Well, considering this is a cartoon mainly aimed at young girls, it was only a matter of time before we had an episode centered around a slumber party. I don't mean to sound harsh, but cartoon episodes that focus on slumber parties are usually very dull and uninteresting. Sadly, this one is not much different. The plot moves very slowly, there is little to no action (except for a few shenenigans in the middle and towards the end), and the characters partake in pretty much everything you always see in a slumber party, such as doing makeovers and playing truth or dare.

Then again, since the previous episode featured an adventure plot straight out of an epic fantasy, it does make sense that this one follows a slice of life storyline that gives more focus to the interactions between characters.

Also, the fact that the episode features a pace that's slower even compared to most slice of life episodes is not all that surprising when you realize exactly who the writer is.

CHARLOTTE FULLERTON

The episodes she has written for MLP (besides this one) consist of Suited for Success, A Bird in the Hoof, May the Best Pet Win, Baby Cakes, Putting Your Hoof Down, and Power Ponies. Almost all of them feature an unusually slow pace and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, there are instances where it does hurt both the story progression and character progression. Don't get me wrong, some of her episodes (such as, Suited for Success and May the Best Pet Win) are really great and truly deserve the praise they have garnered over the years. Unfortunately, the others have either too many boring moments or too many annoying moments throughout their runtimes and their slow pace does not help the situation at all.

So, how does this episode compare to the ones I've mentioned above. Let's find out.

The episode opens in a field outside the Golden Oak Library where several Pegasi are seen moving clouds into place to create a downpour. In preparation for this, trees are being pruned to avoid damaging the town. Rarity helps out, but her contribution to the cleanup effort involves making topiary out of the loose branches. This puts her at odds with Applejack, who insists on taking the branches down. When Rarity voices her disapproval of Applejack making a mess, they start butting heads due to their completely different personalities.

Before the argument could go any further, however, the storm comes in and Twilight calls out to them from the library, exclaiming that they should get shelter inside her house. They immediately do as she says, but since the storm has made it impossible for them to reach their homes any time soon, Twilight suggests that they spend the night doing a slumber party. She is especially excited, because it's her first time doing something like this, and although Applejack and Rarity are still at odds with each other, they nevertheless agree to participate in order to please their friend.

So, they partake in every activity specified in Twilight's Slumber 101 book (which oddly includes activities one usually does during camping trips):

* Doing makeovers
* Playing truth or dare
* Telling ghost stories
* Making s'mores
* Pillow-fighting (which is actually a really funny action scene)

However, Rarity and Applejack constantly argue during each activity, frustrating Twilight further and further until she snaps at both of them when they fight over a bed. Then, when she tempts fate, a lightning bolt strikes a nearby tree, causing it to start toppling towards the house. As she desperately tries finding a solution in the book, her friends (with some trial and error) manage to move past their issues, recognize the virtue in each other's viewpoints, and work together to solve their predicament.

Afterwards, they start enjoying each other's company a lot more and Twilight finally delivers the moral which, while a little generic, does still hold up:

It's possible to get along with someone very different from you if you embrace each other's differences.

Okay, so, remember when I said the bad episodes written by Charlotte Fullerton have either too many boring moments or too many annoying moments throughout their runtimes? Well, I have some very unfortunate news, people:

I think this episode has both.

On top of having the plot revolve around every single slumber party activity we have seen a million times, a huge portion of the runtime is spent on watching two ponies argue with each other. Now, I'm not saying characters arguing and working off of each other is bad. In fact, it has led to some great character building and strong relationships in other shows and movies, especially in the ones involving romance.

Which is kinda weird since this episode is widely considered to be the inception of the RariJack shipping. And, yes, I do support that ship.

With that said, the argument scenes in this case do not work, because the characters are not arguing like the business savvy adults that they are. Instead, they are arguing like little children. In fact, their first argument involves going back and forth between "does too" and "does not", before ending with "times infinity" and "times infinity plus one". I mean, what are they?! FIVE?!

Oh, and it doesn't end there. This kind of kindergarten level arguing goes on for nearly TWO THIRDS OF THE EPISODE. It's not at all entertaining to watch and it only serves to dragging things out. We know they're going to stop arguing and make up eventually, but we're stuck watching the same kind of scenes for the majority of the episode. At least in the other shows and movies where characters argue, the argument scenes last for only a few minutes. NOT FIFTEEN!

Even though there are legitimately hilarious and heartwarming moments during the runtime, they are ultimately undermined by the blandness caused by the quarrels between two adult characters who were written like children. Honestly, I was so bored at times that I wish we focused on Spike's business trip to Canterlot or how Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were spending their time during the storm.

Please tell me there are fanfics about those storylines, because I would very much love to read them.

So, yeah, this episode was pretty meh all the way. I'm grateful that the writer has written much better ones during her time in the MLP writing staff, because this is by far her worst one. It may not be the worst of the series or even the worst of the season, but it's also not an episode I would be willing to rewatch any time soon.

FINAL SCORE: 4/10

I can see why you don't like this, but i found it fun.

Here we have yet another episode where the moral is being taught to the wrong characters. It’s no wonder this episode is on so many fans’ “worst of” lists. I can see why.

Like I said, one of the major problems with this episode is the fact that it is Rarity and Applejack who are learning the lesson, that being despite having differences, two people can still become good friends. This lesson sounds like something that would be geared more towards someone like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Or Apple Bloom and Scootaloo since they seem to be the most diverse in terms of personality. But instead, we’re forced to watch two grown mares acting like a couple of five-year-old children.

Not helping is the fact that Twilight is in this episode as well. Now, I love Twilight. She’s my favorite character. However, she acts so stupid in this episode that it’s hard to see her as being the smartest of the bunch among her friends. For one thing, she wants to throw a slumber party, saying that she’s always wanted one. Why is Twilight throwing a slumber party? Isn’t throwing parties Pinkie Pie’s thing? And again, this setup makes it seem as if it would be more fitting for a Cutie Mark Crusaders episode rather than an episode with the Mane Six. In fact, they had the opportunity to do this in “Scare Master”, but they went with a different idea for that one.

After Applejack and Rarity start fighting over a blanket (no, I’m not kidding), Twilight decides that she’s had enough. Before she can do anything, however, lightning strikes a tree outside. Instead of steering the tree away from the house, Applejack ropes it into the bedroom. Twilight decides to start looking through her book on slumber parties instead of actually doing anything, leaving Rarity and Applejack to handle the situation, all while she looks up anything about having tress in your bedroom at your slumber party. Why that entry would be in a book on slumber parties is beyond me. Once the situation is fixed, Twilight obliviously asks where the figurines came from, stating that they aren’t in the book either.

The story and characters weren’t very good in this episode. Again, the setup and characterization makes this episode seem like it’s better suited for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or maybe Diamond Tiara. Have Diamond Tiara throw a slumber party, inviting the Cutie Mark Crusaders along, only to have the Cutie Mark Crusaders fighting because they do things differently. The writers had the opportunity to do this in “Stare Master.” Why they didn’t, I don’t know.