[Blind Reaction] MLP:FiM S07E25-26 - Shadow Play 

Star Swirl is a jerk--because remember what Celestia said: "He never understood friendship"; hence why he couldn't complete his spell but TWILIGHT could!

... and THAT is why they [elements] STOPPED WORKING for Celestia, because she used them for the wrong purpose!

Applegeek to StarSwirl: “YOU SIR, HAVE NOT LEARNED THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!!!!” Me: That’s why Twilight fixed &/or finished his spell that caused her friends’ cutie marks to swap with each other, and then earned her wings and title as Princess of Friendship. So yea, he shows more pride in himself than friendship

Starswirl: once a villain always a villain Starlight: bruh i’m standing right here!

Couldn't the green element represent Spike? He's partially green, and he could represent a VERY important part of Harmony and Friendship: Support. His Pillar could be Understanding or Respect, represented by Stygian. Or vice-versa, yeah? That's my absolute best guess. Basically, Stygian and Spike supported and made possible the more notable Pillars/Elements the entire time. They're as much part of this magic, part of Harmony, as the others. They both spent so long TRYING to be as useful as the "mane" ponies, that everyone missed them being pillars/elements the entire time. Again, spike is covered in that exact shade of emerald and the elements match the ponies they belong to.

There’s a headcanon going round that Sunset Shimmer is Sunburst’s older sister, since they have the same eyes, they were both sent to Celestia’s school and Sunset once said in the comics that she was never really close with her parents (some people believe Sunburst’s parents pressured him to do well at Celestia’s school). I can understand why some people would argue against this, but I love this idea. 🙂

Maybe starswirl's idea of banishing bad guys instead of curing of them with friendship may have inspired Celestia and Luna to banished Discord, later Celestia banished Luna as she became nightmare moon?

Harmony = Good Chaos = Evil One cannot exist without the other. They are a necessary balance that has been around since time immemorial.

36:25 Once a villain always a villain hmm Why don’t you said that to princess Luna discord most of the changelings and trixie Sunset shimmer

Think the shadow we saw in the "Castle Mane-ia" episode was Tirek in those old rags he had when he first appeared.

If only the pillars sat down in a restaurant some where in Manehattan eating shawarma then I would gave this episode a perfect 10 out of 10.

1 hour video Snacks✔ Quality✔ WiFi strength✔ Getting ready for blowing my mind✔ :)

Ep 19: That face. Strike 1 Ep 20: That Face! Strike 2 Ep 26: THAT FACE!!! SENPAI NOTICED ME!!!!! Strike 3 This season is outta here!!!!! With all the funny faces, of course.

“Never saw this coming!” You and me both, brother. I was SO surprised and intrigued while going into this amazing finale!! I haven’t felt this way since Twilight’s Kingdom. When Star Swirl was revealed here, I was ecstatic(yet another one of my wishes for S7 that actually comes true😁✅); especially with the other pony legends and the Pony of Shadows(which I never would have guessed that it would come up again since it was dismissed as a meaningless teaser)! I understood why Star Swirl’s mind was set on only banishing the Pony of Shadows/Stygian instead of coming to terms with him, for it has been said that he didn’t fully understand friendship like Twilight. I find it really cool that Star Swirl and the pillars are the original mane 6 and that it was them who brought the Tree of Harmony to life. Now, aside from Star Swirl and the Pony of Shadows, the elephant(s) in the room were the Sirens! I was really hoping we’d see them in the series and how they were sent to the human world(truly an amazing way to show us how it all happened that lead to Rainbow Rocks, I really liked that). Overall, this finale has made a home run for me, currently my favorite of the series.😁 This is truly an amazing reaction, I knew you’d like this finale!

That reaction where you saw the Dazzlings was priceless, Applegeek. But yes, I do agree that the fandom is gonna go nuclear now that the canons have merged...

"I can't believe how much taller you've gotten" ~ StarSwirl "Well, it's been over a thousand years." Celestia Ehm, Celestia and Luna didn't seem at all shorter during Nightmare Moon's banishment 1000 years ago from S4 Premiere. And from what the Journal of the two Sisters book said, Starswirl was around when they were foals, even before they got their cutiemarks. We don't even know if that book is officially canon. How god damn old is Starswirl? I am, like, really confused about the FiM timeline here. I would love to see an episode solely dedicated to Starswirl teaching Celestia and Luna in the past, before Luna's banishment. It would be amazing, and would give them an opportunity to clear up some of these holes.

37:21 One of the best part of this episode is seeing the Dazzlings/Sirens 37:22 and how Star Swirl banished them to Canterlot High 38:00 38:03 and not from a book like in 'Rainbow Rocks' but a flashback 1:08:35 is where he talks about the Sirens

Sea Pony Etiquette is actually a reference toward the movie :D

I clicked 'like' button before watching the video because it's Applegeek video XD

35:45 the eye brow raises in this show are amazing!!

It's good to see, that Twilight's decision to don't send Starlight away worked out well in the end for her.

23:11 "Is another pony gonna end up with wings before this is done?" Nope, not enough songs for that.

Starlight was amazing in this episode. She helped to convince Starswirl to embrace the magic of friendship, something he never understood for eons.

Hmm...Now that Star Swirl is back, I’m wondering if he’ll live in the Castle of the Two Sisters, since it was where he and the pillars resided all those years ago. What do you think?

I just love that delayed reaction as you finally realize, it's the Sirens! 37:22

Seeing the Sirens here made me so damned giddy. That means Sunset's getting closer and closer to appearing in FIM. And it can't just be for some petty cameo. She deserves a guest role. Preferably once per season too. Not just so she can meet Celestia again, but to reconnect with other ponies she left behind, like old friends and family. Something I'm sure Twilight and Starlight would be more than willing to help her with. Though that flashback also makes me wonder what other monsters Starswirl dumped into the EQG world? I imagine he'd be at the top of Sunset's shit list for giving her so many villains to fight. Lol.

I liked this finale pretty much, it tied so much together and even gave us a review of the Rainbow Rocks villians and finally Starswirl. But honestly, I feel sorry for the villains in Mlp: now we got 5 alicorns, one super powerful unicorn and several others, two sets of elements and element bearers, Starswirl himself and a crystal heart plus many supporters, ponys and others. And who do the villains have left? Tirek in Tartarus, Chrysalis on the flight and without support, a pile of dust (sombra) and few minor villains. They really need somebody bad ass now to make up for this trainwreck

Totally agreeing on the comparison of Pony of Shadows to Spiderman's Venom. It is clearly seen that the shadow had a will of its own, even screaming in its last moments, while falling down that portal. And an hour of talking about the episode? That must be an academy record! It's great tho, I value your inputs, Applegeek, always interesting. If I were to talk about this or write, it would probably take a 100 comments like this one. Just going to say that, I think it's not the last we've seen of the shadow. That well of shadows, it must have been build by someone, right? It even had the carvings picturing the shadow itself. According to me, he will come back, or if not actually him, in his shadowy self, then at least parts of his history or his origins.

33:15 this scene reminds me of Captain America the first avenger when steven rogers first see the modern timeline. also flash magnus is captain america and rockhoof is thor.

I knew this wasn't going to be the final episode of the series. One; because I already knew the plans for Season 8, but more importantly, I have absolute confidence that the series will end with the biggest song of all.

This Is My Favorite Finale, Glim Glam to the rescue! Edit: Almost Nobody Noticed What the mane 5 Did to get the Items Match with their Element: Applejack: She Was honest to that Pony to Show that Legends are true Rarity: She Had the Generosity to fix the gardens of that Granny Rainbow Dash: Was Loyal to Spike to Defend Him in front of Garble Fluttershy: Had the kindness to Help the Animals from the Bees even tho the Other Pony (Idk his name :p) Would Give her the Mask anyway Pinkie pie: I Got Nothing Lol.

I just feal that starswirl should have hesitated to save Stygian at the end there. Not be the first but the last one to shoot that rope beem, maby even having to be convinced to do it by a twilight speech, forcing her to stand up to her hero. But that is just me, other than that grate episode. But two things, in castle mane-ia pony of shadow was said to be a left over magic from Nighmare moon, but maby it is the other way around. And who was that in the end of castle mane-ia?

You fanboyed about this episode as much as Twilight 😂

This finale made me "drop the mic" so many times, so to speak. Arguably, the best finale to a season of MLP to date. No scratch that, IT IS the best season finale to date!! Makes me look forward to Season 8, and enjoying your reactions to it, Applegeek.

maybe there is a shadow creature turning pony's to darkness it could be the same thing at the end of castle mane-ia Stygian did say the shadow talked to him in the well of shades . maybe nightmare moon too

36:26 Star swirl: Once a villain always a villain. Starlight: Excuse me?!

Starswirl & the pillars have their own elements: hope, strength, beauty, bravery, healing, & sorcery

One of the reasons why you're my favorite reactor is because I always seem to notice something new every time I watch your reaction videos. I can always learn so much more about every episode through you! Haha

reaction starts at 3:30

Finale Spoiler for those who haven't watched the video: Something I noticed and appreciated, was that elder pony who gave Rarity the flower mentioned the garden being in her family for generations. Her caretaking of Mistmanes precious flower as a family heirloom, and her slightly hooked horn reminiscent of the Eastern unicorns is a direct giveaway that she's Mistmanes great-something granddaughter! Which implies that one or more of the pillars had children. It also implies that Mistmane had a young foal or two BEFORE she gave up her youth, which is really tragic. But her children must have been well taken-care of, given her descendant we see in the finale! I wonder if we'll get episodes next season dealing with the pillars reintegration into modern society, and perhaps meeting their families. Cool detail, either way. I also draw some symbolism from the titles of the former Mane 6 and the current Mane 6. The Pillars of Harmony are the literal, blunt foundation of what allows harmony to stand. But the ELEMENTS of Harmony are Harmony ITSELF in working, flourishing form! That's why Equestria was NOT technically "better off" as Twilight would have thought, with the Pillars of Harmony protecting it versus the Elements of Harmony. All 12 are actually completely necessary. The Pillars are the base, the trunk, of the Tree (The Tree of Harmony!), while the elements are the branches making the trunk healthy and fruitful. Represented literally on the Tree of Harmony, as each Element has its own section from the pillar of the trunk. Neither can live while the other isn't thriving. The Pillars of Harmony just allowed the Elements to sprout from the base and create a much healthier system, with more detail-management of how Harmony thrives and works in Equestria. How Strength now encompasses Honesty, becoming more specific, and is more well-rounded, Etc...

38:32 that scene reminds me of venom and the inks from bendy and the ink machine.

I always manage to end up spoiled, but I can experience a decent amount of unspoiled excitement vicariously by watching these. Your face is so expressive that I get as excited watching you watch an episode as watching the episode myself, more even.

26:57 I've heard some people say that the figure in the cloak at the end of Castle Mane-ia was Tirek.

The Pony of Shadow is the first male Alicorn in the series.

Hello AG. Good reaction, even the times you went into 'overload' mode. I agree that Star Swirl was a bit of an 'ass' at first, for most of the same reasons you stated. But, Also, his pride as a Sorcerer. When Pinkie iterated the 'current' Elements of Harmony, you could see the dismissal upon SS's muzzle. Even though Twilight is an Alicorn, and even though she lead a group that did as much, or more, for Equestria as his own Pillars, he was unwilling to acknowledge Twilight's peerage with him. As you said, to him, this had all occurred mere moments from the time he had cast his spell. Finding that someone had interfered with his work, and pretty much made it moot, would not sit well with such an Alpha mentality. His dismissal of Twilight thereafter was based upon her having been the agent of his failure, and one can see that he would not look upon the person that foiled his great feat of magic with favor. It was only until another Pillar gave her work an UN-biased look, that he began to change his opinion. Her spell was not his. Twilight wrote a spell that did not require the Pillars or the holders of the Elements to be sacrificed to perform it's function. This alone, to me, shows me that she is FAR more capable than even she realizes, and that Star Swirl had better watch out... since this generation of ponies can exceed even his vaunted skills and power. For his time, Star Swirl was an extremely powerful Sorcerer, and with his fellow Pillars, he and they could defeat almost any foe. But, SS didn't reflect upon how the bonds of the holders of the Elements would transform their single powers into a braided cord more powerful than anything he'd ever accomplished. Onwards... The Elements did NOT disappear, because this time... unlike when Celestia used them to banish Nightmare Moon, they were used in Harmony. Yes, 'Tia had to use them in that manner to save her ponies, but in doing so, she removed them from use for over 1,000 years, along with her ability to wield them. If Twilight and friends had gone along with SS's plan, it would have done the same for them as it did for Celestia long ago. They would have lost the ability to wield them, and Equestria would be without it's most powerful defense. Yes, I know the Pillars would be there, but as we saw, the Elements are 'attuned' to the Mane Six, and their use is, for lack of another term, instinctive. Starlight was right all along. And had the Pillars still existed, she would reside in Limbo now, because to Star Swirl, a foe will always be a Foe, and to him there would be no hope of redemption. Without the Mane Six, Star Swirl would never have learned the power of friendship. At least now, HE has some learning to do, as well as apologies to make. eep.... I did it again, another loooong posting. Sorry about that. I'll leave you with one 'wish' that will never come true. An episode with Garble confronting Rock Hoof, although I have no doubts Ember would stop that about as fast as it was happening. enough from me, the Frank Pony

A squad of notification's appears.

Starwakrd: ones a villain always a villain Me: UM HELLO SUNSETSHIMMER DISCORED STARLIGHT and Luna I guess

This video is old, but seeing as he interacted quite lightheartedly with Celestia and Luna, and they were not surprised at all, it actually felt natural, I think you’re right. That’s probably how he acted a lot of the time, although probably more strict

Star swirl: Stygian show yourself Me: Show yourself let me see who you are (Frozen2)lol

37:24 Applegeek.exe has suffered a malfunction.

yes, now finally we all know where the Elements come from

Yay! Early for once! Been waiting for this for a while now. Your reactions are always my favorite. Here are my thoughts on the ep. This is the biggest tie in and epic finale in all the history of the show. My thoughts: - Star Swirled and the Pillars - Pony of Shadows - Old Ponish = Old English. Confirmed by what they said in Ep 24. - Indiana Jones reference - Petunia, that archeology pony from the Gabby ep. - the origin on the Element/Tree o f Harmony - more Old english/ponish - the pillars staying in Equestria - lesson for all adults, pride can cloud kindness and logic - reflections of both types of elements - More explanation on how magic works - an epic soundtrack - History of Equestria and Tie-ins - Starlight being the voice of logic and reason - Earth Ponies and Pegasus gave magic and with the help of a unicorn, infuse that magic into something like a normal unicorn. - Celestia and Luna background on age, timeline, etc. - Evidence of how dragons are adjusting to Ember's rule - Seeing how the curved horned asian ponies have evolved - darkness shrines? So there were times where those worshipped the darkness? Cool - EQG world now canon, so Sunset may come over in Season 8? - Hilarious jokes and cool backgrounds - Sooo many VA's and characters in this ep. - Wait, if they moved the flash bee hive, how will you get the cure now? - Daring Do returns! - I want episodes that focus on each of the pillars and how they are adjusting to life in this age now. Like Sonumbula seeing her village, Meadowbrook meeting her decendant, Flash Magnus meeting the Wonderbolts, etc. - The animation looks sooo goood!! - Stigion is alot of villians but in a different way that what marvel or DC does. They reason with the villian, not just kick butt. - wait, so shadow can wipe out memories during the light if it takes over? That explains RD acting different in the Nightmare Moon timeline. Then Nightmare moon was an evolved shadow! And Sombra was a shadow too! Both shadows were sent to the moon after being defeated! A shadow fight in the future perhaps?! Oh the fan fics! - So combined magic can grow and when connected to earth magic, can yield fruit of stored magic. So much analyzing to do! - Ghastly Gorge was Ghastly Caverns? What does that mean for the evolution of the canyon eels? - Evolution of Magic confirmed! My headcanon will now be added upon. - wait, if the pillars existed at tge foundation/emerging world of Equestria, this must mean the world was ruled by the people and Celestia/Luna became the rulers after defeating Discord, finding the elements that their teacher left behind/something he hinted at in his writing. Since the pillars served at the castle, it would make sense they would put the tree near where they believed the center of the realm would be. So many tie-ins!! - the former villian trying to figure out another villians motives. Cool! - magic attuned to a certain pony? This is/enhances my core magic theory! - Shadow realm? Future plot point? - Sea pony ettiette? How do they know that? - Starlight looking at Swirled when he sees the truth, priceless. - When one is facing a darkness like drugs, you can't break free without help. Love the metaphor! - Turning away from others hurts yourself - When meeting your idol, don't forget yourself. - So powerful magic is done with runes, some magic done by using writing, other by reading out enchanted words, simple magic by just focusing on the goal. - Evolution of ponies, seen through the horn, appearance, etc. Explains Celestia/Luna's long horns and tall figure. - Star Swirled may seem like a jerk but remember the S3 finale? Star Swirled's character makes sense. He is prideful and believes in knowledge and logic. Not in friendship and emotions. That is why Twilight could complete his spell. - Woah! The shadow's goal is for everyone to be a shadow too, and feel despair. The bible references are strong in this ep, and possibly a season battle. This ep is full of of so much info! - The shadow has the same invasive properties as venom from spiderman. It will make you stronger and start to control your actions. When you try to escape it, it controls you more. Only through others could you escape. - This finale ties everything together and no everything makes sense. Season 8 is going to be so epic, but Season 7 has all my favorite episodes now. - The tree of harmony was created when they fused their magic into a seed. When it connected to earth magic, it bloomed. The elements are the stored magic of each original element bonded with earth magic. Starswirl's magic is the tree of Harmony's main weapon that can harness and use the other elements. However, it can only hold back darkness for so long without the elements, resulting in the season 4 premiere. When it has the elements, it can harness them to balance nature in favor of light, showing how the world has survived for so long. However, they are meant to be used as healing magic. Banishing Luna caused them to return to slumber until they could regrow power from nature and a banishing spell would do the same. The destination and power of the one they sent and for how long determines the power needed which is why the elements would be destroyed. - Could there possibly be a shadow war in the future? Both shadows were defeated via the elements or a powerful rune and who knows how many other shadows there are trying to claim the realm?

"The lockdown has been miserable" COULDN'T AGREE MORE 😂😂

23:43 wow Twilight I know you were at the human world at some point but still tho, Twilight... everyone in the pony world

Quote from Magical Mystery Cure, "Starswirl did not understand the magic of friendship". So yeah, they were keeping with continuity. Also, who the f*** is Patrick Stewart? I can't think of anyone who wanted Starswirl to be voiced by him...

If starlight became the pony of shadows, they would all be straight up screwed

one question though... why didn't the map call Starlight as well?

Spike also has to be connected to the tree of harmony because if he wasnt he wouldnt have a throne

The pony of shadows here has the body of an alicorn and his chest reminds me of how the amulet of alicorn magic is shaped, and that alicorn magic is dark magic.

I think the retcons created by this finale also explained why the Elements were originally stone spheres in the season 1 premiere. Since Celestia had to used them in order to banish Nightmare Moon, they ended up turning into stone because most of their power was drained and they weren't used for healing purposes. They were then reformed for the Mane 6 due to their strong friendship and the fact that they each had virtues (Laughter, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, Magic) that matched the qualities of the Pillars (Hope, Strength, Beauty, Bravery, Healing, Sorcery).

Also does anyone see rainbow dash and flash magnus as a couple?! They do have the same personality.

STAR SWIRL-once a villain always a villain Luna - 😥

I know this video was like 4 years ago... But I kinda like to think of the pony of shadows is like nightmare sans from Sans Aus.. ehhh.. when twilight brought starswirl and the pillars back and when the pony of shadows came out, the tentacle thing and his entrance made me think of nightmare... But probably nonsense.. hehe heh..

I love how literally every reactor freaked out when they saw the Sirens. It was my favourite TheFlamingShark reaction, but Applegeek managed to match his energy lmao.

Stygian on the thumbnail, he's got the eyes of chara's melty face, just black eyes having some black substance coming out of them. And twilight is nerd-fangirling. Also starlight is an official pacifist, talking things out and redeeming badies =^3

37:23 it was at this moment that he knew; it's canon

OMG STARLIGHT GLIMMER'S EYEBROW LIFT AT 35:44 IS THE BEST THING OF THIS ENTIRE SERIES!!!!!!!!! 😂😂😂😂 I FU-*BORK*-ING DIED HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! X'D

Best reaction to the sirens being cannon ever 37:23

Starlight: “l hope twilight knows what she’s doing” Me: nope

4:27 Well played with that System Error popup. I clicked on my browser window just to make sure it wasn't real.

Awesome reaction! I knew it would have several great moments from you, which is always a sign of a great episode! Nice error dialogs, too. :)

35:46 That meme pic and Applegeek's laugh are priceless!

I just realized that the pillars have 2 unicorns 2 earth ponies and 2 Pegasus like the original main 6 before twilight got her wings

Well, I thought the Sea Pony book did refer to the hyppogriffs, and that the movie must have taken place somewhere within Season 7. I think it was an easter egg to the movie either way. Maybe a roundabout reference to the hyppogriffs that Twilight might have seen if she were home.

Terrific head canon and combination of events regarding the pillars, the tree, the chest, and whatnot. Somebody seriously needs to make a timeline diagram for all this if they haven't already!

LOL, why is it that to me Flash Magnus always reminds me of my virtual husband Cullen rutherford from the game Dragon age XD

26:57 That was Tirek at the end of Castle-mania. It was foreshadowing him being the enemy of that season.

Honestly I agree that the pillars thought Stygian was evil. Like he took their artifacts without telling them, that already is bad enough and then when they sent him away, he came back possessing an evil shadow monster that threatened all of Equestria. So I would say that yes it was reasonable for them to believe he was up to no good.

When we first started to see how Starswirl was outside of legends I felt it was fitting considering the era he lived in. His Equestria was a more violent and hostile place to live in. So he kinda had to adopt more black and white viewpoint in order to survive. Don't forget he was already alive for a while during the "Hearth's Warming Eve" plot so he's seen ponykind at it's absolute worst. He's probably seen more than one of his friends or pupils turn bad despite his efforts, hence his whole "once a villain, always a villain" view.

Dude my man, Equestria Girls has always been canon. They happen every season finale for the exception of seasons 1,2 and this past season

At castlemania ep you mentioned, the "Pony of Shadows" i think was in fact Tirek. He was in hiding at that time, free from Tartarus

btw, I transliterated the runes at 9:05. They say "PONI RULES". :)

35:25 this was mentioned/confirmed back in the episode of the Apple family reunion

:P This is the best channel for reactions because you over react and I like that because most people like when the story of the shadow pony was told most reactors where like oh ok with no really reaction on there face. And I mean you try to put captions that help with your reactions and you put funny things XD Thanks for being the best channel for reaction of anything 😛😜

instant thumbs up before the title screen even finishes. Yo, that shirt is legit, and good on you for expertly avoiding spoilers! Alright...I'm ready for this. Favorite MLP reactor. Let's go.

18:20 I like how everyone thinks that's Cathy Weseluck voicing the dragon, and doing a slightly altered "Spike voice". Some other reactors even kinda gave a lot of crap to the scene because they said Cathy didn't change her voice enough. But it's actually Nicole Oliver doing the voice. Shows what they know! xD

Yey, thankyouuuuuuuuuuu ! And thank you for making the whole series 20% cooler !

I love how there's just an hour of extra commentary 😂😂😂😂😂

I don't know why people think the pony of shadows is a 'call back' to castle mania just because of the similar sounding names, when both have different origin stories and come from two different points of the timeline.

I hate Starswirl a little because he always goes on logical explanation, option or solution like the only necery one and he never thinks that there might someother way too, the reason he thinks like this, i think its because he is element of sourcerety and the greatest wizard.I don't care how much his spells and magic are amazing, he just doesn't give chance to other options or others when they might have good skils, answers or ways of how to help too!

Sweet! Manage to be like number 200th and honestly, I have been looking forward to this reaction from you ever since I got the notification about your upload before I had to go to work XD As per usual, you didn't let me down!

20:55 To be honest, Rainbow Dash and Spike could’ve burst into laughter themselves over how they tricked Garble into giving up the shield lol 😂

Allso I JUST REALIZED something Please tell me that portal DOESN'T leave to the same place as the portal that SIRENS went through. Because if it does, Sunset and the Crue will have a shit storm on their hands soon

Applegeek Thank you Soo much! We really apprieciate the reactions you have given us. Thank you soo sooooo much Keep The Good Work Going! And god bless and best wishes to all! And happy halloween its almost here!!!!

A nice little detail that in gaining the artifacts, each of the 6 displays both their own element, and their respective pillars'! Apple jack shows honesty and strength. Rarity generously gives beauty, etc!

Equestrian Apple trees must be as hard as bamboo for Applejack to move an entire boulder like that! The pony of shadows is a great allegory for hate groups who recruit teens that feel isolated and misunderstood. Like Stygian, they just want friendship, but substitute the emptiness they feel for hate.

Now with the pillars back, we NEED a Somnambula Daring Do episode!

Don't worry, I was hoping it was Sombra too and was seriously ticked when it wasn't.

Pony of Shadows from Castle Mania was Tirek after escaping from Tartarus. Still under his cloak and gathering power.

Agree with you, that the seed that the pillars plant was by the Tree of Harmony and the tree took it to itself and got stronger and got elements that could leave the Tree, then created the chest that later became the castle.