(Song Used: Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana)

This may be another one of those that a little more controversial that it’s this high. As there definitely is a huge split on this episode. Some just don’t like it that the episode made Daring Do which was thought to have been a fictional work inside a fictional world into something that’s secretly real in this fictional world. Even I gotta admit I’m still torn about it since I kinda likes the charm of having a fiction that the Ponies love even in a universe that can only be fictional. That said, there’s nothing in Read It and Weep that really contradicts Daring Don’t in anyway. To say an adventurer pony that saves the world multiple times could not exist is odd considering this is a universe with Magical Talking Ponies. You have to admit that even from the very beginning of the show there’s a lot of things you have to suspend your disbelief for, cause this is a fantasy land that has almost everything you could imagine. There is a reason there is so much fanfiction for this show, it’s a sandbox for ideas because when written well enough you can fit anything in. Even more darker fictions are capable of still maintaining some of the charm of the show. In a show like this, character contradictions are far worse then any so called logical problems. 

And for the record, I wouldn’t say anyone was out of character in this episode. We’ve seen Rainbow go total fangirl before, and of course she’s hyped up around Daring. Because this is the equivalent of finding your favorite fictional character was real all along. Even if you managed to calm yourself at that moment, do not lie and say you wouldn’t at least be excited as Dash was in your mind if something like that actually happened (I bet some of you may even do the same if Rainbow Dash herself appeared in real life in front of you). And another thing, I still think this is a legitimately good episode. We get more of the meta jokes that we can relate to Dash, she even argues about a plot point for a short time with Twilight. For a lot of us that like talking about this show, it’s like looking in a mirror. What’s funny about the face that’s in the banner is that it’s Dash’s response to Daring making a Marriage joke to Ahuizotl which really makes the joke. 

One thing I do kinda wish though was that this episode should have been Rainbow’s key episode instead (I mentioned back in the Equestria Games part that there was an episode I feel could of better suited as a key episode and this was it). Surely having Daring Do/A.K. Yearling as the person Rainbow helps would fit in well. And as much as Rainbow Falls probably has the better argument for being more about Loyalty, I do think there’s some loyalty you can relate to this episode. Isn’t being a loyal fan and/or temporary partner enough? Oh well. While i wouldn’t say it’s as good as Read It and Weep, it’s still a solid episode deviated from Daring Do. And I wonder if we’ll get to see her again soon.

When you’re an Artist, it’s inevitable that from time to time they get what’s called an Art Block. Where they’ve temporarily ran out of ideas, and the artist just mopes in a bit of a down period until something inspires them again. Most usually find it themselves, but sometimes an artist just wishes they could just make their ideas pop out in thin air simply by thinking of it. Rarity gets this chance in this episode, only it seems to show the dark side should this come to pass. But this isn’t technically a Rarity episode, it’s more Spike since it’s Spike who gives the item that was with good intentions to help Rarity out of her “art block”. 

And yes this is actually a really good and fun Spike episode. It’s only beaten by one more (Which happens to be the next episode in the list), the cursed book Spike gets Rarity does at first have it’s intended result. But similar to the Alicorn Amulet in Magic Duel, it starts to corrupt Rarity more and more. She starts decorating random things and it interferes with the townsfolk life. And it’s powerful magic stuff too, since at the very end Twilight is all frazzled and frustrated after all the hard work of reversing all that dark magic. I still wonder if had Rarity had that book for long enough she’d go as far as turning ponies into clothing. Seems like something that would fit with what this thing can do.

*She’s got the whole world in her hooves

And here we are, this is the best Spike episode according to this list. It’s a bit unfortunate that for much of the episode Spike gets more and more greedy because of Dragon instincts. But nonetheless, if you want a Spike episode you can enjoy just about as much if not more then a lot of the good Mane 6 episodes. This would be the one, everyone gets some good character moments (The Good Cop, Bad Cop thing that Rainbow and Fluttershy do is hilarious). And even some good subtly good Twilight moment, where she looks so worried for Spike at the doctor’s. And perhaps a look of “…But he’s not a pet” upon the Doctor suggesting they see if a vet can help. The episode can make you ask some questions however, and some of those that won’t be answered because the show will obviously never cover it. 

And that’s if dragons do naturally age, are all big dragons just the greedy kind, or are smaller dragons their true form if they never found greed. I’d hope it’s not, but this episode does suddenly raise the possibility that some of the large dragons we see in the show are not as old as we think they may be. That might actually explain why the Red Dragon in Dragonshy was a bit of a crybaby though when scolded by Fluttershy, though maybe Fluttershy fans would cry fowl because that would mean Fluttershy’s scolding isn’t as impressive if the dragon isn’t really that old. Though one thing is a little funny, the episode Dragon Quest is what makes this episode make so much sense. Since it’s in Dragon Quest we find out the ponies hardly know anything about dragons (Likely because nopony got close enough to study them and come back alive), and it shows in Secret of my Excess since it only takes Rarity (Not knowing the dragon was Spike) reminding him of his kindness in the beginning of the episode to bring them back to normal. And as they fall, Spike tries to confess to Rarity of which Rarity shushes him implying she already knows of Spike’s crush on her. Very touching moment, especially if you’re a shipper of them. (I’m not really one of them though, so don’t ask me) 

Anyway, that will be all for Spike episodes. It might be a bit sad that the best Spike episode is one from as far back as Season 2, but I do think there’s potential for Spike in the future. Spike can be a good character to write episodes on, it’s just most writers haven’t had the chance to do a lot with him. Maybe Season 6 will bring us something worthwhile for the little guy. If nothing else, he still has plenty of supporting roles that he excels in.

Now we’re on to Fluttershy’s key episode. Now some people have nitpicked about things of this episode like how the Breezies work, or how they think Twilight’s transformation spell at the end doesn’t make any sense and/or a toy ploy (Neither are true, on the former. They have selective memory of what Twilight’s magically capable of. And on the former, I don’t think breezie toys of the Mane 6 have ever shown up yet despite it being more then a year since Season 4 started. You’re also watching the wrong show if you didn’t want any toy advertisement things coming into this). But I see no issue, the episode’s pretty simple. The breezies have traveled to ponyville. A stray leaf screws up their flight path and now they have to wait a long while for the breeze to come back. Fluttershy offers her home as a shelter until then, most of the breezies are young and start to get complacent with being cared by Fluttershy. 

Just like how in Rarity Takes Manehattan when being too generous backfires, being too kind has let the complacent Breezies take advantage of Fluttershy’s kindness. And Fluttershy has to for once stand up for herself and kick them out no matter how it breaks her heart to even do the right thing. The breeze the Breezies need come back but there’s not enough Breezies to help lift everybody. The solution? How about transform six ponies into Breezies for a short time. This even works to show us the reason why Sea Breeze wanted to get home so much. He had a family to get to. It’s a very sweet scene when Fluttershy is given the flower as a gift. It’s also nice to see Friendship is Magic improve upon a concept from a previous generation, as Breezies originally appeared in Generation 3 who weren’t actually that different from the other ponies aside from being smaller with butterfly wings and antennae. 

In FiM, they have a unique design only for them and they may even have a bit of a nationality if you hear Sea Breeze’s accent. (On a small note, Sea Breeze is voiced by Brian Drummond. The guy who voiced the infamous “OVER 9000” Vegeta in the original/Ocean dub of the early seasons of Dragonball Z. Ah what different roles Voice Actors go through) The show has done wonders, even making maligned concepts from previous generations work well.

*…And that is how we plan on taking over the world!

We’re here to the sequel to Equestria Girls. I told you back in Part 1 of this whole thing that despite my thoughts on the first film. The following films have been wonderful improvement, and I mean really huge improvement. Some annoyances still linger from the first, but for the most part alot of it has shrunken down and by now EQG feels like it’s coming into it’s own at last. I still wish it could of been more like that from the start, but more and more we’re seeing more of the EQG world and how the magic of Equestria is affecting it. In EQG4 we’re even going outside of the schools for once to really get more from out of the world. Though for now the Sequel remained in the same school. Nobody trusts Sunset much, which is pretty understandable given the events of the first film. 

I do think one issue that still lingers is it still seems a little so fast that Sunset is so nice now considering how bitchy she was in the first. But that’s just the problem with how the first went, they probably didn’t write the first with the intention of a series so we didn’t see a lot of redeeming qualities in the first so that we’re just happy with how things end when Sunset’s defeated. But there are many things that Rainbow Rocks improves so much over the first. The Sirens are so much more fun to see then Sunset in the first film, the music is a lot better (Though I thinly only the Siren’s songs are really all that great. Trixie’s song is not too bad either. But any song by the Rainboom’s just don’t work for me. Even in the final song, I vastly prefer the parts where the Siren’s are singing), and the plot is overall just improved quite a bit. Enough to bring it this far into the list. 

Flash Sentry is even less important then he is in the first though there’s a few parts that are more cringeworthy then anything in the first (Ex: Twilight at the dinner table saying “Flash Sentry was talking about me?!”), let’s just say I am so glad human Trixie was there at the end to interrupt a kiss. It takes a lot to bring something with rocky start at best within the fandom, to something that’s actually grown on a lot people fast. And this film should get a lot of credit for bringing something that even some people who liked the first who were unsure of how a sequel would go suddenly bring a fully successful spin-off series in it’s own right that would get a 3rd film that sets up things further. 

On a personal note, when Rainbow Rocks was announced I felt disgusted. I never felt the first warranted any more of it. But as of right now, I’m actually somewhat hyped for what they bring in a fourth film coming later this year. My self from 3 years would be stunned about that fact. It took a good showing from this movie, and a lot from what’s coming immediately next in the next part of this list to get to that point.