After the Fact: The Cutie Re-Mark 

"I'm sorry I keep breaking your stuff" killed me

I can't believe it - You actually managed to finish season 5 XD

The big reason why Sunset's reformation was more accepted than Starlight's is because of the tone on which it ended. Sunset's ended on a harsh but hopeful tone. That Sunset is going to have to suffer because of what she did but that she will end up well. The mane 5 were clearly unhappy with her still and Luna smugly puts her to work. Starlight went out on a very happy tone and showing her already having been fully accepted by the mane 6. That was a much more drastic shift from her being hated as an antagonist to being fully integrated as a friend. Because it switched from one thing to the next so quickly it didn't feel earned.

dang it Silver Quill quit breaking the universe! We're running out of scotch tape!

11:18 About Starlight's backstory, there's a little something that hints towards it in "The Parent Map". Here's an interesting thought user "AC97" brought up: Sunburst, after leaving town, his mother would write him letters every other day or so, and he, getting sick of it, started throwing them out. Starlight, let's say she didn't muster up the resolve to try writing until say, weeks or months down the line (believe it or not, that sounds like something I could definitely see myself doing.), but at that point, Sunburst was routinely throwing out letters that came from that place, automatically presuming they came from Stellar Flare. And that is why Starlight writing to Sunburst didn't end up working out.

"Equal" and "same" are two very, VERY different things: Equal is everyone being treated as if they are just as valuable as a person as anyone else. This is a good thing, and should be encouraged. Same is everyone having to be at the same level of ability, wealth, looks, etc. as everyone else, for fear of someone being jealous. This is a very BAD thing, and should be shut down with extreme prejudice. Those who don't recognize this difference become extremely horrible people, discriminating against anyone they see as "privileged" in the name of fighting against discrimination. i.e., Hypocrites of one of the worst types imaginable.

I think the point they were trying to get across was that even if Starlight changed the past to the point where she got her friend back, other's might experience the same pain she did. But she was so obsessed with her own views of right and wrong, she blinded herself to accepting the fact she could be wrong. In the end it's not much different from how Tirek's arrogance lead him to believe he was so powerful nothing could stop him. Power, in the end, make's you too arrogant.

"I'm sorry. I keep breaking. Your stuff." The way he said that just killed me!

Sunburst leaving wasn't the only event in Starlight's life. He was just a spark that she left to start the fire.

Only took you 4 years, but then again, I'm pround for you. I also hope your future is full of great memories and less injuries.

Ahh, the tongue in cheek humor. Nice to have you back Silver

Starlight's face in the title card is priceless. Also, Doctor Who reference!!!

YOU FINALLY FINISHED SEASON 5! I'm so proud!

16:50 you fool! Some of us are still recovering since that war!

I don't think it's fair to say Starlight is more powerful, or even more skilled, in magic than Twilight. When you compare Starlight and Twilight I think the consideration has to be split into at least three sub-categories: power, control, and aptitude. In terms of raw power I think we can safely say Twilight wins handily, even as a unicorn. We've yet to see Starlight do anything to the power level of levitating the Ursa Minor and water tower simultaneously in Boast Busters. There's also the fact that Twilight could tank Starlight's blast at the end of The Cutie Map part 2 with ease. Yes Starlight is on the upper end of the power scale for unicorns, but in my opinion still not equal to even unicorn Twilight. In terms of control, they both seem to be about equal in casting complex spells. In Starlight's favor she's mastered the self levitation trick which we've seen few unicorns use. In Twilight's favor she managed to get a handle on all the alicorn magic in Equestria quickly and master it well enough to use in battle against Tirek. I think we can call them even in this, though debatably the win could go to Twilight. Now we come to aptitude. This is the category where I think Starlight has the clear advantage. She uses magic much more creatively and flexibly than Twilight does. This isn't to say she knows more spells, or even more about how magic works. Twilight has the benefit of an above top tier education, whereas Starlight is mostly self-taught. While this likely means Twilight has a greater understanding of the underpinnings of magic, it's a strong mark in Starlight's favor that she can match Twilight despite the lesser education. Regarding their fight in The Cutie Re-Mark: Twilight is zipping around throwing blast after blast of powerful magic while tanking whatever Starlight throws at her, then popping off to deal with alternate futures only to come back and resume the fight. In contrast Starlight is moving the minimum required to dodge Twilight's attacks (never tanking them) and only attacking just enough to prevent Twilight from controlling the tempo of the fight, and she gets to rest while Twilight is dealing with alternate futures. But in the end they're both equally exhausted. Another example is Twilight in Twilight's Kingdom. Yes, she had all the alicorn magic at that point, but even divided by four that's an enormous amount of power. Can we truly say that if Twilight cut loose with that sort of firepower Starlight would stand a chance? The problem in the Cutie Re-Mark is two-fold, the first is she doesn't want to kill or even seriously injure Starlight and probably isn't really sure how much she can take, and the second is she's trying to keep it low key as to not disrupt Rainbow's sonic rainboom. There's also that Twilight just doesn't have the right temperament to be a good fighter. If you wanted to say Starlight is the better fighter, then I could get behind that. Hell, both Rainbow and Applejack are better fighters than Twilight. But more powerful? I don't see it.

Warning! If using headphones, turn down the volume before the end.

I always felt that it would be more fitting if Rainbow's rainboom caused Starlight to fail her own entrance exam (the way it helps Twilight pass hers) Starlight never finds out who caused the explosion until Twilight's presentation, and that's her motivation to change history. This would also explain why she was never recognized and enrolled for her magic ability, and why she struck out to form a society where ponies aren't judged based on their special talent.

To your point about the issues with the alternate timelines, and if anyone stopped the previous villains before that timeline Twilight ends up in. They do show that, yes, these villains were stopped. It's very quick, but when you see the Discord timeline, Celestia and a reformed Luna are trying to stop him. This implies that Celestia was able to stop her sister when she returned, and reform her. This also implies that Celestia was the one who stopped the villains when they rose up. Which also implies that her power is enough to stop big villains, yet not reliable as she failed sometimes, but succeeded others. This actually becomes an interesting topic maybe deserves a supplement video. Was Celestia simply failing to stop major threats so Twilight could step up? If she had the power to stop these villains in alternate timelines, then why didn't she show this power before? Or any time on screen?

Silverquill: I'm sorry I keep breaking your stuff... Me: Are you?... Are you really???...

Dude, your version of the Season 5 Finale is a LOT better than the original. I'd watch it.

"Full on threat." Bwa ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good one.

I never really realized it with the theme from the main cast from saving the world to near secondary characters saving the world. I didn't like the season 5 finale back then but I was interested in the alternate futures what would've happened if the villains succeeded or have no one stopping them.

Colonel: "Silver what have you done? You changed the future! You've created a Time Paradox!!"

Twilight in the title card-"Oh Celestia, he can time travel..." Starlight in the title card-"AND THEN THERE'S *THIS* HORSEAPPLE."

The old man Silver Quill was from a far future in which he finished reviewing S6

I don't think Diamond Tiara was ever a villain and she's not reformed, she's a bully who's grown up.

*eyes start burning when I notice Silver's coat*

No mention of Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate? She refused the opportunity to change/correct something in her past because "my mistakes are part of who I am"

I remember RarityDash once saying that Starlight's single bad moment leading her to resent cutie marks is supposed to tie in with the theme of changing even one event in the past can lead to drastic differences in the future. The butterfly effect I believe it's called.

In School Raze Starlight was basically trapped in a bubble of ALL of Equestria's magic including time magic and this could explain why she is so powerful. She was probably thinking something along the lines of "If only I had been more powerful I could have stopped Cosy Glow" and the magic responded by making here more powerful in the past fro average unicorn to twilight level. Basically creating a time loop where: because she was so powerful she became a villain then twilights pupil leading her to get trapped and in the position to make her past self more powerful.

Another Silver Quill video! It must be my B-day. 😎

The Clockwork Consequence on Fimfiction is a great Nightmare Moon timeline story.

Get Smart was a huge part of my childhood, the fact that you used that clip made my day. Oh, and good job on the video, too. I don't entirely agree with how people dislike the handling of Starlight's motivation and reformation, I thought it was done really well and gave all the information needed, but I can agree that the version you offered is better.

Your work is always fantastic Silver you delightfully dubious dove!

Congratulations Silver! I'll be around to watch your phenomenal reviews until youve finished this entire series!!!

People forget that it doesn't matter if she felt sorry for her actions. She committed mass genocide and hurt so many people just because she was too lazy to try to make a new friend or keep in contact with Sunburst. She is a murderer, and the show expects us to just forget and forgive that. When we make costly mistakes like that, we must face the consequences for our actions. And she faced absolutely NONE. By stopping Rainbow Dash so many times, she caused these chains of events which leads to Equestria and every living thing in it suffering! And she continued to do horrible things even after her so-called reformation! That brain manipulation thing she kept doing for one!

for the flim flam brothers are perfect for a lorax future with them always taking and scamming anyone they plz while doing shortcuts

"Twilight wasn't the element of magic because of her raw power." No, but she still does have raw power. Her talent is still magic. She was the best student at the best magic school in all of Equestria taught by one of the greatest magic users in all of Equestria. Even if Starlight is another gifted unicorn, there's no logical reason that she should be on par with Twilight who has ascended to alicorn level, let alone be better than her.

Actually Old Quil took care of the universe by combusting...thoughtful of him. Mst3k: It just a show relax. But . .

I heard that Starlight was a latchkey kid too so that might have played a role as to why Starlight was so attached to Sunburst.

Huh. I didn't notice the Timeline Tints the first time around. Neat effect. Whelp, only 3 going on 4 seasons to go!

5:20 I actually can see Fluttershy saying things like that. She deeply cares for others and so in times of war she would do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves.

I think the change of review is necessary and good. Although, I'll admit I'm going to miss the recap with your shenanigans.

The alternate future thing still would've been more interesting if the Pillars never banished the Sirens.

i started following your channel from your last review of season 4 and waited weekly for your early season five episodes.... now u've finally finished season five, I'm so happy

Woah!! I caught this on the same day it was posted! Yaaay!! Another excellent addition, SQ! I always enjoy your content :D

You can see starlight Glimmer apologizing to the town she enslaved at the end of the episode which is a good thing because if it weren't for that and how she felt horrible after enslaving her friends just to avoid hanging out with them in every little thing she does she would be a much less likeable character

Despite the slightly faulty ending, this is a very good, ambitious, and thought provoking season finale.

I still think Starlight's massive leap in power could be most easily explained by her being replaced by a Changeling. A member of a different Hive, not Chrysalis's. One where they have a ability so powerful the Changelings are convinced they are who they are pretending to be.

Thanks, once again, Silver for the great insight to some of our favorite characters. I always enjoy listening and learning something new you have to share with us, it's helped me out a lot. :)

Look I won't act like this finale was perfect because it's not, this was haber's first two parter and it does show in the episode. However I do think Starlight's reform was handled well, Amending fences showed us how something as small as missing a party can have huge consequences for someone's emotional state. So it didn't seem like a stretch to me that Starlight would become like this over cutie marks. For that to happen would mean she kept those feelings in and ignored them until they just festered into bitterness and anger, she never allowed herself to say what she really needed to say. But Twilight starts pushing her to say it. You can see as she finally let's out all of her fears and frustrations that she softens more and more. I never saw a problem with the way this went down cause you can see it through her expressions as it's happening. I also disagree with the notion that she interacts with the mane six just through montage. Seasons 7 and 8 have shown her hanging out with or talking them more and they've allowed her to be in more episodes even if she's not the focus. That's why I consider to be a new main character because episode count wise she's been equaling the other main characters in terms of apperances after season 6. I had no problem with her getting the spotlight for the finale because it was apart of a character arc that does pay off in that finale. The only other thing that was left to do was to put Starlight in a position where she's the one that needed to be saved, and School Raze did that. Now there's no doubt in my mind that the writers see the mane six and Starlight on equal ground. Which is a good thing when you consider that season 9 is the last one and they'll need to work on giving satisfying endings to everybody who was important to the show.

I found it funny that were wearing the 6th Doctor’s outlandish outfit!

2:55 Given how she struggles to find her way around the castle during the following season, I'm amazed she managed to find the throne room before Twilight arrived xD

Great job as always. Always enjoy your videos. They make me feel better when ever I am feeling down.

13:24 - On the topic of discord, I’d say that his shift over Fluttershy’s friendship makes a lot of sense to me, because in a way, Discord is a lot like me... Explaining everything would take forever due to certain similarities and complexities, so moving onto the part that matters: Discord appears to not have had any friends prior to Fluttershy (or we haven’t seen any info to the contrary) and as a result, he is extremely protective of that friendship, nearing obsession. He doesn’t want to lose that friendship, even if it means changing himself. Why is that? Presumably (using my own experiences) because in a way he knows he’s different, that he’s hard to get along with, and now that he has others that actually care about him - or at the very least, are willing to try - he doesn’t want to lose that feeling; it’s like a drug to him, and even if he tried to ignore it, he’s different now... In short, he’s felt friendship - true friendship - and he’s terrified of losing it. Thinking about it, Starlight makes sense in a way too. She lost a friend, and - knowing what we now know - that fear of losing someone else prevented her from making another friend. Are those entirely healthy ways of life? Of course not! But that’s the thing - fear isn’t always a healthy feeling. Is it good? Of course! It’s there to protect you... But there are also the fears that don’t make sense. ... I really should stop getting into analising things in the comments section. It always turns into a massive comment XD I’m honestly protective of discord, really XD

(looks at thumbnail) ..... Someone's been watching Weird Al's music video for Tacky.

How long have we waited for this?! Wooooooo

Itsgreat to have you back

This was my favorite season finale until Season 6 decided to top itself with To where and back again. I personally had no problem with Starlight's reformation mostly because I didn't think it was rushed at all compared to few other villains I could name and in the end we got an entire season where they continued with that reformation. Seriously, after season 5 I haven't disliked a single episode, as far as I'm concerned the show has just gotten better and better and I think they started that positive change by bringing Starlight in.

I feel that Twilight wasn’t “making a connection” more she was going “please please don’t end the world!!! Please!!!”

She is a freaking alicorn. How the hell is one unicorn more powerful than a alicorn?

Stopped watching the show recently. But thank God he's reviewing episodes from back when I watched the show.

I honestly wished we saw more of the sombra future , cause that was BADASS 😁👌

I'd be interested in reading your complete rewrite of the episode as you proposed it. It seems to have a lot details that could make Starlight's reformation much smoother than it was. Thanks for taking the time to do this episode.

I love these videos. They give such insightful ideas about these episodes. And another surprise appearance of the Faust!

You always bring the best context with your presentations. I absolutely adore your videos, Silver. And you left me with two really neat original thoughts to ponder. I had always accepted Dash's reaction to the mention of Celestia to be fear of the reaction Luna would have and not a fear of being outed. As the element of loyalty I thought it odd she would renounce Celestia at all. Or because her cutie mart was altered would she no longer be loyal. You have given a wonderful new interpretation to that scene. Secondly your alternate take on how the finale COULD have been written is marvelous. That is some quality work you have there. Best wishes to everyone as we enter our final chapter of pone. May we end on the highest of notes. And I hope to see you all at BC this year. Later friends

This is my favorite finale of the first five seasons, and Starlight's redemption is one of my favorite things in the entire series

very well-thought-out, insightful, entertaining stuff as always, Silver Quill! i always appreciate your perspective. one thing, though: you've echoed something a lot of other people have said, that it's difficult to understand and relate to Starlight since we only have that one moment where Starburst leaves her behind. having... honestly pretty severe social anxiety, dealing with a lot of betrayal in my own life, i've always been very sympathetic toward Starlight and her feelings in that moment, and don't find it difficult at all to relate to her. ............ this is a thought i literally just had right now, but i wonder if there were people who felt they weren't being as well-represented as other personality types in the show (shy people --> Fluttershy, "nerds" --> Twilight, etc), and if perhaps Starlight was meant to be that representation for them. to show people who deal with cynicism, fear, bitterness etc that they can make friends, too.

Now you're only 3 Seasons behind. On this video though, I still think that you are right. They should have done it a different way than how it was in the show. I mean... repeating the exact moment so many times can be boring and repeating it is a chore. Also... with how you put it, would mean that there would have been ripple effects like losing certain aspects (wings, magic... spike!) until reaching said point.

Very good analysis. Minus the Tone at the end, it was well thought out and involved.

16:49 A mlp theorist that knows about Digimon? My life is complete.

Nice review Silver, just in time for Starlight Day too! Your OC looks really nice in the 6th Doctor's outfit! ^^

4:32 Gotta admit it was nice to see Nightmare Moon again. She was always kind of cute. *Smacks Nightmare Moon on the flank with no fear of consequence*

You went crosseyed at the end there, Silver-Quill. I guess you didn't know from Metal Gear Solid 3 how dangerous it is to create a time paradox. Also, if you're big into time travel, might I suggest an interesting two season show called "Timeless"? It offers a different approach to time travel, history has already been changed by another organization and it's up to a group of three individuals to minimize the damage, but some shifts and changes are inevitable.

I was waiting for you to do this analysis. Keep up the good work and it is epic how you want to go out like a viking

Maybe a bit late, but about the Flim Flam brothers future. They are essentially doing what humans do, taking earths resources for profit without moderation and leaving behind only wasteland. Which can result in harming the planet to the point where even magic can't fix the damage. In all the others timelines (sans the very last one), nature was alive, and only one part, the ponies, were suffering. The brothers not only do immediate damage, but also lasting one.

I really like this alternate scenario you proposed and the end made me burst out of laughter. ^^

It's not just the cutie marks, she just didn't want anyone to leave her or the town she made. Thus the imprisonment and the brainwashing and so forth. Though I am surprised no one made a big deal of Twilight being a alicorn in the past besides Dash.

I am glad you waited on doing this review. looking back on it now, after seeing the next few seasons, have changed the meaning of the episode. For me that is. It makes equestria a more developed place when you look at time events from the past and put it into the future.

Entertaining as always. I especially liked the end. "I'm sorry I keep breaking your stuff."

I found this finally badly written. You have been fun to have Twilight and Starlight stuck in the Nightmare timeline. They tried to do too much in an hour.

appreciated the fan art post. This is RBComics25

I was watching one of your videos when I got this notification.

Hello God of Awesomeness good to see you again.

The best part of your videos is that they are well thought out. As well as fun. I like the plot line you came up with, & maybe something like that will happen. It is a time travel episode after all. But, the best joke still has to be you saying your sorry of braking Faust-a-corns stuff.

You finished Season 5, great now 3 more seasons to go, take your time.

I'll be honest - this is the episode that disheartened me about the show's direction as a whole. I kept watching for awhile, but nothing could ever quite wash away the bitter taste this episode left behind... But MAN if they had gone the direction you proposed by revealing that an interaction with Sunburst set Twilight on her current path, adding all the more weight to Starlight's choice... that is so good! Would have saved the episode for me, I think. Thank God for your wit and insight, Silver!

I’m pretty sure we’ll be partway through G5 by the time Silver finishes reviewing the series.

Great work with finishing Season 5, Silver Quill. Take a rest from doing Seasons 6 through 8 and get ready for Season 9.

3:00 how bad do you think Starlight had to go to the bathroom by the time Twilight got there? 4:07 I still hold the Ponies were holding back and fighting like that because they knew SOmbra's forced were innocent victims being forced to fight against their will. 5:45 A lot of the villains make sense. Discord would have no issue with any other threat, and his timeline is also the only one we see Luna, so in no other timeline did the Mane 6 take up the Elements to reform her. Possibly Celestia's Plan B for not having Twilight was to reinforce the seal before she was freed, or defeated her herself in all but the NMM timeline, thus no breaking the seal on him. Plenty of ways small things could snowball from there. 7:48 yes she could, she started being able to self-levitate in season 3, but after that no point given she had wings now. Starlight just had a reason to refine the skill. 8:30 But she is still the highest raw power. The issue is she sucks at fighting. Note how in that fight, Starlight had to dodge all Twilight's shots, while Twilight just brushed aside all of Starlight's. The only time Starlight could score a hit was either a sucker punch while Twilight was winding up her magical lazor haymaker, or taking her by surprise. This is people not getting the end all and be all of combat is NOT some arbitrary 'power level'. Eventually, Twilight likely could have worn Starlight down through sheer power, but not without messing up the Rainboom anyway. 13:55 Eh, yeah the ending was a bit rushed, but let's face it, that's par for the course for this show. 16:00 Eh, rarely like the ides of "but what if the story was totally different!" Go with what is actually there, not some vague idea of what you might like better when it requires rewriting so much. 19:10 Pfffffffff, so only another12-15 years till you are done with all the episode? Great fun review, and glad you are still plugging along on these.

Always a delight to see a new silver quill vid 😁👌

How do you keep breaking reality? Could I interest you in some Paradox and or Karma insurance for your season 6 reviews?

The penultimate future is where there is virtually nothing remaining - just rock, sand and wind. Its where Twilight takes Starlight and convinces her to undo her plan. And the part of Twilight being the Element of Magic - its not just her friending potential, its her "knowledge" of spells and magic - not power - that makes her that; remember she can remember and perform spells after only giving them a cursory glance.

Great review Silver. Insightful as always. I hope you keep to your more classic style. Part of what I enjoy in your reviews is in that style: the nearly flawless blend of humour, analysis and the way you approach each episode. In particular, I enjoyed the use of Jungian archetypes in exploring the psychology of each character. If you stop doing this, I think many of your fans, this one especially will be disappointed. I'm not saying don't continue to refine it, only that you should keep what sets you apart from the other reviewers on youtube. I hope you will also continue reviewing episodes even after the show ends in April of this year. As to Flim and Flam being the penultimate doom for Equestria, I'd say it is perhaps not obvious except to people who study economics and politics: They represent that final doom that comes with unhindered, unregulated capitalism without any ethical restraints. Just profit for its own sake. Such a scenario ultimately becomes 'survival of the richest' with the richest pony becoming a dictator like Nightmare moon (or a small group of the super rich do, essentially a plutocracy) with the one(s) with the gold making the golden rules. Theoretically, even Celestia could not stop them because with money comes the power to buy loyalty, including the loyalty of influential people like politicians. While I largely agree with you in your 'two worlds' video where you compare Celstia's benevolent dictatorship to a dystopian night under Nightmare moon, I think there is room for nuance. A world where Celestia is willing to proactively do what is needed to stop threats like Flim and Flam *before* they become a Chrysalis/NMM/King Sombra level threat without becoming a tyrant like Nightmare moon is, in my view, a better solution than Celestia's rule, which takes her 'hooves off' approach to the point of complacency. Again, I need to stress that I *like* Celstia's rule and I agree that it is a testament to her character that she can so effectively run a country while giving her charges the freedom to be themselves, I just think a slightly more proactive approach to certain people who are obvious threats would be better than her current style.

When it comes to the alternate timelines, one theory I favor is that Starlight had a point when she yelled "spare me your ego!" In this theory, while Twilight and the girls never united as the Elements of Harmony, in many of the cases others were there to step up to the tasks instead. Sombra could have been defeated by Cadance and Shining. Luna could have been either re-imprissoned or redeemed through either another team of ponies obtaining the Elements or other magical means. Chrysalis could have been found out by another pony. Especialy in light of the later seasons, we know that Twilight and the girls aren't the only heroes in Equestria, so the idea that other heroes could have stepped in is not that strange.. It's just that without Twilight and the girls, they couldn't stop all the threats. This would give Starlight's comment on Twilight's ego weight, especially given how she has been stalking Twilight and would have known about her heroics. She knows what happened and how these girls stopped all those threats, but she reasoned that even without those six, others would have stepped up instead. And she's not entirely wrong either, given how for example in the Discord future, Luna has been redeemed. Someone would had have to had done that in order for her to be present at Discord's return. It both strengthens Starlight's reasoning that Twilight isn't *that* important, while also not undermining the importance of Twilight and the girls.

The twin shoulder demons bit was priceless!

I think it's a testament to Silver's writing that he's able to make a very fair and balanced review that I enjoy for this episode, even though I still really dislike this episode myself.

I love your flash sentry jokes

That ending....... so close to a Never Ending Story reference, but it seems you tripped.

If there's one great insight I gained from this it's that our past mistakes & suffering are cause & effect to build us up to who we are today so that our greatest accomplishments shine from learning through those key moments.