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."

Fanfiction Review: Past Sins

...Okay, I have nothing better to do. So let's look at one of the most popular pony fics into the totality of existence. One that's already been discussed to death and I have absolutely no reason to bring up again.  Let's do something that much more talented fanfiction critic already did and look at Past Sins and get this over with.

On Fausticorn

(Requested by DashieShy3597)

This is going to be an...interesting topic today. I don't know how it's gonna go, if anyone's gonna be interested, or if I should just cut my loses now and go to the countdown, but whatever. Let's discuss...Fausticorn.

Fanfiction Reviews: Cupcakes

Well, there's nothing else to talk about, I haven't listened to the leaked song, and...well, I'm bored. So let's look at quite possibly the most infamous fanfic in FiM's existence. Let's look at Sergeant Sprinkles' Cupcakes.

Let's Watch the Other Hub Shows (Part 2)

Last time, we looked at five of the Hub's other offerings. Today, we'll look at a few more. Why? Because I've lost all control over my life.

Fanfiction Review: Happy Birthday, Fizzypop!

I know it's a day early, but my Monday might not be so good so...let's get this done now.

Time to dig into the fanfiction well once again. This time around, we're looking at not a request, but a story from all the way back in 2011. Why? Because we can. So let's look at ItsTheWhinyGuys' Happy Birthday, Fizzypop!

Is Hasbro Trying to Kill the Fandom?

This has been an...interesting last couple of weeks, to be sure. So far our fandom has weathered Alicorn Twilight, the Friendship is Witchcraft and episode takedowns, and now Fighting is Magic has been Ceased & Desisted out of existence. And with this perfect storm of madness, a harsh line of thinking has begun to take prominence:

Is Hasbro trying to kill the Brony fandom?

Here's my answer in a single word: no.

Episode Reviews: Games Ponies Play

Is everyone ready for high-stakes Olympic Committee-courting action? I know I am! Let's review “Games Ponies Play.”

How to Redeem a Character

Well, time for an impromptu blog post, courtesy of boredom!

Redemption is one of the central tenants of literature, a goal that many of us have strived for in our own lives from time to time. And in fiction, redeeming a character can be a beautiful thing, a moving end to their narrative story, and a way to open up new possibilities for the story and its cast. But if done badly, it can come off as cheap, rushed, character derailment, or any other host of horrible things, and can potentially sink an entire story. So what's the line here? How do you make the bad guys good?

Fanfiction Review: The Sweet Meet and Greet

(Requested By: djthomp)

Welcome to our second fanfiction review. Today, we look at MrNumbers' story of Pinkie's arrival in Ponyville, The Sweet Meet and Greet.

Episode Review: Feeling Pinkie Keen

Dave Polsky is a polarizing figure in the FiM fanbase. Some love his episodes, and others find them to be the worst of the series. Before Merriweather Williams came along, he was the show's lightning rod of hate. But how did this all start? Let's find out as we look at "Feeling Pinkie Keen."

Episode Reviews: Suited for Success

This episode is a legend among fans of the show, frequently topping "Best Of" lists for both Season One and the entire series overall. And it's an episode about a fashion show, one of the most stereotypical concepts in any show aimed at a young female audience. So how did this one manage to please so many? We'll find out as we look at "Suited for Success."

How to Build an OC

Ah, fandoms. A gathering of individuals whose only common interest is a love for a certain franchise. And what better way to show your love for said fandom than to contribute stories. Rich, beautiful stories that captivate the mind and enthrall the senses. And as a proud member of the FiM community, you've decided to commit your first fanfic to print.

But wait! Suddenly you can't fit one of the show's ponies into a specific role! Is there nothing you can do? Well, you could read this other guy's vastly superior guide, or you can listen to me ramble on about nonsense for the next one thousand words.

...Sticking with me, huh? Okay then, let's look over how to build an Original Character.

On the Subject of Princesses

Sorry to go back into this topic, but I feel this needs to be addressed.

One of the big criticisms of the whole Alicorn Princess Twilight debacle is the notion that Twilight becoming a princess robs her of what makes her a unique character. Up to this point, she's been mostly a socially awkward bookworm, with the former gradually vanishing as she grew closer to her friends and now only showing up when Celestia is involved. After all, princesses are all about having tea parties and sitting in castles looking pretty. What happened to the good old days of there being different ways to be a person? Making her a princess robs her of any character she had!

To which I say, neigh.

Episode Reviews: Fall Weather Friends

Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Two athletic ponies who love to give it their all and push themselves to the limit. But what happens when the two have to face...each other? Let's find out as we look at "Fall Weather Friends."

Episode Review: Call of the Cutie

It's time to meet the show's secondary set of protagonists, refugees from a failed spinoff who will instead become important in their own right. So let's see how the Cutie Mark Crusaders first met as we look back on "Call of the Cutie."

Episode Reviews: Winter Wrap-Up

One of the more interesting aspects of Friendship is Magic is that the ponies have total control over the weather itself, and this includes the seasons. But just how does this control work? Well, this episode answers that question by showing us one such Ponyville tradition: "Winter Wrap-Up."

Why No Luna?

(Requested by NonFaustDevotee)

One of the aspects that make Friendship is Magic so popular is its large and diverse cast, especially after the fandom gets hold of them. Can you imagine a show where the fans didn't name every single background pony, give them extensive backstories, and then write fanfic after fanfic exploring their fan-granted personalities? But back during the first season, there was one particular pony that fired off the imagination like no other, one that received the most fan attention of all the characters despite having less than a minute and two lines worth of screentime.

Princess Luna.

So that's the point of today's article: Why was Luna, a character with such a significant role in the show's backstory and such a large fandom, totally ignored for a full season?