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Soooo am I the only idiot who actually liked the new episode ?
Like it's not the best obviously and it's wacky as hell but which mlp ep isn't these days ?
I can see why people don't like it I guess but hear me out.
I'm so glad whenever Pinkie is not just used as a slap-stick punchline type character ?

In this episode I think a lot of characteristics were cemented in for me that I'd always seen in pinkie pie.
Mainly her depression.
Yaya now all the idiots calling me a tumblrfag can dislike and leave thanks.
I genuinely think Pinkie is a clumsy attempt at a mentally ill character.
You know nicely along the ''the people who smile the brightest are actually the saddest''

Basically Pinkie has picked up a new hobby, an obsession in fact, it's interessting and all hers, something she truly relishes in.
Now she had been practicing in the woods but after Fluttershy found her and did not object to her playing more, Pinkie moved into town, playing all over the place (admittedly playing at night by flutters cottage was some dumbass nonsense)
No one says anything.
For MOONS (which we can assume is at least weeks maybe months)she plays and has a jolly good time with it and supportive friends in her back, because being into something great can make it hard to see others flinching or shying away from it.
Sometimes you even read that kind of reaction as ''oh they don't share my enthusiasm so they don't know how to participate'' This is actually incredibly common especially with kids who find shows/fandoms they enjoys ? Sharing passions with friends is incredibly important !
So after all this time of good cheer and motivation.
Her friends confront her, making her think she will have a private play for them, just to be slapped in the face with the fact that she's horrible, in fact she is a nuseance to all her friends, for weeks or even months, no one has said anything, they just let her play boo boo the fool.
That kind of realization is devastating, especially to someoen like Pinkie Pie who adores her friends to bits !

Now not just did they tell Pinkie that she's genuinely aweful at her hobby, but a sentiment was dropped that I find cuts deep in a way that's hard to explain.
''We don't want you to waste your time on something you're not good at.''
There is something about this sentence that tasted really really bitter in my mouth.
I think it in a way reminds me of gaslighting.
Twilight put words in Pinkies mouth there, some heavy ones too .
Instead of saying that Pinkie is disrupting others and can continue if she takes caution of others comfort, they demonstrate their point as if it's something benificial to Pinkie.
The point here is not wanting her to waste her time
Which she obviously isnt !
She's not training for a tournament or an Orchestra and needs to get better, she is playing purely for the joy of it, so suggesting that she's wasting her time is basically ignoring the enjoyment pinkie has because it is not productive and it bothers others.
This is not to say Twilight is a horrible Person, I am sure she had good intentions but for someone like Pinkie Pie this is devastating.
She has been bothering all her friends for weeks, and she is 'wasting her time'' with something she enjoys.

She then moves onto smile, agree to not play anymore and leaves for sugarcubecorner.
This is when a rational person would talk to her, but not the main cast because then we wouldn't have a problem.
Pinkie is clearly upset but she left to avoid showing her truly hurt side, Pinkie is a comical character, she is always overdramatic, she cries rivers and smiles wider then her anatomy should allow, but genuine emotions are hard, really hard.
So instead of tossing the instrument aside and joining her friends to do something else, Pinkie holes up for the evening and cries in the evening over having pushed away this new hobby she'd found and her friends who can't hold a proper conversation for shit.
Then, seemingly DAYS later, Spike asks Twi if she'd seen Pinkie Pie.
DAYS !
This part really just dumbfounded me, no of course they don't all have to constantly hang out but when you're dealing with someone as loud and proud as Pinkie who just had a confrontation you'd expect her to not take well, when you don't see this person the next day wouldn't you go up to them and talk ?
Apparently not.

So over the last Days Pinkie had time to marinate in her depression, the conversation stuck with her that evening and the following day no one comes to maybe talk to her or inquire how she is doing.
Because now she is not a bother anymore, she is not wasting her time, this is what she should be doing.
Is that a constructive thought process ?
No.
Is this true ?
Also no.
But does that stop a depressed person to overthink and dig themselves a shallow grave ?
Sure as sugar,not !
After days of feeling like buggers, Pinkie finally leaves her house thinking to try and do something productive, but stepping into the light and bustling city kind of makes the problem more obvious, in a dimly lit room things oft seem better then in a bright street were suddenly it's painfully obvious how grey and dull you've become.

Then there is a montage of her friends trying to help.
Again not taking the right moves.
The mane six, instead of having a proper talk with their clearly depressed friend, drag her to do stuff.
In a lot of situations it's great to do fun activities and spend time with friends to get out of a slump, but here that was not the right choice.
In fact, after having given up her favorite hobby, and juggling with the question of if she's wasting her time again, she has no fun.
And that perpetuates the problem.
When depressed, a person can do things they usually love deeply and still find zero enjoyment in them, which can often trigger worse depression as it seems like there is no way out and everything is really darn pointless suddenly.
So Pinkie just let's the day drag on without much input in her friends trying to cheer her up.

The next day she's gone.
After shutting herself in without getting help, then coming out when feeling the worst just to be confronted with all these things that she'd usually enjoy but finding them not enjoyable either, she decides to leave.
She's been burdening her friends, dragging the mood down, not able to laugh as she's supposed to, she's been bad at the things she's good at thus making her completely obsolete.
It's a nasty trap.
I think Mauds appereance also made a point, she has always been hard to read but in this episode she seemed purposefully obnoxious.
And why would that be ?
she's angry. Or at least protective.
Pinkie, looking absolutely worse for wear as Maud hasn't seen her in a long time, telling her to pack her stuff as she moves out to cling to some kind of hope for happines.
Maud expects her friends to catch her during these kinds of times, she expected the mane 6 to be there for Pinkie not let her fall through like this.
So she tries to just sneak Pinkies stuff out to avoid the main cast from hurting her sister further.

Then in YakYakistan we see pinkie still sad and a bit bitter, not rare for bad spells either, nothing works, everything sucks and is hard, of course you get pissy.
At this point she's figured out that listening to the Yovidaphone doesn't help her mood, there is no special switch.
She feels like she's run of her friends and is drowning her sorrow in sugar.
It's pretty aweful.
When the main caste comes and barely suggests missing her she agrees to come with them, she doesn't want to make trouble, and sure won't put up a fight, being in yakyakistan without being able to enjoy the Yovidaphone is pointlesss anyways.
At this point Pinkie is ready to just ride the flow.

In the end the thing that fixes the situation isn't a magical instrument, it's realizing that her friends are not mad and that they still support her even if communication has been wacked and that is a driving motivation for Pinkie, having her friends loving her !

Was this a silly damn Cartoon episode ?
Was there a lot of overdramatic nonsense ?
Was the Yovidaphone awefull and all gags involving it like the bird loosing it's feathers ?
Were the mane six just confused good friends ?
Could this problem have been resolved faster ?
Could Maud have helped by acting differently ?
Yes on all accounts.
Of course !
They can't make a serious episode out of this kids cartoon my guys !
But I think it's an amazing piece highlighting the downwards spiral a neurodivergent person can take !
And while the characterization was off in plenty accounts, I choose to take away the above mentioned points rather then poo poo on the whole thing.

Okay, I think that ends my rant for now uff.
Congrats if you read through
Excuse my complete lack of bothering to check for writing errors.

Honorary mentions for this EP:
- Pinkies Balloon hoodie/pyjamas, I better see fanart of those soon
- Rarity sayin ''Apple-solutely'' idk what the gag was supposed to be but it was just a weird amusing moment
- More Yaks !
- Apparently the pinks ones ambassador Balloon can just float right on up into the Yak village with no problem
- Yaks, the perfectionist angry shits have an ''instrument of happiness'' telling us that Music is a bigger part of their culture then we probably assume
- The Yovidaphone, yooooo I know most of them were visual gags but am I the only one raising both eyebrows at this thing exploding a row of apples and de-feathering a bird ?
My headcanon will losely be that the Yovidaphone actually channels magic and because Pinkie ain't directing hers anywhere specific, if just fucks everyone over.
- the joker makeup in rarities boutique, amazing
- also damn @ rarities ability to restore a ponies hair and coat

Upvotes at import: 45 | Stars at import: 38
Posted previously at: 2018-07-21T19:33:04 | Posted previously by: eqq_scremble