Out in a field with Ponyville in the background stands a crimson red stallion with a scarlet mane with streaks of gold going through his hair. His horn is also gold, and behind his sunglasses are ice-blue eyes. He wears a log black leather duster (it's a type of coat that usually reaches the ankles) which hides his Cutie Mark.
He's setting up a pair of set chairs like a movie director might sit in, and then looks around, "Okay, the set's here, and hopefully someday we'll get a bigger budget... Now where is she?"
Shining Star comes out and waves. "Bye mom!" she then goes over to him. "I'm here!"
Shining Star was a young filly she looked around the age of Apple Bloom and her friends, she had amethyst hair and sky blue fur, her eyes were a gem pink and she was an alicorn, her cutie mark was one large heart with a bunch of little ones around it. she was wearing steampunk style goggles and she was wearing a white dress with a pink blazer.
Crimson smiles, "About time Star, ready to kick off?"
"You bet!" Shining Star sits down. "So what are we doing today?"
"Well Season 5 premiered a little while ago," Crimson replies. "I already know Doctor Wolf has released a review on it, and the third episode so... Start with the season 5 two-parter?"
"Oh I don't like Doctors, they always want to study me..it's creepy" Shining Star replied looking worried. "I didn't think Timber Wolves could be doctors..."
Shining Star then calms down and nods. "Yeah the Cutie Map. it was fun, but I have to say..what's with the cutie mark powers suddenly? I thought they showed your talent and as far as I remember the cutie Marks were something not even Starswirl the bearded could mess with and then Starlight Glimmer shows up and she's a master of controlling fates? I saw that and I just got confused, not even Alicorn magic to do that"
"I think this goes back to Twilight's Kingdom," Crimson says. "Remember when the Tree of Harmony changed them into those alternate forms? Well what if that was the Elements giving them some kind of blessing? I mean we all know that Equestrian ponies are magical, even Earth ponies, so would it really be so hard to believe that since the six of them are so closely tied to the Elements of Harmony that the box was able to give them some extra magic? Especially considering it was from the same tree the Elements of Harmony came from originally?
"And this is where I fire off a serious headcanon," Crimson continues. "Now bear with me, but I am about to do the unthinkable... I shall attempt to justify Twilight Sparkle's new castle, which as I understand a good portion of the fandom hates."
"The castle? it's a great place, I visit Twilight and them there all the time. it's pretty and even has like ten or so guest rooms. although I'm guilty of sleeping with Twilight in her bed. hehe!" Shining Star explained. "And my point of the cutie marks is that they made it a big deal that nobody knows how they work or anything, but then Starlight shows up and has powers even GODS don't have being able to change the fate of ANY pony? that's the kind of power fans avoid to avoid being OP. I mean I'm an alien alicorn that is a master of technology and magic and I don't have the power to control fate as easy as that"
Shining Star leans back and puts a hoof on her chin. "Now the castle does have problems, it was too...out of the blue? just like uncle Discord turning good in under one episode they gave Twilight a new home as if she never lost one. I don't mean to sound mean but shouldn't she be homeless or I don't know maybe have a couple episodes with her and Spike trying to live with her friends, like staying with Rarity for a bit or even in Applejack's barn, she's an alicorn now so she can stay with even Rainbow Dash who lives in a cloud"
"Interesting idea," Crimson admits. "But let me explain why I think it works the way it did. Remember when Tirek, and Twilight were fighting? She didn't actually start fighting back until after the library blew up, which actually fills another plothole, namely Twilight's sudden mastery of all the magic the princesses gave her. Unicorns treat magic as a tool, talking about it like a warrior would his weapon. When in use it's a part of them, but otherwise treated as a seperate force. However I think magic should be seen more as a living thing with a mind of its own, and the art of using it is really just persuading it into doing a certain action, that action being a spell."
Crimson levitates off his sunglasses, and lets them tumble in the air between them, "That being said, I think at the time Twilight's interests were exactly the same as the magic's, to defeat Tirek. That made the magic come much more naturally to her. Then we come back to the castle!"
Crimson waves a hoof as he says, "Part of Twilight's drive for defeating Tirek was in the loss of her home. I believe the combined magic of the Elements of Harmony picked up on this, and decided to give her a new home for services rendered, especially now that she's more in tune with her magic. So are her friends for that matter! I suppose the easiest way to look at it is that the six of them are living Eements of Harmony who no longer have to be in contact with the gems to call on their power. I mean that's a lot more satisfying for me than to think Hasbro just went…"
He pulls out a Megaphone, and through it he houts at Shining Star, "BUY OUR TOYS!"
"I don't think magic works like that but I understand" Shining Star said holding her ears and then uses her magic to put on some headphones. "I like to believe that magic and technology have a certain part of those who use it, everyone has a skill with magic that no one else has. even Fluttershy has magic in her stares, Applejack...with her "Downpoke country accent!" ugh...as if her voice should have changed when she lost her cutie mark! the only reason and I mean the ONLY reason she could have lost the way she talks is if her voice had magic. I can't understand where that came from"
Shining Star flaps her wings and hovers a bit as she continues. "Let's not forget that the entire time it was about ponies we didn't even know, when you watch the show. your not watching it for the background ponies. we all love Misty's lover Derpy sure. but come on! I would have rather seen Trixie and Flash on a date then some random ponies chase a girl out of town and of course fail"
Shining Star pulls out a jar with a glowing cutie mark that looked like Big Mac's in it. "And don't forget our sponsor. "Cutie mark bankers" if your not satisfied with your cutie mark. get an exchange today. Starlight Glimmer is happy to help you feel fulfilled in life"
Crimson shrugs, "That's one way to look at it, but personally I don't think you're giving enough credit to what a Cutie Mark means to a pony. Following your Applejack example, she lost her countryisms because she earned her Cutie Mark when she realized being a farm pony was her special talent. And it's not as if Starlight Glimmer was making ponies trade Cutie Marks, but rather she was taking away what made each individual unique before brainwashing them to a certain mindset. And now anyone who watches this episode knows what a cult looks like."
Crimson cracks his neck, and says, "Now as to how she was able to do this in the first place... At first we were lead to believe it was a magical staff, but then it was later revealed to just be a peace of wood she found in the desert. So how was she able to do this? I think the answer lies in six words…"
He straightens up, then says, "Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer."
"I was just making fun of the fact people will think now that somepony can take away cutie marks it could be a business" Shining Star giggled before sitting down again. "Their all named something around magic, Sparkle. Shimmer and Glimmer, not very original if you ask me"
They talked about artifacts which is mot likely what the season is going to be about" Shining Star looked right at the camera. "Which also means Spike is going to ruin it again, I don't know about you other fans, but I was looking forward to the Equestria games, they hyped it up for seasons and then it was suddenly about Spike, did we even get to see the games? I know I didn't"
She sighs and gets back on topic. "Out of the three girls we know Twilight is all powerful alicorn now, Glimmer has powers of a god and Shimmer has demon magic now, so out of those three it's a question of...what the heck Hasbro?"
"Here's what the heck Hasbro," Crimson retorts. "Yes they all have similar sounding names, but they're also all very gifted unicorns. Plus they all may have one other thing in common. Remember how Starlight Glimmer said she studied spells for years? Well Sunset Shimmer used to be Celestia's pupil... What if Starlight was too?
"I mean think about it, three magically gifted unicorns with the same sounding name, two of which had the same teacher. This could be just bad writing, but what if it was planned for events we just can't see yet. Let us assume for a moment that Starlight Glimmer also studied under Celestia, then the similar names point towards deliberate selection. Why would Celestia seek out magically gifted unicorns with names that all hold a candle to a celestial function? My thoughts are what if there was a prophecy, or even if Celestia went to the future long ago, and returned with knowledge that events would hinge on a pony fitting this profile?"
Crimson smirks, "Speaking of time travel though, when I saw the trailer for this episode I thought for sure we would get a Doctor Whooves cameo at the very last. All those smiles had me thinking "aliens" right up until Starlight Glimmer was exposed."
"Hmm, interesting points. but from what I've seen Hasbro doesn't really think. they have too many writers for once series, I figured out right away she was controlling the ponies as soon as I saw the smiles" Shining Star explained.
"I believe that mom didn't train her, I think she just studied. they have magical books just laying around places. like that book Spike found and gave to Rarity. WHY would anyone just leave a book of pure evil in a abandoned castle!?" Shining Star said.
"Then again, most of the problems caused in Equestria are somehow connected to mommy" Shining Star said confused. "Weird"
"Yeah but here's the kicker," Crimson says. "Twilight was able to finish a spell made by Star Swirl the Bearded which made her an Alicorn. Then we look at Sunset Shimmer with her use of the Element of Magic, more than likely she had to come up with those spells herself since I highly doubt she found some book with them all written out for her. Now we have Starlight Glimmer putting Cutie Marks in a vault, a unique power here, one she probably made herself. You see the pattern here?"
Crimson turns to the camera, "All in all, not a bad villain. Certainly not the best, but not terrible in my opinion. I mean she's selfish, and in a way she's Sunset Shimmer's exact opposite. Sunset Shimmer tried to elevate herself over everyone else while Starlight Glimmer sought to put everyone beneath her. What's more, Starlight has no interest in being reformed while Sunset Shimmer simply needed a hand to guide her in the right direction. Plus out of all the MLP villains Starlight Glimmer is the only one to have ever actually escaped. Nightmare Moon, and Discord were reformed, Queen Chrysalis was tossed out of the kingdom, King Sombra was blasted to pieces, and Tirek is once again imprisoned in Tartarus. This means that right now Starligt is one of two villains that may make a comeback this season."
Crimson rubs his front hooves together happily, "As for what I think we can expect to see from this season, this map will be taking them all over Equestria, meaning we will get to see new places in this season! Also it provides the chance to bring back wandering characters like Trixie, and Cheese Sandwich. Also I'm calling it now, I predict an episode where the Mane 6 visit Discord at his home. I mean if he writes letters with Fluttershy he's got to have a mailing address."
"Well Twilight only finished a spell, she didn't make one" Shining Star takes a deep breath before talking more. "It was a spell designed for friendship which Starswirl didn't have friends so he couldn't finish it, she never used it again and just fixed the problem she made and became an alicorn for just that reason. Sunset Shimmer was actually in the same hooves that Twilight was in, the only difference was their friendships and it was explained that Sunset found a book that Starswirl made about portal magic. she wanted to be an alicorn like her only mother figure so bad she turned on her trying to be like Celestia. she must of found notes on what the elements of harmony would do in other worlds. all that info is actually just loose in mom's library in the castle anyone can find it if they looked hard enough. they have a whole forbidden magic section"
Shining Star thought about it and shivered a bit. "Oh...can you imagine if Sunset didn't turn evil? she and I would be friends instead of me and Twilight, maybe even sisters, although mom really should have been nicer to her. tried to at least guide her instead of saying she wasn't worthy because she wanted it. she wanted to be closer to Celestia by being an alicorn and wanted it. and yet she gave it to Twilight who didn't want it. Twilight has even admitted she never wanted to be an alicorn, in a sense it's more of a torture as alicorns live much longer then any other pony. So unless mom makes all the mane six alicorns she's going to ruin their friendships. think about it? a simple one hundred years or so and Twilight's all alone. I'm Twilight's only friend that will still be there one thousand years from now" Shining Star shook the thought away and smiled at the camera. "Then we have Starlight, there is nothing for it. she's evil and has a big ego. she was claiming to be harmony itself after all. I expect to see her again, if they don't show her again that's just a bad idea. my thing is she didn't even have access to Canterlot's library and she has magic that is just...well the only term is OP, the other villains you can at least explain. Changeling magic is different from pony magic and they only changed into them. it didn't even work to fool them though, uncle Discord's magic is simply wild magic to the extreme, he just wants to have fun and doesn't care who gets in his way. he also doesn't learn, when mom and auntie Luna fought him all they did was blast him. he didn't even move even though we all know he could have. he can teleport in a blink of an eye. and then he did the same when the mane six did it. the very SAME thing. he's not so bright. Nightmare Moon we learned isn't even just Luna's dark side come to live. Nightmare is a living monster that took over her body and messed with her head. we all know that Luna was never evil. Nightmare even came back and turned Rarity into a Nightmare. mom banished an innocent girl to the moon for a thousand years..."
Shining Star sat up straight and crossed her legs. "Anyway, I really think they need to address these problems. address the fact that Celestia needs to make up for all the stuff she did, NOT leave it to Twilight. she has so far handed over all her problems to Twilight. and judging by her track record Starlight Glimmer was her student in some lame way or she was the one that hid the artifacts away, ether way I'm sure it has something to do with Celestia making another mistake as it is a common theme and they do need more Trixie. she's a good person they just never gave her a chance to be a good person. I hate to bash my friends because I love them. but they can be pretty mean at times. and as far as an episode, I want to see Mare do well again or even the power ponies or Daring Do making another cameo"
"Those would be nice," Crimson says. "And Star, let's leave non-canon backstories out of this, you're going to confuse the viewers."
Crimson smiles, "But some excellent points of this episode are well worth mentioning, one of which being Pinkie Pie. A lot of Reviewers feel like writers overdo her character in a lot of episodes, an easy thing to do since most of us see Pinkie as an over-the-top party pony, but here I think they nailed her. Plus we see some evidence of character development!"
He taps his hooves together as he leans back in his chair, "We see Pinkie being Pinkie when they first arrive to the village, and playing the part of a super spy which would have really gone well with some Mission Impossible music. I loved when she used rocks as stealth, it makes me wonder how much like that scene was when she played Hide and Seek with Maud as a filly."
Crimson then looks up, "But in the same episode we see Pinkie being mature as well, taking the forced unnatural smiles of the residents seriously, and keeping her friends on their toes so they don't lull into a false sense of security. She even takes one for the team with those horrible muffins, yet even with all this seriousness she's still the pony that will slap a smile on your face with almost every line she says."
Shining Star looks at him confused. "I'm following the show and the comics actually, no back stories at all. I didn't even mention anything non-canon other then my own theories, you haven't read the comics have you?"
Shining Star smiles again. "My favorite was Fluttershy this time around, she was truly the Fluttershy we all knew and she wasn't ignored to boot. she managed to fool them all into thinking she was interested in moving there and liking the people. she was great!"
Crimson nods, and says, "And while Fluttershy had her kind nature on display in the beginning of the season, by the second episode we see how far far she's come as a person. She's still a very kind pony, but her willingness to step up to the plate with her friends in a jam isn't something we would have expected in Season 1, grumpy Manticores being a different story with the involvement of animals."
Crimson taps his chin, "We actually see character development in almost all the Mane 6. Rarity is visibly disgusted by the town's fashion sense, yet she makes no move to correct it in consideration for the beliefs of the townsfolk. Applejack actually masterminds a clever little deception with those muffins, and we see clear evidence that Twilight is starting to step into her role as a princess with her duties to the ponies. We can easily see any of the other princesses throwing themselves in front of a spell like that to defend ponies."
Crimson folds his front legs behind his head, "In fact, the only pony who I didn't see any character development for was Rainbow Dash, but we all love her how she is... Actually now that I think about it, remember how she was complaining about leaving the good of their Cutie Marks to somepony else? Kind of a callback to Daring Don't, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I think this season will be the best one yet!" Shining Star clapped her hooves excitedly.
Crimson dusts off his hooves in satisfaction, "Well I pretty much covered everything I wanted to for this episode. You too Star?"
"I'm good!" Shining Star smiles.
"Great, I guess that's a wrap so..." Crimson trails off as he frowns at the camera, and walks over to inspect it closer. "...Star?"
"What is it?" Shining Star asked.
"...It's not turned on..."
"WHAT!?" Shining Star smacked herself.
Crimson sighs, "Oh... Whatever. Next time I'll bring more batteries."
"Well it was still fun" Shining Star shrugged.
Pinkie Pie pops out with a shout of, "Also if you have suggestions for what they should talk about next be sure to leave a Review!"
"Dammit Pinkie, get out of here!" Crimson conjures up a baseball bat, and chases her off with it, "We don't have a budget for guest stars yet! We only take Bits by the way..."
