WeAreBorg here with the episode follow up for "Twilight Bueller's Day Off". We've been doing this for 8 years so you know how it works. Join me below for MacGuffins, paperwork, history lessons, student endangerment, ghosts, spycams, and oh yeah, Discord!
So since this is a Starlight Glimmer episode there's really only one lesson you should know about and that's you can solve all your problems with one enormous magical spell. No? Perhaps Starlight should take a hit by now. She's getting better I think...maybe. No, the real lesson is the key to friendship is communication. The episode was pretty obvious about it when the characters were talking about how Glim Glam and Discord are supposed to be friends, and how to teach friendship, and the "Friendship" literally being in the title of the show...
I digress. Anyway communication; Defined as "the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else." Thanks, Merriam-Webster. So an important part I'd like to point out is that this episode isn't about Discord learning to talk about his problems it's about Starlight recognizing something is wrong from Discord's body language and behavior and being a good friend and fixing it. If you're a fan of MLP you probably know talking about stuff is hard. Sometimes you don't even want to talk about your day or what's for lunch let alone about something that's bothering you. Communication is two way. I could harp on Discord for a few paragraphs about how he should just open up and talk clearly about his issues but that's not what this episode is about. It about understanding the messages being sent to you that aren't just words. Talking is important but listening is just as important, even if you have to listen by seeing.
Banishment spell or not, Purple Reformed did a pretty decent job this episode.
Now on to the fun...
And here we have our MacGuffins for the episode: From the left, The Amulet of Aurora, Talisman of Mirage, Helm of Yickslur, Crown of Grover, Knuckerbocker's Shell, and Clover the Clever's Cloak. It's interesting to note these artifacts are on loan from Celestia and not the leaders of the other nations. I suppose Equestria is much like the British and doesn't know when to give back spoils of their empire? Just kidding just about every nation has has sacked and looted something precious from another.
So what are these museum pieces for Twi?
For a Spell-venger hunt of course. Look how adorable Twilight is when she's geeking out. She's mostly excited because she'll be on the tour with Celestia too. You know, as chaperone.
I suppose books and everything else paper didn't really survive the underwater transition. Doesn't sound great for a society as a whole. Silverstream might need a regular school.
Also, I cringed as I saw those artifacts just tossed haphazardly into the chest.
Yay, a friendship quest...or so we are led to believe. Its a shame one of the other non-ponies didn't point this out this phenomena as they would likely be more specific like "Why is your butt glowing." or "Your flanks are radiant today" or something else mildly inappropriate for children's cartoons.
This is when my wife walked in and told me to turn my Derpibooru filters back on. Something something I watch it for the plot.
So this is why Twilight needs her own princiess-sized dirigible and not her dinky hot air balloon. Getting there will take days by the way. That should indicate that should indicate that this episode takes place over the course of several days.
Another episode by Nicole Dubuc, writer of last season's finale, "Shadow Play", and this seasons premiere "School Daze" as well as "Marks for Effort". Love that smug Twilight face.
Let's meet the star of the episode...
"You want me to be head mare?" Your the perfect choice, your the only staff left. Poor Spike all that responsibility. An adult in pony years but an adolescent in dragon years. Also, nice little reference to "Princess Spike". We'll get another refernce to this same episode later on.
Also we see Twilight carrying out a suitcase we don't see her having as she runs off with her friends. Ponies have deep pockets in those manes.
And now, finally, after most of the season's gone by...
Discord! How we've missed you. "This is your
An ambidextrous marmoset. A marmoset is a subset of monkey if your too lazy to Google. So what we're looking at is a marmoset mascot fursuit costume and the question you should be asking is if that is an animated costume or if Discord stuck a pony in there. Either way that a was a horrifying squeaking noise it emitted as it was brought on screen.
I love how Starlight refers to her relationship with Discord as "old save Equestria buddies."
Her buddy has been redecorating. Just take it all in.
Ah twittermites from "Bloom and Gloom" where Apple Bloom experiences the horror of a blue collar job.
Yep its canon. She is Twilight 2.0. All you Starlight haters can go home now.
So I love the return of some of our favorite characters as substitue teachers. Iron Will really knows how to motivate his students. Also, if Fluttershy ever found out he was in her class teaching she would likely start crying.
It's Cranky Doodle Donkey. Extra sure I would be out the door fast if I had a teacher ask tell me to rub their hooves. Like what sort of person refers to their feet as hooves?
Here's our other reference from "Princess Spike" the Dragonsneeze tree.
It quite effective. Notice Silverstream's scorched hair feathers. Also fire extinguishers confirmed for Equestria.
Discord says he's going to stop helping wait to you see how he hinders.
I'll just leaf this pun here...
I don't know if we've seen the school at night before but it was so pretty I just had to include it.
I hope there's not a pony stuck in that marmoset suit.
Our new substitute teachers. No idea how Starlight got a hold of Spitfire. I guess Twilight had a contacts list in her 50 foot list.
This is a great "Fellow kids" reference from 30 Rock complete with backwards AC/DC lightning bolt symbol.
Anyway this is my favorite scene of the show so I have a bunch of screenshots I'm sorry.
Yay its Derpy Muffins! I hope we get a Fan Series figure of this moment. It would be one of my most prized collectables.
Allow me to pontificate, HASBRO IF YOU'RE READING THIS I NEED A TOY OF THIS MOMENT.
That was a pretty big mean and scary Ursa Major. Also huge jerk move by Discord, he could have choose any scary predator of Equestria but instead choose the one that likely gave Trixie PTSD. That face says she agrees.
I thought you said no fruit calls Trixie.
Does everypony remember the bugbear from "Slice of Life"? If you havn't watched that episode in a while or you're new to ponies its a must watch. I'm sure you can get to it after watching the this and the other 2 episodes that came out recently. #ponymarathon
Also, Discord did cross the line with endangering student lives.
Ah look its Purple Reformed doing the same thing she does in every other episode she stars in. Trying to solving her problems first with powerful magic spells and not the magic of friendship.
And how do we feel about Starlight's unwillingness to change?
Like we just witnessed a murder...
And then Starlight vaporized the witnesses and they turned into ghosts. Just kidding. In the future all new technology will be explained with holograms.
Also, this is what My Little Pony generation 5 will look like.
Pony lithographs. Also, these are the actual pairings. I know as I have no life and checked.
Let's just gloss over how every pony puts them on with their magnet hooves. Silverstream, Gallus, and Smoulder must have to help out a lot with their claws.
Checkpoint!
Schools these days and their security cameras. Don't be fooled its not for student safety it for catching all those fights in a horizontal aspect ratios instead of a cell phone's vertical video recordings. Think of the children and turn your phones to the side when you record them beating the snot out of each other.
This is my number two worst fear for needing to get a Tetanus shot. The first involves rebar...
So the library is full of portraits of the creatures that had owned the artifacts. It's debatable if these characters are the artifacts namesakes and or just randoms creatures as I'll explain below but that is definitely king Grover as we saw in Season 5's "The Lost treasure of Griffonstone" where Pinkie and Rainbow Dash go to the griffon empire to solve a friendship problem. Those could be Yickslur and Aurora.
This hissing portrait could be Mirage.
So this one is sort of a curve ball. This doesn't really look like Clover the Clever. For one in a number of sources Clover is male though in others, female. We have images of Clover as having a yellow coat with brown mane and tail and while we can grant that the hair with age grew grey as Clover was supposedly very old, we have not seen age causing coat color lightening. It could all be artist interpretation, or any old pony that can but on a cloak, or the animators not referncing what Clover should look like. Anyone's guess really. Debate int he comments.
Yep, Discord is a ghost. Starlight killed him.
So after starting at this I can't determine with tower in the school of friendship is this observatory so it may in fact be in her castle given the number of jewels on the way down. Twilight has a creepy a telescope there...
This face...
Shell of Nuckerbocker. Actually, it's likely Baucher like the horse bridle bit. Also if that's the dragon the shell summons perhaps you shouldn't blow on it.
Spike has a lot of great lines this episode like his quip about discord winning detention. Also, it's so true Spike. Other than decent healthcare, K-12 Education has like zero job perks.
Anyway, after the moral lesson was delivered guess what the draconiquis dragged in...
And this is when Twilight unleashes a powerful spell to banish Discord forever from the school. I love the idea of a fake friendship quest. It's a shame it was used on this episode, though its a fantastic one, because it could have been a huge grand adventure. I like how Applejack is the least dirty of the Mane 6.
Looks like Discord is out of a job despite his new business cards...
Discord Discord Discord Discord.
Anyway that's it! I hope you enjoyed the episode and my followup. Let us know in the comments what you thought about both!
