>>/12428/
> but then deducing the reason or cause for that 'offness' can get way into the weeds and overcomplicated, as Pinkie finds out. 
100% agree.  

> Real pony disguises would either be the province of Unicorn magic, or painting over cutie marks and perhaps gluing cosmetic horns onto the forehead.
Depending on how one takes Call of the Cutie: >>/11188/ Maybe glue is completely required and no magic can do? A potential avenue for camouflage is something like the Don't-Notice-Me-Field one of the concepts I really liked from the comics. Now I've jumped too far in the past and ahead, lol. 

>  I think it makes pony villains particularly interesting in the show, since they're both equals for the abilities of our main cast and are inherently interesting in terms of exploring how villains can emerge even from a utopian society like Equestria.
An interesting lens that some characters fit comically perfect in (to the point of somewhat stupid, sorry Dolores our bridge of the board.) Nightmare Moon too, some don't fit as well but that is... bleh, a half formed point exists in my head, I want to get back to this later.

 >>/12429/
> positive affirmations rather than advice that can sound like rulegiving: don't assume the worst of your friends and overthink things! 
I think in some cases that is taken too far. Overcompensation for shows talking down to us.

> However, it does helpfully clarify things by stating that a *good* friend will always have your best interests at heart, which I think can be true, when there's a particularly strong basis of mutual trust. 
This is why I am not sure it's just me, looking at this wrong, as an adult. When push comes to shove I don't think this would've even a minor negative impact on anyone even if taken slightly wrong. It wouldn't be solely at fault for a child in a situation being hurt if a friend was bullying/abusive to them. And if taken like you describe here, it has just as high a chance to help. (A real friend wouldn't treat me like this). 

> Rainbow Dash, where if we try and argue that Pinkie isn't LITERALLY that fast in the scene, the continuity of the scene all breaks down. 
I'm debating if the cartoon teleportation would be more irregular for her. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. I do understand where you come from. That the continuity of the episode is set with her powers and weirdness being more than a gag. Not sure I would put the dividing line here over say, Feeling Pinkie Keen, where it is outright stated she has powers while here it is still something that is just kinda there. Pinkie being Pinkie, versus Pinkie being more than Pinkie? I think you probably could argue you it both ways, tbh.

> I prefer Twilight being adoptive, personally. It allows the show to explore those sort of themes and issues. That's not to say that I dislike your idea, rather that on the whole I tend to prefer the show's approach. 
I have always thought that some sort of brother/friendship thing fits better with the dynamic, but Twimom has always had a side appeal to me, lol. Though that is a different dynamic. Adoptive versus biological I find the idea of biological to be interesting but from a hard canon perspective, adoptive is better.