art by thediscorded

This was an unexpected and fun episode.

Season Six has really excelled in several areas, particularly continuity, world-building and characterization. The writers and animators continue this trend, as “Viva Las Pegasus” finally opens the curtains on a location many of us have been salivating to know more about since its mention four seasons ago in “It’s About Time”.

And the episode definitely doesn’t disappoint. For those of us wondering if Las Pegasus is a play on Los Angelos or Las Vegas, definitely the latter. And the design team and animators went all out, drawing a lot of inspiration from the actual Las Vegas and giving it their own, pony spin. I particularly enjoyed seeing a cloud city crafted with a large non-pegasus population in mind.

Virtually all of the episode took place within a single resort/casino: Gladmane’s. I almost wish we had been able to see a bit more of the outdoors. But that just leaves us with a lot of potential for this location in the future. Given how often the show has revisited old locations this season, not only was I overjoyed to see a new one, but I feel safely confident that we will see Las Pegasus again. Fingers crossed for more of it in Season Seven!

I liked how they overcame the hurdle inherent in giving us a pony version of Las Vegas – the inability to show gambling on a television cartoon with MLP: FiM’s rating. The one resort/casino that we get to see is largely modeled on Circus Circus, with its indoor amusement park. While the sounds that we associate with gambling casinos filled the background, we were visually treated to ponies enjoying games and rides.

Surprisingly, the pony version is much less garishly pink than the real thing.

Gladmane’s place looked incredibly fun, and it was great to see a location full of ponies just having an amazing time. The episode had eye candy galore. There were new characters that obviously drew on popular and well-known Las Vegas personalities, not the least of which was the Elvis-styled Gladmane himself. And for those eagle-eyed viewers (or those of us watching the episode multiple times), they threw in a number of ponies from past episodes (especially “Spice Up Your Life”).

As for the content of the episode, more on that after the break.

vector by DashieSparkle

This was the first time the pairing of Applejack and Fluttershy have been an episode focus since “Bats!” To my recollection, it is only the second episode in six seasons to pair the two, and I loved how these two friends played off each other. I want more Applejack/Fluttershy episodes now.

Fluttershy has gotten amazing treatment this season. “Flutter Brutter” remains one of the season’s truly stand-out episodes (in a season resplendent with great ones), and arguably the best Fluttershy episode of the entire series. Fluttershy’s character growth has been showcased repeatedly, such as her calling the intervention in “28 Pranks Later”, and this episode allows her to shine once again. As well as giving us a wealth of wonderful and cute new Fluttershy moments and images.

God, she was adorable. And surprisingly sassy. The writers have managed to give Fluttershy a good dose of sass without making it at all cruel or demeaning, still keeping to her core of kindness. Bravo! I can’t wait to see more sassy Flutters!

I mentioned before that I believed the season has been a great vehicle for some characters, including Fluttershy and the CMC, but less kind to Applejack. It seems to me that most of the episodes that Applejack has had a major role in have played to or centered on her weaknesses rather than her strengths: her failure to show good sportpony behavior at the end of “Buckball Season” to the idiot-ball-infested “Applejack’s ‘Day’ Off” (which I easily consider the weakest episode of Season Six), to the extreme showcasing of one of her character flaws in “The Carts Before the Ponies”.

To an extent, “Viva Las Pegasus” continues that trend. I couldn’t help but notice that the Cutie Map sent Fluttershy for her compassion and willingness to help anyone, but chose Applejack because it was relying on her inability to do the same. Applejack was once again sent someplace by the map in accordance to her limitations or flaws more than her strengths. I do not care for that common thread in Applejack’s map episodes, and I truly hope Season Seven takes a different path.

Yet at the same time, Applejack’s reputation for honesty is pivotal to “Viva Las Pegasus”. That is a very good thing to see. And who better to recognize that than the two ponies who tried to make a profit off of it the last time she saw them. More than anyone outside family and friends, Flim and Flam know that Applejack’s word can be trusted.

Flim and Flam’s proclamation that “You never lie!” was a bit off the mark. But it would definitely be true for them to both assert her honest nature and to declare that, knowing her, it is obvious to them that she is being earnest.

It’s not so much that Applejack never lies. Rather, honesty is so core to her nature that when she tries to be dishonest, she is really glaringly bad at it.

The rest of the episode unfolded like a ponified version of a television show I enjoyed called Leverage. It was a lot of fun watching the two skilled con artists execute a scam to save the day. The entire sequence was delightful to watch.

I will also admit, I was happy that Flim and Flam didn’t suddenly change their nature after one good deed. They are such incredible foils for Applejack that I wouldn’t want to lose the chance to see more of their shenanigans in the future. That said, the episode wrapped up with Flim and Flam taking over Gladmane’s. This could be a fitting close to their character arcs, as they have now become the management of a major business. It is a business that are rather ideally suited for. If they play their cards right, this could set them up for the rest of their lives. (Also, it is a great excuse to have our ponies revisit Las Pegasus.)

art by Joakaha

Other prizes:

The episode got us right to Las Pegasus. The “plop” background transition was nicely used.

I adored the new acrobat pony. She was darling and quite enjoyable to watch. Perfect choice for voice actress, and such a great character design.

And the Flying Prairinos… what a name!

“I thought looking for a friendship problem in Las Pegasus would be like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles!”

As much as I’ve talked about Fluttershy’s animations, Applejack’s expressions as she recognizes the voices of Flim and Flam were perfect. And her stubborn refusal to help them for the first half of the episode did give us a lot of new Applejack poses and expressions to enjoy.

Prance Prance Revolution!

Flim and Flam running through possible cons was riotous. Plus, I loved how Flim admitted “My flair isn’t what it used to be” – such a nice bit of honesty with his brother that showed their friendship really was mending.

Wasn’t “Impossibly Rich” just a hilariously fantastic name? Especially given how completely believable such a name is within the context of the show?

I also loved the brief return of Fluttershy’s alternate, brother-crafted hairstyle when taking off the wig.

Altogether, this was an excellent and enjoyable episode that I will certainly watch several more times. Especially for Fluttershy. I aim to have my Afterthoughts for "Every Little Thing She Does" up sometime this weekend. Thank you for your patience. Let me know what you thought of "Viva Las Pegasus"!