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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season 5 |OT| 100+ episodes and better than ever!

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Hmmm i'll check this post out.

I remember reading the Equestria girls Christmas one and thought it was below average tbh.

I don't mind more Sunset backstory and development but wasn't much of a fan of the incident due to how harsh it was and the fickle nature of the 5 + other characters in that universe rared its ugly head again.

What are your reasons for not liking it though?

I haven't actually read the Equestria Girls comics, so I'm going off of popular opinion. Generally, people didn't like how everyone treated Sunset, given that the story was supposed to take place after Rainbow Rocks, they thought the "Humane Five" were out of character, and they really didn't like that the cyber bullies turned out to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

My linked post is very outdated, so I'll edit in comments on the other issues in a bit.

On another note, everyone remember this supposed leak of season 5 episode descriptions? Good times.

EDIT:
Friendship is Magic (quotes means that I couldn't find the title)
#24: Discord in Time - Discord takes Fluttershy and the CMC on a time travel tour. Pretty fun issue, and oddly shippy, though it depicts Discord as having friends in the past when he is supposed to have never had friends before.
#25-26: The Good, the Bad, and the Pony - You think you're going to get an Old West tale with Applejack, but nope! The problem is solved by legalese instead. Twilight could easily stop the villains, but chooses not to because of some law against using magic against non-magic citizens that only appears here, and instead of solving the problem without Twilight, the goal is to create a situation where Twilight is legally allowed to use magic, whereupon the villains are immediately defeated.
#27-28: The Root of the Problem - It turns out the Everfree Forest is ruled by deer, and an evil minotaur businessman wants to tear down the forest to build an amusement park. Not only is the menace of the Everfree Forest removed entirely, but this is another problem that's only a problem because Twilight is legally prevented from solving it.
#29: "Pony Wrestling" - Cheerilee turns out to have a twin sister who is a wrestler, and is forced to take her place in the ring. This story is OK, though it's odd how it keeps switching between the wrestling being fake and real.
#30-31: Ponyville Days - The Apples and the Rich family (Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara) get into a fight about who the real founder of Ponyville was, which drags the entire town into a civil war. An OK story, though I didn't buy how ponies took sides.
#32-33: Night of the Living Apple - A B-movie tribute where apples come to life and take over the town, forcing the ponies to turn themselves into vampire fruit bats to fight back. A fun story, though the first issue is actually too subdued for this premise. The second issue is much better.
#34-37: Siege of the Crystal Empire - And we reach the present day. This is a follow-up to the FIENDship is Magic issue about Sombra's backstory, showing Sombra being revived at his full power. The core of the story is fine, but it gets badly muddled by things like having to include a villain team up, made up mostly of characters who aren't villains.

Friends Forever
#11: Spitfire and Rainbow Dash - A fun issue where Spitfire needs Rainbow's help to teach a class of fillies and colts how to fly.
#12: Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle - Another fun issue, where Pinkie needs Twilight's help to resist the allure of a delicious snack.
#13: Rarity and Babs Seed - Another fun issue, where Rarity has to go meet with Babs when Sweetie Belle becomes sick and can't make their appointment.
#14: Princess Luna and Spike - An eh issue where Luna calls upon Spike to go into a dragon ghetto in Manehattan and solve a crime. First of all, there's the weird fact that there's a dragon ghetto, and then there's that ponies are being depicted as racist against dragons, who are mostly nice, and that despite there being tons of dragons in Equestria, Spike was made to live with Twilight. If you ignore those problems, then Spike's interactions with the other dragons are interesting. Luna doesn't actually do much.
#15: Mayor Mare and Applejack - An OK issue where Applejack gets frustrated by the Mayor's convoluted bureaucracy.
#16: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon - A fun issue where the school has a scavenger hunt with groups of three, so Diamond Tiara hires a kid detective (based on Nancy Drew) to be the third part of her group.
#17: Twilight Sparkle and Big Macintosh - A fun issue where Twilight goes into Big Mac's mind to figure out how he can be so stress-free.
#18: Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash - An OK issue where Fluttershy and Rainbow are invited to a class reunion, but Fluttershy is nervous because of how much she was bullied in school.
#19: Rarity and the Cake Family - An OK issue that basically repeats "Suited For Success", but with cakes and Rarity being the demanding one.
#20: Discord and Princess Luna - A great issue where Luna goes into Discord's dreams to understand why he's having sleep problems.
#21: Spike and Zecora - An OK issue about Spike and Zecora investigating a plague that seems to only affect ponies. The source of the disease turns out to be silly.
#22: Princess Celestia and Pinkie Pie - An eh issue where Pinkie is hired by Celestia to make a cake for Luna. Has oddly lazy art at points, including a major character with a stock art cutie mark.
#23: Applejack and Fluttershy - An OK issue about Applejack and Fluttershy's camping trip being interrupted by people trying to find a mythical creature. Another oddly shippy story.

FIENDship is Magic
#1: Sombra - A really good issue about Sombra's origin, though it's retroactively made worse by how plot threads introduced here get resolved in "Siege of the Crystal Empire".
#2: Tirek - An OK issue showing teenage Tirek's first encounter with a unicorn. Odd in that it doesn't actually show him turn evil or decide to invade Equestria or anything.
#3: Sirens/Dazzlings - I haven't read this, but it's generally considered to be bad. This depicts how Starswirl sent the Sirens to Dougworld, but it's mostly them competing in music competitions until Starswirl gets bored and OHKOs them, and little is done with the Sirens' established personalities.
#4: Nightmare Moon - I haven't read this, but it's generally considered OK. Even after being sealed in the moon, Nightmare Moon gains the ability to travel into dreams by tricking creatures who bring good dreams to ponies and starts creating nightmares. This is basically an attempt to explain how Nightmare Moon could be so well known when she was only around for a few minutes.
#5: Chrysalis - A mostly good issue, besides one part. Twilight visits Chrysalis in prison, where she talks about her past. At the end, Twilight comes into the cage like an idiot and Chrysalis is able to escape.
 
I haven't actually read the Equestria Girls comics, so I'm going off of popular opinion. Generally, people didn't like how everyone treated Sunset, given that the story was supposed to take place after Rainbow Rocks, they thought the "Humane Five" were out of character, and they really didn't like that the cyber bullies turned out to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

My linked post is very outdated, so I'll edit in comments on the other issues in a bit.

On another note, everyone remember this supposed leak of season 5 episode descriptions? Good times.

Ok.

And cool to see i wasn't far off in my reasoning.
 
Currently watching Magical Mystery Cure and had no idea it was a musical LOL

I remember when it was announced ahead of time how many songs were in the episode (8, I think), and people really couldn't wrap their heads around this. With all the things that had to be done (Princess Twilight was known way ahead of time), people doubted that they'd really stop the story for a song eight times. It felt like no one really thought it would be a straight-up musical episode, or that they wouldn't actually place too much emphasis on the story making sense (being told through emotions instead). I myself was banking on there being a secret 14th episode in the season, making it a two-parter.

By the way, what kind of order are you watching the episodes in that you hadn't watched the season 3 finale until now?
 
By the way, what kind of order are you watching the episodes in that you hadn't watched the season 3 finale until now?

no order whatsoever. :p

just going by the channel's current "order" which is more weekend marathons (and all three of the Equestria Girls movies) after the newest season ended.

I really should start from the beginning again one of these days though
 

PaulloDEC

Member
it was pretty fun, just the fact it was a musical threw me off a bit.

though i assume it would have been more of a payoff if i stuck with the series from the beginning since it was a major status quo change.

Opinion on that differs. For a lot of people the shorter length of Season 3 meant that the road to Twilight's promotion felt rushed and not as effective as it could've been. It's a fair criticism.

I find that sort of thing pretty easy to look past, so I just kinda loved it.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
"Magical Mystery Cure" was a fantastic cap to Twilight's journey.

The flaw in the episode is that there is no meaningful journey. There was no reason in the previous 3 seasons for that to be the reward for her. There was no meaningful build up to that ascension. The only build up over three seasons is Celestia and Luna looking at a book. That's it. Heck, S3 has her tasked with Reforming Discord and Twilight's answer is "Let's brainwash him", and when that fails, to just give up.

The flaw in the episode is really not the fault of the episode. It's all the missing stuff that should have been there before the episode.
 

Sciz

Member
I think MMC would've been alright on its own if they'd run with Larson's original script, which made it more clear that Twilight was messing with forces beyond anyone's understanding, and ascended due to singlehandedly managing to rewrite cutie mark magic.
 
I'm pretty sure they changed that because they discovered that the show wasn't ending and didn't want to pull the trigger on Twilight doing something Celestia couldn't just yet. I expect we'll get something like that in the movie.

I do wish we get some information on what the hell was going on during season 3, since it would be really interesting. I got the Art of Equestria book, and while it's interesting, I really would have liked more behind the scenes info. Maybe after the show is over.

Anyway, Netflix finally put up the second half of season 5 (and "The Cutie Map" again), but they still messed up by switching the descriptions of "The Cutie Map" and "The Cutie Re-Mark".
 

draetenth

Member
I hated MMC because it was a musical. The only episode I've turned off before it was over and the only episode i haven't rewatched.

The Princess Twilight stuff annoyed me (felt rushed), but it was the singing and Disney-like qualities of the episode(s) that made me hate the Season 3 finale more than anything.
 
Friends Forever #24 - Rarity and Gilda
First of all, there is the odd problem that there is a character named Greta who doesn't look anything like Greta from "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone", but I'm just going to assume that she's meant to be a new character and they unintentionally reused her name. There is also an old griffon who doesn't quite look like Grampa Gruff, but his name isn't given, so he could also just be a new character. There is also the fact that the griffon names don't all start with "G" like they do in the show, but it's understandable that that pattern could be missed.

Ignoring that, the comic was alright. I would have preferred if the focus was more on Rarity actually making dresses that can appease griffons, since as is, all of the not!football stuff made the story feel similar to the earlier main series issue by the same artist with Cheerilee wrestling, which also had Rarity join in at the end. At least they didn't repeat the gag of Rarity being better at the sport than the actual professionals. The griffon designs were pretty nice overall.

==

Also, I posted this over in the Community thread, but here's the season 5 group shot, completely filled in except for one pony near Dr. Hooves.
12371170_1229927910357977_1980949849756582345_o.jpg
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
According to Georgia Ball the issue was pitched and approved before the Griffonstone episode aired. Some changes were made to the script after the episode aired, but they might not have been able to change the artwork before then.
 
According to Georgia Ball the issue was pitched and approved before the Griffonstone episode aired. Some changes were made to the script after the episode aired, but they might not have been able to change the artwork before then.

That must mean that the comic writers do have access to the show scripts, then. Perhaps Greta and Gruff in the comic were based on earlier designs.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
That must mean that the comic writers do have access to the show scripts, then. Perhaps Greta and Gruff in the comic were based on earlier designs.

We've known they have access to scripts for a while now. Maybe not the individual writers, but maybe the editor. This episode might show that they don't have access to artwork.

Though one odd thing about this issue is that while Greta and Grandpa Gruff were totally different designs, the Yaks make an appearance and Prince Rutherford is clearly identifiable.
 
As an update to the situation in Friends Forever #24, the story was pitched before season 5 started, without knowledge that Gilda would return, but they were told to hold off on it. After Gilda's return episode aired, Ball wrote the script based on the episode, and both Greta and Gruff were intended to be the characters from that episode. It appears that fault lies with Fosgitt not realizing that they were characters from the episode and/or Ball not making that fact clear enough in her script.

==

Friendship is Magic #38
This was a pretty cute issue, and there were fun moments like Snips and Snails declaring themselves mountain kings. The only bad part was the two-legged moments, which look odder in a show-like art style than Fosgitt's. I thought the panels where characters have dot eyes were cute, but I can imagine someone thinking that it's lazy art. The turul comes from Hungarian mythology, BTW. The crown it wears is that of Attila the Hun. Obviously this means that Equestria is indeed a post-apocalyptic Earth.
 
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #41
MLP41-cover.jpg
MLP41-coverRI.jpg
MLP41-coverSUB.jpg

Katie Cook (Writer) • Andy Price (Artist & Main Cover) • Amy Mebberson (Subscription Cover) • Sara Richard (Retailer Incentive Cover)
"Rainbow Dash’s Very Bad Day" A good day turns bad and Dash can’t shake her bad mood. Before long, it infects all of those around her. What can cure this case of the grumpies?!
* A special storybook-style issue!
* Part of IDW’s "Art Appreciation Month" promotion!

My Little Pony: Friends Forever #27
MyLittlePonyFF27-CVRA_MOCKONLY.jpg
MyLittlePonyFF27-CVRSUB_MOCKONLY.jpg

Christian Rice (Writer) • Agnes Garbowska (Artist & Subscription Cover) • Tony Fleecs (Main Cover)
It's cider season and things are busy at Sweet Apple Acres! Unfortunately, Granny has broken her hip and Pinkie Pie is called in to look after the cantankerous elder! Will Pinkie's optimism triumph over Granny's stubbornness?

I wasn't too interested in Friendship is Magic #41 until I saw the part about it being done in a storybook style. That presumably means that each page will have one big image with a bit of text. We already saw a bit of that with the Apple family section of the new holiday special comic, but a full comic like that could be cute. I like how they even include that binding you often saw on those picture books on two of the covers. As for Friends Forever #27, it could go either way.
 

Orcastar

Member
I remember Lauren Faust's notes in the Art of Equestria book saying something about Dash sometimes getting withdrawn and grumpy (or something to that affect) and nobody knowing why. I don't recall the show ever even hinting at that side of her, but I guess they're exploring it in the comics.
 
I remember Lauren Faust's notes in the Art of Equestria book saying something about Dash sometimes getting withdrawn and grumpy (or something to that affect) and nobody knowing why. I don't recall the show ever even hinting at that side of her, but I guess they're exploring it in the comics.

Yeah, it says, "Sometimes she's aloof and brooding, no one knows why," next to an early sketch of Rainbow. Nice catch. However, given how far ahead these comics are proposed, and that Art of Equestria was released in October, I don't think it could have been an influence. Well, unless it was something we already knew before the book came out.
 
SEASON 6 STARTS IN SPRING
DETAILS ABOUT THE PREMIERE AND NON-SPOILER-BARRED DISCUSSION BELOW












Confirmation of Flurry Heart as Cadance and Shining Armor's daughter. Clip included. The season premiere will be about the new baby, not Starlight. ED claims that the season starts in spring, which I'm not seeing on Yahoo, but they may have been told that by Hasbro. EDIT: Oh, it is in the Yahoo article, you just have to click "read more". So, SEASON 6 STARTS THIS SPRING!

Also confirmed, Cadance once again screws over what we thought about canon for the sake of toys and makes her daughter come out as an alicorn. With huge as hell wings.

9af22e499cabfeb26886b1ac7490056f450da5b8.gif

d9f0571ed52359be464161c883308228fa182e22.gif

b7099b06e28504b046a8721d37dcb1391c964b4b.gif


(also, she has foal eyes instead of the baby dot eyes)

Assuming this is a two-parter, there has to be some big villain. Assuming they don't go the, "this is the child of destiny, great evils come to use her power" route, I'm expecting Flurry Heart to come from the future and be evil until friendshipped.
 
Are we sure Celestia isn't the mother?

Double alicorn would explain things...

Anyway, I think Flurry looks fine by herself, but it's odd how different she is from Pound and Pumpkin. I hope we get scenes of her walking and tripping over her zyber wings.

Speaking of which, given how much time must have passed, I hope Pound and Pumpkin look noticeably different when we next see them.

EDIT: Oh, and one thing I like about the middle gif is how Rarity makes sure she remains in the shot after Flurry reveals her wings. Take notes, Applejack. Also, while everyone else is shocked, Rainbow is going "oooh".

EDIT: Another thought, this could actually be a good story to bring Chrysalis back in.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
Well, there it is I guess.

Can't be particularly mad about Flurry being an Alicorn; I mean, with an Alicorn Mother and a Unicorn Father it seems like fair game.

The "Spring" release date is a nice surprise too; does that translate to Feb/Mar/Apr for us non-Muricans?
 
Well, there it is I guess.

Can't be particularly mad about Flurry being an Alicorn; I mean, with an Alicorn Mother and a Unicorn Father it seems like fair game.

The "Spring" release date is a nice surprise too; does that translate to Feb/Mar/Apr for us non-Muricans?

March/April/May, actually. I'd say there's a good chance that season 6 will follow a similar schedule to season 5, starting in April and having a mid-season break. Incidentally, this does line up to ED's prediction based on the fact that Littlest Pet Shop ending would mean Hasbro wouldn't have any new shows on Discovery Family in that quarter otherwise.

On another note, I was thinking about the 2017 movie, and I realized that with the mandatory licensed songs in the credits of children's films, it would be really neat if they actually got some of the fans to create a PMV for a song and aired it during the credits. Paid, of course, and with supervision from Hasbro as to the appropriate tone.
 
Well not too bad, provided that the story is good. But it did take me some time to get use to Flurry's big wings. Looking forward to spring.

Though unfortunately I no longer have Discovery Family due to my household changing TV providers and subscribing to a more affordable package.
 

Fat4all

Banned
So, will season 6 be the season that leads to the plot of the movie that's set to release in 2017?

Or maybe season 7?

Or it probably won't matter, if they decided to go with an isolated story that could be placed between any season.
 
So, will season 6 be the season that leads to the plot of the movie that's set to release in 2017?

Or maybe season 7?

Or it probably won't matter, if they decided to go with an isolated story that could be placed between any season.

We know that the movie will premiere in November 2017, so if season 7 is coming and it follows the same schedule as season 5, then that will be the season to lead into the movie. The movie might even come while there are still new episodes airing in that season, like with season 5 and Friendship Games.

In any case, the crew has talked about how they're making sure that the movie isn't just a long episode. Given that, and the fact that the movie is called "My Little Pony: The Movie" without "Friendship is Magic", the movie is almost surely going to be standalone, at least in the sense that you don't have to watch any of the show. Of course, something big will happen, but it probably won't be something that actually changes how a character or setting looks, and thus, it won't be referenced in the show.

On another note, a vision of the future.

(Also, holy crap, this is another pony that looks like Aria Blaze and Starlight Glimmer)
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
In any case, the crew has talked about how they're making sure that the movie isn't just a long episode. Given that, and the fact that the movie is called "My Little Pony: The Movie" without "Friendship is Magic", the movie is almost surely going to be standalone, at least in the sense that you don't have to watch any of the show. Of course, something big will happen, but it probably won't be something that actually changes how a character or setting looks, and thus, it won't be referenced in the show.

I'd still bet that Celestia and/or Luna are killed in the movie.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
Though unfortunately I no longer have Discovery Family due to my household changing TV providers and subscribing to a more affordable package,

Fortunately there's other ways to watch ;)

A death would be amazing, just got flashbacks of the Transformers movie.

Kids and Dr Forester would be devastated.

Fixed that for ya :p

Seriously though, a death could be cool if the execution is on-point. I don't want to lose Celestia or Luna, but a noble death is pretty much the best thing a character can hope for.
 

McNum

Member
To be fair, Celestia would look awful in gunmetal grey.

I kind of like Flurry Heart. Clearly, they are trying to find the limit between cute and nauseatingly cute, but I think Flurry falls on the good side of that. But it is close enough that the thought of it being too much occurs.
 

draetenth

Member
Eh, don't worry guys. I'm sure that Celestia is the real villain anyway... Imprisoned in the sun isn't the same as death, right? She'll be back in a 1,000 years.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Fortunately there's other ways to watch ;)



Fixed that for ya :p

Seriously though, a death could be cool if the execution is on-point. I don't want to lose Celestia or Luna, but a noble death is pretty much the best thing a character can hope for.

I wouldn't mind if it was a noble death. Something like Gandalf sacrificing himself to save the others.

But it's Meghan's script. The death will probably be just to show how much of a badass her new villain is.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
I wouldn't mind if it was a noble death. Something like Gandalf sacrificing himself to save the others.

But it's Meghan's script. The death will probably be just to show how much of a badass her new villain is.

Ah, come now. Meghan might not have any qualms about tossing Celestia around like a ragdoll in the show, but actually killing her? Twilight's mentor? Leader of the free world?

I feel like she'd try to make that one mean something.
 
Sorry, you're right, I should have considered that. I've been using this thread to cover official news about the show and comics, and didn't think about people who wouldn't want to know season 6 information yet.

I do say in the OP that officially released information can be talked about freely, but the fact that season 6 is still a few months away should be taken into consideration. It's too late for the Flurry Heart stuff, but any other major plot details should be hidden for now.
 
I assumed it could be talked freely of season 5 stuff. oh well.

and it's never too late to edit your post, since yours is the first s6 thing (since that random facebook picture). just a thing in bold saying 'hey we're gonna start talking s6 stuff now and after this post there won't be spoiler tags' and at least have your post with spoiler tags would be nice. I mean sure a lot of people won't see the warning but at least it's something.
 
Friends Forever 25 - Rainbow and Twilight
I thought this was a pretty fun issue, with some nice art, though there were some wasted opportunities with the premise and Twilight was both too powerful and too weak.

One problem was that Twilight's magic was way too convenient here. Bringing Rainbow through the window and teleporting, sure, but instantly figuring out who stole Rainbow's wings was a bit much. Given how much Twilight's magic was used, it was odd that she didn't just blast away the evil unicorns and needed Rainbow's help to defeat them, even if I did like that scene.

From the cover, I was expecting more of a spy story and for there to be some big conspiracy behind this, so I was kind of disappointed that it was just three unicorns acting on their own. I also thought they didn't do enough with Rainbow having to act without wings. I feel like the scene of Rainbow possessing Twilight would have worked better after the evil unicorns were able to gain wings, or perhaps just one gains wings and they start squabbling, to basically demonstrate that they wouldn't have been a match for the real deal.

It was odd that two out of the three unicorns somewhat resembled the Dazzlings.

I'd like to emphasize that despite these complaints, I still liked the issue. The art was good, there were several fun scenes, and I especially liked the climax.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
I loved this issue from top to bottom. I thought the writing was particularly on-point, especially given it was from an MLP newbie (correct me if I'm wrong?).

Fantastic art from Hickey too. She might just be my favourite of the bunch.
 
MLP: Guardians of Harmony spinoff toyline and comic coming!

Guardians%2Bof%2BHarmony.jpg


Basically, we're getting action figures! Though it's kind of an odd mix of stuff that wouldn't be out of place in the normal line--
Guardians%2Bof%2BHarmony%2BPinkie%2BPie%2Band%2BCanon%2BMLP.jpg


--to 80's as hell stuff like this.
Guardians%2Bof%2BHarmony%2BTwilight%2Band%2BChangeling%2BMLP.jpg


Honestly, most of the ponies look eh, but this Celestia and Nightmare Moon is really neat.
Guardians%2Bof%2BHarmony%2BCelestia%2Band%2BNightmare%2BMoon%2BMLP.jpg


As for the comic, I'm not sure if it will actually be an AU or anything, since this quote is unclear.
Many of the new figures come right out of scenes from the cartoon, and according to Lomow, a new series of comic books from IDW debuts this fall extending some of the story lines from the series and new toys.

==
New comic review coming later.
 
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