#because its playing with dolls. we're all playing with our barbies and ponies here

[lovelyrotter]

can we all remember to just say 'oh no thank you, i dont like that kind of food' but apply that logic and rules to shipping and letting other people ship again

[groovylittleclown]

I am at a sleepover and we're talking about childhood and playing with lps, so I need to tell you a story that my past best friend and I made. Prepare yourself.

So this spanned over the time of multiple weeks and I am confident that there are plot points that I do not remember.

So I played as I think a dog. My favorite was a cocker spaniel named Butterscotch. So I'm just gonna assume it was her. And my friend played as Ariel because we had those princess dolls. And my brother joined a few times as barbie.

Butterscotch was a spy who worked for a cat lps (I think) and we needed these documents for our spy operation to save all of littlest pet shop planet. (we're aliens btw) So Butterscotch who was the best spy, was sent down to earth to carry out the orders and sneaks into a princess party. She breaks into Ariel's office and demands to know where the documents are. Ariel says no and kills Butterscotch which starts a giant war/alien invasion to honor Butterscotch. Ariel has to sneak away and hide the documents and have a low profile during this whole thing. I remember a jail arc somewhere around here but not completely. And also an Ariel falls in love arc and there was a whole side story with her and Tinkerbell. And something revolving them being lost in the land of mlp. But that was a side story off of the main one. So the war wages on, pets are falling, princesses are falling, we're having to recruit the ponies and fairies to help the princesses, and then the stuffed animals to help the pets. There's also a whole kidnapping and experimentation thing going on too. But eventually Butterscotch gets found and is given a life flower, which revives her. So she's back in action. Then there's a whole other stew of unimportant side plots like Butterscotch going to school and Butterscotch turns into a mermaid and other stuff. She dies again at some point in time but she's back.

So she breaks into Ariel's apartment while her and Tinkerbell are having a date night. And she starts a fight with Ariel, but this time is occupied by Barbie!! Ariel shoves Tinkerbell in our closet to keep her safe because she can't let anyone know she has found love or something. Halfway through the fight Barbie decides that she's done taking orders from Butterscotch and does her own thing, claiming she needs the documents because her dream house needs to eat, I think? That was its own whole thing, my brother and I made up our own stories when I couldn't play with my friend. So then Tinkerbell says she's going to take the documents to her place to keep them safe, and then drops them on her way out. So we all dive for the documents and I don't remember who got them. I just remember writing some stupid message on a piece of paper and Ariel saying that the real documents were stolen. So they had to work together to get them back.

But then I moved away and we never got the end of the story. So... That was that. I know I'm missing so much but it was so many years ago, I just don't remember.

I had to give Butterscotch away a few years later and I still want her back, but oh well!

[diamond-song42]

Pone Reviews 109: What Lies Beneath

Happy Autumn to you (because I don't know what day you are reading this on) and welcome back to Pone Reviews! I'm back, baby! There's been a lot going on in my life and I've needed a bit of a break. I'm hoping to nail down a new writing schedule soon. Nevertheless, I am ready to share my thoughts on this episode. What happens when the Young Six find a strange floor grate in the library? We'll find out in "What Lies Beneath!"

Let's start with the moral. "Any creature has friendship in their nature." Sweet sentiment. It's nice to think that a creature of any race, gender, sexuality, national origin, disability, and more can be buddies. But it ends up feeling like one of those morals that I think falls a bit flat on the relatable side. This doesn’t have the same anti-racism overtones as the moral in “School Daze," and that's where I think it's faulted. It's not implying a majority race can be friends with a minority race - it's suggesting more interspecies relationships. Today's kids know that races different from theirs are still humans just like them! So does that mean interspecies friendships are a good thing? With a dog, cat, or fish, maybe... but not an alligator or a lion! A friendship with an alligator or a lion can only happen in a Disney movie! The episode was entertaining, don’t get me wrong, but this just leaves me so... confused.

Onto the plot. As the Young Six are studying for a History of Equestria exam, Cozy Glow puts doubts into their minds that friendship is in their respective natures! Will their minds be changed when they discover an underground part of the School seemingly no one knows about? Here we are, another Young Six-themed episode. And a cute one at that! We know they have insecurities about things, but they're finally explored here. Sandbar is suffering from a classic case of hero worship. Silverstream is terrified that the Storm King isn't entirely gone. Yona is freaked out by spiders. Gallus hates being in enclosed spaces. Smolder doesn't want to admit she can be cute. And Ocellus is ashamed of her past and fears she'll revert back to it. And yet they are only concerned about their friends when they get past their respective challenges. The friendship lessons have made an impact! I adore the bond these six creatures have formed. It feels different from the Mane 6's bond since they're all different species with different backgrounds. A pony used to the simple life in Ponyville (save the occasional bugbear). A hippogriff that spent years underwater so as to not be threatened by the Storm King. A yak with a rich, prideful culture. A griffon who grew up in arguably the least kind land in Equestria. A dragon with nerves of steel who wasn't ready to embrace pony culture. And a changeling who fed off love for most of her life and has only recently learned that there's so much more to experience. Friendship brought these six together and it has been such a great thing for the show. Oh, and as for Cozy Glow? Something is... definitely up with that filly. Can't say why. I just know it.

Here are some more strong points in this episode:

*If anything, my favorite part of them all is when Smolder and Gallus - the characters most stubborn and resistant to friendship - admit they aren't like others of their race and genuinely want to help their friends. They've come a long way.

*I also really appreciate how Sandbar looks up to the professors - all women. Our society won't allow boys to like playing with Barbies or Disney Princess dolls. It's refreshing to see a boy with a real appreciation and admiration for his female elders.

*Whoa, the Tree of Harmony can become sentient?! Awesome! It took over 1,000 years for it to do that, so now I'm curious how long it took to gain its other powers (especially that one where it MELTED CHRYSALIS'S CLONES).

*Holy cow Sandbar's face when "Rainbow Dash" and "Rarity" tell him they need him is SO ADORABLE!

*This is gonna sound weird, but it’s a bit of a relief that Smolder actually likes traditionally cute things like dresses and tea parties. This show likes to stress that the “macho” characters (Rainbow Dash, for example) can’t be associated with cute things when we all know that is a damn lie.

*It's actually pretty interesting that Yona's fear is spiders because you wouldn't think there'd be many spiders in a cold habitat like Yakyakistan. Or... MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE YAKS MOVED TO YAKYAKISTAN IN THE FIRST PLACE! TO GET AWAY FROM THE SPIDERS!

*eeeeevil. Eeeeevil. EEEEEVIL. (You know who I'm talking about.)

And here are some weaker points from this episode:

*Let's be real here: How do the Mane 6 (or at the very least, Twilight) NOT know about that floor grate? It's not like it's very hidden. You'd think somepony as meticulous as Twilight would comb every inch of the school to make sure it was perfect before opening. Or... maybe Twilight did know about the grate and didn't tell the students on purpose knowing something like this would happen?

*I have to ask, what's the timeline here? The Young Six are exhausted after exiting the cave in the early morning. But they seemed to be in the cave for... a few hours, at most? Let me deconstruct this: Cozy said she'd give the Young Six her notes and mentions she returned with the notes to find the students gone (notes she does visibly have when the Young Six return). The transition between Cozy's words and the Young Six studying irritably can't be more than a few minutes long. Considering each of the Six must have been going through their trials relatively simultaneously, it realistically must have not been a 7-8 hour period as we're led to believe. (Yes, I do have problems with weird timelines. Remember my complaints about "A Health of Information?")

*Aww sweet more Chrysalisoh it's just Ocellus. (Not that I'm complaining - Ocellus is my sweet little cupcake - but damn I miss Chryssy.)

*As cute as Silverstream's love for plumbing is, it's making me ask questions about hippogriff/seapony plumbing that I didn't want to ask.

*Cozy Glow climbs a ladder when she can very well fly. (And her wings can carry her weight, unlike Scootaloo!)

*The Storm King and Storm Guard rock formations are a lot scarier than the actual Storm King and Storm Guards. :/

*Okay, I’m officially starting to question some of Twilight’s curriculum. She’s teaching her students about the Tree of Harmony and its history. Yet she told the CMCs that they couldn’t attend the school because they’ve practically aced the curriculum and they need Cheerilee’s lessons. Does the Tree of Harmony’s history not count as a needed lesson? It was planted 1000 years ago and has certainly done a bunch for Equestria in nine seasons.

In short: An adventurous episode with a really flat moral and friendship is zzzzzzzz. EEEEEVVVVVIIIIIILLLLL! 4 out of 5 rainbows 🌈🌈🌈🌈

It feels good to be back. Thank you for reading. I'm gonna nail down a new schedule for myself soon and I hope you guys will bear with me. Let's just say that the next review will cover my favorite episode of the season! Diamond out!