@Background Pony #2894  
I like the show for reasons beyond escapism.  
Heck, for that matter, optimism and escapism aren’t necesarily the same; You can enjoy a ‘Noblebright’ (exact opposite of Grimdark, with Nobledark and Grimbright as the two mid-points) without trying to forget the real world. Maybe you just want to see the ‘best case scenario’, or explore a potential solution to some ethical problem without having to risk getting frustrated by a lot of dumb drama - because in the real world, there IS dumb drama now and then, and it can be really tiring, so it’s more comfortable to watch it happen in an optimistic setting and THEN try to implement it, if you agree with their portrayal.

@Background Pony #9086
 
As Celestia clearly says at the beginning of the first episode of this new season: “Not even a princess can do whatever she likes(…)”. Equestria doesn’t seems to be a absolutistic monarchy. Would Celestia do whatever she likes, she would become a tyrant in no time and the three tribes would certainly defect from her.
 
Don’t get me wrong. I like Celestia. Since Season 1 and so on. I don’t think that she’s a weak ruler, but she doesn’t has this absolutistic political power persons like Spike thinks she had. The has to keep it all in the balance and be a symbol for the unity of the pony folk. Without Celestias kindhearted nature the three tribes would return to their selfish pre-Equestrian era.

@DarkObsidian  
Celestia. She is the ruler, is she not? Twilight is a Princess.

@Background Pony #9086
 
Allowed by who? By the fellow members of the EEA council or Celestia?

Basically being on the school board gets you a super-powerful magic amplifier? Where do I sign up?

@DarkObsidian
 
The thing is though, why is he allowed to do as he pleases when he isn’t even the one in charge?

@Background Pony #9086
 
Well, why not? I mean, since Hearth’s Warming Eve we know, that there must be a bunch of powerful unicorns, because they rised the moon and the sun before Luna and Celestia. Starswirl is a great wizard who actually has teached the princesses a long time ago. Starlight shows potential that rivals Twilight the Element of Magic. And so on… I think there is no argue about the fact, that powerful unicorns in Equestria exist, even if we never heard of them before they appear in an episode.
 
His badge reminds me of the mysterious Alicorn Amulet from Magic Duel. Why shouldn’t there be powerful artifacts which boost the magical strength of an unicorn like Neighsay?
 
That his political power seems logical as well. Celestia simply can’t be everywhere and as she said “Even a princess can’t do whatever she wants (…)”. Equestria never looked like an absolutistic monarchy to me. More like a constitutional monarchy. At least Luna and Celestia were elected to become princesses because as alicorns they represent all pony tribes the best possible way. But I presume they never interfered directly in the daily routines of the tribes. Luna is busy in guarding the dream world - and most ponies sleeps at her nightshift. Celestia does a lot of charity work and use events like the Summer Sun Celebration to form a common bond to all ponies. But because of her kindhearted nature she wouldn’t oppose an institution like the EEA as long as there are no heavy issues.
 
Chancellor Neighsay’s political point of view makes sense if you’re aware that Canterlot was just invaded by the Storm King’s troops. And it’s the second canon invasion since the shows premiere. Comic books left out. How this couldn’t effect the minds of some ponies! I wouldn’t been suprised if Neighsay is just the top of an iceberg. But maybe not, because Friendship is Magic and la di da…. Ya know what I mean.
 
I’m actually glad about the fact that there was a canon glimpse to see that something like specism in the FiM world exist. It’s great for world building and makes the show a little bit more “real”. Jeah, I know, it’s a kids show, don’t overmind it. But hell it was funny to watch. I go now and wrote my own fanfiction about the Rise of the Pony First Party in Equestria. Lachend geht die Welt zugrunde.

“Hello I am a new character you’ve never heard of before but I am suddenly appearing now and somehow have vast mystical and political power and am somehow allowed to exist in Princess Celestia’s Equestira. Watch me go ahead and directly oppose a Princess like I’m King of Equestira.”

@TyroneBiggums
 
@sonicfan  
More like Jafar or Ming the Merciless.
 
 
Beware the Beard of Evil

After having watched the episode, yeah, Chancellor Neighsay does seem speciesist. I wonder what Princess Celestia or Princess Luna would have to say about his behavior.

@sonicfan  
I was thinking Dr Strange

Why does this guy look like a ponified Snapes/Magneto/Dr. Doom?

Now that’s what I call a Seal of Disapproval.

Hope we see more alternate magic like this

@Psyga315  
I agree with the anta-gonist part, but the show so far has not only shown non-ponies as dangerous, but he also got attacked for his views that they are dangerous.

@SinnerWhoKeepsTrying1978  
Well Equestria is a nation founded and built by Ponies, named after Ponies, ruled by Ponies, for Ponies.  
Ponies and their culture take precedent, naturally.

It seems to me that whoever wrote that rule book is among the biggest bigots in the show. Whether that was Chancellor Neighsay or not will have to be demonstrated in a later episode. In the mean time, from what I’ve seen, he’s certainly shown himself biased in favor of ponies, or at least of the rules in that book.

POLITICS yey, that is what everyone needs in a cartoon which is pure fantasy and the only reason that anyone really likes the show in the older demographic is for escapism. Why would they want reminders of every day rhetoric that just drags them down? I never rolled my eyes wider and harder than in this episode on how blatantly they infused politics into it. “Globalism is good, nationalism is EVIL, EveryONE is welcome, protecting the interests of actual citizens is EVIL, Oh this is the bad guy, see how mean he is, he shut down the school, let’s make twilight stand up to him and his ‘fascist’ rules and regulations.”
 
This was more hammered in than the “Lesson” from Apple Jacks Day Off.

Chancellor Neighsay is best pony

@PonyPon  
Not the reaction they were expecting for executing the academy’s first school prank

@laofuzi  
They skipped it and then destroyed a fifth of it.

Those kids just let their only place of sanctuary safe space to be hornswoggled by a racist wizard!!!

@Background Pony #64DA  
>is a racist  
>is actively opposing the protagonists
 
There are people who think he isn’t?

You could have just locked the doors but points for style.

Wait. There are people who really thought he was the bad guy?