That's a common cartoon/quasi-sci-fi plotline, that clones degenerate (especially after making too many) or are often inferior from the original.

I might be thinking into this too much, but it could be that the mirror reflects only that which is on the surface: basic personality and knowledge and one's more basic desires, and then that effect compounded as the shallower clones made clones

I enjoyed the episode but yea, I agree with all the things that have been said about it so far, definitely in the sense that Pinkie is becoming more of a collection of jokes rather than a true character.

I must admit I never knew that was common knowledge in sci-fi. The only sci-fi I watch or enjoy is anything that involves time travel.

I'm happy I was able to deduct that conclusion on my own though :D

Also, maybe we're being a little too critical. I rewatched the episode later that day with my nephews and nieces and they thought the episode was hysterical!

I just rewatched all 3 episodes of season 3, because it's 5 am and I woke up earlier than I would have like this Sunday, and the episodes are just as much as enjoyable as the first two seasons.

Except that's prec isely what the writers were trying to say.  the CLONES of pinkie were stupid and silly and one dimensional, but the real pinkie had more depth, was able to be sad, and was able to actually THINK.  

Oh yea, I know that but I still felt that she herself was less in-depth in this one as well. I mean look at the beginning, she was literally only concerned with fun. Rather than create the fun and make everyone smile, she was just abandoning those not doing something she perceived as fun and going to the ones that were having fun.

I can imagine that the hidden book might well be "secret knowledge" pertaining to the area. I mean, the library has been around for a while. I feel like that could have been explored but didn't particularly need to be if they didn't want to.

On the other hand, maybe they should do something with Spike's uncanny ability to be drawn to the correct resource. He's done it several times now, and in this case it doesn't look like he'd even seen the book before.

Anyone else wondering if the "Pinkie fingers" gag was a reference to certain fanfiction versus coincidence?

Also that comic was hilarious.

Certain fanon, definitely, but the writers are legally obligated to not read fanfiction (which makes sense. With a healty fiction fandom, it's really, really hard for the writers to come up with anything original, and without that legal stricture, there's no way to create plausible deniability that they didn't just rip off some author somewehre)

It would have been more on-the-nose if they had brought in Lyra.

I think almost all of these coincidences are just that the ideas are natural consequences of the characters and world.

The episode titles released for this season are 1:1 with actual fanfiction.