History Headscratchers / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason1Episodes14To26

** Because they blew it all up. God damn them all to hell.

* What was Spike afraid of with the green dragon? We know he's fire-proof (In "Dragon Quest" he outright swam in lava), so the dragons fire breath would've done nothing. He's also pretty resistant to being slammed into stuff (Once again, "Dragon Quest" shows him being thrown into a rocky cliff face, and later belly flopping into lava from 30 feet up, which the other teen dragons said would kill anything else), and Rar

** While Fluttershy has no talent at clothing ''design'', she is the next best seamstress on the cast next to Rarity. Remember, she's the one who finished Rarity's gala dress for her in "Suited For Success". It's possible that Rarity asked Fluttershy to go over the dresses and look for loose threads and suchlike because Rarity was busy with something else.
*** Given the exchange back in Art of the Dress it seems to be implied that Fluttershy may lack the flare for design (or just the passion to do it) she is more technically sound than Rarity pointing out all the incorrect techniques that she used. However to answer the question Ponyville's map seems to be just slightly more static than Springfield. The point being the easiest answer is everybody meets at Fluttershy's house before heading out. It's may be close to the train tracks, or close to the path, or somehow located most centrally to the others (and with Rainbow Dash's home being non-disclosed thus far and Sweet Apple Acres clearly not part of Ponyville proper so much as adjacent it's possible if a bit improbable.

** Two possible explanations I can come up with for poor Twilight's [[HumiliationConga physical hell]] are either just pure bad luck or her own skepticism leading her in the wrong direction, the latter of which is rather deep when you think about it. Also, come to think of it, if Twilight had taken the Pinkie Sense seriously, as well as followed Spike out of harm's way when she was observing Pinkie, right from the start, she could have avoided a LOT of pain, so I guess you could say that it was Twilight's own skepticism overcoming her to such an extent that it led her to suffer all these somewhat coincidental misfortunes.

* The captors and ponies were all pretty good on all sides, especially when the captors did stand up to Rarity and Rarity's reactions throughout to her manipulation, but something come to mind in a combination of DistressedDamsel and FridgeLogic. 1) If the captive one was Fluttershy or Twilight Sparkle or Spike, would they have able to come up with a way out? I mention this because while I believe they deconstructed the idea of the DistressedDamsel into the evolution of the BadassDamsel, they also played it pretty straight with the 'hero and heroines' thoughts as well as Rarity's initial reactions to captivity. I mean, when the girls as much as the boy of the group think you're in immense danger, then someone's playing with the trope or you're lampshading with the purpose to not show hatred against DistressedDamsel, but to appreciate and use it your own way while playing it straight. I think this episode was actually put in for a very real discussion about DistressedDamsel between parents and their children as well as the PeripheryDemographic-not meant to detract or glorify the trope, but to make it a DiscussedTrope. Well done, Faust.

* Why did so many people grow to not be fond Fluttershy after this episode? Sure, she was pretty brutal commenting on her new dress, but it's not like it wasn't what exactly Rarity wanted. In fact, Fluttershy at least tried to pretend she liked the dress (even though she clearly didn't) and only finally burst into her rant - after lots of struggling and ''sweating'' - when Rarity basically pressed her against a wall, and she didn't seem very happy doing it either. And yet somehow this one short scene brought her more enemies and hate art than any other character from the main cast earned throughout whole series, like she did it on purpose just to hurt Rarity. To be fair, Rainbow Dash was much more mean to poor Rarity in this episode just by openly calling her a laughing stock at the worst possible moment (she was already going through a breakdown at the time) but not one person said a bad word about her because of that.
** Fans are weird like that? And I agree it's not fair. I love that episode dearly but for the former half of the episode, the girls were pretty flanky and self-absorbed towards Rarity, it's stupid that just Fluttershy got singled out.
*** It probably has something to do with the fact that BrutalHonesty is completely in character for Rainbow Dash; The issues with Fluttershy probably stem from the fact that she's normally so nice. It makes this one incident seem worse. But yeah, even then you can hardly blame her, given that Rarity was (literally) asking for it.
*** It also might have be the completely out-of-left-field knowledge of sewing that had never been hinted at, and the snooty *hmph* and leg-cross at the end of her rant. It just seemed off-character.
** There's also a fair argument that Fluttershy's behaviour towards Rarity during the second half of the song was worse than the others. The other ponies were simply trying to apply their own priorities to the dress (being practicality, coolness, accuracy, and whatever it is Pinkie Pie does), and while they're at fault for not listening to Rarity and respecting her expertise and her generosity, Fluttershy was outright telling Rarity "your sewing sucks, sew better".
*** She was nowhere near that blunt, and I would think most people would take it as useful constructive criticism, compared to the other four.
**** I didn't really hate Fluttershy for her behaviour in this episode (in fact, I haven't even thought of this before reading this Headscratcher), so here goes devil's advocate: To put a slightly different spin on the second respondent's argument, out of all Rarity's friends Fluttershy is the only one who displayed presumptions of fashion sense and knowledge of clothes-making. One would expect her criticism to actually be constructive and her dress to not turn out a disaster. Yet apparently her idea of French haute couture involves bird nests, quilts, and cellophane flowers. Perhaps if the writers made her ask for more "nature" in her dress, rather than give her "freaky knowledge" of sewing, it would have been easier to swallow.
*** Fluttershy could have offered the same criticism in a much less bitchy, patronizing tone. And she also just flat-out insulted Rarity by calling her hand-made dress "prêt-à-porter" ("off the rack").
*** My pick for worst behaved during the second montage is Pinkie Pie. Some pertinent quotes:
--> '''Pinkie''': Don't you think my dress would be more me with some balloons?
--> '''Rarity''': Um, well...
--> '''Pinkie''': DO IT!
--> ....
--> '''Pinkie''': More balloons! There's too many balloons! More candy! No, less candy! Ooh, I know: streamers!
--> '''Rarity''': Streamers?
--> '''Pinkie''': Whose dress is this?
--> '''Rarity''': Streamers it is.

** But Pinkie doesn't really have any episode center around her, all episode where she teach some lesson are other characters episodes.
** The closest Pinkie has to a spotlight episode right now is "Griffon the Brush-Off", and that's arguably more focused on introducing Gilda and her relationship with Dash. To be fair, Pinkie does seem to seriously consider Twilight's suggestion that she's just jealous -- but then Gilda [[KickTheDog kicks so many ponies]] in front of her that she's justified in giving her a HumiliationConga. Still, maybe that not-quite-learned lesson will come back in a later ep...
*** Nitpick: She didn't give her a HumiliationConga. She just threw a party, and Gilda set off pranks set by ''Rainbow'', who just intended for random guests, not necessarily Gilda, to trip.
** She learned a lesson about not suspecting the worst about your friends in "Party of One".
*** And a lesson about not judging people by first impressions in "Bridle Gossip".
*** A new episode for Season 2 has been announced that will be centred around Pinkie Pie: "Baby Cakes".
** The whole scene doesn’t make sense to me! Suddenly, Rarity seems to be a hack who doesn’t know the basics of sewing. Suddenly, her original designs, which are later described as “perfect,” genuinly suck and are in need of improvement. Suddenly, one of Rarity’s friends gives valid, informed criticism. This goes completely against the rest of the episode!

* You know what ''really'' makes me scratch my head? The fact that so many people took an episode about acceptance and tolerance and somehow twisted the aesop into being the biggest direct attack on religion since [[FamilyGuy Not All Dogs Go To Heaven]]. Seriously, how can you even ''come'' to that conclusion? It makes no sense in context of the episode.
** According to WordOfGod, the aesop wasn't even about acceptance and tolerance, but the dangers of hubris. I think the unfortunate AccidentalAesop can be attributed to Twilight undergoing an extremely painful, over-the-top HumiliationConga in an effort to explain Pinkie's ability, and the episode's ending with her embracing it wholeheartedly, apparently abandoning all efforts to explain it. Hence, what seems to be a message of pro-dogmatism.
** What the hell is it with TV Tropes and NADGTH? That's like a new religion in its own right.
** Part of it seemed to be just unintentional wording and dialogue choices as well as minor plot elements. A big chunk of the plot was about trusting Pinkie versus Twilight wanting to find out why... rather than simply Twilight 'knowing better' and showing that in other ways (or wrapping the plot up in other ways). And to be fair, it's kind of hard to have this sort of situation without people projecting a religion vs. about it.
** Word choice didn't help much: "You've got to take a leap of faith" seems to have been designed precisely for such a misunderstanding.

* Do the writers honestly think science is dogmatic rather then just just sceptical in nature?\\
The {{Aesop}} at the end annoys me because it's presented as Twilight acknowledging that the limited view of the world she's been dogmatically clinging to all episode my not be all there is, the only problem with that is she's been talking about science all episode, and science doesn't just stick dogmatically to one and one only view of the world (at least it's not suppose to) it's just sceptical which doesn't mean I won't believe any thing, just that it will only say things with certainty if they've been "proven beyond reasonable doubt"
** Nobody ever said that science was wrong, just Twilight in this instance. Twilight wasn't acting like a scientist at all. She repeatedly ignored instances of "Pinkie sense" functioning out of an intent to prove herself right rather than actually gain understanding. Instead of trying to piece together what was actually happening, she went out of her way to "disprove" Pinkie simply because she didn't want to believe it. In other situations, her skepticism and research skills have proven to be great assets. It's just that this one time she was being stubborn and dogmatic, if only because Pinkie's premonition claims offended her because she viewed it as an insult to effort she put into her own magic. If this pattern was repeated, you'd have an argument. In this case, it's just Twilight being wrong thanks to being motivated by spite rather than the pursuit of knowledge. Frankly it bothers me that people take everything so personally on this show. A character being wrong in one instance does not mean that the writers are against everything that character stands for.
*** The issue is Twilight acts as a very stereotypical strawman skeptic in the episode. [[AcceptableTargets Skeptics tend to get a particularly raw deal in most media]], and this episode seems to be a particularly bad example of one. While Twilight is acting in a way that a skeptic can sometimes act, as skeptics like all people are prone to bias (The entire point of skepticism being to do ones best to remove that bias), I found the episode offensive partially because of the media in general. For example, it's not offensive to have a single black character be a thug or criminal, but if 90% of blacks in the media were criminals, than every show that perpetuates that notion is going to be offensive. Twilight was just the latest in a long line of TV Skeptics acting in an extremely unskeptical way. If the portrayal of skeptics like this were more uncommon, the episode might have made a fine lesson about how no-one is immune to this kind of thinking. But instead, this episode simply perpetuated the stereotype of the arrogant and blind skeptic, whether it intended to or not. Also, the 'leap of faith' line REALLY didn't help. If you want to piss off a skeptic, try to extol the [[BerserkButton virtues of faith]] (as something other than a synonym for trust) to them. Lastly, Twilight gives up on understanding what could be an incredible discovery in the field of magic, and doesn't appear to forward the discovery to anyone else to study. A real scientist might give up on understanding something if she finds it too difficult to study further, but the idea of not putting the discovery out there for others to work on is nothing short of criminal. In short, it's likely that this episode was an unintentional perfect storm of things intended to drive a certain community of people absolutely crazy.

* ''Show Stoppers,'' ''Show Stoppers,'' [[BerserkButton Show Stoppers.]] It's one thing to recognize the things you have an affinity for. It's another to actively pigeonhole someone, especially a child, into rejecting the things they aren't immediately good at. You do not openly ''cringe'' at three little kids who want to enter a talent show, even if it's clear they're going to bomb; you smile and encourage them to work hard at whatever they do. Twilight Sparkle's behavior was incredibly inappropriate.
** She was trying to help them get their cutie mark. I guess it just shows the truth of the aseop, 'you're just going to have to wait for it'.
** We're talking about a world where little school ponies have to discover what they will be wearing on their butts for the rest of their lives. It's not like our rules about upbringing would apply well in Equestria.
*** The entire point is to discover your true calling in life -- getting a [[strike: butt]] cutie mark is just a by-product that symbolizes that. And you're forgetting that this is, in the end, a kid's show with direct aesops...in this case, a rotten one.
** I think that cutie marks are open to interpretation. Rarity's mark is several gems, and she's a clothing designer. She could've just as easily been a jeweler or a diamond miner. But she isn't, despite her affinity for those things. She's still doing something she chose to do.
** We're getting an episode where we find out how the main cast got their cutie marks. Hopefully that will clear up some questions.
** Aren't you being a bit harsh? "Pigeonholing"? All she did was, when they first heard about the contest, encourage them to do the things they like to do; i.e. the things they're talented at and passionate about, like Sweetie and singing. She only "cringed" when she realized they had all kind of missed the point and were trying to be something they really weren't.
** I think that the point the episode was ''trying'' to make was that the Crusaders were putting too much effort into trying to make the cutie marks appear rather than just do what they enjoy and are already talented at (which is what actually makes the cutie marks appear). All three of them had already displayed obvious talents earlier in the episode (Sweetie Belle can sing, Scootaloo is a decent artist and a hell of a boarder, and Apple Bloom basically took the clubhouse from "lost cause" to "pretty" in the course of an afternoon). The thing is that none of them use those talents in their show (Sweetie Belle does the set design and costumes instead of singing, Scootaloo does the musical composition instead of the coreography, and Apple Bloom does the dancing instead of the set design). They had all the talent needed to put a good show together, but each pony was doing the wrong job. The intended moral was probably something more along the lines of "play to your strengths" or "don't waste what talents you have", both of which are decent morals. Of course, the episode didn't handle it very well and it could easily be misconstrued as "don't try new things".
*** Since rewatching the episode, it's more likely that the moral was '''too''' subtle. The intended moral above ''was'' implied by Twilight Sparkle before the contest was shown to the CMC. And on top of that, this was after a montage of them trying new things. Of course, that ties in to my personal theory that the complaints on this particular episode here were made by someone who didn't pay enough attention. As for the "main point" here, I see nothing wrong with Twilight's behavior. Especially since the alternative is IMO much more wrong.
** Actually, the whole point of Twilight's advice to the Cutie Mark Crusaders was that the easiest way to get your ''cutie mark'' was to find talents you're good at. Just because you have a certain cutie mark doesn't mean you can't try other things also. Look at Pinkie Pie, her cutie mark was found because she's great at making parties, but she's also a great baker too. Fluttershy's cutie mark was found when she discovers her love and connection to animals, but she's also a talented singer and fashion model also. It's not like the kids can't have multiple talents in life, but specifically getting a cutie mark just means discovering one of your ''strongest'' talents.
** In the wake of "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", there's an element of FridgeBrilliance. Twilight ''would'' think that the "correct" way to find a cutie mark, so to speak, is to recognize what you're clearly good at and then work hard at it...because that's the way she got her's. She didn't try other things first, like Applejack, or have a moment of epiphany like Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy; she became inspired to study magic, did so, and discovered she was gifted in it. The possibility of trying many new things to find one that clicks -- or that this might be a perfectly reasonable way to find your calling -- probably wouldn't occur to her.
*** So, it's sort of like getting a home run on your first at-bat, then proving that it wasn't a lucky shot by getting a very good average?

** The CMC weren't in the contest to win (at least not as their primary goal), they were in the competition to get their Cutie Marks. In this series a Cutie Mark basically symbolizes the inner nature of the wearer, something that is difficult to find for humans over an entire lifetime, let alone for children. All Twilight did was try to encourage the CMC to recognize their talents and natures in a relatively subtle way by asking them to think about what they personally want to do instead of just randomly trying numerous hair-brained schemes and giving up if they don't get immediate results. If they were just doing the competition for fun, Twilight wouldn't have interfered.
*** Agreed. Their admitted goal was to find their cutie marks. It wasn't to have fun, or to find out something they're 'merely good at'. They wanted their cutie marks, and Twilight was initially happy for them, because she thought that they were finally going about it how they were supposed to. She reacts negatively when she realizes they are so close, but continuing to miss the point. Even if none of them got their cutie marks if they played to their strengths, she would still recognize that they were finally realizing that getting your mark was more about doing what you like and are already good at, and generally approve of what they did because they were no longer trying to 'force' the issue.

* Am I the only one who thinks the writers shot themselves in the foot with the aesop here? Just because someone is feminine and ladylike, it doesn't make her weak... but feminine strength lies in acting whiny, entitled, prissy, and manipulative? How is that a better stereotype?

* As a Canadian History minor, the conclusion kind of irked me. IRL, natives traded with white settlers because they liked their processed European food and their alcohol, both of which contributed to the destruction of their lifestyle and race. I wonder where the Buffalo tribe is going to be in a decade after becoming dependent on a non-indigenous food...
** DERAIL! I've been to two American history courses. One lecturer considered the furs acquired through the North American fur trade genuinely useful and important goods. Another considered them a fashion luxury. I'm more impressed with the former as a teacher, but lack independent verification for the accuracy of his teachings. Could you tell me how it is? (For the record, I didn't hear of processed food being traded - lots of cookware and other such things, though.)
*** The first teacher was more correct. Beaver felt hats were a "fashion luxury" in the sense that they were very popular and acted as something of a status symbol, but (to draw a modern equivalency) a brand-name Nike shoe is still a shoe and is therefore useful and important. The second teacher seems to be implying that because beaver felt was a "luxury" it was somehow unworthy. Beaver felt is objectively superior to other felts, and beavers were plentiful at the time. Economics took its course. You're also correct that most trade with Amerind tribes was for manufactured goods and alcohol rather than processed foods. You give a man a pie, he eats for a day. You give him a hunting rifle...
**** The above troper's right without going far enough--the number one things most tribes wanted out of the trade? Metal. Muskets, yes, because guns > arrows and spears for hunting and warfare (which was going on long before Europeans moved in), and also metal knives (a lot easier than knapping stone points), fishhooks (try using a bone one some time), pots and pans (try cooking in birchbark-works great right up until you're not careful and it catches fire)...plus ever see all that beautiful Amerindian seed bead work? All post-contact because before trade with Europe, they didn't have beads, only shells and natural-dyed material like porcupine quills or feathers. And all the crazy Europeans wanted for the most part was a bunch of stupid furs? Score! (Contrary to the DancesWithWolves mythology, most natives had zero problem with mass hunting and were not religiously hung up on "use every scrap".)
** If human history is any telling, the Buffalo Tribe probably won't do well at all. I can't speak for the natives in the United States, but here in Canada, have they not become a bit of a "thorn"? People know about them, yet no one really cares, in spite of the unethical treatments they've been put through (that's putting it mildly). I think that this episode was meant as a bit of a metaphor for cultural crashes in general, rather than a specific example. That said, give them credit for taking a bold move by actually doing something so close to reality. The conclusion, however, may in fact be an honest mistake. Then again, even if they did, how much of that can you translate into a show primarily watched by a young audience?
*** The fact that the battle between the two civilizations involved apple pies being used as weapons suggests that this is meant to be a sanitized expy of North American history, not a literal telling. The producers were trying to use the backdrop of Manifest Destiny to make a statement about unity between cultures WITHOUT having to face the bitter reality that actually came from such a thing. Because, you know, it's a kid's show. Just think of a politically correct version of the Old West where everyone learned to respect each others' cultures and population growth is kept to a minimum, and you'll get the idea.
*** My political science nerd and recent pony convert has a theory that actually fits better than the obvious settlers/Native Americans one. The pony settlement is Israel, the buffalo are the West Bank, the apple trees are the settlements. The solution? The same as the most logical for the Israel-West Bank situation; removal of the settlements that interfere with Palestinians and shared access to Jerusalem (the apple pies).
** I think that the settler/Indian aesthetics weren't intended to parallel the historical events too closely; this show is aimed at elementary schoolers after all. The message isn't a historical statement, the point was that all the problems could have been avoided if the two sides had been willing to talk things out and come to a compromise rather than just fight over the land. It was stated in episode that both sides had valid reasons for claiming the land, after all. Not to mention that there's a pretty solid layer of RuleOfFunny over the whole thing that makes reading too much into a bit of a problem.
** Considering that it's more of a BroadStrokes version of history, it's pretty obvious that it's really a "get-along-with-one-another-talk-out-your-differences-dammit" Aesop cloaked in a settlers vs. natives appearance. They probably just picked that one because they wanted to play with lots of Western tropes.
** Im sorry, but is this even really possible to discuss? Accusing a show about a highly advanced magical equine race living in a manually controlled planet full of hervibores because one of the cultures looks somewhat like one of our own and don't follow our own templates. No offense to Historical Bluff, but I mean, why would anybody accuse research failure in a SugarBowl show so ''bizarre'' and alien to our own? Why would you need even to "defend" or make excuses that their history is not a carbon copy down to the last molecule of our own?. Why would you even expect it? Im sorry, but there is nitpicking and just plain sillyness and stick up the ass and yeah, is not like the relationship of the western front and the Indians... so what? They are talking horses who managed to construct a complex society with hooves and psychic sparkles and use bakery as weaponry against gigantic dragon worshiping spiritual buffalos... boy, it really sound flat out weird when you said out loud, ha?
*** Yes, it is possible to discuss.
** In what way is this an analogy for either Canadian or American history? Yes, IRL there were dealings between natives and non-natives that ended poorly for the natives, but that's not what happened in the show. In the show, the buffalo get to stampede like they used to and they get some free apples to go with it, and meanwhile the settlers get to maintain their way of life. Who loses out on this? It's a fair deal for both sides. Just because processed food and alcohol contributed to Native American troubles IRL does not mean that the buffalo are somehow going to suffer because of their newfound access to apples; why would they? It's not like apples are addictive or something. And just because they're ''eating'' a non-indigenous food doesn't mean they're ''dependent'' on it; obviously the buffalo have been managing to feed themselves before the deal was struck and there's no reason why they would lose that ability. (It's not like they were all corralled against their will onto some kind of reservation, which is what happened IRL to the Native Americans. And anyway the fact that I eat bananas doesn't make me dependent on banana-producing nations, etc. etc..) Referencing the human rights abuses committed against real-life Native Americans is similarly ridiculous; there are no such abuses depicted on the show. The only wrong they suffered was the ''temporary'' loss of their stampeding grounds, which was resolved at the end. Again, this is not meant to be a retelling of actual history. If anything, it's a statement about what ''should'' have happened between natives and non-natives in the settler days.
** Would you have liked the episode more if it had ended with the ponies prevailing over the buffalo in a series of brutal wars and then forcing the buffalo onto reservations where poverty, crime, and alcoholism would all be endemic?
** I assume they're going to be decimated. The ponies have presumably had a good amount of time to adjust to a high-glucose diet, while the bison have just been introduced to apple pies. Type II diabetes is going to be just as much of a problem as alcoholism was IRL.

* Pinkie Pie's backstory in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" irritated me. I don't seriously believe that Pinkie used to be gloomy. The Amish deal and the rock farm also strike me as weird. Then again, good ol' Pinkie could be making this all up.
** Actually the Amish thing does explain the gloom: She had a strict upbringing and while she probably was the same, being random and singing aren't things the Amish are known for. However the Rainbow caused her to let out all of the energy she had pent up and the party at the end was more a celebration for her family and their hard work than anything and told Pinky Pie she could be herself, and thus she got her mark.
** Just making something clear: being Amish doesn't make someone gloomy. Just because they have no need for fancy things like bright clothes and technology, it doesn't mean that they're devoid of fun.
** I learned that later, that was my lack of research. And to be fair they probably did have fun, and if her family didn't love each other, her story would have had a DownerEnding. And someone below pointed out the farming parts where the gloom came from, the rainboom just awakened the natural insanity that had been locked inside by hard work and focus on her duties.
** Just because Amish are allowed to have fun doesn't mean that this particular Amish (or Amish-esque) family had fun very often. Maybe they were all fairly gloomy from farming rocks (as others have pointed out.) And anyway, it's not that hard to imagine that Pinkie Pie was once gloomy; in fact that makes it kind of inspiring when she turns her whole life around.
** She totally made it up. She tells the story differently every time, like how the Joker talks about his scars.
*** "You wanna know how I got this cutie mark?"
*** Man, Pinkie Pie is that universe's Joker. That explains sooo much.
*** ''{{Cupcakes}}''. Oh dear Celestia, it explains frigging ''Cupcakes''.
** "Magic Duel" shows Trixie working for Pinkie's father on the rock farm, so it seems to be at least partially true.
** I assumed the gloom came from the "rock farm" part of her life, not the Amish part.
** Rule of Funny.
** The events of Magic Duel and Pinkie Pride prove her story as canon. Besides, after Party of One, is it seriously ''that'' out there to assume Pinkie had a gloomy period in her life? Even the most optimistic people can be extremely sad, you know.

* Why would anyone think that the "Cupcakes" fanfic would end up being real in this episode? Do those people fail to realize you can't get away with blood and gore on a TV-Y show? All Pinkie did was believe her friends didn't like her, and the only harm she did was slam her ass on Rainbow Dash's face when she refused to come with her. But there certainly weren't any LudicrousGibs to speak of.
** I don't think anyone seriously believed Pinkie was going to start slicing into her friends. The plethora of "CUPCAKES IS CANON!" remarks that came up after that episode seemed largely tongue in cheek.

* Why is everybody so spooked by Pinkie's mad scene in "Party of One"? I thought it was adorable (in a TimBurton sort of way).
** Because seeing the [[GenkiGirl genkiest]] pony in Ponyville turn woobie and rather psychotic is slightly freaky?
** She wasn't psychotic. Psychotic = AxeCrazy. She was just nuts.
*** She wasn't breaking out the axe yet, but she was displaying a whole laundry list of symptoms for various psychotic disorders.
**** I must interject that psychotic has nothing to do with being violent or Axe Crazy. This is a terrible misconception. 'Psychotic' just means 'out of touch with reality'. In this way, Pinkie really was being psychotic. However, psychosis does NOT lead to being murderous (necessarily).
** It was mostly the face twitches and eye-derps. if you leave those out, she's just a sad little girl having a pretend party with her "dollies.".... silly and childish and perfectly in character for her. It's the spastic twitches and staring off into space that move it from cute and funny to really effin' disturbing.
** Cupcakes. A horrible fanfic that many members of the fandom have read has caused many to think Pinkie Pie is a serial killer. This episode made many people believe that it was canon.
*** It's pitiful when a piece of (''bad'') fan faction can color people's perception of a canon episode. Insane or not, Pinkie is an adorable pony and no threat to anybody.
*** Some of us have never read (or have any interest in) ''Cupcakes''. Even her friends were terrified of her in this episode.
*** Her friends seemed more weirded out than terrified.
*** "Weirded out" is the typical emotion Pinkie Pie inspires in her friends on a good day. You can see it at the beginning of the episode, when she's singing their invitations. That look of shock and vauge horror in their eyes, that's pure Pinkie. That's love. Genuinely disturbed/frightened came later.
*** Sure, they were disturbed. But "terrified" is ''still'' a slight stretch.
*** One of your friends is not herself. She's abandoned you and started holding tea parties for inanimate objects. She reacts with open hostility when you try to remove her from her delusions. You ''should'' be disturbed by this. If seeing a friend like this would not disturb you, you are a ''bad friend''. Her friends were worried because there was a ''genuine cause for concern''.
** The scene was very much fun in a BlackComedy kind of way, but even with no indication Pinkie was going to hurt anyone else, it was very dark in another way. ''She'' was in terrible emotional agony that she was trying to cover up with all that, and the results seemed to be damaging to her psyche and social behaviour. Poor thing.
*** ...why the hell would people think Cupcakes would be canon? This is a TV-Y show, you're not supposed to show LudicrousGibs on a show that little kids (and their parents) can watch, despite the other bits of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar crap that already got through.]] This is My Little Pony, not {{Saw}}.
**** "...why the hell would people think Cupcakes would be canon?" Because people are screwed up sometimes.
** To this troper at least, the speed of Pinkie's transition from normal hyperactive happy to bleak hopelessness and then back again was rather jarring (despite being PlayedForLaughs). It's even remarked upon by Pinkie herself that the other had been avoiding her just "all day." Mood swings that severe and that fast can accompany some forms of Bipolar disorder, making the episode rather uncomfortable at times.
** Pinkie just became an AccentuateTheNegative grump. If you want something really scary, try Twilight in Episode 29; she effectively mind controls the entire town and makes them fight each other over a doll.

* Beside Rarity and Twilight, ''none'' of the core cast really could be excused of their atrocious conduct in the Galloping Gala. I mean, yeah it wasn't what they expected but what right does that give them to ruin the night for the rest of the guests? They were '' especially invited'' (i.e: excused), without really having earned the place to an exclusive party which is implied to be a very old tradition. Truly, they were pardoned because it was all a Plan of Celestia and nobody would dare to mess with the freaking Physical Goddess but still; the entire Aesop came very broken and warped, implying you could be a total ass (or a complete psychopath in case of Fluttershy) and ruin the night of the people around you if they don't meet your unreasonable expectations? Once again, Rarity was the peak of decorum and patience and her final explosion was more [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome than]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch justified]] but the rest of the cast acted like spoiled brats needing of a well deserved talk.
** They overreacted. Simple as that. Applejack had her heart set on getting money for helping out the farm, and when that didn't play out, she got upset and started doing things that clearly wouldn't work because she stopped thinking. Fluttershy lives for helping animals. If you suddenly proved useless at what you literally live for, how would you feel? Rainbow Dash had her heart set on spending time with the Wonderbolts. To have that torn away CONSTANTLY would be aggravating, I'm surprised she didn't come as close to swearing somepony out as a kids' show would allow instead of just trying little things. Pinkie simply expected something better and didn't think to stop and check out the surroundings.
** Maybe I need to watch it again, but I don't think Rainbow Dash and Applejack did anything inexcusable either. Okay, Rainbow Dash shouldn't have kicked that other pony into the air so she could rescue him, but other than that she didn't do anything wrong, and all Applejack did was bring in the cake that Pinkie jumped into. So you can blame it all on Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
*** Yeah, seriously this. While yes, I suppose you ''could'' make an arguement for Rainbow destroying that statue (even though it was an accident), all Applejack did was ''bake a freaking cake''. How the hell is that "atrocious behavior"?!
**** Applejack was more subdued, but her means of coercion before resorting to the cake ''were'' out of line. Just not egregiously so.
**** Rainbow Dash breaking the statue doesn't count at all. It's the one thing she ''didn't'' plan. She just saw an opportunity to be a hero and took her best shot at it.
*** Applejack's entire REASON for going to the Gala was wrong. She set up a food stand to sell her own cheap food directly in front of a fully-catered party, and when she naturally didn't sell anything she began pestering people to buy her apples regardless. It's like if the ice cream man decided to park outside of somebody else's party and kept blaring "The Entertainer" until he sold all of his ice cream. It's just rude.
*** You have to remember that this is ''Applejack'' we're talking about here. As we saw in Manehattan, she's not the best pony when it comes to knowledge of formal affairs, let alone the Grand Galloping Gala which she had never been to, which means she probably had no clue it would be a fully catered party also considering the fact that not all formal affairs are guaranteed to be catered. After all, the reason she didn't get much business isn't because she was being rude or appropriate, it's because she was serving common food, which with the exception of the Wonderbolts, most of the snobbish ponies just ignored. This is even lampshaded by [[{{Jerkass}} Prince Blueblood]] who bites into a free apple fritter and spits it out not because it doesn't taste good, but because he considers it "common carnival fare". It's not like Applejack had any idea that nopony there would like to give her food a chance, and she wanted to use the profit to help her family.
*** Rainbow Dash was trying to avert a disaster when she caught the statue - if she hadn't, it would have broken for certain. The pillars falling down can be blamed entirely on whatever lousy builder they hired from the DisasterDominoes School of Architecture. Fluttershy screwed up big time, but she was suffering from some sort of CMFIS-induced psychotic break which nopony, especially her, saw coming. Pinkie's behaviour was inexcusable, but honestly, she shouldn't have been left unattended at a formal occasion.
** I thought that was the moral of the episode: they all expected too much and ruined the night because of it. They should have just concentrated on having a good time with their friends. Although I agree the point gets blurred because Princess Celestia's forgiveness makes a KarmaHoudini out of all them.
*** Celestia's only being fair; she invited the Mane Cast to the Gala ''specifically because'' they would have no idea how to fit in and would therefore disrupt the proceedings entertainingly. She even says this explicitly. If that's why she brought them to the dance, she can hardly punish them for doing it. Even if she did get much, much more than she'd bargained for.
**** As a side note concerning Applejack, UrbanLegend claims that the hot dog stand outside the Stockholm City Hall does it's best business early and late in the evening on December 10th, i.e. before and after the Nobel Prize Gala, which is held there every year. Make of that what you will...
** Fluttershy also was okay, because if you loved animals, you would want them to love you.
** As for Pinkie Pie... well, you can't honestly expect [[CrazyAwesome PINKIE PIE]] to follow formalities. She's Pinkie Pie for a reason.

* Fluttershy going batshit insane at the GGG was hilarious and all, but has that particular moment tainted or completely destroyed her character? Will it be possible to think of her the same way once more? Granted, we'll have to wait until Season 2 to get a proper answer.
** It might help if they take an episode to explore WHY she flipped out, or to explain why her gift with animals failed so horribly... or maybe to show she wasn't herself, and that she's mortified/horrified at how she acted so badly. We're all allowed to have a day off our best.
** My guess is that we're all supposed to laugh about the gala and then forget about it. Chances are it won't be mentioned again next season unless the gala rolls around again. As for why the animals didn't like her, my best guess is that they don't like strangers. The only other explanation I can think of right now is that while the animals around Ponyville are essentially tame, these animals were wild. But that would be strange because animals in cities tend to fear humans (or in this case ponies) less, and presumably these animals are still being cared for by ponies.
** It's not like it hasn't happened to everyone else. The show loves to push these ponies until they break, and Fluttershy's so introverted and restrained that it was always likely to be very impressive in her case. The animals, not being native to the area are likely just very nervous around strange ponies, and Fluttershy (who's most unattractive flaw is her arrogance in her own abilities, see 'Stare Master', 'Suited for Success' and 'Bird in the Hoof') just started to become increasingly irrational as her ego collapsed around her (again, 'Bird in the Hoof').
*** It just seems so out of character for her. One would expect that being rejected by all the animals would cause her to become depressed, not the crazy bitch she briefly was. Some fans have joked that the Gala happened around Fluttershy's "[[AllPeriodsArePMS time of the month]]".
*** A fellow brony on my home forum explained as her having built up meeting the animals in the garden all year in her mind. In other words, she had difficulty accepting that things weren't going ''exactly'' as she'd dreamed. From this, we can reason that her natural ability with animals started slipping, for whatever reason - lack of focus, losing her usual demeanor, whatever. The less the situation matched her idealized dream, the more she started to fall apart, resulting in [[FanNickname Flutterage.]]
** I have several theories explaining her tantrum-
*** FreudianExcuse explanation: Fluttershy's special talent is her empathy with animals. That's what her cutie mark symbolises. She loves animals, but if she can't earn their love in return, it means that she's basically failed at her purpose in life, therefore, her life has no meaning. To suddenly fail at the main thing that you're good at can be pretty upsetting, to say the least.
*** Very Silly WildMassGuessing: The gardener offered her a drink of whiskey from a hip flask to cheer her up after her first attempt to befriend the animals failed. He kept giving her a drink after each failed attempt, leading to a drunken rampage by the end of the night.
*** This. Can this be canon?
*** Most likely explanation: RuleOfFunny. It was probably just an OutOfCharacterMoment played for laughs.
** But to answer the original question, I agree that it most likely won't be brought up again in canon. But we can still have fun with the meme it generated!
** Wasn't it said by WordOfGod that Princess Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon was caused by "something or someone"? Maybe he/she/it was behind Fluttershy's breakdown...
*** Um...not everything negative is caused by evil forces. Otherwise, then I'd have to say that anyone rude IRL is possessed.
** Fluttershy strikes me as the kind of pony who, due to her incredible shyness, bottles her outspoken negative emotions inside. Then, when things really start to get irritating, it causes any bottled up anger to overflow.
*** Fluttershy seems to run on BewareTheNiceOnes -- look at what she does to the dragon and the cockatrice. Intimidation tends to be somewhat handicapped when your target has every ability to destroy you without even thinking, but it works. Oh, and I did see a fic somewhere that suggested the earlier idea. For one, Fluttershy had built up the idea of how things would go ... and for another, she wasn't actually ''using'' her special skill and ability to soothe creatures, thus shocking the hummingbirds out of humming and the buzzard out of buzzing.
** I just mentally filed the whole thing as an OutOfCharacterMoment. If the writers wanted Fluttershy to get that angry, the animals should have been ''jerks'', like biting her or throwing stuff at her or whatever.
*** Actually, when one does a close analysis of Fluttershy's character, and picks up on a couple hints, the 'Flutterrage' outburst doesn't seem like an OutOfCharacter moment, instead seems like a bad mixture of variables to produce a 'powder keg ready to blow' situation. Let's go over them:
####First off, as seen in 'Dragonshy,' 'Stare Master,' and 'Suited for Success,' Fluttershy can be very assertive, even borderline aggressive when pushed to the point that she's forced to come out of her shell of shyness, instead of just breaking down and crying, or something like that.
####Secondly, there have been hints that Fluttershy actually has an arrogant streak. These hints can be seen in her rant in 'Suited For Success' (most, if not all, of her rant was about the stitching and technical aspects of the dress, things she's really good at, giving little to no consideration to the fashion of the dress, which is what Rarity was concerned about) which she even ends with the stereotypical 'arrogant nose in the air' stance, her reason for agreeing to look after the CMC in 'Stare Master' (Fluttershy honestly believed that since she was great at taking care of animals, she would be great at taking care of children), and the fact she kidnapped Princess Celestia's sickly bird in 'Bird in a Hoof' (She took Philomena and tried to cure her, without even thinking out the implications of what she did, or that there was more to the strange bird than a simple sick bird). This aspect of her personality is normally kept in check by her kindness, as she doesn't want to hurt others' feelings.
####Thirdly, Fluttershy was following the 'advice' Twilight had given her in 'Bird in the Hoof' ("I just have to be more bold, like Twilight says." - Fluttershy, as she's setting up the stereotypical box and stick trap.) This is similar to when she did the 'hop-skip-and-a-jump' in 'Feeling Pinkie Keen.' Pinkie had given that advice all the way back in 'Dragonshy' but at the time, Fluttershy didn't take it in.
####Fourthly, there is the common pattern and fan-theory of Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome (or CMFIS for short) in which, whenever a pony's special talent comes into question (like when Fluttershy has trouble getting animals to love her) it can trigger a breakdown that causes the pony's personality to temporarily become the opposite of what it normally is.
**** So in conclusion, all these factors, combined with the general high expectations of the night, made for a recipe for disaster. So the writers weren't putting Fluttershy in an OutOfCharacterMoment for fun and plot, but where stacking the variables so that it would make the deepest and darkest parts of who Fluttershy is explode out.
** The problem with her behaviour obviously stems from how it didn't get enough buildup. There wasn't a whole episode to explain it (or what caused the factors that caused it) like for, say, Pinkie Pie's psychosis. I assume it would have made sense if fully explained.
** ...That said, some of the explanations here almost seem to make it make less sense. For example, Fluttershy taking in the CMC or Philomena seems more naivety than arrogance, and not even based on unreasonable assumptions, since she usually just ''is'' freakishly good with all sorts of critters. (And really, the problem is that the critters on those occasions are willfull and "intelligent"; animals may be sort of intelligent in this series, but they react much more simply regardless. Except Angel, and, though he likes Fluttershy, she can't just wrap him around her hoof with her natural charm, either.) That same assumption is certainly present in "The Best Night Ever", but is it arrogance? This, of course, makes the biggest question just why those animals don't automatically fall for her. And, again, an excuse would have been easy to come up with with some time for buildup.
** I tend to think it had something to do with how unfamilure she is with the situation. Think about it, really the only ones she's really comfortable with meeting for the first time is animals, and they suddenly start ignoring her after she'd dreamed of being able to hang out with them. Unlike other times, her friends ''aren't'' there, they're all inside the Gala, somewhere that Fluttershy would probably be very uncomfortable, what with all the people she doesn't know (remember how shy she was when she met Twilight, she could barely speak above a whisper). As mentioned, she's somewhat naive, to her, all she needs to do to get them to like her is try harder, she's never really met an animal that ''didn't'' like her before, outside ones that were causing major trouble. It's been shown that when she gets mad, she's snapped before, but those times it was to an enemy. This time, her anger and frustration was directed to someone she wanted to befriend really hard, so letting it out in that fashion wasn't an option. The whole night was just a compounded amount of things she'd never experienced before, she really had no idea how to deal with it, which probably put a huge amount of stress on her. It's actually not uncommon for someone to go temporarally crazy when confronted with a massive amount of stress and in a situation they have no idea how to react to. When you really think about it, the whole situation was nearly custom made to make Fluttershy snap.
** Two points on Fluttershy's breakdown: One: Cutie Mark Insanity Syndrome. Two: Meta. It was actually a mini-version of what happened to Luna when she became Nightmare Moon... all she wanted was to be loved by creatures she showed kindness to, and instead she was fled from and shunned. It's possible this might have been a foreshadowing of her having a bonding moment with the moon princess in season 2.
*** As to "why her gift with animals failed so horribly," I think many people are overlooking the obvious: most of the time, she is helping animals. She feeds them, tends their injuries, protects them, wakes them from their hibernation, even reassures them when they are frightened, etc. They love her in no small part because of what she does for them. At the gala, she simply shows up in the royal gardens and expects to be loved.
*** Agreed. I always figured the animals' flippancy was supposed to be analogous to the way the ''actual'' Gala guests treated the common folk, as if to suggest "arrogant royals, from the king himself right down to the animals in the courtyard, are arrogant royals." Or... [[WildMassGuessing maybe not]].
** Her breakdown was gradual. First, she simply flies up to them in her usual cheery excitement, and when they flee she mutters sadly; "Oh Fluttershy, you're such a loudmouth." Then she sadly says; "This isn't what I wished for." Hence she joins in with the Mane Six's vow to make this the best night ever. Then she sets up a trap so that she can catch one, telling herself "I just have to be more bold like Twilight says." She even tries to be her usual reassuring self when she thinks she's caught one, but is annoyed when it fails. Then she starts clumsily chasing them, highly annoyed and stomping and shouting at them. Then she sets a ''trap'' for them, which [[HoistByHisOwnPetard she falls into herself]], which can't be good for her temper. Then the infamous stampede and the line: "You're going to LOVE ME!" That's her idea of being assertive, which then gets sidetracked by her increasing frustration, and so she takes it out on the animals who are starting to be less amusing and more annoying to her. It's not like we've ever seen Fluttershy get properly riled over something she ''really'' wanted to do before and which wasn't this personal to her. HiddenDepths, that one.
** Plus, who has she got as a role model for being assertive and bold? Twilight? Think "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and "A Bird in the Hoof". Rainbow Dash? Think LeeroyJenkins meets BrutalHonesty. Honestly, rewatch Fluttershy's scenes and imagine she's mimicking one of them two as her role model for being bold.

* Is Blueblood really that much of a jerk? He wanted the same thing as Rarity, really; to be fawned over for being special. Rarity is only mad at him because he's demanding the same things of her that she wants from him. Does it really come down to gender roles?
** Well, let's see. Ignoring the fact that he was being very rude to her, he insulted Rarity's good friend Applejack and used Rarity as a HumanShield. That's pretty jerky. He never once gave a thought to how his date was doing or check on her after being hit by a door or what have you. The two of them are similar, yes. But Rarity is generous, hard-working, and a good friend. Blueblood is none of these things. I think part of the reason Rarity comes to hate Blueblood so much is because Blueblood is basically herself without her redeeming qualities.
** Being a royal usually means being rich. Yet he makes Rarity pay for a treat that he quickly spits out and decides to go to the (presumably) free meal offered inside without leaving her a chance to even grab something for herself! Good thing Applejack was generous with her friend!
*** Rarity ''would'' have paid for it, but Applejack gave it to her free of charge.
** Rarity likes to be fawned over, but she's also a good person. Remember how she worked so hard to make free dresses for her friends in that other episode, for instance. Blueblood would never work hard for anybody, far as I can tell.
** It's called ''noblesse oblige''; the idea that those in privileged positions have a countervailing obligation to act honorably and responsibly. Rarity does her best to live up to that trope despite not actually being nobility; Blueblood is a walking negation of it despite having been handed high noble status just for being born. (As opposed to, oh, Celestia, who is the walking incarnation of ''noblesse oblige''.)
** Frankly, gender and other roles do seem to play a part. But even without that, Blueblood is so self-obsessed he barely even sees anyone else even when he's interacting with them. Even when being told off royally by Rarity, all he seemed to register was that she was messy. Everything around him was just an accessory to himself.
** He also has no sense of romance. When he points out the roses to Rarity, his action is not to woo her but to pin it to his own chest. He also makes her put down her cloak so that he can step over a puddle, and makes her open a door for him. These are all signs that he thinks ItsAllAboutMe, practically the defining attribute of a {{Jerkass}}.
** Having no sense of romance is hardly a genuine fault, and Rarity was just as self-centered in those two instances, insisting that he put down ''his'' cloak and open the door for ''her''. Blueblood is a {{Jerkass}}, no doubt, but gender roles ''definitely'' come into play.
*** OK, I'll throw my hands up: having no sense of romance isn't a fault. It does have a lot to do with gender roles.
*** I've always liked the fanon that Blueblood was deliberately [[{{Troll}} screwing with her]], because he knows what she's here for and having dealt with countless other mares with the same vapid dream, refuses to play the part.
** Rarity is defined by her generosity. If Blueblood had offered to pay for the food, Rarity might well have insisted that she pay anyway, but instead 'he expected her to do so from step one'. Likewise, he couldn't be generous in words or even in with something as inexpensive as a flower.
** There's also class disparity. Blueblood is probably always treated like royalty. Rarity had only just reached that level of opulence. She wanted one night when she could be treated like a lady, and all she got was a stallion who wanted her to treat him as more important. Rarity was upset, but at least it was kind of defensible on both sides (though Blueblood does come across as a downplayed EntitledBastard). Using her as a living shield, and then ignoring her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech because he was worrying too much about getting his mane messy, was just inconsiderate.
** In this Troper's opinion, there's an additional element that makes Blueblood's behavior much worse. Most of what he did was petty annoyances, but the CONTEXT made it much worse because he was "leading Rarity on." He was polite to Rarity and intentionally gave off an impression that he wanted Rarity's company when they first met, even if only so Rarity could flatter him. THEN he treated her like trash. If he hated Rarity's company he had the option to tell her, "Please leave. I'm not the stallion you think I am. I'm actually a jerk." Rarity probably would have been crushed but understood and taken it like a mare. Instead, Blueblood kept Rarity around and used her crush on him to make her wait on him hand and foot. So it's not so much some specific thing Blueblood did that made him so awful, it's the fact that he had better options for how to behave and didn't take them.
*** Also, coming from this same Troper, there's something else: Most of what Blueblood did was rude in a petty manner...except that's a lot of "most." Meaning, he was rude the whole time! If someone you care about uses you as a shield to block a cake once, you could chalk that off to him being in a bad mood. But if he does that after spending the entire evening engaging in petty but jerkish behavior, that involves an "underlying mindset" that no one matters but himself. Just like, for example, if your boss insults you once, it's an off day, but if he insults you every single day for little to no reason, he's probably a dominating tyrant.
** Rarity and Blueblood both acted like self-centered, attention seeking jerks the entire time they were together. Who knows how long they would've argued over who'd pay for the apple fritters if Applejack hadn't given them for free? If Blueblood was worse, it wasn't by much. Rarity's rant, while valid, was a bit hypocritical and the episode didn't seem to acknowledge that.
*** Having rewatched the episode, it's actually ''Blueblood'' who initiates the contact with Rarity; Rarity makes herself visible to him, but he's the one who came over to talk to her, which implies that he was either interested or trying to appear such. It wasn't like Rarity was hanging on him or anything; he definitely gave her the idea that he was interested in her company when he wasn't. If he didn't want her around, he could have just ignored her. Going by what we see, it looks like he's specifically approaching her an leading her on solely so she can stroke his ego.

* At the beginning of "Best Night Ever" , Rarity pulls her charms on some boys and they pull the cart. Really? Way to be subtle about the males being pretty unnecessary as the literal workhorse. I thought Faust was trying not to do this and that we don't have to worry about a SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality. Why were the guys treated in such a manner?
** Well, they mentioned they were her neighbors. Given how generous Rarity is, it's not that hard to take it as the men paying back a favor.
** Also, when Spike treats them like real-life workhorses, they immediately protest against it. As with the carriages in "Over a Barrel", the concept is played for laughs.
** This troper saw it more like playing with the stereotype of guys always being willing to help attractive lady with something including physical labor, imagine a woman asking her neighbours to carry her sofa to the second floor or something. Nothing too offensive about that.
*** In a way it also sets up Rarity's expectations for her interactions with Prince Blueblood, which does not go nearly as planned.
** It's a clear play of the stereotype, I don't see how that can be denied. But what I ''also'' don't see is how anyone can construe it as offensive - it's a joke, deal with it. Besides, when Spike whips them, they ''glare back'', as [[DontExplainTheJoke workhorses are literally people in this world]]. If Rarity's charms send an anti-male message, then this certainly sends a pro-male one in response - "do not treat us like beasts to be kicked around."
** Why the worry? They're doing her a favour, not being abused. It was a one-off event, after all - if she exploited stallions regularly, which she doesn't, then there might be grounds for complaint.
** I got the impression that pulling someone's carriage is the equivalent of driving someone somewhere. Sure, in that case, there's actual physical labour involved, but it doesn't seem to be too extreme. The real life equivalent would be that the girls rented a limousine and asked the guys to drive them because they can't do it themselves in their fancy get-ups. It's not the equivalent of carrying them in a litter.

* Am I the only one who had a serious [[WhatTheHellHero What The Hay Princess]] moment with Celestia? She invited the mane cast KNOWING THAT THEY WOULD RUIN THE GALA!! Maybe she wasn't expecting them to go as far as they did, but judging by her reaction at the end of the episode; what happened was well within her expectations. I know that she personally hated the gala, but what about the other guests who were probably enjoying themselves? She ruined their night and put them in danger all because she felt bored.
** Like you said, Celestia most likely had no way of knowing they'd go that far. Also, RuleOfPerception. We're not really given insight into most of the party-goers, and the few that are given focus are portrayed unsympathetically, with the exception of the Wonderbolts. Still, it doesn't explain everything else you mentioned, so I'm assuming that the writers just didn't want you to look that closely. While it's a very unsatisfying answer, I don't think there's a better one then "it's just a show, I should really just relax."
** Most likely, Celestia was under the impression that the ponies would stay as a group and have a good time. They probably would have upset the other guests just the same being loud and stuff, and that was how she planned to have things spiced up.
** Exactly, I feel like it was just a case of GoneHorriblyRight. Celestia wanted them to spice things up a bit, but had no way of knowing that would happen. Did she kind of enjoy the excitement? Probably yes. But it probably wasn't what she intended.
*** She may have seen it developing and gone SureWhyNot?
** Also, no one actually got seriously hurt, so it was manageable.

----

*** It just seems so out of character for her. One would expect that being rejected by all the animals would cause her to become depressed, not the crazy bitch she briefly was. Some fans have joked that the Gala happened around Fluttershy's "[[MenstrualMenace time of the month]]".

** Two possible explanations I can come up with for poor Twilight's [[HumiliationConga physical hell]] are either just pure bad luck or her own skepticism leading her in the wrong direction, the latter of which is rather deep when you think about it.

* Why in Equestria would Big Mac and Granny Smith let Filly!AJ go to Manehatten by herself? She's just a little foal, and from what we've seen, her siblings care for her a lot! Plus, according to the Official Map, Manehatten is miles away from Ponyville.