• "Between Dark and Dawn" Episode Followup - Royal Sister Vagabonding

    The perfect episode followup for Celestia Day!

    We have another Luna and Celestia episode on our hooves it seems. And it's actually a pretty darn good one too, in my own opinion. We also have Twilight and the rest of the mane cast temporarily running the kingdom. What could possible go wrong, right? I'm sure this will be totally smooth sailing for everyone!

    Warning: This followup is quite large, even by typical followup standards with over 100 images and a dozen gifs. May slow down and/or load slow on some devices.

    Well, that's certainly an interesting thing to start an episode on.

    You tell'em, Flutterbutter~

    This guy is oddly content and calm for having his maw bound shut like that. Then again, would you want to make Fluttershy even more upset? I didn't think so.

    OH SNAP!

    It's these two! What were their names again? Uhhh... Moonya and Cakebuns? Yeah, that sounds about right.

    All joking aside, I loved this comment from Dash. Saying what we're all thinking.

    His expression says it all. I sure hope that teleportation spell automatically took the binding off his face. If not... poor guy.

    My goodness, have we ever seen Luna quite this excited before? The fun has been quadrupled!

    Alright, now you're just scaring the children.

    Oh no, they've rediscovered their daring adventurous sides! This can only end in complete and utter destruction.

    My thoughts exactly, Twi.

    Dat entrance tho. If nothing else, you can't say the sisters don't make an epic entrance.

    Fastest bridge replacement ever. It's like they happened to have one waiting just off-screen. I do like this new bridge design though. Very Canterlot Chic.

    This just in. In other news, Ponyville residents in an uproar after sudden tax increase. Princess Celestia was quoted as saying: "Let me eat cake!"

    Can't say this very often, but that's cute, Angel. Cute scene all-in-all really.

    Adorabelle scrunch face intermission!

    These two and their big entrances.

    Well, uhh, they're not lost anymore at least. Them and the camp could have been possibly vaporized into dust, but details, details.

    Simply ouch.

    Mrs. Cake face scrunch. Scrunch face ALL the pones!

    That's quite the lovely necklace you got there, Ponks. Where'd you get it, Barns & Noble?

    Y'know, you guys don't have to strike a dramatic pose every time you make an appearance.

    I sure hope Mrs. Cake has business insurance. Though I'm doubtful there's anything that covers overly-enthusiastic Alicorn damage.

    Without a doubt, these two are going to be quite the plethora of fun dynamic moments this episode.

    Twilight is very fortunate to have Spike. He's that little voice of calming reason she desperately all-too-often needs. This pony would have given herself a heart attack long ago if not for him.

    "Yo, bro! Watch me down this entire keg on my own upside down!"

    Pfft. I swear they were saving all the Princesses' best expressions for this very episode. I foresee me screen-capping a lot of them in the next 15 minutes.

    "Shampoo anteaters~"

    That was a rather oddly specific example. At least these two are cute. Could you say "no" to those faces?

    I bet you knew this blushing Fluttershy moment would be included, didn't ya? Oh my gosh, she's being so utterly adorable here, that she's booping herself!

    Oof. Sad cute pones break my heart. :'(

    "Don't worry! We'll cover your palace duties!"

    Oh boy. You can tell everyone else know exactly where this is bound to lead: inevitable disaster.


    Uh-oh. And so we're introduced to the other major conflict in this episode: the sisters have vastly different ideas on how to spend their vacation. Celestia wants to experience adventure, while Luna just wants to take it easy and relax. This will lead to silly high jinks.

    Poor Celestia. It sounds like her life is nothing but meetings. Sure, she's lived over 1000 years. But could you imagine 1000 years of daily meetings? It's nothing short of a miracle that her mane still has color. Or that she still has a mane at all!

    Then again, Luna spent 1000 years trapped inside a giant space rock. So touche.

    But seriously, what vacation would be complete without the loud and obnoxious Hawaiian shirt? They're pretty much a requirement.

    Celestia noted the two of them will be "Twinsies". That's adorable.

    Luna a QT~

    However, Celestia a badass~

    It looks like fish food.

    D'awww! Like any siblings, they may sometimes have their differences, but through it all they still love eachother.

    "We're leaving you in charge of raising the sun and moon while we're gone."

    This seems like a wise decision. No way this could have negative consequences or anything I'm sure.

    Aren't the the sisters too adorable in their Hawaiian shirts and ponytails?

    Oh, for goodness sake, Ponks! You can tell by that sly devious grin that she knows exactly what she's doing too. Pinkie, you're just the worst best.

    Look at the sisters' tails. They're just spheres of celestial space! Luna's is even perfectly round. They remind me of crystal balls. Perhaps even bowling balls. Hey, Niko, cousin Niko!

    Twilight didn't even know what the "Royal Swanifying" was. Making sure I knew what that was before the sisters walked away would have been at the top of my priority list. It's not like Celestia is the type to think any less of you because you didn't know.

    Now you're scaring the children, Twilight.


    Why? Because this.

    Twilight rolled a 20 on her convince roll.

    Rarity says "jolly good" in this scene. For some reason I just found it really really amusing. Maybe it just seems a tad out of place or random? Or maybe Rarity has just been hanging out with Octavia too much.

    Yup, just a couple of regular carefree Alicorn princess ponies.

    This guy fainting though. It's weird to think ponies react so strongly to just seeing the royal sisters, since the main characters know them on such a close level and that's the dynamic we see most often. It's similar to how Twilight's own Alicorn princesshood has become so commonplace for us at this point, yet ponies still view her as the special royalty she now is. We just see it so rarely it sorta fades into the background.


    I haven't seen anyone get this excited about a list since Twilight!

    Woot, princess song! I always get giddy when a song begins. I also love this entire scene. It's a classic and there's so many fun characters in the background: The Wonderbolts, Trixie with her cart, Silverstream with another hippogriff, Zecora, Gilda and Gabby, The Flim Flam Brothers, Discord and the Smooze, a couple changelings, Garble, Backdraft, and Maar, Ember, and... wait a minute. Is that...

    Why, yes, yes it is! It's The Friend You Need!

    And that's how this woodcarver became the second pony to be banished to the moon. Y'know, for a professional woodcarver that seems a pretty big and crude mistake. Even Luna takes it upon herself to fix that mess. It's almost like he... purposely did it. I think we may have a Luna fan here.

    Love Luna's cheeky adorable expression.

    Heh, while Celestia is photographing Luna, everyone else is photographing her. Photoception!

    Fail, Luna. 
    The three awesome postcard designs! I love all three of them. I wanna see these at the local post office or convenience store!

    I found this scene pretty funny. I love how the pony in the background just looks around like; "Wasn't somepony else just here a moment ago...?"

    There's something about this mouth style on Celestia that makes her look especially classy. Even in a Hawaiian shirt, this princess is majestic!

    Plus, just look at how adorable these two are together! I'm going to need to see a dentist after this episode.

    My sentiments exactly Luna: D'awww! Lil batto's! Eeeeeee~! <3

    Celestia. You're utterly adorable. This scene with Celestia surrounding herself in the stuffed animal pile was too much for me.

    So darn cute!

    This crowd though. I'd get super nervous with everyone staring at me all the time.

    Yay Trixie's dad!

    We're thinking this book is in reference to the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Thanks to Algernon and Ferret for the assistance!

    Oooh, Wicked! Seems Luna is into the arts and theater! I haven't seen the musical myself, but it looks to be a good one.

    It looks like Iron Will's cruise, or at least waterfall barrel ride, business is doing rather well. Though I think Luna's barrel may have had a slight leak.

    If only sharks were this friendly in real life, right? I wanna give them a big ol' hug. Don't let her fool you, Luna wants to give them big ol' hugs too.

    This seems the kind of activity one might partake in if one didn't have the means to fly themselves, heh. Poor Fleetfoot.

    "Sometimes you can be a pill."

    Are you saying Celestia can be hard to swallow?

    What? I'm saying Celestia can be difficult to get along with! What were you thinking?

    Oh joy, it's the snob committee. Here to be snobs and chew bubblegum. But they certainly won't be chewing bubblegum. That's for the peasants.

    Don't be like that, Fancy Pants. You proved yourself to be more than just a Canterlot snob in previous episodes. You proved you can also be a rather nice and down-to-Earth guy. Don't backtrack on all those good impressions now.

    "Besides, how hard can throwing a swan party be?"

    Ya just had to say it, didn't ya, Sparkle? Well, ya dun goof'd now.

    I like Rarity's expression here. >:1

    I've never tried zip-lining before, but it looks like a whole lot of fun! Celestia seems like a pony who would be a lot of fun to hang out with! It's pretty cool seeing her let loose and be so carefree.

    How did I not notice those quarray eel's until now?

    Hmm, that hat to the far left looks vaguely familiar.

    Oh. My. Gosh.

    I sorta want these mugs now. Or anything with those faces on them. I about fell over laughing. Will these be available at BronyCon? Haha.

    We're detecting dangerously-high levels of Lunabetes in this quadrant post office, Captain!

    So it seems Luna is a major fan of the postal service. Huh.

    Speaking of utterly adorable...

    Dat brow wiggle.

    Pay no attention to Derpy's sick dance moves in the background. Or do! She practices hard and deserves the attention.

    It appears those fan theories were true, at least in part. Luna is an incredibly huge nerd. And I love it. How she goes on to explain her love of the mail delivery process. It's so adorable, endearing, and fascinating to learn she's so interested in such things. Luna truly is a peach. I admire her all the more now.

    This scene reminded me of cave-diving horror films such as The Cave and The Descent.

    80's Luna!

    I love this design. Move over, Cheerilee. There's a new 80's pone in town! Makes sense she would be interested in the 80's. It was an interesting decade and she was trapped in the moon during it. It's natural she may want to relive it in some way.


    Love this design as well. I think this is just a funny contradiction to her usual bright and cheery personality.

    Oh no, your eyeliner is running, Celestia. Poor Luna, her beautiful 80's mane style is also ruined. :(

    That's typically how I look at abstract art too. And does the Pie family know there's a picture of Mr and Mrs Pie in the art gallery?

    These ponies are getting a little silly with their photo opportunities. Then again, how often do you have a princess falling asleep on top of you? Probably not terribly often. Unless perhaps you're a prince.

    Looks like there's some trouble in paradise. Let's go see how the mane six are doing. Certainly they are having an easier time...

    Good grief, they're back. I guess that about sums up how the mane six are faring right now.

    "Buck this board!"

    Also, ew. There's a lot to running a kingdom. A lot of services and facilities that require constant maintenance and supervision. Judging by Applejack's response in the next scene, I don't think they knew at least one of those departments even existed. Perhaps they should have sat down to discuss running the kingdom with Celestia and Luna a tad longer before they went on vacation.

    I think this just goes to show that, even though Twilight and the rest of the mane cast have come an incredibly long way since the beginning of the show, their journey is still an on-going learning experience to be fit and ready to take the reigns.

    Yes, that was an intentional horse pun at the end of that. Thank you for noticing.

    "How rude!"

    Rarity scrunch face! But at least she finally realizes this about these guests. The final horse finally crosses the finish line.

    You got me. I was just looking for someplace to slip in another horse pun.


    I love it. Twilight's just like; "You go now, bai bai!" Best way of getting rid of unwanted company.

    Which brings us back to the sisters. And it seems things have gone from bad to worse.

    Oddly enough, the last episode I did a followup for also had a picnic scene. And that picnic had pretty much the same overall sense of discontent. Maybe picnic's are a breeding ground for more than just ants.

    I feel like there's a joke to be had in here somewhere, y'know? I bet you all have already thought up a ton by the time you reached the end of this sentence. You're awesome like that.

    Heh, these pony pun names. "Ponliacci" is of course wordplay on the classic Italian opera "Pagliacci".

    "I bet you wish I'd never come back so you could still rule day AND night!"

    Ooooooooh snap! That was a piercing one, Luna. I have a feeling that might be something that's been gnawing at the back of her mind for quite some time.

    "Being responsible for every little thing in Equestria AND you!"

    Ooooooooh snap x 2! Celestia's response is definitely not going to better the situation. At all.

    "You mean boss around?!"

    Okay, now you know that one has been on her mind.

    Then Celestia had to go and use the Royal Canterlock Voice on Luna. I'm with Luna on this one, you shouldn't be using that on your sister. You two are equals. Something I think has slipped Celestia's mind on this trip, and most certainly in this argument.

    So after tempers had flared and many things were said but really not meant, the two sisters decide to split apart and enjoy the vacation on their own.

    Major oof. Sad Luna also breaks my heart.

    Dayum, AJ got the Moves Like Jagger!

    That's A LOT of guacamole! Almost enough for my Chipotle burrito. Would you like some burrito with your guac?

    I find something mildly amusing about Rarity hiding behind the table cloth in this scene. You know someone is super jumpy if they hide at the sound of Fluttershy speaking.

    Look at all those birbs. Man, it's a good thing Twilight brought blue and yellow!

    Oh no, he came back! Alright, who left the door open again?

    And yes, he's still rude.

    But! He is here to help. And he does know what he's doing. So I think it's best you let him and his double trouble snob buddles help, Twi.

    Fancy Pants' motivational speech has filled Twilight with determination delegation!

    So after some much-needed intervention, albeit a bit rude, things are finally moving along. I sure hope the garbage isn't going to make the tortoise sick. You don't even know what's in it! Somepony could have tossed out old batteries or something. Do ponies use batteries?

    "So THIS is how you rule Equestria!"

    Yes. You have others do the work for you. DOH HO HO!

    Now that the mane six seem to getting a firm grasp on their situation, let's go back to see how the two royal sisters are getting along on their separate vacations...

    It looks like Luna is starting to miss a certain somepony. It's inevitable, isn't it? You may have the occasional fight or argument with your family from time to time, but you know the anger is only temporary.

    Also, this drink Luna has looks really tasty. You can always tell how tasty a tropical beverage is by how many things are sticking out of it.

    Besides the fact this is probably the cutest parachute in existence, what are the chances? Did this parachute pone have this custom made just for this occasion? Has she been following them around this entire time and is now trying to coax them into making up? Are you getting sick of all my silly theoretical questions?

    Hopefully no to all the above. Well, besides trying to coax them into making up. That one would be good.

    *horse sounds*

    I love when characters make actual horse sounds. Simple comedy.

    Seems Celestia is also beginning to miss another certain somepony.

    I love how the nurse just gives up and pours the entire bowl of it on Luna. It's like basting a turkey. A giant blue sunburnt turkey.

    And so this is what a sunburnt pony looks like. Even her horn got sunburnt!

    Grogar's lair is on this map! I'm assuming Celestia is right around that area. She should pay them all a visit! I bet they would love to have her head. Cozy Glow will bring the cupcakes. The others will bring the revenge watercress sandwiches.

    I'm assuming she's extra scared and jumpy due to being by herself without Luna. How did this gal survive that thousand years before Twilight and friends?!

    To Celestia's credit, I was initially expecting the chicken to suddenly turn into some horrendous deadly monster. But nope, just some KFC on-the-go!


    But it seems their paths have finally crossed again. Luna went up the mountain to watch the sunrise, and Celestia to watch the moon set. Probably due to each thinking about someone else. How sweet.

    I was getting all teary-eyed throughout this entire scene, and I bet I'm not alone! Very sweet and endearing. Though it was obviously inevitable, it's still very nice to see them make up.

    I have about half a dozen captions right off the top of my head ready for this one. But I'll let you fill it in instead.

    This isn't even the first time Twilight has done this! I like how the shadow on the moon remains in the same place despite the location of the sun. Really, with where the two are, that should be a full moon. Much like that one directly above. Zing! But yes, I think assisting Twilight might be in order.

    *insert constipation joke here*

    Spike, I wouldn't stand back there if I were you.

    Typical Twilight expression. The Twilighting is strong with this one.

    "Does anypony have some tape?!"

    Haha, good going, Twi. But yes, just use some duct tape and I'm sure it'll be good as new. You know what they say: if you can't fix it with duct tape, you're not using enough duct tape!

    Whelp, I guess the vacation is being put on standby for the time being. Don't worry, Twi, the cavalry is coming!

    If you couldn't tell by the shear size of this followup, this was one of my favorite episodes of the season thus far, next to Frenemies and The Last Crusade. I know a lot of people have been hoping and waiting for a beach episode for the longest time now, and though this wasn't quite that, it at least had a vaguely similar vibe for Celestia and Luna! I absolutely loved seeing the princesses acting so freely and, well, less princess-y. It paints them in a sorta new light when you get to see them act a lot less rigid and with much more expression and enthusiasm. Especially Celestia. Wow, that gal sure can be adventurous! I think we always knew there was a lot more to these two and their personalities than what little we've seen from them, and there sure is! They are both quite multifaceted ponies.

    Now that you've seen my take and opinions on this episode, what are yours? Was this an episode you enjoyed? Did you like this new more-thorough perspective on the princesses and their personalities or did you think they were portrayed in ways unsuited to them? Discuss it down in those comments below! We'd love to hear your thoughts.

    This has been an exhaustively long, yet enjoyable followup. This is Cobalt Comet saying stay cool and I'll see ya next time!