Pinkie's Character Development Arc, Chronologically · 6:11pm Jun 28th, 2014
This character arc takes a whole, especially on the longer chronology (four years between the first episode of Season One and the first episode of Season Four). It is not quick even if we assume a one-year stretch between the two episodes. Here it is with a few additions, the way I reckon the time, and with a few eps which are important to her development even when said development isn't front and center. In one major case the development is unique to my story setting. I'll red the text color where this is the case.
Jun YOH 1500 - Friendship Is Magic is S1E01 and S1E02, Pinkie recognizes Twilight, learns how to use her Reality Warping against serious opposition.
Aug YOH 1500 - "Griffon the Brush-Off" is S1E05, Pinkie learns focused rather than diffuse friendship, begins emotional maturation from young fillyhood.
Sep YOH 1500 - "Dragonshy" is S1E07, Pinkie uses her powers to save her friends from an avalanche, displays great courage and fortitude against the Dragon.
Apr YOH 1501 - "Feeling Pinkie Keen"S1E15, explicitly shows Pinkie's precognitive powers.
Aug YOH 1501 - "Party of One" is S1E25, Pinkie nearly suffers personality disintegration but learns to deal with unreliable behavior by friends.
Sep YOH 1501 - "The Best Night Ever" is S1E26, Pinkie comes up against the reality that her Joy can't win over everypony.
Sep YOH 1501 - The Return of Harmony is S2E01 and S2E02. Pinkie is Discorded, recovers from the experience and emerges psychologically stronger.
May YOH 1502 - "Baby Cakes" is S2E12. Pinkie has to deal with the adult responsibility of caring for foals as a mare rather than older little filly. (1)
Jul YOH 1503 - "Too Many Pinkie Pies" is S3E03. Pinkie directly and explicitly discovers that she is a more complex Pony than she seems on the surface. (2)
Aug YOH 1504 - "Pinkie Apple Pie" is S4E09. Pinkie discovers she's (possible) kin to the Apples and deepens her friendship with them. (3)
Aug YOH 1504 - "Pinkie Pride" is S4E12. Pinkie meets a challenge in her main area of talent, discovers an important truth about the nature of giving Joy, and makes a new friend (and potentially more) (4)
Oct YOH 1504 - "Maud Pie" is S4E18. Meeting Maud provides an expansion of Pinkie's background and gives further hints on how Pinkie models other Ponies.
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(1) - Pinkie is only 2 years older than Marble and 4 years older than Limestone Pie, so she never had to watch them in the sense that she has to watch Pound and Pumpkin Cake -- instead, she probably just played with her younger sisters. This is an important step because, presumably, Pinkie intends to someday herself be a mother.
(2) - Because her duplicates are totally-unable to meaningfully-substitute for her -- they are but superficial and silly copies. The real Pinkie has depth.
(3) - Alex Warlorn has a very good explanation in "Magical Mystery Cure: What" as to why Pinkie Pie might have wanted to make better friends with the Apples.
(4) - I maintain that the Ship Tease between Pinkie and Cheese in that episode is absolutely intentional on the part of the writers.
Those innocent clones.
In other words, they're reflections, two-dimensional and unreal. I can't believe that I only just got that.
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I'm guessing that they were spirits which took her form, and which were unharmed by the destruction of their housings. Still, Twilight's solution was terrifyingly dangerous -- it's obvious that the spell she was using to disintegrate them would have killed or at least badly harmed the real Pinkie Pie, otherwise she just could have zapped them all.
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Yes that is the crazy part of that episode. Those who dislike the episode complain because they think Pinkie is being really one dimensional and stupid/silly. The reality is that the clones were being just that but the actual Pinkie actually shows depth throughout the episode. She even begins to doubt whether she is the real deal (which she has now done several times what with Pinkie's Pride though in that case it was her talent rather than whether she was the original).
The clones were annoying the heck out of Rainbow Dash. The original Pinkie was the opposite. She actually cared enough to be extra quiet (or in this author's view used her powers to be quiet) and just wanted hang out with Rainbow Dash. She even brought a boat so that Dash could relax with her in the lake (though sadly they did not get to use it). A lot of people miss these important details in that episode.
If you look for the details that episode has more character development than most while still being very entertaining and Pinkie themed (it is still a funny epsidoe even with those moments added in).
*claps* Could not have said it better myself.
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My article, or one of the comments? In either case, thank you!