Aug
8th
2017
Points of Canon: S2x10 - Secret of My Excess · 7:28pm Aug 8th, 2017
🎵 Go, Spikezilla, go! 🎵
Quick, while everyone’s away conning.
- Twilight lights candles with magic. Not only this is a relatively uncommon appearance of candles, but also, probably the only time when Twilight lights a fire. And she doesn’t use candles in the library often, either.
- Twilight’s idea of reshelving starts with removing every book from the shelves and letting them drop. I suspect our ideas that she treats books themselves as holy are somewhat unfounded, and we’ll find folded corners all over her library. Notice: She can do that to at least 200 books simultaneously.
- Then she proceeds to levitate the entire 200 books.
Titles mentioned: “Understanding Medieval Equestria,” “Modern Spellcasting,” “The Art of the To-Do List.”
- That “Understanding Medieval Equestria” goes under Pony History, means there’s a non-pony history section somewhere.
- “Modern Spellcasting” counts as Classics, which suggests ponies mean something entirely different by this word. Unless it’s actually not a book about spellcasting, but a piece of fiction.
- This is one of the few cases where Twilight reorganizes the library by category for an unclear reason. Remember that in Friendship is Magic, “It was under E!” – and that’s also the way it was in Mini-Series #1. It seems that the most common way to sort books in libraries is a title sort.
- One of the books got damaged by Twilight’s horn when it fell, and Twilight doesn’t seem to be all that upset.
- Spike has been aging the fire ruby and “it’s almost ripe!” Which is further evidence that rock farms actually grow stuff.
- Rarity recognizes a fire ruby instantly. Her statement that it’s “at least 20 carats” is problematic, though: If pony carats are anything like ours, that stone would weigh 4 grams and be about 1.5cm wide. Resulting in a 10cm long Rarity. Needless to say, this clashes with everything else we know about pony scales. However, it’s possible that Rarity is referring to a unit analogous to units of purity of gold, which are also called carats, and measuring the stone’s brilliance rather than weight. This is further supported by her saying “No inclusions, pristine facets…”
- Notice also that facets could only be properly pristine if they were natural, right?…
- Spike’s birthday is “next week.”
- Rarity asks for a book on historical fashion and we see the unicorn handover again as the aura over a levitating book changes color.
- “I’ve got a feeling ruffled taffeta capes are going to make a huge comeback this season.” Later on we see an example of that cape. Notice that for ponies, this would be “historical,” i.e. popular at some point in the past but not right now. Also notice that apparently, Rarity’s feeling was wrong, since we don’t see anything similar in later designs. Notably, even Rainbow goes “wow” upon seeing the cape. While Rarity did make the other five capes, and restored her own, I don’t think we ever saw the Mane 6 wear them afterwards, which is a shame, cause they’re cute. Somehow, only Rarity’s cape is ruffled and most of them don’t look like they’re taffeta…
- Spike had a special lockable box to keep the fire ruby in.
- Twilight doesn’t call Pinkie in to help with setting up for Spike’s birthday party, but sets the tables herself.
- Twilight teleports Spike five times in quick succession. This actually seems to involve effort, though not major amounts of.
- How exactly Pinkie interrupts the teleportation remains anyone’s guess. I suspect that Twilight simply missed the sixth time and teleported Pinkie, who just came in, instead of Spike.
- Four of the gifts Spike receives are boxed, but the fifth is a dumbbell from Rainbow. A pretty big one at that.
“Well, actually, this is my first birthday in Ponyville… I usually just get one present… from Twilight. A book.”
- Less than a year has to have elapsed since Twilight’s arrival to Ponyville, giving us a seasonal hard lock.
- Nobody but Twilight normally attends Spike’s birthday. Which is somewhat strange, considering that gift for Moondancer.
- Unpacking appears to result in a lot more stuff than could have conceivably fit into the four boxes – five balls of various description, a chalice, two telescopes, a scooter, a gramophone, a picture frame, a kitchen sink, a book, a wooden horse head statue, a rubber chicken, a trophy, a potted flower, a tennis racket…
- An important one is the blanket from Applejack. Spike says “I really needed a new one.” See my comment about the blanket in Swarm Of The Century.
- Those sapphire cupcakes make a comeback later and were the justification of various rather wacky theories suggesting most of the gems in the series are actually sugar crystals. Maud made short work of that.
- Spike once again shows off his tongue that is about two meters long. <insert clopfic>
- How exactly did that hat end up in Cherilee’s grocery bags, otherwise full of fruit, and why did she decide to give it away?…
- The Canterlot Friends are running about aimlessly again.
1. Yes, it’s a typo. :P
Spike addresses Lickety Split and Junebug by name, and this is the first we ever saw these two background ponies named. In general, the social support from the Ponyvillains1 shown to Spike on his birthday suggests he’s up to his old networking tricks again.
- I don’t really understand why Spike decides that he should return the hat. I don’t understand why Twilight agrees either. That would be just plastering awkward over with more awkward for no obvious good reason. It does not matter much, because Spike immediately forgets this idea, but it’s still somewhat strange.
- Twilight apparently forgot to wind her clock, because she woke up after sunrise, and the clock shows ~04:00. Or, which is more likely, Spike forgot to wind it.
- The list of trash Spike sleeps in now includes a guitar, (or at least an ukulele) a large wooden bucket, a brush, a bowling ball, a tuba and the #1 hand in addition to the above list.
- This is the biggest globe in the series so far, placed here, apparently, for no reason other than for Spike to covet it. Never seen before or since, we’re forced to assume Spike dragged it in yesterday along with all the rest of his trash.
- Pediatrician’s office. Among the equipment seen are: An X-ray viewer on the wall with a hoof X-ray in it, a reflex hammer, two disposable wooden tongue depressors, a mechanical baby scale of the kind popular in the 60s and a bowl of lollipops. The chart on the wall would have us believe that whatever species is shown on it has a ridiculously small brain compared to the size of the head. Ponies have x-ray equipment or a magical equivalent, that produces images on film.
- Apparently, Spike’s knee reflex results in a jet of green flame, rather than just a knee jerk.
- That Twilight chooses to see a pediatrician rather than a vet is in itself telling of how she sees Spike.
- The first time we see Dr. Fauna. Who has “never seen a real live dragon before.” How exactly did she manage that, considering that Spike knew enough ponies in town to solicit himself a mountain of gifts?
- Why exactly would Fauna be able to diagnose a snake faster than a dog?…
- Zecora dangles a pocket watch in front of Spike. That’s the first pocket watch on screen. No clue why would Zecora even have a pocket watch.
- Zecora uses her illusion powder to supplement poetry. That’s one way to get around the rhyme requirement…
- The hole Spike left in the side of the library tree had to have been patched up somehow later on, but we never see how exactly this was accomplished.
- So Spike stole the apples, and the leaves, but left the trees themselves? Why?…
- This is actually the first time when ropecraft fails Applejack, and it does so spectacularly. I wonder if there’s any particular reason or it’s just a freak accident. Or just Twilight’s fault.
- “Don’t tell me! You-you tied yourselves up?” <insert clopfic> While Rainbow is laughing at them, Twilight could and should have untied the rope with magic.
- “I was helping my squirrel friends with a dance step, and all of a sudden, a giant, r-rampaging d-d-d-dragon stormed through!” Fluttershy’s squirrels needed help with a dance step. It seems to me that Fluttershy’s care of animals involves less feeding and more entertainment than usually believed.
- The Sugarcube Corner is the first building significantly damaged by Spike. Notably, Pinkie’s entire room was destroyed. I guess that’s when she got the party planning cave… In general, as seen in The Last Roundup, Ponyville buildings seem to have really deep basements. And the reason is probably that this isn’t the first time someone demolishes the town, nor even the second.
- Ponyville has, or had, a civil defense warning siren, which is snapped up by Spike the moment it is activated. Why does the sound stop when he pulls out one set of speakers is uncertain – were there only just these two speakers? That’s definitely insufficient for such a sprawling town. In any case, this never comes up again.
- Of course the Canterlot Friends run around in terror like everypony else. Must be fun!
- At some point, Spike roars into Rarity’s face. Now, remember From The Shadows? There were two ways to explain Spike’s line about the flame’s potential reaction to his breath, that it’s very hot and that he breathes out oxygen – or at least, more oxygen than he inhales. If his breath was indeed hot, Rarity would get fried here. Therefore, dragons exhale oxygen.
- “I’m not some common flyswatter!” Ponies swat flies.
- For no visible rhyme nor reason, Wonderbolts arrive to deal with the problem, which is why we have to assume they are not just show troops but also double as a quick response special forces squad. They suck at it, but that’s another story.
- Spike has significantly damaged at least six buildings in central Ponyville. In particular, the beauty salon lost the top floor, and the spa was knocked down entirely, as seen in the shots after Spike returns to normal. The town hall got damaged too, though we can’t see if the extent of damage is the same as seen in The Last Roundup or not. It sure looks close, though. Remember the moving spa? Until now, it has always been seen in the same position. Let’s see what happens the next time I notice it.
- Spitfire slices off part of Spike’s spines. There are only two ways I can think of to accomplish this – bladed weapons we don’t see due to cartoon resolution and TV-Y blindness, and pegasus magic. I wonder which it is. Both are plausible.
- “Oh, what now? I suppose you’ll be eating me or something?” I’m not sure if we can conclude if dragons eat ponies or not based on that, though there is no question they can.
- I suspect that Rainbow is actually applying pegasus magic to make Fluttershy fly fast enough to keep up with her. Top Bolt, at least, suggests this should be possible – and Rainbow starts by grabbing first Fluttershy and then the tattered remains of Rarity’s cape, but then suddenly, Fluttershy is flying in parallel at a matched speed.
- I wonder, did Rarity notice Spike destroyed the spa before she called him a hero or not?…
- Spike finishes the episode with writing a friendship report to Celestia, which makes Lesson Zero a hard lower bound – as far as we can see, he starts writing while still in town. In any case, he narrates “today I learned a great lesson,” emphasis mine.
The most interesting thing to take away from this episode is the actual greed growth itself, of course, though the specific rules are kinda murky, and have been interpreted differently in the fandom.
Jurassic lizard superstar hero!
Furthermore, they have dedicated, artificial tools for that purpose, rather than just using their tails.
Also, Spike never gets wings in his accelerated growth. Poor guy.
4627882
Of course! Using your tail would just get it dirty! Which is something to be avoided when for many ponies their tail seems to serve as a supplementary limb.
Also notice, that these tools are common. :)
IIRC, the greed-growth thing is never again referenced in primary canon?
4627893
Even the secondary canon avoids it for some reason. For example, in Friends Forever #35 Spike also grows – but this time it’s Starlight casting a spell, even though otherwise the effects are very similar.
Maybe her default diagnosis is, "Time to get another snake."
4627961
“I’ve had it with these peeving snakes in this peeving Ponyville!”"
4627968
Language!
I dunno, ponies love to jam the word pony everywhere. The Grand Pony Summit, for example.
Most of the time when we say natural, we mean "grown on a farm." So yes, these gems are natural, the Pie family used organic quartz and no pesticides or preservatives. Or perhaps "artisan gemstones" will catch on.
Possible evidence of Spike's beginning to have draconic magic resistance?
I thought that present was mostly on Twilight's behalf, as part of Spike's self-appointed role as Twilight's social secretary.
Agreed, since logically a vet would probably have more relevant experience diagnosing a reptile.
We need more episodes with Fluttershy teaching her animals dance steps, etc.
It's pretty logical for a firebreathing species to do this.
Also why Spitfire might have a phobia after this about fighting dragons.
I wonder if Rainbow was subconsciously doing this in Return to Harmony.
4628140
Could be.
Probably not, but we don’t know the physical limits on these intricacies of pegasus magic to be sure.
"“Modern Spellcasting” counts as Classics, which suggests ponies mean something entirely different by this word. Unless it’s actually not a book about spellcasting, but a piece of fiction."
Perhaps it's a book that was about modern spellcasting at the time it was written, but that time is now far enough in the past to make it a classic?
4628452
"Read these latest spellcasting techniques and rocket your magic into the bronze age! Newts! Cauldrons! These and other newfangled magical technologies will be explained herein."
4628452
That is covered by “entirely different,” actually. In library parlance, “classics” means “classical literature” – as in fiction, or possibly, myth – and cannot refer to a classic work of non-fiction.
4628487
Ah, I did not know that; thanks.
Please. Or at least ♪. Oh wait, emojis are now in that menu.
Hmm. Surprise. (given how her library tower is so neglected…)
Only if you require that she be establishing a near-lower bound (which would be normal, yes, but not linguistically required). Also flash forward to Maud showing Rarity's not all that actually up on mineralogy…but yes, the "out of 24-carat" purity notion seems lkely, especially as she wants to appear posh and expensive.
To nick the future of Days of Wasp and Spider notion…natural or artifact.
Teleport-other may count as a distinct spell!
Ponyvilleins?
as a functional and calibrated piece of equipment I saw the sliding-weight scales past the millennium.
Hypothesis: his diagnosis algorithm has inefficiencies in branched gross anatomy…odd, because most creatures have that.
His value function recognizes (somehow) that the trees lose most value when uprooted.
[Discord's Advocacy] One can always lie. [/Discord's Advocacy]
<insert clopfic here>
4630384
They last forever, but these days you’re pretty definitely getting an electronic one instead.
You’ll have to take that particular argument with DannyJ, he’s always been the one most resistant to interpreting Lesson Zero-style reports as backdated. :)
4630402
Just to be perfectly explicit, the scales' longevity means that it doesn't establish much other than when the scale was acquired, which itself implies not even the establishment date of the clinic, as practices can move…
Beyond that, removing natural light and lighting candles (fire) at about the height she tends to circulate the collection.
Also, y'know, the bit where she lifts them all back up at once so you know it wasn't so she had to lift them one at a time…