Friendship Conquers Manehatten · 8:01pm Oct 2nd, 2015

Jeez, the draft of this blog has been sitting open for most of a week. Anyone still care about this episode? Good, because do I have things to say about this one! And screencaps! Lots and LOTS of screencaps!

First of all, this episode more than any other single one so far made me think about destiny and the Friendship Map. For a couple seasons now, things like the Tree of Harmony and the Friendship Castle have taken Celestia's old seat as the mastermind behind the show's major lessons and events, and more and more I've been questioning just what is actually going on now.

First of all, a quick recap of the Map's missions to conquer Equestria for the Friendship Empire one town at a time. One mission to the unnamed town with the Equality thing with all six of the Elements, one with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to Griffonstone with Gilda, and now Applejack and Rarity to Manehatten with Coco Pommel. $10 or an art commission says Twilight and Fluttershy go somewhere with Iron Will for the next one.

Anyway, it's pretty obvious that the Friendship Castle (or whatever the entity is behind all this) knows what's going to happen ahead of time. It knows who to send and when, and everything works out perfectly. The Mane 6 themselves take the map's precognizance for granted when they accept these missions. But this episode told us just to what extent this all goes.

Think about this: why didn't the map send Twilight instead of Applejack? I know Rarity says it's because Twilight solving everything with her magic wouldn't have taught the Manehatten ponies that they can help their community even if they're busy, but I think we all know how thin that is. Of course, that's the canon reason and I seriously doubt a show like this will secretly have an ulterior motive for it, but I still think this is indicative of something more.

Let's face it, Rarity and Applejack were chosen for vocational skill and manual labor respectively. They brought nothing to the table ideologically at all. All they did to solve the "friendship problem" was be seen working. No one but the actors saw Applejack actually at work, and no one but Coco saw Rarity working, so everyone else only saw the end result. How could Twilight not have taken at least Applejack's place in this scenario?

Enjoy your job security while you have it, Rarity. Three episodes in a row could be a farewell run.

Just who or what is actually behind this stuff? How intelligent is the Friendship Castle? Can the Mane 6 trigger Rainbow Powers at will like they did in Luna's dream (epic foreshadowing)? How set in stone is the future in this world? Inquiring minds want to know. I'm not discounting all of these missions tying into the finale like in Season 4, and I'm really excited for that. #three-parterMIH

Woah! My heart!

It's canon, folks. Applejack had no sentimentality for her hat. Not a gift from her Pa.

This guy's Cutie Mark is the hat he's wearing. Imagine him wearing that as a colt.

The animators had fun with this one, I can tell.

In fact,

Did anyone else get the impression that the animation is better now than it was before? Go back if you can and watch the scene that last picture's from. Don't the movements seem... bouncier than they did before? Is it just me?

Oh, and also, Equestrian actors disguise their Cutie Marks with white paper drawings and Scotch tape.

This makes me happy for some reason. Not every pony has Starlight Glimmer's costuming and makeup skills, I guess.

Good grief!!
Wait, was that actually Charlie Brown?

But who the heck are these two? They're way too distinctive not to be references of some sort, but who are they?

I'm getting a kind of Tim Burton-y vibe from them. Tall, skinny, washed-out stripes and a shabby suit? Has to be.