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@Background Pony #CCBF
But they are friends. Its at the start of the movie. Sunny, Hitch and Sprout all grew up together as childhood friends.

Hitch asks Sunny if she could maybe be friends with Sprout.

Sunny: Friends?! Hitch, why would I want to be friends with somepony whose values are fundamentally incompatible with mine?

Hitch says maybe she could at least be civil with Sprout.

Sunny says she refuses to be civil with racists.

@deathsia
The inherent problem with the G4 movie is that we were seven season in, and all the most important character development for The Mane Six was done ages ago. The whole reason characters like Capper and The Pirates were added was so that the movie would at least have some character development.

@Roseluck
I do try.

Looking for contrast, and for how something fits into an arc goes a long way.

As for the alicorns, I think they’re just chosen ones that show up as they’re needed. Celestia took over raising the sun so that the unicorns wouldn’t have to sacrifice their magic. With Twilight, I’m willing to accept that she was probably going to become an alicorn eventually, even if the transition itself wasn’t handled very well.

@TOMNICE
Why does alicorns even need to be explained in the first place? Do you think the target demographic of 5-12 year old girls care about the deep intricate lore of horses gaining wings and horns? Even if it did do that, then chances are there’ll be wide disagreements in the fandom about it. It’s best to just leave it up to the imagination and fill in the blanks because it’s not like we’re dealing with a high stakes fantasy or sci-fi show here.

[@deaths
@deathsia

Lol

and you might be right with that, cause that an image of a memory stone is shown near the end of the movie, which means that someone or something might’ve made them forget of what really happened between g4 and g5

@TOMNICE
well if you saw dr. wolf’s latest video, you might know what’s gonna happen in the g5 special and/or series

@Shimmering Spectacle
I have.

any of you seen attack on titan?

@Ring Team
Except in those examples you mentioned actually make sense why they should be secrets. Xenomorphs are supposed to be scary, the empire is supposed to be evil.

But not in MLP. Why do Celestia and Luna keep their origins a secret? You would think they gonna finally tell Twilight Sparkle how this whole thing works after she took their place, let alone after she became an alicorn just like them. Are they actually tyrants who keep all the knowledge for themselves from the public like some sort of dystopia?

Equestria is supposed a cute colorful place with caring and loving rulers, but because of this many plotholes it is hard to ignore the implications.

Something else I would’ve loved to see is one extra moment of Hitch and Zipp being an action duo at the climax:

“The lighthouse is gonna collapse!”
“We won’t be able to reach them in time!”
“Maybe not alone…”
*Hitch and Zipp give one another a nod in sync*
*Hitch leaps onto his back as Zipp leaps onto his hooves, then the pair catapult her with their combined momentum to catch Sunny and Izzy from the collapsing building*

@TOMNICE
Darth Vader was cool until we got the Star Wars prequels. And the Xenomorphs were scary when we didn’t know too much about them.

I think we need some mystery instead of explanations and exposition.

@Ring Team
That sounds like a lame excuse for lazy writing.

I don’t know, I want some mystery when it comes to the alicorns. There’s nothing like your imagination to fill this mystery.

@deathsia
You’re right, i don’t want that.

But i expect it all the same.

Setting up a consistent lore would benefit them in the long run. No one like a plot device that is never fully explained or worse, tweaked to suit the plot as it demands it.

It’s like those cartoons where the protagonist gets a new power or ability out of no where and the only explanation for it is their super power (aka: plot device) spontaneously developed it because it suited the plot of the episode.

I think we can all agree that we don’t want the lore of the Alicorn to be little more than a plot device used for the convenience of an episode’s plot and then tossed away until needed again.

@TOMNICE
Why would they answer any questions and set up barriers for themselves?

@Northern Verve
Either G5 will finally answer how alicorns actually work or it will still treat the whole thing like a cryptic secret for whatever reason.

I don’t have too much of a problem with Sunny becoming an Alicorn at the end (Even if it’s rather strangely designed which some have said may mean it’s only a powerup of some kind). As it could be argued Sunny has earned it over years of trying to unite the ponies (It’s just screentime wise, we got to know Twilight over the course of 2 1/2 seasons before she ascended. Plus the implied studenthood under Celestia ever since she was a filly. Of which was unclear of what she was being trained for, up until she ascended)

Though uh… it does sort of entrap the writers of the series in quite a few ways. Alicorn lore is something not even G4 really answered all that well, and I’d understand the frustations about that for FiM originally. The ending of the G5 movie however makes sure that they inherit this issue faster then it would otherwise.

You already have so many questions hurled at the writers team based on just the premise. Now you have whether Sunny’s form is permanent (She didn’t turn back before the end of the movie, plus there’s concept art of a more permanent looking Alicorn form suggesting that at least at one point, this was going to be permanent) or not added as a question. If it is permanent, why the quite different, glowy design (…Other then the cynical look at it by saying it’s just to match the design of the toy), and will she be acknowledged as a Princess are added as questions that may need immediate answers. And even if it isn’t permanent, there was never a case of temporary alicornication for the sole exception of when Cozy Glow was an Alicorn in the final two-parter after receiving power from Grogar’s Bell. And the horn and wings looked just as part of her body as the other Alicorns. Could be seen as something of an overreaction to what went down when Twilight ascended “Uh…. the fan base split itself when we ascended Twilight. You sure we want to do that again? What if we met it half way, made it a power-up of some kind?” though that method having some head scratching of it’s own.

Alicorns have generally been a head scratcher even before Twilight ascended what with Cadence’s debut and the many different interpretations of Luna’s personality before she finally appeared in Luna Eclipsed. But Sunny seemingly becoming one certainly brings that issue up to the forefront again. Not to mention how this easily branches into the other questions. We don’t know how long the timeframe is exactly between G4 and G5. But we know Celestia and Luna have lived for more then 1000 years. And it’s not like they looked all that old when they retired. So… what was the fate of all the Alicorns we knew? You have Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, and young Flurry Heart. Maybe even potentially Luster Dawn if perhaps she eventually went that far as Twilight’s student.

Either way, it’s so many questions. And not many easy answers. It’s just another of those things that would have been easier on everyone (On both fans, and the G5 writers and staff) if G5 had been it’s own world like every other MLP generation that had a show, or at the very least G4 was fictional in G5’s world in a very meta sense.

It may have a few pacing issues but its clear that they gave a damn about plot integrity at least since they tried to keep it consistent.

For all the praise I give “open your eyes” from Gen 4 MLP movie, aside from a few moments that genuinely impressed me, the movie was shoved forward several times with music numbers instead of giving us plot and/or character development. This meant that unlike the Gen 5 Movie, the director of Gen 4 either didn’t care enough and was in it for the paycheck or he was too inexperienced with the franchise.

@DerpyFast
Seen like this, I dislike Sunny a lot less. You’re actually making me look forward to her development in the show.

I always appreciate your posts. They’re among the standards I try (and fail) to live up to when it comes to contributing good to the forums.

@DerpyFast
I feel it’s temporary too. A teaser of what’s to come, both for the audience and for Sunny herself. “Congratulations for your first step on the journey to ascension.”

Wouldn’t be surprised if the writers subverted the end of that journey, honestly. No idea how though, other than just ‘Sunny doesn’t actually become an alicorn.’

@TOMNICE
Maybe cut for time. The movie has pacing issues throughout.

Would Queen Haven and Phyllis be friends? They’re both single mothers who have a position of power in their respective communities.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
I honestly do not get why they deleted that bonding moment. We rarely see this much affection between family members in mainstream media nowdays.

@TOMNICE
I still believe that Phyllis was also at fault for the conflict so if anything, she also could’ve been punished in any way.