janglehooves

I thought they did a great job with Luna's characterisation. You could clearly see how she had the potential to transform into Nightmare Moon from her reaction to the other ponies rejecting her. Behind the outward confidence (which you'd expect from a royal figure) she seemed to have a really deep desire for acceptance which I think is why her reaction was so extreme. I liked how they addressed the issue of her trying to fit back into a world that she had been away from for a thousand years. The archaic language and the adherance to traditions that had long since evolved were a great way of demonstrating this. I thought she was quite likeable...plus THE VOICE was pretty awesome! Personally I thought Spike in a dragon suit was a work of genius! I quite liked Pipsqueak, but then I may be biased because I'm also a BritPony... It'll be interesting to see if he appears in future episodes as they've already made the effort to write him into this one in a fairly significant way. And yay for Dinky! (I'm sure that was her in the firefighter costume)

Those windows are very intriguing! I'd assumed that Discord was a pony but looking at that, I'm not so sure. I was thinking CMC at first glance but the colours aren't quite right. That said it might just be due to the stylised artwork of the windows so it could be them. I think it would be nice if they were involved in the storyline, so here's hoping...

Ah, good old internet drama... I don't think there's been any official confirmation that it's Hasbro, in fact it looks much more like parasprites. I can't see much point in hassling Lauren Faust over it either, seeing as she's no longer involved in the show and it would be someone else's call anyway. Let's not get too carried away until we know what's going on eh? (plus I thought everyone had downloaded them all by now anyway...)

Art of the Dress is my favourite, though it's a tough choice. I think Winter Wrap Up is the catchiest and At the Gala is the most epic, and there are some really fun songs among the others. However, I just love the composition of Art of the Dress and I really dig the mandolin in it!

Well that's because she is a tyrannical dictator, though I must say she's my kind of tyrannical dictator... Seriously though, I really like Celestia, I see her more as an interested observer with a wry sense of humour who gets a genuine kick out of the adventures of her subjects. I don't think she's enough of a control freak to directly intervene very often, she seems to take the line of allowing others learn for themselves (very much evident in her relationship with Twilight) but she's there if she is needed. The Luna banishment does come across as being somewhat extreme but if you've got two entities who literally have the sort of power that can control night and day squaring up, then you've got the potential for some serious destruction. In that sort of situation, you can't afford to mess around...

It is truly awesome that the forum is going to continue here. I know I'm not the most regular of posters (and it's nothing personal, I'm like that on every forum I'm "active" on... ) but I was really impressed by how quickly such a great community formed on the original forum and I am so glad that it now has a new home. Big thanks to Artax, Manestream and everyone else who made this transition possible. I'm not sure what the circumstances were behind the move, but if Ashi or Tam are still about anywhere, I'd like to thank them for being the genesis of this community and I wish them well wherever they may be.

Scootaloo's cutie mark actually turning out to be pine needles on tree sap...

Right. One of the things that has really impressed me is the level of enthusiasm from those members of the production team who have blogged/commented on it. They really seem to have absorbed the whole ethos of the show and seem really proud to be working on it. Lauren's absence will undoubtedly be a loss as she obviously had such a clear vision of where she wanted to go with it and of the way the whole world of Equestria works. However, given the really positive attitude of the other people who are involved, I'm pretty optimistic that the show will be in safe hands. It looks like she's still had a lot of influence over season 2 anyway, so I think that's safe enough.

Heh! I should have realised that... Sadly, the Fluttershy guitar is by the magic of photoshop I wouldn't be averse to putting Fluttershy on a guitar but I don't have the skills to do it. I reckon it would be possible by sanding off the finish, applying some sort of clear coat to seal the wood grain, using a translucent paint/stain for the artwork (to let the grain show through) and then re-finishing. Unfortunately it's way beyond my abilities so I've just had to settle for a photo of one of my guitars and a bit of digital trickery...

Nice cover! What guitar do you play? I've certainly tried fooling around with a couple of the songs on the mandolin and I'm seriously tempted to have a go at a cover of Art of the Dress on mandolin and bouzouki. If get sufficiently motivated I'll post the results.

Well, it wasn't as dramatic as the last episode but it was rather a fun one! (and a Fluttershy ep at that....yay!) The phoenix twist was a little obvious (I guessed it about halfway through, although my initial theory was that Princess Celestia wasn't so powerful that she couldn't get ripped off by the pet shop...) but it was enjoyable getting to it. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were both very much on form and flustered Twilight was rather sweet. Once again, the animation was great and I certainly wasn't expecting to see a Benny Hill parody in MLP! Yes, it didn't do much for plot progression but from a character development point of view, it had it's moments. I would have thought that Fluttershy's nervousness would have prevented her from taking Philomena but clearly she has a more impulsive side when it comes to things she feels strongly about. I suppose it has been hinted at before but it was interesting to see it come more to the fore. We also got to see Celestia's fun side which gives her character more depth. So yeah, maybe not groundbreaking stuff but in my opinion there was more going on there than you'd think at first glance.

I think the hybrid steam/pony power theory is a valid one. You need the greatest amount of effort to start a train moving, so the steam engine would provide this. Once it was up to speed, the driver would throttle back and pony power would keep the thing going. Then again, my own personal theory is that it's a real steam engine doing all the work and those guys are just out there in front as the result of some sort of arcane union agreement, dating back to when steam power first began to replace pony power on Equestria's railways...

Just bumping this for a change of username. Rickenpony was something of a placeholder until I came up with something more better...which I didn't...so I went with Janglehooves. It's a bit of a callback to a username I used in another fandom and it reflects my strange obsession with Rickenbacker guitars... Now if I could just figure out how to play a 12-string with these hooves...

I don't know, pie can be a pretty powerful motivator... Er..anyway, great episode! I thought the animation and directing in the action scenes was excellent. The charge was downright cinematic, especially in the build up with the clock striking the hour as everything falls silent except for the whistling of the wind (a distinct High Plains Drifter vibe for me...). The four horsepower (?) train was one of those great surreal touches that I love in the humour of the show. Braeburn's tour of Appleloosa, basically bulldozing his guests around town was hilarious! The "Fluttershy is not a tree" conversation was brilliantly written and the timing of the voice acting was perfect. I thought the politics were reasonably balanced, though you're never going to please everyone when you tackle a theme like that. And Pinkie Pie should definitely be a diplomat. The trouble would be endless but it would be a hell of a trip...

What a great interview! He comes across as being really enthusiastic about the show and I think it's reflected in the songs. They show great complexity and a lot of care, you can tell he's not just going through the motions. Plus he uses the mandolin in his arrangements...yay!