YES!!! Oh I thought they'd stopped making them!!! Welcome back, Sherclop Pones!

And lol haterz gonna hate. Who cares if they do?

Hmm. I think the "typical ponies" generated by the algorithm more match the "typical background ponies," because it seems to me that the coats of the mane 6 (or even minor ponies that still have speaking roles, like Cherry Jubilee for example) are quite a bit more vibrant (i.e., "saturated," going by the terms used in the study) than those ponies generated by the algorithm. This of course I feel is done on purpose by the show's pony designers too, because the "background ponies" are, for the most part, supposed to stay in the "background" lol, and so they're not made to stand out so much. So I imagine their hues would be purposely less vibrant than the mane 6's etc.

Nice research though. =D My background is in the natural sciences, so for me, Ponies Science = <333

Hehehe I was waiting for someone to make thissss~! XD

Hmm. Well honestly when I sat down to think about it, Starlight Glimmer wasn't such a terrible pony. I mean, look at her cutie mark, you guys. Her special talent is to take away _other_ ponies' special talents. How is a filly supposed to react when they get that cutie mark? How is a pony supposed to leave a good impression on the world with a talent like that? I believe Starlight Glimmer really was doing the best that she could do, and even though she was incrediblyyy misguided, I don't think she ever meant so much harm. What I really think she wants is validation that her talent can be for good too. Honestly I'm not sure if we'll see that in the coming finale, but perhaps some time in the future we will.

This was a GREAT AJ episode. ;.; I'd argue it's one of her best, if not the best AJ episode of the show. She really shone in all aspects of her personality--honesty, her down-to-earth-ness, even the healthy stubbornness to help Rara out. (And omg, is "Rara" supposed to be a reference to "Gaga"? hehe wow! XD ) But seriously though, AJ's element of honesty-ness was absolutely brilliant this whole ep. AJ's always been true to herself, and it hurt her to see an old friend forget the importance of that. To have AJ help Rara go back to who she really was through her songs and her image was lovely and a joy to watch! Fantastic episode!

And thank you so much for this episode and for all of your work, Amy Keating Rodgers. :salutes: You shall be missed. ;.;

Why thank you! ^_^

You can see the cutie mark on her in both the animatic and the clip above, even though it's very very faint in the new clip. I think that's also supposed to be symbolic. You can barely see what her mark is when she's not doing what she feels in her heart is the right thing to do, but when she finally acts like herself on stage, her cutie mark becomes bright and easy for all to see.

Hmmmm...okay, so here's my theory. Looking at the cutie mark, this is in fact the same pony from the animatic. But it seems this clip comes before the animatic in terms of the story's timeline. As the plot synopsis says, I'm guessing Coloratura is being controlled by her manager, in terms of the songs she sings, her appearance, that kind of thing. The lyrics in "Just a Pony" also support this:

"For I had believed what I was sold
I did all the things that I was told"

In other words, Coloratura doesn't have much creative control on what she wants to do as an artist. This clip above is what she was like when being controlled by her manager.

And thennnn Applejack comes in to visit her old friend, along with the CMC. I'm betting the CMC are going to have a major role in this episode, and they'll be using their new talents again, like they did with Diamond Tiara! Remember how Coloratura's cutie mark glowed brightly on the stage in the animatic? Just like how Diamond Tiara's cutie mark glowed brightly when she realized what her cutie mark really meant and what she should be doing with her talent? I'm betting the CMC (and probably Applejack too) will help Coloratura realize the artist she really wants to be. It's all reflected in the lyrics in "Just a Pony," too.

"I'm here to show you who I am"

She wants to show who she really is as an artist, not a Lady Gaga pop star, but someone more down to earth.

"Threw off the veil, it's finally time"

She literally isn't wearing the veil she's wearing in the above clip anymore, but of course they mean metaphorically too.

There's more to me than glitz and glam"

in the new clip above she says, "Razzle dazzle, glitz and glam, turn it up, it's a spectacle." In other words the stuff she's singing and performing in the new clip is more superficial, but "Just a Pony" is obviously a lot deeper than that. Also, I do love the lines,

"But now I know the real me
And put my heart out on the line
And let the magic in my heart stay true, whoa, whoa, whoa"

Reminds me of Diamond Tiara's "The Pony I Want to Be" reprise,

"I see the light that shines in me
I know I can be my better self"

;.; Looks like it's gonna be another great episode.

I think that's a matter of opinion, and I still disagree with you. :p To me it was saying that Cadance had in fact experienced rage before, just that we haven't seen that particular occurrence of rage, and that past instance was in fact an uncontrollable bout of rage. I can't imagine why else Cadance would have that haunted expression on her face.

Also what you're saying here:

"while she was able to use it in that instant the rage quickly disappeared."

doesn't really make sense to me. I didn't see any reason for Cadance to have rage at Hope in that very instant when she opens the door. I think it more likely that Cadance does in fact have some latent anger in her heart that even she is not aware of, and that's why I found that scene interesting.

Wow so much hate for Hope. I'm not saying her characterization is perfect, but I think her name kind of gives away her character: "Radiant Hope." Hopeful and naively optimistic, even in the face of great pessimism, she literally sees the light in the shadows, refusing to see the worse parts of it. She hasn't aged while living there, showing too that I don't think she's aged mentally while living there either. In other words, she's too hopeful, too trusting, and doesn't think to be a bit more cautious.

It's really too bad she was proven to be wrong about the Umbrum being good; I think the issue would've been more interesting if the Umbrum hadn't turned out to be playing Hope the whole time. If the Umbrum instead had both clear aspects of both goodness (not just manipulating "goodness") and badness, they would've been more three dimensional, and it would've been more interesting where the battle in the final issue of the arc would go. I'm still excited to see the final issue, but I think a different path would've been fascinating too.