Ginger Mint

hi hi Actually, while sunlight will tan skin, due to an increase in melanin production, hair isn't made of living tissue and the pigments will gradually bleach when exposed to enough sunlight. So for ponies, sunbathing would actually lighten the colour of their coats.

hi hi I totally remember PataPony, and yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. Other than the fact that Twilight's solution to the problem absolutely terrified me, leaving me to wonder if the Pinkie Pie they were left with in the end really was the real Pinkie Pie, the episode as a whole was a pretty fun ride. (Even I would get distracted by loud noises and would have probably failed, were I in that situation. *shudders*) • Picnic with Fluttershy? Yes please... • Quietly splashing into the water, *weeeee!* Someone's been taking lessons from Fluttershy. • Twilight and Spike, "I've never heard of that..." "does this mean practice is over?" "Nope!" • Sad Pinkie Pie... I just wanted to give her a big hug. • "Bringing all the fun to me!" Just as planned...

[colour=#BFBFFF]hi hi[/colour] Ember Spark had felt the shifting mood of her surroundings, and had been looking around for any positive signs, a glowing mushroom, a patch of moss, a scurrying rodent, anything but nothing really. She was casually turning over another piece of shattered stone when Pocket Change called out. Her first instinct was the freeze. Every muscle in her body tensed up, she felt a chill in her very heart, but her mind set to racing. She hadn't known what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. [colour=#773344]Whatdowedo? what-do-we-do? What do we do?[/colour] Her second instinct was to run. The trembling in her legs turned into a wobble, then into rhythmic tapping, and finally into motion. She backpedalled a couple of paces, and was just about to turn and bolt when she heard Pocket Change shout. She didn't even think about it, but she did stumble on the uneven flooring and lose her balance while she saw the world turn a bright red-orange through eyes shut tight. Struggled to get back up to her hooves, but between her panic and her inability to see, she just ended up thrashing helplessly for a bit. Even if she couldn't see it though, she could still feel it. She could feel it wane and ebb, like the wave that cleaves obstinate stone, pulling back and then pressing forward again. She braced herself, letting the feeling wash over her without immediately pressing back. She heard the voices and tried to calm her racing thoughts to keep them from getting jumbled together in a indiscernible mess. She tried to listen to what the creature was saying. [colour=#773344]Is it possible to communicate? What do you want!?[/colour] The creatures words were cold and harsh, and in general not at all friendly. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to talk, unsure of what she was even saying. [colour=#773344]"Um... let me know when I can open my eyes again so we can... um, attempt an escape?"[/colour]

hi hi Oh, I agree that they were trying to do things for the Crystal Ponies because they couldn't be expected to do them on their own, on account of their traumatic experiences. But thats just my point, saving someone from themselves and having them save themselves are about as close to mutually exclusive as anything I can think of. Also, you knew this was coming:

hi hi I'm trying to write up a reply in what little spare time I have today. We'll see if I can get something finished. Edit: Ok, it wasn't much, but I guess since this might qualify as an action scene, maybe its best to give people a chance to respond without going too crazy.

hi hi I'm not sure how growling at someone who's annoying you and then leaving is a weird response. I've seen people do that to telemarketers on numerous occasions, growl in anger and hang up, and I suspect it happens to door to door salesmen too. (also, in my experience, people are often unable to tell the difference between vegetarian hot dogs and real hot dogs.)

hi hi Dessa, I think the problems you mentioned with pacing earlier might be in part due to the lack of tension in the episode. The tone of a show is one of the big things that helps set the pacing. When the tone shifts, the audience feels a different mood, and that different mood helps establish a new segment of the narrative. If the tone fails to change the audience's mood, then the intended pacing breaks down. And it wasn't just Sombre's fault when it comes to tension. I think one of the biggest culprits is actually Celestia. She removes all the tension in the episode at the very beginning when she repeated reassures Luna, Twilight and by extension, the audience, that -in no uncertain terms- Twilight will not fail. You kind of are forced to believe Celestia too, because if you don't believe in her, then you almost have to accept that she is either very evil (Risking the entire world on a hunch, when she could have sent her sister along to help, or even gone herself as well.) or very foolish, and its hard to believe that someone who has peacefully ruled a nation for 1000 years is either of those two things. Also, in response to starswirlthebearded: That would be a nice thought, but unfortunately, I don't think anyone was trying to get the Crystal Ponies to save themselves. Twilight, Cadence and Shining Armor were supposed to do everything, according to the plan. If they wanted the Crystal Ponies to save themselves, they would have had to actually let them know what was happening at some point and allow them to decide what to do themselves. Instead, they spent most of their time badgering them, deceiving them (people cannot self govern from a position of ignorance), yelling at them (rainbow dash), and ordering the Crystal Ponies to do things. Even at the end, Cadence had to command them to use their magic to power the Crystal Heart. But to be fair to the Crystal Ponies, nobody else displays any real agency either, except for Princess Celestia, who makes all the important decisions for everyone in advance, right up until the climax of the story when Twilight finally makes a decision for herself. (Though it later turns out that it was intended all along.) For me, it was the climax and the ending that really redeemed the rest of the episode. Twilight and Spike's relationship was truly touching, and we got some amazing one liners for the rest of the crew, like Applejack's fanfic fueling "Good things are better when they're a Rarity," line. Speaking of Applejack, and looking at things from the other direction, I think one of the reasons why I liked her scene where she was keeping folks away from the fake heart so much is because there was personal tension for her. She's an honest mare, and the obvious easy way out would be to simply lie about it, but instead she harnesses her often overlooked herding skills to pull through without having to compromise on her character. Perhaps if some of the other characters had similar personal quandaries, the scene at the fair would have been more dramatic. For example: we all know Pinkie Pie is capable of acting like a clown, but suppose in an attempt to help the Crystal Ponies save themselves, Pinkie Pie was tasked with explaining to some of them what was actually happening in a way that wouldn't dampen their spirits? Something actually serious. She could use her skills in leading random songs (and making them fit in character) or her friend making skills to get some of the Crystal Ponies to help them run the fair. (instead of having the mane six doing it all by themselves.) Or perhaps during the Joust, Rainbow Dash agrees in advance to go easy on Fluttershy because she can't go up against real competition, but during the first event she trips on a rock crystal and loses, getting hurt in the process. Suddenly Fluttershy is a star (and really, who doesn't love Fluttershy?), and a bunch of the Crystal Ponies start lining up to compete against her. Unwilling to joust against real competition, the whole event is in danger of falling apart, and Rainbow Dash must find a way to keep it going while not abandoning her friend.

hi hi Spike's spines are clearly acting as a spoiler, diverting the airflow and pushing her towards the center.

hi hi Perhaps they rotate through them every once in a while, just to liven things up? Maybe Celestia pulls the relevant ones out of storage when she needs to ponder one thing or another, because they help keep her focused on the issue at hoof? (Its easier to think when pacing back and forth in front of appropriate imagery.)

hi hi Well, I guess its possible that the episodes were just some random crazy stuff slapped together for the sake of conveniently marketing of toys... I sure hope thats not the case though. I get the feeling that the writers are alluding to something more thats going to happen later, but I suppose some amount of cynicism might be warranted in this case.

hi hi Yeah, King Sombre was a pretty bad guy who was capable of doing all sorts of things to his former subjects. And he was shown in the episode to be able to mess with the emotional and physical state of the Crystal Ponies. Just seeing his dark crystals was enough to turn them dark again. Though the Mane Six were not similarly altered.

hi hi So, I got a chance to talk to some of my friends about the episode, and I was relieved to hear that I wasn't the only one who thought the Crystal Ponies acted like weird robots. One of my friends had this hypothesis about them, which I think sounds actually somewhat reasonable. The Crystal Ponies are actually sentient, magical constructs. • At the end of the episode, they show you how normal ponies can turn into crystal ponies. ie, you don't make them the normal mammal way, at the very least. • Thats why there weren't really any colts or fillies in the present Crystal Empire. • The whole purpose of the Crystal Empire seems to involve reflecting love and harmony across the world, in the form of the northern lights. • The Crystal Ponies seem very susceptible to changes in emotion, like the crystals around them, they change from light to dark easily. • That gives King Sombre a motive, since if the Crystal Ponies are actually made out of Crystals, using them as slaves to mine more crystals would be the necessary way to expand his empire. • Thats also why they all acted the same in regards to the Crystal Fair, because it was their central purpose in life to power the Crystal Heart and spread light across the world. It was why they were constructed in the first place. ((Compare the episode to Luna Eclipsed, even though it was half as long, we saw a cranky old pony declare "I should have been in bed 5 hours ago," we saw a nervous pony say "visitors not welcome on Nightmare Night," we saw little Colts and Fillies running around being scared, older mares scaring them, and other mares trying to keep them from being scared. Different viewpoints on the same event.)) • Thats why they only have a few different kinds of Cutie Marks, because they were built with specific purposes in mind. • There was even a period of time where they were treated as slaves, by a character who wasn't a Crystal Pony. Just like how in a lot of stories about intelligent robots, they start off as slaves, but people realize they deserve to be treated fairly because of their intelligence. (Twilight Sparkle's realization later in the episode.) • Thats why King Sombre was able to curse them, even though curses don't exist in the setting. They're powered by emotions, so all he had to do was put up a shield to block emotions, much like how Cadence and Shining Armor made a shield to keep him out. And without emotions, they disappeared. • And it helps explain why King Sombre was so evil, because he tapped into his negative emotions to power them all.

hi hi Well, that sounds reasonable. I'll have to try keeping that in mind when I watch the episode again.

hi hi I'm trying to figure this episode out here. I keep hearing people saying that this is, like, their favorite episode ever and I'd like to find the missing piece to the puzzle. Why did they act like weird robots? The moment they saw the fair, they instantly and magically transformed. Did they just not have any other forms of entertainment? Did they not enjoy each other's company, so that friendship and being together wasn't enough to lift their spirits? What did they do for the rest of the year when the fair wasn't open?

hi hi Background ponies are certainly allowed to stay in the background and not take up narrative space, but the Crystal Ponies, as I said, were a key component of the story. Lets look at some of the other episodes to compare and contrast. In "Friendship is Magic," nobody goes out of their way to ask background ponies how they feel or what they know about Nightmare Moon. Nobody needs the background ponies to do anything for them. However, in "The Crystal Empire," there's a big scene involving trying to figure out what is up with the Crystal Ponies, and a large portion of the story, it is absolutely critical that the Crystal Ponies feel a certain way. In "Putting Your Hoof Down," everyone in town starts acting surly and somewhat rude. Nobody comments on how strange this is, and it is generally assumed by the characters involved to be rather normal. In "The Crystal Empire," everyone in town is acting really strange, and the mane 6 comment regularly about how strange they are. Although, now that I think about it, in the end the Crystal Fair wasn't actually necessary. The crystal heart was the only thing that really mattered, since the ponies were able to go from fear to calm the moment they saw the heart appear. In "Friendship is Magic," the point was that the physical elements weren't important because friendship came from within, but in "The Crystal Empire," the spirit within didn't matter without the magic artifact thingy, so I dunno, maybe I'm wrong and they weren't that important after all. I'm confused, and I wish I weren't.

hi hi I'm not sure what animation has to do with it. Two people who look the same are totally capable of having different personalities, and people who look different can have the same personality. The real distinguishing thing is how someone acts, how they sound, and how the feel. (I suspect that even if somepony like, lets say Braeburn, had a generic pony animation, his enthusiasm and catchy phrases would have made him stand out regardless.) And, given DHX's limited screen time budget, they felt it was important to show repeated shots of Crystal ponies acting the same way. Show them a genuine fair display from the Crystal Heart User's Manual, and *blink* their spirit energy fills up. Ask them about the past and they refuse to talk about it, and show a similar lack of concern about their lack of memory. Ooh! No, I got it! The whole thing actually was just a test for Twilight. That's why no one knew about Crystal ponies before and why there weren't any books about them. Thats why Cadence and Shining Armor left in advance, so they could set the whole thing up, why everything look pristine and new, why King Sombre didn't have much to say, why no one had much to say about their past, and why Celestia wasn't worried about Twilight failing.

hi hi The thing is though, the Crystal ponies were necessary for the plot and the development of the main characters. Caring about them was the reason why Twilight Sparkle decided to risk failing her test in the end For the majority of the episode they had been using the Crystal Ponies as a means to an end, and changing her outlook and seeing them as an end in and of themselves, more important than her own goals, was a pivotal moment. I'd like to think that the folks at DHX are smart enough to know how to cut out extraneous material from a script, so I have to assume that some of that was on purpose. I mean, they devoted a lot of screen time to showing the Crystal Ponies all acting alike, when they were trying to get information from them, when they were exposed to the fair, when they were trying to take a look at the Crystal Heart, and when they finally did see it. So its not like they didn't have screen time to spare for the Crystal Ponies.

hi hi Well, it may be unlikely, but there are some parallels. As central to the story as the Crystal Ponies' spirits were, can you think of any moments when they displayed more personality than King Sombre? I wonder if it was perhaps intentional that they were mirror images of each other, that Sombre was a shadow and the Crystal Ponies were light. Two sides to what was almost like a manifestation of a dream. Then there was all the dream metaphors: showing up and not knowing how they got there, a doorway into your worst fears, Princess Cadence's struggles to stay awake being the thing that holds the world together, the whole thing being a dramatic celestial event that is often associated with spirits and ghosts. Edit: Speaking of dreams, for all we know, Twilight is still stuck staring at the doorway. It was a long, long way down, but she was only lost in her vision for a little while and Spike made it all the way down the stairs.

hi hi I'm not sure what you mean by "The Conscious Entity," I mean, King Sombre didn't really show any signs of consciousness even when he was fully formed. He just sort of growled a bit and honestly looked like he was operating entirely on instinct or out of habit. Speaking of which, new hypothesis: Like King Sombre, the crystal ponies aren't actually ponies at all. They're more like cogs in a machine, who's purpose is to power the crystal heart like some sort of animated crystal batteries. They just sort of exist, running through these specific routines. If there is any deviation from their routine, they don't know what to do and are lost and confused. When all the correct and proper pieces are in place though, they spring into action and fulfill their purpose. Then I guess they disappear again or something. Can someone clear this up for me? I'm a bit confused on why they had disappeared for 1000 years. That was part of Sombre's curse, but they had the crystal heart to defend against Sombre, but Luna and Celestia defeated Sombre 1000 years ago, but the crystal fair was a regular event from the crystal ponies' history. So was Sombre a recurring threat to them, or were there other threats before him? And if the power level of the crystal heart determines their quality of life, did they even exist before the crystal heart, or did the crystal heart come first and the crystal ponies came later as a means of powering it? Also: The for real truth behind Luna's book.

hi hi He wasn't utterly destroyed, he was broken up into pieces, as if he were made out of glass or something. Even if he doesn't come back, it doesn't prove anything, since it was 1000 years since the last time anyone saw him. Also: The truth about Luna's book.

hi hi Finally got a chance to watch it, and I admit my feelings are mixed. There were lots of good moments, but overall I didn't feel like things fit together as smoothly as they could have. There was just so much stuff happening, one right after the other, at break neck speed... I guess I just have too much of an attention span for that. It was like they tried to fit four episodes worth of stuff into just two, and I kept wanting them to slow down and focus on these good moments that I liked and explore them in greater depth. • Loved the way Luna was a legitimate voice of reasonable dissent. • Loved Pinkie Spy. • Loved the reprise at the end. • Loved how Applejack kept ponies away while remaining honest. • Loved Twilight's personal journey. • Loved how Spike got to save the day. • I wish we could have spent more time at the fair, made it feel like a real event instead of just a bunch of snapshots. • I wish we could have explored Twilight's worst fear in a bit more depth, and how that experience weighed on her final decision. • I wish we could have actually gotten to know one of the crystal ponies to get a real feeling for what they were going through. Their instant change upon seeing the fair made them feel a bit two dimensional. Thankfully, although the plot was complicated and didn't get nearly as much time to develop as it deserved, at least it made sense. Also: I guess this season isn't going to be about friendship reports? (Also also: gravity magic was totally awesome) As for some of the other comments people have made here... I liked that King Sombre was just sort of in the background, in fact, I think they messed it up a little bit by having him too much in the foreground. If you ask me, they would have been better off if he didn't attack them right at the beginning. There's an element of suspense that works very well by having the danger remain a mystery. King Sombre didn't die. They clearly showed how he could break himself into pieces and put himself back together again when the tip of his horn snapped off and rejoined with the rest of him later. Then, when he was defeated, they threw his horn -entirely intact- flying right by the camera in a shot that was so blatantly obvious that I cant imagine it being random chance. Everypony turned into a crystal pony at the end. That leads me to believe that they're really not a separate type of pony. Its just a kind of enchantment. (Perhaps under the "marketing" school of magic? )

[colour=#BFBFFF]hi hi[/colour] Ember Spark had stopped trying to get the sand out of her coat by the time they reached their sixth dead end. If she didn't know any better, she'd have sworn that the corridors were re-arranging themselves as they went, just to make things more confusing. Whenever they backtracked along her trail of oil drops though, they where always able to end up back where they started. And while the architecture and intricate stone structures were a wonder to behold, with each hallway telling some new but ultimately unintelligible story, she kept hoping to catch sight of some small furry creature. [colour=#773344]"If there are any diminutive critters living here, they probably know their way around."[/colour] She chuckled lightly to herself as she tossed the idea around, [colour=#773344]"Its just too bad we cant ask one for directions."[/colour] Thankfully, corridor number seven turned up something different at the end. An old, battered door gave way at the hinges, letting the group into a small room with a much sturdier looking wrought iron door on the opposite side. However, the promising doorway wasn't the most interesting part, even though its engravings and imagery were every bit as magnificent as the noble stone statues of past hallways, and it held the promise of forward progress behind its sturdy frame. Rather, lining the walls were shelves and in the corners where long crumbled crates, and piled in each place was a musical instrument of some sort. Perhaps most majestic of all was the old keyboard held up on a still standing wooden frame, though what sort of sound one of the piano like keys would produce, Ember Spark wasn't about to find out. While most of the other wooden instruments had not withstood the test of time well and the drumheads had long since disintegrated, the piano, harpsichord, organ or whatever it was, looked like it might have been brand new, if not for the dust. Ember Spark was caught up in trying to figure out how it worked while Pocket Change tried in vain to get the wrought iron door to open, though no amount of prying, pushing or pulling seemed to make any difference. Emerath on the other hoof, carefully took stock of everything that was in the room, both large and small. Each instrument, no matter how poor its condition, was an archeological find in and of itself, but he noticed that they all shared a common thread. The way they were constructed, the apparent age of the parts, there were countless little clues that bound them together. If Emerath had allowed himself to be distracted by the clearly out of place keyboard, he might never have found the one other instrument that looked out of place amongst all the others. A simple set of wind chimes. Three silvery chimes, set apart from the tarnished remains surrounding them by a polished gleam that could barely be seen beneath the layer of dust. When Emerath picked it up with his telekinesis, the resulting chord was as clear as glass, followed shortly afterwards by the subtle click of a door unlocking.

hi hi I'm going to have to figure out how to construct a post without god-modding other people's characters. We'll see what I can come up with.

hi hi Nopony is obliged to answer any of Ember Sparks questions. Also, I don't think Ember Spark would be sleeping, though she might pass time by investigating the statues in a little bit more detail.

[colour=#BFBFFF]hi hi[/colour] Ember Spark winced as she breathed in and out. It hurt, but now that her toolbelt wasn't being jabbed into her side, it was far from unbearable. Sore she could live with, so long as she was able to take a deep breath without struggling, she knew she'd be able to keep up. She tried not to fidget too much as Pocket Change worked, but as soon as he put the first aid kit away, she tried to get back up to her hooves. Her legs were still a little wobbly, but she could feel the solid ground underneath her, and after a few deep breaths, the world had stopped spinning. [colour=#773344]"Uhg... Any landing you can walk away from, right?"[/colour] She groaned as tried cleaning off her goggles again, taking a few deliberate steps away and trying to shake the dust out of her own coat first. [colour=#773344]Thank you, both of you, I know carrying my prodigious frame couldn't have been easy."[/colour] Once she could see clearly again, and seeing as how there were no horrible shadow monsters around, she couldn't help but smile. [colour=#773344]"Don't worry about me, I suspect I will be fine. In fact, I'm feeling significantly improved already. Just make sure you take care of yourselves."[/colour] she looked up towards the ceiling, deep in thought for a moment, before returning her attention to her companions [colour=#773344]"My parents always said to drink plenty of water if you push your magic too hard..."[/colour] she was trying to sound serious, but couldn't hold back a giggle completely, [colour=#773344]"I know, its not very applicable advice on my account. I'm afraid I neglected to bring any with me though, or I'd have offered to share. You wouldn't happen to have brought some along, would you? If so, now might be a good time... especially after that big feast we just had."[/colour] The thought of some dangerous monster breaking its teeth by trying to bite her brought on another bout of giggles, and reminded her that her side still had quite a large bruise. [colour=#773344]"hehe *ow* heh, nah I'm not that tough... but, if they do decide to take a bite,"[/colour] she tapped a hoof on her battered up oil can, [colour=#773344]"I hope they like the taste of engine oil."[/colour] She didn't say anything as Pocket Change sat down to rest, instead she took her time making sure her toolbelt and equipment were properly re-secured. [colour=#773344]With any luck, they wont snag, bind or get twisted up on each other now.[/colour] When Emerath laid down for a nap though, she felt compelled to say something. [colour=#773344]"Speaking of not sleeping too long, you're an expert on timing, right? How long should I let you two rest?"[/colour] Ember Spark looked down the gently sloping hallway. Even though the mushrooms gave off a gentle and comforting glow, she still remembered how they had faded from sight earlier. Her ears perked up, listening to the distant rhythm of dripping water while a subtle draft brought to her nose a number of still unidentifiable smells, not all of which smelled like dust. [colour=#773344]"... Its just that I get the feeling we shouldn't stay here too long, not after making all that noise."[/colour]