>>/11482/
> A lost cloud city hidden in the eye of a hurricane?
Now that you've put it like this, it does occur to me that I've essentially proposed an MLP version of Laputa: Castle In The Sky. (That movie was an extra treat for me when I first watched it, as I'd already read the unabridged Gulliver's Travels from which the original Laputa comes)
> Anyways, this part of my reply is in the new year and we've been at this for a year now haven't we?Happy to be the bridge to 2025!
Late *clink*!
 >>/11978/
> The first thing that struck me with this episode upon rematch was how “childish” it was. I don’t mean that in a negative way. It is not major, but noticeable, the CMC added a air of more preschool show. 
It's also the case that at this stage in-universe, the CMC are also themselves younger, and at a time in their lives when they're developing quite rapidly even if we assume a human pace of development.
> Twilight Sparkle being incapacitated I think is very natural and as I (think) I have stated before, most of Twilight’s random moments of panic or instances of incoherent competence are actually mostly explainable and don’t bug me. 
I don't wholly disagree - it's mainly because the cockatrice is established in such a way that it feels reasonably common and un-threatening as mythical beasts go. The whole situation would go down a lot better with me if we didn't have Boast Busters just a few episodes ago. It's not even that it especially bothered me, it's moreso that I found I had to assume there was slightly more to the cockatrice's powers, again especially given how it takes a fair while both to petrify Elizabeak and to petrify Fluttershy from what we see in the episode. 
> Raw talent (and probable minor combat training at least) isn’t skill and Twilight Sparkle was also a shut in who was very inexperienced in real world affairs
I think where I'd draw the line is where I feel like (bar the possibility of there being more to the cockatrice's powers than what we see) even I could thwart this thing if confronted with it. Just shut my eyes and sock it in the nose, job done. I think there's even an intention to account for the cockatrice having variable powers, such as petrifying with fear as well as with stone, so it's not a plot hole... Moreso just that the situation naturally makes me read more into it, since my baseline for Mane 6 competence is basically that they're AT LEAST more competent than I am, lol. 
> It has continuity with the establisshed character trait in Dragonshy but I think this was cooler in a way to have a situation where Fluttershy saved Twilight Sparkle and had a greater understanding of the threats and local dangers. 
That's actually an excellent point that I hadn't even considered - does Twilight KNOW what a cockatrice is? I just assumed she would, bookish as she is. If it's rare AND local enough though, it's quite possible Fluttershy is familiar with it whilst Twilight isn't, however. In which case I could very easily see Twilight trying in vain to inspect what this strange new creature is and get herself turned to stone whilst distracted. Again I think the fact that she knew not only of Ursa Minors, but of the difference between an Ursa Minor and an Ursa Major too, it created this impression that Twilight's an expert on magical creatures as well as magic. 
> 
I’ll close with this, I loved the dynamic with the CMC and Fluttershy that was established here but I don’t remember if this was ever referenced again.
So long as it's not directly contradicted later, I don't mind so much. Built-up but forgotten details like this help create that elusive sense that Equestria is a real, living place... And no, I don't just mean standard worldbuilding, I think it's something to do with the characters too. Point is I can't narrow it down and I can't really think of any setting which is evocative in the same way as Equestria. I think possibly it's the slice-of-life element.