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Esuka β S5 E25-26: What Might Have Been, What May Yet Be
#spikethedragon #mlpfim #mylittleponyfriendshipismagic #twilightsparkle #season5finale #starlightglimmer #season5mylittlepony
Published: 2015-11-28 21:25:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 27012; Favourites: 888; Downloads: 523
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Description
Isn't it great when your crazy villain is probably the worst part of your episode? In a season of ups and downs, this episode ended it on a high note for me. The idea of "What would have happened if X never occurred" has been floated around the fandom for years now, and it was interesting to see a canon vision. It was also interesting to see a full scale Equestrian war. I think Sombra's alternate reality was my favorite, so it sucks that they blew that first, but none of them were bad persay... Except maybe Discord's, but it was so short, whatever. I think Twilight and Spike were fun, the visuals of the time travel and the fighting were great. It was a well timed and well executed episode.ΒAnd now we get to the elephant in the room. Starlight Glimmer. I will start by saying that her insanity, and the way it visually and strategically played out was fantastic. Her plot was so beyond the realm of reason, that you couldn't help but be impressed by it. Also, can we address that she is the only other pony to crack a Starswirl spell, AND she can fly using magic? Fuckin' Zaheer up in this house. No, all of that was great. It was her backstory that didn't really hit home. That whole thing with her friend was a fine instigator, but there were a few dozen levels of psychotic deterioration between "I lost my childhood friend and have a childish reason for it," to "I'm going to build a hamlet where everyone gets their cutie mark taken away," to "Fuck time and space, I'm going to wreck this person's life forever." I know there would have been a LOT to address if they had gone through each beat, but the instigating event, in my opinion, was not strong enough to justify bringing about multiple end-of-the-world scenarios for the sake of some vengeance. Again, that isn't to say that Starlight wasn't a ton of fun to watch.Β
All in all, a great end to a pretty good season. For those of you familiar with how this works, there is one more image left to do. Finals are in full swing here, so it might take time to get to. But I do hope you look forward to it.
MLP:FiM is (c) Hasbro
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Comments: 58
honestly, i feel like the first season blew it's load too early where instead of having the whole "Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony" thing be the season arc (where we would try and guess who would be the bearers of the Elements throughout the season.), they just have it be the first two episodes and have the honestly boring gala be the arc.
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This is beautiful and stunning woow amazing job
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Such astonishing artwork. XDΒ The image looks so complex and well thought out.
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It looks like they're not even aiming for each other, but apart from that, pretty good.
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Nice montage of the episode. Really illustrates the point. Good job!
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This is just me but there is a moment in the story where Twilight misses a win; she takes Starlight by surprise and encases her in crystal. Starlight has every reason to be grateful for Twilight being a good guy because, if she'd used a cutting beam, it would have been game over.
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Great art!! :D
And that description was enjoyable XD I agree, it's a bit too much for a vengeance, but I guess she was just that much hurt inside. Awesome finale that was <3
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An epic battle for all that ever was and ever will be.
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If they could have took the Flim & Flam brothers Equestria Timeline, I suspect the seconds could really work for another cutie mark negative related events happening with Starlight Glimmering.
amazing celestia, what a final 2-parter
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That was fast O_O I thought it would take two days or more for something this good to get out
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For the record starlight remained isolated from society most of her life and was unaware of the impact twilight had on Equestria. She thought she was only going to ruin twilight's life but ended up destroying equestria which is why she redeemed. I agree that her backstory was a little weak but I have a feeling we didn't get the full story.Β
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This is going to be my new smartphone background. Thank you!
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I agree. Starlight's backstory was almost as lame as "I lost my choo choo train" from Phineas & Ferb: Across the Second Dimension.
Nice work with this drawing though.
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I thought the same way when Starlight's revelation came to be.
For someone so mentally unstable, I expected more.Β Especially seeing her artwork during the Season 5 reveal.Β I knew she wasn't all there.Β I guess I was expecting too much.
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And so the fight for the past, present, and future continues.
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Brilliant piece of fanart for this episode. Moment well captured. Probably the best I've seen. Nice work /)
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Not as Dragonball Z-level awesome as Twilight vs. Tirek, but two magical prodigies going at it is pretty dang good in its own right.
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A touch of Tirek-style magical battle would be even more epic!
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I'm impressed to see such an art so quickly after episode premiere
GJ
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This finale was everything I hoped for and more. Yes, there were plotholes and yes, Starlight's backstory was either incredibly underwhelming or a lot of it was left unexplained, but I honestly don't care very much. Time travel stories are always full of paradoxes and things that don't make sense, so I saw it coming and didn't mind one bit, because it was awesome. We got to see how truly fucked Equestria would be if it weren't for the Mane Six. Seriously, how did Celestia ever manage to defend it before because she was so useless in every possible bad version of the present - well, except against King Sombra, it seems. Of course, we already knew she was weaker than Discord, but I'd like to know how every other villain defeated her so completely. A lot was left to the imagination, that's for sure.
Hmm... On second thought, maybe Celestia wasn't completely useless against the villains after all. Since none of the alternate universes had more than one big baddie in charge, it's possible that Celestia defeated and reformed Luna in Discord's world, Discord either never escaped or lost to the sisters in Chrysalis's world, the changelings were beaten in Sombra's world and Sombra and all the previous villains were defeated in Tirek's world before Tirek finally took the Princesses down. You know what, I take back what I said about Celestia being useless. There must be a reason she's ruled over Equestria for such a long time, after all. I just wish we'd actually get to SEE her kick ass and take names once in a while instead of just hearing about it.
Moving on, Starlight's plan was devious and diabolical and I loved it. However, I had a feeling that she wouldn't fully realize the consequences of her actions and I was happily proven right when Twilight showed her the worst possible future of all when there was NOTHING left and she saw what she had done. (I just wonder how come she missed all the other bad futures that Twilight visited. Eh, I can ignore that plothole.) Personally, I hoped she wouldn't get reformed like so many other villains before her, but I suppose it was inevitable. The name of the show is Friendship is Magic for a reason, and sometimes Twilight is just too nice for her own good. I wouldn't have minded seeing Starlight locked up in Tartarus for the rest of her life, but who knows, maybe I'll learn to like her more in the next season. After all, Sunset Shimmer grew on me in Rainbow Rocks even though I'm still not a big fan of Equestria Girls.
All the alternate universes were very entertaining. It's good to know that even without the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony, the ponies still kept resisting the villains, it was a very nice thing to see. I liked Sombra and Chrysalis's worlds the most - an actual pony war with Celestia herself in the fight, a BAMF soldier Rainbow Dash with a metal wing, Zecora the rebel leader and Fluttershy the destroyer. Bad. Ass. Then we got to see what Equestria would have been like under Nightmare Moon's rule and I was a little surprised. Apparently eternal night doesn't mean everything dying, it just means ponies forced to work for their new Princess and even showing loyalty to her. Heck, Rarity and Rainbow Dash weren't brainwashed, but they seemed to have accepted their roles under Nightmare Moon's rule and didn't look like they suffered much. I guess good ol' Evil Moonbutt is a bit less tyrannical than we thought? Her castle was even open for tourists, for Christ's sake! (Although not that day, apparently.) Well, I guess I know now which villain I'd vote for if I had to.
What else? Oh yeah, the song was pretty cute. Now that Starlight is Twilight's student and there's a royal baby on the way, I have a feeling that season six will be tons of fun. Season five had its ups and downs, definitely, but I am not done with ponies yet. Some of the downs were very disappointing indeed, but since the ups were truly excellent, my faith in the show and its crew lives on. This was a great finale. Who cares about the plotholes, they weren't nearly as bad as the ones in the EqG movies. Need I say it? 10/10.
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She clearly seemed too far to be redeemed. At that point the best solution is killing someone as dangerous as her.
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So many alternate universe possibilities from all of Twilight's alternate futures.
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Bloody hell, she IS like Zaheer and Kuvira combined!
The episode was a damn good season finale 
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Starlight Glimmer:"...I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair."
Kuvira:"I'll accept whatever punishment the world sees fit."
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Oh it keeps going! XD
Except Kuvira did get punished :C
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Come to think of it, both Kuvira and Starlight Glimmer have weak backstories, but the conclusion of both the characters is where the similarities end. Kuvira is taken into custody for her actions and that's fair enough. But for Starlight, *"...she is REWARDED by being Twilight's pupil. And everyone involved just instantly forgives her for everything she did! Just... instantly!".
**Transcript:The Last Stand
Β Kuvira: [Cuts back to Korra and Kuvira as she removes her arm from Korra's shoulder and addresses her troops.] Stand down. This battle is over. I owe the Avatar my life. [Cuts to scene behind Tenzin and Bolin.]Β Her power is beyond anything I could ever hope to achieve. [Cuts to a close-up of Kuvira looking down, and Su looks at her.]Β I'll accept whatever punishment the world sees fit.
The mecha suits all stand down and Kuvira is handcuffed by Lin.
Β Kuvira: [Turns to Suyin, who looks up after being addressed.] And Su, I'm sorry for all the anguish I've caused you and your family.
Β Suyin: You're going to answer for everything you've done.
***The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2
[door opens]
Β Starlight Glimmer: [gulps, exhales] I know there's no excuse for what I did, but I want you all to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair.
Β Twilight Sparkle: I've been thinking a lot about how badly Equestria fared without just one group of friends. Because even when one friendship dies, the results can be disastrous.
Β Starlight Glimmer: I know first-hoof how true that can be.
Β Twilight Sparkle: And that's why I've asked you here. If you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach you what I know. You'll have the power to make Equestria an even better place.
Β Starlight Glimmer: [hushed] How do I start?
Β Twilight Sparkle: Starting is easy! All you have to do is make a friend! And you've got seven of them right here.
* shannonthepanda.deviantart.comβ¦
** avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Transcriβ¦
*** mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Transcriptsβ¦
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Exactly.
And come to think of it, Kuvira's intentions were far better than Starlight's. Kuvira was trying to unite the whole Earth Kingdom, which...is a good thing. The problem were her methods, as she gave zero fucks of who died on her wake. Should she had been more...diplomatic, I think she could have done an excellent work.
Starlight, however, would have never brought anything good for Equestria, ever. She seems to be a very skilled spellcaster, but...she is misusing her power.
Also, I like to think Starswirl knew how to travel and stay in the past; but he decided to add a 'failsafe' to his spell, in case of ponies like Starlight.
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Yeah, I remember watching 'Kuvira's Gambit' when I saw her use the spirit cannon, shoots it on the guard tower, as well as a couple of Iroh's battleships. At that point I witnessed her commit several counts of murder (including swatting Hiroshi Sato).
I got scarred seeing that mech shoot the guard tower killing those guards effectively making her a killer
To be honest, I wish for a detailed backstory of Kuvira. But while I sympathise her (rushed) backstory, I still condemn her for committing acts against human rights, treason, and when she invaded Republic City, that is when she crossed the line.
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To me, she crossed the line when she didn't hesitate to kill her 'husband'
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If you think about it, Starlight Glimmer's conclusion makes Kuvira's conclusion look better.
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Aye.
They're both morons, tho
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Dr. Glimmer: When I finish killing you, I think I'll rewind time! So I can do it again! And again!! AND AGAIN!!! AAAANNNNDDD AAAAAGGGAAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
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To be fair, Starlight Glimmer was way to OP for my taste.
Twilight was magically gifted, and her talent awaiken thanks to Sonic Rainboom, she studied under the eye of Princess Celestia, had love for studing and learning, faced adventures and powerful foes and even became an alicorn which in turn enchanced her magical power (alicorn amulet and high level magic seems to point out that that as alicorn Twilight should've been stronger).
Starlight Glimmer on the other hoof didn't have Celestia as teacher, didn't seem to attend any school, and even got her cutie mark far later than her friend, and yet for no reason she can steal cutie marks form ponies, making them as defensless as if Tirek drained their magic, and what's more, she is stronger and more skilled than Twilight while she didn't have any adventure or dangerous foe to face, and she was fighitng and winning in Cloudsdale. She was levitating herself, casting spells and overpowering Twilight at the same time. Kind of makes me wonder, WHAT GOOD FOR are wings if unicorns can levitate themselves far more effectively.
I find it kind of unfair that when there is a problem, Twilight's spell screw up, but Starlight had so much power without any explanation or backstory. Also, do it is me, or do in all those other timelines, Cadence and Shining Armor didn't exist? I mean, it was Cadence and Shining who repeled Chrysalis and played a bit role in defeating Sombra, and in those alternative timelines they weren't mentioned ever once. It kind of makes me agree with Starlight Glimmer when she asked how can Twilight and her friends be so important. I feel that main 6 are saving Equestira only because everyone else are forced to be useless.
As for Starlight backstory and redemption, yes, I agree it was rushed.
Besides that, I enjoyed the finale.
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As for Trixie and Twilight her cutiemark has affinity with magic, so it's expected she display magical abilities. In E1S5 she stated she studied her 'death ray' spell (implicitly an advanced spell) for years so she probably studied others too. I don't think the tutoring was of great help TwilightΒ didn't knew Celestia has a phoenix (or a sister for the matter) or that she was a thounsand years-old, to explain this ignorance about her mentor either Celestia was a terrible tutor or Twilight learned things all by herself.
Starlight was also very clever, and she had make a stand for Twilight in the first episode so I guess it's acceptable her display of magical abilities, the levitation look like something very hard to do, that is why we don't see unicorns doing it.
Now, about Shining and Cadance... I think they were the first to be defeated by Chrysalis and Sombra, because they were in the main timeline. Sombra probably defeated Luna too as we don't saw her on the battlefield with Celestia.
I also agree it was a rush redemption, and her backstory offer little explanation.
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And this is exacly what bugged me about the fight between Twilight and Starlight.
1) "either Celestia was a terrible tutor or Twilight learned things all by herself."
If both Twilight and Starlight are magically gifted and studied very hard, it practically means that Celestia's influence wasn't existent. Twilight could get as good at magic without her in the picture, making Celestia's tutoring kind of pointless.
2) "Starlight was also very clever, and she had make a stand for Twilight in the first episode so I guess it's acceptable her display of magical abilities, the levitation look like something very hard to do, that is why we don't see unicorns doing it."
And this is another issue. Starlight performed a levitation spell all the time, while casting all other spells with no trouble at all. One would think that using levitation while casting many diferent spells at once would be very dificult, but no, she was actually flying and fighting better than Twilight. It kind of makes concept of being alicorn useless. Twilight could as well be an unicorn and the fight would be identical. What's the point of wings if self levitation is far more effective and not draining at all.
I just get a bit tired of the fact that Twilight's ascention is meaningless. Not only she was extremely nerfed and forgot she could use magic in S4 E1-2, but the only time her being an alicorn actually was useful was at Season 4 finale, and there she was using power of all 4 princesses. If alicorn magic is really so powerful that it could rival power of ponies from all of Equestria, why Twilight get absolutly nothing out of it?
"Now, about Shining and Cadance... I think they were the first to be defeated by Chrysalis and Sombra, because they were in the main timeline. Sombra probably defeated Luna too as we don't saw her on the battlefield with Celestia. "
Which kind of make Celestia and Luna even more useless if they couldn't deal with Sombra, or the fact that she send Cadence and Shining Armor alone to the Crystal Empire, not joining herself until they were captured and Sombra raised an army. Sorry, but it really felt as if they didn't exist in a single timeline.
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