My Little Pony: FIM
- Thread starter tigros40208
- Start date
I wrote another FiM fic short (well, not short, but a one-shot at just over 10k)
Plus: The New Motivator
Plus: The New Motivator
Apparently, Amazon actually came along and grabbed a whole bunch of "freemium" games and fixed them so they're no longer big pay-to-play pieces of crap. In that first wave of scooping happened to be Gameloft's microtransaction-laden My Little Pony game.
Here's a link to the the Equestria Daily Article for those looking for more information as well as the link to the actual game. I believe it's for the Android version, but anything that can handle Android 4.0 should be able to run it.
Here's a link to the the Equestria Daily Article for those looking for more information as well as the link to the actual game. I believe it's for the Android version, but anything that can handle Android 4.0 should be able to run it.
Contrabardus said:
Ordo said:
seitora said:
Well, I watched Season 3 quite some time ago and never got through my thoughts on them.
The two Crystal Empire episodes were a little bit weak. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I guess I don't think there was really a strong driving narrative to it. Celestia saying Twilight wasn't to have the help of her friends was absolutely dreck, no matter if you believe she meant it or if it was a test to see if Twilight would disregard that and ask for help from her friends. The threat of Sombra was kind of in the background and he had only a couple of lines. Making him some sort of supervillain to be feared would have easily bumped up the show's rating, I guess, though the trap door showed some imagination on his part. Also, STAIRS! Bonus points for Spike saving the day for once and Shining Armor literally throwing his wife.
Too Many Pinkie Pies kind of ruins the Pinkie Pie mystique a bit, though Pinkie episodes tend to do that a lot. When Pinkie is in the background, she's the one that makes everyone happy, and the one with zany antics, but when you hone on her, she loses a lot of what makes her special as a member of the Mane 6 or cast in general. I do like the idea of the Mirror Pool, and the watching paint dry scene is full of great gags.
One Bad Apple has probably my favorite song of the season in 'Babs Seed'. Between the lyrics, upbeat instruments and actual visuals it just makes the episode perfect. The ending is a bit to Aesop-heavy but Babs is pretty chill and stuff.
Magic Duel. Trixie. Star Wars Homage. 'Nuff said. Simply awesome.
Sleepless in Ponyville I think I would put at the top of the season. Scootaloo finally gets her own episode, there's an enormous amount of character development on her part, some on Luna's, and we get Rainbow Dash wing-hugging Scoots. Rarity basically making Sweetie Belle do all the tough grunt labour of pulling her luggage is a fun running gag. It seems to me like as time goes on, the Cutie Mark Crusaders episode continue to get better and better, even as their overarching purpose of getting their Cutie Marks never comes to fruition.
Wonderbolts Academy is a strange episode. I like the general gist of it, and Lightning Dust makes a good foil for Rainbow. However, two things I think would made the episode better: make Rainbow even more cockier than normal to start the episode off, and be reckless like Lightning Dust is, only to change her mind and realise that she herself goes overboard with her attitude when she sees Lightning Dust endangering other ponies. Second, at the end of the episode, as far as it seems to be implied, Spitfire just demotes Lightning Dust without any warnings or anything beforehand - this, despite being the pony who made Lighting Dust lead pony in the first place because she was more daring, and even thought in the first place a tornado was a pretty chill idea, if a little overboard, when in a real-world command situation the commanding officer should acknowledge his or her fault in the situation as well. However, I now ship Thunderlane x Rarity based on the short scene of Thunderlane rescuing Rarity after taking the fall from the hot air balloon.
Apple Family Reunion gives us a very brief scene of baby Applejack and she is just SQUEE! It also sounds like just about any corporate family 'fun' party ever, though in this case for a big family rather than a company picnic. I'm always of the opinion we should get more Big Mac, and unfortunately he's still as in the background with very few speaking lines as always, getting little more than a gag on sneaking an apple fritter.
Spike at Your Service. YUCK! Spike's been shown to be rather useful help in previous episodes, which includes cooking and cleaning, and then they decide to throw that out the window completely and make him some sort of dumb klutz. OH SPIKE BURNED THE PIE! ARE YOU LAUGHING YET?! It makes this episode worse that all they really had to do was simply not make him a klutz, and turn it from an 'Applejack doesn't want to hurt his feelings' plotline into something slightly more ethically charged, 'Applejack finds his help useful but wants him to be able to have his own life' instead. That, and get rid of the scene at the end where he beats a Timberwolf by throwing a pebble at it. That was stupid.
Keep Calm and Flutter On. Discord is an epic troll and practically steals the show every scene he's in. I think this should have been a two-parter, if only because a single episode isn't really enough time to make the whole reformation believable. Also holy smokes did Twilight Sparkle actually yell at Princess Celestia for once?!
Just for Sidekicks and Games Ponies Play tell the opposite stories of the same day. I can't quite say I enjoyed either of them, though Games Ponies Play does lead into a storyline that occupies several episodes of the next season as well. Just for Sidekicks runs with the whole 'make Spike dumb and immature all the time' plot too much. Spike's a kid, so I would expect him to make mistakes all the time and sometimes not owe up to them, but episodes with him seem to always go to the extreme. Games Ponies Play, seems to me that for all they keep making Twilight a Canon Sue that you would think she would make sure the pony they picked up was Ms. Harshwinny. However, they're already getting rid of the one thing that really made her interesting by having her go through breathing exercises every time she gets close to panicking.
And finally, Magical Mystery Cure. I wasn't a fan or anything and I only ever watched the first half of season 1, so I wasn't around for the whole blowup this episode caused. In theory, I don't really have a problem with them making Twilight a Princess, or giving her wings. I mean, she's been pretty much a Canon Sue since close to Day 1, outside of her neurosis, which Games Ponies Play showed was getting better. What I _DO_ have an issue with is the trigger for her being made a Princess and Alicorn. at least when you compare it to Star Swirl himself.
Let's see. Star Swirl the Bearded? Created more than two HUNDRED spells according to Twilight in Luna Eclipsed. Presumably created the Time Travel spell from It's About Time, since it's in a library wing named after him, though somepony else may have created it. As we learn in Season 4, befriended a supervillain and turned him against an unrepentant supervillain. Started but never completed the spell at the heart of MMC. Not a Prince, not an alicorn.
Twilight Sparkle? Element of Magic, she does save Equestria twice, but she only is ever shown to merely COMPLETE a single spell, and convinces her friends of their true talents again. For this, she becomes an Alicorn Princess. If she had defeated Tirek as a unicorn at the end of Season 4, then I could have bought that being the reason for her being made into a Princess, but this just seems a bit too early on.
Also, the other thing I don't like about MMC? It makes it look like Ponyville would fall apart if the remaining five of the Mane 6 weren't performing their true talents. That's pretty much making everypony else useless.
The two Crystal Empire episodes were a little bit weak. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I guess I don't think there was really a strong driving narrative to it. Celestia saying Twilight wasn't to have the help of her friends was absolutely dreck, no matter if you believe she meant it or if it was a test to see if Twilight would disregard that and ask for help from her friends. The threat of Sombra was kind of in the background and he had only a couple of lines. Making him some sort of supervillain to be feared would have easily bumped up the show's rating, I guess, though the trap door showed some imagination on his part. Also, STAIRS! Bonus points for Spike saving the day for once and Shining Armor literally throwing his wife.
Too Many Pinkie Pies kind of ruins the Pinkie Pie mystique a bit, though Pinkie episodes tend to do that a lot. When Pinkie is in the background, she's the one that makes everyone happy, and the one with zany antics, but when you hone on her, she loses a lot of what makes her special as a member of the Mane 6 or cast in general. I do like the idea of the Mirror Pool, and the watching paint dry scene is full of great gags.
One Bad Apple has probably my favorite song of the season in 'Babs Seed'. Between the lyrics, upbeat instruments and actual visuals it just makes the episode perfect. The ending is a bit to Aesop-heavy but Babs is pretty chill and stuff.
Magic Duel. Trixie. Star Wars Homage. 'Nuff said. Simply awesome.
Sleepless in Ponyville I think I would put at the top of the season. Scootaloo finally gets her own episode, there's an enormous amount of character development on her part, some on Luna's, and we get Rainbow Dash wing-hugging Scoots. Rarity basically making Sweetie Belle do all the tough grunt labour of pulling her luggage is a fun running gag. It seems to me like as time goes on, the Cutie Mark Crusaders episode continue to get better and better, even as their overarching purpose of getting their Cutie Marks never comes to fruition.
Wonderbolts Academy is a strange episode. I like the general gist of it, and Lightning Dust makes a good foil for Rainbow. However, two things I think would made the episode better: make Rainbow even more cockier than normal to start the episode off, and be reckless like Lightning Dust is, only to change her mind and realise that she herself goes overboard with her attitude when she sees Lightning Dust endangering other ponies. Second, at the end of the episode, as far as it seems to be implied, Spitfire just demotes Lightning Dust without any warnings or anything beforehand - this, despite being the pony who made Lighting Dust lead pony in the first place because she was more daring, and even thought in the first place a tornado was a pretty chill idea, if a little overboard, when in a real-world command situation the commanding officer should acknowledge his or her fault in the situation as well. However, I now ship Thunderlane x Rarity based on the short scene of Thunderlane rescuing Rarity after taking the fall from the hot air balloon.
Apple Family Reunion gives us a very brief scene of baby Applejack and she is just SQUEE! It also sounds like just about any corporate family 'fun' party ever, though in this case for a big family rather than a company picnic. I'm always of the opinion we should get more Big Mac, and unfortunately he's still as in the background with very few speaking lines as always, getting little more than a gag on sneaking an apple fritter.
Spike at Your Service. YUCK! Spike's been shown to be rather useful help in previous episodes, which includes cooking and cleaning, and then they decide to throw that out the window completely and make him some sort of dumb klutz. OH SPIKE BURNED THE PIE! ARE YOU LAUGHING YET?! It makes this episode worse that all they really had to do was simply not make him a klutz, and turn it from an 'Applejack doesn't want to hurt his feelings' plotline into something slightly more ethically charged, 'Applejack finds his help useful but wants him to be able to have his own life' instead. That, and get rid of the scene at the end where he beats a Timberwolf by throwing a pebble at it. That was stupid.
Keep Calm and Flutter On. Discord is an epic troll and practically steals the show every scene he's in. I think this should have been a two-parter, if only because a single episode isn't really enough time to make the whole reformation believable. Also holy smokes did Twilight Sparkle actually yell at Princess Celestia for once?!
Just for Sidekicks and Games Ponies Play tell the opposite stories of the same day. I can't quite say I enjoyed either of them, though Games Ponies Play does lead into a storyline that occupies several episodes of the next season as well. Just for Sidekicks runs with the whole 'make Spike dumb and immature all the time' plot too much. Spike's a kid, so I would expect him to make mistakes all the time and sometimes not owe up to them, but episodes with him seem to always go to the extreme. Games Ponies Play, seems to me that for all they keep making Twilight a Canon Sue that you would think she would make sure the pony they picked up was Ms. Harshwinny. However, they're already getting rid of the one thing that really made her interesting by having her go through breathing exercises every time she gets close to panicking.
And finally, Magical Mystery Cure. I wasn't a fan or anything and I only ever watched the first half of season 1, so I wasn't around for the whole blowup this episode caused. In theory, I don't really have a problem with them making Twilight a Princess, or giving her wings. I mean, she's been pretty much a Canon Sue since close to Day 1, outside of her neurosis, which Games Ponies Play showed was getting better. What I _DO_ have an issue with is the trigger for her being made a Princess and Alicorn. at least when you compare it to Star Swirl himself.
Let's see. Star Swirl the Bearded? Created more than two HUNDRED spells according to Twilight in Luna Eclipsed. Presumably created the Time Travel spell from It's About Time, since it's in a library wing named after him, though somepony else may have created it. As we learn in Season 4, befriended a supervillain and turned him against an unrepentant supervillain. Started but never completed the spell at the heart of MMC. Not a Prince, not an alicorn.
Twilight Sparkle? Element of Magic, she does save Equestria twice, but she only is ever shown to merely COMPLETE a single spell, and convinces her friends of their true talents again. For this, she becomes an Alicorn Princess. If she had defeated Tirek as a unicorn at the end of Season 4, then I could have bought that being the reason for her being made into a Princess, but this just seems a bit too early on.
Also, the other thing I don't like about MMC? It makes it look like Ponyville would fall apart if the remaining five of the Mane 6 weren't performing their true talents. That's pretty much making everypony else useless.
6 days
BUT! Looking at the three episode summaries they've released so far, it looks like Rarity will be the main protagonist of Episode 14 and 15 and at least the deuteragonist of 16.
Who schedules this shit? Really?! Space out the episodes so the same pony doesn't dominate 3 episodes in a row! This is what it begins to feel like:
BUT! Looking at the three episode summaries they've released so far, it looks like Rarity will be the main protagonist of Episode 14 and 15 and at least the deuteragonist of 16.
Who schedules this shit? Really?! Space out the episodes so the same pony doesn't dominate 3 episodes in a row! This is what it begins to feel like:
Going off the plot summaries, it doesn't quite sound like it. First off, it's midseason, so it would be weird to have a two-parter, let alone an unprecedented three-parter (though it IS the first time they've had a break in the midseason like a lot of shows do). Second, they've released plot summaries and they sound fairly unrelated. Third, it would be odd to cap off the third episode of a supposed three-parter with Friendship Games releasing on the same day.
Speaking of the Equestria Girl movies, having watched both of them now, my thoughts.
First, the art style, specifically the decision to colour everybody's skin. I *THINK* I know why this is, specifically to avoid a complete meltdown by people at the skin tone of their favourite pony if they gave them skin with regular tones from chalk white to super dark. I've seen a lot of humanised Twilight fanart that doesn't use the EQ style where she's given brown or black skin and the comments often turn into a shitshow. Still don't like it, but I got used to it.
Secondly, they just KILLED IT with the music in both movies. Don't think there's really any one that I dislike, though a few of them I wouldn't really listen to again, none come to mind at the moment though.
Now, for the actual plot, I'm not too fond of the high school setting, it's really ehhhhh. Second, holy smokes is Sunset Shimmer like literally the personification of 'wasted potential'. They have her as a good foil, make her hyper-competent at the start of Equestria Girls with snatching the crown, then she completely falls apart after that. And it looks like she didn't even really have a master plan or anything considering her idea was to brainwash teenagers and send them back to Equestria. Then she's set up for a redemption arc in Rainbow Rocks, and she barely gets the screentime for it. They should have taken the "My Past is Not Today" short and incorporated it into the actual movie.
On the other hand, Twilight finally has a moment of uselessness in Rainbow Rocks, so that always counts for something.
The original Equestria Girls has things that are never explained. Presumably they didn't want to make a movie for little kids complicated, but there's some headbanging stuff here, like how did Sunset Shimmer know where the mirror would be, that Twilight would be there, that Twilight would be a princess, the room she was sleeping, and what the Element of Magic actually looked like? That alone is a gaping hole right there. Then later in the movie Flash Sentry finds picture cutouts in the trash. It's like Sunset was honestly trying to lose at that point.
The fanservice in Rainbow Rocks is pretty damn dope, though. Vinyl Scratch, Trixie and the Illusions, and several Derpy appearances? And that post-credit scene which we'll see pay off in Friendship Games, damn!
I can never quite tell who is the 'leader' of the Crusaders. Some episodes it feels like it's Apple Bloom, other times it feels like it's Scootaloo. About the only thing I think Sweetie Belle ever took the lead in was Hearts and Hooves Day. In this picture, at least, Scoots' smugness definitely makes her the lead.
They can be adorable, but I often struggle watching the episodes focusing on them because I foresee the issues and resolution too far ahead. Oftentimes, if they get an awesome song alongside the episode, I can tolerate it so much more, like this one:
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvDnMjPPHCI[/video]
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvDnMjPPHCI[/video]
The one from Hearts and Hooves Day is dopest imo.
They completely kill it in "Somepony to Watch Over Me" with a song starting up and then getting interrupted after 5 seconds.
Anyways, the episode that was supposed to air on Halloween, so like 40 days from now? Those Apple dopes managed to leak it onto the iTunes store.
They completely kill it in "Somepony to Watch Over Me" with a song starting up and then getting interrupted after 5 seconds.
Anyways, the episode that was supposed to air on Halloween, so like 40 days from now? Those Apple dopes managed to leak it onto the iTunes store.
So out of the first four seasons so far, my absolute favorite moment is Sonic Rainboom, you know the one. Between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy it's delicious.
That said, upon rewatching, I realised something
At 3:07 (because this format is garbage and won't support specific time links)
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdHTSO4iY_g&t=3m7s[/video]
Pinkie, AJ and Twilight look 'happy' BEFORE Rainbow Dash performs the Rainboom and saves Rarity. Wow, way to hate on Rarity, girls!
And then some Rule 63 Trixie x Twilight Sparkle, all Safe for Woona of course
Honestly, if Trixie had been a stallion as originally planned, I think the fandom would have picked it up as a pairing still but this time no other ship would even have a chance at being as popular
(damnit people, help me get this thread back to being alive! 1200 posts in its first two years, less than 100 in the last year)
That said, upon rewatching, I realised something
At 3:07 (because this format is garbage and won't support specific time links)
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdHTSO4iY_g&t=3m7s[/video]
Pinkie, AJ and Twilight look 'happy' BEFORE Rainbow Dash performs the Rainboom and saves Rarity. Wow, way to hate on Rarity, girls!
And then some Rule 63 Trixie x Twilight Sparkle, all Safe for Woona of course
[img=800x900]https://derpicdn.net/img/2015/9/22/985300/large.png[/img]
[img=800x375]https://derpicdn.net/img/2015/1/12/805075/large.png[/img]
[img=800x633]https://derpicdn.net/img/2014/7/8/669898/large.png[/img]
[img=800x375]https://derpicdn.net/img/2015/1/12/805075/large.png[/img]
[img=800x633]https://derpicdn.net/img/2014/7/8/669898/large.png[/img]
(damnit people, help me get this thread back to being alive! 1200 posts in its first two years, less than 100 in the last year)
Would anybody be interested in being a muse and proofreader for something I'm writing? Adventure story, probably around 150,000 words-ish if/when I complete it, Trixie-centric with multiple OCs. I've got most of a first chapter written though it starts in media res near the ending, and a large outline of the characters and rough storyline.
I thought about trying to watch Friendship Games, but the only full video I've seen is on Daily Motion and honestly, the volume on DM is NEVER loud enough. Guess I'll just have to wait until Netflix gets it.
That said, I did two more oneshots that are on this site and FIMfiction as well, a Trixie one and a Scootaloo one
That said, I did two more oneshots that are on this site and FIMfiction as well, a Trixie one and a Scootaloo one
OK, so I actually bit the bullet and watched Friendship Games. Had to fill in a bit with the MLP wikia transcript since the volume is so DAMN low.
EDIT: Also, this movie was written by Josh Haber, who wrote four episodes, which includes 'Bloom and Gloom', which I think was honestly the trippiest episode in the entire series. I guess they clamped down on him for the film script unfortunately.
Honestly, I think there are two big issues with the movie. The first is length. They should have added on another five or ten minutes and given the rest of the Crystal Prep Six some more personalisation. I think Sunny Flare speaks like one line before the very end. Then when they have their heel-face turn at the end it would feel more organic. SciTwi should've stayed at Crystal Prep too IMO, and then all twelve of them could have gone to their picnic thingie at the end.
The second is SciTwi herself. They made her pretty much a genius doormat who basically stumbles into magic and even after she realises the magic she's carrying around is draining from the other girls and causing random portals to open, SHE STILL HOLDS ONTO IT. I feel they should have made her an actual villain, a bitch on par with movie 1 Sunset to fit in with the rest of the Crystal Prep Six. Make her clue in that there's some sort of strange energy at Canterlot and deliberately set about draining it, and decide to use it at the end to win the Friendship Games. Shunting the villainess duties onto the Principal just makes it way too uninteresting.
What I did find pretty funny is that the students of Canterlot High School are so incredibly blase about the existence of magic. Like, Luna literally says flat-up Sunset Shimmer comes from another world with magic meaning that it's a pretty general fact, and asks her to keep it on the down-low.
The second is SciTwi herself. They made her pretty much a genius doormat who basically stumbles into magic and even after she realises the magic she's carrying around is draining from the other girls and causing random portals to open, SHE STILL HOLDS ONTO IT. I feel they should have made her an actual villain, a bitch on par with movie 1 Sunset to fit in with the rest of the Crystal Prep Six. Make her clue in that there's some sort of strange energy at Canterlot and deliberately set about draining it, and decide to use it at the end to win the Friendship Games. Shunting the villainess duties onto the Principal just makes it way too uninteresting.
What I did find pretty funny is that the students of Canterlot High School are so incredibly blase about the existence of magic. Like, Luna literally says flat-up Sunset Shimmer comes from another world with magic meaning that it's a pretty general fact, and asks her to keep it on the down-low.
EDIT: Also, this movie was written by Josh Haber, who wrote four episodes, which includes 'Bloom and Gloom', which I think was honestly the trippiest episode in the entire series. I guess they clamped down on him for the film script unfortunately.
Personally, my issues with the movie were different.
Overall, it's got plot holes the size of a train, but it's more disappointing than it is bad, especially after Rainbow Rocks turned out surprisingly good (seriously, I'm still finding myself going back to listen to the final song of Rainbow Rocks). But then again, the villains in Rainbow Rocks were actually somewhat capable, had a decent plan and almost succeeded.
Also, for those looking for it, you can find Friendship Games divided into four parts here. It's also a good site for checking out other series, like Steven Universe, Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, the Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon that seems to be leading into the next movie, etc. Just a warning: there's four video players for each part and they can sometimes be a bit wonky when it comes to skipping forward or rewinding.
First is the whole "once every four years" bit. They could've just as easily explained that the divided CHS didn't function well during Sunset Shimmer's tyranny, hence why CHS lost so many times before.
While I know they needed Abacus Cinch to have at least one note to work from to be a villain, I think it would've been better if they'd lost the Friendship Games in the past (say, maybe twelve-twenty years ago) and suffered a significant drop in tuition as a result. This would've put her on edge for winning, as a repeat of the disastrous loss could affect so much at Crystal Prep; hence the reason they always put their best students forward instead of doing a popularity vote like CHS.
It also would've helped if there were more intelligence-based tests which would've explained why Cinch has chose to pressure Twilight into the games.
My final issue is with the games themselves. Without the plot driving the reasoning for the entire event, which is lackluster at best, the teams should've been mash-ups from both schools, and the glory given to the students rather than to the school. Otherwise, why call them the Friendship Games? There's no friendship going on between the schools and we didn't see any friendship in any of the teams from Crystal Prep, which would've been an easy way to hint at their heel-face turn. Methinks someone saw the trailer for Hunger Games, decided they completely understood the plot from said trailer, slapped "Friendship" over "Hunger" and called it a day.
Ideally, the whole event would've been smarter if Crystal Prep was a sister school for CHS, and frequently offered scholarships, etc. to students of CHS. Then the games would've made more sense in my mind, as it would give CHS a place to nudge those more serious about reaching their potential, but there might be a drive among those who either can't afford the tuition, can't stand the restrictions or those who don't like the general atmosphere to show that you don't need a prep school to be a good student.
At the end of the day, though, I think the movie hit a few problem points rather hard:
They probably didn't want to repeat too much of the first movie. If Twilight was too eager to gain magic, she would've been more like Sunset Shimmer in the first movie, and fans would bitch about them essentially repeating a plotline, which has already gotten them plenty from the Rainbow Dash episodes where RD has to re-learn not being a selfish bitch being the Element of Loyalty. Plus, SciTwi would've ended up far less forgivable if she'd willingly embraced the stolen magic rather than being thrown into a metaphorical furnace; and it lets them give Sunset Shimmer closure for having been a horrible pony in the first movie.
I personally think that if it was the Crystal Prep students themselves deciding to be bullies instead of being Cinch, I think it could've made for a better story, but I think time or money constraints prevented that as the CP students would've needed time for proper characterization.
While I know they needed Abacus Cinch to have at least one note to work from to be a villain, I think it would've been better if they'd lost the Friendship Games in the past (say, maybe twelve-twenty years ago) and suffered a significant drop in tuition as a result. This would've put her on edge for winning, as a repeat of the disastrous loss could affect so much at Crystal Prep; hence the reason they always put their best students forward instead of doing a popularity vote like CHS.
It also would've helped if there were more intelligence-based tests which would've explained why Cinch has chose to pressure Twilight into the games.
My final issue is with the games themselves. Without the plot driving the reasoning for the entire event, which is lackluster at best, the teams should've been mash-ups from both schools, and the glory given to the students rather than to the school. Otherwise, why call them the Friendship Games? There's no friendship going on between the schools and we didn't see any friendship in any of the teams from Crystal Prep, which would've been an easy way to hint at their heel-face turn. Methinks someone saw the trailer for Hunger Games, decided they completely understood the plot from said trailer, slapped "Friendship" over "Hunger" and called it a day.
Ideally, the whole event would've been smarter if Crystal Prep was a sister school for CHS, and frequently offered scholarships, etc. to students of CHS. Then the games would've made more sense in my mind, as it would give CHS a place to nudge those more serious about reaching their potential, but there might be a drive among those who either can't afford the tuition, can't stand the restrictions or those who don't like the general atmosphere to show that you don't need a prep school to be a good student.
At the end of the day, though, I think the movie hit a few problem points rather hard:
They probably didn't want to repeat too much of the first movie. If Twilight was too eager to gain magic, she would've been more like Sunset Shimmer in the first movie, and fans would bitch about them essentially repeating a plotline, which has already gotten them plenty from the Rainbow Dash episodes where RD has to re-learn not being a selfish bitch being the Element of Loyalty. Plus, SciTwi would've ended up far less forgivable if she'd willingly embraced the stolen magic rather than being thrown into a metaphorical furnace; and it lets them give Sunset Shimmer closure for having been a horrible pony in the first movie.
I personally think that if it was the Crystal Prep students themselves deciding to be bullies instead of being Cinch, I think it could've made for a better story, but I think time or money constraints prevented that as the CP students would've needed time for proper characterization.
Overall, it's got plot holes the size of a train, but it's more disappointing than it is bad, especially after Rainbow Rocks turned out surprisingly good (seriously, I'm still finding myself going back to listen to the final song of Rainbow Rocks). But then again, the villains in Rainbow Rocks were actually somewhat capable, had a decent plan and almost succeeded.
Also, for those looking for it, you can find Friendship Games divided into four parts here. It's also a good site for checking out other series, like Steven Universe, Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, the Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon that seems to be leading into the next movie, etc. Just a warning: there's four video players for each part and they can sometimes be a bit wonky when it comes to skipping forward or rewinding.