In before people accuse Rainbow of playing a guy just cuz Fluttershy called her ser. Females can be addressed as ser too, it's simple a rank disregarding of gender.
Yay, good fun episode. It wasn't as telling as some people would have liked it to be I bet. Since people tend to be a bit picky, but I thought it was good. Nice and fun and I guess you could call it the Equestrian Anthem. :)
Clearly the whole story is based off folktale. So they'll mix their modern Equestrian elements into a founding story... I'm guessing Celestia and Luna came later. I suppose.
I refuse to believe this as historical canon. More like a pony myth. It's just too ridiculous to debunk most of the fan-fics to be historical Equestrian canon.
Very nice episode, but it's leaving a lot of questions. 1. Where did the Alicorns come from? 2. What about Discord? 3. WHY DOES THE FLAG HAVE ALICORNS IF THERE IS NO MENTION OF THEM!?
That was epic. I actually clapped at the end. And I don't usually do that.
It kinda justifies the "Love & Harmony" thing, because there is a GIGANTIC CONSEQUENCE if they don't: The entire world will be frozen by the Wendigos, who feed off their hatred. And obviously, by extent, everything will die! D:
Now I understand why they were forced to get along so well; bad shit happens if they don't.
Not really much fanon was killed by this episode. I think everypony was expecting the total destruction of all alicorn fics, what we saw here didn't get close.
First time I actually woke up early enough to see an episode. No laggy pictures! It was a great episode too despite that there was no prominent appearance of a background character.
So if Celestia and Luna didn't raise the sun/moon...why were they on the flag? Or did they just use the modern Equestrian flag for the sake of familiarity for the play, and the princesses actually came later (though it seems unlike Twilight to allow such a blatant historical error like that to let slip...).
my guess: luna and celestia have been around in the past, but at the time of this story have been absent and are probably now more of a myth in their own right.
that was a pretty good episode, though it didnt really show how luna and celestia came into the equation....oh well, its a cartoon, not a history textbook!!! now to watch again!!
well no celestia/luna/elementsofharmony origin. all the origins fanfics are almost intact. i am starting to think they did it on purpose... the more mystery in royal sister origin the more cool they are and we can speculate and write cool fanfics.
I felt they should have at least mentioned the goddesses as being part of Equestria's history. Kinda feels like they'd be an important factor in the lives of relatively uneducated peasants. But what do I know lol.
Origin story which doesn't answer anything important. Lawl, princesses' origins? You fucking wish.
Y'know, this episode convinced me. Alicorns have bloody dark history and tyrantlestia does everything to hide it while brainwashing common folk with friendship crap.
Guys, the Luna/Celestia flag at the end? I'm assuming that implies that this is set after Discord's reign, though that raises questions by itself.
The other reason is that maybe it's just a random standard that's been lying around the castle? DOes show up as a prop though.
Aside from the logic failure (come on, we are looking into it fairly deeply here) that was a damn good episode. Twarity (is that even a term) all over the place, Spartan Pegasi, Pinkie being Pinkie - everything kinda worked really well.
Loved it! This was the first livestream I watched since Season 2's premiere, and boy am I glad I did. Pinkie Pie (or Chancellor Puddinghead) alone made the episode awesome. I hope they do more Equestrian History episodes in the future, I'd love to know the origins of the alicorns and some more about Star Swirl.
I can accept that the first half was true, and they where controlled by Discord, but after that the alicorns came in, and established Canterlot and Equestria.
The episode was great, but where does celestia and luna come into play? did they do their job like gods where they weren't seen but worshipped or something? I'm confused
They certainly took alot of liberties at the end with the final flag, almost reminds me of a North Korean creation in how much they skew history. This should maintain some of the fan history I think. Lot's of unanswered questions, not a bad thing if you ask me.
I'm just going to enjoy the episode and not worry about anything that might be considered "wrong" or "inaccurate." It was fun and funny and I clapped at the end. Plus, we have a new song. What's not to love?
@Avalanche Personally, I think the 'Kingdom' was founded... they lived happily for a time... DISCORD came, Princess Celestia and Luna came, Discord is defeated and the ponies decide to make them their Princesses.
@John the flag really doesn't make much sense, since the play takes place before Celestia's reign (as Spike said). I assume the play isn't 100% historically accurate ^^
It was ok. It was a lot different from a typical episode obviously, they put in a lot of clever humor and jokes to keep us Bronies happy but still I would've prefered a conventional episode.
So to recap first episode that wasnt a season opener not to have a letter of friendship *gasp* AND they suggested that unicorns used to control the sun and moon which means that Celestia and Luna can be REPLACED O_O
Of all the things I was expecting from Season 2, I have to admit a genuine, full-stop world-building episode was not one of them. Indeed, even after reading the summary, I thought "Hearth Warming" was going to be more about the present-day pageant than the events of the past on which it was based. But instead, it's all about taking us back to the history of Equestria, and it works quite nicely.
The big thing here is that the humor works very well. Stemming as it does mostly from the interactions between the three Tribal Leaders and their respective assistants, it simultaneously keeps the episode fun and funny while directly feeding in to the overarching story about how and why the Tribes fought with each other. Applejack and Pinkie worked particularly well in this regard in my opinion, though all three pairs really do provide a lot of great little moments (dear god Rarity riding Twilight).
Yet the unexpected but welcome surprise is, "Hearth Warming" works so well as an actual origin story. It isn't terribly complex, admittedly, and the choice to leave out how exactly the reign of Princess Celestia (and Princess Luna) began leaves things a little confused, particularly since apparently it was the Pegasus Ponies who were responsible for controlling the cycle of the sun and the moon, but the concept of the Windigos and the soldification of the fact that Equestria is a Nation rather than a Planet (Applejack's naming instincts aside X3) all do a magnificent job of expanding the mythos and details of the FiM 'verse. Plus, Starswirl shout-out for the win. :D
Admittedly, I felt the wrap-around segments at the beginning and end were kind of dull and off-putting; I was expecting the conflict between the mane six to be more important than it wound up being, and while I still "get" why it's there, it's so short-lived and awkwardly inserted I feel like they may as well not have bothered. The song was also a bit of a let-down; it's nice and all, but it's also very generic, lacking FiM's usual distinct sound and feel.
Still, it's all in good fun, and "Heart Warming Eve" definitely leaves a lot of food for thought and fun for all along the way. ^_^
Hmm, seems like the old pony land was a serfdom of sorts, and Equestria today appears to be a capitalist society. Clearly capitalism is harmonious and founded in friendship! (Inb4 mudfest)
Wow! That had just enough information on the history of Equestria to blow our minds and still leave so much potential for branching storylines (either canon, or fanon).
I'm going to pre-emptively jump on the headcanon wagon and drop my initial thoughts on what this means for Equestria's timeline.
Hearth's Warming appears to originate many thousands of years prior to FiM's present. Long before the era of Discord, and thus, long before the era of the Royal Sisters.
After the races united, nothing more is said in canon. But the event that caused them to unite, with the three advisors from the tribes becoming friends, is an event not to be taken lightly. For it not only led to the creation of Equestria, but it appears to be the moment that the Elements of Harmony appeared.
Italicised because this is my favourite point: The three advisors settling their differences calmly and becoming friends is the moment that true friendship was forged. And the power within it caused a magical outburst that saved them from freezing. This magic was alien to the Unicorn, and apparently far more powerful than regular Unicorn magic. What is more powerful than Unicorn magic? What is the most powerful magic known to all ponies? The Elements of Harmony.
Soon, all six of the trapped ponies became friends, and Harmony was finally achieved, marking the birth of a new nation: Equestria.
"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through) We are a circle of pony friends A circle of friends we'll be to the very end"
I enjoyed it. WHY WAS CELESTIA AND LUNA ON THE POSTER?!!! The person who wrote Mare Do Well also wrote this episode, she has redeemed herself in my eyes. Also, why no Discord? It could have been perfect, but instead they had Discord knock-offs.
Nice Canadian reference with the Windigos. Of course, "wendigos" are people who become cannibals and thus are cursed with feet of fire, flying through the sky, never resting (and hungry to eat more manflesh, thus always a danger to travelers in lonely places).
So presumably, being wind-igos is a second career for cannibal ponies.
I think the story is meant to be allegorical. The use of the Celestia/Luna banner for the play merely symbolized unity for their modern audience.
The reason the Alicorns didn't appear is because... Well there are a few theories.
Personally, I still think the alicorn sisters were a product of Ponykind needing powerful rulers that were a combination of them all. But also keep in mind; I don't believe Celestia and Luna are ever referred to as goddesses, nor as "Alicorns". Alicorn I think has come from a Word of God source, and nothing more.
I loved the backstory of this episode. The story was NEVER about Celestia or Luna's origin, so enough with it people! They can save that for another episode.
As for the flag, do you have a flag or banner representing the historically accurate design of the banner of the town of Bethlehem from 2000 years ago to celebrate Christmas? I doubt it.
Too many OCD Twilight wannabes here, making a fuss over insignificant details. They simply reused a flash resource. THAT'S ALL it was. Live with the fact that the episode was actually pretty rockin'!
I do love that they establish Equestria as a country, establish a violent racist history, establish the existence of what are effectively spirits representing primal forces, but who do not exhibit "villainous" personality. Aka... Those Windigoos appear to simply be horse like in mind, as in instinctually driven, like spirit animals.
We also still have Celestia's and Luna's origin fully open.
This episode was NEVER about Celesta or Luna, so --shades-- Deal with it!
Awesome episode,really enjoyed it. Pinkie Pie is best pony (for now).
But there is one tiny bit of problem here with the mythology or continuity or what. They said here that unicorns changed the day and night some thousand years ago. And we also saw that the united flag had Celestia and Luna on it. So the royal sisters were living at that time. But if the unicorns could change the day and night, what was the purpose of the sisters? And they had some importance,because they were on the flag. So how do they come into this picture? Did Celestia somehow brainwashed them and claimed the throne? Am I thinking too much about this?
I'm betting the season finale/Royal Wedding episode will be the Alicorn origin, or we can blame Discord for it. Nothing like a little body horror for the ancient bearers of the elements of harmony. "Oh, so you two princesses and your four friends dare to stop me?" *fingersnap* "How you gonna use the six elements of harmony when there are only two of you?" *tastes the rainbow*
I was...disappointed. For many of the aforementioned reasons: no mention of the princesses, etc.
Well, at least we can nail down that that "Pre-Classical Era" was prior to Equestria's founding. We can presume, then, that the "Classical Era" must have been the early years.
So Equestria is a utopia... or else. Except it wasn't by the hoof of tyrant Celestia. Wat.
And if a wee little bit of infighting causes endless winter, what does it take to cause Discord?
In regards to Unicorns raising sun and moon, if you go watch the pilot again it talks about Celestia and Luna using their Unicorn powers to move them. Also it mentions a Unicorn royal family (Rarity having played the Princess Platinum of said family). It would make sense, then, that Celestia and Luna are the daughters of said family at some point after the founding of Equestria. Their longevity remains a mystery.
OK episode, not a fanon killer as it doesn't explain where Celestia and Luna came from. I don't think they'll ever reveal where they came from though. I have a theory though, Celestia and Luna are, "Aliens!" they came to the world weren't born of it.
I have only one problem on who was cast in the play. I didn't like that Pinkie was leader of the Earth ponies. Think her and Applejack should of been switched.
Just now you've got, Pegasus are mighty warriors, Unicorns are talented with magic, Earth ponies are idiots that play in the dirt.
Applejack, would of been better as her character already clashes with Dash and Rarity from time to time. So it would of fit the story and Pinkie being a crazy secretary would of work too.
The only way this backstory lines up with what Celestia said about Discord is if the flag used as just a prop and not the actual flag they used during that time period. If that's the case, then everything falls into place and the three of them come after the founding of Equestria.
Why does everyone keep saying national anthem, given what they talked about in the play just before and such, I think it's more of a holiday carol. Even sounds like a lot of the older Christmas Carols
749 comments:
Chancellor puddinghead. :3
ReplyDelete@Octavia
ReplyDeletePonies riding ponies while ponies are riding other ponies. It's not possible...
And then Ponyville was born?
ReplyDeleteI've heard debate on the Twilight theatre over what to call the "Old Land".
ReplyDeleteThe biggest one was named "Euroquestria".
Any idea?
Ancient-Pinkie Pie just said it !
ReplyDeleteTheir Planet is *ROUND* ...and Spike said it : Equestria is a *LAND*/country/Nation.
The dazzling has been doubled!
ReplyDeleteDOUBLE DAZE? THE FUN HAS BEEN DOUBLED!
ReplyDeleteDirtville
ReplyDeleteThis dirt is the dirtiest dirt in the whole dirt world.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to call this new place Dirtworld!
Lmao.
Lol, circle hoofprints. Pinkie needs some relief, mmmm
ReplyDeleteSilly Pinkie :D Dirtville ftw!
ReplyDeleteDerpvilla sounds like a good name for a city to me.
ReplyDeleteYay, it's time for war!
ReplyDeleteEarth, oh snap.
ReplyDeleteAlicorns that create snow?
ReplyDeleteThe definition of discordia...
Dem Alicorn spirits.
ReplyDeleteFun fact: Unicornia is a city in the G3 movies.
ReplyDeleteBut no one likes G3.
where do Alicorns come from? Is this going to explain the origins of celestia?
ReplyDeleteWait so Earth ponies came from Earth but it's not really Earth, just a place they named Earth? I'm gonna need to lay down for a bit after this.
ReplyDeleteI swear being on the same wavelength as someone else is scary.
ReplyDeleteWill we hear the canon name for alicorns...?
ReplyDeleteSo when does Celestia come into this story?
ReplyDeleteWould it not make sense for Discord to be behind this? He took advantage of the disharmony of ponykind until Celestia and Luna petrified him.
ReplyDeleteBefore anyone go Coo-Coo-Crazy... Ancient-Pinky Pie said 'earth' as in DIRT... like Dirt-Ville.
ReplyDeleteSO THERE IS THE GHOST PONIES! Isn't that a reference to Fantasia's Night at BaldWind Mountain? They remind me of that scene from Fantasia.
ReplyDeletewasn't Unicornia the name of the Unicorn homelands in a earlyer MLP Generation?
ReplyDeleteIn before people accuse Rainbow of playing a guy just cuz Fluttershy called her ser. Females can be addressed as ser too, it's simple a rank disregarding of gender.
ReplyDelete@Lazuli
ReplyDeleteWell...apparently, alicorn is the word used in the MLP universe.
Pegacorn is the legitimate term for them.
Earth?! I hope that's just the use of a synonym for dirt, otherwise that's going to be a major development.
ReplyDeletebe cool if it was discord who sorts it out, before he goes to the bad
ReplyDelete@Greenf0x
ReplyDelete'earth' as in 'dirt' (like dirt-ville... th earth below your feet/hooves).
No one go crazy, ok ?
Was that...a Trixie model? O_o
ReplyDeleteWE GET IT. MOVE ON.
ReplyDeleteWe get it move on! lol
ReplyDeleteBlue pony: GET ON WITH IT!
ReplyDelete@Josh Spicer
ReplyDeleteTRIXIE?!? WHERE?!
@Δ-zεrɸ
ReplyDeleteThe "WE GET IT" pony. Silver hair, blue body...
I CLAIM THIS ROCK FOR PEGASOPOLIS!
ReplyDeleteRarity loves rocks!
ReplyDeleteDumb rock and triforce design.
ReplyDeletePinkie is excelling this episode.
Rarity wants the rock, but of course. That big beautiful rock! And Pinkie just don't give a shit. lol
ReplyDeleteAwww, fluttershy went around :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletestream is impossible to watch because of the damn lag im getting on my end :(
ReplyDeleteOh dang, frozen!
ReplyDeletePONIES: I WAS FROZEN TODAY!
ReplyDeleteAnd then Starswirl was referenced.
ReplyDeleteGotta love that continuity.
Dat Starswirl The Bearded
ReplyDeleteStar Swirl the Bearded!
ReplyDeleteStarswirl the Bearded mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAnd Wingdago's?
Is this still a play?
ReplyDeleteStar-Swirl the Bearded mention!
ReplyDeletePwnage by Friendship
ReplyDeleteNice
What about love and tolerance Fluttershy?!
ReplyDeleteOh shi- Twilight!
ReplyDeleteOf all the worst things that could happen! this is the worst! possible! thing!
ReplyDeleteI woke up late.....
I WAS FROZEN TODAY
BYE GHOST PONIES WHO REMIND ME OF THE GHOSTS FROM FANTASIA'S NIGHT AT BALDWIND MOUNTAIN!
ReplyDeleteSo...this is pre-Alicorn/Discord time?
ReplyDeleteSONG
ReplyDeleteDat Celestia and Luna banner. Though no mention of them in the play at all. lol
ReplyDeleteYay a new song
ReplyDeleteEquestrian National anthem
ReplyDeleteWoo-hoo a song!
ReplyDeleteStill no Celestia...
ReplyDeleteThere's a song kinda. A play song. :3
ReplyDeleteOMG, National Anthem.
ReplyDeleteI saw scoot and Doctor Whooves in the crowd.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait, there goes the Luna and Celestia emblem... What the hell?!
ReplyDeleteSo, where does Discord, Celestia and Luna come into play.
ReplyDeleteNO LETTER?
ReplyDeleteShort song still good song
ReplyDeleteThat was amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat was certainly an interested episode.
ReplyDeleteNot my favorite, but certainly a nice episode to explain the backstory.
I guess having letter at the end of the show are useless now.
ReplyDeletePlease don't force me off my own wavelength Octavia.
ReplyDeleteIt was heartwarming, but it never explained the birth of Celestia or Luna.
This episode was heartwarming and had a short song at the end.
Hmmm... No mention of Luna or Celestia. Still a great episode!
ReplyDeleteWell, that was a entertaining episode.
ReplyDeleteAnt thats how Equestria was Made!
ReplyDeletePony anthem is best anthem
ReplyDeleteSINGING.
ReplyDeleteYay, good fun episode. It wasn't as telling as some people would have liked it to be I bet. Since people tend to be a bit picky, but I thought it was good. Nice and fun and I guess you could call it the Equestrian Anthem. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd that's how Pinkie Pie got her cutie mark.
ReplyDeleteWait, the unicorns raised the Sun and the Moon? What happened to Celestia and Luna?
Song was short, but at least now we now they have a National Anthem. Good episode!
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell! Where does Celestia come from?!
ReplyDeleteSo we know there's an Equestrian national anthem then, I'll learn it off by heart!
ReplyDelete@Δ-zεrɸ
ReplyDeleteClearly the whole story is based off folktale. So they'll mix their modern Equestrian elements into a founding story... I'm guessing Celestia and Luna came later. I suppose.
Watching again.
ReplyDeleteSo the Equestrian flag is the two princesses,
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that song is the national anthem,
and the glowing heart is the Equestrian version of the Star of Bethlehem.
I refuse to believe this as historical canon. More like a pony myth. It's just too ridiculous to debunk most of the fan-fics to be historical Equestrian canon.
ReplyDeleteDisappointed that there was no mention of Celestia or Luna, especially with their flag there, but I still loved the episode!
ReplyDeleteWoo!! Great episode, I love the fact that they implemented references to previous episodes in there like Starswirl the Bearded.
ReplyDeleteOne last thing to note, Heart Containers exist in equestria.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED THAT EPISODE!!!
ReplyDeleteThat was great, but what about celestia and luna?
ReplyDeleteSo, where did the Luna/Celestia standard come from?
ReplyDeleteCan't explain that.
FUCKING AMAZING EPISODE
ReplyDeleteVery nice episode, but it's leaving a lot of questions. 1. Where did the Alicorns come from? 2. What about Discord? 3. WHY DOES THE FLAG HAVE ALICORNS IF THERE IS NO MENTION OF THEM!?
ReplyDeleteAll I got. Otherwise, awesome episode.
OMG, best episode ever!
ReplyDeleteBut, where does Celestial come in?
Legal ponies. I approve
ReplyDeleteLoved it as usual, Pinkie Pie being Pinkie!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun episode, but the number of plot inconsistencies in the timeline now is staggering. I guess we'll have to blame historical inaccuracy.
ReplyDeleteThat was epic. I actually clapped at the end. And I don't usually do that.
ReplyDeleteIt kinda justifies the "Love & Harmony" thing, because there is a GIGANTIC CONSEQUENCE if they don't: The entire world will be frozen by the Wendigos, who feed off their hatred. And obviously, by extent, everything will die! D:
Now I understand why they were forced to get along so well; bad shit happens if they don't.
Ugh, too many questions, there's just too many questions!
ReplyDeleteLUNA? CELESTIA???????????
ReplyDeleteThat was a good one.
ReplyDeleteNot really much fanon was killed by this episode. I think everypony was expecting the total destruction of all alicorn fics, what we saw here didn't get close.
ReplyDeleteGreat episode either way.
Great Great Episode! Still would like to know alicorn origins though ^^
ReplyDeleteoh man i missed like the half episode or something, youtube tonight i guess =P
ReplyDelete@Zatheyll
ReplyDeleteThat's the best thing about origins, everything is theory, since they weren't around to prove it.
@Radimir
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing.
Pretty good episode :D
ReplyDeleteWe still need to find when Celestia and Luna came into play but thats for another episode. Time to watch it a second time :D
ReplyDeleteOkay so this is before Celestia and Luna, so are the Alicorn's in the flag their parents possibly? Pink girl Blue boy?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought...
First time I actually woke up early enough to see an episode. No laggy pictures! It was a great episode too despite that there was no prominent appearance of a background character.
ReplyDeleteSo if Celestia and Luna didn't raise the sun/moon...why were they on the flag? Or did they just use the modern Equestrian flag for the sake of familiarity for the play, and the princesses actually came later (though it seems unlike Twilight to allow such a blatant historical error like that to let slip...).
ReplyDeletemy guess: luna and celestia have been around in the past, but at the time of this story have been absent and are probably now more of a myth in their own right.
ReplyDeleteAnd possibly they return later because of Discord
The only way would be to buy the eps via iTunes or some thing like that
ReplyDeleteAn episode that hints about racism and death?! OH MY.
ReplyDeleteLike that they save some history for future episodes. Makes it more fleshed out.
ReplyDeleteWell, nothing really as extremely life-changing as some thought this episode would be.
ReplyDeleteA great episode by the way.
So...
-Their PLANET is ROUND.
-Equestria is a COUNTRY/Nation.
-Windigoos ? Spirits of cold and ice or something.
-They have alicorns on their ancient-Flag... so it kinda means they knew of the existence of Alicorns in those ancient-time.
-Starswirl the bearded existed in that time.
Crap, missed the first showing cause of parents. At least they dhow it twice! Thens there's YouTube for when a parent walks in...
ReplyDeleteYou guys really think the song at the end is the national anthem? It's a bit short for that I think...
ReplyDelete...and that's how Equestria was made.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't real go with Celestia's, Luna's, and Discord's story though.
that was a pretty good episode, though it didnt really show how luna and celestia came into the equation....oh well, its a cartoon, not a history textbook!!! now to watch again!!
ReplyDeletewell no celestia/luna/elementsofharmony origin.
ReplyDeleteall the origins fanfics are almost intact.
i am starting to think they did it on purpose... the more mystery in royal sister origin the more cool they are and we can speculate and write cool fanfics.
The Luna & Celestia Standard is a prop in the play to ensure the right propaganda is met in the founding pageant.
ReplyDeleteObviously.
I felt they should have at least mentioned the goddesses as being part of Equestria's history. Kinda feels like they'd be an important factor in the lives of relatively uneducated peasants. But what do I know lol.
ReplyDeleteBest Troll Episode ever.
ReplyDeleteOrigin story which doesn't answer anything important. Lawl, princesses' origins? You fucking wish.
Y'know, this episode convinced me. Alicorns have bloody dark history and tyrantlestia does everything to hide it while brainwashing common folk with friendship crap.
friendship ends ice age, uncorns gain magic from friendship, news at 11
ReplyDeleteYay! Derpy makes a fool, (foal?) of herself!
ReplyDeleteSo, Tom existed before Celestia or Luna. This is now canon.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to repeat the Luna/Celestia sentiment, but aside from that I liked the episode. Canon building done right.
ReplyDeleteHoly Sheeet that was awesome
ReplyDeleteAwww :') ending made me cry :'D
ReplyDeleteGuys, the Luna/Celestia flag at the end? I'm assuming that implies that this is set after Discord's reign, though that raises questions by itself.
ReplyDeleteThe other reason is that maybe it's just a random standard that's been lying around the castle? DOes show up as a prop though.
Aside from the logic failure (come on, we are looking into it fairly deeply here) that was a damn good episode. Twarity (is that even a term) all over the place, Spartan Pegasi, Pinkie being Pinkie - everything kinda worked really well.
Very good episode.
ReplyDeleteTho where was PS and PL? the equestria flag showed them both, yet they weren't there?
Loved it! This was the first livestream I watched since Season 2's premiere, and boy am I glad I did. Pinkie Pie (or Chancellor Puddinghead) alone made the episode awesome. I hope they do more Equestrian History episodes in the future, I'd love to know the origins of the alicorns and some more about Star Swirl.
ReplyDeleteI know I say this all the time, but THIS WAS THE BEST EPISODE EVER.
ReplyDeleteGreat episode, really enjoyed it. Lots a funny moments.
ReplyDeleteOKAY.
ReplyDeleteSo without touching ANY fanon at all,
between the end of the play's events and the S1 pilot story....
Something-something-something, DISCORD.
Something-something-something, ALICORNS
(those two may switch places - who knows?)
Something-Something-Something, Elements of Harmony Discovered, Discord Stoned
Annnnd...rule of the Pony Sisters begins.
Quite the empty patch, fanfic writers!
I can accept that the first half was true, and they where controlled by Discord, but after that the alicorns came in, and established Canterlot and Equestria.
ReplyDeleteNOT the cave part though.
The episode was great, but where does celestia and luna come into play? did they do their job like gods where they weren't seen but worshipped or something?
ReplyDeleteI'm confused
its an allegory, ancient ancestor of the mighty thesaurus rex
ReplyDeleteThey certainly took alot of liberties at the end with the final flag, almost reminds me of a North Korean creation in how much they skew history. This should maintain some of the fan history I think. Lot's of unanswered questions, not a bad thing if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to enjoy the episode and not worry about anything that might be considered "wrong" or "inaccurate." It was fun and funny and I clapped at the end. Plus, we have a new song. What's not to love?
ReplyDeleteAnd now its time for everyone to over-analyze a simple children's show. lol
ReplyDelete@Saddlesoap
ReplyDeletesomething-something dark side
Amazing episode.
ReplyDelete@Avalanche
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the 'Kingdom' was founded... they lived happily for a time... DISCORD came, Princess Celestia and Luna came, Discord is defeated and the ponies decide to make them their Princesses.
Seem rather simple and stable.
@John
ReplyDeletethe flag really doesn't make much sense, since the play takes place before Celestia's reign (as Spike said).
I assume the play isn't 100% historically accurate ^^
@Jimperator
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes, that's exactly it.
@Octavia
ReplyDeleteA bit too late, but all the same, lol.
Friendship Report
ReplyDeletePolitics suck
It was ok. It was a lot different from a typical episode obviously, they put in a lot of clever humor and jokes to keep us Bronies happy but still I would've prefered a conventional episode.
ReplyDeleteBut it was still a sweet episode.
Yep. Best episode ever. I loved every moment of it.
ReplyDelete@Dͪ͊ͦḮ̘ͯS̔̐̓C̹̔Ò͓͙̫R̀͠͞D͙̫
ReplyDeleteSomething something....COMPLETE.
So to recap first episode that wasnt a season opener not to have a letter of friendship *gasp* AND they suggested that unicorns used to control the sun and moon which means that Celestia and Luna can be REPLACED O_O
ReplyDeleteOf all the things I was expecting from Season 2, I have to admit a genuine, full-stop world-building episode was not one of them. Indeed, even after reading the summary, I thought "Hearth Warming" was going to be more about the present-day pageant than the events of the past on which it was based. But instead, it's all about taking us back to the history of Equestria, and it works quite nicely.
ReplyDeleteThe big thing here is that the humor works very well. Stemming as it does mostly from the interactions between the three Tribal Leaders and their respective assistants, it simultaneously keeps the episode fun and funny while directly feeding in to the overarching story about how and why the Tribes fought with each other. Applejack and Pinkie worked particularly well in this regard in my opinion, though all three pairs really do provide a lot of great little moments (dear god Rarity riding Twilight).
Yet the unexpected but welcome surprise is, "Hearth Warming" works so well as an actual origin story. It isn't terribly complex, admittedly, and the choice to leave out how exactly the reign of Princess Celestia (and Princess Luna) began leaves things a little confused, particularly since apparently it was the Pegasus Ponies who were responsible for controlling the cycle of the sun and the moon, but the concept of the Windigos and the soldification of the fact that Equestria is a Nation rather than a Planet (Applejack's naming instincts aside X3) all do a magnificent job of expanding the mythos and details of the FiM 'verse. Plus, Starswirl shout-out for the win. :D
Admittedly, I felt the wrap-around segments at the beginning and end were kind of dull and off-putting; I was expecting the conflict between the mane six to be more important than it wound up being, and while I still "get" why it's there, it's so short-lived and awkwardly inserted I feel like they may as well not have bothered. The song was also a bit of a let-down; it's nice and all, but it's also very generic, lacking FiM's usual distinct sound and feel.
Still, it's all in good fun, and "Heart Warming Eve" definitely leaves a lot of food for thought and fun for all along the way. ^_^
Hmm, seems like the old pony land was a serfdom of sorts, and Equestria today appears to be a capitalist society. Clearly capitalism is harmonious and founded in friendship! (Inb4 mudfest)
ReplyDeleteIm likin' this episode. Back story, Pinkie Pie ruler, back story...
ReplyDelete@John
ReplyDeleteits a renactment, just like the bible the message has changed over time, therefore the flag has Luna/Celestia on it.
@Josh Spicer
ReplyDeleteOh, I know. It doesn't matter. Near the entire community odes it every weekend now. lol Can't just enjoy it, gotta tear it apart. :P
Wow! That had just enough information on the history of Equestria to blow our minds and still leave so much potential for branching storylines (either canon, or fanon).
ReplyDeleteI'm going to pre-emptively jump on the headcanon wagon and drop my initial thoughts on what this means for Equestria's timeline.
Hearth's Warming appears to originate many thousands of years prior to FiM's present. Long before the era of Discord, and thus, long before the era of the Royal Sisters.
After the races united, nothing more is said in canon. But the event that caused them to unite, with the three advisors from the tribes becoming friends, is an event not to be taken lightly. For it not only led to the creation of Equestria, but it appears to be the moment that the Elements of Harmony appeared.
Italicised because this is my favourite point:
The three advisors settling their differences calmly and becoming friends is the moment that true friendship was forged. And the power within it caused a magical outburst that saved them from freezing. This magic was alien to the Unicorn, and apparently far more powerful than regular Unicorn magic. What is more powerful than Unicorn magic? What is the most powerful magic known to all ponies? The Elements of Harmony.
Soon, all six of the trapped ponies became friends, and Harmony was finally achieved, marking the birth of a new nation: Equestria.
@Hydra
ReplyDeleteUsing the totality of the Unicorn race/magic potential... yeah... ''easily'' replaced. *roll my eyes*
That was lovely. Got my Pinkie Pie fix for sure!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing Luna and Celestia come later?
ReplyDeleteOf course princesses can be replaced. I'm not sure they do jack at all.
ReplyDeleteCONSPIRACY THEORIES commence.
I'm with @Zatheyll on this. It's mythology. Apart from everything else, Equestria was founded by just two of each type of pony, all apparently female?
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to dislike fluttershy
ReplyDeleteSong lyrics:
ReplyDelete"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through)
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end"
And that's how Pinkie Pie got her cutie mark! Maybe they'll tell us how Equestria was made some day?
ReplyDeleteYou think this might be part of a session arc?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it. WHY WAS CELESTIA AND LUNA ON THE POSTER?!!! The person who wrote Mare Do Well also wrote this episode, she has redeemed herself in my eyes. Also, why no Discord? It could have been perfect, but instead they had Discord knock-offs.
ReplyDeleteDerpy was in the train, and peaked head out of curtain.
ReplyDelete-TF2 hat. Christmas tree. FOR SURE TF2 REFERENCE.
-Scootaloo got her tongue caught on a pole. Christmas Story reference?
-DEATH IN EQUESTRIA
-Pinkie Pie, you are so random. Sticking a map on your face like Spy and standing in a chimney.
-Their Planet is *ROUND* …and Spike said it: Equestria is a *LAND*/country/Nation. Pinkie used the team “Earth” too
-Unicornia lol
-“WE GET IT MOVE ON”
-Twilight’s character was an apprentice to Starswirl
-National anthem!
-Friendship really is magic
-“I WAS FROZEN TODAY” should become a new meme, lol
Nice Canadian reference with the Windigos. Of course, "wendigos" are people who become cannibals and thus are cursed with feet of fire, flying through the sky, never resting (and hungry to eat more manflesh, thus always a danger to travelers in lonely places).
ReplyDeleteSo presumably, being wind-igos is a second career for cannibal ponies.
OH! Something else occurred to me!
ReplyDeleteStar Swirl was around to be Clover's mentor, so "the pre-classical era" means "the time period before Equestria's founding"!
@Hydra
ReplyDeleteIt didn't really need one, the whole episode was kind of a big report in its self, I guess
I think the story is meant to be allegorical. The use of the Celestia/Luna banner for the play merely symbolized unity for their modern audience.
ReplyDeleteThe reason the Alicorns didn't appear is because... Well there are a few theories.
Personally, I still think the alicorn sisters were a product of Ponykind needing powerful rulers that were a combination of them all. But also keep in mind; I don't believe Celestia and Luna are ever referred to as goddesses, nor as "Alicorns". Alicorn I think has come from a Word of God source, and nothing more.
I loved the backstory of this episode. The story was NEVER about Celestia or Luna's origin, so enough with it people! They can save that for another episode.
ReplyDeleteAs for the flag, do you have a flag or banner representing the historically accurate design of the banner of the town of Bethlehem from 2000 years ago to celebrate Christmas? I doubt it.
Too many OCD Twilight wannabes here, making a fuss over insignificant details. They simply reused a flash resource. THAT'S ALL it was. Live with the fact that the episode was actually pretty rockin'!
I do love that they establish Equestria as a country, establish a violent racist history, establish the existence of what are effectively spirits representing primal forces, but who do not exhibit "villainous" personality. Aka... Those Windigoos appear to simply be horse like in mind, as in instinctually driven, like spirit animals.
We also still have Celestia's and Luna's origin fully open.
This episode was NEVER about Celesta or Luna, so --shades-- Deal with it!
Hold on to your hooves! I am just about to be BRILLIANT!
ReplyDeleteAwesome episode,really enjoyed it. Pinkie Pie is best pony (for now).
ReplyDeleteBut there is one tiny bit of problem here with the mythology or continuity or what.
They said here that unicorns changed the day and night some thousand years ago. And we also saw that the united flag had Celestia and Luna on it. So the royal sisters were living at that time. But if the unicorns could change the day and night, what was the purpose of the sisters? And they had some importance,because they were on the flag. So how do they come into this picture? Did Celestia somehow brainwashed them and claimed the throne? Am I thinking too much about this?
@Xantaclause234
ReplyDeleteThis was pre pricesses sisters so pre discord.
Tho thats not to say the wind things aren't servents of discord.
@Unknown
ReplyDeletefrozen today i was
Guys, guys, isn't it obvious?
ReplyDeleteEquestrians were the Sabines, and the neighbouring Alicorns were the Romans.
That's the standard the Alicorns made the ponies adopt.
You know, to remind them who's boss.
Hut one hut two... said by Applejack... reminds me of WuTang ponies! LOL!
ReplyDeleteIts offical! the fannon name for the old land has been called "Ponyrim" in these bronystate twilight room by:
ReplyDeleteNinonybox
Liquid_vertibird
pony_3330
pony_8477
MintBreeze
Euponytor
All in favor?
I'm betting the season finale/Royal Wedding episode will be the Alicorn origin, or we can blame Discord for it. Nothing like a little body horror for the ancient bearers of the elements of harmony. "Oh, so you two princesses and your four friends dare to stop me?" *fingersnap* "How you gonna use the six elements of harmony when there are only two of you?" *tastes the rainbow*
ReplyDeleteAnd just like that, canon comes along and wrecks my latest fanfic :P
ReplyDeleteOh, well, still a great episode! Pinkie was absolutely hilarious in this one :D
I was...disappointed. For many of the aforementioned reasons: no mention of the princesses, etc.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least we can nail down that that "Pre-Classical Era" was prior to Equestria's founding. We can presume, then, that the "Classical Era" must have been the early years.
the lyrics resembles a Dragonforce song
ReplyDeleteSo Equestria is a utopia... or else. Except it wasn't by the hoof of tyrant Celestia. Wat.
ReplyDeleteAnd if a wee little bit of infighting causes endless winter, what does it take to cause Discord?
In regards to Unicorns raising sun and moon, if you go watch the pilot again it talks about Celestia and Luna using their Unicorn powers to move them. Also it mentions a Unicorn royal family (Rarity having played the Princess Platinum of said family). It would make sense, then, that Celestia and Luna are the daughters of said family at some point after the founding of Equestria. Their longevity remains a mystery.
another heart warming episode keep it up hub
ReplyDelete@ninonybox
ReplyDeleteHow about "Eohippus"?
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyracotherium )
OK episode, not a fanon killer as it doesn't explain where Celestia and Luna came from. I don't think they'll ever reveal where they came from though. I have a theory though, Celestia and Luna are, "Aliens!" they came to the world weren't born of it.
ReplyDeleteI have only one problem on who was cast in the play. I didn't like that Pinkie was leader of the Earth ponies. Think her and Applejack should of been switched.
Just now you've got, Pegasus are mighty warriors, Unicorns are talented with magic, Earth ponies are idiots that play in the dirt.
Applejack, would of been better as her character already clashes with Dash and Rarity from time to time. So it would of fit the story and Pinkie being a crazy secretary would of work too.
The only way this backstory lines up with what Celestia said about Discord is if the flag used as just a prop and not the actual flag they used during that time period. If that's the case, then everything falls into place and the three of them come after the founding of Equestria.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everyone keep saying national anthem, given what they talked about in the play just before and such, I think it's more of a holiday carol. Even sounds like a lot of the older Christmas Carols
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call a MAGIC episode. Brilliant ^^
ReplyDelete@Octavia
ReplyDeleteYes, because it's fun.
And now back to Avatar...:( I'll finish this later on YouTube ponies!
ReplyDelete@ponyaddict
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a wee bit of infighting, it was essentially total civil war being waged by three sides.