Well, this is it. The last of these reviews. We’ve gone through so many episodes in so few days, explored this great series and what makes us love it so, and now it’s time for us to say goodbye. Let’s take a look at #25 on the list, “The Best Night Ever.”

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TECHNICAL SPECS:

Season: 1
Episode: 26
Written By: Amy Keating Rogers
First Aired: May 6, 2011

SUMMARY:

At long last, it’s time for the Grand Galloping Gala, the event the ponies have been waiting for all season long. After sorting out their transportation and dressing themselves up, the ponies are all eager to go and have their dreams fulfilled. Even Spike is excited to attend, as he wants to spend a great night with his friends. Unfortunately, the ponies all have their own ideas, and after arriving at the Gala and singing a song, quickly abandon him to pursue their own interests. Of course, things start to go wrong right away…

Twilight, who wanted to have some personal time with Princess Celestia, stands alongside her as she greets the guests. Unfortunately, since Celestia has to talk to everypony, that leaves no time for the two to speak. Applejack sets up her booth in the courtyard, and gets a customer in Soarin from the Wonderbolts, but fails to make any sales afterwards. Rainbow Dash saves Soarin’s pie when he drops it, and is recognized by Spitfire, who invites her to the VIP section with the rest as thanks for saving their lives back at the Best Young Flyer’s competition. Unfortunately, the Wonderbolts are celebrities, and “hanging out” soon turns out to mean just standing around while everypony but her talks to her heroes. Rarity meets with Prince Blueblood, the stallion of her dreams, but he turns out to be a rude, inconsiderate jerk. Fluttershy tries to talk to the animals, but they’re even shyer than her. And when Pinkie tries to party, she discovers that a formal engagement is not like the wild, raucous events she prefers.

At first, it seems like their night will be a drag…until all six decide to make it their best night ever.

Pinkie quickly jumps back onto the dance floor and takes control of the stage, making everypony do the “Pony Pokey.” While she’s playing her tune, the rest of the group begin to go to greater and greater extremes to get what they want. Rainbow starts creating disasters so she can get praise, Applejack dumps her entire product into a giant cake, Rarity tries to put up with Blueblood as best she can, and Fluttershy completely loses her marbles. It all comes to a head when Pinkie stage dives right as Applejack’s wheeling in the cake, launching it in Blueblood’s direction. He uses Rarity as a pony shield, smothering her in the confection. This is the straw that broke the pony’s back, and in his haste to escape her wrath, he knocks over a statue. When Dash tries to catch it, she can’t hold the weight and sends every single column in the room crashing down.

Twilight and Celestia enter, horrified at the destruction that has occurred. And just as things can’t seem to get any worse, the animals from the garden stampede into the ballroom, chased by a completely psychotic Fluttershy. As per Celestia’s advice, Twilight gathers her friends and gallops for dear life, finally stopping at a donut shop she apparently frequented during her time in Canterlot. As it turns out, Spike was already there, drowning his sorrows in donuts and coffee.

A short while later, the six ponies have calmed down, and are now laughing about how chaotic things turned out to be. Twilight is worried that Princess Celestia will be mad at them for ruining the Gala, but as it turns out, she hates the event and invited them in the first place to spice things up. And so the ponies learn that when you’re with friends, even the worst night of your life can be the best night ever.

REVIEW:

The opening of this episode serves two functions. The first is to remind us that yes, the Grand Galloping Gala still exists and our ponies are still going there. The second, however, is to foreshadow just how bad things are about to turn out. Twilight tries to create a Cinderella-esque scenario, using an apple to create a carriage and four mice to create…horses. This might actually be my favorite part of the episode, if only for the mouse-like features on the horses and the ponies’ disturbed reactions to something that actually looks like a real-life equine. And then Rarity points out the obvious fact that they’re all ponies already and just asks some ponies to pull the carriage.

It might not sound like much, but consider what Twilight’s trying to do. She and the others imagine that this will be a fairy tale occasion, where everypony will get exactly what they want without any trouble whatsoever and all will be sunshine and rainbows for all time. Unfortunately, she’s about one generation too late for such drivel, so instead she gets a sign of just how not like a fairy tale this night will end up being.

After that comes the ponies freshening up while Spike tries to get in. This leads to one of the best lampshade hangings in the entire series:

It’s the little tidbits like this that I love.

In any case, Spike’s purpose here is to help introduce the moral even earlier, which is important since he disappears entirely for a good chunk of the episode. While the others all want to do their own thing, he’s the only one who insists that they stay together and enjoy each other’s company at the dance. Besides that, however, I like some of the ways each pony is preparing, like Applejack literally spit-shining Fluttershy’s hooves, Rarity applying her fake eyelashes (without stealing a bite of cake this time), and Pinkie’s mane going flat, only to pop right back up. And our pre-song moments end with Spike accidentally hitting everypony’s berserk button by treating their pullers (including a very deep-voiced Caramel) like actual riding/pulling horses. Word of caution: don’t. His friendship with Rarity is literally the only thing that saved Spike from a butt-whoopin’ that time.

And so we arrive at the Gala, with everypony now back in their Gala dresses for the first time since “Suited for Success.” Now that they’re properly decked out, it’s time to sing about each of our motivations while everypony else becomes our background singers!

“At The Gala” stands out as one of the most purely epic (in scope if nothing else) tunes of the entire first season, and perfectly sets the stage for the Gala itself. It also serves as a handy recap of what each pony wants, if only to help those who didn’t watch “Ticket Master” or had forgotten about it catch up. I also love how the music changes from one pony to the next, reflecting their individual personalities and goals. The animation is fantastic, and outside of the background singers and Celestia appearing flying in the sky for no reason whatsoever, there’s nothing to complain about here.

This is where the episode starts to split off, with each pony getting their own subplot. Much like with “Cutie Mark Chronicles,” it seems to make more sense to handle each one individually, since outside of Applejack selling the pie to Soarin and the fritters to Rarity and Blueblood, none of the ponies meet up again until the very end of the episode. We also see the last of Spike, as he will be abandoned like always so that the others can have their dreams come true! Insert evil cackle here.

One thing I will comment on, though, is that this episode tries to tie everything in the season together while also cramming in all six ponies, and all after burning off the first act just to get to the Gala. While this was certainly ambitious, I don’t feel like it worked out as well as it should have. The individual stories feel very rushed, to the point where they had to use a time skip later on to speed things along. As for the rest of my praise and gripes, let’s continue:

TWILIGHT: The big issue with Twilight’s story is that she never had anything set up in “Ticket Master.” Her role in that episode was just to stand in the middle of the conflict while Pinkie reminded us that she was best pony. Now that she actually needs a motivation other than just attending the Gala, the writers have her wanting to get close to Celestia and have some private time with her. This is also reflected when she makes her swear to force this to be her best night ever, as she really doesn’t do anything other than shake hooves after that. She has no freak out, no moment of insanity, nothing. Since the GGG wasn’t even supposed to happen on-screen when they wrote “Ticket Master,” she’s basically an afterthought.

That being said, her story does help set up the twist at the end. Sure, Twilight’s stuck there greeting every single pony that attends, but so is Celestia. We already know that she at least enjoys some ceremonies, but there’s a party going on back there that she can’t attend because she’s stuck saying hello to every. Single. Pony that got an invitation. No wonder she’s not mad when it gets destroyed.

RARITY: Hoo boy, I’m in trouble for this one. I’ve spoken at length about my feelings for her lovely little subplot – I even worked it into that fic that hasn’t been updated in a month. (It’s coming!) In any case, her goal is to meet up with Prince Blueblood and have her fairy tale romance. Of course, we all know where this goes. Her “Prince Charming” turns out to be a spoiled, vain, egotistical, stuck-up jackass who abuses the poor, innocent Rarity by destroying her hopes and dreams. What really sells this, however, are the epic showdowns between the two every time they encounter something, from the two silently pointing towards the door for the other to open it or wordlessly arguing over who pays for food.

I guess I’ll just reiterate what everyone knows by this point. Prince Blueblood is the most hated character in all of Friendship is Magic. People loathe this guy. And really, the episode gives us no reason to like him whatsoever. The problem I have, though, is that I don’t like Rarity’s motivations for pursuing him, either. She just wanted him because he was a prince, and rather than dump him once he turned out to be not the kind of stallion she wants, she stays there in hopes of some goodness shining through, which she can then latch onto and form a relationship around.

In other words, Rarity is after him only because of his title and looks, nothing else. And while I enjoyed watching him get exactly what he deserves at the end, Rarity isn’t exactly a pure angel in this situation, either. Nopony walks out of this one smelling like a bouquet of roses is all I’m saying, although Blueblood’s do smell like they had been dipped in…well, something unspeakable beforehand.

RAINBOW DASH: For whatever reason, the writers dropped Rainbow Dash crashing the Wonderbolts show in favor of just walking up to them. I guess they realized that it would be a really dickish thing of RD to do, and would most likely end with the Wonderbolts angrily telling her off for ruining their routine.

In any case, this is the first time any of the Wonderbolts are actually named. We have Soarin, who eats apple pie like a horse, and Spitfire, who would later be established as the team’s captain. In a nice bit of continuity, they remember how Dash saved them from falling to their deaths in “Sonic Rainboom,” and when combined with saving Soarin’s pie, that’s enough cred to be invited to follow them. Rainbow Dash accepts this in her usual radical way…

Unfortunately, she cannot get so much as a word in before somepony pulls the Wonderbolts aside. I would make a comment about wanting to hog the obvious celebrities all to herself when she already had a chance to hang out with them after becoming the Best Young Flyer, but that would probably be stretching again. In any case, Dash decides to get their attention by repeating her save of the pie, only with things she’s set up. And while some of the stuff, like knocking a cut off a table and then catching it, isn’t too bad in and of itself, when she starts knocking ponies around it feels like she’s taken things too far.

APPLEJACK: First, I have to ask: HOW did Applejack store her treats in that cart/stand without them getting crushed? Mind-boggling storage powers aside, Applejack follows the plan she set up in “Ticket Master” to sell her apple products and make a ton of cash for the farm. She gets a very brief moment of hope when Soarin buys one of her pies (thus setting up Rainbow Dash’s story), but after that, none of the ponies are interested in trying her common apple treats, especially when there’s far fancier things available.

What makes Applejack’s little sidestory interesting, though, is just how much of an impact she has on the Gala disaster. We already established she sold Soarin the pie, and she gets her own little silliness by tripping up customers with apples, but she also crosses over with Rarity and Blueblood by giving them a pair of apple fritters on the house. Blueblood’s horrified reaction is what finally drives her to bake the cake, which will be the thing that kicks off the disaster dominoes at the end. I actually wish they had done more crossovers like this, but alas, everypony else is pretty much isolated until the end.

Besides that, however, she really doesn’t have the most exciting subplot; she just stays in one spot and tries to sell apples and apple accessories.

PINKIE PIE: Pinkie’s story is about as basic as it comes. She’s come to party, she sees the party, and so she joins the party. The only problem is that she has no concept of parties that aren’t crazy and juvenile, and thus she only makes a fool of herself. Granted, she should have quickly learned that there are different ways to party and found a way to have fun anyway, but given her cold and stifling upbringing, it actually makes some degree of sense that she wouldn’t be keen on partying in this way. No matter how you feel about that, however, the sight of her just sitting at a table, alone and unwanted, is heartbreaking.

Of course, she gets back up later and goes back to teach the ponies how to par-tey, and soon hijacks the party by convincing the Gala’s ensemble (including the first appearance of Octavia, sparking a legendary debate over whether or not she’s Pinkie’s sister before finally getting reduced to Vinyl’s straight pony) to play the “Pony Pokey.” The song itself is just average, but it also serves as a very effective time skip, summarizing as much of the night’s events as possible. And considering just how much they tried to fit in here, it’s a brutal necessity.

FLUTTERSHY: And finally, we have the most infamous part of this episode. Fluttershy quickly goes to the garden following bird song, only to run into Greenhooves, the royal gardener, who was the one whistling while he worked. She soon finds the animals for real, but they’re even more socially anxious than her, and for the first time in her life, animals are legitimately terrified at the sight of her. On its own, this is more than a little sad, and just piles on just how much of a downer the night is becoming.

What makes her part legendary, however, is just how quickly (and how far) she slips into Twilight Sparkle-levels of insanity. I can’t say I really enjoy her trying to, you know, trap the animals and force them to become her friends. It seems like she should have just asked Greenhooves how to approach them, what words and techniques to use, etc. After all, the guy seems to be the main caretaker out there and knows how to whistle bird song already. But instead, Fluttershy’s mind gradually disintegrates, until she’s reduced to a cackling, screaming mess. Even worse, her descent happens during the time skip. It just feels very rushed is all I’m saying.

And thus we get back to the conclusion. By this point, everypony has been effectively screwed, with none of the ponies really accomplishing what they wanted and are just spreading destruction and chaos in their wake. But then all of the stories finally collide in one spectacular cacophony of disaster. Applejack wheels in her cake while Pinkie’s suddenly serving as a DJ. (Don’t ask, it’s Pinkie Pie.) Pinkie then decides to stage dive, landing on the edge of the cart and tossing the cake towards Rarity and Blueblood. Finally, the Prince goes too far and uses Rarity like a pony shield. Rarity finally has had enough and, in one of the best parts of the episode, finally gives Blueblood the shellacking he so richly deserves. In his haste to escape, he knocks over a statue, which Rainbow tries to catch to impress the Wonderbolts. It doesn’t work, however, since a giant statue is a bit heavier than the other stuff she’s hoisted so far, and she ends up knocking over every pillar in the room in the process. The noise is apparently what finally attracts Celestia and Twilight, who get there mere moments before the entire menagerie charges into the ballroom, chased by…this…

And with that, our heroes have completely destroyed Equestria’s most important social function simply because it didn’t conform to their preconceived notions. You notice all those ponies? I’m sure some of them saved up all their bits to pay for one of those golden tickets, planned their wardrobe to the letter, possibly dug out that old brooch or ribbon that their grandmother gave them on their deathbed, and wanted this to be their best night ever as well. But no, their night shall be ruined as well, simply because this five had no idea what the Gala actually was. I guess what I’m saying is that I highly doubt every single pony here was a stuck-up snob. Not everyone in government is corrupt or incompetent, not everyone who runs a business is greedy or broken, and not everypony who attends such a major function is out to act better than the proletariat. A lot of them just wanted a good time as well. But, I digress.

Princess Celestia gives Twilight the best advice she has ever given her in all her years as the Unicorn’s teacher:

In their haste, however, we get one last funny scene with Rarity. She loses her glass slipper, but rather than risk meeting Blueblood again, she smashes the footwear and bolts, thus surrendering her dreams of being swept off her hooves by a Prince Charming to cold, hard reality. Or at the very least, until she finds a pony who actually deserves her.

We finally meet up with Spike again, who is now drowning his sorrow in donuts at Pony (later Doughnut) Joe. It might be a bit of a coincidence that the others found him there so quickly, but it’s established that Twilight frequented the shop during her time in Canterlot, so she probably knew this would be a safe place to recover. And hey, when you and your friends have destroyed the most important event in Canterlot, wrecked part of the castle, and had your hopes and dreams crushed, you’d need a doughnut too, damn it! However, this is also kind of a weakness in this episode for me; the girls get over the mess very quickly, and while it’s obviously there to facilitate the moral (which is a good one), it just feels like they got over things too fast.

And finally, we get the twist. Celestia arrives to tell them that the GGG is always a horrible, boring event, so she invited the friends over to liven things up. She did not have them come over specifically to bring the house down. That was just a happy little side effect. In any case, she’s not angry that they’ve caused millions of bits in property damage, and the episode ends with everypony laughing, while back at the Gala, that one pony is digging for her grandmother’s brooch…

CONCLUSION:

While there is a lot of things to admire here, there are two things that really hurt this episode for me. The first is just how much it tried to accomplish at once. This episode wanted to do everything, but in the end the characters are completely split from each other and, as a result, get very little screen time for their stories to develop. The second is that this really doesn’t feel like a finale; it’s just another episode. While it’s nice that they addressed the GGG and finished the storyline for that, this lacks the epic, high-stakes quality that makes a good season finale. By contrast, “A Canterlot Wedding” had no buildup over the course of the season, but it was also grand and high in scope and concept. It felt like a season finale. This one, by contrast, could have been slid anywhere in the season and nothing would have been affected.

That being said, the song is fantastic, a lot of the humor is good, and while not all of the stories work for me, it’s nice that they maintained some sense of continuity. While this isn’t a bad episode by any means, it was a bit of a letdown when I first watched it, perhaps because I bought into the hype like the Mane 6 did. But now that I watch it again, it’s a lot better, but I’d still wouldn’t rank it as one of the season’s best by any means.

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And that’s the end. We’ve looked through forty-nine episodes in forty-one days, but we’re finally out of episodes. There will be more in the follow-up post, but for now, thank you and goodnight/good day/good whatever-time-of-day-it-is-when-you’re-reading-this.