MLP Make Your Mark: A Little Horse Review

Ponies get sick. It happens. But, what happens when a royal pony gets sick and becomes the ultimate in high maintenance crankiness? This is a question that this installment attempts to answer. Their success rises and falls as the episode moves forward. But, it does have some nice moments, even amidst the mind gratingly rushed storytelling. So, let's not dilly-dally and talk about some frickin' sick ponies, dudes! (Please read the second half of the previous line in a mid-90s surfer accent...either that, or as Mike Myers from Wayne's World.)

Premise: Pipp gets sick right before her big livestream collaboration with Electric Blue. So, her friends take it upon themselves to find ways of curing her. Hitch and his critter friends offer ways of entertainment, ranging from "fascinating nature facts" to a badly thought out song. Izzy gives Pipp different types of tea, seeking a magical cure, but failing every time. Sunny rushes off to Zephyr Heights to learn the secrets of an old family soup that Queen Haven used to feed her daughters when they felt ill. Finally, Zipp chooses the "tough love and reading" route, as she offers up her favorite fantasy series. She also brings Misty in, who gives Pipp a mane brush as a get well present. But, while she's there, Zipp shares her entire theory about the evil pony that Twilight's holographic message warned them about. Much to the shock of the young unicorn, Zipp's ideas about Opaline are absolutely spot on. She rushes off to warn her mistress, who then declares that the time has come for her plan to be enacted. Meanwhile, after a bit of stubbornness and just general grouchiness, the patient finally recovers and does her stream live from the Bright House with all of her friends who helped her get better.

The premise is...actually kinda short. I never realized how complex these stories were attempting to be, and it was nice to see something a bit simpler. There's no big, grand adventure, no huge musical numbers, and, really, no stakes involved at all. Yes, the storyline of a best friend getting sick and being helped by those around them is very cliched and overdone. However, the way that this episode tackles it is actually pretty solid. I do enjoy some of the lines from Pipp here. For instance, when Hitch and his animals do a small play for her, she asks if it's a first draft, to which one of the birds takes...frankly, profane offense to. Hitch won't repeat what it said, and the whole moment does draw a chuckle.

I also love the theme of camaraderie that the episode establishes. It's nice to see everypony fanning out from one central nucleus, in terms of storytelling, rather than being broken up and mismatched with each other. It makes things easier to follow. Sometimes, simplicity is the way to go and, true to form, less is very much more here. This helps lead to some cute little interactions between Pipp and her friends, especially where her sister is involved. The episode is built around the two and helps further their sibling dynamic. They're trying to have some type of character development, and this does build that bridge a little bit more.

My issue with the episode, as with this entire series so far, is that there are no breathable moments. Again, this is a good episode with a good premise bogged down by this horrible sense of urgency. There's no room built in for emotional absorption. For instance, there's a scene where Zipp apologizes to Pipp for getting on her case all day and Pipp apologizes for being "little Ms. Cranky Hooves." This is an area where the two sisters should have certain facial expressions and body language that convey their emotions without dialogue. It's also a spot in which the music should help play a role in putting forth positivity and a sisterly bond that forges through all things, great and small. I'm not saying that it has to be the most dramatic or overly sentimental scene, but something would have been nice. Instead, we basically get two apologies and an immediate resolution in the span of about 15 seconds. I know I've said this before, but it's like they're scared that their target demographic is gonna switch it off because their collective attention spans are the size of the average peanut. While this is somewhat true, it definitely harms the overall story.

So, what we have here is a solid premise, a fairly well written story, a ton of pacing issues, and one heck of a sick pony.

A 3/5