Whitehawke

I found the CG to look really bad. I hope they don't make it a trend to continue using it for moving objects rather than stationary ones.

Assuming they use it again, they should make it so the outlines fit better with the show's style instead of being thin black. It would help a bit at least. Alternately, removing the outlines completely might help as well.

Seems this wasn't the first time we actually got 3D in the show.

The Dizzitron blended perfectly, considering no one noticed. Then again, a still object is almost assuredly going to blend in better than a moving character.

And turns out the big Timberwolf was 2D.

At first, I was disappointed to see how weak the Timber Wolves were. Then I saw this.

Madmax explains everything.

Weak episode. It had some good moments but there were too many Idiot Balls being passed around.

Then again, story was by Dave Polsky and it was written by Merriwether, so I wasn't expecting much anyway.

I'm fine with people liking this episode though. I could argue why I think it's lackluster, but I don't like it mostly because of my own tastes.

Hopefully the next episode won't be as weak, despite the fact it's also written by Polsky.

Seems iTunes is deliberately releasing episodes early now. :!:

http://family-room.e...clip-applejack/

Video time!

beats Timberwolves so hard they explode! Better watch out!

Also, they've been animated in 3d apparently. Probably because of the way they're designed (they looked really flat in Flash).

[colour=#333333]Episode Number - 8[/colour]

[colour=#333333]Title - Just for Sidekicks[/colour]

[colour=#333333]Air Date: January 26th[/colour]

[colour=#333333]Synopsis: Spike finds himself in over his head after convincing Twilight and her friends to let[/colour]

[colour=#333333]him pet-sit all of their critters in exchange for a few gems.[/colour]

[colour=#333333]Writer: Corey Powell[/colour]

[colour=#333333]Seems Spike is getting a lot of love this season! (As opposed to Rarity)[/colour]

[colour=#333333]Not sure if this is the 12th episode or the lost 8th one. Will update when the information is known. EDIT: Turns out it's the 8th one![/colour]

[colour=#333333]Anyway, I'm guessing this image is related to the episode.[/colour]

[colour=#333333][/colour]

Alternate ending script has been revealed.

The ending we got was actually rougher on Lightning Dust. :!:

Unlikely. The showrunner(s) said Starswirl was supposed to be the "Merlin" of Equestria, but they weren't sure what to do with him (other than being an occasional mention among historical figures).

Starts are extremely common in animation usage.

Discord also mentioned he's lived for "eons", so there'd be an inconsistency if the rumor was to be true.

To top it all off, the rumor makes a big deal about the lines being spoken to Twilight, yet the episode synopsis suggests a Flutter-centric episode. There is just as much reason to believe the lines were made up by a random user theorizing how Discord's return would happen in an actual episode. The idea of Fluttershy playing a larger role than Twilight against Discord was well beyond what a fan wanted to predict, though.

And before someone says "2/3-parter!", that has a 1%* chance of happening. The episodes do not follow continuity to the point that the audience would need to watch a previous episode to know what happened, unless they're a 2-parter, which have always been mentioned in their synopsis as being 2-parters.

Despite all I wrote, I will concede that the rumor has a chance to be true, but only because it's vague. There's some spelling mistakes in the lines, and I do not believe Discord would call Twilight "miss Twilight Sparkle".

*1% margin of error

The only thing not 100% confirmed is the synopsis. Meghan confirmed herself the title is legit.

There are also some rumors that this episode will also have Fluts become a dragon (because of a flub of a voice actor) but that has a 50/50 chance of being true.

In case anyone had ANY doubts about AJ's parents being dead:

Welp, it was leaked anyway! Only by a few hours but still.

This episode was not leaked, Brian. Copy-pasting has it's faults!

I'm wondering if that pony eating the fritter is her daddy.

I've just realized how much of a troll it would be for the parents to only appear in the flashback. We'd see what they look like but still wouldn't know if they are actually dead or not.

http://family-room.ew.com/2012/12/21/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-exclusive-video-applejack/

New clip! Just scroll down a bit.

Beware of diabeetus.

Are we almost up to 9 episodes already?

No, this will be the 8th episode, despite being the 9th in production.

According to Sibsy, the actual 8th episode was delayed for a very good reason, and it will make sense when it does actually air.

Seems we might get to see Babs and Braeburn return.

Mystery cleared.

I watch every episode frame-by-frame and make entire videos about the tiniest of mistakes for everyone's entertainment.

The thing about Spitfire's voice is that Luna went through the exact same thing. She was very passive and apologetic in Season 1, but come Season 2 the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE surfaced and she practically changed identities. Despite the differences, it was all from the same voice actor.

There were some who complained ("Woona" would never be like that, etc), but the change was overall very well received, perhaps because of the creativity and endearing-ness of Luna's new personality .

Ironically enough, I have no doubt the Canterlot Voice was actually exaggerated for the sake humor and not as something that would ever be shown again as a characteristic of hers.

People tend to get their own ideas ("headcanons" if you will) about characters as they are introduced. When an episode/scene drastically changes this character's original displayed behavior, some people will become upset regardless of whether or not the episode/scene is justified, simply because it forces them to adapt their "headcanon" or abandon it completely.

Here's an early example: when Call of the Cutie first aired, people were disappointed that "Dr. Whooves" had an American accent, because most thought he should speak like the Doctor himself, accent and all. This was in the fandom's early days though, so there wasn't a huge outcry.

[colour=#282828]I still remember my first Friendship is Magic controversy. When [/colour]A Dog and Pony Show[colour=#282828] first came out, people accused the writers of stereotyping women as manipulative, an accusation that I strongly disagree with. But I digress... I don't think its fair to categorize and label me like that. I try to be as fair as humanly possible, and the fact that season 1 is my favorite has nothing to do with it.[/colour]

Feeling Pinkie Keen was the likely the first major controversial episode.

Many people complained directly to Faust that it was portraying religion and belief as superior to science and educated guesses (or something like that).

She had to assure them it did not.

I hadn't personally joined the fandom at the time, but while lurking on Neogaf I remember a translator/subber saying that the speech and mannerisms of the episode could not be translated as anything but a "propaganda speech of the triumph of faith over science".

If the fandom was at least the size it was at the start of Season 2, I think the episode would have gotten a much larger backlash, but that could be relatively applied to any episode, technically.

Psh, I've been picking nits since episode one. If people dont see why season 1 os the best, I think they could stand to be MORE analytical.

*don't

*is

Interesting tidbit...turns out the voice actor behind this episode's Spitfire is the same one from Spitfire's previous appearances.

Sure fooled me. One thing though: she only started voicing her in Best Night Ever. Sonic Rainboom (the first time Spitfire actually talked) was a different person.

It seems the studio actually did want to imply Spitfire was putting a front as a "drill sergeant".

Seems AJ might sing in this episode!

(Dunno what happened to the actual episode 8...)

You better not disappoint, Meghan McCarthy!

Anyone else find it a little weird how the writers went out of their way to avoid having Rainbow Dash say the word "killed" when describing the tornado incident?

That's standard fare from a young audience's show. There's an entire trope around it: Never say "Die".

By the way, it appears there was an "OC purge" this episode.

Flowershine was originally Wild Fire (Sibsy's OC).

While Thunderlane was originally Midnight Strike (Who ends up with only a mere cameo at the start).

Hasbro apparently caught wind of this before the episode's airing, and told them that OC's shouldn't be getting this much air time.

Personally, I couldn't see Wild Fire acting the way Flowershine did this episode, and Midnight Strike is way too "Bad OC"-ish with her colour palette, so I think this was a good call.

hi hi

So, according to Meghan McCarthy, Wonderbolt Academy originally had a different ending, but it got changed somewhere along the lines. I heard from someone else that the original ending had Rainbow Dash not getting back into the academy after she quit, but I can't find a confirmation of that anywhere. I think that might have assuaged a lot of people's concerns with how the ending played out, but would have also made more than a few kids sad.

It's assumed that's what happened.

She also said there was a bonus scene that was cut, but I'm not too sure if she just meant that the bonus scene was the original ending and it being cut meant they had to change a previous scene.

To top it all off, it's rumoured that the alternate ending is possibly going to be on a DVD with the episode.