Mariusioannesp's Flash Reviews--My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 2

Hello my Brony brethren!

Today, I bring you the second blog of this three-part blog series. Without further ado-do, here are my Flash Reviews of Season 2 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

The Return of Harmony

Introducing, the former contender for the title of best villain in the history of MLP! The one and only Discord!

Yes! Discord! The lord of chaos! We are first introduced to Discord in his stone imprisonment where the CMC inadvertently participate in releasing him. Celestia, of course, calls for the Mane 6 to stop him with the Elements of Harmony as his chaos begins to spread, but it turns out Discord has already stolen the Elements of Harmony. One of my favorite things about Discord and this episode overall is how much Discord likes to mess with the Mane 6. This comes to a head as Discord systematically breaks each of the Mane 6 so that embody the opposite of their Element, thereby leaving the Elements of Harmony inert. And through it all, Discord just has that smile on his face. Faux Affably Evil is probably one of my favorite villain tropes. It’s the dichotomy of it. Just smiling and laughing and joking as the world burns around you. Plus, Discord is almost successful in his evil plan to take over Equestria. In the end, Twilight Sparkle is able to shake-off Discord’s mind-breaking after reading all the Friendship Reports she had sent Princess Celestia, and she is able to do the same for her other friends. Then finally, the Mane 6 are able to defeat Discord and return him to the stone prison from whence he came. Overall, “The Return of Harmony” remains one of the best premieres of MLP, and Discord will remain on of the the best villains in the history of MLP.

Lesson Zero

In this episode, Twilight loses it completely when she realizes she hasn’t sent a Friendship Report to Princess Celestia, which she notes she’s done once every week. Tee hee. Fourth wall. Anyway, the fact that this episode aired right after “The Return of Harmony” is what makes it the most interesting. Twilight’s meltdown here could be the residual effect of Discord having broken her mind in the previous episode. Trauma has been known to induce obsessive-compulsive disorder in those who already have those tendencies. (At least that’s what happened on Monk.) After Twilight’s friends don’t take her issues that seriously, Twilight takes matters into her own hooves and tries to invent a problem for her to solve. She ends up inciting a mob clamoring after a doll she has bewitched, which Princess Celestia has to come and solve. As a result, Twilight’s friends admit to Princess Celestia that they should always take their friends’ problems seriously even if it doesn’t seem that major. Princess Celestia then has the rest of the Mane 6 write her letters about their lessons in friendship. Overall, “Lesson Zero” was an entertaining episode that established the format of the Mane 6 sending letters to Celestia that would remain for two seasons.

Luna Eclipsed

I am aware that before this episode, there was a certain depiction of Princess Luna in the fandom. (I think this used to be called “Woona”.) This episode was Princess Luna’s first appearance since MLP’s very premiere, and it officially established her canon personality. Princess Luna here is overly formal and bit behind in her speech and mannerisms. I like these aspects of Princess Luna. I kind of have a thing for an archaic, Shakespearean-style manner of speech. Anyway, Princess Luna visits Ponyville’s Nightmare Night celebration because she wants to overcome her reputation as Nightmare Moon, who is the center of the celebration. This doesn’t work out that well given Pinkie Pie’s somewhat misguided attempts to have fun at Luna’s expense, which leads to Luna canceling Nightmare Night. In the end, Princess Luna learns to have fun with the fear of Nightmare Moon. Twilight also learns that best part of friendship is sharing it with others and that friendship can bring out a new pony from their intimidating exterior. Other points of interest is that this is the first episode where we hear about Star Swirl the Bearded, who we would continue to hear about over the course of the series. Overall, “Luna Eclipsed” was a great episode for introducing us to the Princess Luna that would grow to love and want to see much more of.

Sisterhooves Social

In this episode, Sweetie Belle is spending the week with Rarity and wants to spend quality time with her sister. Rarity, though, is less than enthused about having Sweetie Belle around and shoots down Sweetie’s suggestion of participating in the Sisterhooves Social after Apple Bloom suggests it to her. After Sweetie Belle messes up her stuff while trying to be nice and helpful, Rarity sends her away. Sweetie spends the day with Applejack and Apple Bloom and comes to the conclusion that they have a better sisterly relationship than she does with Rarity. Regretting her previous harshness, Rarity seeks out Sweetie Belle, but Sweetie wants nothing to do with her and would rather Applejack be her sister. Applejack ends up partnering up with Sweetie Belle for the Sisterhooves Social, but it turns out to actually be Rarity in a plot she concocted to win back Sweetie Belle. In the end, we have a lesson that sisterly relationships require a fair bit of compromise and teamwork. Other things of note, this the first episode we see Rarity and Sweetie Belle’s parents. Overall, “Sisterhooves Social” is a nice little episode with an important lesson about the relationship between siblings.

The Cutie Pox

In this episode, Apple Bloom becomes dejected after another failed attempt to get her cutie mark and proceeds to use an alternate means to get her cutie mark more quickly. Well, Apple Bloom does get a cutie mark. And then a second. And a third. And a… oh, oh! Turns out, Apple Bloom’s got the cutie pox, an incurable illness that results in her being covered in randomly appearing cutie marks that she’s forced to act out. Luckily, Zecora arrives on the scene and reveals that the cure lies in Apple Bloom confessing what she did. Apple Bloom confesses that she stole some of Zecora’s heart’s desire plant and used it to make a potion that she thought would give her a cutie mark immediately. After she takes the cure, Apple Bloom learns her lesson about being patient. Although, she almost immediately disregards this lesson and goes with the CMC to try their hooves at another cutie mark. Overall, “The Cutie Pox” was a pretty good amusing episode.

May the Best Pet Win!

In this episode, Rainbow Dash realizes she’s the only one in her circle of friends without a pet so she decides to get one. Rainbow Dash, however, cannot just have any pet; it has to be the most awesome pet! Rainbow Dash puts several winged creatures that Fluttershy happens to have at her disposal to the test to see which will have the honor of being her pet. All the while, Fluttershy insists that Rainbow Dash allow this tortoise to participate. It all comes to a head when she has these animals race her through the Ghastly Gorge. Rainbow Dash ends up getting her wing stuck and all the flight-capable creatures just pass her by. But not the tortoise. The tortoise frees Rainbow Dash’s wing and carries her across the finish line. Rainbow determines that the rules stipulated that the creature that crossed the finish line with her would be her pet and so declares the tortoise the winner. The tortoise becomes her pet Tank. Then we have the lesson where Rainbow learns that what matters in a pet is not how awesome they are, but the having the kind of spirit that will stand by her. Well, that’s nice. Overall, this was a nice origin story for how Rainbow Dash got her tortoise Tank and a very nice episode throughout.

The Mysterious Mare Do Well

This is the episode that is almost universally panned among fans as one of the worst ever. Not me, though. I happen to like this episode quite a bit. Now, I understand that it does have its flaws. It could have been written better. However, it is not nearly as bad as some people say it is in my humble opinion. There are a couple of reasons I have for this.

Firstly, as I pointed out in my “Boast Busters” review, I do not abide the vice of arrogance. This is the very vice Rainbow Dash falls into in this episode when she lets her initially selfless acts of heroics go to her head. Now, some have argued that Rainbow’s friends creating the Mare-Do-Well persona to teach Rainbow a lesson in humility was out of character or mean-spirited. Was it? I mean, Rainbow Dash was allowing ponies to fall to their near-deaths while signing autographs. If they hadn’t done something, somepony could have gotten hurt due Rainbow’s hubris. They did what they had to do in my opinion. And it’s not like they want Rainbow Dash to stop being heroic. They say they just want her to more humble about it. And that’s the lesson Rainbow Dash learns. I think it’s a good one.

Secondly, there’s a bit of a nostalgia factor. This episode makes a number of references to Batman: The Animated Series and Darkwing Duck, which I used to enjoy very much when I was a youngling. But the reference to Darkwing Duck is much deeper than just Mare-Do-Well’s costume. I realized this when I was reminded about Darkwing Duck by the Nostalgia Critic's Disney Afternoon video. For those of you not in the know, Darkwing Duck is about a duck named Drake Mallard, who becomes a superhero not out of a sense of duty or because his family was murdered by criminals like a normal superhero. Instead, he does it for the glory of it. He’s basically what Rainbow Dash turns into over the course of the episode. To have Rainbow Dash be put in her place by a pony dressed as a superhero who was only interested in his own personal glory… the irony is palpable.

Overall, I think “The Mysterious Mare Do Well” is criminally underrated due to its unfortunate undeserved reputation as one of MLP’s worst episodes.

Sweet and Elite

In this episode, Rarity goes on a trip to Canterlot, and she soon works her way into the Canterlot elite. However, her hobnobbing starts to come between her and her friends, and she has to make a choice as to which she values more. Before Season 4’s “Rarity Takes Manehattan”, I’d say this was Rarity’s best episode. “Becoming Popular” is also just as good a song as “Generosity” too. Anyway, the highlight of this episode is when Rarity stands with her friends against the potential snobbery of the Canterlot elite, despite her life-long desire to be one of their number. Now that’s generosity there. Another highlight is Fancy Pants, Canterlot’s leading tastemaker. He serves to show that not everypony in the Canterlot elite is a snob, especially when he calls Rarity’s friends “charmingly rustic” and compliments the rather simple dress Rarity ended up making for Twilight’s birthday. On a side note, some have questioned the Remane 5’s behavior at the garden party. Explanations include Rarity is merely imagining their behavior as worse than it really is or that they’re drunk. I’m kind of partial to the drunk theory. (Notice that Spike isn’t present at Twilight’s party so they can serve adult drinks.) Overall, “Sweet and Elite” was a sweet episode and truly an elite Rarity epiosde.

Secret of My Excess

In this episode, Spike undergoes Dragon puberty! After receiving more presents than he ever has over the course of his young life, Spike’s draconic inclination towards greed is sparked, and he begins to mature into a full-grown dragon. I found it amusing Spike going around demanding presents from ponies because it’s his birthday. I admit I get the same way on my birthday. However, the consequences for Spike are much worse than they ever were for me. This episode shows us how greed can really turn someone we all know and love into a monster, literally and figuratively, and shows us that what is really valuable is kindness and generosity. Another highlight of this episode is Spike confessing his love for Rarity, though to this day, it really hasn’t amounted to much. Sorry, Sparity shippers. I also enjoyed the references to Godzilla and King Kong. Overall, “Secret of My Excess” was a delightful little episode that grew to enormous size.

Hearth’s Warming Eve

This episode features one of the greatest instances of worldbuilding for the show at that point. In the guise of a typical “Christmas” episode, we are introduced to the Equestrian holiday Hearth’s Warming Eve, which celebrates how Equestria was made! I quite liked the means by which we are regaled with the tale of Equestria’s foundation. It starts off with the Mane 6 in a play about Equestria’s foundation, and then it kind of turns into a flashback with the Mane 6 still in those roles. It kind of reminded me of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. (Part of the Exercises is to meditate on a Scripture passage as if you were a witness or participant, real or imagined, of the particular account in the Scripture.) Anyway, this was the first major glimpse into Equestria’s past, which remains something many fans still yearn to see more of. Overall, “Hearth’s Warming Eve” was quite a pivotal episode for giving us an ever so brief glimpse into the history of Equestria.

Family Appreciation Day

In this episode, Apple Bloom has to bring Granny Smith to her school’s Family Appreciation Day since the rest of her family is busy with the zap apple harvest. Unfortunately, Tweedle B and Tweedle Concha... I mean Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara convince Apple Bloom that her Granny’s eccentric ways make her an embarrassment. Apple Bloom as well as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo spend most of the episode doing everything they possibly can to prevent Granny Smith from going to Family Appreciation Day. All of this is to no avail because Granny Smith shows up anyway. Up until this point, I’m kind of with Apple Bloom. I think Granny Smith is going to unwittingly make a fool of herself and Apple Bloom by extension. I should have known better and so should have Apple Bloom. Granny Smith proceeds to tell the story about how her family founded Ponyville and how her discovery of the zap apples was critical for Ponyville’s survival early on. All her eccentric habits this whole time were necessary steps in creating the zap apple jam that the zap apples are harvested for. In the end, Apple Bloom learns to always remember that Granny Smith is special. Another highlight of this episode is that it’s the first time timber wolves are mentioned. Overall, “Family Appreciation Day” is an episode with an important lesson in respecting your elder. Something we all should remember especially these days.

Baby Cakes

In this episode, Mr. and Mrs. Cake have twins, oddly enough a Pegasus and a Unicorn despite them being Earth ponies. Anyway, Pinkie Pie offers to babysit for them when they can find nopony else to do so, but is she really responsible enough for the task? This episode showcases Pinkie Pie’s attempt at childcare, which as always much more difficult than one realizes. It’s much, much more than just playing with them. This is a rather important lesson for anyone who intends on caring for children. And Pinkie’s hijinks during her adventures in babysitting are rather amusing. The only thing I found wrong with this episode is Twilight. When she shows up later on thinking Pinkie would need some help, she is incredibly condescending about it. It’s the only moment where I’ve thought Twilight acted out of character. Now, I know I’ve complained before about Twilight having a habit of not taking Pinkie seriously, but that took the cake. Overall, “Baby Cakes” was a fun episode outlining the responsibility of taking care of children.

The Last Roundup

In this episode, Applejack goes off to participate in the Equestria Rodeo Competition, expecting to return with blue ribbons and a buck-load of prize money. However, Applejack doesn’t arrive when expected and sends her friends a rather cryptic note. The Remane 5 go off to search for Applejack and find her working on a cherry farm in Dodge Junction. Applejack remains guarded about what happened at the rodeo and why she chose not to come home. Eventually, they are able to goad Applejack into agreeing to fess up, but then she hightails it, breaking a Pinkie Promise in the process. Pinkie Pie goes insane, and they chase after her. In the end, Applejack admits that she didn’t come back because she only got second place at the rodeo, and so she got no blue ribbons or prize money. She was working at the cherry farm to earn money to fix the damaged city hall she had promised to use the prize money to fix. Her friends convince her that she is not a failure, and she learns that you should never be afraid to admit when you didn’t do as well as you thought you would. Now, some have criticized this episode suggesting Applejack acts out of character by lying to her friends. I say in response that technically Applejack didn’t lie. She neglected to tell the whole truth. She’s not lying, but she’s not telling the truth either. It’s a nebulous area between honesty and dishonesty that skirts very close to the latter. Other highlights of this episode is the reference to the famous chocolate factory scene from I Love Lucy at the cherry farm.

Of course, you can’t talk about this episode without bringing up the Derpy incident. This was the first episode in its initial airing to actually feature Derpy speaking! She’s even called “Derpy” by Rainbow Dash! However, this ended up erupting into controversy when some people apparently thought Derpy was insulting to mentally-challenged people. Derpy’s name was then edited out and her voice changed. This may have contributed to Derpy being noticeably absent from most of Season 3, but she made a huge comeback in Season 4’s “Rainbow Falls.” I fear, though, we may never hear Derpy speak or called by that name again. She will always be Derpy to me.

Overall, “The Last Roundup” was a pretty good episode outside of some the external issues that arose from it.

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

In this episode, it’s cider season at Sweet Apple Acres, and the Apple Family faces some stiff competition from the Flim Flam Brothers and their titular Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, a contraption that they promise can produce more cider in less time than the Apple Family can with Sweet Apple Acres as the prize. So, they put their money where their mouths are and compete to see who can make the most cider in the least time. When Applejack’s friends also provide assistance, their victory seems assured. The Flim Flam Brothers retaliate by recalibrating their machine to process lower quality apples. They end up winning by producing much more cider, but their cider is awful, leading to them hightailing it from town. Unusually enough, Applejack ends this episode by admitting she didn’t actually learn anything because she knew from the beginning that her friends would always be willing to help her and that when you do things the right way, your work will speak for itself. That’s still good to remember. The Flim Flam Brothers are unique among MLP’s rogues gallery as they are pretty much the garden variety hucksters you may have the misfortune to come across one day. They are like “Real Life Villains.” Other highlights of this episode include the Flim Flam Brothers and their song-and-dance being reminiscent to the musical The Music Man. The plot of the episode reminiscent to the ballad of John Henry competing against the steam-powered drill. Also, there’s a Back to the Future reference: “And besides, nopony calls Granny a chicken.” Overall, “Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000” was a nice episode that introduced us to our favorite con ponies the Flim Flam Brothers.

Read It and Weep

In this episode, Rainbow Dash learns that reading is FUNdamental! After Rainbow Dash is laid up in the hospital after breaking her wing, Twilight suggests she cure her boredom by reading an engaging novel about an adventurous pony named Daring Do. Rainbow, of course, rejects this, insisting that as an athlete, she has no interest in intellectual pursuits. After trying everything to entertain herself, Rainbow gives in and reads the Daring Do book, and then finds she enjoys it. She then spends the rest of the episode hiding her newfound interest from her friends, frustrated that they keep interrupting her. When Rainbow is discharged from the hospital without having had the chance to finish the book, she sneaks back in to try to finish it. This leads to a chase by the hospital staff that ends at Twilight’s library. Rainbow finally admits to Twilight that she likes reading Daring Do books, and she learns a lesson in not being afraid to try new things. I could feel for Rainbow Dash a bit in this episode for I also took up reading novels rather late in life when I got into Harry Potter. Highlights of this episode include the introduction of Daring Do. As a fan of Indiana Jones (for the most part), I like how Daring Do is basically the pony answer to Indiana Jones. (This also figures heavily in G.M. Berrow’s Daring Do chapter books.) She has developed a bit of a following among some of the Brony fans. Something I noticed that no one seems to have is that I believe that the plot here is very reminiscent to the story of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Recall, I brought him up in my review of “Hearth’s Warming Eve” above. Anyway, Ignatius was a knight whose leg was broken and spent his convalescence reading the Bible and The Lives of Saints. He underwent a conversion and ended up founding the Society of Jesus. (I swear, someone on MLP’s writing staff went to a Jesuit school!) Overall, “Read It and Weep” was a great episode that introduced not only Rainbow Dash, but many fans to their love of Daring Do.

Hearts and Hooves Day

On Hearts and Hooves Day, three young ponies’ fancies lightly turn to thoughts of--you know. The Cutie Mark Crusaders think that their teacher Cheerilee deserves to have a special somepony in her life and set out to find her one. They decide Big McIntosh is the best choice. After trying to set them up doesn’t yield the results they were after, the CMC discover that a love potion was involved in the story behind Hearts and Hooves Day and decide that’s the best way Cheerilee and Big Mac together. The potion has the expected result, but then all Cheerilee and Big Mac end up doing is act all lovey-dovey at each other. Turns out the potion is actually a love poison, and it does not bode well for everypony drawn into this mess. There is a solution, though. The poisoned couple has to be separated for an hour. Sweetie Belle comes up with the idea of suggesting to Big Mac and Cheerilee that they should get married so they would have to separate for an hour in order to prepare. All the while, the CMC try to keep Big Mac and Cheerilee distracted as much as possible to prevent them from reuniting in less than an hour’s time. Fortunately, they succeed despite coming dangerously close to failure. Once the potion’s spell has been broken, the CMC confess what they did and apologize, learning the lesson that “shippers gotta ship” doesn’t work in real life. They are punished by having to finish Big Mac’s chores. The episode ends with Big Mac and Cheerilee walking into the sunset after messing with the CMC by making them think that the poison hasn’t worn off completely. I enjoyed this episode for being a foray into the topic of romance, which MLP tends to avoid. On top of that, it focuses on the romantic lives of two less-than-major characters. The vague ending is the biggest reason why Big Mac and Cheerilee are one of my OTPs. It’s not too big an issue, but I always wondered why Apple Bloom didn’t put much thought into how potentially awkward it could be to have Big Mac date her teacher. Overall, “Hearts and Hooves Day” was a wonderfully cute episode, and its topic of romance is one that deserves to be explored more on MLP.

A Friend in Deed

In this episode, Pinkie Pie sets out to befriend a new donkey who moves to Ponyville, who really wants nothing to do with anyone. This episode opens with what many agree is probably the best song of Season 2: Pinkie Pie’s “Smile Song.” So, Pinkie meets a donkey named Cranky Doodle Donkey who has just moved to Ponyville. True to his name, Cranky is rather cranky and unresponsive to Pinkie’s overtures of friendship. Pinkie spends the rest of the episode trying her darndest to befriend Cranky, coming so close, but no cigar. When Pinkie accidentally destroys a scrapbook Cranky held deer, he declares that he will never, ever, ever, ever, ever be her friend. That’s four evers. That’s… forever! After a parley with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Twilight suggests that Pinkie may never befriend Cranky, and so she should leave him alone. Pinkie decides to do so as soon as he accepts her apology. After chasing him all over town trying to get him to accept her apology, Pinkie makes a final overture to make up for destroying his scrapbook. She brings a donkey named Matilda she knows to him. Turns out, Cranky and Matilda met years ago at the Grand Galloping Gala but weren’t able to meet again. He’d spent the years since searching from town to town for her. Ponyville was where he intended to retire from his search. Pinkie made the connection when she saw a flower, a ticket, and a menu from the Grand Galloping Gala in Cranky’s scrapbook that she also saw in Matilda’s scrapbook. Cranky accepts Pinkie’s apology and accepts her friendship as well. Pinkie is overjoyed but understands that Cranky still prefers to be left alone, learning the lesson that you can still be just as good friends with those who prefer to be left alone most of the time. Now, I’ve heard this episode criticized, suggesting the lesson should have been that you can’t make friends with everyone. I’m with FOB Equestria’s Firebrand when he brought that critique up in saying that it would have been a horrifyingly cynical message. I mean, if we put as much effort as Pinkie does at trying to be friendly with everyone, perhaps we wouldn’t see as much anger as we see in the world today. Overall, “A Friend in Deed” was a nice episode with important message of hope in the power of friendship.

Putting Your Hoof Down

In this episode, Fluttershy decides not to be so much of a pushover. After having a rough day due to her inability to be assertive, Fluttershy attends an assertiveness seminar led by a minotaur named Iron Will. Iron Will’s brand of assertiveness, however, is very aggressive. Fluttershy takes to this and takes it really far. She’s just mean to everypony. Rarity and Pinkie Pie, concerned over “New Fluttershy’s” overly aggressive behavior, confront her over it. She then proceeds to make Pinkie and Rarity cry, accusing them of being overly frivolous. Realizing what she’s done, Fluttershy then locks herself in her home for fear of the monster she has become. Rarity and Pinkie return once more due to their continued concern for Fluttershy. That’s when Iron Will shows up to collect Fluttershy’s payment for the seminar. Fearing the worst, Pinkie and Rarity try to distract him, but it is to no avail. Fluttershy refuses to pay Iron Will, citing his “100 percent satisfaction or your money back” guarantee, and Fluttershy is not satisfied. Iron Will, being a reasonable creature, tries to negotiate hoping she’s at least a little satisfied. Fluttershy, though, truly puts her hoof down, saying “No means no,” and Iron Will leaves amicably. Rarity and Pinkie praise Fluttershy for learning how to truly be assertive without being mean. I like this episode mostly because it further proves my belief that Fluttershy has an inner darkness within her. Iron Will is also unique as this episode’s antagonist given he’s not really villainous. He just has a set of misplaced values. Plus, he’s still reasonable because given his guarantee, he cannot expect payment from Fluttershy if she’s not satisfied. Highlights of this episode also include Pinkie reintroducing us to that old Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck routine: Duck Season, Rabbit Season. Overall, “Putting Your Hoof Down” was a great episode, showing Fluttershy get over another hurdle in her chronic shyness.

It’s About Time

In this episode, Twilight receives an important message… from herself in the future! An impending disaster is to occur by next Tuesday, but Twilight doesn’t give the Future Twilight a chance to tell her what it is. Twilight then proceeds to lead the town of Ponyville in making everything disaster proof. Fortuitously enough, Cerberus, the guardian of Tartarus, shows up. Twilight presumes that perhaps this is what her future self intended to warn her of since Tartarus houses deadly monsters and without Cerberus there, they might escape. Twilight leads Cerberus back to Tartarus, but when she arrives home, she notices a scar on her cheek that Future Twilight also had, meaning she changed nothing. She tries doing nothing instead, but then Spike ends up breathing fire at her hair causing it to look just like Future Twilight’s. She tries consulting Pinkie Pie’s Pinkie sense, but ends up having a flowerpot fall on her head, causing her to have a head bandage like Future Twilight. She tries monitoring everything looking for the disaster. She looks at the sun through a telescope accidentally, causing her to need an eyepatch like Future Twilight. Twilight, though, has lost track of time, and Pinkie has to remind her that Tuesday is the next morning. Twilight come up with an audacious plan to break into the Canterlot Castle library and look for a spell that can stop time in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing, where Future Twilight had said time-travel spells are stored. Breaking into the library ended up being a lot easier than she expected, but she finds that with her stealth suit she now looks exactly like Future Twilight. Tuesday morning then arrives and all of a sudden… nothing happens. Twilight is perplexed but then concludes that there must not have been an impending disaster. Pinkie then finds a spell that can be used to go back in time, which Twilight decides to use to warn her past self that there isn’t going to be a disaster. We then have a repeat of earlier in the episode where the Future/Now Present Twilight is unable to warn her past self that there is no disaster to worry about. Going back in time to prevent something from happening ended up ensuring it would happen. It’s a predestination paradox! I love those. In the end, Twilight learns not to worry so much about the future and let it work itself out. Overall, “It’s About Time” is a nice time-travel romp with a neat predestination paradox.

Dragon Quest

In this episode, Spike searches for what it means to be a dragon. While watching the Great Dragon Migration with the Mane 6, Spike comes to the realization that since he’s spent his entire life around ponies, he has no idea what it means to be a dragon. He then decides to follow the migration in hopes of getting in touch with his draconic roots. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash covertly follow him in a makeshift dragon suit. Spike finds a group of teenage dragons to hang out with, who force him to undergo a series of initiations in order to join their clique. With some secret help from Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow, Spike manages to do so. However, once he’s part of the group, they want him to join in with something he’s rather uncomfortable with: raiding a phoenix nest so they can smash the eggs. Since most of the eggs have already hatched, there’s only one egg left, which falls into Spike’s hands. Spike, though, refuses to smash the egg, pointing out how they all used to be eggs. I liked that. Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity appear to defend Spike. The dragons give chase, but Twilight manages to teleport themselves out of their way, causing the dragons to get stuck in a tree. In the end, Spike writes a letter to Celestia about how he learned that what he is doesn’t define who he is, and his pony friends have taught him how to be kind, loyal and true. The phoenix egg hatches, and Spike names it Peewee. Oddly enough, we never did see that phoenix chick again. Highlights of this episode include how reminiscent it is to a G1 MLP episode called “Spike’s Search.” Overall, “Dragon Quest” was a great episode for Spike, exploring some of his issues with personal identity.

Hurricane Fluttershy

In this episode, Fluttershy faces some of her performance anxiety. Ponyville has been chosen to create a tornado to bring water up to Cloudsdale so they could make the weather. Rainbow wants to break the record for top wind speed and needs every Pegasus in Ponyville to participate, including Fluttershy. Fluttershy, however, has terrible performance anxiety, going all the way back to when she was a child being teased for her inability to fly very well. Fluttershy reluctantly accepts participating in the tornado when Rainbow begs her to. Unfortunately, Fluttershy’s wingpower isn’t anywhere near the required minimum of 10 in order to break the record. She manages a 0.5, which Spike very helpfully reminds us is indeed less than one. Fluttershy runs away in shame. She vows though to improve her wingpower and her ability to perform in public with the help of her little animal friends. Fluttershy returns to Rainbow’s training camp some time later. This time, she clocks in at 2.5 wingpower. An impressive improvement, but still pretty sad. Anyway, Tornado Day arrives, but a number of the Pegasi have gotten sick with the feather flu and are unable to attend. They won’t be able to break the record and possibly won’t be able to get the water to Cloudsdale at all. Rainbow tries anyway, but they unfortunately fail. While Rainbow gives it just one last try, Fluttershy shows up with the intention of at least providing moral support. Twilight convinces her that they need every bit of wingpower they can get, and so she jumps into the tornado. With a final burst, Fluttershy manages to get the tornado to the required wind speed, and they get the water to Cloudsdale. Spitfire, who was there to observe the event, congratulates Rainbow on a job well done. Rainbow, however, points out that they couldn’t have done it without Fluttershy. As the Pegasi cheer Fluttershy’s name, Fluttershy narrates the lesson she learned about even if you think you can’t make much of a contribution, every little bit can help. Highlights of this episode include the introduction of the pony who will come to be known as Bulk Biceps and his catchphrase “YEAH!!!” Overall, “Hurricane Fluttershy” is great episode where we see Fluttershy take another step in getting over her shyness.

Ponyville Confidential

In this episode, we are reminded of how harmful gossip can be. The Cutie Mark Crusaders try their hooves at getting cutie marks in journalism by working at the school newspaper, The Foal Free Press. The editor, Tweedle Concha I mean Diamond Tiara, wants juicy stories. (It was kind of odd seeing Diamond Tiara on her own in this episode.) The CMC eventually find one in Snips and Snails getting stuck to each other with bubblegum. The CMC create the identity of Gabby Gums to report on further juicy stories. When Sweetie Belle finds Rarity reading their Gabby Gums article, admitting she’d like to read more stories like this, Sweetie comes up with the idea of searching throughout town for juicy stories. They do so, digging up the dirtiest of secrets of the residents of Ponyville. Their column makes the Foal Free Press an unmitigated success. Twilight, though, is concerned that Gabby Gums doesn’t respect ponies’ privacy. Rarity doesn’t see the harm in a little gossip. Meanwhile, the CMC try a different route by trying to publish an interview they did with Spike, but Diamond Tiara prefers they stick their usual gossip. The CMC, though, have been feeling guilty over their column, feeling that their gossip might be hurting ponies’ feelings. Sweetie Belle rationalizes it by saying that it’s what everypony wants. Their next round of articles are even more libelous than the last, going so far as to publish Rarity’s diary. That’s when she finally gets it and also figures out that the CMC are Gabby Gums. The CMC go to Diamond Tiara and tell that they want to retire as Gabby Gums, but she won’t have it. She threatens to publish her own unflattering pictures of the CMC if they don’t keep writing Gabby Gums. After going through Ponyville looking for someone to feature in their column, they find nopony wants anything to do with them. (Big Mac even gives them an earful!) The CMC instead decide to publish an apology, resigning as Gabby Gums. Before Diamond Tiara can make do on her threat, Cheerilee decides that she may have given the newspaper a little too much leeway. She makes Featherweight the editor and Diamond Tiara is reduced to running the presses. What I like most about this episode is that it highlights the hazards of idle gossip. Rarity’s initial opinion that gossip is harmless is one shared by too many. The fact that she has this opinion is one of the things I didn’t like about this episode. Gossip is not harmless, as the CMC learn here. It can be quite spiritually hazardous. (It gladdens my heart to hear Pope Francis speak out against it.) Overall, “Ponyville Confidential” was a good episode with an important message on the hazards of idle gossip.

MMMystery on the Friendship Express

I like a good detective story. In this episode, Pinkie Pie takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of who was it whodunnit to the Cakes’ cake. Pinkie Pie is tasked with delivery the Cakes’ Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, or MMMM as Pinkie puts it, to the National Dessert Competition in Canterlot. Pinkie takes her cake guarding very seriously as she suspects the other competing bakers, Donut Joe, Gustav le Grand, and Mulia Mild, might be out to sabotage the cake. Pinkie stays up all night guarding the cake and notices a few odd goings on. She falls asleep, and in the morning she and Twilight discover that someone has taken three bites out of the cake! Pinkie puts on her Sherlock hat and gives Twilight a Watson hat and sets off to solve this mystery by making wild accusations at her prime suspects through a series of bizarre fantasy sequences. Gustav le Grand is imagined as an old-timey silent film villain, Pony Joe is imagined as a James Bond-esque spy, and Mulia Mild is imagined as a ninja. Twilight keeps pointing out how Pinkie’s cockamamie theories don’t make any sense. The train goes dark when it passes through a tunnel, and when it comes out, all the other bakers’ dishes have been destroyed as well! Twilight then puts on Pinkie’s Sherlock hat and solves the mystery the proper way by searching for clues and making deductions. After collecting clues and reconstructing the events of the previous night, Twilight determines that it was Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity who bit the MMMM the night before. Pinkie then uses the detective skills she learned from Twilight to figure out that it was each of the bakers who ate each others dishes because of how delicious Pinkie described them to be. In the end, Pinkie and the bakers combine their dishes into one dish and enter it together. Pinkie also learns not to make accusations without evidence. Being a Sherlockian, I very much enjoyed the references to Sherlock Holmes here. Rewatching this not too long after spending the Christmastide watching old James Bond films with my father also made me appreciate the James Bond reference as well. Overall, “MMMystery on the Friendship Express” was a fun episode with a delightful mystery twist.

A Canterlot Wedding

This was the episode that started off the divisiveness within the Brony fandom. I never quite understood why there were so many people that didn’t care for this episode. For me, “A Canterlot Wedding” was my favorite season finale and two-part episode in general before “Twilight’s Kingdom.” It could just be because I value marriage, something that modern society no longer seems to respect. It could just because I like Shining Armor because I too am an older brother with a close relationship with my sister. Anyway, Twilight is shocked to discover that her older brother Shining Armor is getting married, and she knew nothing about it. The first thing many bring up against this episode is that it had never been mentioned before that Twilight had a brother. It had never been mentioned before “Maud Pie” that Pinkie Pie had a third sister, but everyone still loved Maud. (I know we did see her in picture in “Pinkie Pride.”) Moving on, Twilight confronts her brother over this when she and friends arrive in Canterlot to prepare for the wedding. Turns out Canterlot is under lockdown with a shield provided by Shining Armor because a threat has been made against the wedding. Twilight also finds out that Shining is marrying her former foalsitter Princess Cadance. However, when she meets Cadance again, she doesn’t seem to be the same as she remembers her. Twilight also observes Cadance belittle each of her friends over their contributions to the wedding. When Twilight brings up her misgivings about Cadance to her friends, they insist that Cadance is probably just nervous about the wedding. Twilight goes to Shining Armor to discuss her misgivings as well, where she surreptitiously witnesses Cadance do some dark magic on Shining Armor’s head. At the rehearsal the next day, she straight up accuses Cadance of being evil. Shining explains that Cadance was using her magic to heal him of the headaches he gets maintaining the shield over Canterlot. He then disinvites Twilight from the wedding. She is also subsequently abandoned by her friends, and even Princess Celestia! That really hurt. In the depths of her despair, Cadance returns and then magically teleports Twilight away in a ring of green fire!

Twilight finds herself in the caves below Canterlot where she then finds the real Princess Cadance. The other Cadance is an imposter! We then have the “This Day Aria,” which was the second best song of the season and one of the best songs of the series overall. Twilight and Cadance crash the wedding and reveal that the imposter is the Queen of the Changelings. (Otherwise known as Queen Chrysalis as she is known in the episode’s script and in subsequent MLP comics.) Chrysalis has come to hijack Shining Armor’s love for Cadance in order to lead her Changelings in taking over Equestria and feed on the love found there. Celestia tries to fight Chrysalis herself but finds the Shining’s love has made Chrysalis powerful enough to defeat her. Celestia then sends the Mane 6 to get the Elements of Harmony, forcing them to fight their way through an army of Changelings. It was so awesome! Unfortunately, they are captured. In a last ditch effort, Cadance uses her love magic to release Shining Armor from Chrysalis’ control, and they combine their magic to raise the shield once more, sending Team Changeling blasting off again. The episode ends with them preparing and celebrating the real wedding. Twilight learns a lesson in always trusting your own instincts.

Watching “A Canterlot Wedding” again after watching the Season 4 finale made me realize that in many ways this episode was a kind of precursor to “Twilight’s Kingdom.” (They are both written by Megan McCarthy.) For the most part, it’s because they each feature villains who are particularly dark and menacing. (Tirek, though, is the far more menacing of the two.)

Overall, “A Canterlot Wedding” was an excellent finale. It introduced us to a much beloved villain in Chrysalis. Over the course of subsequent appearances on the show and in the comics, I feel that Shining Armor and Cadance have grown on us fans. No matter what, this finale will always hold a special place in my heart.

A few final thoughts on Season 2 in general. Prior to Season 4, many point to Season 2 as MLP’s best season. There is certainly a lot of evidence to back up this assessment. There’s a great deal of world-building to round out the world of Equestria. We were formally reintroduced to Princess Luna. We were introduced to some of MLP’s most memorable villains in Discord and Chrysalis. Even what many consider its missteps I fondly enjoyed.

So, that’s what I have to say on MLP Season 2. What did you all think about it? Join me next time where I will complete this series with my Flash Reviews of MLP Season 3.

God bless you all. God bless America. And God bless Equestria.

Comments

[Doctor Perseus]

I share a lot of your positive feelings for a vast majority of these episodes. I'm still not that fond of Mare-Do-Well but I'm happy that you're able to genuinely like it.

In spite of whatever flaws it has, A Canterlot Wedding is still my second favorite MLP finale (coming in behind Twilight's Kingdom, of course).

I'm looking forward to seeing you wrap up this trilogy of yours with MLP's most divisive season. Godspeed, my friend.