(Song Used: So Cold - Breaking Benjamin)

This is the part that at least by the end, we start to get to the real classics. Or at least the ones I think stand out as some of the best the show has to offer. I am not saying that a majority of the episodes until now have been bad. On the contrary there’s a lot of episodes I’ve already covered that I definitely really like. Or at the very least something I enjoy from the episode. Even in the Bottom 12, for the exception of Rainbow Falls, there’s something I do like even from what’s listed in the worst episodes. It’s just here where things start to get to the episodes that have raised the bar for this show. Before we get to the episodes though, we have the most recent Equestria Girls Movie which is #35 sharp. But from there it will be pretty great Pony episodes from then on.

While I know the general consensus seems to be that Rainbow Rocks is still the best of the EQG films so far. I honestly think Friendship Games and Rainbow Rocks are at about the same level, they just excel at different things and depending on your tastes regarding Equestria Girls you may prefer the one over the other. It just so happens the music and the villains are the louder of the tastes that tends to appeal more. Rainbow Rocks may have the better music and (advertised) villains, but what I do think Friendship Games holds over Rainbow Rocks is a more interesting plot point then anything Equestria Girls has offered before, more subtlety you can take out from the small things, character portrayal, and a great set up for the future of this sub-series. 

If there was one thing I could say that was the thing that started to turn me around to the series, it was the introduction of Human Twilight. We’ve known a separate Human Twi exists since the first film, but it was kinda thought it was going to be a throwaway line and they’d never actually bring the other Twilight in. Thankfully, Rainbow Rocks had one more surprise for us in a post-credits sequence when right in front of us is a familiar voice, and color scheme. But definitely a different character from the Twilight we’ve come to know. It would turn out to be an outright teaser for the next film. As not only would Human Twi be formally introduced, she’d outright be in the spotlight. Arguably just as, if not more then Sunset was. I give Rainbow Rocks credit for being the sequel I never wanted that wanted to make me see more. But mainly because of that final sequence where we saw Human Twilight if they had not shown Human Twi at the end. I probably would of still been a little unsure about the 3rd film. The post-credits scene is what made me pull a 180 the most on the future of this series. 

Suddenly I was excited where they were going to take this, and I was not disappointed with Human Twilight whatsoever. She’s just as adorkable as the Pony Twi we’ve known for more then 5 years, and she even has her own unique charm to her that’s different from Pony Twilight. She may be Twilight in name and voice, but because her experiences are vastly different. She’s still very much like a different character, and I don’t mean that in a bad way whatsoever, it’s just a different interpretation of Twilight. Anybody who runs askblogs particularly alternate version of canon ponies understand how interesting alternate versions of characters we know can be. Because she seems a lot more sheltered, Human Twi has some traits you’d normally see in a Fluttershy-like character but it’s not like they simply made this Twilight into a Fluttershy clone, you can still get some of the things that charmed us to Twilight in the first place just given a different twist. What’s more is she’s a figure you really feel bad for throughout most of the film even when she starts causing trouble. It’s only because she’s being blackmailed, and so sheltered (Not to mention mistreated at Crystal Prep) that she can only trust one of her own methods in an attempt to understand what’s going on at Canterlot High. 

Despite that the fact Sunset had every right to be angry at Human Twilight after magic released from the device messed with a race, you very well know that she never intended everything to happen. And the climax, everything that’s been bottling up gets finally released and the very magic that Twilight has been collecting corrupts her mind as the pressure from Principal Cinch and the Shadowbolts forces her to give in to some dark desires. There are many small things in the film I feel are things in the previous films but were done far better, like how the characters “Pony Up” only when using instruments is kinda weird. The way they do it when showing their respective element in Friendship Games makes a lot more sense. And heck, there’s even less Flash Sentry involvement in this film, and the two scenes he even gets it’s mainly just Human Twilight rejecting him both times. (As if I couldn’t like Human Twi any more then I already did) 

And to me, the film’s main villain is not Principal Cinch. It’s the effects a terrible school environment has on a person. Now someone being bullied and/or blackmailed by the school they’re enrolled in won’t transform anyone into corrupt monsters that threaten to destroy the world, but just the effect on one person can be devastating to anyone nearby. But what that person needs is help and a different environment to help them out. And that’s what Sunset and the Mane 6 provide, as Human Twilight decides to transfer over. Meaning in the next film, if Pony Twi ever returns to help out. Sunset will have two Twilight’s. One she looks up to as we saw in Rainbow Rocks, and another that she is trying to teach herself. I think it sets up a very interesting dynamic for the future of Equestria Girls. 

Despite how much I do like Friendship Games, the two sequels to Equestria Girls that surprised even the most skeptical still aren’t much compared to the classics that have come out of the show but they come decently close. Maybe what’s coming in the future could really make EQG grow into it’s own, as things are trending right now. It could very well crawl out of the hole the first movie dug the sub-series into.

Looking back at Season 4, there’s so many things that happened that really brought some interesting plot points for the future. And I’d say the possibility of Pinkie and Applejack being related all this time was one of those very things. While it’s a shame we didn’t get a clear answer in the end, I think from Applejack’s attitude that we can probably consider each other family either way. The only people who may be bummed too much with this episode is possibly those who shipped Pinkie and Applejack. I think from the very beginning there was probably a following for every possible shipping combination between the Mane 6. While it likely wasn’t as popular as some of big Mane 6 Ships (AppleDash, RariJack, FlutterDash, and TwiDash I’d say are probably the most common ones) I’m sure there had to be people who shipped it. And no doubt if they did they may have felt bummed out for this episode to put them in the Family Zone. Their only hope now is to say they’re not family… yet (Implying they’ll marry in the future). But perhaps the show’s focus on Marble Pie and Big Mac is a sign for the ApplePie Shippers to make a move. 

But anyway, this is just a really fun ride seeing Pinkie travel with the Apple family. While Pinkie was kinda inconsistent at times in Season 4, I’d say Pinkie was well done in this episode and may be only beaten by one more Pinkie episode from Season 4 in this list that I assure you is saved for much, much, later down the list. I also find Apples to the Core a very enjoyable song sung by the Apple Family. The last time Applejack had a group song with the Apple family of some sort it was Raise This Barn, which while it wasn’t a terrible song by any means, it didn’t really lift anything out of an already pretty barren episode. But I’d say Apples to the Core perfectly supplements this episode. I like that in the episode the Apple Family try their best to make Pinkie comfortable and happy when at the same time the Apple Family is nearly at eachother’s throats in their attempt to please Pinkie on what could have been a big discovery in the end that Pinkie was related. 

The reason we don’t get a clear answer is to leave it to interpretation most likely, but like I said. Given Applejack’s thoughts at the end, she may as well have been confirmed one. It’s a very sweet family-esque episode that even got a pretty decent follow-up in Season 5.

Ah here we go, this is a true classic from the first season. And the first time we ever got a big song. The music loving bronies back in the day when Season 1 was still going on was pretty much obsessed over the Winter Wrap-Up song. The only song that really rivaled it’s popularity in the first season was At the Gala in Best Night Ever because of it also being a big group song with the Mane 6 getting their own part of the song to sing. 

The episode itself wasn’t too bad either, with Twilight trying her best to fit in. The scene where Twilight asks if she can help with the clouds is a little more hilarious in hindsight given her later Alicorn ascension. It’s definitely clear it wasn’t meant to be foreshadowing whatsoever, but I’m sure any of those still into the show that re-watch the episode can’t help but giggle a bit.. There’s just not a lot to say, Winter Wrap-Up is one of those episodes that is essential when pointing out some of the memorable moments of the first season. Giving an interesting new bar to raise regarding the music in this show. And believe me when I say they’ve surpassed even Winter Wrap-Up a few times.

This is the episode I would recommend most to introducing someone to the show from a Season 1 episode if they didn’t have time to see the Pilot. Cause it feels it still gives a significant introduction to the characters and shows that this isn’t any normal little girls show when the plot of the episode is the girls traveling to kick a freaking dragon out. 

Maybe that’s not an entirely accurate idea as you could still get the wrong idea like Fluttershy being the main character when she’s not and/or Rainbow being somewhat jerkish can give a bad first impression. But there’s not a lot of other episodes aside from the Pilot that could give you a good idea of the characters right off the bat when it comes to Season 1 (Most people are going to start with a Season 1 episode since that’s the natural way to start watching a show. Even if there are good episodes to start with from Season 2 and onward, someone new is likely going to want to see how Season 1 goes first). 

But this is an episode that has it all, you have the humor, a sense of adventure/action, a pretty sweet ending with Fluttershy being badass enough to temporarily face her fear and stare down the dragon and manage to convince him to leave. While I do think quality wise, the first half of Season 1 may have been the worst stretch of 13 episodes in the show’s history. This, Winter Wrap-Up, and the final episode in this section were true standouts that have stood the test of time.

*No matter what Pony generation it is, Applejack is and will always be, a silly pony

For me, this episode is the first true great episode of the show. While the pilot serves as a good introduction it’s clear you need a little more then that to really start getting hooked into the show. And Ticket Master was just pretty ok. But getting to Applebuck Season, you see the first signs of what this show can produce on humor and characterization.

 One shame about it is that for a while, it’s the only Applejack episode where one of AJ’s flaws is really explored up until the fourth season. It took a long time before episodes starring Applejack didn’t focus on Applejack either being stubborn or showing she’s learning to not be so stubborn when most of the other characters had different flaws at that point covered. And unfortunately it’s a big reason why Applejack is normally seen as the least popular of the Mane 6. 

But at the very least Applejack can take pride that one of her very first episode remains as a classic even after all these years. In this list there’s only two more AJ episodes that are above it, one will be slightly controversial for a a reason (But that reason has nothing to do with Applejack) and the other is a very recent episode. I will always love the scene where Applejack meets up with Pinkie and when talking about ingredients, there’s a moment where Pinkie’s voice is slowed down. I just don’t know why, but that felt like the very moment that I saw how hilarious this show can be. One fun note about the episode is that before the show smartly went with Applebucking, Lauren Faust once had it so the Ponies used their heads to knock down the Apples. Which… definitely sounds worse then what they eventually got. Concussions aren’t fun ya know? Regardless, the first great episode of the show definitely has earned this spot