Shining Armor: Hey hey hey hey, no harm, no foul. I know you had a rough time growing up and I wasn't exactly helping. And I think I've only recently begun to understand *how* rough it was. I know we haven't talked much since we moved out, but it's not because I hate you or resent you or anything. I just... thought we both needed some time. To figure out who we are.
Twilight Sparkle: <sigh> I feel like I'm the one who should be saying all that. It's just...! You were always the favorite that everyone said was gonna go places! I was the one always trying and failing and getting in trouble!
Shining Armor: Yeah, looking back, I see that now. If it's any consolation, I never ended up as great as they said. Had my own problems.
Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, I know...
Shining Armor: I'm glad we had a chance to talk about this. Wanna get back to chewing me out for getting brainwashed?
Twilight Sparkle: Heh heh. Sure.
It read perfectly naturally to me as two people realizing that their issues were causing problems in game (and in broader life) and stepping out of the game to resolve things before it escalated- which I assumed was intended as a deliberate contrast to the Discord arc. It didn't occur to me at all that it might be a case of "write what you know" until I read the author notes.
I've had multiple comments throughout this arc to the effect of "Oh boy, I can't wait for the other boot to drop when Twilight blows up on her brother." Just saying.
Yes, but it barely makes a dent on the current narrative, and (apparently, I'll admit) it comes and goes in two pages. I'm not saying there's a problem with it or that it's bad, and if it was foreshadowed it would have needed some form of resolution. Only that it's not filling a "dense" role here, to put it some way.
Although I do admit I didn't even remember the foreshadowing. Considering that and the fact that the nature of this arc doesn't allow for overextended drama, I can see my speculation on the "authorial discharge" was mostly very unfounded.
On that foreshadowing, when did the GM realize that Twilight/Tara's brother was also using this same system in a different campaign? Before or after this point?
A ways after that point. The DM creating a brother for Twilight and Twilight's player having a brother who has turned out to also be playing RPG ponies has always been a big cosmic coincidence.
If you're hungry for more details, I'll tell you right now you're not gonna get 'em from me.