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The My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic Thread; Its epic... trust me
Topic Started: Mar 7 2011, 07:16:15 PM (185,304 Views)
pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
REVIEW ON FRIENDSHIP GAMES POST!!

So, here is my review for Equestria Girls: Friendship Games. This is a really, really good movie. For me, despite the backlash it might get from some fans, (Mostly because it takes place in a high school setting.) the series of the Equestria Girls movies just keeps getting better and better, and keep in mind, I liked the first one. Rainbow Rocks was better, and despite how good that was, Friendship Games somehow topped it. I'll try not to spoil too much for this one, but I make no guarantees.

This one took things at a slightly different angle. For one thing, there's not a single scene where Twilight from the pony world appears. (Well, except the ending after the conflict is resolved.) Instead, we have Twilight's human counterpart pretty much hogging most of the movie. On top of that, the heroes don't go up against the real villain, but rather those that are corrupted by the villain and one that is forced by the villain. Yeah, Twilight's human counterpart is not really the villain here.

The real villain here is Principal Cinch of Crystal Prep. I seriously HATE this woman. Even with understanding that she's the real villain, I hate her. There were times in this movie that I wanted to go in there and kick her butt. That's how much I hate her. She pretty much corrupts her students into believing that winning is the only thing that matters, mainly because winning is the only way to keep up their reputation now. As for with Twilight, Principal Cinch blackmails Twilight by telling her that if she doesn't compete in the Friendship Games, then her application to the school she wants to go to will be denied.

Finally, we have a Magic Containment Device that Twilight made and that she can't really control. Mainly because it's doing what it was programmed to do. As a result, this device causes tears between the two worlds to appear whenever it steals magic from the main cast. They disappear when the device stops taking the magic, but it's obvious just how dangerous it is.

This is the main bulk of the story. Twilight is forced to play in the Friendship Games and her device steals the magic of the main cast whenever they "pony up" as they call it. Heck, there's even times that show that she really wants to have a good time with this whole thing, but her device just causes problems. She's really not a bad person and you really feel sorry for what is happening to her.

All of this thing of stealing and containing the magic comes to a climatic fight ending when Principal Cinch and the students of Crystal Prep force Twilight to unleash the magic. She becomes this being that has been dubbed "Midnight Sparkle", and she looks awesome!

Click Here to be Spoiled!

In this climax, Sunset Shimmer becomes her own version to fight back,

Click Here to be Spoiled!

and the two duke it out in one of the most epic battles I've seen.

It ends with the two firing beams of light at one another and Sunset only wins because Twilight gets distracted and comes to her senses thanks to Spike. In the end, Sunset offers her hand of friendship to Twilight and she takes it. This ends their transformations and sets everything back the way it was before this all started.

However, there is one change now, the Twilight of the human world will be going to Canterlot High and is now friends with the main cast.


I think that's all I want to spoil. I did enjoy it quite a bit and the songs were good and enjoyable. Then again, nothing here beats "Shine Like Rainbows" from the last movie, which has become my favorite song of the pony series, period.

This was a good movie and I'll definitely buy it when it comes out on Blu-ray later this month.

That's all from me.

See ya later! :wave
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Animeboye
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Ducky
Just finished watching Brotherhooves Social. I liked that Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo finally got some recognition as "sisters" and I thought it was pretty sweet that the Sisterhooves Social's idea of a sister is basically someone you're close to and see as family. That's how I've often looked at my closest friends. Not simply as friends, but more like siblings.

Big Mac in drag was quite a sight to behold if not a little gross (not saying crossdressing is gross mind you). The voice he used as Apple Bloom's cousin was pretty hysterical and I was pretty surprised that the other ponies didn't notice "Cousin Apple Orchard" was a stallion during the singing competition. Really? None of them noticed the deep voice or the very visible Adam's Apple?

The scene at the end was my favorite part of the whole episode. It was just so beautiful and touching and yes, I teared up during it. I loved that Apple Bloom assured Big Macintosh that even though she might not always show it, Big Mac will always be one of her heroes. I think that was one of the sweetest moments in the whole show.

A great, fun episode. One of my favorites from season five. I hope Big Mac gets some more episodes in the future.
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Dino-Mario
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Chomper
Poor Big Mac... He just wants to be more special. Anyway, what I liked the most about this episode was the sweet interaction between Mac and AB, as well as the lengths he's willing to go to show her he can be a hero on his own... Even if it means cross dressing in a truly hilarious manner, heh heh heh... Anyway, the episode had a heartwarming ending, and added more depth for Big Mac's character.
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Malte279
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I'm a historian. I MUST be like that!

On brotherhooves social:
As a matter of fact they DID notice, Animeboye. The way it is presented I don't think Big Mac's crossdressing actually fooled anypony (except perhaps for that elderly judge). The CMCs, and Rainbow Dash clearly say so to Big Mac before the games even start and the judge who disqualifies Apple Bloom and Big Mac also leaves no doubt about the fact that they had seen through this from the beginning:

Apple Bloom: I should've known you'd eventually get busted for bein' a stallion!
Judge:Oh, no, we've known all along. The Sisterhooves Social has always had a loose policy when it comes to what counts as a "sister". But we do have a strict policy when it comes to sportsponyship! In your "sister's" desperation to win, he used brute strength to physically take out the competitors. Uh, that kind of behavior is not just unbecoming of a lady, but quite frankly, of anypony! And for that, you two are hereby disqualified!

I think it is a nice sign for a very open minded and liberal Equestria that ponies didn't just call Big Mac out for this from the start but probably viewed it the way Sweetie Belle summed it up:

Sweetie Belle: It's sweet he wants to help you out like this. Weird, but sweet.

Many of the looks Big Mac got were quite priceless though :lol

I think the episode did quite a good job in combining sensitive matters (like how much it bothered Big Mac that he was not looked up to, even ignored by his little sister anymore) with some really hillarious scenes. Also I think it was a very good decision that they were discqualified (after Big Mac) went all bulldozer mode rather than declared winners. Not winning made Apple Bloom's rediscovered appreciation for her brother a lot more powerful.


On Friendhip Games
In general I don't really warm up to the Equestria Girls films. I'm not saying that they were poorly made, and it is clear that the makers put a lot of effort into letting everyone of the main characters have a scene to shine. But there was almost nothing surprising or unexpected in the film. Villains always seem to have evil tatooed all over their faces. This of course is something that MLP can be accused of too, but I would really enjoy a subtle villain for a change, one who comes across as friendly and likeable until in some utterly unexpected act of treason or the like he or she drops the mask.
Also I think that Sunset Shimmer is becoming a little too much of a Mary Sue. She acts almost perfect all the time rather than sporting any of the hilarious flaws or quirks which every one of the other main characters has. True, she does always try to ask for advise from Twilight, but that too comes across as modesty rather than the kind of insecurity that could be viewed as a flaw and true, she does loose her temper with that world's Twilight at one point (but only after she endangered everyone and Sunset Shimmer immediately regrets). Maybe one could bring up some other points against my view here (I pray you do), but I feel she has become the closest we got to a Mary Sue in this franchise.
Also I think when that world's Twilight was corrupted for a moment and tried to tear open the border between the worlds one could have made it all A LOT more powerful with just a little change in the motives of "evil Twilight". In the movie all she gives as a motive is greed for the powerful magic in equestria. How much more powerful would it have been if instead it had been her motive to try to get to Equestria, no matter what, because almost all she ever experienced in her world was being lonely and bullied? I think there are a number of bronies who could relate to such a "get to Equestria no matter what" kind of motive much more than to the blunt and overused "I want magic power!"
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Rarity are all now Pillow Pets!

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/10/pill...s-found-in.html

I know a certain someone in my family that would like the Rainbow Dash one. (Oh, and it's not me I'm talking about, though I would like one myself.)
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
Tomorrow is a new episode, so here we are again with the marathons that lead up to the new episode.

So, here are the marathons leading up to the new episode, featuring the Cutie Mark Crusaders!

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/10/stre...ew-episode.html

Nothing that I find interesting for me. May as well wait for the episode.

See ya later! :wave
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Animeboye
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Ducky
Happy fifth birthday MLP! Five years and still just as fun (if not more so) than the day it started. Hope we'll be able to get another five years from this series.
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
LIVE STREAM POST!!

Title reference is obvious, but it has nothing to do with it. How exciting! :D

Summary: Pipsqueak is running for class president and the Cutie Mark Crusaders want to help out, but find themselves helping the opponent, Diamond Tiara, instead.

*growls* What did that bully convince them with now?

Anyways, here's the Live Streams for when it airs.

Season 5 Episode 18 - Crusaders of the Lost Mark Live Streams

Yeah, like I said, has nothing to do with the obvious reference. Still, I'll be able to watch this, give my review and give you all the Online Post after it airs.

See ya later! :wave
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
REVIEW POST!!

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!! YOU WILL REGRET IT!!

For what is essentially the 5th Year Anniversary, this was an amazing episode! It's a "Musical Episode". Much like Magical Mystery Cure, it has songs that revolve around the plot.

Pipsqueak asks the Cutie Mark Crusaders for help with becoming president and they agree to help him. Diamond Tiara is the main opponent here. What Pipsqueak wants to do is get them a new playground, which was apparently destroyed during the Season 4 Finale.

I knew you were evil, Tirek, but this!? Wasn't it bad enough that you destroyed Twilight's old home? As far as I'm concerned, you deserve to rot in Tartus!

Okay, sarcastic rant aside...

Diamond Tiara becomes quite selfish here. To her, getting this is all about herself. She even goes as far as silencing Silver Spoon's suggestions. As a result, she loses, in the worst way possible. She only got one vote; herself. Yes, even Silver Spoon didn't vote for her. That's what happens when you're a jerk to friends!

As a result, she goes to her mother and tells her the news. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. She's president of the School Board. Anyways, Diamond Tiara's Mother is obviously upset, but with the way she reacts and scolds Diamond Tiara, one thing is VERY obvious. Diamond Tiara is who she is because of her mother.

There's always a reason a bully becomes, well, a bully. It's all about finding what that reason is. Once that is solved, we can fix the problem of bullying. In this case, it's her mother's influence that's the problem.

She puts a lot of pressure onto Diamond Tiara to be successful. Heck, she was the one who made Diamond Tiara believe that "blank flanks" were below them. Diamond Tiara takes this pretty hard. Having lost not just the election, but also her only friend, and what her mother says pretty much makes her lose sight of who she is.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders overhear all of this and decide to invite Diamond Tiara to their clubhouse. They give her the invite and seeing how she has nothing better to do, she accepts.

They go to the clubhouse and Diamond Tiara is impressed with how hard they try to get their marks. They go through a lot to find their calling and even with what they decide doesn't turn out to be what their destiny is, they don't give up, no matter how much it hurts them.

However, they then get interrupted by Pipsqueak showing up. He tells them that they won't accept his proposal for a new playground due to a lack of funds. The Cutie Mark Crusaders tell him to head back while they think of a way to get the money.

Diamond Tiara sees this as a way to get herself reinstated and get Pipsqueak kicked out. She blabs this out and heads off for her plan. The Cutie Mark Crusaders go after her.

During the chase, they try to convince Diamond Tiara there's a better way. They believe she is nothing like this and that she could do more.

Diamond Tiara arrives as the school and the Cutie Mark Crusaders try one more time to convince her there's a better way. However, at this point Diamond Tiara's mother shows up. She pretty much tells her to go ahead with the plan and abandon those Blank Flanks.

At this moment, Diamond Tiara does the unthinkable. She stands up to her own mother and calls the "blank flanks" her friends. She then hands a note to her mother, telling her to give it to father. The note in question? For Filthy Rich to donate the money for the new playground.

A change has happened in Diamond Tiara. She has found her true calling now. It's to use her influence to help others and get things done. She actually commands the students pretty well in helping get the place fixed up and get the new playground. She has been redeemed.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders found this to feel pretty good. They helped someone find what their cutie mark really meant. As a result, they don't care anymore if they don't get their marks. All they want to do is help others get theirs and understand what they mean.

The three make that pact, and in that moment...

OMFG!! THEY GOT THEIR CUTIE MARKS!!

We end with a celebration song.

Cutie Mark Crusaders, you have been given a HUGE responsibility. Hope you do well with it. :)


This was a REALLY good episode. One that was definitely worthy of the 5th Anniversary of this franchise. Way to go CMC! You've done us proud.

See ya for the Online Post!
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
ONLINE POST!!

Here you go, everyone! One of the best episodes of Season 5!

Season 5 Episode 18 - Dailymotion Version

Season 5 Episode 18 - YouTube Version

Enjoy it! I have to get ready for work!

See ya later! :wave
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Animeboye
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Ducky
THIS is how you do an anniversary celebration. Normally I find MLP to be a little predictable (not necessarily a bad thing mind you) but with this episode, I NEVER, EVER expected to not only see Diamond Tiara, who was probably one of, if not the most detestable character on the show actually be redeemed but for the CMC to actually get their Cutie Marks! As weird as this may sound, I'm actually pretty proud of them. Yeah, I'm proud of three fictional horse kids. They've really come a long way since they first started looking for their talents and I think it's awesome that they'll still go on being the Cutie Mark Crusaders just crusading in a different way.

Diamond Tiara having a difficult home life was kind of expected yet at the same time it wasn't if that makes any sense. To think that the whole time she's been making fun of others just to mask her own insecurities. And yes, I know this is common for most bullies but I never thought it would be a defense mechanism for DT. Since the beginning of the show, I thought she was just being horrible just to be horrible.

The only real issue I had with this episode was that there were too many songs. It sort of reminded me of Magical Mystery Cure with how many songs it had. The songs weren't bad in any way (they were actually quite good) I just think there didn't need to be so many of them.

On a last note, seeing Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash congratulate Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle for getting their Marks was so touching. I teared up during the whole scene, especially at the part where AJ mentions their parents being proud of Apple Bloom if they were there. Since word of god says they're dead, it made that part all the more touching and sad at the same time. Rainbow Dash calling Scoots her little buddy was so adorable as was Rarity telling Sweetie Belle how much of an inspiration she is.

EDIT: I just realized. Now I have to paint Cutie Marks on my Funko CMC figures since they're outdated now. DAMMIT HASBRO!! /joke


Fantastic episode. One of, if not my most favorite episode not just of this season but of the whole series.
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The Chronicler
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Bionicle fan of GoF
(spoilers)
Out of all the ways this episode could've gone, I never would've expected it to be for the Cutie Mark Crusaders what the episode Magical Mystery Cure was for Twilight Sparkle. Heck, I actually saw tons of parallels between the two episodes (a musical with six songs in total, some major characters receive a permanent and very obvious change for the better, and there's a big celebration at the end of it all). Kinda makes me wonder if there will also be the parallel of controversy surrounding such a major change for the characters...

Anyway, I certainly liked this episode. I think it's pretty nice that all three of them got cutie marks that are mostly the same (to signify the strength of their bond of friendship) but also slightly unique to suit their respective talents. And the best part is that this won't mean an end to the CMC as an organization, because instead of finding their own cutie marks, they will now be helping other colts and fillies find theirs.

Since this couldn't be part of a season premier or finale, having it air right on the 5th anniversary of the show was definitely the next best thing.

(end spoilers)
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
^^

From what I'm seeing so far, only a small minority of the fans seem to have a problem with Diamond Tiara's redemption than anything else. Sighting it as being done too fast. Um, any takers on that? Because looking back, I kind of agree with them.
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Animeboye
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Ducky
Didn't seem that way to me. I actually thought the plot line with Pip becoming class president was wrapped up a lot quicker as it kind of just came and went. DT's redemption I thought was pretty decently paced.
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Daddytops2009
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Retro Junk
Crusaders of the Lost Mark are my number one episode.
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f-22 "raptor" ace
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yay
Ok the new episode is one of the best of season and one of the best in the series.
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Dino-Mario
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Chomper
In all honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed by this episode. For one side, after many episodes of trying and failing a lot, the CMC finally get their cutie marks, and with good reason, helping other ponies understand their talents like they helped Troubleshoes. Their designs are decent, but could have been better. And while it's nice to see they decided to reform Diamond Tiara, it all felt rather rushed and quite cliche. We've all seen awful parents like that in media. I know Pacifica Northwest's redemption uses the same trope, but Gravity Falls handled it better and with more depth. Not to mention she got rather easily forgiven for being such a nasty bitch in the past seasons, but the show's had lots of Karma Houdinis in the past, so this hardly fazes me. Truth be told, the Crusaders getting their marks could have waited a bit more, but let's see if they manage to handle it decently. After all, the CMC are willing to aid more ponies get their own marks.
Overall, the whole thing kinda felt somewhat like a rehash of "Magical Mystery Cure", but with more improvements and better paced-songs and the long-awaited goal of our dear fillies, albeit it's got quite some weak spots.
Well, AJ's parents are officially in pony heaven... Or maybe something like Celestia's country?
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Kor
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Overall I did like the episode, but I do agree it was rushed, but if you look at past MLP episodes, there are more then a few that were rushed and, perhaps, should have been a 2 part episode. Also looking in the past Diamond Tiara has gotten off either scott free or suffering repercussions far less then the CMC's have, which in itself can send a bad message.
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pokeplayer984
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Yes, that's a new Pokemon!
For tomorrow's episode, Pinkie Pie needs to keep a secret. It involves Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. The summary alone is already creating controversy.

Here are the marathons leading up to the episode.

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/10/stre...ing-to-new.html

Not much I'm interested in.

I'll still be able to do the usual stuff tomorrow.

See ya then! :wave

PS - Possible article on Sunday, depending on what the secret is. I know the flames that will come if my prediction of what the secret is comes true.
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Animeboye
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Ducky
How much you guys want to bet Cadence and Shining Armor are going to have a kid? That seems to be what most people believe is going to happen. Could this mean Princess Skyla will be canon? http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/im...=20130326024954

As ugly as the toy is, there is some pretty cute fanart of Skyla https://derpibooru.org/118802?scope=scped6f...fb1b94533528314
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