Not an episode review this time.

PresentPerfect writes about the "Applejack Problem", that a character with everything figured out becomes too boring. Her cutie mark is literally deciding she wants to stay home.

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S2E19 Putting Your Hoof Down

Watching this episode as part of the whole series is jarring. You have episode after episode of ponies being kind and friendly, then a whole bunch of rude ponies all at once.

I hate Angel Bunny in this episode. I want to turn him into hasenpfeffer.

I'd like to know why there just happens to be a hedge maze somewhere near Ponyville.

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S2E17 Hearts and Hooves Day

The writers have chosen, once again, to feature a holiday or celebration in this episode. Arguably, this is the seventh time (Summer Sun Celebration, Winter Wrap Up, Running of the Leaves, Grand Galloping Gala, Nightmare Night, Hearth's Warming, Hearts and Hooves Day), and the third time directly referencing a major American holiday.

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S2E15 The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

Let me start by saying how much I hate long lines like what's shown in this episode (the Black Friday model). If 100 ponies spent 10 hours waiting in line, that is 1000 wasted hours. There's a clear alternative to this, and it's a lottery system. Everypony at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres at 9:00 draws a number, and lines up in that order to get cider. The same number of ponies get served, but no one has to wait a long time.

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S2E13 Baby Cakes

So this was an episode that came completely out of the blue. There was no indication of Cup Cake being pregnant, let alone with twins. I'm assuming there was a toy involved.

"That makes sense, right?" Sure, but if you're a pegasus stallion with a beige coat or a unicorn stallion with a yellow coat, I wouldn't recommend dining at Sugarcube Corner.

Of all the things I would hate about being a non-unicorn pony, changing diapers by mouth is #1 on the list.

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(There's a difference between the episode order in the Wiki and on iTunes, so I'll use the Wiki order here.)

S2E11 Hearth's Warming Eve

It's a Christmas episode. When I was young, it was pretty common for Saturday morning cartoons to have a Christmas episode some week in December. (Which would be horribly out of place when it was rerun in April.) Obviously, the ponies don't have Christmas, but the secular trappings of the holidays makes it clear that's what it is.

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S2E9 Sweet and Elite

I groaned when I saw this title was next in my rewatch list, because I remember not liking it. And rewatching it confirms my original assessment.

So this is another episode which uses moral lessons common to children's shows. Don't forget where you come from, don't forget who your real friends are, don't lie and pretend to be something you're not. And the episode uses a common sitcom trope, trying to attend two parties/be in two places at once.

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S2E7 May the Best Pet Win!

"You know, each of the main cast has a pet, except for Rainbow Dash."
"What kind of pet would Rainbow Dash have?"

Curious if that's how this episode came about. It doesn't seem like something that was planned from the beginning.

Featured in this episode: Dun dun dun!

I have no idea why Rainbow Dash finds sleeping in trees to be comfortable. If I could sleep on clouds, I would sleep on clouds every single time.

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S2E5 Sisterhooves Social

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S2E3 Lesson Zero

In this episode, we get the first change in the opening sequence.

You know how in A Bird in the Hoof, Twilight Sparkle worries about being banished and thrown in a dungeon in the place where she's banished? Well, this episode is a logical continuation of that same ability to not understand rational consequences.

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