In my opinion the sister bickering made some sense, even though Celestia had 1000 years of regret and Luna was very repentant over the Nightmare Moon incident, we've never seen them actually deal with the source of the issue and it just started building back up again until Starlight triggered the bickering. It's like what Sunset told the girls in Rainbow Rocks about dealing with the little things before they become big things.
Celestia is now my favorite princess! (Don't hate me). I've always loved Luna the most but after this episode the show has made me officially love Celestia.
It is indeed fortuitous that you two should be together to enjoy this episode. it managed to jump strait to the top of the series for me. I have always considered the map to represent a sort of self fulfilling prophecy or fate. would these chosen few be the right ponies for the job if they had not been selected? it seems like they would not... something indeed remarkable with every map episode. And I like how we got to see another example of our regal sisters being less regal and acting more as siblings. Second time ever since the 100th episode. The freaky Friday premise may be contrived but I found this execution refreshing if condensed to fit the runtime. Yet again the multi layered dream sequences win out for this show. There was so much to take from this scene, from seeing Celestia's possible fallibility, to yet another alternate equestria, to a single line of how this dream if left unchecked could damage Glim Glam's psyche. wow. A lot to process and a lot to enjoy. plus I laughed a lot. like a lot a lot. that is some quality writing.
By Celestia. Does the writters realize what they have done? They've unleashed a (Ground starts shaking) ... fan fiction avalanche! There's a Daybreaker fan fiction avalanche heading our way. Run for your lives!
This episode hit home very closely for me. I have a twin brother who I do not talk to. Our relationship, actually, we don't have a relationship anymore. we haven't talked for over 10 years. As much as I've put out the peace offerings they always go ignored. You want to fix things but sometimes its unfixable. I'm glad to see the sisters could come to grips.
Ooh, that's really sad. I hope someday you guys will be able to work things out somehow. But if not, well then, I hope you two at least find peace with your respective friends and whatnot.
Dustykatt Rhoades my brother and I have a rocky relationship, mainly due to our s***y upbringing and just generally being the poler opposite from each other. We've had massive arguments but for years it was him raging at me and then when we got older, it was me raging at him. I had to deal with tons of stress due to how my dad and brother would treat me as nothing more than a house maid and in some cases a nurse. I can't say that I've really moved on that much from it but I have forgiven my brother as he just simply didn't know better because he was never taught any better till we both grew up, same with me and standing up for myself and knowing not to give people consistent second chances (I'm also including my ex bf, gf's and crushes who picked on me). We've repaired our relationship somewhat but even when we felt we hated each other, either it due to any jealousy that our dad created for us or how no one would help us. We both never went as far to completely ignore each other and we kept on trying to find ways to bond with each other. We're both older now and are trying to support each other and even though our relationship has big bumps and cracks, we both agree that it is not worth destroying and now we both learn to agree to disagree.
BreakerInc Plus the only time we see them interacting without being petty is when Equestria isn't actually in danger. If it was then they have much worse stuff to worry about than "who has it easier" or "who's turn it was to bring the gift"
Top 5 moments 5. Twilight.exe has stopped working 4. Luna and Celestia's argument 3. Starlight trying to explain her actions 2. Luna trying her best to smile and number 1: Daybreaker/Solar Flare not only becoming canon but fighting Nightmare Moon
If Josh does a review on this episode, I am hoping he grabs Toon so we can see how those two do on a Fiery Joker review. Cause then CartoonZ could get in on it and it will get crazy. cause lets ask this. How bad can he Possibly be?
One thing I feel is note-worthy is that if you think about it, not only was Starlight worried about the fallout of her spontaneous decision to switch the princesses' cutie marks, I feel like part of that stress could also be due to a much bigger reason. Said reason? Think about it: what did she do when she was evil? She messed with ponies' destinies (cutie marks). Now she did the same thing with the princesses by switching their cutie marks, and though she meant well and everything worked out in the end, heading back to her evil roots has gotta be painful on her psyche. When you think about it that way, it's no wonder she was on the floor crying, saying "What have I done?!"
I disagree with with the idea that the sisters got too upset, too quickly with each other. Siblings will snap with a flip of a coin. I have two. They maybe calm with other situations but siblings... they know exactly how to get to you in a matter of minutes. I don't know what other people's families are like but I can't be the only one who thinks this. I love my sisters at the end of the day, but holy Hellhounds can they bring out the worst in me too!
I have 2 older siblings and one of them knows how to make my blood go from normal to boiling in 10 seconds flat. He knows exactly which buttons to push and when, though i try to have composure in those moments it doesn't stop me from thinking of the hundreds of things I would love to do to him.
my first reaction to Starlight switching their cutie marks was a jaw drop and a "you got BALLS, Star!" and those teeth falling out dreams can really suck.
I actually found the Sisters blowing up at each other perfectly natural. I hate to say it, but I've been in exactly the position that Celestia and Luna were in at the beginning of the episode, not talking about my frustrations with a family member, holding it in, and letting my anger fester. And I can tell you, when that festered anger comes out, it comes out hard and fast. Everything you've been bottling up just explodes out of you, and you just vent everything in a really unhealthy way at the person you love. I've also had someone intervene just by yelling "ENOUGH", and sending us to our respective corners. Sometimes literally.
Yes I have to agree Daybreaker is certainly a fantastic villain but don't you think she should've been saved for the final episode of the final season of the entire series I mean it would've been much more anticipated and a lot more perfect had the main characters mentor and God of the entire world of the show turned evil and granted this gave us a glimpse of that I want to see it fully realised at the end am I the only one or do other people think this way to or do others simply think it's too cliche
This was the episode I was most psyched for and it was well worth the wait. Yes, numerous cartoons have done the switching places trope; "Garfield and Friends" and "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" to name a few...but it's like an "A Christmas Carol" adaptation...each one does something a bit different. It's a concept that's decades old, yet forever new. I must say I'm really pleased to see that the writers might actually be listening to the fans. MlP's writing is so much more competent than it used to be and I believe it can only get better.
At long last we have a Celestia/Luna episode! It's so refreshing to see character development between the two sisters, especially Celestia. For a while until this season, Celestia was always seen as the mentor type, but now we get to see her as an actual flawed character. Sure, the "swapping bodies/jobs" trope has been done numerous times in other animated shows, but it definitely brought incredible insight as to what the other person is like in their shoes. And out of all the characters to accomplish this, it's Starlight Glimmer. The pony who started off as a scheming, conniving villain, to being Twilight's student, and freeing an entire species of changelings from tyrannical rule. I was skeptical at first, and thought her redemption arc was a little rushed (it kind of felt like giving Jim Jones a redemption arc), but she has definitely earned that second chance to reinvent herself. Even though she constantly regrets what she did in the past, she is still willing to move forward, and own up to her past sins. Overall, I say this is one of the best episodes thus far.
Immature? Are you kidding me? Even the most mature, well-rounded, and responsible adult will have an outburst of immaturity when they have reached their breaking point. Especially when feeling underappreciated and have been keeping it inside for quite some time, push that even further if the pair in question are siblings. A lot of the nitpicks Wolf has are ones I don't really understand. Just another case of Wolf expecting too much from a show that's like a roller coaster; enjoy the ride. I personally think the writers nailed Celie and Luna's first argument. Sure they're princesses, and adults, but they're still susceptible to the every day emotions and confliction that plague me and any other person.
I agree. Also Luna was going into the conversation after working a long night and was so tired to the point where she was willing to eat a banana peal so understandable that she wouldn’t be able to have a mature conversation with Celesta. Also as someone who has younger siblings, I can say that sometimes when you live with someone for so long, you might get quick to act immature with them. I know that I’ve had arguments with my sisters that get out of control and turn really immature real fast but it’s just because we have such different personalities and perspectives that arguments will tend to happen every once in a while and it will also spark immaturity since a different opinion sometimes feels like an attack on our character or world view which isn’t always wrong but yeah. That scene really resonated with me.
As an older Brony with a younger brother; you ALWAYS have issues with each other. It's up to both of you to work it out and stay friends, while accepting you are different people with different mindsets.
I think it's brilliant how Starlight's nightmare was being stuck in the crossfire of Daybreaker and Nightmare. She starts to lose confidence like how most people would.
Aside from the quick tempers of the princesses, and a few other small things, this was an awesome episode. I really enjoyed it. Seeing the princesses with realistic and relate-able issues with their relationship was great. And seeing Starlight struggling with her own issues but overcoming them and finding confidence really resonates with me.
In Regards to the sisters being to quick to snap at each other and the comparison of that to their cool heads in the face of previous threats. 3:14 Dealing with family is different. They tend to be closer to the heart, so one cannot just brush off their words and actions like one could with a stranger whom you care nothing for. Their discontent with each other has been hinted at throughout the series, and, given their differences, it's predictable that they'd snap at each other in just this way. The ones you love can hurt you the most because you actually care about their opinions, but, that also makes forgiveness all the sweeter. This episode could have aired in season 2 with very little of substance changed. I'm glad they finally did it. Day Breaker was cool, but before people start deleting their fanfics they should remember that: A. Fanfics don't have to follow canon. Chill out. B. Day Breaker is a product of Starlight Glimmer's imagination, not an actual "set in stone" representation have how Celestia would be if she turned evil. Anything can happen in the dream realm and has no real bearing on the waking world of the show, for the most part.
I think this would have being an excelent Season 2 episode. If nothing else, because the relationship of the two sisters near the begining of S3E01 (and at the very end of S3E02) makes much more sense after this events than before them...
Argamis (SilverComet) Good point, though I could believe that their relationship simply degraded since season 3 after a period of false peace stemming from the strong emotions of their long awaited reunion. Once they really got used to each other again, that would be the time for petty arguments to return.
That makes sense. When I visited my family earlier this year the first few days where good, but on the second to last day I got into a fight with my younger sister.
I must say, this is possibly my favorite episode in the season. So much character development for Celestia and Luna and even for Starlight Glimmer in some places! I was thoroughly impressed! :)
It wasn't until this episode that I found out that the black spots surrounding the moon on Luna's Cutie Mark were actually part of her Cutie Mark. Before that point, I just thought it was part of her coat.
It is not. The animators HAD to move it "whole" as otherwise Luna´s cutiemark would be barely visible over the white fur of Celestia. -> If you check at the begining of "Twilight´s Kingdom - Part 2: Battle Royale" [S4E26]; when Luna transfered all of her magic into Twilight she only losed the "Moon" white magical part over her permanent black patch of normal fur.
It's actually still up in the air on whether or not it is part of her cutie mark (remember the episode involving the Princesses giving all their magic to Twilight? Only the moon disappeared from Luna's flank. Luna still had the dark spots afterwards), but regardless of the fact, it was required for the moon to be visible on Celestia.
Well I suppose that *Starlight* thinks the dark markings are part of it -- along with it being necessary for the mark to be visible on Celestia. Unlike back when *Luna* gave her power to Twilight. Or possibly the dark markings represent Nightmare Moon Luna needs to keep in check?
who knows... But you may be on to something when it comes to the whole "black spot = Nightmare Moon" thing.. It could represent corruption in general since this is the first (and hopefully the last) time we've seen "Day Breaker". Something tells me there's more to Celestia than meets the eye. Unless Starlight has one HELL of an imagination when it comes to thinking up "what would an evil Celestia look like?" And even then, it doesn't explain how Luna knows Day Breaker's name. And I realize I just went on a tangent... whoops
I can say that the quick rise in their voices was, more realistic than I like to admit. The reason being, when everything bottles up and builds, if someone tries to bring up the sore subject and you are forced to address it, all that pent up emotion will come out in a single burst. I've have, several moments like that over the years, and these moments have done more than just raise my own voice. It actually CHANGED it into something that sounded heartless and malicious. I've scared myself, and others, when I reach this point. The first time was when I was cleaning manager for the kitchens of my baking class. I snapped, and it caused both teachers AND all my classmates to look at me in shock and fear. Surprisingly, I think that one moment is what earned me the Leadership award for that class at the end of semester, because I forced the attention and stopped any playing around. The next time was much less pleasant and I hate to think on it. And the third time, a little over a year ago, I snapped when a bratty child that had been on everyone's nerves for well over and hour had snapped at her own grandmother. Said grandmother thanked me for the help, even though it meant scaring the child into tears and sent her running back to her campsite. My point is. Starlight triggered an explosion of emotions from the princesses, one of whom was thoroughly exhausted as well, that makes that rise in voice much more real to me, an on an, uncomfortable level.
Whilst I LOVE this episode, it makes me wonder, who was doing Luna's job for the thousands of years she was trapped in the moon? We all assumed it was Celestia working really hard, but this episode makes it clear that Celestia doesn't know how to do Luna's job, or what it entails. She can't make it through a single night, let alone work day AND night. So who was the pony that replaced Luna? I really want to know.
M Marill Well, it is very likely as simple as. .. no one. Equestria may have had to suffer from not having harmony between the two sisters. And, it maybe that Celestia only thought that raising the moon was the only task required for the "night shift" duties.
Possibly, but the way she said "It's even easier than raising the sun!" Kinda implies that she's never done it before, as she was surprised and delighted by how easy it was. Also she's so warn out after her duties she can't even see straight, so raising the moon would be an issue.
+M Marill I think the whole "It's easier than raising the sun" is just due to either the writer's forgetting or Celestia forgetting how it was like to raise the moon (for some reason). And maybe for the dreams, ponies just had to deal with it themselves
It may be a comment said in mockery. Like a captain obvious statement. The statement maybe factually true, the moon is much smaller than the sun but is said to put down the other. Or to put it in another form, doing a task of carrying boxes, you've carried them before and know what it takes. But you say this is much easier than what I do so as to put down the task of the other person. Making their task seem menial and inconsequential. And in the end, it wasn't necessarily about moving the heavenly bodies that they didn't understand of each others work. It was all the other tasks they preform. But.... I see your point, it does raise that question.
Yeah you're probably right. Still it's interesting to think someone else might have been doing Luna's job and is fun to speculate. As Celestia never made a comment about how she had raised the moon for thousands of years, and was very used to doing it. Or how she was able to rule Equestria without Luna, by leaving out some of her tasks. That's like, at least 10 generations of ponies who lived fine without even knowing they were missing anything.
If we are just keeping to the show canon and not the book it could also mean that she's talking about the nightmare, meaning that she's not going to let Daybreaker free from the nightmare again kind of thing.
I did, in fact, notice that, and it got me wondering. I always found it kinda interesting how a person could pick up on tiny details like that amidst everything else that could be happening in a show. The best I could do to rationalize it would be assuming Celestia meant that Daybreaker wouldn't come into being 'again' if her appearance in the dream was her first time. Of course, this explanation is filled with holes, such as the fact that, in the end, they're in a dream and nothing happening in it has any basis in reality, thus Daybreaker never really appeared. After reading the commenter before me's review, I more inclined to go with his interpretation, but I'm uncertain whether anything written in the books or comics is canon. Still......this would be a great storyline for season 8 or maybe a season 7 finale. Can anyone imagine how awesome it'd be if some disaster happened and both Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker were released on Equestia. Maybe have them corrupted by the elements of chaos or some such. Bring in Discord to hold off the princesses and you have an awesome season finale.
I did not read the journal, unfortunately. But that is a good explanation. Trouble is, is that until that occurrence is referenced in the show itself, a large portion of the fandom will be left out of that additional understanding. And while I'm all for rewarding the dedication of those who DO read the journal, for something as important as Daybreaker I would certainly hope that they clue the rest of us in at some point.
People act like teenagers when their abit fussy. We were staying at my aunts house that night, and My mom and my aunt argued over something silly. We left asap because of their silly argument, but didn't talk about it until they fully calmed doe and saw eye to eye. So, I can relate to this episode as starlight.
remember that every time the sisters interacted in the first part of the story, one of them was dead tired with a hard day(night) of work. People tend to get really snippy real quick if their first priority is sleep, but social interaction is forced onto them
I loved this episode, and plan to do artwork for Nightmare Moon vs Daybreaker. The dialogue for the sisters was a bit immature at times, but considering we don't know everything about them, it could be they're really just tall teens due to an alicorns growth rate being slower than usual ponies, which might be why they live so long.
I really liked it and I didn't think it was contrived at all. In fact, I think it's really just something that's been festering between the two sisters for a very, very long time. This is essentially the same problem that lead to Nightmare Moon in the first place, the idea that Luna wasn't appreciated for her job and her jealousy over her sister's popularity. I think it was really clever to finally go back to that and really face it. Also, siblings, no matter how old, tend to squabble over silly things. I and my brothers, though we are all adults do it. And my own aunts and uncle who are 2x-3x older do it as well. Starlight was also definitely the right one to send. Twilight has a bias towards Celestia, and none of the mane 6 would have even dared to do a confrontation like Starlight did. Starlight is blunt, she doesn't care that much that the two are princesses, and the thing is, her magic is pretty much the most powerful in the series, even able to affect our two almost god-like royals. She had the ability and the right mindset in order to do what needed to be done.
What I most appreciate about Starlight Glimmer is how well she functions as an audience surrogate. She has consistently been shown at this point to act in a logical - if not completely blunt - fashion. When posed with the problem between the sisters, she confronts them immediately and directly about it rather than dancing around the subject as poorer writing would make her do. When Twilight goes into panic mode, she just rolls her eyes and continues on with her plan. Also, Luna's teeth falling out was a nice touch. That is a very real nightmare thing that symbolizes (among other things) a fear of loss.
This is probably one of my favorite episodes, if not my number one. I have an older sister, and our situation growing up was much like Celestia and Luna's. We could snap and start screaming at each other instantly, over the littlest things. I grew up really hating my sister. Now that she's in her mid twenties and has moved out, however, we've both been able to have our own space. My parents have even told me, "Since your sister moved out, your demeanor has gone from a caged animal to a tame rabbit. Complete 180 degree turn." Now, I don't see her very often, but we've put aside our differences and remain civil. I still don't forgive her for some of the things she said and did to me, but that's not going to ruin our relationship ^.^ My childhood may have suffered from being around her, but now I can say that we've made amends.
When I saw the sisters jumping to immaturity with each other, I thought it was rather quick too. However, I then remembered that they are not only immortal and thus have a lot of stress built up, but they're also both in the public eye - Celestia more so than Luna - and are thus forced to retain regal and unflappable appearances. They might see each other - with Twilight and her friends being new exceptions - as the only ones who they can let their manes down around. Which means they might also go a bit too far with letting their manes down and allow themselves to abandon all illusions of royalty and start bickering like, well, like siblings who aren't getting along. They may even subconsciously see it as some form of stress relief. Just some thoughts I had while watching them interact.
Why is Celestia and Luna acting like petty teenagers toward each other a bad thing? For once, they showed us that these two princesses are not perfect as they always portrayed them in the past. And they have a real, less than perfect, family relationship. That makes them 1000x more relatable, and as one of MANY people who always felt indifferent about Celestia's character, I can say with confidence that this episode just made me a new fan of hers. She's my new favorite alicorn now.
The Map calling Starlight makes a lot of sense. It's because she's not as biased towards the princesses as the Mane Six are, as well as not one to try and argue with the princesses. Starlight was a political leader longer than any of the Mane Six, thus making her more able to coordinate with royals. Plus she's more blunt and to the point; she's not gonna tip toe over any of this like Twilight was thinking of doing. That was really the only way anything would get resolved. Just not in the way the map was likely expecting.
I actually found the dynamic between Celestia and Luna to be very believable. When you are as close relationally as siblings, with the relationship becoming strained, all the pettiness, and immaturity they keep away from everyponies eyes comes to the foreground. I've often found that the closer you become with someone else, the mire childish the arguments become. Ironically, showing the core of who you are (a child that wants to be loved like it used to) the more intimate you are with the person. Starlight is actually quite privileged to see this side of the princesses; a side that very few ponies have seen. If you think about it, the things they were arguing about would be the kind of little things that would annoy most anyone regardless of who they are. We all are hurt in tiny ways everyday, but it's only with our closest loved ones that we ever voice those hurts.
I adored this episode. Seeing The Royal Sisters behave like actual sisters is something I've waited for for a loooong time. Having a younger sister, I definitely related to Celestia's struggle of attempting to do something nice for them only to have it go seemingly unappreciated. I can also relate to the seemingly alarming change in behavior that escalated the fighting. I've started more than a few fights with my sister for seemingly no reason. But when you hold negative emotions in for a long time, after a while it just takes the smallest thing to set you off and all that anger and frustration you've been holding in just comes pouring out. Also in the dream sequence having Luna's teeth falling out in hers was a brilliant touch as losing teeth in a dream is related to having felt like you lost control in your life.
Definitely a great episode, character development from both Celestia and Luna. Daybreaker was simply amazing, glad to finally to a NMM version Celestia. And of course Glimmer being the right choice to solve this friendship problem. 5 wonderfuls out of 5.
I don't think the role switching being done before is a very good criticism, its not like that is MLPs fault that other people have done it before. It is incredibly difficult to come up with an idea that hasn't been explored before these days, almost everything has already been done.
ScottJoC Agreed. MLP hasn't done this plot before aside from the Season 3 ending... but that was a complete accident which swapped the friends' cutie marks when they seemed to have already been content with who they were. This was different as it helped the two learn a lesson and actually appreciate each other more.
The one flaw you pointed out in the video, I'm not too sure that's really a flaw. The one truly revealing aspect of Celestia we've come to know is that her Royal stalwart nature is an act she puts on for her people. She's just an everyday pony under all that glamor and pomp, and there has been times you saw her impatience and attitude. Even in the story itself she admitted that it was a burden she bore and much harder than it looks, something Luna learned the hard way. Ironic to think that the 1000 years of banishment could have been avoided by swapping their cutie marks for a day. There's also a matter of role and state of mind. Luna is one of the few, or maybe only, pony to know Celestia as she was when she was young. In a sense she can remain her younger self when interacting with her sister. We do it around our parents. No matter how old we get, some part of our childish self remains when around those we call family. It's how we knew ourselves when around these people, its the roles we played for them. I do think this was years of unresolved frustration expressed between two ponies that we out of the normal roles as royalty. It was refreshing to hear Celestia drop her pomp and speak her mind. Who knows how long it would be before her inner DayBreaker would come out if she didn't have a sister she could just be normal around.
That was a really fun episode! One of my favorites this season and I will have to say, this season really has produced a number of fantastic entries. I can't remember when a season had this many good episodes in the first half as this one has. Opinions will vary though. I love your work Dr. Wolf and look forward to watching more of your reviews.
this was on me bday ouo Edit: also, I like how it shows teeth falling out in a dream, and Starlight falling. It does describe there situation, i love how dreams have meaning too in Equestria. Falling meaning: As with most common dream themes, falling is an indication of insecurities, instabilities, and anxieties. You are feeling overwhelmed and out of control in some situation in your waking life. This may reflect the way you feel in your relationship or in your work environment. Teeth falling out meaning: A common dream interpretation for teeth falling out sees this symbol as a representation of the fear of aging or becoming less efficient or productive. In other words, it would point to the loss of your means to fully bite into life, to break down what life brings you. Now, time to wait for the CMC's to be sent.
Daybreaker is a welcomed addition to the villains' list! This not only takes the spot of being the best episode of season 7 so far for me, but it is also in my top 10 favorite episodes of the whole series! :-D
I think this is easily my favorite episode this season so far. I laughed, smiled, and was interested most this episode. I'm glad we finally got to dig deeper into Celestia, and Luna.
An interesting thought I had about Starlight Glimmer's dream and the images we see there. I think that there's more to Daybreaker than being a figment of Starlight's subconscious. The way Daybreaker was talking and interacting with Celestia, I think that she was an aberration produced by both Starlight's and Celestia's minds. The concept was supplied by Starlight, the substance was supplied by Celestia. There's also the fact that Luna identifies Daybreaker by name without being told who she is. Thus, I'd like to think that was we saw in the dream has more strength to it than simple imagination.
this episode gave me an idea that Starlight might be the Equality-character. and I know that sounds crazy, considering how we met her first as the villain for a while about forcing people to be equal. but it seems like Starlight is the only character who treats everyone equally (either terrible or great) no matter who it may be. so maybe we´re looking at the princess/element of Equality? other theory, the map might call in other characters to help out, like the CMC or Maud or Trixie (just to give a few examples). it would be nice to see that side characters that don't play mainly in the show all the time still can change something big by helping out.
i loved seeing the introduction of daybreaker. she was really cool. i hope we get more of her in the future. she was my favorite semivillain. i wouldn't call her a villain. more of just celestia's inner darkness, but i hope we get more of her in the future. i loved this episode.
I wonder if one of the reasons they haven't talked about their problems before is because they were both afraid of an argument that could bring back Nightmare Moon.
Dr. Wolf for once I actually have no comments on your analysis of the episode. Brilliant! Tericdragon, countless times throughout the series there have been implications that magic has levels and specialties. Magic for baking, magic for art, magic for science, ect, ect. And each different kind of magic has its own spells at their own level of difficulty. Rarity specializes in sewing and design magic for for fashion and I assume has some strong specialty magic for her special talent as a fashion designer. The spell that Starlight used to switch the Princesses cutie marks would be an incredibly advanced spell that I doubt Rarity would know since it wouldn't hold any ire rest for her to learn. However, it makes sense that Starlight and or Twilight would know the spell since they have both performed magic pertaining to cutie marks before. So I believe the only other pony capable of performing the spell would be Twilight. Though, because of Twilight's history with both Princesses and her respect for them; she would think more logically and try to come up with another solution. But with a less entertaining result I'm sure. Starlight was the best option for the map to send, though, I'm curious why the map would have her cutie mark ready to send out. The main six are understandable since its Princess Twilight and her council of friendship but Starlight isn't on the council nor does she even of a throne. She may be friends with Twilight and the rest but the map shouldn't be a conscious thing to know this. This episode raises more questions and theories than anyone even really realizes. For all we know the map could even send Spike next, not sure how since he doesn't have a cutie mark, but it's possible since he is on the council of friendship.
I want to know if the map can now send ANY pony on a mission or just Starlight? It would be fun to see a map episode call the CMC or one of the background ponies.
The one main question I got from this episode is, is the map only able to call the Princess of Friendship and her closest friends, or is the map able to call anypony? I really really hope it's the latter, because that could lead to so many interesting episodes in the future. Right now, I want an episode where the map calls several random background ponies and sends them on a crazy mission a la season 1 episodes 1 and 2. Maybe that'll be episode 200. ^^
For Spike and Starlight, their acquired "duty" to be called by the Cutie Map is somewhat ambiguous (maybe he was also "called" in this episode); since the map seems to always do it on "pairs", but he has no symbol to show up or magical link on his body. -> Starlight added herself as a "sysadmin" to operate it for timetravel back in S5E25. Later she and Twilight rebooted together the Cutie Map [S6E12] -> Since Spike has no cutiemark, he would have being perfect for the "first mission. His advice and level_headness would had balanced Starlight´s worries in this episode too [unlike Twilight, who the map wisely rejected]
OMG I just had a revelation. If we pair this episode with "do princesses dream of magic sheep" it makes the tantibus so much more believable. Let me explain, number one we now have confirmation that so Celestia's magic does not work in the dream realm so there was literally no way for her to intervene with the situation. And number two we now know the sisters were having a falling out and because their schedules are so opposed there was no way Celestia would have been able to help. Furthermore with Celestia out of the picture Luna had no one she could trust to turn to so she created the dream monster not as punishment but as a coping mechanism.
The conflict maked sense. Siblings snap at eachother no matter of age. Them getting mad like that is something i understand, being the youngest with 6 siblings.
I think daybreaker's taunts hit celestia closer then even she would admit. I mean she was perfectly confident until she was confrontent with her darker selfe. Yea its SG imagination, but maybe just maybe Celestia had the same thoughts from time to time. I mean she handled day and night for a thousend years, adored by every pony as a ruler / godess. And i found the "theeth loosing" in Lunas dream interessting, loosing theeth in a dream is a symbol for anxiety and it fits nice with the smile thing.
A Meier Not to mention that Luna has interacted with kids the most as opposed to Celestia interacting with adults the most, from Nightmare Night to even the CMC dreams. It's no surprise that she feels that burdened for the failure of the fundraiser since she let a bunch of foals down with something that was supposedly so "simple."
Definitely real. Starlight really coming into her own and moving away from being Twilight 2.0. Daybreaker is both awesome and refreshing - will we see her again. Who knows /)
I loved this episode it was great, though I do feel like if Twilight had been sent it would have been more enjoyable as we saw how she was taking things while being the observer imagine if she had been the central driving force? Also she would have learned a lesson about bias clouding your judgment.
Considering Starlight’s ability to mess with cutie marks, as she declared it was her power that removed the marks of an entire village, and the fact that with family arguments between siblings reverting them to an immature mindset I have to say that this was pretty accurate. I can relate to the sisters as when resentment stews it’s like a pressure cooker, finally talk about it and it goes off like a rocket, all that resentment BAM!!! Out in the open.
The teeth falling out of Luna's mouth was a very real moment. I've had many dreams where that happened, and it's synonymous with feelings of doubting or dislike of one's self-image or worried about one's appearance. Can only imagine how unnerving that must have been for Luna. I know it always is for me.
I went over the dream sequence and when I saw baby Applejack, 4:12 she was being held in a set of forelegs. The hoof belongs to another pony and you can see two sets of muzzles. Both of her parents.
I'd swear the designers studied our artwork; we've seen Day Breaker before, only we had called her "Firelestia". This episode is easily the season's high point, especially if it's getting such good reviews from you and Silver Quill. What a fan's-dream-come-true!
by far my favorite episode in season 7 just because we FINALLY get some personal non-royalty sibling behind the scenes with Celestia and Luna, also the fight between Nightmare Moon and Day Breaker was just eye candy. guess it's now cannon that Celestia herself does have a dark side that tries to claw its way out.
To be honest, and this is just my humble opinion, the nightmare version of Celestia was only something waiting to happen. I always remember to see fan-art of this character since I came in this fandom, and it was several years from now.
I've seen quite a few "what if" style fan arts of a "Nightmare Sun" since at least season 2. Back then, she went by names like Solar Flare and Radiant Malevolence. To see the show actually touch on a similar "what if" scenario with Daybreaker was really exciting for me. Of all the season 7 episodes seen so far, this one is my favorite!
The map called Starlight at that point because the stress was getting to the two princesses. Probably before they were able to remain calm and aloof, but perhaps lately they had been under extra stress that was creating more strain.
I think that their relationship, and confrontation to personal conflict with eachother, was infact very real. I personally have three younger siblings and am also the eldest amongst them; and I can assure you from much experience, that simple and mediocre seeming conversations can get fairly heated and escalate quite quickly. Like you said, 'their feelings towards each other we're probably steadily boiling and building up over a period of time.' And when you have a chance to vent with family you take hold of it, and let all of it spill right out! And yes, I do like how you described the princesses as 'being portrayed as teenagers'. Which I found to be a bit out there but quite Suited for the writers to do so when portraying Celestia and Luna's relationship. Cause no matter how long you live with them, (as also Luna says in this episode), you can always be yourself around your siblings; which includes being supremely, and in this case quite comedicly, flawed; and in our universes case, completely human. Because just like teenagers do, we are always learning. Whether we like it or not. 😂 Hehehehehe!! Luna eats fruits all kinds of wrong! 😆💕
I like how the writers added an AU fandom villain into the main cannon of the show, even if it was just in the dream realm it was still really cool seeing the character Day Breaker battle against nightmare moon :D
2:10 I think that fanarts of Daybreaker exsist long before this episode.(I personaly saw similar designs back when season 5 not even end) If I don't mistaked her name was Solarflare. Many fanfics swich names this day.
Does anyone Remember the Nightmare Star mlp trading card that was shown a few years ago? This "Daybreaker" Looks a lot like her sense they are both in a way Nightmare Celestia, but its still odd that card was a thing and now we have Daybreaker interesting
I showed this particular episode to my sister and we both agreed many times that scenes between Celestia and Luna were very relatable to our own. Particularly the scene from the princesses in the morning.
In my opinion the sister bickering made some sense, even though Celestia had 1000 years of regret and Luna was very repentant over the Nightmare Moon incident, we've never seen them actually deal with the source of the issue and it just started building back up again until Starlight triggered the bickering. It's like what Sunset told the girls in Rainbow Rocks about dealing with the little things before they become big things.
So TRUE!!
Serendipitous timing for you both. :)
MLP-Silver-Quill how's your inner fanboy holding up?
Celestia is now my favorite princess! (Don't hate me). I've always loved Luna the most but after this episode the show has made me officially love Celestia.
I'm wondering what's going on with Twilight at the castle, as she was talking to Starlight.
It is indeed fortuitous that you two should be together to enjoy this episode. it managed to jump strait to the top of the series for me. I have always considered the map to represent a sort of self fulfilling prophecy or fate. would these chosen few be the right ponies for the job if they had not been selected? it seems like they would not... something indeed remarkable with every map episode. And I like how we got to see another example of our regal sisters being less regal and acting more as siblings. Second time ever since the 100th episode.
The freaky Friday premise may be contrived but I found this execution refreshing if condensed to fit the runtime. Yet again the multi layered dream sequences win out for this show. There was so much to take from this scene, from seeing Celestia's possible fallibility, to yet another alternate equestria, to a single line of how this dream if left unchecked could damage Glim Glam's psyche. wow. A lot to process and a lot to enjoy. plus I laughed a lot. like a lot a lot. that is some quality writing.
Sara-what-now?
By Celestia. Does the writters realize what they have done? They've unleashed a (Ground starts shaking) ... fan fiction avalanche! There's a Daybreaker fan fiction avalanche heading our way. Run for your lives!
Already on it!
(Flies away)
The first thing that came into my mind seeing Twilight on the music box was, "help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope!"
Okay that's pretty amazing
ModernWhoFan5B I had the same thought! 😂
This episode hit home very closely for me. I have a twin brother who I do not talk to. Our relationship, actually, we don't have a relationship anymore. we haven't talked for over 10 years. As much as I've put out the peace offerings they always go ignored. You want to fix things but sometimes its unfixable. I'm glad to see the sisters could come to grips.
Ooh, that's really sad. I hope someday you guys will be able to work things out somehow. But if not, well then, I hope you two at least find peace with your respective friends and whatnot.
Dustykatt Rhoades my brother and I have a rocky relationship, mainly due to our s***y upbringing and just generally being the poler opposite from each other. We've had massive arguments but for years it was him raging at me and then when we got older, it was me raging at him. I had to deal with tons of stress due to how my dad and brother would treat me as nothing more than a house maid and in some cases a nurse. I can't say that I've really moved on that much from it but I have forgiven my brother as he just simply didn't know better because he was never taught any better till we both grew up, same with me and standing up for myself and knowing not to give people consistent second chances (I'm also including my ex bf, gf's and crushes who picked on me). We've repaired our relationship somewhat but even when we felt we hated each other, either it due to any jealousy that our dad created for us or how no one would help us. We both never went as far to completely ignore each other and we kept on trying to find ways to bond with each other.
We're both older now and are trying to support each other and even though our relationship has big bumps and cracks, we both agree that it is not worth destroying and now we both learn to agree to disagree.
Siblings almost always act differently around one another than they do around others, something to keep in mind.
Yes thank you for bringing that up that is exactly what I've been trying to explain thank you so much
BreakerInc
Plus the only time we see them interacting without being petty is when Equestria isn't actually in danger. If it was then they have much worse stuff to worry about than "who has it easier" or "who's turn it was to bring the gift"
Top 5 moments
5. Twilight.exe has stopped working
4. Luna and Celestia's argument
3. Starlight trying to explain her actions
2. Luna trying her best to smile
and number 1: Daybreaker/Solar Flare not only becoming canon but fighting Nightmare Moon
Josh scorcher's gonna have a seizure in joy. his wish for more celestia character development has been granted.
kay magindoe I'm pretty sure he already has 😂
kay magindoe I think he will die of happiness of his episode
kay magindoe your telling me I am going to love his review on it
same here
If Josh does a review on this episode, I am hoping he grabs Toon so we can see how those two do on a Fiery Joker review. Cause then CartoonZ could get in on it and it will get crazy. cause lets ask this. How bad can he Possibly be?
One thing I feel is note-worthy is that if you think about it, not only was Starlight worried about the fallout of her spontaneous decision to switch the princesses' cutie marks, I feel like part of that stress could also be due to a much bigger reason. Said reason? Think about it: what did she do when she was evil? She messed with ponies' destinies (cutie marks). Now she did the same thing with the princesses by switching their cutie marks, and though she meant well and everything worked out in the end, heading back to her evil roots has gotta be painful on her psyche. When you think about it that way, it's no wonder she was on the floor crying, saying "What have I done?!"
I disagree with with the idea that the sisters got too upset, too quickly with each other. Siblings will snap with a flip of a coin. I have two. They maybe calm with other situations but siblings... they know exactly how to get to you in a matter of minutes. I don't know what other people's families are like but I can't be the only one who thinks this. I love my sisters at the end of the day, but holy Hellhounds can they bring out the worst in me too!
Bramble Chaser I have two younger brothers and I know exactly what you mean.
Tobbe9975432 thank you. At least I know I'm not the only one;)
Ditto. I am the eldest of 3 and have 2 brothers. The one right after me, him and I argued the most, but we have mellowed out over the years though.
I have 2 older siblings and one of them knows how to make my blood go from normal to boiling in 10 seconds flat. He knows exactly which buttons to push and when, though i try to have composure in those moments it doesn't stop me from thinking of the hundreds of things I would love to do to him.
Bramble Chaser
_TRUTH_
my first reaction to Starlight switching their cutie marks was a jaw drop and a "you got BALLS, Star!"
and those teeth falling out dreams can really suck.
Did anyone else see Doctor Whooves hiding from a statue in the maze during the different dream sequences?
I actually found the Sisters blowing up at each other perfectly natural. I hate to say it, but I've been in exactly the position that Celestia and Luna were in at the beginning of the episode, not talking about my frustrations with a family member, holding it in, and letting my anger fester.
And I can tell you, when that festered anger comes out, it comes out hard and fast. Everything you've been bottling up just explodes out of you, and you just vent everything in a really unhealthy way at the person you love. I've also had someone intervene just by yelling "ENOUGH", and sending us to our respective corners. Sometimes literally.
Daybreaker is officially my new favorite character in mlp. Seriously, fanfics writers get on that right now!!!
HERES! BENDY! She exist already but she's known as solar flare
I have a friend who is getting right on a fanfic about Daybreaker vs Nightmare Moon AU
Check out FimFiction.net There's hundreds of stories about her already.
Yes I have to agree Daybreaker is certainly a fantastic villain but don't you think she should've been saved for the final episode of the final season of the entire series I mean it would've been much more anticipated and a lot more perfect had the main characters mentor and God of the entire world of the show turned evil and granted this gave us a glimpse of that I want to see it fully realised at the end am I the only one or do other people think this way to or do others simply think it's too cliche
Just wait until Daybreaker is an official character on Fimfiction. I give it another day at best until she's added to the roster.
This was the episode I was most psyched for and it was well worth the wait. Yes, numerous cartoons have done the switching places trope; "Garfield and Friends" and "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" to name a few...but it's like an "A Christmas Carol" adaptation...each one does something a bit different. It's a concept that's decades old, yet forever new. I must say I'm really pleased to see that the writers might actually be listening to the fans. MlP's writing is so much more competent than it used to be and I believe it can only get better.
This was a great episode and it's one of my favorites so far
DinoSamurai 04 I totally agree, it's my favorite episode of the season so far.
Likewise
This episode made my top 5 for the entire series. It was that good.
Oh, defiantly
Kenneth Taffe I like how we can see that the princesses are not perfect and they make mistakes
At long last we have a Celestia/Luna episode! It's so refreshing to see character development between the two sisters, especially Celestia. For a while until this season, Celestia was always seen as the mentor type, but now we get to see her as an actual flawed character. Sure, the "swapping bodies/jobs" trope has been done numerous times in other animated shows, but it definitely brought incredible insight as to what the other person is like in their shoes.
And out of all the characters to accomplish this, it's Starlight Glimmer. The pony who started off as a scheming, conniving villain, to being Twilight's student, and freeing an entire species of changelings from tyrannical rule. I was skeptical at first, and thought her redemption arc was a little rushed (it kind of felt like giving Jim Jones a redemption arc), but she has definitely earned that second chance to reinvent herself. Even though she constantly regrets what she did in the past, she is still willing to move forward, and own up to her past sins.
Overall, I say this is one of the best episodes thus far.
Immature? Are you kidding me? Even the most mature, well-rounded, and responsible adult will have an outburst of immaturity when they have reached their breaking point. Especially when feeling underappreciated and have been keeping it inside for quite some time, push that even further if the pair in question are siblings. A lot of the nitpicks Wolf has are ones I don't really understand. Just another case of Wolf expecting too much from a show that's like a roller coaster; enjoy the ride. I personally think the writers nailed Celie and Luna's first argument. Sure they're princesses, and adults, but they're still susceptible to the every day emotions and confliction that plague me and any other person.
I agree. Also Luna was going into the conversation after working a long night and was so tired to the point where she was willing to eat a banana peal so understandable that she wouldn’t be able to have a mature conversation with Celesta. Also as someone who has younger siblings, I can say that sometimes when you live with someone for so long, you might get quick to act immature with them. I know that I’ve had arguments with my sisters that get out of control and turn really immature real fast but it’s just because we have such different personalities and perspectives that arguments will tend to happen every once in a while and it will also spark immaturity since a different opinion sometimes feels like an attack on our character or world view which isn’t always wrong but yeah. That scene really resonated with me.
As an older Brony with a younger brother; you ALWAYS have issues with each other. It's up to both of you to work it out and stay friends, while accepting you are different people with different mindsets.
Once you are adults though, it is usually much easier. Though I guess for most siblings it gets easier when you are no longer sharing the same home :D
I think it's brilliant how Starlight's nightmare was being stuck in the crossfire of Daybreaker and Nightmare. She starts to lose confidence like how most people would.
Aside from the quick tempers of the princesses, and a few other small things, this was an awesome episode. I really enjoyed it. Seeing the princesses with realistic and relate-able issues with their relationship was great. And seeing Starlight struggling with her own issues but overcoming them and finding confidence really resonates with me.
In Regards to the sisters being to quick to snap at each other and the comparison of that to their cool heads in the face of previous threats. 3:14
Dealing with family is different. They tend to be closer to the heart, so one cannot just brush off their words and actions like one could with a stranger whom you care nothing for. Their discontent with each other has been hinted at throughout the series, and, given their differences, it's predictable that they'd snap at each other in just this way. The ones you love can hurt you the most because you actually care about their opinions, but, that also makes forgiveness all the sweeter.
This episode could have aired in season 2 with very little of substance changed. I'm glad they finally did it.
Day Breaker was cool, but before people start deleting their fanfics they should remember that:
A. Fanfics don't have to follow canon. Chill out.
B. Day Breaker is a product of Starlight Glimmer's imagination, not an actual "set in stone" representation have how Celestia would be if she turned evil. Anything can happen in the dream realm and has no real bearing on the waking world of the show, for the most part.
I think this would have being an excelent Season 2 episode.
If nothing else, because the relationship of the two sisters near the begining of S3E01 (and at the very end of S3E02) makes much more sense after this events than before them...
Argamis (SilverComet)
Good point, though I could believe that their relationship simply degraded since season 3 after a period of false peace stemming from the strong emotions of their long awaited reunion. Once they really got used to each other again, that would be the time for petty arguments to return.
That makes sense. When I visited my family earlier this year the first few days where good, but on the second to last day I got into a fight with my younger sister.
I must say, this is possibly my favorite episode in the season. So much character development for Celestia and Luna and even for Starlight Glimmer in some places! I was thoroughly impressed! :)
It wasn't until this episode that I found out that the black spots surrounding the moon on Luna's Cutie Mark were actually part of her Cutie Mark. Before that point, I just thought it was part of her coat.
It is not. The animators HAD to move it "whole" as otherwise Luna´s cutiemark would be barely visible over the white fur of Celestia.
-> If you check at the begining of "Twilight´s Kingdom - Part 2: Battle Royale" [S4E26]; when Luna transfered all of her magic into Twilight she only losed the "Moon" white magical part over her permanent black patch of normal fur.
It's actually still up in the air on whether or not it is part of her cutie mark (remember the episode involving the Princesses giving all their magic to Twilight? Only the moon disappeared from Luna's flank. Luna still had the dark spots afterwards), but regardless of the fact, it was required for the moon to be visible on Celestia.
Well I suppose that *Starlight* thinks the dark markings are part of it -- along with it being necessary for the mark to be visible on Celestia. Unlike back when *Luna* gave her power to Twilight. Or possibly the dark markings represent Nightmare Moon Luna needs to keep in check?
To be perfectly honest I thought that too
who knows... But you may be on to something when it comes to the whole "black spot = Nightmare Moon" thing.. It could represent corruption in general since this is the first (and hopefully the last) time we've seen "Day Breaker". Something tells me there's more to Celestia than meets the eye. Unless Starlight has one HELL of an imagination when it comes to thinking up "what would an evil Celestia look like?" And even then, it doesn't explain how Luna knows Day Breaker's name. And I realize I just went on a tangent... whoops
I can say that the quick rise in their voices was, more realistic than I like to admit. The reason being, when everything bottles up and builds, if someone tries to bring up the sore subject and you are forced to address it, all that pent up emotion will come out in a single burst. I've have, several moments like that over the years, and these moments have done more than just raise my own voice. It actually CHANGED it into something that sounded heartless and malicious. I've scared myself, and others, when I reach this point. The first time was when I was cleaning manager for the kitchens of my baking class. I snapped, and it caused both teachers AND all my classmates to look at me in shock and fear. Surprisingly, I think that one moment is what earned me the Leadership award for that class at the end of semester, because I forced the attention and stopped any playing around. The next time was much less pleasant and I hate to think on it. And the third time, a little over a year ago, I snapped when a bratty child that had been on everyone's nerves for well over and hour had snapped at her own grandmother. Said grandmother thanked me for the help, even though it meant scaring the child into tears and sent her running back to her campsite.
My point is. Starlight triggered an explosion of emotions from the princesses, one of whom was thoroughly exhausted as well, that makes that rise in voice much more real to me, an on an, uncomfortable level.
Whilst I LOVE this episode, it makes me wonder, who was doing Luna's job for the thousands of years she was trapped in the moon? We all assumed it was Celestia working really hard, but this episode makes it clear that Celestia doesn't know how to do Luna's job, or what it entails. She can't make it through a single night, let alone work day AND night. So who was the pony that replaced Luna? I really want to know.
M Marill
Well, it is very likely as simple as. .. no one. Equestria may have had to suffer from not having harmony between the two sisters. And, it maybe that Celestia only thought that raising the moon was the only task required for the "night shift" duties.
Possibly, but the way she said "It's even easier than raising the sun!" Kinda implies that she's never done it before, as she was surprised and delighted by how easy it was. Also she's so warn out after her duties she can't even see straight, so raising the moon would be an issue.
+M Marill I think the whole "It's easier than raising the sun" is just due to either the writer's forgetting or Celestia forgetting how it was like to raise the moon (for some reason). And maybe for the dreams, ponies just had to deal with it themselves
It may be a comment said in mockery. Like a captain obvious statement. The statement maybe factually true, the moon is much smaller than the sun but is said to put down the other.
Or to put it in another form, doing a task of carrying boxes, you've carried them before and know what it takes. But you say this is much easier than what I do so as to put down the task of the other person. Making their task seem menial and inconsequential.
And in the end, it wasn't necessarily about moving the heavenly bodies that they didn't understand of each others work. It was all the other tasks they preform.
But.... I see your point, it does raise that question.
Yeah you're probably right. Still it's interesting to think someone else might have been doing Luna's job and is fun to speculate. As Celestia never made a comment about how she had raised the moon for thousands of years, and was very used to doing it. Or how she was able to rule Equestria without Luna, by leaving out some of her tasks. That's like, at least 10 generations of ponies who lived fine without even knowing they were missing anything.
This episode took the number one spot in top 5 of season 7
Top 5 of the series.
First truly great episode of the season.
It's a favorite of mine too.
Did... Did they not mention the way Celestia said "AGAIN" To Daybreaker? As-in "I'm not letting you out AGAIN!" Again?
No no no no no I'm sure that it's got nothing to do with anything *wink wink*
If you read The Journal of the Two Sisters, it's hinted that Celestia had lost control for a short time at one point.
If we are just keeping to the show canon and not the book it could also mean that she's talking about the nightmare, meaning that she's not going to let Daybreaker free from the nightmare again kind of thing.
I did, in fact, notice that, and it got me wondering. I always found it kinda interesting how a person could pick up on tiny details like that amidst everything else that could be happening in a show. The best I could do to rationalize it would be assuming Celestia meant that Daybreaker wouldn't come into being 'again' if her appearance in the dream was her first time. Of course, this explanation is filled with holes, such as the fact that, in the end, they're in a dream and nothing happening in it has any basis in reality, thus Daybreaker never really appeared. After reading the commenter before me's review, I more inclined to go with his interpretation, but I'm uncertain whether anything written in the books or comics is canon.
Still......this would be a great storyline for season 8 or maybe a season 7 finale. Can anyone imagine how awesome it'd be if some disaster happened and both Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker were released on Equestia. Maybe have them corrupted by the elements of chaos or some such. Bring in Discord to hold off the princesses and you have an awesome season finale.
I did not read the journal, unfortunately. But that is a good explanation. Trouble is, is that until that occurrence is referenced in the show itself, a large portion of the fandom will be left out of that additional understanding. And while I'm all for rewarding the dedication of those who DO read the journal, for something as important as Daybreaker I would certainly hope that they clue the rest of us in at some point.
People act like teenagers when their abit fussy. We were staying at my aunts house that night, and My mom and my aunt argued over something silly. We left asap because of their silly argument, but didn't talk about it until they fully calmed doe and saw eye to eye. So, I can relate to this episode as starlight.
remember that every time the sisters interacted in the first part of the story, one of them was dead tired with a hard day(night) of work. People tend to get really snippy real quick if their first priority is sleep, but social interaction is forced onto them
I loved this episode, and plan to do artwork for Nightmare Moon vs Daybreaker. The dialogue for the sisters was a bit immature at times, but considering we don't know everything about them, it could be they're really just tall teens due to an alicorns growth rate being slower than usual ponies, which might be why they live so long.
I really liked it and I didn't think it was contrived at all. In fact, I think it's really just something that's been festering between the two sisters for a very, very long time. This is essentially the same problem that lead to Nightmare Moon in the first place, the idea that Luna wasn't appreciated for her job and her jealousy over her sister's popularity. I think it was really clever to finally go back to that and really face it.
Also, siblings, no matter how old, tend to squabble over silly things. I and my brothers, though we are all adults do it. And my own aunts and uncle who are 2x-3x older do it as well.
Starlight was also definitely the right one to send. Twilight has a bias towards Celestia, and none of the mane 6 would have even dared to do a confrontation like Starlight did. Starlight is blunt, she doesn't care that much that the two are princesses, and the thing is, her magic is pretty much the most powerful in the series, even able to affect our two almost god-like royals. She had the ability and the right mindset in order to do what needed to be done.
What I most appreciate about Starlight Glimmer is how well she functions as an audience surrogate. She has consistently been shown at this point to act in a logical - if not completely blunt - fashion. When posed with the problem between the sisters, she confronts them immediately and directly about it rather than dancing around the subject as poorer writing would make her do. When Twilight goes into panic mode, she just rolls her eyes and continues on with her plan.
Also, Luna's teeth falling out was a nice touch. That is a very real nightmare thing that symbolizes (among other things) a fear of loss.
This is probably one of my favorite episodes, if not my number one. I have an older sister, and our situation growing up was much like Celestia and Luna's. We could snap and start screaming at each other instantly, over the littlest things. I grew up really hating my sister. Now that she's in her mid twenties and has moved out, however, we've both been able to have our own space. My parents have even told me, "Since your sister moved out, your demeanor has gone from a caged animal to a tame rabbit. Complete 180 degree turn." Now, I don't see her very often, but we've put aside our differences and remain civil. I still don't forgive her for some of the things she said and did to me, but that's not going to ruin our relationship ^.^ My childhood may have suffered from being around her, but now I can say that we've made amends.
When I saw the sisters jumping to immaturity with each other, I thought it was rather quick too. However, I then remembered that they are not only immortal and thus have a lot of stress built up, but they're also both in the public eye - Celestia more so than Luna - and are thus forced to retain regal and unflappable appearances. They might see each other - with Twilight and her friends being new exceptions - as the only ones who they can let their manes down around. Which means they might also go a bit too far with letting their manes down and allow themselves to abandon all illusions of royalty and start bickering like, well, like siblings who aren't getting along. They may even subconsciously see it as some form of stress relief. Just some thoughts I had while watching them interact.
Why is Celestia and Luna acting like petty teenagers toward each other a bad thing? For once, they showed us that these two princesses are not perfect as they always portrayed them in the past. And they have a real, less than perfect, family relationship. That makes them 1000x more relatable, and as one of MANY people who always felt indifferent about Celestia's character, I can say with confidence that this episode just made me a new fan of hers. She's my new favorite alicorn now.
The Map calling Starlight makes a lot of sense. It's because she's not as biased towards the princesses as the Mane Six are, as well as not one to try and argue with the princesses. Starlight was a political leader longer than any of the Mane Six, thus making her more able to coordinate with royals. Plus she's more blunt and to the point; she's not gonna tip toe over any of this like Twilight was thinking of doing. That was really the only way anything would get resolved. Just not in the way the map was likely expecting.
I actually found the dynamic between Celestia and Luna to be very believable. When you are as close relationally as siblings, with the relationship becoming strained, all the pettiness, and immaturity they keep away from everyponies eyes comes to the foreground. I've often found that the closer you become with someone else, the mire childish the arguments become. Ironically, showing the core of who you are (a child that wants to be loved like it used to) the more intimate you are with the person. Starlight is actually quite privileged to see this side of the princesses; a side that very few ponies have seen. If you think about it, the things they were arguing about would be the kind of little things that would annoy most anyone regardless of who they are. We all are hurt in tiny ways everyday, but it's only with our closest loved ones that we ever voice those hurts.
I adored this episode. Seeing The Royal Sisters behave like actual sisters is something I've waited for for a loooong time. Having a younger sister, I definitely related to Celestia's struggle of attempting to do something nice for them only to have it go seemingly unappreciated. I can also relate to the seemingly alarming change in behavior that escalated the fighting. I've started more than a few fights with my sister for seemingly no reason. But when you hold negative emotions in for a long time, after a while it just takes the smallest thing to set you off and all that anger and frustration you've been holding in just comes pouring out. Also in the dream sequence having Luna's teeth falling out in hers was a brilliant touch as losing teeth in a dream is related to having felt like you lost control in your life.
For some reason this episode made glad that I'm still watching MLP
I consider this episode my favorite of Season 7
SUPER GAMER XD a.k.a Zabuza me too
I like it how they manage to make "Daybreaker"look original despites all of the fan work
It becomes hilarious when there was a comic (which is sadly now deleted) that looked incredibly similar.
I think the writers ported the design.
AppleJack was dreaming about her parents?! Good eye Drwolf.
Definitely a great episode, character development from both Celestia and Luna. Daybreaker was simply amazing, glad to finally to a NMM version Celestia. And of course Glimmer being the right choice to solve this friendship problem. 5 wonderfuls out of 5.
I don't think the role switching being done before is a very good criticism, its not like that is MLPs fault that other people have done it before. It is incredibly difficult to come up with an idea that hasn't been explored before these days, almost everything has already been done.
ScottJoC
Agreed. MLP hasn't done this plot before aside from the Season 3 ending... but that was a complete accident which swapped the friends' cutie marks when they seemed to have already been content with who they were. This was different as it helped the two learn a lesson and actually appreciate each other more.
Your comment reminds me of what Ecclesiastes says multiple times. "There is nothing new under the sun."
The one flaw you pointed out in the video, I'm not too sure that's really a flaw.
The one truly revealing aspect of Celestia we've come to know is that her Royal stalwart nature is an act she puts on for her people. She's just an everyday pony under all that glamor and pomp, and there has been times you saw her impatience and attitude. Even in the story itself she admitted that it was a burden she bore and much harder than it looks, something Luna learned the hard way. Ironic to think that the 1000 years of banishment could have been avoided by swapping their cutie marks for a day.
There's also a matter of role and state of mind. Luna is one of the few, or maybe only, pony to know Celestia as she was when she was young. In a sense she can remain her younger self when interacting with her sister. We do it around our parents. No matter how old we get, some part of our childish self remains when around those we call family. It's how we knew ourselves when around these people, its the roles we played for them.
I do think this was years of unresolved frustration expressed between two ponies that we out of the normal roles as royalty. It was refreshing to hear Celestia drop her pomp and speak her mind. Who knows how long it would be before her inner DayBreaker would come out if she didn't have a sister she could just be normal around.
I literally checked your page for this review less than a minute ago.
That was a really fun episode! One of my favorites this season and I will have to say, this season really has produced a number of fantastic entries. I can't remember when a season had this many good episodes in the first half as this one has. Opinions will vary though. I love your work Dr. Wolf and look forward to watching more of your reviews.
Nice to see the two of you reviewing the episode together, especially one centered on siblings!
this was on me bday ouo
Edit: also, I like how it shows teeth falling out in a dream, and Starlight falling. It does describe there situation, i love how dreams have meaning too in Equestria.
Falling meaning: As with most common dream themes, falling is an indication of insecurities, instabilities, and anxieties. You are feeling overwhelmed and out of control in some situation in your waking life. This may reflect the way you feel in your relationship or in your work environment.
Teeth falling out meaning:
A common dream interpretation for teeth falling out sees this symbol as a representation of the fear of aging or becoming less efficient or productive. In other words, it would point to the loss of your means to fully bite into life, to break down what life brings you.
Now, time to wait for the CMC's to be sent.
Minnah4 AJ Happy birthday mate🎂
Josh Blackwell thank you ouo
Minnah4 AJ No problem. :)
:3
Daybreaker is a welcomed addition to the villains' list! This not only takes the spot of being the best episode of season 7 so far for me, but it is also in my top 10 favorite episodes of the whole series! :-D
I AM STILL SCREAMING. THIS STORY ALMOST PRECISELY FOLLOWS A FANFICTION I WROTE, FROM THE PRINCESSES SWAPPING CUTIE MARKS, TO DAYBREAKER. >U
I think this is easily my favorite episode this season so far. I laughed, smiled, and was interested most this episode. I'm glad we finally got to dig deeper into Celestia, and Luna.
I loved everything about this episode. Tied for best of the season with Rock Solid Friendship, and made the top three episodes of all time.
An interesting thought I had about Starlight Glimmer's dream and the images we see there. I think that there's more to Daybreaker than being a figment of Starlight's subconscious. The way Daybreaker was talking and interacting with Celestia, I think that she was an aberration produced by both Starlight's and Celestia's minds. The concept was supplied by Starlight, the substance was supplied by Celestia. There's also the fact that Luna identifies Daybreaker by name without being told who she is. Thus, I'd like to think that was we saw in the dream has more strength to it than simple imagination.
this episode gave me an idea that Starlight might be the Equality-character. and I know that sounds crazy, considering how we met her first as the villain for a while about forcing people to be equal. but it seems like Starlight is the only character who treats everyone equally (either terrible or great) no matter who it may be. so maybe we´re looking at the princess/element of Equality?
other theory, the map might call in other characters to help out, like the CMC or Maud or Trixie (just to give a few examples). it would be nice to see that side characters that don't play mainly in the show all the time still can change something big by helping out.
i loved seeing the introduction of daybreaker. she was really cool. i hope we get more of her in the future. she was my favorite semivillain. i wouldn't call her a villain. more of just celestia's inner darkness, but i hope we get more of her in the future. i loved this episode.
Day Breaker is full on metal.
I wonder if one of the reasons they haven't talked about their problems before is because they were both afraid of an argument that could bring back Nightmare Moon.
It's pretty clear by now that Nightmare Moon and Luna are not two separate personalities, so I don't see that happening.
Dr. Wolf for once I actually have no comments on your analysis of the episode. Brilliant! Tericdragon, countless times throughout the series there have been implications that magic has levels and specialties. Magic for baking, magic for art, magic for science, ect, ect. And each different kind of magic has its own spells at their own level of difficulty. Rarity specializes in sewing and design magic for for fashion and I assume has some strong specialty magic for her special talent as a fashion designer. The spell that Starlight used to switch the Princesses cutie marks would be an incredibly advanced spell that I doubt Rarity would know since it wouldn't hold any ire rest for her to learn. However, it makes sense that Starlight and or Twilight would know the spell since they have both performed magic pertaining to cutie marks before. So I believe the only other pony capable of performing the spell would be Twilight. Though, because of Twilight's history with both Princesses and her respect for them; she would think more logically and try to come up with another solution. But with a less entertaining result I'm sure. Starlight was the best option for the map to send, though, I'm curious why the map would have her cutie mark ready to send out. The main six are understandable since its Princess Twilight and her council of friendship but Starlight isn't on the council nor does she even of a throne. She may be friends with Twilight and the rest but the map shouldn't be a conscious thing to know this. This episode raises more questions and theories than anyone even really realizes. For all we know the map could even send Spike next, not sure how since he doesn't have a cutie mark, but it's possible since he is on the council of friendship.
I want to know if the map can now send ANY pony on a mission or just Starlight? It would be fun to see a map episode call the CMC or one of the background ponies.
The one main question I got from this episode is, is the map only able to call the Princess of Friendship and her closest friends, or is the map able to call anypony? I really really hope it's the latter, because that could lead to so many interesting episodes in the future. Right now, I want an episode where the map calls several random background ponies and sends them on a crazy mission a la season 1 episodes 1 and 2. Maybe that'll be episode 200. ^^
For Spike and Starlight, their acquired "duty" to be called by the Cutie Map is somewhat ambiguous (maybe he was also "called" in this episode); since the map seems to always do it on "pairs", but he has no symbol to show up or magical link on his body.
-> Starlight added herself as a "sysadmin" to operate it for timetravel back in S5E25. Later she and Twilight rebooted together the Cutie Map [S6E12]
-> Since Spike has no cutiemark, he would have being perfect for the "first mission. His advice and level_headness would had balanced Starlight´s worries in this episode too [unlike Twilight, who the map wisely rejected]
C5's Non-Elemental Harmony I would have loved that dynamic. We've already seen how great he is with Starlight.
*Me, the entire episode:* HOLY SMOKES! :U
OMG I just had a revelation. If we pair this episode with "do princesses dream of magic sheep" it makes the tantibus so much more believable. Let me explain, number one we now have confirmation that so Celestia's magic does not work in the dream realm so there was literally no way for her to intervene with the situation. And number two we now know the sisters were having a falling out and because their schedules are so opposed there was no way Celestia would have been able to help. Furthermore with Celestia out of the picture Luna had no one she could trust to turn to so she created the dream monster not as punishment but as a coping mechanism.
Celestia still proves to be best princess.
The conflict maked sense. Siblings snap at eachother no matter of age. Them getting mad like that is something i understand, being the youngest with 6 siblings.
If Starlight was sent to solve a friendship problem. I wandered If anypony can be called by the map.
I think daybreaker's taunts hit celestia closer then even she would admit. I mean she was perfectly confident until she was confrontent with her darker selfe. Yea its SG imagination, but maybe just maybe Celestia had the same thoughts from time to time. I mean she handled day and night for a thousend years, adored by every pony as a ruler / godess.
And i found the "theeth loosing" in Lunas dream interessting, loosing theeth in a dream is a symbol for anxiety and it fits nice with the smile thing.
A Meier
Not to mention that Luna has interacted with kids the most as opposed to Celestia interacting with adults the most, from Nightmare Night to even the CMC dreams. It's no surprise that she feels that burdened for the failure of the fundraiser since she let a bunch of foals down with something that was supposedly so "simple."
this was the episode everybody was waiting for. I'm so glad it finally came out!!!
This EP is sooooo much YES. I loved every second and minute of this. Need MOAR!
Definitely real. Starlight really coming into her own and moving away from being Twilight 2.0. Daybreaker is both awesome and refreshing - will we see her again. Who knows /)
I loved this episode it was great, though I do feel like if Twilight had been sent it would have been more enjoyable as we saw how she was taking things while being the observer imagine if she had been the central driving force? Also she would have learned a lesson about bias clouding your judgment.
if this had been a season 4 or maybe s5 episode, or had a much longer runtime.... but being season 7 it makes a great SG.
Me and a million other bronys thought it was sunset shimmer for a moment ...that said a luna and celestia episode was AWESOME!!!
Daybreaker wasn't introduced. It was Starlight's dream.
Applejack wasn't huged by one of her parents. She was huged by both.
This is my second fav episode tbh, such an amazing look at Celestia's and Luna's relationship and personalities!
Considering Starlight’s ability to mess with cutie marks, as she declared it was her power that removed the marks of an entire village, and the fact that with family arguments between siblings reverting them to an immature mindset I have to say that this was pretty accurate.
I can relate to the sisters as when resentment stews it’s like a pressure cooker, finally talk about it and it goes off like a rocket, all that resentment BAM!!! Out in the open.
The teeth falling out of Luna's mouth was a very real moment. I've had many dreams where that happened, and it's synonymous with feelings of doubting or dislike of one's self-image or worried about one's appearance.
Can only imagine how unnerving that must have been for Luna. I know it always is for me.
I went over the dream sequence and when I saw baby Applejack, 4:12 she was being held in a set of forelegs. The hoof belongs to another pony and you can see two sets of muzzles. Both of her parents.
My favorite moment is the scene after Celestia wakes up. That was some good sibling chemistry.
I'd swear the designers studied our artwork; we've seen Day Breaker before, only we had called her "Firelestia". This episode is easily the season's high point, especially if it's getting such good reviews from you and Silver Quill. What a fan's-dream-come-true!
2:05 I'm guessing you've never heard of Solar Flare, Doc
"Starlight puts the music box in the drawer."
Twilght: AH!!! It's dark in here!
by far my favorite episode in season 7 just because we FINALLY get some personal non-royalty sibling behind the scenes with Celestia and Luna, also the fight between Nightmare Moon and Day Breaker was just eye candy. guess it's now cannon that Celestia herself does have a dark side that tries to claw its way out.
When Starlight switched the cutiemarks I half thought Starlight was going to get banished to the Moon.
Best episode EVER!! It was great that Starlight tackled with friendship problem. And seeing Celestia's darkside in the dream world blew my mind.
To be honest, and this is just my humble opinion, the nightmare version of Celestia was only something waiting to happen. I always remember to see fan-art of this character since I came in this fandom, and it was several years from now.
i like it when you involve family with your videos. i hope one day we will hear Mrs. Wolf's voice.
I've seen quite a few "what if" style fan arts of a "Nightmare Sun" since at least season 2. Back then, she went by names like Solar Flare and Radiant Malevolence. To see the show actually touch on a similar "what if" scenario with Daybreaker was really exciting for me. Of all the season 7 episodes seen so far, this one is my favorite!
The map called Starlight at that point because the stress was getting to the two princesses. Probably before they were able to remain calm and aloof, but perhaps lately they had been under extra stress that was creating more strain.
Awesome review Wolf! And thank you btw for signing my banana at Everfree!
I think that their relationship, and confrontation to personal conflict with eachother, was infact very real.
I personally have three younger siblings and am also the eldest amongst them; and I can assure you from much experience, that simple and mediocre seeming conversations can get fairly heated and escalate quite quickly.
Like you said, 'their feelings towards each other we're probably steadily boiling and building up over a period of time.' And when you have a chance to vent with family you take hold of it, and let all of it spill right out!
And yes, I do like how you described the princesses as 'being portrayed as teenagers'. Which I found to be a bit out there but quite Suited for the writers to do so when portraying Celestia and Luna's relationship.
Cause no matter how long you live with them, (as also Luna says in this episode), you can always be yourself around your siblings; which includes being supremely, and in this case quite comedicly, flawed; and in our universes case, completely human.
Because just like teenagers do, we are always learning. Whether we like it or not.
😂 Hehehehehe!! Luna eats fruits all kinds of wrong! 😆💕
I like how the writers added an AU fandom villain into the main cannon of the show, even if it was just in the dream realm it was still really cool seeing the character Day Breaker battle against nightmare moon :D
The map is basically a plot device to get any character to any setting without asking questions. Not that is has be a bad thing. WORB BUILDING!
it was a really good video of this ep.
wow Day Brake and Nightmare Moon fight was awesome.
I must say, i enjoyed this episode more than i expected to. And i also loved the expression Twilight had on her face at the beginning.
2:10 I think that fanarts of Daybreaker exsist long before this episode.(I personaly saw similar designs back when season 5 not even end) If I don't mistaked her name was Solarflare. Many fanfics swich names this day.
Does anyone Remember the Nightmare Star mlp trading card that was shown a few years ago? This "Daybreaker" Looks a lot like her sense they are both in a way Nightmare Celestia, but its still odd that card was a thing and now we have Daybreaker interesting
As SilverQuill said in his mini review, there are many ways to fall.
Nice
if starlight was summoned by the map...could the CMC be called later on?
So Hasbro where can i get my Talking Twilarina???
Best Episode of the season so far, for me. So that's means, A Royal Problem, YOU JUST MADE THE LIST.
I showed this particular episode to my sister and we both agreed many times that scenes between Celestia and Luna were very relatable to our own. Particularly the scene from the princesses in the morning.