Rainbledon: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Thread

[Wilgrove]

Anyone know when the movie will come out on dvd?

Already have plans to buy the soundtrack.

I would not be surprised if they release the DVD around the holidays.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Anyone know when the movie will come out on dvd?

Already have plans to buy the soundtrack.

I would not be surprised if they release the DVD around the holidays.

I could see that happening, but it would be way faster then normal dvd releases.

Zootopia was in early march, and didn't get a release until the early summer.

[Ermarian]

Plucked up the courage to actually go to a cinema to see the horsemovie. I was one of maybe ten people in the audience, and the only non-parent adult . The film itself was definitely worth it, though. The art style is kind of jarringly different, but still recognisable, and the songs are pretty great.

Also, I've almost caught up with S7 - just saw Once Upon A Zeppelin. Heh, between Star Struck (whose destiny evidently is being a fanpony; nominative determinism for the win ) and the Fame And Misfortune episode, I get the feeling they want to tell the fans something.

Having caught up with Austraeoh, I've now started Appledashery by the same author. It's a similarly monstrous epic, but in bite-sized chapters, and SS&E's prose is a joy to read.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

That sounds good. Also, here is where we have confirmation that movie things will be in the show.

No, all that says, at best, is that the events in the movie are part of the canon timeline. No guarantees of incorporation.

Many have assumed Equestria Girls fits in the show timeline, and we have yet to hear any mention in the show of magic mirrors to parallel universes, Sunset Shimmer, sirens, or (unless you count that one guard in “Three’s a Crowd”) Flash Sentry.

Oh, I found some other evdence that seaponies will be in season 8

Plucked up the courage to actually go to a cinema to see the horsemovie. I was one of maybe ten people in the audience, and the only non-parent adult . The film itself was definitely worth it, though. The art style is kind of jarringly different, but still recognisable, and the songs are pretty great.

Also, I've almost caught up with S7 - just saw Once Upon A Zeppelin. Heh, between Star Struck (whose destiny evidently is being a fanpony; nominative determinism for the win ) and the Fame And Misfortune episode, I get the feeling they want to tell the fans something.

Having caught up with Austraeoh, I've now started Appledashery by the same author. It's a similarly monstrous epic, but in bite-sized chapters, and SS&E's prose is a joy to read.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the movie. I also really really enjoyed it.

What was your favorite song? Mine was One Small Thing.

I should really get caught up with S7, but with TF2 and WBC, I don't think I will be able to anytime soon.

[Frenequesta]

Why do I get the feeling that we've seen all of this before?

"The Crystalling" showed that Starlight and Sunburst's friendship has gotten a little cold over the years from being so far apart. "Forever Filly" explored the folly of trying to recreate childhood pleasures without regard for what has changed. And "Rock Solid Friendship" showed the difficulties in trying to force a friendship in one's selfish way. And the explicit theme that Sunburst drops, that the interests don't matter as long as they enjoy each other's company, has been omnipresent since episode one.

Nonetheless, I certainly felt for Starlight's plight, and I enjoyed the bonding that Sunburst had with Twilight, Trixie, and Maud. (It's almost a surprise that Twilight and Sunburst didn't bond like that in "The Crystalling."). The emotional appeal is enough for me not to totally find the episode trivial, and fortunately, all the consequences were low-stakes enough so not to make the issue a bigger deal than it is.

Based on what little I know about "Shadow Play," I expect that book in the close-up shot to be critical in the finale. But I can only limit myself to one dose of pony a weekend, so I'll stave off for next week. Or else...

...So, I too finally made time to step in the theatre and see the film. It certainly pleased me as an optimistic brony—it was full of the warmth, humor, and friendship I watch the show for, and the characters stayed true to form (though Fluttershy and Applejack really didn’t get the chance to advance the plot I wish they would have, unlike Twilight, RD, Rarity, and Pinkie, and even Twilight seemed to be less comfortable in her capacities as princess than I would expect her to be at that point). I especially thought that Princess Skystar's obsession with shells was a clever way to drive home the theme--that people should leave their "shell" and open up to others to get the help they need in times of trouble.

Which brings me to the neighsayer side of me, because there was certainly a lot about the plot that didn’t quite click. For example: In the merpony mountain scene, I failed to understand why Twilight believed (without further inquiry) that the pearl would have solved anything, as all we knew about it was that it would turn them into merponies, and even Princess Celestia didn't mention anything about a pearl. It wouldn’t have done anything about the other three princesses, at least in the short term, and it wouldn’t stop the Storm King from eventually finding out about their hiding place, especially since he had a strong motivation to leave no stone unturned to get the princesses’ magic, when it could give him the power of a hundred armies (and the hippogriffs presumably had less?).

Second, and one that even puzzles me as an optimistic brony, is how the magic distribution of the staff worked, and its effects. I found it somewhat surprising that Tempest or the Storm King didn't turn Twilight into stone once they were ready to get the staff to full power, and certainly not after she was no longer useful. (Hay, no thought to destroy the other three princesses either?). Of course, that might just mean that turning into stone wasn't necessary, but it still seems a little odd. Yet, even though the whole scene evokes "Twilight's Kingdom," Twilight didn't lose her cutie mark, and moreover, she was still apparently able to fly when she and her friends were trying to get the staff. (She must have been because (if I recall correctly), she was in the front of the line, and I don't think Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could have provided enough thrust to bring the whole gang up at that angle.) I suppose the best explanation is that the staff only collected alicorn magic, but Tempest did demand all of the alicorn's magic, so that might be a nonstarter.

Some further thoughts: the wiki says that Tempest's old friends started to avoid her because her magic became "unstable and dangerous" as a result of her losing her horn, but somehow I didn't get that impression at all. The ball glowed in the flashback, but it didn't seem her friends paid too much mind to it. (Perhaps I missed something about their facial expressions, which from the different art style in the flashback I wouldn't be surprised.) Further, even if the magic was "unstable and dangerous" at first, she certainly grew to control it and use it competently. If she believed the magic was causing her friends to shun her, then why once she did control it not try to go back to normal pony life? I suspect something else was at play in the intervening years. Nonetheless, it certainly appears to be another play on "friendship is magic," and I suppose at that level it does its job well.

And of course, about them pirates. As I learned well from the South Park episode "Fatbeard," why would anyone want to be a pirate? In any case, it is a great surprise that nopony begun to be afraid of them again even a little bit, and Rainbow Dash's only thought is the child's view of pirates--all adventure and freedom without any consideration to the stigma of being hostis humani generis, just as did Cartman and his crew. (This is especially odd when you consider that the Mane 6 eventually became friends with another "enemy of (pony)kind"--the slave trader in Capper, and they clearly objected when they learned about his plans.) Who knows, maybe they were actually scurvy-dog "treasure hunters" rather than the type that actually attacks ships, but they didn't really deny the connotations that come with the term "pirate," euphemisms notwithstanding.

Finally, at this point I can't help but wonder. With all of that magic power concentrated in four princesses, and the many attacks on the princesses in the show where the villains have gained it relatively easily, you'd think that somepony would think "ya know, all that power in a pony makes them such a target, but really, they're just one pony, maybe we better distribute it among the rest of us so we're all a little more powerful so our enemies would have to fight a little harder before they can enslave all of us?" And, by just limiting the magic sought by Tempest and the Storm King to just the princesses', it makes that plot point less engaging than the parallel plot point in "Twilight's Kingdom," where everypony's magic was sought, creating a situation with more profound philosophical implications--one that signaled Equestria's fundamental inclusiveness and dignity of everypony, whereas here the background ponies are truly background ponies with no real role except to be there, treated as accessible only by getting the princess' magic. Were I to create a sequel to this film (or have been put on the helm of production and direction of this one), I would have explored the philosophical implications of the distribution of magic power and its role in the harmonic nature of friendship.

But all and all, it was fun to see, enough that I would set aside all of my concerns just to see it again in the theatre, if only because the optimistic brony side of me was engaged enough. And for the record, I enjoyed "One Small Thing" most of the songs, although "Time to Be Awesome" will definitely be incorporated in one of my next pony rags.

Oh, I found some other evdence that seaponies will be in season 8

Oh joy! That was some time ago even. From their background, they definitely need some exploring.

Plucked up the courage to actually go to a cinema to see the horsemovie. I was one of maybe ten people in the audience, and the only non-parent adult . The film itself was definitely worth it, though. The art style is kind of jarringly different, but still recognisable, and the songs are pretty great.

Ha, when I went I was the only non-parent adult too. I expected to meet a couple fellow bronies there, living in Chicago, but it seems even then most of them have already seen it.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

I have watched almost every single s7 episode of mlp except for shadow play pt 2.

As in, Shadow play part one was up today on Treehouse and I watched it, and then watched the rest of the season that day.

But that one will be up tomorrow.

Why do I get the feeling that we've seen all of this before?

"The Crystalling" showed that Starlight and Sunburst's friendship has gotten a little cold over the years from being so far apart. "Forever Filly" explored the folly of trying to recreate childhood pleasures without regard for what has changed. And "Rock Solid Friendship" showed the difficulties in trying to force a friendship in one's selfish way. And the explicit theme that Sunburst drops, that the interests don't matter as long as they enjoy each other's company, has been omnipresent since episode one.

Nonetheless, I certainly felt for Starlight's plight, and I enjoyed the bonding that Sunburst had with Twilight, Trixie, and Maud. (It's almost a surprise that Twilight and Sunburst didn't bond like that in "The Crystalling."). The emotional appeal is enough for me not to totally find the episode trivial, and fortunately, all the consequences were low-stakes enough so not to make the issue a bigger deal than it is.

Based on what little I know about "Shadow Play," I expect that book in the close-up shot to be critical in the finale. But I can only limit myself to one dose of pony a weekend, so I'll stave off for next week. Or else...

...So, I too finally made time to step in the theatre and see the film. It certainly pleased me as an optimistic brony—it was full of the warmth, humor, and friendship I watch the show for, and the characters stayed true to form (though Fluttershy and Applejack really didn’t get the chance to advance the plot I wish they would have, unlike Twilight, RD, Rarity, and Pinkie, and even Twilight seemed to be less comfortable in her capacities as princess than I would expect her to be at that point). I especially thought that Princess Skystar's obsession with shells was a clever way to drive home the theme--that people should leave their "shell" and open up to others to get the help they need in times of trouble.

Which brings me to the neighsayer side of me, because there was certainly a lot about the plot that didn’t quite click. For example: In the merpony mountain scene, I failed to understand why Twilight believed (without further inquiry) that the pearl would have solved anything, as all we knew about it was that it would turn them into merponies, and even Princess Celestia didn't mention anything about a pearl. It wouldn’t have done anything about the other three princesses, at least in the short term, and it wouldn’t stop the Storm King from eventually finding out about their hiding place, especially since he had a strong motivation to leave no stone unturned to get the princesses’ magic, when it could give him the power of a hundred armies (and the hippogriffs presumably had less?).

Second, and one that even puzzles me as an optimistic brony, is how the magic distribution of the staff worked, and its effects. I found it somewhat surprising that Tempest or the Storm King didn't turn Twilight into stone once they were ready to get the staff to full power, and certainly not after she was no longer useful. (Hay, no thought to destroy the other three princesses either?). Of course, that might just mean that turning into stone wasn't necessary, but it still seems a little odd. Yet, even though the whole scene evokes "Twilight's Kingdom," Twilight didn't lose her cutie mark, and moreover, she was still apparently able to fly when she and her friends were trying to get the staff. (She must have been because (if I recall correctly), she was in the front of the line, and I don't think Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could have provided enough thrust to bring the whole gang up at that angle.) I suppose the best explanation is that the staff only collected alicorn magic, but Tempest did demand all of the alicorn's magic, so that might be a nonstarter.

Some further thoughts: the wiki says that Tempest's old friends started to avoid her because her magic became "unstable and dangerous" as a result of her losing her horn, but somehow I didn't get that impression at all. The ball glowed in the flashback, but it didn't seem her friends paid too much mind to it. (Perhaps I missed something about their facial expressions, which from the different art style in the flashback I wouldn't be surprised.) Further, even if the magic was "unstable and dangerous" at first, she certainly grew to control it and use it competently. If she believed the magic was causing her friends to shun her, then why once she did control it not try to go back to normal pony life? I suspect something else was at play in the intervening years. Nonetheless, it certainly appears to be another play on "friendship is magic," and I suppose at that level it does its job well.

And of course, about them pirates. As I learned well from the South Park episode "Fatbeard," why would anyone want to be a pirate? In any case, it is a great surprise that nopony begun to be afraid of them again even a little bit, and Rainbow Dash's only thought is the child's view of pirates--all adventure and freedom without any consideration to the stigma of being hostis humani generis, just as did Cartman and his crew. (This is especially odd when you consider that the Mane 6 eventually became friends with another "enemy of (pony)kind"--the slave trader in Capper, and they clearly objected when they learned about his plans.) Who knows, maybe they were actually scurvy-dog "treasure hunters" rather than the type that actually attacks ships, but they didn't really deny the connotations that come with the term "pirate," euphemisms notwithstanding.

Finally, at this point I can't help but wonder. With all of that magic power concentrated in four princesses, and the many attacks on the princesses in the show where the villains have gained it relatively easily, you'd think that somepony would think "ya know, all that power in a pony makes them such a target, but really, they're just one pony, maybe we better distribute it among the rest of us so we're all a little more powerful so our enemies would have to fight a little harder before they can enslave all of us?" And, by just limiting the magic sought by Tempest and the Storm King to just the princesses', it makes that plot point less engaging than the parallel plot point in "Twilight's Kingdom," where everypony's magic was sought, creating a situation with more profound philosophical implications--one that signaled Equestria's fundamental inclusiveness and dignity of everypony, whereas here the background ponies are truly background ponies with no real role except to be there, treated as accessible only by getting the princess' magic. Were I to create a sequel to this film (or have been put on the helm of production and direction of this one), I would have explored the philosophical implications of the distribution of magic power and its role in the harmonic nature of friendship.

But all and all, it was fun to see, enough that I would set aside all of my concerns just to see it again in the theatre, if only because the optimistic brony side of me was engaged enough. And for the record, I enjoyed "One Small Thing" most of the songs, although "Time to Be Awesome" will definitely be incorporated in one of my next pony rags.

Oh, I found some other evdence that seaponies will be in season 8

Oh joy! That was some time ago even. From their background, they definitely need some exploring.

Plucked up the courage to actually go to a cinema to see the horsemovie. I was one of maybe ten people in the audience, and the only non-parent adult . The film itself was definitely worth it, though. The art style is kind of jarringly different, but still recognisable, and the songs are pretty great.

Ha, when I went I was the only non-parent adult too. I expected to meet a couple fellow bronies there, living in Chicago, but it seems even then most of them have already seen it.

Movie was indeed fun, I didn't have the same problems with the movie like you did, but it did have problems with the story. Nothing too big or anything that dragged me out of the movie, but some minor plot hiccups here and there. Overall fun and that music was so good I want to buy the movies album. I haven't done that for most of my movies. Other then "Try Everything" From Zootopia and The Lion King album. Uncommon Bond was ok. Oh, and yeah Seaponies i'm hyped for in season 8.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

It is done. Shadow play 2 came out today on Treehouse.

My biggest complaint is "FFS WHY ARE YOU NOT USING RAINBOW POWER?" You made a big deal about using the elements of harmony again, yet you don't think to use one of the most powerful things you ever used?

That aside, the guy's redemption was kinda rushed near the end, but still alright.


Good Things: The interactions between the main 6 and the old group where cool. Glim glam was ok.
Star Swirl and the royal sisters where cute

Interesting things: Sea ponies got mentioned in a title of a book.
Oh and the sirens from RR showed up.



So yeah overall decent epsode.

[Hurdergaryp]

It is done. Shadow play 2 came out today on Treehouse.

My biggest complaint is "FFS WHY ARE YOU NOT USING RAINBOW POWER?" You made a big deal about using the elements of harmony again, yet you don't think to use one of the most powerful things you ever used?

That aside, the guy's redemption was kinda rushed near the end, but still alright.


Good Things: The interactions between the main 6 and the old group where cool. Glim glam was ok.
Star Swirl and the royal sisters where cute

Interesting things: Sea ponies got mentioned in a title of a book
Oh and the sirens from RR showed up.

(Image)

So yeah overall decent epsode.

Those are pretty big seahorses, if you ask me. Also I'm pretty sure seahorses are not supposed to fly, and let's not even start about the firebreath shown in that clip!

[Sunstruck]

*reads*

Friggin' A, the ones I read didn't try to claim that they knew the show. Many of the commenters were right to rip it apart.

Yep.

Another case of IGN being purely bullshit. I will admit that the movie is not perfect, but they use the smallest little flaws that aren't even flaws
all the while posing as "Fans" of the show.

For example the action bit near the end they criticized saying that the show never does acton and only uses friendship and forgiveness.

They must have never seen Season two's finale, Season three's opening, Season fives finale, ect.

You forgot the Tirek battle.
How the movie should've ended: Celestia, Luna, Twilight, the Royal Guard, Discord, and Starlight Glimmer take Tempest down before she has a chance to throw another orb. Since the Royal Guard aren't really shown to be that great at combat, they're probably used for evacuations instead, so they get the normal ponies out of the way. Then princesses promptly revive Cadence and the festival goes back to normal. Storm King won't invade because he didn't get his power from the unicorns.

Sia felt unnecessary. Just someone to attract people to the movie.

On the other hand, all the Pinkie Pie moments were glorious. Just, yes.
And RD should've listened to her friends when they warned her not to make a sonic rainboom, her character has already developed to the level where she takes her friends' opinions into consideration.
Doesn't really matter though, Tempest could've been defeated at the start, but then the movie wouldn't happen. They should've found a more original/interesting way to take the princesses out of the picture. Or they could've, you know, not taken the princesses out of the picture. We need more awesome Celestia/Luna moments.

[Sunstruck]

Plucked up the courage to actually go to a cinema to see the horsemovie. I was one of maybe ten people in the audience, and the only non-parent adult . The film itself was definitely worth it, though. The art style is kind of jarringly different, but still recognisable, and the songs are pretty great.

Also, I've almost caught up with S7 - just saw Once Upon A Zeppelin. Heh, between Star Struck (whose destiny evidently is being a fanpony; nominative determinism for the win ) and the Fame And Misfortune episode, I get the feeling they want to tell the fans something.

Having caught up with Austraeoh, I've now started Appledashery by the same author. It's a similarly monstrous epic, but in bite-sized chapters, and SS&E's prose is a joy to read.

Holy crap, you've read the entire Austraeoh series?
Dude! It's probably as long if not longer than Diaries of a Madman, and reading Diaries took me over a month. Hell, I'm still re-reading it.

[Immoren]

Somehow same time I was both surprised and not surprised that Movie's being featured in theaters in Finland.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Yep.

Another case of IGN being purely bullshit. I will admit that the movie is not perfect, but they use the smallest little flaws that aren't even flaws
all the while posing as "Fans" of the show.

For example the action bit near the end they criticized saying that the show never does acton and only uses friendship and forgiveness.

They must have never seen Season two's finale, Season three's opening, Season fives finale, ect.

You forgot the Tirek battle.
How the movie should've ended: Celestia, Luna, Twilight, the Royal Guard, Discord, and Starlight Glimmer take Tempest down before she has a chance to throw another orb. Since the Royal Guard aren't really shown to be that great at combat, they're probably used for evacuations instead, so they get the normal ponies out of the way. Then princesses promptly revive Cadence and the festival goes back to normal. Storm King won't invade because he didn't get his power from the unicorns.

Sia felt unnecessary. Just someone to attract people to the movie.

On the other hand, all the Pinkie Pie moments were glorious. Just, yes.
And RD should've listened to her friends when they warned her not to make a sonic rainboom, her character has already developed to the level where she takes her friends' opinions into consideration.
Doesn't really matter though, Tempest could've been defeated at the start, but then the movie wouldn't happen. They should've found a more original/interesting way to take the princesses out of the picture. Or they could've, you know, not taken the princesses out of the picture. We need more awesome Celestia/Luna moments.

I put down ect. for all the ones I missed.

I think the speed how Tempest took them all down kinda put away any defence plans they might have had.

I don't agree, the Sia song was actually really fun, the credits were really nice.


Yeah, I agree with you on the RD thing.

More cool sun and moon horse moments would have been great, but then the mane 6 would be overshadowed and kinda pointless.

Speaking of Sia, I request this picture.

[Sunstruck]

We've had enough Mane 6 moments, though. The princesses deserve more screentime. I guess they're not toyetic enough.

And I find it hard to believe that three alicorns, two of which are confirmed to have thousands of years of experience in magic, and the other alicorn who is well-versed in combat magic (Tirek battle being the most obvious example) couldn't take down a unicorn with a broken horn and throwable weapons. It just doesn't make sense.

Sure, they had a small army, but they were later easily defeated by random pirates and the mane six. Even Fluttershy "defeated" one.

And the moment Discord learned Flutters was threatened, it would've been over for Tempest.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

We've had enough Mane 6 moments, though. The princesses deserve more screentime. I guess they're not toyetic enough.

And I find it hard to believe that three alicorns, two of which are confirmed to have thousands of years of experience in magic, and the other alicorn who is well-versed in combat magic (Tirek battle being the most obvious example) couldn't take down a unicorn with a broken horn and throwable weapons. It just doesn't make sense.

Sure, they had a small army, but they were later easily defeated by random pirates and the mane six. Even Fluttershy "defeated" one.

And the moment Discord learned Flutters was threatened, it would've been over for Tempest.

They are the main characters of the series, while it would have great if the princesses were along for the ride, they along with the main 6 would have just been way too overpowered. It had nothing to do with the toys.

The throwable weapons in this case turned them into stone on touch and really confusion, chaos and, speed where on Tempests side.

Fluttershy also can take down a bear and tame other predators.

Discord doesn't have the ability to instantly know when Fluttershy is in danger,

[Holy Marsh]

I enjoyed the movie tremendously, and consider S7 to be one of the better seasons.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

I enjoyed the movie tremendously, and consider S7 to be one of the better seasons.

I fully agree with you.

The movie was really fun, and one of the only movies of recent memory that I want to buy the soundtrack for.

[Saiwania]

The Storm King appears to have been a bit short sighted, I'm not sure why he double crossed for the sake of being more stereotypically evil. I enjoy a good double cross myself, but the motive ought to be more clear. If a henchman does your bidding satisfactorily, why not do what it takes to keep them on your side if the final outcome you want has yet to be solidified?

Either the Storm King was lying to Tempest the entire time and he never had any intention of restoring her horn because he didn't actually know how to do so, or it just wasn't possible- or, he determined that the cost of following through on his promises outweighed the benefit he could have by betraying and discarding her completely. If his new found power was finite and he had better uses in mind for it as one example.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

The Storm King appears to have been a bit short sighted, I'm not sure why he double crossed for the sake of being more stereotypically evil. I enjoy a good double cross myself, but the motive ought to be more clear. If a henchman does your bidding satisfactorily, why not do what it takes to keep them on your side if the final outcome you want has yet to be solidified?

Either the Storm King was lying to Tempest the entire time and he never had any intention of restoring her horn because he didn't actually know how to do so, or it just wasn't possible- or, he determined that the cost of following through on his promises outweighed the benefit he could have by betraying and discarding her completely. If his new found power was finite and he had better uses in mind for it as one example.

Most likely the third option, but mixed with corruption with power.

He no longer gave a shit about Tempest he has no use for her any more, so why waste time on restoring her horn?

[Hurdergaryp]

Somehow same time I was both surprised and not surprised that Movie's being featured in theaters in Finland.

It was inevitable, it had to be done. For pony, but now in Finnish!

[Sunstruck]

We've had enough Mane 6 moments, though. The princesses deserve more screentime. I guess they're not toyetic enough.

And I find it hard to believe that three alicorns, two of which are confirmed to have thousands of years of experience in magic, and the other alicorn who is well-versed in combat magic (Tirek battle being the most obvious example) couldn't take down a unicorn with a broken horn and throwable weapons. It just doesn't make sense.

Sure, they had a small army, but they were later easily defeated by random pirates and the mane six. Even Fluttershy "defeated" one.

And the moment Discord learned Flutters was threatened, it would've been over for Tempest.

They are the main characters of the series, while it would have great if the princesses were along for the ride, they along with the main 6 would have just been way too overpowered. It had nothing to do with the toys.

The throwable weapons in this case turned them into stone on touch and really confusion, chaos and, speed where on Tempests side.

Fluttershy also can take down a bear and tame other predators.

Discord doesn't have the ability to instantly know when Fluttershy is in danger,

Yeah, they would be overpowered, which is why I'm saying they should've made the villain stronger. This is the reason the movie wasn't written well, characters were put aside just for the sake of the plot. I've seen fanfiction writers make better stories than this. And the Discord point is debatable, he senses chaos, does he not? It'd be pretty obvious if suddenly all of Equestria was (temporarily) overthrown. He can bend reality and matter, a unicorn with a broken horn is nothing.

And yes, the throwable weapons are powerful, and one of them broke through magic, but what's preventing any of them from just flying far away? They just stood there! As strong as ponies are, I don't think Tempest can throw one hundreds of meters into the air. Nothing stopped any of them from simply grabbing Tempest with telekinesis, either, then she wouldn't be able to throw anything. Did it cause confusion? Yeah. But the princesses have been shown to be quick to react. When Chrysalis revealed herself, Celestia immediately flew into the air and prepared a spell against her. There's no reason Celestia couldn't have done the same here, or Luna, since Luna was there this time.

I just can't give this franchise any more excuses. It's not what it used to be, it's just one of those mediocre tv show that used to be great but lost its meaning. The movie was a disappointment. But at least fanfiction will always be there.

I haven't watched S7 yet, so there's still hope I'll like some of the newer aspects of the show.

The Storm King appears to have been a bit short sighted, I'm not sure why he double crossed for the sake of being more stereotypically evil. I enjoy a good double cross myself, but the motive ought to be more clear. If a henchman does your bidding satisfactorily, why not do what it takes to keep them on your side if the final outcome you want has yet to be solidified?

Either the Storm King was lying to Tempest the entire time and he never had any intention of restoring her horn because he didn't actually know how to do so, or it just wasn't possible- or, he determined that the cost of following through on his promises outweighed the benefit he could have by betraying and discarding her completely. If his new found power was finite and he had better uses in mind for it as one example.

Another thing. Why didn't Tempest just ask the princesses for help? The Storm King told Tempest that he could restore her horn if he had the alicorns' magic... so why didn't she just go directly to the alicorns themselves, who already had the magic? She wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of stealing it.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

They are the main characters of the series, while it would have great if the princesses were along for the ride, they along with the main 6 would have just been way too overpowered. It had nothing to do with the toys.

The throwable weapons in this case turned them into stone on touch and really confusion, chaos and, speed where on Tempests side.

Fluttershy also can take down a bear and tame other predators.

Discord doesn't have the ability to instantly know when Fluttershy is in danger,

Yeah, they would be overpowered, which is why I'm saying they should've made the villain stronger. This is the reason the movie wasn't written well, characters were put aside just for the sake of the plot. I've seen fanfiction writers make better stories than this. And the Discord point is debatable, he senses chaos, does he not? It'd be pretty obvious if suddenly all of Equestria was (temporarily) overthrown. He can bend reality and matter, a unicorn with a broken horn is nothing.

And yes, the throwable weapons are powerful, and one of them broke through magic, but what's preventing any of them from just flying far away? They just stood there! As strong as ponies are, I don't think Tempest can throw one hundreds of meters into the air. Nothing stopped any of them from simply grabbing Tempest with telekinesis, either, then she wouldn't be able to throw anything. Did it cause confusion? Yeah. But the princesses have been shown to be quick to react. When Chrysalis revealed herself, Celestia immediately flew into the air and prepared a spell against her. There's no reason Celestia couldn't have done the same here, or Luna, since Luna was there this time.

I just can't give this franchise any more excuses. It's not what it used to be, it's just one of those mediocre tv show that used to be great but lost its meaning. The movie was a disappointment. But at least fanfiction will always be there.

I haven't watched S7 yet, so there's still hope I'll like some of the newer aspects of the show.

Luna was flying away from the ball. She didn't just stand there.

Celestia did, but then immediately got taken down by Chrysalis.

It was just Canterlot, not all of Equestria.

If he could sense danger or could spy on all of equestria, why did he not use it back in season two when the mane 6 turned him back into stone?

I have seen my fair share of bad fan fiction that says otherwise.
I disagree, the amount of fun I had with the movie made it so that I can not say it was a disappointment in any way.

Was it great? No. Was it good? Yes.

[Frenequesta]

Some of my own thoughts on this line of discussion:

Although I do agree with Herp that the surprise and speed by which Tempest overtook the princesses credibly tipped the balance of power on her side, I do think that the speed at which Tempest conquered Canterlot could have been mitigated if there was more contingency planning. It seems that Canterlot practice is to make serious security measures, even where the Princesses are involved, only where they have advance notice of a threat (see “A Canterlot Wedding”). But even where they have taken such measures, they still had serious problems through the inadequacy of those measures, so one might expect that this time they would be smarter about security and even have a real plan in the absence of a threat. I think the best explanation of why they didn’t take such measures in the Movie is truly cultural and structural—that is, as I have suggested in my own review, a blind faith that enough magic power in a few ponies is enough to guard against all threats. (Likely Twilight recognized this when she proposed that the merponies’ pearl could be used to transform everypony else into something more powerful. It’s no surprise that that Movie didn’t end with a redistribution of magical power among the Equestrian populace, but it is something that Hasbro and Co. should explore if they make a sequel.)

Second, while I certainly prefer antagonists with real motivations as opposed to Snidely Whiplash-like moustache twirlers who just wreak havoc for the lulz, I think making the Storm King not only completely unsympathetic, but also not one to be taken seriously, is appropriate here and helps cement Tempest as the real villain. She is the one with the ideological grudge against the idea of friendship; the Storm King more or less didn’t care about it. Tempest is therefore a greater threat to the moral order of Equestria, and it is further emphasized by the fact that Tempest is a unicorn herself. (Identity politics is a beast, sure, but I can’t see any sign that ponies are better at controlling their prejudices and biases than human beings.) It is enough that Tempest is the one with the human motivations. I see the Storm King as more a force of nature that, while it can give power, is very unreliable.

As to why Tempest didn’t just ask the Princesses to restore her horn? I think the Movie actually provides some hints: The Princesses are actually rather hard-muzzled about using their magic just to help one pony. Consider how they declined to play their parts in Twilight’s proposed light show at the very beginning (though yes, Twilight’s plan was fairly silly in itself). They see their magic as best used to serve Equestria as a whole, and if they think that the responsibility for solving the problem best lands on the individual pony, then they are not going to just help them because they have the power to do so. Tempest’s magic is apparently “unstable and dangerous,” but so far as we can tell she is able to control it well without any significant consequences beyond what she intends to accomplish. I would not have been surprised if she didn’t even try to ask. (Even Twilight had serious doubts that the other princesses would accept her proposal and was only encouraged by the reminder that she was a princess too and therefore the other princesses would be more receptive to her request.) Tempest’s desire to get her horn restored seemed to be more about her ego and sense of inferiority than any practical considerations, much less anything that would help Equestria as a whole.

Further, the Storm King said that he alone can restore Tempest’s horn. It’s not exactly that alicorn magic is sufficient, or perhaps even necessary, to restore Tempest’s horn (assuming he's not just puffing). Maybe there is something special about the Staff of Sacanas in the way that it can use the Princesses’ magic; the Movie admittedly doesn’t make this point clear.

As for Discord: I assume that Celestia is making her decisions in light of the fact that Discord could help—she was the one who first wanted to reform Discord in the first place for Equestria’s purposes. That she did not raise a solution that she herself created, and therefore is more familiar with its limits, suggests that she thought that Discord’s help would not be adequate for the situation, and I think the Mane 6 could reasonably believe it. And Discord, as we saw in “Twilight’s Kingdom,” is just as corruptible as anypony, and I would not be surprised if Celestia were instead looking for something that can’t be “persuaded.” Hay, the princesses didn’t even think about getting Discord’s help to stop the huge blizzard in “The Crystalling,” so why should I think he’d be useful against a whirlwind? I think at this point, we should be wary of overestimating how effective Discord is in solving Equestria’s problems.

It was just Canterlot, not all of Equestria.

To be fair, Canterlot is Equestria, being the capital city, and if at least some of the Princesses' magic were disabled, Discord would have sensed it just like he did in "Twilight's Kingdom." Of course, he didn't know it was because Twilight got the rest of the Princess' magic, so there's that. And he certainly didn't go try to actively investigate there.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

It was just Canterlot, not all of Equestria.

To be fair, Canterlot is Equestria, being the capital city, and if the all the Princesses' magic were disabled, Discord would have sensed it just like he did in "Twilight's Kingdom." Of course, he didn't know it was because Twilight got the rest of the Princess' magic, so there's that. And he certainly didn't go try to actively investigate there.

But it's not the entire country, with plenty of others to resist the Storm King's reign.

You have a point with Discord, but it could be just off screen event taking up Discords time in the realm of chaos.

[Frenequesta]

To be fair, Canterlot is Equestria, being the capital city, and if the all the Princesses' magic were disabled, Discord would have sensed it just like he did in "Twilight's Kingdom." Of course, he didn't know it was because Twilight got the rest of the Princess' magic, so there's that. And he certainly didn't go try to actively investigate there.

But it's not the entire country, with plenty of others to resist the Storm King's reign.

You have a point with Discord, but it could be just off screen event taking up Discords time in the realm of chaos.

My larger point was that because of the way Equestria handles security, getting the princesses out of the way is effectively defeating Equestria. Once the Storm King and Tempest have all (or at least most) of the Princesses' magic, what good does it do for Manehattan and Los Pegasus to try to resist them? They're practically helpless against all that power, not to mention morale would take a nosedive throughout the country.

[Sunstruck]

Yeah, they would be overpowered, which is why I'm saying they should've made the villain stronger. This is the reason the movie wasn't written well, characters were put aside just for the sake of the plot. I've seen fanfiction writers make better stories than this. And the Discord point is debatable, he senses chaos, does he not? It'd be pretty obvious if suddenly all of Equestria was (temporarily) overthrown. He can bend reality and matter, a unicorn with a broken horn is nothing.

And yes, the throwable weapons are powerful, and one of them broke through magic, but what's preventing any of them from just flying far away? They just stood there! As strong as ponies are, I don't think Tempest can throw one hundreds of meters into the air. Nothing stopped any of them from simply grabbing Tempest with telekinesis, either, then she wouldn't be able to throw anything. Did it cause confusion? Yeah. But the princesses have been shown to be quick to react. When Chrysalis revealed herself, Celestia immediately flew into the air and prepared a spell against her. There's no reason Celestia couldn't have done the same here, or Luna, since Luna was there this time.

I just can't give this franchise any more excuses. It's not what it used to be, it's just one of those mediocre tv show that used to be great but lost its meaning. The movie was a disappointment. But at least fanfiction will always be there.

I haven't watched S7 yet, so there's still hope I'll like some of the newer aspects of the show.

Luna was flying away from the ball. She didn't just stand there.

Celestia did, but then immediately got taken down by Chrysalis.

It was just Canterlot, not all of Equestria.

If he could sense danger or could spy on all of equestria, why did he not use it back in season two when the mane 6 turned him back into stone?

I have seen my fair share of bad fan fiction that says otherwise.
I disagree, the amount of fun I had with the movie made it so that I can not say it was a disappointment in any way.

Was it great? No. Was it good? Yes.

Luna's powers aren't shown very often in the show, so I can understand that she might have been too slow or underestimated the power of the magical ball.
But Celestia would've put up a better fight. She wasn't immediately taken down by Chrysalis, and Chrysalis was a more formidable foe than Tempest because she was superpowered with love magic. And even then, Chrysalis looked surprised when she started winning the lazer beam battle, and then joyful.
Wasn't the whole purpose of reforming Discord so that they could have him as an ally?
Of course there's bad fanfiction. There's also good fanfiction. That just comes down to personal preference.
It's fine enough if you weren't disappointed by the movie, because yes, at least we had an MLP movie at all. It just wasn't up to my personal expectations. It's not THE mlp movie, it's just A mlp movie.

Some of my own thoughts on this line of discussion:

Although I do agree with Herp that the surprise and speed by which Tempest overtook the princesses credibly tipped the balance of power on her side, I do think that the speed at which Tempest conquered Canterlot could have been mitigated if there was more contingency planning. It seems that Canterlot practice is to make serious security measures, even where the Princesses are involved, only where they have advance notice of a threat (see “A Canterlot Wedding”). But even where they have taken such measures, they still had serious problems through the inadequacy of those measures, so one might expect that this time they would be smarter about security and even have a real plan in the absence of a threat. I think the best explanation of why they didn’t take such measures in the Movie is truly cultural and structural—that is, as I have suggested in my own review, a blind faith that enough magic power in a few ponies is enough to guard against all threats. (Likely Twilight recognized this when she proposed that the merponies’ pearl could be used to transform everypony else into something more powerful. It’s no surprise that that Movie didn’t end with a redistribution of magical power among the Equestrian populace, but it is something that Hasbro and Co. should explore if they make a sequel.)

Second, while I certainly prefer antagonists with real motivations as opposed to Snidely Whiplash-like moustache twirlers who just wreak havoc for the lulz, I think making the Storm King not only completely unsympathetic, but also not one to be taken seriously, is appropriate here and helps cement Tempest as the real villain. She is the one with the ideological grudge against the idea of friendship; the Storm King more or less didn’t care about it. Tempest is therefore a greater threat to the moral order of Equestria, and it is further emphasized by the fact that Tempest is a unicorn herself. (Identity politics is a beast, sure, but I can’t see any sign that ponies are better at controlling their prejudices and biases than human beings.) It is enough that Tempest is the one with the human motivations. I see the Storm King as more a force of nature that, while it can give power, is very unreliable.

As to why Tempest didn’t just ask the Princesses to restore her horn? I think the Movie actually provides some hints: The Princesses are actually rather hard-muzzled about using their magic just to help one pony. Consider how they declined to play their parts in Twilight’s proposed light show at the very beginning (though yes, Twilight’s plan was fairly silly in itself). They see their magic as best used to serve Equestria as a whole, and if they think that the responsibility for solving the problem best lands on the individual pony, then they are not going to just help them because they have the power to do so. Tempest’s magic is apparently “unstable and dangerous,” but so far as we can tell she is able to control it well without any significant consequences beyond what she intends to accomplish. I would not have been surprised if she didn’t even try to ask. (Even Twilight had serious doubts that the other princesses would accept her proposal and was only encouraged by the reminder that she was a princess too and therefore the other princesses would be more receptive to her request.) Tempest’s desire to get her horn restored seemed to be more about her ego and sense of inferiority than any practical considerations, much less anything that would help Equestria as a whole.

Further, the Storm King said that he alone can restore Tempest’s horn. It’s not exactly that alicorn magic is sufficient, or perhaps even necessary, to restore Tempest’s horn (assuming he's not just puffing). Maybe there is something special about the Staff of Sacanas in the way that it can use the Princesses’ magic; the Movie admittedly doesn’t make this point clear.

As for Discord: I assume that Celestia is making her decisions in light of the fact that Discord could help—she was the one who first wanted to reform Discord in the first place for Equestria’s purposes. That she did not raise a solution that she herself created, and therefore is more familiar with its limits, suggests that she thought that Discord’s help would not be adequate for the situation, and I think the Mane 6 could reasonably believe it. And Discord, as we saw in “Twilight’s Kingdom,” is just as corruptible as anypony, and I would not be surprised if Celestia were instead looking for something that can’t be “persuaded.” Hay, the princesses didn’t even think about getting Discord’s help to stop the huge blizzard in “The Crystalling,” so why should I think he’d be useful against a whirlwind? I think at this point, we should be wary of overestimating how effective Discord is in solving Equestria’s problems.

It was just Canterlot, not all of Equestria.

To be fair, Canterlot is Equestria, being the capital city, and if at least some of the Princesses' magic were disabled, Discord would have sensed it just like he did in "Twilight's Kingdom." Of course, he didn't know it was because Twilight got the rest of the Princess' magic, so there's that. And he certainly didn't go try to actively investigate there.

The whole Discord problem just exposes plot holes in previous episodes tbh. You're right, there were a number of situations where Discord could have been asked for help, but they didn't. I'm still sore that they reformed him at all. Organized chaos as a concept is fine with me, a good example would be my room. But it's Discord. His whole purpose is to undo harmony. Blegh.

Celestia has a day court. I find it hard to believe she'd downright refuse to help Tempest if Tempest had asked. She refused Twilight's whole sun/moon proposal, but then again, they had a reason: they wanted Twilight to be the head and symbol of the festival, not the sun and moon. It's easier to believe Tempest refusing to ask for help out of just being stubborn. But if that was case, why would she ask for the help of the Storm King instead? In spite? If her friends abandoning her created an issue inside her so large that she decided imprisoning the government of her nation was morally correct, then she has some problems that couldn't have been solved by Twilight at the end of the movie. It'd be more in-character for her to refuse to help at the end of the movie, even though she didn't get what she wanted, out of spite, since she's already shown so much of it. It takes more than an hour for someone with deep emotional problems to change.

If your moustache-twirling remark was against Discord, fair enough, but I believe his motivation is to have fun. He toyed with the mane 6, they had to play his game, so I doubt he takes reality seriously. At least not in the second season.

I also personally think Celestia would have recognized the throwable orbs Tempest used. She's been alive for thousands of years and has influenced multiple fields of magic, she'd be at least able to sense the power that the orbs held. Or she'd know of the Storm King. She's ancient. If Twilight & friends could escape, why couldn't she? Or anyone else?

There's so many characters with so many powers in the universe that the writers are having a tough time keeping track of them all. They have to either ignore certain characters, find a quick way to get rid of others, or come up with a huge large-scale Equestrian invasion bigger than anything they'd ever seen before to keep the threat feel real. The second Chrysalis episode felt like it was hopeless, like Chrysalis had won. Same with the Nightmare Moon episodes. And even the Tirek episodes. But they've invented so many new powers to resolve each of them, seldom any of them get any use. It's boiled down to me ranting about how the show's taken a too vague direction, something that happens too often to TV shows with more seasons than they need. Hell, I'm being critical of a pony show.

I understand Hasbro wanting to cater to younger audiences with this movie, it's just sad that Faust's philosophy of making content enjoyable for all demographics left the show with her.

As Abbath says: "blegh"

Anyway, anyone play Legends of Equestria? I tried it out on launch day, but the optimization was so bad that it wouldn't run well on my computer. I did the first few quests, but they didn't keep me engaged.