I think the only thing I didn't like about the opener was that it felt rushed. Something about the pace seemed off, like they were once again trying to cram a 90 minute story into 44 minutes.

Like that part where they first go to see the crystal ponies. it's just BAM, they're there talking to ponies. Up to that point, had I not seen the pre-release material, I'd have thoguht the city was abandoned or something.

But I liked it. I actually liked it better than any other season opener (Season 1's opener is to date my least favorite episodes, and Season 2 I felt was pretty bleh aside from Dischord....who was fucking awesome as a villain, but the plot was kinda bland.)

Something big (pertaining to her destiny) was outright stated in one of the commercials, which didn't mention Twilight by name but showed her doing some sort of magic, with Celestia, Luna, and some new pony looking on.

I think so too. They couldn't have made it more obvious that it was something important. It just felt a little silly, I guess. But like I said, Twilight's "mhmm" made it all better. God that was adorable.

Found a blooper! (paused half way through just to show this)

Shining Armor has no stones in his horn in this little scene but they reappear seconds later. lulz.

Gonna go finish the episode.

I LOVED Rainbow Dash's Jousting armor. Actually I liked that whole scene.

The most enjoyable part for me was the mane 5 trying to stall the crystal ponies with crazy fair activities.

I loved all of pinkies costumes, especially the Jester, but like some of you said, they put her in scenes for the sake of being in the scene. It really bothered me. Still, the Sam Fisher reference and such were awesome.

I hated all the songs in this episode.


I enjoyed pretty much everything but the opening and villain related stuff. That includes Twilight scenes (sorry Twily).

This is probably my least 2 piece episode. Oh, Rainbow Dash and Rarity win this episode.

Also, what's fun to note, Princess Luna gives Twilight the stink eye! Not once, but twice!

Now THAT is fun theory material. Off the top of my head, she's envious of the attention Twilight gets from her sister. Poor Luna just wants her sister's affection and love :(

Twilight's magic has no boundaries. That really scares me. Dark magic, inverting gravity. I know her element is magic, but they really need to put a cap or limit to her powers. It's getting to the point of ridiculousness.

btw, this is the #1 trending youtube video atm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewpMsy2x75I&feature=g-trend

I liked the jousting until it became clear they were forcing Fluttershy to do it repeatedly ... I mean, can't any Crystal Ponies step up if they like it so much?

May contains spoilers:

I completely agree that the villain could have used a lot more screen time. By the time he was actually able to get into his true form he was "killed" again. This is party because the whole thing felt rushed. They could have easily made this into a 3 part episode and explained things a lot more and not rush the pace as much. It was still good, but probably my least favorite of all the "2 part" episodes.

Also, the songs were pretty meh. I didn't like any of them. I am very concerned about Twilight's ability to use black magic so easily. Did Celestia actually teach it to her or did she learn it from observation? It wasn't really explained to well. Also, what ever happened to the Queen of the city? They never mentioned that... Like Hatz said, I also got the feeling that Luna was jealous of Twilight. Either that, or she feels bad because she isn't able to help and she knows what Twilight will have to go through. I just get a feeling that something BIG is going to happen and that Luna and Celestia are keeping it a secret from everyone else.

Also, I thought Shining Armor and Candance were going to stay there as King and Queen to protect the city if something were to happen again, but I guess not... I really liked Rarity this episode and felt that PP was out of place with most of what she did. Fluttershy and Dash were alright. AppleJack and Twilight were a bit behind Rarity, but also had some good scenes.

Overall, I still liked it, but it could have been a lot better. Definitely excited to see what the rest of S3 brings!

most people have already figured it out.  I watched it three times, and the one commercial made mention of "Twilght's true destiny".  They're prepping her to rule a kingdom alongside the other princesses, otherwise the 'I have a test for you" thing was just forced and made no sense in the context of the episode.  

I honestly think it's gonna be a suble recurring theme throughout the season, directly linking to the final two episodes.