Tell Your Tale Discussion Thread-Salute Our Shorts

[ZakuConvoy]

Spoiler

Huh. A Chinese-themed Moon Festival. Okay. Luna would be proud...if she was still around.

You know, if you fill that moon with candy, this would actually be a fun parade type thing you could do at the festival.

I'm expecting that paper Moon to be a Chekov's Gun later.

Queen Haven is WILLINGLY spending a holiday with her daughters. Well, I guess there's a first time for everything.

*Lil Zipp carrying Lil Pipp through the sky on a lantern* AH HA HA HA HA! Okay, that got me good. Zipp was just trying to show Pipp a good time! She wanted to fly so badly that she FOUND a way!

Pipp shuns the MOON! HERESY! Although, she DOES seem as excited as everyone else about the acrobatics show later.

What is going on with that pegasus's wings? Why are they covered in electric magic? And why did her hitting that paper moon sound so...wet?

Magic's going out of control...again. About on par with every other holiday they've had, I guess. I really don't know what lesson we're supposed to take from this. "You can have friends or holidays, but not both"?

The floating actually looks pretty fun. But, Dahlia's got to learn to wipe her hooves, she's getting grass seeds everywhere.

Izzy's totally going to steal that velvet rope later.

Sunny is NOT hearing it tonight. She just wants ONE night without some sort of calamity! Is that so much to ask? ...Yes...yes it is.

The Aero-Bats have seemed to have replaced the Wonderbolts. I bet Zipp would have auditioned to join them, if her mom didn't most likely blacklist her from EVER joining.

Izzy's going to eat everything in the background while everyone's distracted by the show.

...Are their wings fake? Why the electric effect?

Man...I like pancakes, too. But eating them for every meal...this guy has life figured out. *nods*

Posey's hat gets stolen and destroyed. Posey's rage is justified count: 1.

The crabs are mad that they didn't get invited to go to the festival too. There shall be a reckoning.

Wait...but...the moon was never magic before? I guess we'll just have to go with it. Unless...the magic returned to the moon after Luna lost her magic?

Okay, blocking out the moon sounds like a supervillain plan. And it just seems disrespectful during a Moon Festival.

BEHOLD! The POWER of the Alicorn! Which could ONLY be replicated with...maybe some string or a tarp!? They keep hyping up Sunny using her Alicorn powers for relatively mundane things.

Okay, the Moon Lantern Prism POWER they created is really pretty. Luna's ghost will save her wrath for another time.

I really hope the Queen is paying these guards overtime. They end up working EVERY holiday for her. I kind of feel bad for them.

Posey gets MOONED! Posey's rage...has dissipated because she's just grown numb to it at this point....count: 1. That hearty sigh at the end. Poor girl. Life has broken her.

So why didn't Sunny's Alicorn magic get super charged when trying to deal with the Lanterns?

Well...ummm...hmm...good question.

I guess Alicorn powers might not be able to be boosted because they're already at max power already? Or Sunny just has more experience with super-strong magic than everyone else since she has been training her Alicorn magic? Or maybe she's immune to Moon enhancements because part of Luna's magic is a part of Sunny's overall Alicorn magic pool?

Maybe it really WAS the pancakes? Or...moon cakes? Hmm? Izzy didn't start floating until she started eating in the background, after all.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Well, posey can't start a revolution against the moon. It was already revolving.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

TYT week!


From calm to disaster in 1 second.

Ah, our heroes are here. That explains it. Welcome to the herd, Misty.

Flashback! Smoller Pip!

The moon is at its closest point since magic came back. Fan detectives, get on it.

Everyone's magic is out of control.

Artists, no!

Looks like it's going to be a Detective Zipp episode.

Once again Sunny is not remotely listening to Zipp.

Why were forks invented?

MYM should just leave plots like this to TYT, since this show can do crowds.

G5 now has its own elite flyer group.

I would immediately guess that it has something to do with the moon being close.

I like pancakes too, but dang.

I like that they don't linger on Posey's rage this time. Things just happen to her.

Just block the moon. Zipp has some supervillain instincts in her.

The finale of the finale.

Disaster is striking again and the camera has switched to Posey...

And she just accepts her fate.



This is why TYT got renewed.

 

[Videomaster21XX]

Not going to bother putting that behind spoilers? I mean I guess with TYT it's kinda not really needed being these are just silly shorts, but eh.

Spoiler

So was I really the only one to figure out "Oh they said the moon was closest to the planet since magic came back, Obviously that's what's causing these magic glitches." ?

As for why this never happened before, well. Did it? Did Luna ever bring the Moon closer like this? This magic does indeed work a bit different then what we are used to, but this could have always been a thing we just never saw in G4. We didn't exactly follow their lives for ten years. (We stopped after nine! HEY YO!)

Also why didn't Sunny's alicorn powers get super charged? I mean her alicorn powers always did that, and we had an entire episode of her training to control them. I think she just managed to control them is all. She's used to it.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I don't bother with spoiler tags anymore because these episodes are 5 minutes and not exactly heavy on plot twists.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Oh, and for everyone who thinks the zip and pip memory was a loving sisterly moment... nah. Just nah. Those lamps are heat powered, that was a hot air balloon: and pip was just balast.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

That one little scene made my day.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Spoiler

The moon is at its closest point since magic came back. Fan detectives, get on it.

I assume this is probably a reference to a Supermoon. It's a real life thing, which is pretty rare. It only happens once about a 1000 years. And it's actually going to happen on August 31 of this year.

What Is a Supermoon?

2024 will experience four supermoons in a row.

www.space.com

Why The Moon Is Suddenly Closer To Earth Than For 992 Years—And What It Means

The upcoming New Moon is the ultimate "Supermoon"—the closest the Moon gets to Earth in a period of 1337 years.

www.forbes.com

The moon's perigee, on the other hand, happens about once a month.

What Is Lunar Perigee and Apogee?

The Moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical. The point of the orbit closest to Earth is called perigee, while the point furthest away from Earth is known as apogee.

www.timeanddate.com

As for why this never happened before, well. Did it? Did Luna ever bring the Moon closer like this? This magic does indeed work a bit different then what we are used to, but this could have always been a thing we just never saw in G4. We didn't exactly follow their lives for ten years. (We stopped after nine! HEY YO!)

Might as well give this my best shot. *cracks knuckles*

Okay, well, the biggest problem is that this never happened in G4.

Mostly because, the Moon was always under SOMEONE'S control in G4. Even when Luna was imprisoned in the Moon, Celestia was supposedly controlling it's rise and fall. I assume whoever was controlling the Moon always kept it a equal distance away from the planet...just because. It was under their control and there really wouldn't be any reason for whoever was controlling the moon to bring it closer to the planet. But, after Magic disappeared, I assume the Moon took a more natural orbit around the planet.

Unless...since Twilight sealing all the magic away in the Unity Crystals was probably fairly abrupt, it's possible that Luna never got the chance to properly "stabilize" the Moon's orbit, making it slightly irregular. So the Moon coming so close to the planet MIGHT not be "natural" so much as something that got "interrupted" when magic disappeared.

But another problem is...MLP's magic system was NEVER tied to the Moon before. I THINK we've seen spells before that might have had Moonlight or something as a ingredient, but I don't think we've ever had magic itself tied to the phases of the Moon, before. Mind you, it makes sense to do so. The Moon in real life is a big part of various witchcraft, alchemy, and other magical practices. There's a lot of magic STUFF tied to the Moon...it just really hasn't been too big a part of MLP's magic system before, which is more emotion and relationship based, by and large.

So, here's some possible explanations that I can brainstorm:

1. The Moon is effecting Magic the same way the real life Moon effects the oceans and the tides. Since it's so close, Magic is getting "pulled" towards it, and then maybe snapping back like a rubber band. Thusly, causing the instability we see here.

2. Magic is back, but no one's controlling the Moon like before, and they're interfering with each other for some reason. Since no one has Moon-controlling magic yet, the Moon is still following a "natural" orbit around the planet. But, the Magic..."waves" or whatever might be getting interfered with. We know the Brighthouse is acting as some sort of radio antenna for the magic signal, so maybe the Moon being so close is causing the Magic waves to "bounce" in strange ways. Like Radio signals travelling farther or shorter distances due to storm clouds.

3. A variant on #2, it's possible that the Moon was ALWAYS a source for magic, but it's "stream" of magic was kept stable by Luna controlling the Moon. When Magic disappeared, the orbit became a more "natural" orbit, and when it gets closer, the planet gets "sprayed" with more magic particles than when it's farther away. Under this theory, the Sun would ALSO be shooting out magic, but since the Sun is relatively more stable it doesn't vary as much and doesn't come closer to the planet.

4. There's something else on the Moon that's causing this effect. We never went to the Moon in the G4 cartoon...but in IDW comics, it WAS populated by a host of dream creatures (who...MIGHT be all dead from magic disappearing...good thing IDW isn't canon, that'd be horrifying). It's possible there's some sort of "Lunar Temple" or residual magic still on the Moon itself from Luna's imprisonment that could be causing this effect.

5. The Moon is "testing" ponies, trying to find a new "master". Basically...what if the Moon is looking for another Luna? And giving everyone more magic to see how they handle it? This would imply the Moon is sentient, which has NEVER been the case...but it's not impossible in MLP's setting.

6. The Moon's just a red herring, and didn't cause this after all. Maybe it's a future plot point. *shrugs* VERY doubtful, but possible.

7. It's just a cartoon, we probably shouldn't overthink it. The writers just thought it would make for a cute episode, and it'll probably never be mentioned or referenced ever again.

...8. That's not a Moon at all. The REAL Moon got destroyed after G4. This is actually a secret base for aliens, and they're running experiments to see how ponies react to changes in their magic.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I see no particular reason why this effect couldn't have happened in the age of G4. Ponies just knew about it and took appropriate precautions. It's very easy to just not schedule air shows that night. It's probably a bit more bothersome for unicorns to avoid levitating things that night, but that's what they get for being so OP every other day.

No one needed to remember the rules when magic went away.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

The problem with that is...we never saw it happen. It never came up. And given how much ponies during G4 spread urban legends about Nightmare Moon, if there WAS a night where the Moonlight messed up your magic....the ponies DEFINITELY would have called it "The Curse of Nightmare Moon". Honestly, Nightmare Night being the night where everyone's powers get screwed up would have worked....but that's not what happened.

You could always retcon it in, but it wouldn't be a particularly good retcon. It wouldn't really add anything to the world, just explaining away a messy plot point in a awkward way. I think it'd be better if it's the result of something that happened in the timeskip. That way you at least get some world building out of it and/or fill in some gaps in the timeline for the fans. But, opinions will vary.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Maybe it's not a curse. Maybe it's possible to control it and make it productive. Sunny maintained control, after all. It's just something they'll have to relearn.

Maybe G4 ponies never talked about it because they just do productive things that day. Or this phenomenon is maybe not quite as rare as our equivalent but still rare enough that it just didn't happen in the however many years we got to see. That's unsatisfying but utterly plausible.

 

[Videomaster21XX]

Maybe it's not a curse. Maybe it's possible to control it and make it productive. Sunny maintained control, after all. It's just something they'll have to relearn.

Maybe G4 ponies never talked about it because they just do productive things that day. Or this phenomenon is maybe not quite as rare as our equivalent but still rare enough that it just didn't happen in the however many years we got to see. That's unsatisfying but utterly plausible.

Like I said when I was being cheeky. G4 only ran for 9 seasons. If we play around with each season being roughly a year, this event could have just happened before the series, and then again after. Honestly I say it's a thing Luna and Celestia maybe knew about and either kept from happening, or let it happen but made pre cautions. I mean if this was a thing that always happened, I don't think they'd call it "The curse of Nightmare Moon" because it was going on long before Nightmare Moon was even a thing, and Celestia sure as heck wouldn't want it being known as that.

I find it very plausible and logical it just never came up in G4. That's just how shows are. There are a lot of things that probably happen that we just don't see.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

They already have so many holidays. Back when magic was more taken for granted maybe they barely noticed this one.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Even then, pony society in g4 was kinda powerfully diurnal. If they just skipped out on the concept of lunar festivals entirely: who would even notice? Unless a supermoon happened during nightmare night, there's basically no one except the royal guards up during the night and they are practiced in discipline.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

 

[Videomaster21XX]

That wasn't bad. Can't really think of much to say about it.

Spoiler

Though I am curious as to how the critters knew to bring Sunny and Hitch.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Spoiler

Wow, that bottle's AMAZING! Wait...you mean there's something IN the bottle? Even better!

God is trying to give Pipp a warning with these earthquakes.

Oh, apparently, Pipp's new perfume attracts critters. What'd she make it out of, carrots?

Posey's going to be attracting critters for weeks with that perfume. At least she won't have to worry about them invading her garden. Instead, they'll be invading her HOME! Posey's rage is justified count: 1.

...Izzy...what did you do...

Literal garbage, of course. To be fair the perfume might make decent compost, I guess.

"As if we're just going to stumble across a flower never before discovered by..." ...You don't know your own world very well, do you?

That's not poison joke, is it?

These flowers were literally 3 feet away from the trail, HOW did they stay hidden?

A flower that smells like your favorite things. That's...going to backfire, isn't it?

There's NOTHING else going on in this town, is there? Nothing better to do on a nice day other than go to a perfume unveiling? Really?

...What does law and order smell like? Jail cells and paperwork? Handcuff polish? Coffee and donuts?

Okay, smelling like a polished hooficure doesn't sound like a good thing. Those chemicals can be kind of nasty.

Wait, Pipp wasn't going to SELL this perfume? How did she think this was going to go?

Posey's been saving this tomato since Bridlewoodstock. It's nice and juicy! She's named it...Karma!

Don't these flowers have seeds or something? Couldn't she re-plant these flowers? I mean, they MUST only be able to grow in this one field, for some reason, but she really should be able to grow more.

Wow, you can pinpoint the exact moment Mother Nature's had enough!

Apparently, these flowers were the only thing keeping the forest alive. Okay.

A small army? Oh, Pipp's hundreds of loyal fans, I suppose...oh, no it's the critters. Okay, that works, too, I guess.

Kidnapped by critters....just another Thursday in Maretime Bay.

Earth pony magic gets to save the day! Man...that's like Aquaman getting to save the day in a Justice League story. It doesn't happen often, and requires HIGHLY specific circumstances, but it's nice to see once in a while.

So...can Pipp cut down this NEW tree? It wasn't here before, after all. Oh, the forest is literally giving her flowers. It's...sentient. That's...creepy. It's watching you all the time.

Kind of seems like the forest can protect itself, since it can guilt trip any ponies who wrong it. Just like a REAL mother! But...nice lesson...I guess.

Theses ponies give Pipp WAY too many chances with these perfumes. Are stinky ponies really THAT big a concern in this town?

And who is making these unique bottles for her, anyway? Does Pipp design the bottles, too?

I feel like Pipp should have learned a lesson here about NOT manipulating the local wildlife into unpaid chemically induced slave labor....but it's for a good cause, I guess. Pipp's just the queen of the critters now. (And Hitch will be her KING!)

Though I am curious as to how the critters knew to bring Sunny and Hitch.

Well, some owls WERE bringing Zipp along, too. But, she got stuck in a tree.

And Misty was with Opaline, ironically to get a ancient magical item that could control the mind of critters to join her dark army.

 

[Videomaster21XX]

Spoiler

Wow, that bottle's AMAZING! Wait...you mean there's something IN the bottle? Even better!

God is trying to give Pipp a warning with these earthquakes.

Oh, apparently, Pipp's new perfume attracts critters. What'd she make it out of, carrots?

Posey's going to be attracting critters for weeks with that perfume. At least she won't have to worry about them invading her garden. Instead, they'll be invading her HOME! Posey's rage is justified count: 1.

...Izzy...what did you do...

Literal garbage, of course. To be fair the perfume might make decent compost, I guess.

"As if we're just going to stumble across a flower never before discovered by..." ...You don't know your own world very well, do you?

That's not poison joke, is it?

These flowers were literally 3 feet away from the trail, HOW did they stay hidden?

A flower that smells like your favorite things. That's...going to backfire, isn't it?

There's NOTHING else going on in this town, is there? Nothing better to do on a nice day other than go to a perfume unveiling? Really?

...What does law and order smell like? Jail cells and paperwork? Handcuff polish? Coffee and donuts?

Okay, smelling like a polished hooficure doesn't sound like a good thing. Those chemicals can be kind of nasty.

Wait, Pipp wasn't going to SELL this perfume? How did she think this was going to go?

Posey's been saving this tomato since Bridlewoodstock. It's nice and juicy! She's named it...Karma!

Don't these flowers have seeds or something? Couldn't she re-plant these flowers? I mean, they MUST only be able to grow in this one field, for some reason, but she really should be able to grow more.

Wow, you can pinpoint the exact moment Mother Nature's had enough!

Apparently, these flowers were the only thing keeping the forest alive. Okay.

A small army? Oh, Pipp's hundreds of loyal fans, I suppose...oh, no it's the critters. Okay, that works, too, I guess.

Kidnapped by critters....just another Thursday in Maretime Bay.

Earth pony magic gets to save the day! Man...that's like Aquaman getting to save the day in a Justice League story. It doesn't happen often, and requires HIGHLY specific circumstances, but it's nice to see once in a while.

So...can Pipp cut down this NEW tree? It wasn't here before, after all. Oh, the forest is literally giving her flowers. It's...sentient. That's...creepy. It's watching you all the time.

Kind of seems like the forest can protect itself, since it can guilt trip any ponies who wrong it. Just like a REAL mother! But...nice lesson...I guess.

Theses ponies give Pipp WAY too many chances with these perfumes. Are stinky ponies really THAT big a concern in this town?

And who is making these unique bottles for her, anyway? Does Pipp design the bottles, too?

I feel like Pipp should have learned a lesson here about NOT manipulating the local wildlife into unpaid chemically induced slave labor....but it's for a good cause, I guess. Pipp's just the queen of the critters now. (And Hitch will be her KING!)


Well, some owls WERE bringing Zipp along, too. But, she got stuck in a tree.

And Misty was with Opaline, ironically to get a ancient magical item that could control the mind of critters to join her dark army.

Spoiler

And Misty was with Opaline, ironically to get a ancient magical item that could control the mind of critters to join her dark army.

I can see it a bit differently. Misty was indeed with Opaline, and the critters grabbed her, but Opaline was just like: "Oh Misty, whatever you are doing, do try to be home by dinner so you can make it. I hate cooking you know."

 

[wonko the sane?]

Damnit pip! You knew what would happen if you pressed it, why did you press it INSIDE?!?!

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I can tell from the thumbnail that I'm gonna like this one.

That's the problem with natural smells. Nature doesn't smell great.

Bad Izzy.

That was the most Rarity sounding "NOOOO!"

Bridlewood. Expect some weirdness.

Izzy hasn't seen this before?

Flower of Erised.

Posey never leaves her house without tomatoes for exactly this reason.

Pipp could just grow these flowers and wait to release the product. ... What am I saying? She could give a sample to an earth pony for some miracle growing.

"amazing flowers"

The animators had fun at work.

"Wait, what?"

Seeing Sunny doing earth pony magic without a hint of alicornness is kind of a treat.

Bridlewood is slowly turning into a Ghibli forest.

Certified organic.