Well this had to happen eventually. I was starting to run out of EqG shorts to do. But with this Follow Up, it will mark the last Equestria Girls specials when the original show came to a close. The sadness ensues. But we shall cast those sad feelings away because we are still here as a fandom and still having fun with G4, past generations, and beyond that. And strangely enough, that’s kind of what this special is really about. Reliving the moment. We’re getting new outfits for the girls, new characters, returning characters and a very common trope for anyone who is a fan of movies like Groundhog Day and Happy Death Day. And all circling around out favorite ketchup and mustard haired pseudo leader Sunset Shimmer. Well duh the special is named after her. Let’s see what kinds of magical madness is mucking up the music.
Yeah nothing gets past my shipper’s eye. We got a great establishing shot of the festival venue along with a fan favorite and a pair of bedroom (or tent) eyes set on a certain curly haired hacky sack player. Starting off great guys!
Sunset is happy and that makes me happy. What also makes me happy is that Wallflower Blush is into music festivals and maybe have friends she’s bunking with. Progress happens! We also see another ship that’s been really apparent in this series with Bulk Biceps and Derpy. I don’t remember them being this close in the pony world but it’s looking like every time we see one, the other isn’t far away in the same shot. Unconventional, but so sweet. Also, this is called the Star Swirled Music festival and now I can’t stop imagining an old wizard pony like Star Swirled “getting down” with the youngins and their “pop music”. Have I used enough quotation marks to be a senior citizen yet?
Yeah let me apologize right now because this follow up might just about hardcore shipping fuel. If Bulk Biceps and Derpy are an odd pairing, then they haven’t seen this one yet. With not much interaction except a couple shorts from Holiday Unwrapped, I would think Pinkie and Sunset would have much in common. But behold the power of music bringing these two together. Not to mention the pop group they love are mirrored images of themselves with “the cool one” and “the zany one”. Now who is looking forward to when it all goes downhill somehow?
Well at least the others are having a blast with these two and their girl group dynamic. Had to get a good shot of the outfits as seen in the last short for Festival Looks. Applejack still have my favorite with Sunset as a close second. I’m at least glad Fluttershy didn’t bring the bird’s nest with her.
Yep. More ship fuel. Get used to seeing Sunset getting paddled by Rainbow Dash here because I worry if you try to type this out on any internet searches. But at least things are kicking off well with Day 1 of the festival. But just to make sure.
You’re welcome.
 |
| Applejack: “So I said to Big Mac ‘get your own chicken coop’” |
I have no idea why that joke was funny enough to make Fluttershy do a spit take, but there’s nothing like this in comedy. It’s like a punchline added to the already funny punchline. Spit takes are gross, but great for its comedic effect. And might I say, those pancakes are looking mighty fine on that plate.
Ahhh. My favorite past time. Catching large crowd shots for spotting background characters. We have the Mane crew in the back, except for Applejack and Rarity who seemed to be in their own line…and holding hands. We got Bulk and Derpy hanging out with Trixie, Vinyl and Octavia, Curly Winds and Wizkid, even Snip and Snails. We also have friendshipping here, too. We also see a very nervous Big Mac being eyed by Photo Finish. Maybe another muse for her collection of photographs? If she’s selling, I’m buying.
Well someone’s in a bit of a hurry. I guess I don’t blame her too much, but Sunset. Really? The line from the short "A Fine Line" for a video game was longer than this. Can’t imagine how she would be when getting a badge for a convention. When even Pinkie is more patient just standing there, it might be a problem.
Well I can’t deny seeing a little bit of Princess Twilight in Sunset in this moment. Having a definite plan to see your favorite group and make sure you have front row viewing. She even needed a map just to plan it out, but something tells me Pinkie isn’t a plan type of person.
Pinkie’s sugar sense seems to be off. Which is not like Pinkie AT ALL. This is the same girl that guessed who Twilight was in the very first movie and predicted everything about the crown being magic. But somehow she couldn’t guess how many candies were in a jar? Who are you and which dimension did you come from? But I guess it’s still somehow a Pinkie Pie if she gets distracted this easily about a tandem bicycle. Can’t deny it. It’s a cute bike. But Sunset is not amused.
Ok I have to agree on Pinkie Pie this one time. A neon garden sounds amazing and dare I say…romantic? Now what are these two cuties doing alone together, I wonder. I can’t help it. This smile on Wizkid’s face is so cute! TOO PURE!!! We also see that the neon garden is a maze, which I’m sure makes for a lot of fun, but I get some very Shining vibes from this. Thank Luna it’s not winter.
I don’t know if I have anything clever to say about this. Pinkie randomly spilled paint and it looks like Rarity with a very impressive mustache. Again don’t think Sunset is very happy about possibly missing the show.
So I’m pretty convinced this might be a Pinkie clone from the mirror pool with how off the wall she is with Sunset. There’s being excited and then there’s having your hyperactive mind traveling to the farthest parts of Europe. But with this, you’re basically treating your friend like a child with a leash on. You want to laugh, but then you feel bad for the child because most likely someone took a picture of it and is sharing it with other people to laugh at.
Nice to see Puff Pastry back with another concoction for Pinkie to obsess over. This time it’s sprinkle dipped churros. Concert or churros. Churros or concert. Hard pick, but sadly I don’t think Pinkie Pie is looking at a concert right now.
And just like with Spring Breakdown, Pinkie makes a mess of Puff Pastry’s stand and desserts and gets in a big ol’ heap of trouble with security to the point of both of them getting kicked out of the music festival. Not a good thing to do to a friend, I’ll admit.
So here’s the friendship dilemma. You and your friend have been fans for this group and you get a once in a lifetime chance of seeing them perform live But then your friend gets both of you kicked out the venue for causing trouble. With this special, it’s hard to agree with Pinkie Pie even as the special progresses. At least Sunset wanted to see this concert with her friend, who’s also a fan of PostCrush so it’s not like Sunset was gonna just leave Pinkie to do whatever. But let’s see how things progress with not just the friendship dilemma, but our magical dilemma as well.
And yeah this was the scene where I don’t think Pinkie Pie got how upset she made Sunset and how this feels way too out of character for her. I remember moments like for “Pinkie Pride” where Pinkie realized she put herself above making Rainbow Dash’s party amazing. She was sympathetic because she could see Rainbow Dash wasn’t having a good time. She was on the verge of leaving Ponyville because she felt she failed as a party planner and a friend. Now we see Pinkie Pie being pretty dismissive about the whole thing like “Oh well. We tried,” but really Pinkie Pie couldn’t commit to Sunset and wanting the see the concert together. It’s hard to see both sides when one is not really paying attention to how her friend felt and gave a kind of limp apology just to shrug it off and say “I would’ve did things different”. Pinkie wasn’t in the best form for this special.
Oh look. More plot has arrived to this already heavy hearted moment of Sunset crying while looking over the music festival stage from a distance. I notice this a lot with these specials. There’s always both a magic problem and a friendship problem that are separate from each other and sadly won’t just take a half hour just to solve. At least they always make both plots connected somehow. With Rollercoaster of Friendship, we get a friendship plot between the Humane 7 and a magic problem, usually with the antagonist.
The next morning, another paddle to the tush. And somehow said something a little…peculiar. I’m totally not leading up to anything weird or unusual here.
And here we get to the nitty gritty of our magical mishap. Somehow Sunset is the only person experiencing this Déjà vu of yesterday happening again today. I’m glad it didn’t take long for her to realize. In a lot of these movies, it takes the main character a couple cycles to realize the same day is happening. But since this is a 44 minute special, we get right to it.
Sunset: “Anyone else having serious Déjà vu?”
Twi: “Nope just Deja vi you!”
I want to love this nerdy version of Twilight, but even I had this face when hearing that joke. She is still adorkable and having it play off of cool girl Sunset makes these two hilarious to watch. Especially when Twilight feels the need to laugh at her own joke.
So if we needed any more reason as to why Pinkie Pie has to be treated like a child, it comes in the form of having to leave candy on the ground to get her to go where you want her to go. Very cute moment, but Pinkie Pie stop hiding things in your hair. That black hole might be over worked.
Ok I might have to ask this now and let me know in the comments, but do people really just fling paint filled balloons around like this when people volunteer to be a part of an art show? And I won’t fully blame the guy, but he could at least give them a heads up when they’re walking right by the canvases he’s going to splatter with paint. It’s at least washable, but still inconveniencing.
So of course this magical occurrence is giving you another chance to see PostCrush. This is totally not something you should be more concerned about. Though I give credit for this dry delivery of Twilight when saying Equestrian magic is involved is not that crazy anymore. I guess when you’ve turned into a magic demon once, you’re not too surprised about a lot of things. Gold star Sci Twi and I’ll even forgive that Déjà vu joke.
Again, Pinkie is choosing to go eat churros instead of going through with the concert with Sunset. She even promised she would help her see PostCrush and in less than 5 seconds, she’s starting this again. What I commend is that Sunset has yet to even directly blame Pinkie for anything that’s happened. She’s trying her hardest to keep from being mean like she used to be, but this is too much even for one person.
And once again, that’s another strike two on Pinkie Pie causing the churro crash. I don’t blame Sunset for at least saying she was trying to stop Pinkie and that this wasn’t her fault, but sadly being covered in cinnamon is probably not the best help in this case. Still believing this is a mirror pool Pinkie clone.
Well…this got a bit on the weird side. Sunset happy for the slap to the backside. The ship fuel is becoming too great captain. I cannot hold it back much longer! But that fanny slap just means Sunset has yet another Day 1 of the music festival. Let’s hope it works out better.
Yeah I remember when Rainbow Dash tried to outrun Pinkie Pie before. It also did not work out. But again, I can’t say I’m surprised. If you know someone is gonna do something that will mess up the event you’re trying to go to, wouldn’t you avoid them like the plague too? But this is the only time I can understand Pinkie Pie’s point of view. For Sunset, Pinkie is a disaster in the making. For Pinkie, this is a good friend running from her to be by herself even though they’re supposed to hang out and see the concert together. What’s also baffling is that Sunset ran past the things that distracted Pinkie before and hasn’t stopped chasing after Sunset. The tantum bike, the neon garden, the painter setting up canvases, Puff Pastry mixing dough for churros. Only getting a glance from Pinkie and then she’s back on Sunset.
And here we also get to see girl duo PostCrush. I might just not be a pink or pastel fan (go figure, right) but the designs seem loud even for this series. It’s most likely because they’re a pop group, but I was never really into the E-Girl vibe with the hearts under the eyes and the sparkles everywhere. But at least Sunset finally made it in front of the concert she’s been waiting a time loop for.
So…anybody feel like remembering “Party of One”? Because we’re still getting a bit on the creepypasta side of a show for little kids. So because Sunset wanted to be along for one day, Pinkie wants to fly off to La La Land with a made up doll of her. I do see the issue here where everybody just noticed Sunset ditched Pinkie after seeming so close the night before about seeing Post Crush. It’s a strange thing to have your friend be your friend and then run off to avoid you as much as possible. Don’t know if it warranted the creepy doll, but let’s at least keep the pink hair well inflated, or we might run into trouble.
Again, I see the issue. You were just buddy buddy last night and here you are leaving Pinkie behind to watch the concert on your own. But I find it hard for the rest of them to not realize how extra Pinkie Pie can get. Hence, the weird doll stand in. They are only seeing one side of the story without knowing why Sunset went on her own. It was a perfect night for Sunset, but they couldn’t even be fake happy for her.
And this I also don’t mind rushing. The constant continuing loops to the point of Sunset making a note of what happens and unable to get out of the time loop. This made for some really dry delivery and even knowing that the painter was gonna break up with his girlfriend coming from behind. Dude, seriously? How bad are you with women? You throw paint on them and was gonna use the tired line of “it’s not you, it’s me”. I can see why Sunset would be over this.
So to make the crazy get even more desperate, we get Sunset driving their RV back home to try and run away from the looping problem. Not a bad idea since it seemed to only be happening at the music festival, but who knows how many days have been on repeat for anyone else. Go to be Tuesday night and wake up to it being Saturday somehow.
So after causing a flat tire and burned out transmission, we get another common trope for time loop stories. Repeating the same thing someone else has said because you just remember it and it’s happened too many times. It’s made even funnier when these are two characters who can do dry toned humor with a dash of sass. But I’m impressed Twilight was the first one to think this has less to do about Sunset seeing the concert and more about how she’s probably treated Pinkie Pie through the weeks of being stuck on one day. And even more impressive that Pinkie recommended she write to Princess Twilight about the repeated day.
Semi-next day, we get the magical doodad that is causing the time loop called the Time Twirler. Cute name, writers. And with no explanation of how it came into the human world, unless Star Swirled tossed it in like that world is his recycling bin. And what’s more is that someone in that world is purposefully using it.
As out of character as Pinkie has been this special, I still like that she can pull off faces like this when just questioning who else would be doing something different and aware that they’re in a time loop. But who else could be our antagonist in a day stuck on repeat and going round and round.
(Editor’s Note: I’m dropping major hints here. Can ya tell?)
*SQUEE INTESIFIES*
Well look who’s here as a last minute addition to the music festival. And performing “Find the Magic” with great vocals just as in their music video. But how that happened with their lost voices from the red gems they had? Well whatever the case, I’m glad The Dazzlings are back. Will they be out villains of the special or just a red herring? Find out next time on…wait wrong script.
Ah yes. Chatting with the security guard to get backstage to find the Dazzlings. This should work well as long as Pinkie doesn’t tick him off about his last job and trying to steal a cat at a cat food convention he was working. But Pinkie is great with cranky people. She helped out someone who’s name is literally Kranky. She can’t screw up this badly, right?
Yeah of course Pinkie screwed up. That wasn’t gonna be surprising. But what is surprising is Sunset actually trying to make her feel a bit better about the mistake. Sunset knows what’s gonna happen over and over again so with her knowledge and Pinkie’s better people skills, things can turn around for them. This is Sunset at her best when she’s understanding and trying to be there. I can’t even say she was being selfish in the beginning because she wanted this concert for both herself and Pinkie Pie. So this feels more like Sunset trying to lessen her control to go with the flow like Pinkie.
And what a better way to sweeten the deal of getting backstage for investigating than a cute tuxedo cat named Hatty the Kitty Cat. I’m gonna die of cuteness from this special. This is too much!
Well this is suspicious. The Dazzlings are aware of the loop and using it to their advantage to…I don’t know become popular without being energy vampires anymore? At least these girls haven’t lost their edge. A lot of villains turned good lose a bit of their original personality (except Discord. Always great to see whether good or bad). But not these girls. Still vindictive, hateful of humans, and sneaky.
 |
| Sonata: “ How was I supposed to know you can’t put tacos in the toaster?” |
Ah Sonata. Never change. Not much personality changes with these three, but when we’ve only had Rainbow Rocks and this special to get to know them, there’s not much you can do since I’m pretty sure they’re sisters and have known each other for a long time so not much of a need to broaden their character to us. We know the leader Adagio, the snarky Aria, and the not so bright Sonata. They’re a unit that’s stronger together than apart.
Pinkie you’re standing guard from the Dazzlings. You cannot abandon Sunset in a dangerous position just so you can go and get churros…again. Sunset is trusting you with being lookout. You cannot mess this up again like you’ve been doing this whole time.
 |
| Adagio: “Don’t even think about eating our toast Sunset Shimmer!” |
Hands down, best line of the special. Just so random to even have our big villain say that. I also love the idea that even Sunset was confused about why anybody would leave bread in a toaster. That’s just asking for a fire to start. This might also be one of Sunset’s best faces just for the context. She’s aware she got busted, but is possibly also thinking of hitting Pinkie Pie with this toaster.
As weak of a power Sunset has, she has the most convenient powers for plot purposes. A quick arm grab and she knows Adagio was talking about looping a song track, not the time loop. Go figure that they use the best villains of the EqG series as nothing more than a red herring. Feels kind of cheap, but we still got to see them and get a great song out of it. I’ll give them a pass on that.
Well it’s not like Sunset hasn’t done this same thing before in "Friendship Games" with making someone cry with hard truths. And the bad thing is, she’s honestly right. Pinkie Pie once again abandoned her for churros and got caught by The Dazzlings. Not a single sorry from her but just overheard Sunset let it rip with how frustrated she is. We also get some bitterness from The Dazzlings with how their song is about being stuck in the human world forever with no magic. Everyday is the same for them and that’s their lives now. I want to feel bad for Pinkie Pie, but honey. You have the worst attention span for anything serious right now. It’s still a moment of being right, but wrong at the top of your voice with Sunset, but when you’re stuck in a time loop agonizing on every day being the same for weeks now, I can’t fault her frustration.
Next day idea! Actually be nice to Pinkie Pie and not get upset. Also, yell at that mud puddle you kept stepping in and dodge Rainbow Dash’s paddle. Well this might go well. It’s usually the next option in these time loops stories. Make nice with anybody you wronged, specifically Pinkie Pie. And this isn’t just to get out of the time loop for Sunset but to give Pinkie Pie the good day Pinkie Pie was obliviously trying to give Sunset.
Looks like they got to get that bike and are having a blast. With this, we also get a different type of moral here about just enjoying each other and not just the event. I can’t tell you how many times I’d rather hang with a few close friends playing games instead of going out to a large party or night club. When you put a lot of focus on the destination, you don’t enjoy the journey. Pinkie and Sunset are two sides of that argument. I can understand wanting to experience a grand event with your friend, but I can also understand enjoying just being with your friends doing whatever.
And just to add the awkward cherry on top of a great day they had, the grand churros Pinkie Pie has been after are as hard as a crowbar and has Pinkie grinding her teeth on it like a cob without the corn. But at least Sunset is aware that the perfect day couldn’t be perfect without her friend, who’s currently trying to break a molar.
And this is the moment that’s more farfetched than being stuck repeating the same day. Being at the right place and right time to help Puff Pastry deliver churros to PostCrush in person and was able to get to their trailer on time with their tantum bike.
So with talking the PostCrush for 2 minutes, they basically out themselves that the same day is on repeat and they know it. Well…Supernova Zap (left) mostly did. Looks like the ditzy characters are not on their best game the whole special. Trust me Kiwi Lollipop, I’m sure Sunset knows your pain.
Through the magic of plot powers, we see that PostCrush wanted to make the performance perfect and anytime something would go wrong, they would just do the whole day over again. Kind of a flimsy premise, in my opinion. I’m not a famous musician banking on every performance being amazing, but I can see this as something similar to what Wallflower Blush did in Forgotten Friendship. Erasing people’s memories to forget embarrassing things that she did is not too far off from re-doing a day over to make it better.
Ok I take it back. These two are hilarious and fun as villains. I just love the idea that the way of getting Sunset and Pinkie off their backs is to ban them from coming to the festival when the next day starts. And the fact that Su-Z was an art school dropout that had to be put in was just too good. These drawings are great. This idea is great.
So even getting kicked out by the same security guard is no big deal since Sunset respected the art of security and even developed mutual respect for each other. Another way of things going well in their favor just by being nice to Pinkie and not rushing the line. Very convenient.
Yes, we can actually say that the day was saved from forever being on repeat by a churro as hard as a rock that Pinkie was able to bend into a boomerang. I want to say “it’s Pinkie Pie, don’t question it” but Pinkie isn’t Applejack with super strength. And before the security guard came back for them, they were about to break the door with a churro. I’m just glad Pinkie Pie didn’t cause the sugar on the churro to explode her head.
Well…you can’t say this was something that was repeated before. And probably the most embarrassing moment these girls will have when being on stage. Even better, this screen shot just makes me laugh the more I look at it. Too perfect even when things aren’t going the way you want it.
Time thingy broken. Time loop broken. So much for your legacy. But in a way it is kind of sad and I do understand what they really wanted. They wanted to be remembered for a great show if it was going to be the last. Some people know when their time is up and when to just go out with a bang, but these girls were trying to ride the same wave of perfection to please the audience they care about along with having fun performing for the crowd.
 |
| Su-Z: “It’ll be just like old times. Whatever happens, happens.” |
Probably one of my personal lines I’ve said before. Whatever happens, happens. It’s a great way of just being in the moment of something happening and not worrying about being perfect. And as Sunset said, the beauty and fun of live music is that it’s not perfect. You hear every little crack or missed chord but it’s fine because you’re still having fun with it. Also, is this another ship I’m seeing?
Well I have to eventually bring up the other original song (pun intended) of the special. I love the song and it’s amazingly catchy. Might have something to do with hearing it quite a few times in the time loop, but still really fun to sing. Being the “true original” is a pretty good in a way of loving your quirks and whatever you do, make it you. They even have lines in the sing about things not being about perfection. Way to know your own song PostCrush.
And just like that, it’s Starswirl Day 2. Time loop is done and with no real plans, I think these girls can relax and have the day them wherever they want to go. These two were a lot of fun through this short and with just re-watching this, it’s hard to keep my opinion the same throughout the special.
And that was Sunset’s Backstage Pass, one of the last hour long specials for Equestria Girls and what an interesting special it was. I’m still really conflicted about this special and it’s mostly regarding Pinkie Pie. I can understand the idea of letting the day take you to whatever and being ok with things not going as planned, but it’s hard to fully agree with that based on how things went between Sunset and Pinkie Pie. If Sunset wasn’t in a time loop and didn’t get to see the concert until the third loop, she probably still would’ve been upset with Pinkie Pie about missing this once in a lifetime concert. It just so happened to be convenient that Sunset got to see the concert by herself and still remained in that time loop. Pinkie had some moments that rubbed me the wrong way with her character. It reminds me of Pinkie’s line from the song “We’re Not Flawless” from Fame and Misfortune. In the song, she said, “ponies think I’m all bubbles and laughter, that I don’t seem sincere. I might joke around a little too much, but I’m just so happy you’re here.” In this special, it felt like it turned up that joking too high for Pinkie to be likeable most of the time. It just wouldn’t make sense for Pinkie to be dismissive about Sunset’s feeling and having it seem like Sunset needed to change and not Pinkie needing to reel it back a bit. It made me like Sunset more with how she was about to adapt to Pinkie and try to remain calm and think of other ideas. It just so happened that following Pinkie’s “go with the flow” vibe worked out in their favor every time. Now whether that’s just chaotic Pinkie power that made things work out or not, we will probably never know. But I really love the message and moral of this special. Things don’t have to be perfect, whether it’s a song, video, or a show about pastel-colored ponies. As long as you enjoy the ride, the final results don’t always matter. Letting go of perfection is a hard things and just going with whatever comes makes you more ready for anything. I’m Penny Wrights and I have the strangest hunger for fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar.
