Episode Review: Castle-mania

We start off in the library where Twilight is researching the box found from the tree of harmony we also see she’s starting to get control of her wings and is using them to stack book’s higher . Spike burps up a message from Celestia suggesting that Twilight do some investigating in her old castle (the one the ponies visited in the first episode). Twilight arrives at the castle and finds what’s left of its library…

This might be her dream come true! Twilight loves the place right away but Spike is a little nervous…

Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres Rainbow and Applejack are competing for the title of most daring pony with Pinkie Pie keeping score, their latest contest is a kind of stare contest, the twist…

They’re covered in bees (kids don’t try this at home) however the bee keeper needs his bee’s back leaving the AJ and RD with no winner. Pinkie announces that according to her system…

They’re tied! Pinkie Pie heads off to test the new school bell, of course AJ and RD refuse to settle for a tie and decide to find a new contest, AJ has an idea.

Meanwhile Rarity and Fluttershy (companied by Angel) are heading to the castle where Rarity wants to restore some old tapestries (and get inspired for a new line) Fluttershy is a little reluctant to go to the castle but goes along…

As the two enter a mysterious shadow comes up to the castle! After Fluttershy finds Angel (who ran into the castle ahead of the two) we see Fluttershy’s maternal side when she warns Angel about the dangers of the castle (one of which is stubbing your toe). Just as Rarity, Fluttershy, and Angel go into another hall Twilight and Spike come along with some candles and Twilight announces they’re for an all-night study session (much to spikes chagrin). And now who should come onto the scene but Rainbow Dash and Applejack the latter of the two explains that according to legend when Nightmare Moon was banished some of her dark magic was left behind and when night falls that magic takes the form of… The Pony of Shadows! So the tie breaker for their game is simple, whoever can stay in the castle longest wins (basically they’re legend tripping). Meanwhile Rarity has found a tapestry to restore and asks Fluttershy to get it off the hook however while trying to do so Fluttershy activates a switch which turns the wall over and puts her in front of an approaching Applejack and Rainbow Dash the latter of the two sates she doesn’t believe in ghosts however when the two see one of the tapestry’s start to move they’re scared and attempt to runaway only to be frightened by what appears to be the figure of a pony which quickly vanishes sending them running off. Fluttershy activates the switch again which puts her back to Rarity’s position. Rarity apologizes and the two set off to find a smaller tapestry only to fall victim to a trapdoor…

Which Angel accidently activates. Meanwhile Applejack and Rainbow Dash are running through the castle eventually passing a painting which of course has an eye which follows the two (it’s also the same painting that Rarity lost an eyelash on in MMMystery on the Friendship Express). Meanwhile as Twilight and Spike are researching Spike activates a switch when scared by Angel, the switch opens into what seems to be a secret room perhaps once the private study of the royal sisters…

Inside Twilight finds an old journal by the royal sisters! Meanwhile Rainbow and Applejack are going down a long, twisting flight of stairs at the bottom of which they find…

A dark hallway full of disembodied pony legs (relax they’re fake). Meanwhile Fluttershy and Rarity find themselves in a dark room with no way out. Fluttershy is worried about Angel “an ancient castle is no place for a bunny, he could hit by falling debris or the floor could give out under him (gasp) he could be trapped in a dark place with no way out!” And Rarity states sarcastically that she can only imagine how that might feel. Rarity puts her hoof thorough a hole in the wall right onto Rainbow Dash which scares Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. Fluttershy is thrilled when Rarity tells her she felt something alive thinking it’s Angel, she puts her hoof in the hole and activates another switch which sets the two free. Rarity has had just about enough of the castle but Fluttershy won’t leave without Angel “he could get trapped under a crumbling statue, or get stuck high in a tower with no food, or water, or any friends at all!” Meanwhile Angel is lying next to Twilight happily munching on carrots as the Alicorn reads and discovers that the traps the other have been encountering were designed by the sisters for their amusement (although Luna wasn’t a big fan of the room with pony legs). Twilight also reads about something called the “organ to the outside”….
Speaking of which…

Deep in the castle a mysterious cloaked pony begins to play the organ which activates various traps around the castle putting almost everypony is a bad situation (the exception being Twilight). Eventually Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy bump into each other making everyone of them panic (they were all separated because of the traps). Eventually Fluttershy thinks she sees Angel (it’s really some rocks and leaves) get crushed by a pillar…

Twilight goes to investigate and finds her friends in a panic but stops them with a spell and everypony realize that most of the castles horror was created by them. However at that moment the sound of a pipe organ fills the air…

The gang goes to investigate and find the mysterious pony playing the organ, they sneak behind her, pull her cloak and it’s….

Pinkie Pie! Pinkie explains that after ringing the school bell she decided to throw a “ringing the school bell party” (of course), she went into the forest for bluebells, but started to get cold and put the tarp for the party for warmth, saw Rarity and Fluttershy going in the castle and joined them in their “everypony comes to the big scary castle and hides from each other while she plays the organ party.” In the epilogue the ponies decide to write a journal to learn from each other (replacing the friendship reports) and Applejack expresses relief that The Pony of Shadows was just a legend.
The End….

Or is it?

This episode was written by a new addition to the team Josh Haber and personally I think in his debut he rose to the challenge and gave us a great episode. The gangs reactions and actions are to their characters, he did justice to an old cartoon idea without it seeming to been there done that, and now we get to watch the ponies write a journal together and learn from each other I also like how even though the gang didn’t meet it the Pony of Shadows turned out to be real. However this episode does give off a bit too much of a Scooby Doo feeling and Pinkie seems a little extra… Pinkie then normal over all… A.