot to do, but if someone truly angers her, she transforms into a living volcano of fury and rage. Such bursts are thankfully brief, but in those few moments, nothing on Equestria can match the pants-soiling terror in her eyes and voice. Even worse, however, was the time she took assertiveness lessons from Iron Will. By the time she realized how far she had fallen, she had become every bit as big a bully as the colts that teased her as a youth. She was even willing to call Rarity and Pinkie Pie's life goals utterly worthless, and in a world where a pony's talents and ambitions guide their entire lives, that is about as low an insult as anypony can muster. It's a testament to their friendship that anypony was willing to forgive her after that.

And that brings us to the big problem with Fluttershy. All the stuff that I wrote up there? That's really about it. For all her screen time in the first season, she never got a whole lot of development. There's a few reasons why, but the one that bothers me the most is this: every Fluttershy episode is basically the same thing. Something comes along to scare Fluttershy, she fights with her fears, and finally triumphs at the end to great fanfare. "Dragonshy" was about her overcoming her fear of dragons. "Stare Master" was about her inability to handle kids, and thus losing them in the Everfree Forest. "Putting Your Hoof Down?" Assertiveness. "Hurricane Fluttershy?" Public performances. In fact, the only Fluttershy-centric episode that didn't do this for the longest time was "A Bird In The Hoof," which was pretty much a "meh" episode.

And then “Keep Calm and Flutter On” happened. The episode, for all of its other faults, managed to take Fluttershy's strengths and development and bring them to a logical conclusion. Back in “Return of Harmony,” she only overcame Discord because she was willing to admit she was weak and helpless, and the Chaos God assumed this was still true during his “reform.” But beneath her kind and loving exterior, Fluttershy has a great deal of inner strength, and it is that that allowed her to not only offer to become Discord's friend, but also to stand up to him when he crossed the line, turning his own game back on him and actually reforming the villain.

Besides that episode, the times she shines the best are when she's playing a supporting character. She's hilarious in "Sonic Rainboom," makes a great flying save in "Secret of My Excess," and even outwits some Changelings in "A Canterlot Wedding." I also loved her near-orgasm of joy in "May The Best Pet Win" at the mere idea of Dash wanting a pet, even if I didn't care much for the song itself. And let's not forget how spectacular she was in "Return of Harmony." Not only was she the only pony Discord had to force his brainwashing on, but she was even capable of pulling the entire hot air balloon and catching up Dash in time to save Rarity and Pinkie Pie from falling. All while looking like she was ready to tear Discord's guts out.

She may or may not want to be a tree.

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When it comes to shipping, there are two ways to approach the relationship. The first is to show Fluttershy struggling to overcome her shyness and confess her feelings for the other party. These stories are common and continue the same line of thought that trapped Fluttershy in the same episode for two seasons. The second is to have the other pony approach her first, and she gets swept along without really knowing all that is going on.

Naturally, the most common partner for her amongst the Mane 6 is Dash, who's loud enough for two and probably has a schoolfilly crush on her friend. There have also been a couple pairing her with Luna; after all, she did give the Princess of the Night lessons on how to talk. But by far the most vocal ship is FlutterMac. For whatever reason, Big Macintosh and Fluttershy are just perfect for each other. Then again, they are both quiet, gentle souls who are absolutely terrifying when angered, so it makes some sense. But of course, all of this is moot since "Kindness' Reward," the best Fluttershy ship fic ever written, already exists. TrixieShy forever!

Fluttershy's relationship with her friends is simultaneously a means to drag her out of her shell, and to provide herself with somepony to depend on. Her closest friendship, however, is with Rarity, the two having shared a spa day for quite some time since meeting. This friendship, however, came under fire when Photo Finish chose her as a model while also dissing Rarity's dresses to the side. Fluttershy hated the attention and demanding schedule, but was so convinced that she would lose Rarity as a friend if the truth came out that she refused to just tell her. Fortunately, Rarity hated what was happening just as much as she did, and the two finally reconciled after telling each other the truth.

The other interesting relationship is between her and Rainbow Dash. The two have known each other since they were fillies, and yet have two very distinct personalities. When the show began, Dash saw Fluttershy as more of a load than anything else, and during the course of "Dragonshy" spent all her time belittling the Pegasus and calling her weak and a coward. This wasn't without reason, either, as she was consciously slowing the group down because she was too afraid to admit that dragons scared her to her friends. By the end, however, Fluttershy had managed to yell the dragon into submission, thereby saving Equestria. Since then, Rainbow Dash has seen fit to incorporate Fluttershy into other Pegasus activities, becoming an almost-big sister to her in the process.

Fluttershy is also friends with her former enemy, Discord. In fact, she's the only friend he has, as the rest of the Mane 6 and Celestia still don't trust him. This relationship is still too new to fully go into detail on, but it presents some possibilities for future stories.

Fluttershy's only other key relationship of note is Angel Bunny, her...bunny. Despite his name, Angel is a boisterous, brash, rather jerkish brute of a rabbit who will gladly throw his food in his caretaker's face if she upsets him even slightly. Even so, he does have some sense of responsibility for her, and is constantly encouraging her to be more outgoing and assertive. He also assists with bribes and ticket stealing. He's by far the most personable of the pet characters, but also one of the least popular for his genuinely terrible behavior.

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Fluttershy is a character that may have fantastic possibilities, but is weighed down by the very nature of her identity. She's supposed to be the "shy one," so all of her stories revolve around her being shy. She really deserves something more complex than "Oh noes I has the sads but wait I'm all better now!" Fortunately, “Keep Calm and Flutter On” improved things, and will hopefully herald even bigger things in the next season.

A Study of AUs: The Lunaverse vs the Dashverse

The Alternate Universe genre of fanfiction is usually held in a rather low regard. Far too many writers use the tag as a means of escaping things like keeping characters true to their canon selves and adhering to everything the plot presents, even if it's something they personally didn't like. (And I'm not including fics that were made AU because of significant changes in the canon. There's a rather large difference between the two ideas.) The same tends to be true in a lot of pony fiction, although there are stories that try to get around these issues and instead present clever “What If?” scenarios.

But what we're looking at today are two universes, the Lunaverse and the Dashverse, and looking at the way they break away from the canon and explore their own beliefs and alternate interpretations. Also note that I am mostly focusing on comparing Rainbooms and Royalty to Longest Night, Longest Day, since both are alternate versions of the pilot. (I will be including Boast Busted later on, though, to compare the handling of Twilight.)

Fanfiction Review: Rainbooms and Royalty

Say, you remember the Lunaverse? Well, someone read that, combined it with a few other stories, and came up with their own alternate universe version of Equestria, where Rainbow Dash is Princess Celestia's student. Does this one fare better than the one about the amazing awesomeness of Trixie and Luna? We're going to find out...in the accompanying post, because this one's all about Rainbooms and Royalty.

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SYNOPSIS:

Shortly after Rainbow Dash made her first Sonic Rainboom, she is approached by a visiting Princess Celestia and offered the opportunity to become her personal student. She accepts, but years later, she has grown restless and weary of the Canterlot lifestyle and runs away to Ponyville. There, she meets an eccentric group of friends, befriends her crush's reclusive little sister, and discovers a far more terrible truth about the coming Summer Sun Celebration. And before long, she will be thrust into a dangerous quest to bring down the greatest threat Equestria has yet faced: Nightmare Moon.

REVIEW:

Rainbooms and Royalty owes its direct inspiration to the Lunaverse, but also has bits and pieces of several other stories mixed in there, all of which are listed on the story's cover page. There's also quite a few fanon references worked throughout, from Rainbow Dash's middle name of Miriam to Ditzy being crammed in there as a single working mother. Still, it's nothing terribly distracting (unlike another set of references I'll be getting into in a moment), and does help to flesh out the world Dash finds herself in.

I'll mostly be covering the differences between this AU and the Lunaverse in a separate post, but for now, let's talk about our characters. All of the canon cast are very well realized and kept in-character, albeit with additional layers and slightly altered histories. The only two who have real changes made to their characters are Rainbow Dash and Twilight. The former is still a speed demon who wants to join the Wonderbolts, but now has feelings of inadequacy over being stuck in a society that she simply doesn't fit into for so long, and has a much tenser relationship than the canon Twilight has with Celestia. Likewise, this Twilight's magical rampage lasted much longer, and because of all the destruction she caused, she's left feeling like she's a walking time bomb and has no friends because everypony (including herself) thinks she's a monster.

The actual story is a retelling of the original pilot episode, but the challenges have been altered to be more intense and less contrived. And for the most part, they work pretty well. The stakes are much higher, the challenges are much larger, and there are even brainwashed minibosses. (I'm not telling who they are, but it's a loop.) Nightmare Moon is also a much more threatening (and competent) opponent, and the final battle is actually a battle, bordering on a full-on war.

So this story is wonderful and perfect, right? Well, no. There are some rather huge stumbling blocks.

One issue I have with the story's middle section is the inclusion of blatant “homages” to other movies. Sometimes it works; the first obstacle is based on the Swamp of Sadness from The NeverEnding Story and is executed to good effect. But then you start hitting a few other, less-than-charitable references. At one point, the heroes run into gargoyles...who are presented in the same way as on the actual series Gargoyles. It's a rather jarring reference that knocks me out of the story. And the very next chapter has Twilight reciting, word for word, Superman's “World of Cardboard” speech from Justice League Unlimited. There's a very fine line between homage and plagiarism, and I think this story toes it quite a few times.

Length is also a bit of a problem. The story drags at several points, especially towards the beginning, where almost everything is setup. This was fine in the Lunaverse, for reasons that we'll get to in the followup post, but here it just feels like we're walking over ground we've already treaded before coming in. The ending is also rather long-winded, as Trinary seemingly wants to close off a host of lingering questions before finishing the story, as well as debate some points revolving around ethical philosophies and the famous “Needs of the Many” quote. I won't debate the points made here, other than to say that while Trinary raises some good points, I don't think this section was wholly necessary or executed very well.

And then there's my biggest issue: Rainbow Dash herself. While she's mostly in-character and works fine, there are two points of contention I have with how she's presented in this story. First, her central conflict comes off as being rather whiny. I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for the “I'm the student of a princess so everypony thinks I'm too good for them and I hate that so much” kind of drama that flares up from time to time, especially in the early-going chapters. The second, and far more damning issue, comes up in the last few chapters, where Dash behaves like a total bitch because Celestia wasn't completely straightforward with her. And that's how it starts; by the end, my sympathy for any of the characters involved in those passages has evaporated like ice cubes under a magnifying glass.

On a closing note, I need to talk about Zecora. She's greatly expanded upon here, and has several good moments throughout the story, but Trinary simply does not nail her speech. She rhymes, sure, but there's a rhythm to how she talks that's completely missing here. I know from experience how hard it is to write good Zecora dialogue, but the stuff here just falls flat. Still, at least she didn't get turned into a villain because the author thought making her an evil enchantress would be funny.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Despite my issues with the story, most particularly with the last couple chapters, I still enjoyed it. The AU aspects are rather subtle and needed more expanding on, which should have happened in the sequels if I understand. (I haven't read them yet, so no comment.) Everypony here is kept wonderfully in-character, and the challenges they face are far more threatening and intense than in the show. It's a rather long read, but I would recommend giving a chapter or two a chance if you have time to see what you think.

Fanfiction Review: Darkest Before Dawn

I hope you're all enjoying yet another pony-free Saturday. With no episodes on the horizon for months, we've got plenty of time to fill with fanfics, talking about fanfics, and wasting our lives. So let's look at an older story, one that ended right around the end of Season Two, about Twilight's early years. Today, we're reviewing Sessalisk's Darkest Before Dawn.

Fanfiction Review: Paradise

Well, it's Wednesday, and it's time for another blog post. So let's look at SlyWit's classic Paradise.

Thoughts on the Mane 6: Rainbow Dash

I should probably stop doing these.

Rainbow Dash has been updated to include some of the new canon elements....as much as they are, considering how short the season was. We have more about SiP, WA, and a little about GPP down here.

Thoughts on the Mane 6: Applejack (Updated for Season 3)

You ever felt like something was going to be really different, but then it wasn't? Yeah, that's how I felt when I rewatched Applejack's episodes this season and compared them to the old analysis. She got two episodes, and neither one did her any favors or expanded her character.

Anyway, here's the updated analysis.

Thoughts on the Mane 6: Rarity

So, what changed this time around?

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Did you see the third season? If so, you probably know the answer to that. If not...almost nothing changed here. Rarity got the least development of all six ponies this season, so most of the analysis still stands. Most of the additions here are just small tidbits, a rant about how she dodged the bullet that was “Spike at Your Service,” and thoughts about where her development can go from here.

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Rarity's introduction in the first episode happened so fast, that I didn't even catch her name the first time I watched. She just showed up, freaked out over Twilight's frazzled mane, and then tried to strangle her with fashion. About the only thing of real interest was Spike's infatuation for her, and her willingness to chop off her tail in the second half. And then...

Well, let's backtrack.

Rarity probably went through the single most dramatic shift of any character in the first season. For most of her early appearances, she was basically the stock "girly girl" of the Mane 6. She spoke in a holier-than-thou accent, obsessed over fashion and romance, tried to use fashion to take down Trixie, and nearly doomed Equestria because she wanted to con a dragon's horde out from under him. She was neat, tidy and organized when none of those traits were called for, wasted an entire day trying to fix one bird's nest, and just...well, didn't come off all that well. In many ways, she was the kind of stuff that turned people off of the previous generations, especially G3.

That changed, however, with "Suited For Success." For the first time since the pilot, Rarity's generosity was placed on display, while also filtered through an allegory to the general creative process in television. Later episodes would develop this further; "A Dog and Pony Show" proved that she could do just fine on her own despite being a proper lady. and "Green Isn't Your Color" demonstrated that even when jealous, she still wouldn't revel in a friend's misfortune, and would even willingly lie and let herself be miserable if it made her happy. Unfortunately, "The Best Night Ever" regressed her personality back to the start of the season, with the Rarity people had grown to love only showing through in the last few moments.

And then Season 2 happened.

Rarity got both good and bad development over the course of the season. On the good side, her relationship with Sweetie Belle was explored (more on that later), and she learned in "Sweet and Elite" not to be ashamed of her country roots, even when it might mean the end to some very important business and social contacts. On the bad side, she was more prone to breaking into dramatics over absolutely nothing, and some of the advances in her relationship with Spike (and the fanon that surround it) verged on the creepy side of things. She also picked up an interest in gossip, although to be fair this doesn't deviate too far from her established characterization, so I let that change slide.

And then Season 3...did jack with her. Seriously, she got no episode to herself, was only a large supporting player in TCE, SiP and MMC, and pretty much spent the rest of the season warming the bench while Applejack and Spike got to play. She was going to star in “Spike at Your Service,” but the writers thought she came across as too horrible and had the plot switched to him being an incompetent boob for Applejack. So in that case, Rarity won out marvelously.

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The first thing that struck me about Rarity was her voice. Everypony else in the series spoke in a rather plain tone and accent, but Rarity sounded far more high-class and pomp than the ponies around her. It felt completely out of place for something like Ponyville, a small country town whose only reason for being important is that it houses Princess Celestia's student. In addition, Sweetie Belle does not share the same manner of speaking, and whenever Rarity gets particularly upset or flustered, she either drops it altogether or switches to an entirely different accent. Season 2 addressed this curiosity by showing that her parents basically speak like they come from the Midwestern United States, are rather garishly dressed, and can't cook whatsoever. When you take that into account, as well as her actions in "Sweet and Elite," it all makes sense.

Rarity is a pony that feels like she was born in the wrong town. While she has nothing against Ponyville, and has a good number of dear friends, her dream is to make it to the big city (namely, Canterlot) and become a member of high society. In two episodes ("Best Night Ever" and "Sweet and Elite"), she tries just that, with varied success. The first attempt ended with her romantic dreams ruined by Prince Blueblood being an a-hole. Her second attempt (which occurred completely by accident) actually worked, but she was so afraid of losing her social standing that she lied about her past and friends to appease the aristocracy, and only got around that loss because one of her benefactors found her friends and designs (and her) charming. Her way of speaking and ladylike way of behaving are masks designed to make her look more elevated in society than she actually is, but given her new connections and excellent work ability, that may not be true for long.

Rarity is one of the ponies that greatly disproves the A-to-A connection between cutie marks and future occupations. Rarity runs Carousel Boutique, a surprisingly upscale dress shop for a town like Ponyville. She takes jobs from as far away as Trottingham, ranging from capes to dresses to hoofwear, and always takes great professional pride in making sure each outfit is perfect. Her special talent, however, is the ability to magically locate gemstones. Gems are apparently so plentiful in Equestria that they're worthless outside of making clothing and accessories (although they did have monetary value in a later episode, so some gems are seemingly more valuable than others), so she spruces up nearly all her outfits with emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and any other kind she can find. She's actually so good as designing that she can take a few pieces of straw, turn them into a hat, and make it work. In short, she doesn't need her special talent for her profession, but it helps her to reach her own personal standards for a beautiful outfit.

One important aspect about Rarity is that, in many ways, she is the most dramatic of ponies. Her dreams for the Gala wouldn't have felt out-of-place in a fairy tale, including a quick courtship and marriage to a prince, and yet she takes the whole thing completely seriously. When her fashion show is ruined, she locks herself in her room and doesn't go into exile only because she can't figure out how one packs for the trip. When she loses a ribbon, she throws a tantrum and summons couches to faint on. She throws fits, cries easily, and can break into something worthy of Shakespeare without so much as a prompting. She's even a master of acting like a damsel in distress, something none of the other ponies can truly attest to. And then there's what happens when she gets angry. Sometimes she responds by kicking the problem in the face until it goes away (she's a master of Crane Style, apparently), but she's also capable of being Passive-Aggressive if need be. Needless to say, Rarity hams it up so much that she might as well be part pork.

Rarity, however, has two major vices. The first is Carousel Boutique itself. She takes her business very seriously, to the point where she lies to get out of going to Twilight's birthday party just so she can make (and keep) her important Canterlot contacts. If something goes wrong in relation to her business, she tends to break down very quickly, such as in "Suited for Success." Her second, and far more damning vice, is her greed. Rarity loves shiny gems, and is willing to go to great lengths to acquire them. While I'll cover the instance in "Return of Harmony" later, an important early event was in "Dragonshy." Rarity's entire goal when the group is confronting the dragon is to get it to part with at least some of its hoard of gems, gold, and other assorted treasures. Ironically enough, she was actually succeeding in wooing the dragon...until she let slip that she'd watch his pile for him, at which point he realized what was going on and roared Rarity out of the cave. And what is she upset about when she was back with the others?

That she didn't get anything. Way to go, Generosity.

Rarity is also rather vain. She enjoys her trips to the spa, praises beauty and loveliness, and is horrified when she sees somepony looking hideous, like Twilight did in the Pilot after her run-in with Rainbow Dash. She also hates dirt and camping, although she'll still deal with them if necessary or if it'll mean spending time with her little sister and friends. And her reaction to Applejack ruining her shop in MMC was to think she was having a nightmare, especially after seeing the dresses she had designed. Still, it's that love of beauty that helps motivate her to create, and she'll gladly help anypony to look fabulous.

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Shipping-wise, Rarity has a few interesting options. The show seems to point towards Fancy Pants, but he's a guy, and we can't have M/F shipping, now can we? What makes Rarity fun, however, is that no matter which pony you pair her with, she'll be the opposite. She's an extrovert workaholic, while Twilight is an introverted studyholic. She's poised and elegant, while Rainbow Dash is tomboyish and athletic. She's fashionable, while Applejack is plain. She's loud, while Fluttershy is soft-spoken. She's a proper lady, while Pinkie Pie is a party animal. Needless to say, she's a pony that can actually go fairly well with everybody, and thus doesn't have a perfectly solid pairing just yet.

Rarity's relationship with her friends is interesting. Due to her work, Rarity is almost always in Carousel Boutique, and thus interacts with most ponies there. Her closest friendship, by far, is with Fluttershy. Despite the yellow Pegasus being very soft-spoken and shy, the two get it off perfectly, and even arrange trips to the spa together. It certainly helps that Fluttershy's one of the few ponies Rarity's cat, Opalescence, won't try to claw on sight. She also enjoys Pinkie's parties, although it seems that she would prefer quieter arrangements at times to the more wild and chaotic events her friend throws. She's also good friends with Twilight, although the two don't interact that often. She initially held animosity towards Applejack and her dirt-covered ways, but eventually turned around and considers her a good friend as well. And Rainbow Dash...well, the two rarely interact at all, since Dash doesn't frequent her shop and she doesn't seek Dash out unless it's an emergency.

We know very little of her relationship with her parents, other than she is the exact opposite of them in many ways and resents them dumping Sweetie Belle on her while they go on vacation. Like many adults with younger siblings, her parents expect her to be a free babysitter for them when they're out of town, despite what she may have on her schedule. Sweetie Belle, however, greatly admires her sister and wants to grow up to be just like her. Unfortunately for her AND Rarity, Sweetie lacks any of her sister's talents for dressmaking. She also makes a lot of mistakes, all of which grate on Rarity's nerves. Despite the two making up in "Sisterhooves Social," the two still don't agree on everything, and can still have arguments and fights. When compared to the perfect relationships between Applejack/Applebloom and Twilight/Shining Armor, this far more realistic portrayal of siblings duking it out while still loving each other is a wonderful breath of fresh air.

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Rarity's element is Generosity, and as mentioned above, she has issues keeping to it at times. That being said, she can still be depended upon to give everything she can to help anypony in need, even when it'll leave her miserable. That's the key to true generosity; it's a selfless sacrifice made to help someone at the expense of yourself. Rarity made two sets of dresses, despite knowing that the second set would be a disaster, because it's what her friends wanted. She saved Fluttershy's modeling career after Twilight had successfully sabotaged it because, as far as she knew, it was something Fluttershy loved, and she was so ashamed of herself for being jealous that she gave up the chance for schadenfreude so she could get everypony to support her friend.

One notable fanfic that tries to pick up the slack is the legendary "Simply Rarity." While it was pretty much shot to hell by canon, it tries to paint Rarity as an incredibly generous pony who gives away most of the money she earns from her shop. It's a noble effort, and parts of it make sense. Just...don't try to connect it to the canon in any way. Your brain may explode.

When Discord came along, his temptation for Rarity was a giant boulder he brainwashed her into thinking was a diamond. By the time Twilight fixed her, she had named it Tom, destroyed the Library rolling it in and out, and was storing it inside her own boutique. When she was cured, however, she very quickly kicked Tom to the curb and reminded the others to "Never speak of this again." Needless to say, she didn't get her wish.

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Overall, Rarity has improved tremendously since the early days. She has gone from a stock fashion-obsessed girly-girl to an overly-dramatic, loving, hard-working pony who would give the shirt off her back (provided she's wearing one) to help a friend. She might be greedy sometimes, and has some issues with her sister, but all this does is make her an even more interesting pony for future use. Unfortunately, her ultimate character arc seems to be stuck; the only option beyond what “Sweet and Elite” provides is for her to finally open that dressmaking shop in Canterlot, and that would require either an introduction into the world of franchising or for her to move away from Ponyville, thus damaging the dynamics more than Alicorn Twilight could hope to do. She also suffered from having no episode in the third season, although her appearances still made good use of her character. Hopefully the fourth season will give her more to do.

Fanfiction Review: Around the Bend

It's time. We're tackling one of the most controversial authors in the history of the fandom. And while it would be tempting to look at one of her Conversion Bureau fics, for the sake of all our sanities (and because I want to talk about it more than...that universe), we'll be looking at her examination of the retcons and differences between Seasons One and Two. This should be some fascinating reading, after all...right?

Let's check our guts and look at Chatoyance's Around the Bend.

Fanfiction Review: On a Cross and Arrow

Well, the other review went over all right, so I guess it's safe to reveal what the backup was going to be. Once again, I am making an ass of myself and reviewing what is commonly considered one of the most popular stories in the fandom. And this was going to go over better than a Chatoyance story because...?

Let's look at Conner Cogwork's On a Cross and Arrow.

Top Ten Favorite Moments of Friendship is Magic

This is a post I've been wanting to do for a while, but have simply never had the time to pull off. And in retrospect, I still don't, but I'm doing it anyway. Because that's how I roll. Badly.

This is my personal Top Ten Moments of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Not yours, but mine. Some of it might offend you. Some of it might shock you. Some of it might make you fall to your knees and beg God to smite this infernal planet before I can say another word. But this is my opinion and...well, you clicked the link, poor soul, so you might as well look at it and laugh.

Now let's begin.

Thoughts on the Mane 6: Pinkie Pie

Only the second one and we've hit a snag. Pinkie Pie really wasn't fundamentally altered in the third season, at least nowhere near the degree that somepony like Twilight or Rainbow Dash would be. Even worse, the original post was so good that there was only a few things I needed to add to it. So sorry, but a lot of this is older material. Still, it's now updated for Season Three, so make of that what you will.

Thoughts on the Mane 6: Twilight Sparkle

Way back in the day, I posted my Thoughts on Twilight Sparkle. It was a simple analysis of her character in both canon and fanon, up through the end of Season Two. Now that another season has come and gone, and because the original was horribly written compared to the much stronger ones that followed, we are revising and updating the old to bring it more in line with the show's current state.

So let's look at Twilight Sparkle and see what makes her tick.

Fanfiction Review: Joker Saves the Ponies

I-It's been three weeks without pony and...and I just need a shot, man. Just a shot...

Okay, in all seriousness, today's fic is...odd. It's a delectable little gem offered to us by Jabberspike that stars a pair of popular comic book characters. So let's take a look at Joker Saves the Ponies.

Fanfiction Review: Anthropology

Since there was no blog post on Wednesday, how about a special one today? It's not like tomorrow's is going to take more than thirty minutes to put together. (/sarcasm) So let's look at one of the all-out most famous fics in the fandom, JasontheHuman's Anthropology, and see if I can dig my grave even deeper!

Fanfiction Review: Going Up

Another day, another review. And today, we're looking at a charming little story called Going Up by Chris. originally written for the Hearth's Warming Care Package competition and for Kiki, a seven-year-old diagnosed with brain cancer. It ultimately placed sixth, but it also shares some fantastic company, so if you want to check out the other stories, check all of the entries out here. In the meantime, let's look at this one and see how it holds up.

Analysis of Season Three

Season 3 has left us almost as quickly as it appeared, and once again we are facing many, many months. But even with comics and that...spinoff thing in the future, this season still waits to be utterly dissected by the scalpel of overthinking. So let's start picking this thing apart and see what makes it tick.

And like before, remember that these are all my personal opinions. You may agree or disagree, and feel free to express your own thoughts in the comments, but keep things civil.

Fanfiction Review: A Drop of Moonshine

Last week, we looked at Past Sins, one of the most famous fanfics in FiM's massive fandom. Today, I'm looking at another one of Pen Stroke's works; in fact, this was the story that directly followed Past Sins in publication. Will it be better? Worse? Somewhere in the middle? We'll find out when we finish looking at A Drop of Moonshine.

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SYNOPSIS:

After Celestia has a rather stressful day running the country, Luna tries to help by searching for her hidden liquor bottle. To her dismay, however, alcohol was actually banned in Equestria shortly after Luna's banishment, on account of Celestia's rampant alcoholism after such a traumatic event. But Luna can synthesize alcohol through moonlight, and surely a single drink can't hurt...

REVIEW:

I'm going to get this right out of the way: A Drop of Moonshine is my absolute favorite Pen Stroke fic. It's crazy, funny, a little sad at parts, and just a lot of fun to read through.

The central premise of the story is that Celestia was so distraught over banishing her sister that she turned to drink, becoming a rampaging, out-of-control alcoholic who ruined lives and screwed up formal events in her stupor. Her advisers then banned alcohol entirely, since as long as a single drop existed, Celestia would find it. So we have Celestia as a recovering drug addict, more or less, who gets tempted by her unwitting sister into trying that old habit of hers. Way to go, Luna.

The rest of the story is about the two drunk princesses acting like idiots, going to Ponyville, and sucking up Twilight into their escapades. And in one of the other nice touches, alcohol has been outlawed for so long that Twilight has no idea what's gotten into the princesses, what alcohol even is, and how to deal with two drunk demigods. As the story continues, it becomes about Twilight trying to restrain a totally sloshed Celestia as she attempts to eat all of Applejack's apples and chew on...well, you have to read the rest to get that.

There are really only two real weaknesses I can find with the story. The first is that Luna more or less vanishes from the picture halfway through, returns again briefly towards the end, and is passed out entirely during the last scene. While the Celestia/Twilight stuff was strong, it would have been nice to see more of drunk Luna in the process. (This might be explained by it being a pre-Luna Eclipsed story, and thus before Luna had much of an established character.) And second, the story just...stops. The ending scene is funny as all get out, but the narrative just feels like it comes to a screeching halt.

There was a sequel, A Mug of Hard Cider, but I'll probably review that one by itself down the line.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you like stories about Celestia and Luna getting drunk, then this is a good one to look at. It's nothing deftly serious or moving, but it's still just a lot of good fun. It's still my favorite work by Pen Stroke, and it's kind of sad that it's doomed to be forgotten in the shadow of Past Sins.

Comic Review: Micro-Series Issue #1 (Twilight Sparkle)

The first issue of IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic micro-series has come out, focusing on a solo adventure with Twilight Sparkle. (No wings yet; all the comics so far are set between Seasons 2 and 3.) So let's dig into this lovely little tale and examine what makes Twilight tick.

Fanfiction Review: Short Cakes

It's been three days since the finale. Is it safe to come out of the bunker now?

Well, in any case, let's look at Cloud Wander's Short Cakes while munching on canned peaches. Because nothing tastes more perfect for a post-apocalypse like fruit injected with preservatives and tinged with rust.

Episode Reviews: Magical Mystery Cure

Alright...I've got my bunker nice and secured, flame turrets are operating at maximum capacity, and I have enough canned spam and machine gun ammo to make a crazed Southern survivalist envious. When Alicorn Twilight hits and the world ends, I'll be able to ride out the apocalypse before single-handedly repopulating the human race. Not sure quite how that works but...

Either way, let's review “Magical Mystery Cure.”

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TECHNICAL SPECS:

Season: 3

Episode: 13

Written By: M. A. Larson

First Aired: 2/16/2013

SUMMARY:

Twilight Sparkle awakens on a fine, glorious day, which she celebrates with a song about how perfectly pleasant Ponyville is. Unfortunately, things go to crap soon after when a passing raincloud dumps water on her. Enraged, she calls for Rainbow Dash to fly down and face her punishment...but then discovers that Rarity is the one controlling the weather now. And she's doing a terrible job at it, too. The same pattern repeats with all the others. Rainbow Dash is failing to take care of animals, Fluttershy can't throw a party, Pinkie Pie is going insane on the farm, and Applejack simply can't make dresses. Even worse, they all have their Cutie Marks swapped with the pony who originally had that profession, and are blindly obeying them because Cutie Marks are Pony Law.

Horrified, Twilight and Spike return to the library, where the truth is revealed. A night before, Princess Celestia sent Twilight a package containing Starswirl the Bearded's last unfinished spell. Twilight tried casting it to see what it did, but when nothing immediately happened, she just let it go. What the spell actually did was rewrite reality so that the other Bearers all had different Cutie Marks. (Even their individual Elements have changed to match.) Even worse, all the previous cure-alls won't work in this instance. Twilight goes upstairs to mope for a while, but one pep talk is all it takes for her to resolve to fix things.

Gathering the Elements, she tracks down Fluttershy, who was just about to return to Cloudsdale in disgrace, and convinces her to go help Rainbow Dash, who's about to be cooked by angry native critters. When Fluttershy succeeds despite not remembering being able to do this, it restores her true memories, and applying the Element does the rest. They repeat the process with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and finally Pinkie Pie, thus restoring harmony to Ponyville and saving their friendship. And all to song, too.

This gives Twilight the inspiration she needs to finish Starswirl's spell, and everypony races back to the library to wrap things up. The moment Twilight finishes writing the rest of the incantation, however, the Elements suddenly go haywire, blasting Twilight and vaporizing her. Twilight, however, finds herself on another plane of consciousness, where Celestia herself shows flashbacks of her life and how much she's grown. But now it's time for her to complete her destiny...

A massive representation of Twilight's Cutie Mark appears in the sky, followed by her suddenly reappearing in front of her friends...as an Alicorn. Celestia sets down to explain that Twilight has learned so much from her friends in Ponyville, and that she's acquired all the skills and traits necessary to make a fine Princess. Twilight is afraid that this means she won't be her student anymore, but Celestia reassures her that she'll be there to guide her, but she's now less a student and closer to an equal.

Later, in Canterlot, Twilight's coronation goes off without a hitch, with her giving a speech about how awesome her friends are and how much she loves them. Shining Armor lets out some liquid pride, Twilight rides in a carriage, and then she flies off, telling the viewers that everything's going to be fine.

Oh, and Derpy's there too.

REVIEW:

Alright, the hatches have been sealed, security cameras are up and running, and we are ready to go...

To say this episode had a lot going against it would be a tremendous understatement. The fandom was quite ready to tear itself apart at the seams over the issue of Alicorn Twilight, and the fact that the rest of the episode made absolutely no mention of her becoming one did not help matters. Throw in all the other drama going on around the same time, the ill feelings about Season 3 being thirteen episodes, and the Toy Fair promo of the hideously overpriced doll, and you have a mess that not even a perfect episode would solve. And no, this is not a perfect one, either. But we'll get to that in a minute.

The episode opens by establishing just what kind of episode this actually is: a musical. Yes, this is FiM's all-singing, all-dancing episode, so if you don't like the songs in the show at all, this really isn't the one for you. The first tune isn't a fantastic one, but it does a great job of setting up the happy, peaceful setting before things go to Tartarus in a hoofbasket. And Twilight is best Spanish dancer, even when it's on top of something ponies eat off of. (The waiter does it too, though. Makes you wonder how many stars that place gets...) This all ends when Twilight gets rained on, a fairly stock prank courtesy of Rainbow Dash...only it isn't her this time, but Rarity who's failing at controlling the weather. (Apparently Unicorns can do that now, too. Suck it, lesser races! Bow before your true magical masters!)

Oh, and she has Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark.

This brings us to the next song, a musical montage of the ponies doing things they aren't skilled at simply because it's what their Cutie Mark says. And while the song here is pretty good on its own merits, what sells this are the visuals. The way these ponies are utterly broken by doing things they are not skilled in and have no real investment in doing simply because their magical butt tattoos have gone Serpentor on them is both sad and funny. Rainbow Dash is unable to control that many critters at the same time. Fluttershy doesn't have the show presence necessary to give a command performance. Applejack's dress designs are gussied-up burlap sacks, and she can't figure out how to make them work. And Rarity's obsession with patterns and design have made a mess of Ponyville's weather systems, including frostbite over sunburns. Man, that has to hurt like hell.

One thing about Pinkie, though. She has her mane and tail flattened out like she did in “Party of One,” and a lot of fans said this is proof that she's gone Pinkamena. Only she hasn't. Keep in mind that the spell rewrote reality so that they all have different Cutie Marks, meaning that Pinkie never found her true calling and left farming behind. Anyone remember why she's called Pinkamena in the first place? Her mane and tail were like that before the Sonic Rainboom, thus explaining why a pony who still has no idea what joy is will continue to remain that way.

This brings us back to the cause of this disaster. Remember that book from “The Crystal Empire?” Turns out it was Starswirl the Bearded's journal, and within it is his last, unfinished spell. Twilight being Twilight, she immediately decides to blindly cast the spell a certified genius and one of the forefathers of Unicorn magic in general was unable to perfect. And then she shows that uncanny pony ability of being incapable of turning around, and thus misses the fact that her spell changed the Elements of Harmony. Way to go, Twilight. You cocked this one up good. Spike even launches into continuity mode, setting up why the tactics from “Return of Harmony” and “Bridle Gossip” won't work in this instance. Twilight has literally rewritten reality so that the ponies have different Cutie Marks than before, are forced to do different things, and thus have no memories of their former lives outside of being friends.

This brings us to the next song, and it's a very good downer tune. The entire montage goes gray as we witness Ponyville falling apart because of this blunder. Watching Sweet Apple Acres fall into disrepair and the dress shop close up is just downright depressing, even if the timing doesn't quite make sense. And the singing and music is simply fantastic. Unfortunately, this is kind of undermined by Twilight getting right back up after a very short pep talk from Spike.

This brings us into the fourth song this episode. This one was actually leaked almost a week ago, and while I didn't listen to it, I did read the comments, and they all came back to two things: the lyrics were awful and it sounded like Dora the Explorer. So now that the episode's aired, allow me to counter with this: I think this song is great and just needed the visuals to tie it together. In fact, that's kind of true of most of the music on the show; even “Smile, Smile, Smile” was universally panned when it was leaked, but became almost everyone's favorite when it actually aired. You need both the audio and visual components for these tunes to work, and they really deliver here.

The song starts with Twilight finding Fluttershy, who's basically ready to cash it all in and go back to Cloudsdale. Ah yes, failure, something I am intimately familiar with. Still, the spell hasn't erased the fact that the ponies know each other and are friends, so despite having never worked with animals in this reality, she still goes with Twilight to help. And that's good, because Rainbow Dash has screwed things up badly and is about to be cooked into a big tasty stew. Fluttershy has a few moments of hesitation, but once she starts getting into her groove, everything comes flying back to her. And then the Element comes on, restoring her memories and bringing back her Cutie Mark.

Cue the montage.

We see each of the ponies start to remember who they are as soon as they're back in their elements and wearing their Elements. This sequence is both funny and heartwarming, from Rarity complaining about being in a nightmare after seeing how AJ's messed up her place to Pinkie regaining her poofiness and cheering up the entire town. And at the end, we have everything coalesce into a fantastic chorus, with all of Ponyville cheering on the return of these dear ponies.

But then we get to the other part of the episode, that thing it...kind of has to do...

Twilight remembers the book that caused this whole mess and returns to the library, finishing the spell with some notes about friendship and love and all that. Unfortunately, she fails to notice everything slow down as the quill strikes down the last period, signaling her impending doom. For the Elements suddenly come alive again and blast Twilight with all of their power. The mare can only stand there and accept her end as she is utterly atomized, leaving only her friends and a scorch mark behind to indicate she was ever there.

YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW HER UP! AH, DAMN YOU! GODDAMN YOU ALL TO TARTARUS!

So...Twilight ends up in some higher field of consciousness or something; it's kind of hard to tell if she was just teleported there, or was actually killed by the Elements and her soul has ascended to this place. No matter what, though, Celestia is able to access this place, and we finally get the moment that made me squee with joy:CELESTIA GETS A SONG! And it's a pretty good one, too, going over Twilight's life up to this point and how proud she is of her accomplishments. This really buys into the theory that Celestia was grooming Twilight for this since the beginning, and in that respect, there are some hints from earlier episodes of this happening. From Twilight learning to delegate responsibilities to others, to looking outside the box to defeat Trixie, to entertaining the delegates from Saddle Arabia, this season has shown Twilight being given bigger and more responsible roles to play.

But alas, it's time for Twilight to finally ascend, and after a dazzling light show and return to the moral plane, she reappears before her friends...as an Alicorn. Yep, it finally happened. Alicorn Twilight has been made canon. Oh, and so has Alicorn, confirming that the Alicorn Amulet was not talking about the substance horns are made of. Eh, works better than winged unicorn in any case.

Alas, this is where things are going to be a bit rough to describe. Twilight basically voices our own insecurities on the prospect of her ascension, including losing her role as Celestia's student. What Celestia says, however, seems to imply that she'll still be there to guide her, but she's now surpassed being a mere student and is now almost equal to her master. In that way, it's actually kind of a touching moment, and gives some credence to the idea that this was intended to be a series finale in case the show didn't get renewed. (Which, given the way children's animated television works, was a real possibility. They've already confirmed that Transformers Prime is ending once it hits its syndication numbers, and that's one of their biggest shows, so...)

The actual coronation is pretty syrupy, but it also helps assuage one of my other fears about the Alicorn process; namely, Twilight no longer being Twilight. She's still her adorkable self, unsure of what to do, and still very much in love with her friends. Alas, we must kill the good mood by ending with a rather frustrating reprise of the opening song. Twilight jumping off the carriage to walk with her friends was nice, but then...she flies. And breaks the fourth wall to tell us that everything's going to be fine. And then we get the “Friend, Friend, Friend” song over the credits.

There are a few other things to note about these last couple scenes, though. We see Twilight's parents again, and Shining Armor lets his liquid pride leak out of his eyes. That is what I'm going to call all manly tears now. Luna wearing pink is horrifically wrong, and makes me wish they had kept the deleted Rarity scene from “Luna Eclipsed” just for the callback. Still, seeing the two smiling and loving each other was a nice touch. And even better, right as Twilight's walking with her friends, mere moments before the end of the episode, Derpy appears in plain view just at the right of the screen. After a whole season's absence, the muffin queen has returned. Here's hoping it marks a full return to the “Where's Derpy?” game next season.

CONCLUSION:

...This was going to be the series finale, wasn't it? I was just supposing before, but this...this feels like a final episode, even more than “Return of Harmony” did. Celestia's summation of what Twilight's learned from her friends, her ascension to princesshood, all of it just smacks of “This might be our last season, so let's wrap things up as best we can.”

I really, really enjoyed this episode. It's definitely in the top three this season for me. The musical setup provides a good way to rush through the two storylines while still fitting in all the important pieces, and while things are a bit too fast at points, the emotion and feeling of those moments are perfectly encapsulated by the music and lyrics of the songs themselves. If there was a rather specific weakness, it was that the two plots really don't fit together. Twilight finishes Starswirl's book, and bam, she's an Alicorn. I know it's become old hat by this point, but this needed a second part. They could have killed “Spike at Your Service” and provided us with a truly epic and fantastic finale.

As it stands, however, this was still a great episode. And according to Meghan's twitter, the Season 4 opener is going to continue from this point, setting up whatever they have planned for the fourth season of Miniature Equines of My Persuasion. So while I wouldn't call this a total success, it was still far from the apocalypse a lot of fans were expecting, and I'm eager to see how this develops from here.

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There will be a follow-up post to this, discussing the idea of destiny as it's presented in this episode and giving my own thoughts on it, but for now, I hope you enjoyed the review. Whether you agree or not, feel free to post below. Now in the meantime, I have to go hunt down the radioactive mutants that no doubt litter the land now.

Episode Reviews: Sonic Rainboom

This episode frequently tops lists of the best episodes of the series. It's not only Rainbow Dash's Crowning Moment of Awesome, but it also showcases her insecurities and fears. We even get to see Cloudsdale, the home city of the Pegasi. So how does it hold up? Let's look at "Sonic Rainboom."