• The Staremaster Discussion

    So... that one was completely unexpected.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so no episode summaries or anything yet.

    Feel free to use this as a "side" discussion from the light-speed traveling /co/ posts that I'm not even bothering with right now.  (I think /co/ is about to pass /v/ in population thanks to ponies..)

    99 comments:

    1. Was it even a good episode? D:

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    2. Haven't seen it, yet, but just one question.

      Without any spoilers please, what did you think of the Episode?

      Good?
      Okay?
      Bad?

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    3. That was nice epizode. Not the best for me, but still nice. Fluttershy was great, she showed her Dark side once again. And new monster type was totally unexpected.

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    4. i personally thought it was a good ep, lots of cute stuff with the cutie mark crusaders. but some were annoyed at an abscence of pinkie/dash/AJ

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    5. @MasterMask

      A little better than Call of the cutie. I'm not really a big fluttershy fan anymore, and I really don't like the cutie mark crusaders. (Though flutter was my favorite pony for the first month or so.)

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    6. Well, it's a pleasant episode, but I had the strange sensation that the first half was done in a way to conserve money. The second half made up for it, though. I had a blast, anyway, and I have a new second-favorite character.

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    7. I thought the episode was pretty good. Complete lack of Applejack, Dash, or Pinkie Pie, but Fluttershy was extra awesome to pick up the slack.

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    8. My story inb4 cockatrice.
      http://itchymango.deviantart.com/#/d3a2dar

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    9. It was okay. A song, Fluttershy being badass, DAT TWIST. Nothing really great but I guess it'll be hard to top Sonic Rainboom.

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    10. don't wanna read the comment (don't see already) but part 1 is on youtube
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdugVw55cC0

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    11. @Anonymous

      Woah that was fast

      I didn't even think to start looking for an actual youtube link yet, thanks!

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    12. Wow, a little over an hour after the episode, and pensive already has it up on youtube. That's gotta be a record.

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    13. That's good! Now I should watch it in normal quality. Streamed version was hard to hear what ponies said.

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    14. I should really try to find a time ot actually watch all of the episodes instead of watch only most of some of the earlier ones.

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    15. I thought it was an okay episode. Kind of in the middle of the pack in terms of awesomeness.

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    16. I give it 3.5 muffins out of five. Worth watching, a bit slow, but had it's moments. pacing was the main problem, but DAT FLUTTERSHY SINGING.

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    17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    18. Not my favorite, but Flutter is WEEGEE! :O

      Also, Chicken/Snake hybrid is a basilisk. Get your mythology right.

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    19. I had a Bison moment when Fluttershy used her stare.

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    20. Loved it, personally! But I'm a big Fluttershy fan. Also, that song was pretty catchy.

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    21. Sweetie Belle confirmed for most adorable thing ever.

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    22. Actually, a basilisk and a cockatrice is the same thing.

      http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Basilisk

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    23. I pretty much lost my shit when the CMC all tried to be carpenters with the medical hats and stuff.

      4/5 muffins from me.

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    24. Since I can't give half-thumbs I will have to round up and give this ep two thumbs. Fluttershy is high on my list but the CMC reduces the score a little. They were however much better than I had feared, quite tolerable actually. Half-assed pacing is outweighed by Fluttershy bad assery. Will watch again in HD.

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    25. Scootaloo confirmed for Rainbow Dash recolour in miniature. Wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be related.

      Also, pretty good ep overall, though lack of other ponies kinda sucked.

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    26. The head of a chicken and the body of a snake.. I was expecting something like a Slitherhen from Mother 3.

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    27. @HMS Mule
      Good, I was afraid I was the only one that thought that.

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    28. liked this one a lot, not as good as last weeks but far better then Call of the Cutie and Look Before You Sleep., this one made me kinda like the CMC (seriously I don't really get the hate against their mere presence).

      Fluttershy is moving back up on my list of ponies, I like that she's getting more assertive.

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    29. This is probably my favorite episode.
      If not, it is at least my second favorite

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    30. I liked how the episode focused on Fluttershy. I know EXACTLY how she felt...the Cutie Mark Crusaders are just like my little sisters friends. Fortunetely, I'm better with kids than Fluttershy is.
      However, I could NEVER be as badass as Fluttershy. NO ONE is as bad ass as Fluttershy

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    31. This episode was nice.

      (Can I post spoilers now?)
      Though, that part where Fluttershy found a turned-into-stone Twilight might have been a little creepy for kids, don´t you think?

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    32. I was skeptical, since Call of the Cutie was the only episode I substantially disliked. As such, I was pleasantly surprised. Middle-of-the-pack episode: some meh (CMC tearing places apart, Angel failing to interact), some great (Sweetie Belle's song reprise, Everfree Forest subplot). I still like Apple Bloom and am now cool with the CMC in general. Fluttershy fared well enough in the lead role - nothing stunningly epic, like Rarity in Suited for Success or Rainbow Dash in Sonic Rainboom, but not far off from her Dragonshy moments.

      Also, with the (somewhat expected) lack of Applejack in this episode, Twilight is now the lone pony to appear in every episode. Since I am a Twilight Sparkle fanbrony, I am not complaining. ^_^;;

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    33. Sweetybelle has best singing voice EVER.

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    34. Heh.
      That should totally be Sweetiebelle's specialty =P

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    35. It was ...nice

      Its not super WTFboom epic but its average. Totally on par with the other slower eps but not super memorable. The cmc didn't really have much character development they just kinda acted pesky but if you think of it as a fluttershy episode and not a cmc episode that's totally fine.
      The way I think of it is like dragonshy (fluttershy vs a antagonist) only this time instead of a dragon it was the cmc/chicken snake thing Al tho dragonshy was about fluttershy standing up to a dragon the dragon didn't have a lot of character. If you think about it like that then the cmc not having much character outside of annoying fluttershy works for the episode.

      That said i hope they have more development in the next episode.
      3/5 muffins! by no means bad but not super memorable

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    36. @Anonymous
      This. I was already taken with how cute the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in general, and while I was a little letdown with the pacing, the moment she started singing was the moment the episode was golden in my eyes.

      And then it got better!

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    37. I HNNNNG'd when Fluttershy started singing the lullaby, and then lol'd when Sweetiebelle took over.

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    38. Am I the only one who had to play Fluttershy's grin with the *squeeeak* over and over again for being unable to get enough?

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    39. @PutukDude Look up Cockatrice on google it is a legit mythological creature and they got it right.

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    40. Is it just me or are they doing the 'rolling of the eyes' bit more often these days.

      I didn't expect an episode with the CMC to be as enjoyable as this one.

      As near as I can tell this is the first episode WITHOUT a specific moral about friendship.

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    41. This episode was a fieldtrip for all petrification fetishists...

      Otherwise a nice fluttershy episode. CMCs were cute, but Fluttershy was the best part.

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    42. @Sethisto
      You should read this: http://threepanelsoul.com/2010/12/07/on-video-browsing/

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    43. Pretty meh episode, but it could have been worse, the second part definitely saved it from being really bad.
      I'm not looking forward to next week talent contest though.

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    44. So I guess there wasn't a friendship report.

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    45. @HMS Mule"Don't bite off more then you can chew" ya the moral this week sucked.

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    46. What an odd episode pacing wise. This is the first one that really felt disjointed.

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    47. In context I think the episode is about making sure you know where your kids are and don't take on more then you can handle. Maybe showing bravery in the face of fear?

      The cockatrice is more dangerous then a medusa or a basilisk, it can breathe on you and you'd turn to stone. It usually is posed to make physical contact.

      They lost a potential save the day moment for the sugar coated crusaders... they could have used their shiny capes to reflect its stare back at it.

      Pinkie's song in an earlier episode is now vindicated guess which one?

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    48. A cockatrice

      I didn't saw that coming.

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    49. Why aren't people talking about:

      1) Turns out Sweetie Belle is RARITY'S SISTER

      2) Sweetie Belle confirmed for cutie mark related to music. She gonna be a rock star.

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    50. Did Twilight learn anything about not being a moron by going into the Everfree Forest alone?

      Also, this is the first episode that Applejack was not in.
      I wonder if there'll be an episode without Twilight.

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    51. So...
      If Sweetie Belle is Rarity's sister...
      And if Apple Bloom is Applejack's sister...
      Then who is Scootaloo's sister? Rainbow Dash?

      Anyway, I think the CMC are decent/good. Looking forward to the next episode, I guess.

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    52. Spoilers below.
      >
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      Sweetie Belle is Rarity's sister.
      We already know that Apple Bloom is Applejack's sister.
      Predicting that Scootaloo is Dash's sister.

      I mean, it makes sense really. Then all of the ponies can have younger sibling type characters. Twilight has Spike, and I believe (complete speculation here)that Twist might be Pinkie Pie's sister.

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    53. ...
      Did Twilight not think at all to bring Spike?
      Seriously, we get this sense that Twilight is the type of character that believes in being prepared. And then she forgets the damn "buddy system", the most important aspect of prepping.
      Doesn't matter if you're just going to get tea. When you're going somewhere where your ass can get killed by just about anything, you do not go alone. At least with Spike, she could probably just send whatever problems she has to Celestia, or just have Spike somehow use his flame on both of them, or just use Spike as a meatshield, or just have Spike run away quickly to get help, or just use Spike by rapidly aging him into the Dragon Zord, or just use Spike as a blunt weapon, or just have Spike be a manly dragon and use its claws to rip whatever it bothering them, or just use Spike as a flame thrower, or just have Spike be a space cowboy.
      Seriously, no excuse.
      Twilight, I am disappoint.

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    54. @Anon Writepony
      This, when she said "sis" I went WTF

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    55. I was actually expecting for them to be related in someway, since their skin/fur color were really similar. I just didn't expect for them to be sisters. Whose situation is even more dark than the Apples' (who at least have a grandmother and plenty of other family) and Pinkie Pies' (who has the Cakes as parental figures.)

      It also makes things out a bit bad. Rarity has to work a lot in order to support her business, herself, and her own sister, all while still finding time to be with friends....

      They really need to at least give reference to parents so this chain of thought can be stopped.

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    56. The truth about Fluttershy has been revealed! It doesn't occur to anyone until now that Pinkie Pie wasn't exactly singing about Zecora.

      http://darkonshadows.deviantart.com/#/d3aej0c

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    57. Yeah...
      Even if there are parents though, they're probably jerks and abandoned their kids.

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    58. I liked the song alot. In fact, I wish we had gotten to see this episode before we had the "Which Pony has the best Singing Voice?" poll. I imagine Fluttershy would have fared a lot better, and Sweetie Belle probably would have had a serious chance at winning, had she been an option.

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    59. The stare. THE STARE. OH GOD THE STARE. IT LOOKS INTO MY SOUL, IT SEES THROUGH ALL LIES AND COMMANDS ME

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    60. @Daffodil

      Scootaloo is Cherilee's little sister... or at least she was in previous generations. She also had a butterfly symbol.

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    61. I thought this was one of the funniest episodes they've done lately.

      Especially the musical number.

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    62. I enjoyed todays episode. Sweetie-Belle's singing was definitely my favorite part (I wish it went on longer!), and I'm seriously enjoying the variety of monsters and creatures they're using in the show.

      I like to (jokingly) think that Lauren Faust or someone gave the writers a D&D monster manual, and told them to just go to town with it, haha.

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    63. @Shadow
      Didn't know that. They haven't exactly stuck to previous-generation canon, though, so it could be possible. I just like the idea of Dash having a younger sister tbh.

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    64. @Anonymous

      Yep, she's a total psycho in moe clothing. Ain't it always the way?

      This also lends credence to the idea that the rabbit is hallucination that represents all her repressed frustration.

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    65. @Lovecraft
      Really? Because I'm not joking when I think that.

      Hell of a set of lungs on that kid.

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    66. Okay, a few things. One, why is the image for this page a picture of Fluttershy wearing the Majora's Mask... oh, I just got that. Ha ha ha.

      Heh.

      Not the best episode, but not the worst. Certainly is one of my least favorites. I like the CMC's as much as the next guy, but I don't really like their interactions with Fluttershy. They just don't seem to "Click," well with one another.

      I love Sweetie Bell and Fluttershy's singing voices. Very nice, didn't expect that.

      I was kind of hoping that the "Twilight Frozen Into a Statue," thing would last longer. Not because I hate Twilight, but because I like story arcs. Come on, Faust, give us a story!

      Also, Lack of Spike, Pinkie, Applejack, and Dash? SITHKING ZERO IS DISAPPOINT AT YOU, MLP.

      Spike is my favorite character, bar none, followed by Twilight and Applejack for a close second and third place. So having all three of these characters essentially out of the spotlight the entire episode does not a happy Sithking make.

      In all, I give it a C plus.

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    67. Hmmm they all seem to have an extra ability
      Pinky Pie - Danger sense
      Rainbow Dash - Sonic Rainboom
      Fluttershy - Soul stare
      Rarity - ?
      Twilight - over powered already
      Applejack - just being AWESOME!!!
      am I over looking anything?

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    68. Dummy I forgot Twilights fire form!

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    69. @crazyredemu

      Rarity makes dresses. And maintains a business + takes care of her younger sister + goes on adventures with the others. She can control time!

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    70. @crazyredemu

      Rarity- Fashion Sense.(always accurately makes something to fit someone's stye, think Edna Mode from The Incredibles then apply to Rarity)
      Applejack- Super strength.(Think Big Mac from Dragonshy and how heavy Applejacks bags must have been)

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    71. @Anonymous

      your right! Applejack is super strong! or Big Mac is a lazy mother @#$*&! Wait a second, he conveniently gets hurt right before the big harvest, he's shown not being able to move the plow and he has acts all winded from picking up a bag! That lazy son of a bitch!

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    72. @LordOfTheWrongs

      Hah, okay, maybe a little less jokingly, since it would be pretty awesome.

      Sweetie-Belle definitely has a future in the gospel-pony world.

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    73. That ep had the best song EVER!
      and
      Sweetie Belle should have loudspeakers as her cutie mark 'cuz boy is she loud!

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    74. @Darkhawk1
      You need to understand that Faust wants to do arcs, but Hasbro forces her to do episodic. There isn't anything that can be done here.

      Also, did anyone have any problem with how loud the CMC is at any given point?

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    75. 720p HD Youtube vid of Episode 17 here, whole episode.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrfFrk2IRCA

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    76. so yeah, any chance of us getting 720p rips of Sonic Rainboom and this one, The Staremaster? my computer is oldish, doesn't handle 1080p well. the link on mentos's google doc for Sonic Rainboom at 720p is no good for me.

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    77. oh I see now. seems comcast has decided to block megaupload.com. very nice of them, any chance of there being an alternate source? a torrent would be great, hell i'll take a batch one as long as it has up to staremaster and is 720p.

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    78. @Daffodil

      So she can control time? As in, she can have total ownership and mastry, if you will? Does that make her some sort of... (puts on sunglasses) Time Lord?

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    79. YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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    80. @crazyredemu

      I dunno about you guys but this seems like a great foundation for a fighting game.

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    81. Eh, I realise people want to be positive, rainbows and love and all that, but just being honest that was quite easily my least favourite episode.

      I thought Fluttershy seemed less cool after struggling with the kids, who rather than developing character just seemed like brats. The beginning in Rarity's workshop went on far too long, and the part in the forest was far too short.

      Forgettable, cheap and lazy episode. 2/5
      Not looking forward to another CMC next week - and this is from one of the few who loved Call of the Cutie.

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    82. Reading through the other comments, seems like the general impression is that it's pretty enjoyable despite kinda wonky pacing if you can get into the humor, but otherwise it doesn't keep up to the standards of a lot of the past episodes.

      Still though, it's plunked Sweetie Belle right down into my second favorite characters spot with the silly singing.


      Thanks to this episode, I can't unsee Fluttershy with a giant sword larger than her entire body carried in her mouth on a quest to hunt the Agnaktor, but she is defeated by it, leaving her with a fear of full-grown dragons and a vast knowledge of creatures large and small she wants to put to use again outside of the ways of combat. Thus she relocates and takes shelter in Ponyville.

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    83. I liked it. It wasn't the best and maybe it suffers following right after Sonic Rainboom, but it was good. Someone there has definitely babysat three little girls before, because that was very accurate. Even included the "who can be quiet the longest" game which every babysitter has tried at some point. Doesn't work.

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    84. I've know kids like that tho I never had to ponysit 3 of them at the same time, it's not so much that they're brats it just they have a lot of energy and don't think about what they are doing before they do it. Fluttershy is not the right type of person to watch kids and I am sure if Rarity was not is such a rush she would of known that.
      Fluttershy is a momma bear, yell at her, mess with her, be mean to her, and she will whimper and cower, but mess with her friends and she will bring on the hurt! I love episodes with that in it.
      Also the hammer joke was hilarious! If I knew how to make ring tones that would be mine!
      All in all I liked this episode alot.

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    85. Personally I don't think every younger character needs to be someone's sister. Swwetie Belle kind of works as Rarity's sister (though it would've been nice if this had been mentioned before... AJ and Rarity have known eachother long enough so that Apple Bloom and Sweetie shouldn't have just been meeting in Call of the Cutie), but I don't think Scootaloo should be Rainbow's.

      Yes, they share very similar temperaments, but personally I feel a hero worship relationship between the two would probably be cuter (Rainbow being the best flyer in Ponyville and whatnot), and at least it wouldn't just be rehash of the "little sister of main character" thing the other two CMC's have going.

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    86. I do like that Sweetie Bell is now Rarity's sister, but I do wish it had been mentioned before. Then again, given the show's focus on the main ponies and Rarity's personality, is it any surprise that Sweetie hasn't been mentioned much before now? And to the guy before, it's entirely possible that Sweetie and Bloom did know each other, but only in a peripheral sort of way and mostly ignored each other. I've had friends that started out like that- our moms were friends, but we kinda went our own separate ways until we found a common thread.

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    87. Also the sister thing is most likely product placement. I bet the all have big brothers too

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    88. I looooved this episode. I think it was absolutely adorable and made me actually like the CMC more. I've said this before and I'll say it again--if you really, truly hated this episode, this episode which is centered around adorable cuteness, and still has the quality animation and writing you watch FiM for, then you might be watching FiM for the wrong reasons.

      That being said, it's still certainly not the best! But a great episode. I'm really looking forward to next week's--I hope it focuses on Scootaloo.

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    89. Si se fijan en wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic#Other_characters) desde hacia tiempo que estaba publicado que Sweetie Bell era la hermana de Rarity, realmente no le encuentro sentido a la "sopresa", con respecto al espisodio fue genial!! y la leccion va dirigida a los adultos "no hace falta gritar para que los niños obedescan simplemente un poco de firmeza".No nos olvidemos que tambien esto lo ven los adultos...

      If you look at wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic # Other_characters) long since it was reported that Sweetie Bell was the sister of Rarity, do not really see the sense in the "surprise" with respect to espisodio was great! and the lesson is addressed to adults "do not have to shout to Obey children just a bit of firmness. " Let us not forget that this is also seen by adults ...

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    90. @Anonymous

      Its entirely possible that they did know eachother before Call of the Cutie. Go re-watch the first episode. When Nightmare Moon shows up for the first time and the crowd is freaking out, there's a pretty clear shot of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle cowering together. It didn't make much sense at the time, but in hindsight...

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    91. It's not that I don't like CMC... but I don't find the idea of making them like main characters (look for the next episode...) very good. They are nice, but after episode focusing mostly on them, we should have been given some time to pace... as CMC girls are VERY absorbing.

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    92. @Daffodil

      Except that they had to introduce themselves to Apple Bloom, and the "I thought I was the only one", and "We thought we were the only two" lines.

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    93. I honestly do not understand the angst surrounding the Cutie Mark Crusaders here. I think we've all been pretty down with Apple Bloom since Bridle Gossip and altho Call of the Cutie is one of the weaker episodes the actual group is in it together as a group for... what, the last three minutes? Hardly a way to judge how they'll work as a group, and I think they were quite cute in Stare Master. This episode was a bit too all over the place for my taste, even with petrification, but I'm looking forward to seeing the three of them working together in a non-action-oriented episode. Sweetie Belle is pretty awesome!

      This is probably my least favorite episode so far although it still has amazing things in it. I like that Fluttershy is getting more complex as the series goes on. All the stuff with the cockatrice was pretty funny and it was amazing as always to watch Rarity get all twitchy when her workshop was wrecked. :) I think this was just a bit too much episode for 22 minutes, but I can't fault them for being ambitious. I watched the entire thing in a state of suspended glee.

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    94. @Anonymous


      But being blank flanks was so last week.

      Meaning that at the beginning, they were all blank and nobody cared.

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    95. This episode is not one of my favorites. Obviously it's filled with ponies, and thus, is great, but...I guess I just find the CMC to be not entirely compelling main characters.

      Anyway, a bigger deal is the strange revelation regarding Rarity and Sweetie Belle. It seems a little weird that it wasn't mentioned, but not totally unbelievable (I mean, how often does Applebloom come up in conversations when she's not a main character? Not often) But let's look between the lines here-

      Rarity was having trouble looking after Sweetie Belle for even one day, suggesting that she is most definitely not her primary caregiver (as some have suggested).

      Rarity and Sweetie Belle are both permanent residents of Ponyville.

      This leads to the unexpected conclusion that Rarity's parents are STILL IN PONYVILLE.

      Have we seen them already?

      I would have totally thought she came from some crazy rich family or something.

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    96. Sweetie Belle is a little.. slow sometimes, yes?

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    97. Just watched it, the pacing was indeed a little weird the first go through. They just tried to fit too much into a single episode, this one easily could have been a two-parter. Although, when I watched over it a second time, the pacing wasn't as jarring since I was expecting it. As we learned in "Suited for Success," you should try to keep your expectations in check if you don't want to be unnecessarily disappointed.

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