History Recap / MyLIttlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel

* {{Disneyfication}}: Of the treatment of Native Americans in the west.

* PieInTheFace: Used by the settlers [[ImprovisedWeapon as if they were weapons]]. It works.

* ScoobyDoobyDoors: Sleeper car berths, anyway. Happens when the mane cast (sans Applejack) is bouncing around the train.

* FantasticAesop:
** It's easy for your enemies to make peace with you if you fight them with EdibleAmmunition.
** The ponies can always make peace. They made a compromise, it really doesn't matter what the implications may be.

* FantasyConflictCounterpart: The episode deals with a scenario much like early America's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars Indian Wars]], settlers taking over the natives ancestral land for their own purposes, without native consent, which in turn cranks off the natives. Due to [[SlidingScaleOfCynicismVersusIdealism the nature of the show,]] things get resolved before they... [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement escalate too far]].
** More specifically, it could been seen as a fantasy analogue of the conflict over the Black Hills, extremely religiously significant to the Lakota people (much like the buffalo tribe's stampeding path) but also containing a lot of gold and minerals (and therefore of economic significance, much like the apple orchard is to the Appleloosans)

** More specifically, it could been seen as a fantasy analogy of the conflict over the Black Hills, extremely religiously significant to the Lakota people (much like the buffalo tribe's stampeding path) but also containing much gold and minerals (and therefore of economic significance, much like the apple orchard is to the Appleloosans)

* DeterminedHomesteader: The citizens of Appleloosa aren't going to let heat, a lack of farm land, and hostile stop them.

* DeterminedHomesteader: The citizens of Appleloosa.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The horse-drawn train is never used again after this episode. In [[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E24MysteryOnTheFriendshipExpress "MMMystery On The Friendship Express"]], the train is explicitly shown to have a steam engine.

* FantasticAesop: It's easy for your enemies to make peace with you if you fight them with EdibleAmmunition.

* FurryReminder: There's a saloon in Appleloosa called "The Salt Block" where ponies serve salt to customers. This may seem bizarre but if you're familiar with real horses then you would know that salt is an important source of nutrition for horses (usually served in a form of solid blocks of salt). It also helps them keep cool especially in hot areas (like the desert environment where Appleloosa is) through the minerals the salt they consume provides.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: If Applejack and Rainbow Dash hadn't been so adamant in defending either side of the conflict and just let them ''talk'', maybe the conflict wouldn't have gotten out of hand.

* OhCrap: Little Strongheart quickly recognizes a rather edgy Rainbow Dash when Spike introduces his friends.

* ThatRemindsMeOfASong: The episode manages to deconstruct this, when Pinkie's performance makes the situation worse. Twice. The first, the buffalo chief and the sheriff say that that was the worst performance they have ever seen, and the chief decides the next day they will stampede. When they do, the chief has second thoughts, and looks like he's not going to go through with it, until Pinkie starts singing again, which causes him to go through with it.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The horse-drawn train never used after this episode and in [[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E24MysteryOnTheFriendshipExpress MMMystery On The Friendship Express]] the train is explicitly shown to have a steam engine.

[[caption-width-right:250:[[Film/BlazingSaddles Lili von Shtupp]] she's not.]]

* {{Adorkable}}: Applejack, mothering and fawning over Bloomberg at the beginning of the episode.

Close enough, in fact, they start side-ramming the train (and the ponies pulling it). When that doesn't stop the train, a small female buffalo hops on top of the train and heads to the back cabin where Bloomberg and Spike (who's sleeping through all of this) are. Rainbow Dash attempts to stop the buffalo girl. [[TheWorfEffect She fails]]. Buffalo girl detaches the cabin with Bloomberg and Spike (who's now awake and screaming for help) and the buffalo get away. Rainbow decides to go after the accursed dragon-nappers while suffering from a headache.

* BadassAdorable: The citizens of Appleloosa are a textbook version of this. Cute cowboy and cowgirl hats? Check. Building a town and growing a huge apple orchard in just a year, in the middle of the desert? Check. Standing firm, defending their town from a huge Buffalo tribe several times bigger and stronger than them, gaining the upper hand and defeating them with ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser apple pies as weapons?]]'' Check!!

** Little Strongheart, who is smaller than any of the ponies (and ''much'' smaller than any of the other buffalo) but does the bulk of the work in stealing the apple tree, and [[TheWorfEffect shows up Rainbow Dash]] in the process.

* FantasticRacism: To portray settlers Vs. natives.

* InjunCountry: With buffalos as the natives.

** However, things aren't so bad at first... until Pinkie Pie does one of her song and dance routines, which is so bad InUniverse that Chief Thunderhooves angrily decides that the buffaloes will have to fight the ponies for their land back.
** Also, just when Chief Thunderhooves decides against attacking the town, [[DiabolusExMachina Pinkie Pie shows up and makes the Chief change his mind by repeating her horrible song.]]

* RoadTripEpisode: Type 1a.

* ScoobyDoobyDoors: Well, sleeper car berths, anyway. Happens when the mane cast (sans Applejack) is bouncing around the train.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Just in case you had any doubt this show was on the idealistic side...

* TraintopBattle: Little Strongheart vs. Rainbow Dash

* WhatMeasureIsAMook: During the final battle, nameless buffaloes were getting pies in the face left and right and nopony bats an eyelash. But when Chief Thunderhooves gets hit, it triggers a mass MyGodWhatHaveIDone for everypony, even though the pie was a NonLethalKO.

* OverlyLongGag

!!Tropes

'''Rainbow Dash:''' [sarcasm] No. Fluttershy.\\

* FantasticRacism: To potray settlers Vs. natives.

* {{Disneyfication}}: Of the treatment of American Indians in the west.

* {{Disneyfication}}: Of the treatment of Native Americans in the west.

* VisualGag: Appaloosa. Horse-drawn carriages (with the ponies switching off who was drawing it...), followed by horse-drawn horse-drawn carriages (ponies drawing the above), followed by wild west dances, then [i]mild[/i] west dances...

* UnfortunateImplications: Many fans were not happy with this absurdly simplified representation of the conflict between the Native Americans and white settlers. And then it gets worse with the two being portrayed as different species.