My Little Repeats: Reflections on Season 8

Official FiM S8 trailer

The official Friendship is Magic season 8 trailer was, to be honest, not particularly fascinating. There was none of the experimentation of last season's "Fresh Princess of Friendship". Let's see how the season ranked overall. You can probably guess where S8 is going to place, but here's the list anyway:

1. Season 4: 3.42
2= Season 1: 3.38
2= Season 2: 3.38
4. Season 5: 3.27
5. Season 6: 3.23
6. Season 7: 2.96
7. Season 3: 2.92
8. Season 8: 2.65

I've said pretty much since this season first aired that it was comfortably my least favourite, and nothing seems to have changed that view. The main problem S8 had can be seen pretty starkly when you look at the star rating breakdown by episode, which you'll see beyond the page break.

Ponyfic Roundup 553

Read it Later story count: 89 (+1)

Words read this week: 12,029

Not a great deal to say up here, other than that it's raining as I type. A higher word count than last week, but not by all that much. So here we go:

Coming Home by The Cyan Recluse
Twilight's Revenge at Midnight by Shadow Light
This Is How A Unicorn Thinks by Casketbase77
If I Were Discord by n [sic]
The Castle's What?! by RB_

★: 0 | ★★: 2 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 30 to 26

Getting quite exciting now, isn't it? Remember, I don't know what's going to top this chart, so no spoilers please! I do however know what's in today's mix. As ever, here's the reminder of the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Here's today's list of songs. All five today! :D

30: JoinedTheHerd – The Pony I Want To Be (remix)
29: Animated James – Brony Polka
28: BassBeastJD – The Magic Inside (instrumental cover)
27: Silva Hound ft. BlackGryph0n – Egomania
26: JoinedTheHerd – The Magic Inside (remix)

And now on to the bit that I imagine most readers look at first!

My Little Repeats 198: "School Raze, part 2"

"Let me be crystal clear: Real Pony Fanfic about me is not permitted in this school!"

S8E26: "School Raze, part 2"

13 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.3

The one with Mane Six marionettes

Thoughts: This final episode of Season 8 is certainly packed with stuff, and that's really its main problem: it's too packed with stuff. We have Cozy Glow, Neighsay's sudden change of heart, the CMC's semi-comedic diversion, Starlight stuck in that magical prison until she isn't, the Young Six saving the day, Celestia asking for trouble at the end, a lengthy diversion to Tartarus, Tirek playing his own part... it goes on and on. I actually did still enjoy most of it. The students in particular are great and almost deserve that graduation they don't get, though I'll never stop finding "Land of Hope and Glory" disorientating in a US-style school. Cozy's manipulation is interesting on and off, though as with so much else the knowledge that we never do get a backstory grates here too. Overall? Half as much stuff given twice as much time could have made this a classic. As it is, it's fun but not amazing. So as with part 1, down it goes from four to three stars.

Choice quote: Spike: "Um... there's seven of us."

New rating: ★★★

And at last it's the end of the penultimate season of Friendship is Magic! If your memory stretches back far enough, you'll recall that after each season I do a recap post. I'll be doing the same again this time around – including the all-important average score. (If you've worked that out for yourself already, please don't spoil me!) Then of course we'll be on the home straight.

Ponyfic Roundup 552

Read it Later story count: 89 (+1)

Words read this week: 9,038

A very low word count indeed this week, and that's likely to remain the case for a little while. I haven't lost motivation for these, but I have been absurdly pushed around by real life. What I'm hoping to do is to get my reading a full week ahead of publication, and if I can do that then there should be significantly fewer occasions when I have to delay Ponyfic Roundup. However, to get to that point I'll need some weeks with fewer words, so here we are.

Ciderfire by ambion
Dressed in Dappled Gold by CharmingMarething
Discord's Time Travel Trip. [sic] by Hotel Chicken
Dressed to Egress by AsiagoUnicorn
Balloon To The Moon by The Sleepless Beholder

★: 0 | ★★: 2 | ★★★: 3 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 35 to 31

Into the top third of the Equestrian Trot 100's chart of Pony music for 2016 we go! (Okay, strictly it's roughly December 2015 to November 2016, but close enough.) While songs right at the top of the chart will be featured come what may, we're still low enough in the rankings for me to go by my usual inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Here's the list of songs. As you'll see, there's one absent this week, which is a pity but unavoidable. The other four make a pretty good selection, though:

35: Sayonara Maxwell ft. MiatriSs – Magic Everywhere
34: Spectra – Luna's Future (remix)
33: PrinceWhateverer – Spectacular
32: Aurelleah – The Magic Inside (remix)
31: skipped

All right, enough with the yattering and on with the music!

My Little Repeats 197: "School Raze, part 1"

The interior layout of Tartarus leaves something to be desired...

S8E25: "School Raze, part 1"

13 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.2

The one with crosswords

Thoughts: I really liked this finale (as a whole) on first watch, but I said in my 2018 review that "I suspect that it might not age terribly well once a cooler, more critical eye is turned upon it". Well, that was partly right. The fact that we never got a proper explanation for Cozy Glow is a big problem, and it diminishes her otherwise fun evil monologuing. There are questions elsewhere, too: why is Tirek getting letters in Tartarus? Why this incredibly convenient skeleton key artefact thing? On the plus side, Sandbar is finally about to have his day in the sun – and it's already clear in this episode that his "change of heart" to Neighsay is a ruse. The students are a real unit by now. So, a mixed bag, really. I still enjoyed it, but it did indeed have more issues than it used to. Three stars feels about right – remember, I'm not rating part two until next time.

Choice quote: Sandbar: "Sorry, I ran out of apples."

New rating: ★★★

Next time, of course, is "School Raze, part 2" – the end of the journey as far as Season 8 is concerned. A little while after that, I shall do the usual post-season summary and see where S8 stands in my overall rankings.

Ponyfic Roundup 551

Read it Later story count: 88 (-1)

Words read this week: 33,900

Oh look, another 30 °C heatwave. We're really not used to this in the English Midlands, you know. It's also been really dry, and all the grass is yellowing. At least I can still read ponyfic, and that's just what I've been doing this week. Here at last is the slate:

In Droves, They See by Odd_Sarge
The 108th Page by Rightir_Russian_Mare
A Better Way To Be Dad by Jade Ring
Mourn The Wicked by SoundoftheWaves
Octavia's Last Night by Rune Soldier Dan

Zero: 1 | ★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 40 to 36

Although I've had to delay Ponyfic Roundup, "Sounds of 2016" is less time-consuming and so I've been able to give you this, albeit also a day or so late. Inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Last week I was able to feature all five songs – and happily, the same is true again this week! Huzzah! Here's the list:

40: JoinedTheHerd – Luna's Future (remix)
39: OhPonyBoy – Blob It
38: Aurelleah – Chromatica
37: Aviators – Chaos Theory
36: Notion – The Midnight in Me (remix)

All right, enough with the yattering and on with the music!

Yes, again :/

Another week, another delay to Ponyfic Roundup. A hospital appointment and a couple of other unexpected issues have meant I'm going to have to delay until Friday again. This is frustrating me as much as it is you, so apologies. 

My Little Repeats 196: "Father Knows Beast"

"Remember those pancakes? Well, I've gone a whole lot better!"

S8E24: "Father Knows Beast"

6 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★

IMDb score: 5.6

The one with stone-skimming Smolder

Thoughts: Here's something that may surprise you: the text-based reviewers largely liked this episode on release. A major exception was DrakeyC, who despised it. My view was once middling – yep, I gave this three stars in 2018 – but has since moved towards his. I still don't hate all of it. Smolder is good value, for one; and the song is vaguely okay, if a long way from amazing. But I've become much more negative on Sludge himself. I originally saw him as a bit of a "lovable rogue" character, but not now. He's a one-dimensional, tedious slob. Zephyr Breeze had considerably more about him, and that's saying something. The script is dull. The Mane Six ask all the right questions about Sludge's story – then just... stop asking. Spike is absurdly gullible, then he deeply hurts Twilight and doesn't seem to mind – nah, not having that. There's a deeply tedious adult joke that isn't even consistent within this episode. It's all just so bloody superficial for such a potentially emotionally rich subject. To borrow a phrase I use in ponyfic reviews, this is a top-end one.

Choice quote: Spike: "You know how I get when I'm in the embroidery zone."

New rating: ★

The next episode is "School Raze, part 1". The S8 finale is one of the more divisive, with reactions running the gamut from delighted to seriously unimpressed. I liked it at the time, but S8's rewatch experience has often had me lowering my ratings from 2018. This one might as well, but as ever we shall see.

Ponyfic Roundup 550

Read it Later story count: 89 (-1)

Words read this week: 29,656

I'm not sure whether PR 550 really counts as a proper milestone, but it's nice to reach it anyway. I keep having things sprung on me in that annoying game called Real Life at the moment, so it's probably more of a milestone for me to get this update out more or less on time...

Overlooked by Sciphy
The Rain, the Poison, and the Job by HapHazred
Does she know— by semillon
Project WNDR-BLT by Bright Keys
I Know You're There by 8_Bit

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 2 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 45 to 41

It's time once more to head back into the mists of time, to see what was making waves in the MLP fandom's musical scene nearly a decade ago. As ever, here are the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

For the last two weeks running, I've had to skip one of the five tracks as it didn't meet the above criteria. This time, all five are there! The last one took a little bit of finding before I could be sure it complied with the rules, but comply it does. A remix-heavy week this time. Here we go:

45: Archie – Legacy
44: JoinedTheHerd – Friends are Always There for You (remix)
43: JoinedTheHerd – Pinkie's Present (remix)
42: µThunder – We'll Make Our Mark (remix)
41: Notion – Song of the Sirens II (remix)

That's the end of the intro, so let's have a look at the actual music. Or listen, really. While some of these tracks are associated with visuals such as animations or PMVs – and hasn't "For Kids" and having no YouTube comments ruined the PMV experience? :( –  here at least we're much more concerned with the actual music. Go!