The highly anticipated 6th season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has finally arrived! There was much discussion on forums on when the new season would start, so when Hasbro released the sneak preview that hinted to the reveal of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s baby and the release date of Episode 1 – every pony went wild. The My Little Pony Community has been on edge to find out Starlight’s path with the Mane 6, and the royal filly’s name. Needless to say, the anticipation was high for all Bronies and Pegasisters across the nation.

The Crystalling: Part 1 written by Josh Haber, who made his debut as a writer for MLP:FiM back in 2013 with the episode “Castle Mane-ia”, provided viewers with a wonderful glimpse on what all Season 6 will have to offer. The episode begins with Starlight roaming through Princess Twilight’s castle searching for the library, where she knows she will find Twilight Sparkle. Starlight has become the Princess of Friendship’s pupil and has been tasked to complete her first lesson in friendship. Twilight is asking her to rekindle her friendship with her childhood best friend, Sunburst. The Mane 6, Spike, and Starlight are making the trek to the Crystal Empire to visit Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and their new baby. During Twilight’s first meeting with the new baby she finds out that the new filly was born an Alicorn! Not ever in the history of Equestria has there been a born Alicorn, because the custom has been a Princess had to earn her wings by performing a Princess-like deed. As they prepare for the Crystalling of the baby, which is a presentation of a new Crystal Empire baby to the public, the enormous powers of the filly causes for the Crystal Heart to shatter. During this time, Spike and Starlight find Sunburst where they attempt to rekindle their friendship as requested by Twilight Sparkle. The first episode ends with weather of the North rolling in to take over the Crystal Empire, and Twilight trying to find an answer of how to repair the Crystal Heart.

The Crystalling: Part 2 also written by Josh Haber, begins with Starlight requesting assistance from Sunburst to assist with fixing the Crystal Heart. Starlight firmly believes that Sunburst is an important wizard pony, but Sunburst makes sure to finally inform her that while he has a deep understanding of magic he never had the capabilities to execute the spells he knew properly. With Sunburst’s secret out of the bag, Starlight finally feels comfortable enough to tell her story. She covers her wrong doings in Season 5, explains to Sunburst that she is now Twilight’s pupil, and that she still felt he could be an asset to fixing the major catastrophe they are about to lose to. Needless to say, Sunburst has a spell that will be able to harness enough energy to keep the Crystal Heart together until the end of the Crystalling. The Crystalling of a royal filly hasn’t occurred in over a millenia, which should provide an incredible amount of power to repair the heart. Sunburst becomes the filly’s Crystaller, and so handles the ceremony. The Crystal Empire is saved with the help of the whole Crystal Empire, and most importantly, it shows that by fate Princess Flurry Heart truly did deserve her wings.

Josh Haber has become one of the main writers for the series with good reason. He has the ability to tell a charming story that makes the viewer sit on edge during the entirety of the episode. I am a firm believer that each writer does have a specific skill set to bring to the table. Natasha Levinger, known for writing “Pinkie Apple Pie” and writing the song “Apples to the core”, is more known to allow the main characters to learn from each other and appreciate one another which was the premise of Season 1. Natasha makes sure that although the Mane 6 have been on this journey and could be considered experts by this point, that they are not as perfect as we may seem. They are continuously learning just like all of the other ponies whom they teach these important lessons.

Season 6 will have big shoes to fill, especially now that the Mane 6 have become god parents to Princess Flurry Heart. They started the season off with a bang by introducing Princess Flurry Heart, and I hope the momentum keeps up. Seeing the Cutie Mark Crusaders follow their path of helping other filly’s truly understand their cutie marks is something I hope to see in this current season. Long term, I hope that the Cutie Mark Crusaders will become close friends with Princess Flurry Heart and provide her with the guidance she needs to find her cutie mark. The Mane 6 will continue to follow the map, and allow them to explore parts of Equestria that had been only mentioned in previous episodes. Starlight will follow her path of learning about friendship with the help of Twilight and the rest of the gang, but I wonder if she will potentially also become a Princess and earn her Alicorn status. She is, after all, the only pony besides Twilight to time travel. Ultimately, I have the utmost confidence that Season 6 will not disappoint.