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 >>/3918/
> I thought it was epic after first viewing but something didn't sit right with me even after watching it. I couldn't quite place my hoof on it.
I had a sense that this episode wasn´t meant to be focused on action. Check how short the times are for Sombra´s conquests, how the Mane 6 defeat him and solve it almost instantly. Maybe this episode doesn´t seem to go into the action direction, I see the action as a means to an end and that´s.....the interactions between the mane 6. 
People are not taking into account little detail of how Twilight acts in such predictable way to the the point where Pinkie and Dolores use a verb for that constant cycle, how they judge themselves at dealing with the villains (listing all those quests), how Discord reminds and looks down at the predictable path of how the mane 6 are the obvious path to solve everything, how they react when they are trapped (Pinkie should be making a joke at those moment but she doesn´t)....

there is something fishy in this opener and I am writing these thoughts that lead me to think that the "action" scenes were the most boring parts. Ironic, considering that I love Twilight´s Kingdom.

> I was so surprised with their genuine plan to do it in a few days and it not being a ruse, especially since Twilight pointed it out after they said it. It makes no sense and seems stupid even for MLP logic.
yeah,it´s certainly odd and questionable from their part to do that in such a rushed way. How much time did they think about it? Did they drop those lines because they wanted a vacation that quick? 
Although I will say that the writers are following this path because Faust wanted Twilight to be Celestia´s successor so this makes perfect sense but the plot device could have been a little bit less of a sudden event. 

> Perhaps their various exploits by this point would make them have such a confidence. Perhaps there is something I'm forgetting that would help it make sense
see  >>/3636/. They have faced so many adventures that the extraordinary becomes ordinary, they have survived and gone through events that surpasses a lot of video game characters. The movie, the Cutie Map, Shadow Play, FiM, Return of Harmony, A Canterlot Wedding..... do Flim and Flam count? I mean, they go meta because they have had a lot of difficult experiences that seem easy in retrospective. See how they acted back in Dragonshy or Friendship is Magic to such confidence like shown in the movie, the Tartarus or in this opener. There is no color and what´s even more impressive is that they act as usual when these events don´t happen. We joke a lot about Celestia being like the closest thing to a goddess, but the protagonists sure bring more magic by having like 3 or 4 lives at once (adventures, their jobs and usual routine on their trajectories, diplomacy and teachers). If that´s not magic, tell me what it is because wow, they have done really varied things. 

> I can't call it exact copy because it's not the same morals but it is strikingly similar situations.
the premiere is nothing new.....but was it made in that way on purpose? I have mentioned the twilightning, the villains count, Discord´s behavior towards the obvious selection of the chosen one (Twilight) and how the elements are not vital...

I will say this but I consider this episode like the elements: the action isn´t what really matters but a tool for more interactions between the characters and that´s how they have solved it. Same with the elements, the elements served as device for defeating the villains but it was the ponified embodiment of them that actually call the shots. 

Someone would call me a Hasdrone for not being somewhat harsh with it but the biggest flaw that I have had with the opener were the action scenes in which they were mostly mute. Those parts felt like necessary filer to me and to my relief, they happened quickly for a reason.