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Description
Show: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Episode: S2 E3
Year: 2011

Writer(s): Meghan McCarthy

I know that over the years, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has made a number of episodes a lot creepier than this one, but THIS particular episode really raised the bar for what the show would become! There's a lot of shows that rely on the "lesson of the day" format, and for the most part, a lot of those shows are very hit or miss with what they do. But, what if… what if those shows ever reached a point where they couldn't FIND a lesson to teach!? Remember: you don't need to teach lessons to be a good show, you just need to do stuff and do it well, and Friendship Is Magic is really good at doing more than just teaching lessons as this episode would prove.

Throughout the episode, we find that Twilight hasn't learned anything over the past week to report to Princess Celestia (I like to think Discord kept her pre-occupied in the season premiere to justify the schedule slip), and we watch as she slowly turns COMPLETELY INSANE! You know those types of people who will worry and obsess over small things to a ludicrous degree to the point of breakdown? Twilight is exactly like this! Although, her fears and worries aren't entirely unjustified and are very relatable to a lot of us who want to live up to our fullest potential to our superiors and prove we aren't slacking. You know those kids who don't want to disappoint their parents by getting bad grades? That's Twilight!

Now, to someone like me and Twilight's friends who don't have to deal with that kind of pressure, we would obviously find her worrying ridiculous and not that big a deal. That's how people tended to see me back when I was worried about the world ending for many years before I got that out of my system. Nonsense though it was, it was a real concern to me, and I'm glad I found friends on DeviantArt who knew to take me seriously and help get over my obsession; the same goes for my mother helping me and my best friend. Like Twilight, there was a very real chance I would've lost my sanity if I had continued to worry over nothing at all. And we see through Twilight Sparkle that this kind of damage, no matter how silly the reason for it, can be a very dangerous thing when you don't take your friends’ problems into consideration.

If watching Twilight go mad and stalk 3 school-age fillies with threats to "solve their problems" didn't freak you out a little, there's seeing Fluttershy, the sweetest and timidest of the Mane Six, SNAPPING THE NECK OF A BEAR! (Granted it was a massage, but that's no massage I'd want!) This episode feels like something you would see in Invader Zim or Courage the Cowardly Dog, not a cartoon about pastel-colored equines who learn life lessons! This episode essentially did solve a problem even when Twilight herself couldn't find one; it solved a problem that could've easily killed the show and turned away much of its audience: Twilight Sparkle herself.

Throughout Season 1, because Twilight was the only pony allowed to give the lesson of the episode, and being the student of Celestia, she had to be shoehorned into every single episode. This didn't necessarily make those episodes where she wasn't needed bad, but it held many of them back or ruined some potential. Off the top of my head: "Look Before You Sleep" could've been a great episode with Applejack and Rarity having to bunk with Pinkie Pie or each other, but antisocial Twilight wanting a slumber party? I can't believe that in the slightest! And Twilight, besides a few moments of adorkableness, was probably the pony with the least personality besides Applejack in Season 1. This episode not only allows the future Princess of Friendship to take a breather, but also lets her personality develop that much stronger by having her friends also able to write letters to Celesta about what they've learned ONLY when they've learned something! This episode is where Friendship Is Magic truly grew its beard if "The Return of Harmony" is what brought in the stubble. It also proved how truly frightening Twilight can be!

My Little Pony is owed by Hasbro and DHX Media.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314

Description
Show: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Episode: S2 E3
Year: 2011

Writer(s): Meghan McCarthy

I know that over the years, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has made a number of episodes a lot creepier than this one, but THIS particular episode really raised the bar for what the show would become! There's a lot of shows that rely on the "lesson of the day" format, and for the most part, a lot of those shows are very hit or miss with what they do. But, what if… what if those shows ever reached a point where they couldn't FIND a lesson to teach!? Remember: you don't need to teach lessons to be a good show, you just need to do stuff and do it well, and Friendship Is Magic is really good at doing more than just teaching lessons as this episode would prove.

Throughout the episode, we find that Twilight hasn't learned anything over the past week to report to Princess Celestia (I like to think Discord kept her pre-occupied in the season premiere to justify the schedule slip), and we watch as she slowly turns COMPLETELY INSANE! You know those types of people who will worry and obsess over small things to a ludicrous degree to the point of breakdown? Twilight is exactly like this! Although, her fears and worries aren't entirely unjustified and are very relatable to a lot of us who want to live up to our fullest potential to our superiors and prove we aren't slacking. You know those kids who don't want to disappoint their parents by getting bad grades? That's Twilight!

Now, to someone like me and Twilight's friends who don't have to deal with that kind of pressure, we would obviously find her worrying ridiculous and not that big a deal. That's how people tended to see me back when I was worried about the world ending for many years before I got that out of my system. Nonsense though it was, it was a real concern to me, and I'm glad I found friends on DeviantArt who knew to take me seriously and help get over my obsession; the same goes for my mother helping me and my best friend. Like Twilight, there was a very real chance I would've lost my sanity if I had continued to worry over nothing at all. And we see through Twilight Sparkle that this kind of damage, no matter how silly the reason for it, can be a very dangerous thing when you don't take your friends’ problems into consideration.

If watching Twilight go mad and stalk 3 school-age fillies with threats to "solve their problems" didn't freak you out a little, there's seeing Fluttershy, the sweetest and timidest of the Mane Six, SNAPPING THE NECK OF A BEAR! (Granted it was a massage, but that's no massage I'd want!) This episode feels like something you would see in Invader Zim or Courage the Cowardly Dog, not a cartoon about pastel-colored equines who learn life lessons! This episode essentially did solve a problem even when Twilight herself couldn't find one; it solved a problem that could've easily killed the show and turned away much of its audience: Twilight Sparkle herself.

Throughout Season 1, because Twilight was the only pony allowed to give the lesson of the episode, and being the student of Celestia, she had to be shoehorned into every single episode. This didn't necessarily make those episodes where she wasn't needed bad, but it held many of them back or ruined some potential. Off the top of my head: "Look Before You Sleep" could've been a great episode with Applejack and Rarity having to bunk with Pinkie Pie or each other, but antisocial Twilight wanting a slumber party? I can't believe that in the slightest! And Twilight, besides a few moments of adorkableness, was probably the pony with the least personality besides Applejack in Season 1. This episode not only allows the future Princess of Friendship to take a breather, but also lets her personality develop that much stronger by having her friends also able to write letters to Celesta about what they've learned ONLY when they've learned something! This episode is where Friendship Is Magic truly grew its beard if "The Return of Harmony" is what brought in the stubble. It also proved how truly frightening Twilight can be!

My Little Pony is owed by Hasbro and DHX Media.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314