003 Flashback: s01ep02 The Elements of Harmony

003 Flashback: s01ep02 The Elements of Harmony

Cliffhanger - a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma.

Thank you, Wikipedia excerpt, you’re very helpful.

More than once in my life I was exposed to the said ‘plot device’ (by the way, it’s peculiar how watching the series and participating in the fandom adjusts our cognitive filters – words like ‘plot’, ‘twilight’ or even ‘apple’ shall never be the same again), be that the sudden reappearance of a powerful Goa’uld System Lord named Aphophis in Stargate SG-1, most awesome captain Jean-Luc Picard temporarily becoming Locutus of Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation… or the ancient pony Moon Goddess’ return in Mare in the Moon.

Employing cliffhangers is an excellent move to make the thirsty audience come back for more after a season break or to get them hyped enough to read another chapter of a fanfic. They are also important in constructing and telling the story, as sometimes it’s impossible to present an intricate plot in but one episode. In case it was, the episode would be most likely considered ‘rushed’ – that’s something the bronies were yet going to, more or less painfully, learn during season 3.

Of course cliffhangers can drive people mad, too. After all, if you’re watching any two-parter’s episodes one after the other, you’d most likely have to get up from your cozy bed/chair/sofa at some point, play the next episode, furiously skip the recap sequence (because you’d already seen that a minute ago!), return to your bed/chair/sofa only to realize your cup of Earl Grey is out of reach, watch about 30 seconds from the new episode (that actually does nothing but summing up the recap sequence and building up the tension). At this point, when you’re obviously back in your bed/chair/sofa, the dreaded opening sequence pops up which you know by heart and don’t want to watch anymore! True story.

Cliffhangers and everything that comes with them – love them or hate them, they’re the reason I watched the next episode of the series. Ponies or no ponies, I had to find out what would happen to them!

Let’s start with a little Hitchhiker’s Guide to Equestria, featuring the fabled Everfree Forest.
A pretty nice place to live, described as creepy, dreadful and just ain’t natural. It doesn’t work the same way as the rest of Equestria does, with plants growing on their own, animals taking care for themselves and clouds moving without pegasi intervention (oh my, that’s so unnatural!).
Be sure to take a camera, because it’s also a great safari zone:
- Cockatrices;
- Dragons;
- Manticores;
- Sea serpents;
- Timberwolves;
- Ursas, both Major and Minor.

All in all, a perfect place for a Sunday picnic trip. Perhaps not as appealing as the Happy Fields of Everjoyful Laughter (I think I should have it trademarked), but still not bad.
But let’s get to the point.

The important thing about the Everfree Forest is that it actually exists as a place. Introducing such places to a TV series makes it feel alive – if Ponyville was the only scenery for our heroines’ adventures, it would become ordinary and mundane. But spooky Everfree (and plethora of other great places created inside the show) that we actually know very little about is a nearly inexhaustible source of adventures, both for the episodes and fanfics.
I hope that one day (say, around season 7 or so), we’ll see some ponies moving to another city – land of opportunity, Niko!

And I just realized that three of my own fanfics are set in the Everfree Forest. Thank Celestia for Hollow Shades!

Pinkie Pie: The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.
Twilight Sparkle: How did you find that?
Pinkie Pie: [sing-song voice] It was under "E"!

The Elements of Harmony? They are some kind of pony weapon, as stated in the ep01’s cold opening, right? Cool, I thought. The only problem with such powerful thingies is with using them wisely (once again Uncle Ben’s with great power comes great responsibility is proven accurate).
Why? Because using them too often in the series creates a backlash of ‘why did you create a boring panacea that saves the day every time’, while not using them at all gives birth to Twilight, WHY U NO wear Elements all the time!? pictures.
They really should be one-use only. Can you imagine re-using them too often? They could solve so many problems in the future! Burn the Parasprites, burn Gilda, burn Tri- OH DON’T YOU DARE!

Top right corner, here I come! Laughter Song, the first song in the series! I have to admit, the concept of singing at mutated trees was bizarre and a little hard to swallow at first, but I’m not to blame for foolishly questioning the Ways of the Pinkie back then. I understood that a catchy song is a good way of presenting certain truths to kids, but what about the adults? Could they make use of those truths? The answer is yes, as long as they can find them. Because something as simple as ‘you gotta stand up tall | Learn to face your fears’ is a source of strength that stays true no matter how old you are.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail!
Rarity: Oh, it's fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides... it'll grow back.
Rainbow Dash: So would the mustache.

Snapshot on the left – wet manes before they were cool. Another thing that will never be the same after you joined the herd.

Middle snapshot with Twilight and ‘a different kind of spark’. Whenever I see that moment, the level of liquid pride in my eyes rises. Of course it wasn’t that touching at first, but it seems that it takes embracing the magic of friendship to appreciate how powerful this moment-of-truth scene is.

Nightmare Moon: You're kidding. You're kidding, right?

She wasn’t! She activated the Elements of Harmony with her pony friends and – omygosh – made you taste the rainbow, Nightmare Moon! All my yes! Take that! Go back where you came from! Wohoo!
Wait, I halted, am I getting excited with something that just happened in a cartoon? Of course I did!
When reading a book or watching a TV series we form a bond with the characters. We cherish their victories, we mourn their losses and we look away the screen when they’re about to make something incredibly stupid. The thing is, we actually care about them, even if they’re not real characters.
Even if they are ponies.

~Prane