Picking Apart "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", Season 2 Episode 11

Hearth's Warming Eve

Another episode... another holiday.  This time it's Hearth's Warming Eve and based on the decorations all over Canterlot and the background music jingles, it's obvious that this is the Christmas equivalent in Equestria.

So it seems that the six main characters are participating in an annual play and they are assuming the roles as these founders of Equestria.  Naturally, Fluttershy has a bad case of stage fright, and of course Rarity doesn't help. 

The play is meant to tell a story of harmony and friendship which leads to the finding of the land of Equestria.

Rarity plays the role of Princess Platinum, daughter of the unicorn king...

...Rainbow Dash plays Commander Hurricane, ruler of the Pegasus...

...and Pinkie Pie is Chancellor Puddinghead.

Basically, the three tribes of ponies usually relied on each other in ancient times, but mistrust broke them apart and the dark land became engulfed in an endless blizzard.  So the tribe leaders hold a meeting to resolve things.  What they're not supposed to know yet is that the source of this blizzard are these ice spirits known as Windigos, which feed off of negative emotions.  Kinda reminds me of the Unversed from Kingdom Hearts:  Birth By Sleep, except that they spawn in the presence of negative emotions, but yeah.

The play starts with Spike narrating the whole thing with a mock Shakespearean accent.  And as time goes on in the play, the perspective shifts from on stage to making it seem like this event is actually going on.  What's to understand of course is that everything is happening on stage, but the reenactment looks realistic so we as viewers can get a clearer understanding of the story, provided of course that we're actually interested and we wanna know.  Two to one, I don't give a damn.  Because as long as the animation in this series is only thing worth beans to me, that's all I might just look out for.

Oh, I almost forgot the other roles.  Fluttershy portrays Private Pansy, Twilight Sparkle is Clover the Clever, and Applejack plays Smart Cookie.

Eventually, the reenactment gets to the part where the leaders unify with a nod to Kingdom Hearts to drive the windigos away, melt the ice, and declare the new land Equestria.  And the play ends with a song performed by a church choir, that is to say both the actors and the audience.

[Choir]

The fire of friendship lives in our hearts

As long as it burns we cannot drift apart

Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few

Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through)

We are a circle of pony friends

A circle of friends we'll be to the very end

But it's not over yet!  Remember the open window?  Well apparently, it didn't get closed before the play began.  And now both windows are open!  The main characters argue like hypocrites until they hear what sounds like a windigo, prompting Rainbow Dash to settle things.

And now the episode's over.

So, uh...  This ancient tale might just be the real reason Princess Celestia asked Twilight to study the magic of friendship.  After all, there still exists the occasional rifts, but then again, windigos have never shown their faces until now, so maybe they had left Equestria for good or something.  Oh, and "quarrels arise, their numbers are few"?  Really?  That's like saying there shouldn't be as many friendship problems as there are episodes in this series.  I mean, what the hell?   Well, I'm not gonna waste any more time dawdling on this episode.  I've got Season 2 to finish and there's more episodes coming that are far more worth complaining over.  This much, I can promise you.

Oh, and about the episode's song...  Keep that in mind because trust me, it's gonna stab the series in the ass come the end of Season 2.