My Triumphant Return to Ithacolt

Alright, time for some post-odyssey talk!

It looks like I was the first one to come up with 'Ithacolt' too, not counting a Colt M1911 with Ithaca parts. =] (Which I suppose predates mine, but not quite the same definition for our two 'Ithacolts')

First and foremost, I should thank and congratulate the staff behind this series. You have done well, providing hours of entertainment to someone well out of the target demographic. =] (I think I am, anyway, I guess I don't know with the whole 'brony' thing going on..) If by chance you are reading this, I have but one humble request: Make sure the Twilight Rage keeps a'comin', those scenes make my day. =]

I went into this series knowing a handful of info that had leaked out from the fanbase into the various websites I frequented. I can see why some are so passionate about it, it is rather charming overall. It was a nice relief to just sit back and get lost in another world and let the wonders of talking ponies and their adventures clear my troubled mind, if only for 22~ minutes a night.

It was actually rather fun watching and writing this blog. It added a lot more enjoyment I think, since I would have to re-watch scenes to make sure I got dialogue right, to take perfect screenshots of what I wanted, etc. My quest to record all the uses for magic and the 'dark' aspects of the universe also brought a lot of mirth, I love me some unicorns!

I initially thought I would like Pegasus ponies the most. I've had a fascination with flight for a long, long time, dating back to these books I had when I was young about WW I and II aircraft. I also have a general interest in those wars and others, as evidenced by my many lyric quotations, Patton quotes, poetry, etc. Magic won me over, though, it's just infinitely useful in a world where you have hooves. Still, being able to fly and swim in/lounge about on clouds does seem like a pretty sweet life. =]

Before watching, I really liked Rainbow Dash. It's funny how some episodes can completely alter your opinion of them. I still like the character, but if I had watched, say, Fall Weather Friends as my first episode, I'm not sure if my feelings for her would be the same, since it was one of the last ones I watched and I'd already had over a season's worth of non-super jerk behavior built up.

Rarity was the other one I liked before watching, her design also seemed appealing. She would probably make my top 5 lists if I ruled out some of the one-shots like Daring Do, Trixie, or (sort of) Princess Luna. Unlike Rainbow Dash, I don't think there was really any episodes that made me question my opinion on the character. Her interactions with Sweetie Belle were also cute, with their love-'hate' sisterhood going on.

Yes, yes, I believe I got some names 'wrong.' Applebloom is really Apple Bloom. Cherrilee might be Cheerilee. Starswirl is Star Swirl. I just wrote them as I heard them. =] Maybe I'll go back and change them, I don't know if I want to fix things in 'hindsight' though. The tense is also all over the place too, I blame it on writing mid-watching and then other times writing while it's paused and/or about what I had just seen.

I started going through all my posts to pull out the 'uses for magic' that I had mentioned to compile into a list. Was interesting re-reading the earlier entries, they had a lot more zeal, and errors. =] You can tell when real life grabbed me by the nose and kicked me in the ass as time went on, as the snarky writing ended up being mostly contained to captions and the 'What I learned' section, which in hindsight should have been called 'Thoughts on this episode' but, whatever. =]

Time for some lists!

I originally had My Favorite Character here, but it was getting long so I made a new post for it.

My Top 5 Characters, not counting Twilight Sparkle, in no particular order:

Rainbow Dash

 One of my favorites before watching, one of my favorites after. She's not without her faults, like being a cheating douchebag or eating the MMM cake, but I still love her. She's kicked dragons in the face, won the Best Flyer competition, saved the lives of her friends, neighbors, and of her heroes (the Wonderbolts),  is the 'chosen one' able to perform the fabled sonic rainboom, tried to be a superhero, learned that reading isn't just for 'eggheads,' was the 'tie that binds' her friends destinies together thanks to her sonic rainboom as a filly, stood up for the buffalo's rights, won the Iron Pony competition, helped lay out the foundation for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, knows a lot of cool aerobatic tricks plus other tricks (like catching a drink on her back hoof), and so forth.

Princess Luna

 Luna started out as this mysterious character for me. I knew vaguely that she was one of the rulers and ruled the night. I saw her briefly in the first episodes I watched, then almost no appearances from her except Luna Eclipsed and Elements of Harmony. But man, those few appearances really sold me on her. This poor princess was always in her big sister's shadow, all the ponies loved Celestia, no one cared for her. She just wanted to be loved and respected so badly, she turned into a super villain, Nightmare Moon, and her own sister had no choice but to vanquish her. Then to top it all off, when she escapes from confinement, after languishing for 1,000 years, her plans for vengeance immediately get kiboshed, and she later finds there is a holiday about her that claims she eats ponies. She still just wants love and respect and tries to abolish the holiday's slanderous nature, but in the end allows it to remain. She also has extremely badass magical powers, including mastery over storms.

Daring Do

Like Luna, this character was in only a few episodes, and one she was only in a very brief cameo, but she really won me over in Read it and Weep. If Rainbow Dash has moxie, Daring Do has moxie in spades. Part Indiana Jones, part Lara Croft, all badass.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza

My perfect-ly alluring siren. Like the last two, only appeared in two episodes. I'm presuming she and her new husband will be in future episodes, but alas, probably not the 'evil' Cadence I primarily love. So, I dedicate this to her. She was beautiful, smart, treacherous, had an impressive mastery over magic, successfully infiltrated as a high ranking member of society, beat Princess Celestia in a duel, conquered Canterlot, and introduced me to the series. She made one grievous error: angering Twilight Sparkle, ultimately leading to her downfall.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders

This last one was a really tough call. I figure since I already made top 5 lists for Season 1&2, my ultimate top 5 should be from the same pool. Which means our 5th character had to be selected from Applejack, Cutie Mark Crusaders, or Trixie. Applejack... I like Applejack, can't really say anything too bad about her. I almost went with Trixie here, I really liked that character, plus she is a unicorn and her bit is using magic. I had a change of heart and went with the Crusaders though. As awesome as Trixie is, and I recently found out we haven't seen the last of her =] , I've got to hand it to the Crusaders: they have an amazing zeal towards achieving their goal, and even if they get wrecked up one day, they'll be out later on another new adventure.
Scootaloo

 Probably my favorite of the three. A mini-Rainbow Dash with l337 scooter skills instead of flying.  She also idolizes Rainbow Dash, so her brash attitude may just be an imitation of her hero. She seems to suggest the more dangerous/radical cutie mark attempts of the group, like zip lining or being shot from a cannon. Unfortunately we don't really know much about her, i.e. where she lives, who her family is, nor has there been an episode dedicated to her like the other two have (several of, at that).

 Sweetie Belle

 Rarity's little sister, and a big pain. As Scootaloo looks up to Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle looks up to her sister. Her aspirations to be like Rarity usually end up in disaster, for Rarity especially. Still, Sweetie Belle is as cute as can be.

Apple Bloom

 The youngest of the Ponyville Apple family, she somehow finds time to play with her friends while also going to school and working at the farm, where she usually helps her sister Applejack collect apples. Has a longstanding feud with Diamond Tiara, who tries to humiliate Apple Bloom whenever she can, which is pretty sad since Apple Bloom rarely retaliates and just wants to be DT's friend. Of the three, Apple Bloom is probably the most tragic (not counting Scootaloo's known unknowns) as her parents are nowhere to be seen, she is bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and she is 'forced' to work on the farm to make sure her family stays in business.

 My Favorite Episode

Wow, this is a tough one. So many good episodes. Luna Eclipsed, It's About Time, Read it and Weep... I'm going to have go with:
A Canterlot Wedding: Part 2

This was one of the first ones I watched and helped pique my interest in the show, so it's also got some 'sentimental' value going towards it. It's got my 'perfect' Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. It contains awesome songs: This Day Aria and its reprise, and Love Is In Bloom. It contains lots of magic usage. Good plot with lots of action. The villain achieved her goals, for a little while, but was still pretty impressive in that she fooled everyone, including the powerful Princess Celestia and Luna. In fact, the Queen even beat Celestia in a duel.

As the 'evil' Changeling Queen's plan comes to fruition, it is up to Twilight Sparkle to save the day. Twilight escapes from the caverns, rescuing the real Cadence on the way, and interrupts the wedding. Princess Celestia is defeated and tells Twilight and her friends to get to the Elements of Harmony: WMD-level magic super weapons.
Twilight leads her friends towards the vault of the Elements, where they then have a big battle against Changelings. They end up overwhelmed, captured, but don't give up. Twilight frees Cadence, who rushes over to Shining Armor. Their love, and magic, combine to create a powerful blast, which launches the Changeling army out of Canterlot and into the horizon.
The wedding finally occurs between the real Cadence and Shining Armor, and Twilight sings 'Love Is In Bloom' for them at their reception, with the episode ending as they ride off into the night.

My Top 10 Episodes, not including A Canterlot Wedding Part 2, in no particular order:

• It's About Time
• Luna Eclipsed
• Read it and Weep
• A Canterlot Wedding Part 1
• Sonic Rainboom
• Hearth's Warming Eve
• The Cutie Mark Chronicles
• Winter Wrap Up
• Sweet and Elite
• The Best Night Ever

 (I guess I am a bit biased, looks like 4 are about Twilight, 2 are about Rainbow, 1 is about Luna (and Twilight), 1 is about Daring Do (and Rainbow), 1 is about Rarity, and 3 are more of a group focus, although Twilight's Clover the Clever in HWE does end up being the hero of the day, and the Crusaders/Rainbow are the focus in TCMC.)

It's About Time - Twilight at her best, or should I say worst? Obsessing over what ends up being nothing, Twilight goes all out to try and prevent some horrible event in the future that she wouldn't let her future self explain.

Luna Eclipsed - My beloved Princess Luna really shines in this episode. Her antiquated mannerisms and general magical awesomeness combine, with disastrous results for herself. She shows up in a black robe, on a chariot pulled by bat-winged ponies, her speech is accentuated by storm clouds and lightning, and she wonders why they are scared of her instead of just chilling with her like they do with Celestia. Oh, might I add she showed up behaving like this on Nightmare Night, a holiday dedicated to her evil super villain persona, Nightmare Moon?

Read it and Weep - Rainbow Dash and Daring Do with a little dash of Twilight, awesome. Daring Do is the real star of this episode, as we see her battle the evil feline minions of Ahuizotl, conquer the traps of the ancient temple, retrieve the Sapphire Statue, escape from a death chamber, and steal back the statue. All while radiating moxie and badassitude, and she does it all with a broken wing. Also, Rainbow Dash learns she loves Daring Do.

A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 - My first episode, and still one of my favorites. Twilight Rage, Evil Cadence, Big Brother Best Friend Forever song(s), lots of magic.

Sonic Rainboom - Rainbow Dash secures her place in Equestria's history books by winning the Best Flyer competition, the thanks of her heroes (the Wonderbolts), and made the impossible possible by performing a sonic rainboom, again.

Hearth's Warming Eve - A look back to the olden days of the Ponyverse, where the three pony tribes begrudgingly lived with each other, depending on every tribe's special talent just to keep food in their bellies. Their cold war literally turns cold as windigos, winter spirits that feed on hatred and fighting, plague the land with perpetual blizzards. Two heroes from each tribe set out to find a new home for their peoples, Princess Platinum and Clover the Clever, the unicorns, Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy, the pegasi, and Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie, the Earth ponies. Clover the Clever's magic, empowered by the miracle of love and friendship, saves the day and leads to the foundation of Equestria, where all the tribes live in harmony.

The Cutie Mark Chronicles - The Crusaders decide to ask Rainbow Dash, the coolest pony they know, how she got her cutie mark. On their quest to find Rainbow, they encounter the rest of the 'mane 6' and learn their stories, and we get to see the 'filly' versions of the main characters earning their marks. We learn that their friendship was predestined, and Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom helped bind them all together.

Winter Wrap Up - We learn that the ponies can't use magic and have to manually change the season from winter to spring in Ponyville as part of a longstanding tradition, since the town was founded by Earth ponies. (The Apple Family) Twilight Sparkle, Miss Element of Magic herself, really wants to get involved, but wasn't assigned to one of the three teams (Weather, Animals, and Plants) and can't decide. She tries to help each of her friends in their tasks but fails. In desperation, she tries to use magic and gets scolded by Applejack. In tears, she goes back to town and hides in a bush. Winter Wrap Up Day is descending into chaos, but there's one mare for the job: Twilight Sparkle. Her organizational skills save the day, and she gets her own special position and tri-color vest for future Winter Wrap Up Days.

Sweet and Elite - Rarity travels to Canterlot to buy some supplies and gets to stay at Canterlot Castle. Ponyville ponies are seen as hillbillies by the Canterlot ponies, Rarity hides her shame of her birthplace and is soon the talk of the town, mingling with the crustiest of the upper crust, Fancypants. Her fantasy life comes crashing down around her on the day of the big Canterlot Garden Party, which is also Twilight's birthday, as Twilight's party takes place right next to the Garden Party. Rarity's secret shame, that she was born in Ponyville, gets revealed, but no one really seems to care at this point, they instead are impressed by who she is, not where she is from. Also has lots of unicorns.

The Best Night Ever - The Grand Galloping Gala had long been in the dreams of all the 'mane 6.' Princess Celestia gave them all free tickets in the 3rd episode, but it wasn't until the end of the season that the Gala takes place. All of their hopes and dreams end up falling flat. The Wonderbolts largely ignore Rainbow Dash. Rarity's Prince Blueblood is a selfish fop. Fluttershy frightens the garden creatures and freaks out when they won't be her friend. Twilight Sparkle doesn't really get to talk to Celestia, instead having to shake hooves all night. The Gala 'party' is not what Pinkie Pie envisioned at all. And Applejack manages to make one sale, then later has the cake she whipped up ruined by Pinkie Pie. They still declare it the Best Night Ever, because at the end of the night they were all together, and had Princess Celestia personally visit them at Donut Joe's.

My top 5 songs, in no particular order:

• This Day Aria
• Big Brother Best Friend Forever
• Becoming Popular
• Cutie Mark Crusaders
• At the Gala

This Day Aria - Perfect. 

Big Brother Best Friend Forever - A very sweet song about Twilight's loving relationship with Shining Armor, one of her few 'friends' before she went to Ponyville. I really like this because for one, who wouldn't want to have a relationship like that with their sibling? And two, it, and some other parts of the episode, show us that Twilight at least had some joy in her pre-Ponyville life and wasn't just a miserable loner.

Becoming Popular - Rarity has the time of her life after suddenly becoming a sensation amongst the Canterlot elite, attending all sorts of social functions as the guest of honor. She even gains the interest of Prince Blueblood, who didn't seem all that interested in her at the Gala, and by the end of the night gets to christen a new zeppelin airship alongside him.

Cutie Mark Crusaders - The Crusader's theme song and attempt at getting their cutie marks. They prepared this performance for the school's talent show. Was doomed to fail, as instead of playing to their strengths, they chose whichever duty they felt like doing. Scootaloo sings, horribly. Sweetie Belle was in charge of costumes and scenery. Applebloom was doing choreography. They end up winning awards for Best Comedy, while not what they expected, it still pleases them.

At the Gala - In retrospect, this is actually a really sad song if you've seen the rest of the episode. Each pony, including random citizens of Equestria, all imagine their hopes, wishes, and dreams will be fulfilled at the Gala. Later in the episode, Celestia states that the Grand Galloping Gala is always 'awful,' which makes you wonder why every pony thought it was going to be super amazing.