This is the weirdest episode yet, and that’s saying something. Twilight and her friends are stuck in a comic book that’s vaguely reminiscent of my favorite childhood cartoons.
“Did this actually happen?”
Twilight’s sitting on the couch with an apple balanced on her hoof. “Are you going to ask that during every episode?”
“You jumped into a comic book, that’s like every kid’s fantasy.”
“What about this part?” She gestures to the screen, where the crazed villain is tying up the beloved heroes.
“Oh come on, you’re here so you obviously made it out.”
“All thanks to Spike.”
“Isn’t that the point? I could see that moral coming after the first thirty seconds.”
“Just think about it from my perspective: I was pulled into a strange new place, my magic wouldn’t work, some insane pony starts trying to kill me…”
“I’m sure you got the hang of it by the end.”
She finishes off her apple and goes for another one.
“Like I said, all thanks to Spike. He actually spent a long time trying to teach us how to use our superpowers.”
“How is shooting energy beams any different from your normal magic?”
“That’s the only kind of magic I could do: no teleportation or moving objects around, just zapping stuff.”
“How is that a superpower?”
“Spike said my hero’s actually a pegasus, the superpower was using magic in the first place. Apparently it all had something to do with that silver thing I was wearing over my horn.”
“That’s kind of disappointing.”
“Why?”
“If you’re more powerful than a superhero already, what’s the point of dressing up like one?”
She shrugs. “It was worth it, for Spike’s sake.”
“That makes him sound like a kid, you said he’s just small for his age.”
“We were all in his comic book and he was still stuck playing sidekick. That stinks no matter how old you are.”
We sit there and watch for a few minutes. Pretty soon Spike swoops in and, as expected, saves the day. Seeing Fluttershy go berserk is the best part of this surreal ride.
“Was Spike depressed about this whole thing?”
She pauses the show and points to the screen. They’re back in the regular world now and everyone, even Spike, is smiling.
“By the end he was okay. As weird as the experience was, I’m glad it happened. We don’t focus on Spike enough.”
“Isn’t he your assistant? Could you do something about that?”
“That almost makes it worse. Half the time our conversations are about the chores.”
“You could give him some time off.”
“It wouldn’t help. Sure he’d spend some of it with Rarity, but he’d still stop by to see if I needed anything. He’s so loyal, even when I forget about his own needs.”
She’s tracing her hoof around her soda bottle's lip. Considering that she stands on those things, I don’t see how she hasn’t come down with the plague.
I reach for another apple. “So is the next episode this weird?”
She grins. “Weirder.”
“That isn’t possible.”
“I’ll bet you the last soda.”
“Deal.”
I lost the bet, of course, and Twilight was only too happy to guzzle her winnings in front of me. She’s lucky she looks so ridiculous holding a bottle in her hooves. For the second time tonight, Fluttershy has gotten herself transformed, and for the second time I’m not sure how to process it.
“She’s a bat.”
“Kind of.”
“Does she suck blood?”
“No. Just watch.”
After few more scenes I want to ask the blood question again. Fluttershy’s tearing around the orchard, terrorizing her friends like something out of a low budget horror movie.
“Did anyone die?”
“No! Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know, maybe the fact that Fluttershy’s trying to take somebody’s head off?”
“She was just scared.”
“She looks carnivorous.”
“She didn’t eat anypony! She only got mad when we tried to shoo her away from the apples.”
The show goes on, and so does Twilight’s explanation of all the glossed-over details. Most of them are just the finer points of trying and failing to trap a pony-sized bat. Eventually everything goes back to normal, just like it always does.
“You could’ve just built the bat sanctuary in the beginning.”
“I know, I know. In retrospect we really should’ve listened to Fluttershy. When it comes to the farm and family, Applejack’s a bit overprotective.”
“Was Fluttershy mad at her?”
“Are you kidding? Once she understood what happened, the first thing she said to Applejack was that she forgave her for the whole mess… well, actually that was the second thing. First, she apologized for getting turned into a bat.”
The lines that actually make me laugh rarely make it into the show, and that one is no exception. “What about Applejack?”
“She was upset for a few days, even if she wouldn’t admit it. Sure she can be stubborn, but she cares just as much as the rest of us do. She would’ve burned down the whole orchard to get Fluttershy back.”
“Heavy.”
“We got her back, that’s what matters.”
“Do you ever worry that one of your friends is going to get seriously hurt or die during one of these adventures?”
“Sometimes, but how is that different from any other day? Besides, I’d do everything I could to keep them safe. Even if it meant—what time is it?”
I glance at my watch. “About nine thirty. Worried Spike is throwing another party?”
“Worse. I need to get a letter to Cadence in the mail by tomorrow morning, and I’m only on the fifth draft.”
I shake my head as she hurries into the hallway. “She’s not going to grade you on your grammar and spelling.”
“She doesn’t need to, I do that myself.”
Somehow I’m not surprised by that.