History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon

->''' ''OnceUponATime,''' in the magical land of Equestria...''

->''OnceUponATime, in the magical land of Equestria...''

Celestia tasks Twilight with supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in the small town of Ponyville and gives her a secondary task of finding and making some friends. Firmly believing that the fate of the world does not rest on her making friends, Twilight arrives in Ponyville to fulfill her royal duty. Spike asks Twilight to attempt socializing with others, directing her to a pink Earth Pony but when Twilight greets the stranger, the pink pony gasps and runs away. Now certain that she's the only sane pony in the village, Twilight grudgingly does her job.

Next on the list is [[TheFashionista Rarity]] who's in charge of the decorations. Spike is [[PrecociousCrush smitten instantly]] while Rarity is shocked and appalled by Twilight's messy mane. Insisting that she fix it up, she runs Twilight through a number of costumes (and gushes over her dreams of moving to Twilight's hometown of Canterlot) before Twilight drags Spike from the boutique and out to the edge of the woods where [[FriendToAllLivingThings Fluttershy]] is leading a choir of songbirds in rehearsal. Unfortunately Twilight appears at a bad time and startles both the birds and poor Fluttershy. Despite her best efforts, Twilight just can't get [[ShrinkingViolet Fluttershy]] to talk to her...that is, [[CutenessProximity until she sees Spike.]] After Spike literally tells Fluttershy his life story, Twilight heads into the library in the hopes of finally getting some time to herself, and turns on the light.

Oh look. [[BrickJoke It's that pink pony from earlier.]] [[GenkiGirl And she won't stay still.]] [[MotorMouth And she won't shut up either.]] She introduces herself as Pinkie Pie, and while she's explaining at a mile a minute that the reason she dashed off was to set up a surprise welcoming party, Twilight unwittingly [[INeedAFreakingDrink pours herself a drink]] of hot sauce, [[ExtremeOmnivore which Pinkie then eats on a cupcake without a second thought.]] Running to her room, Twilight ponders the idea that these new ponies are her friends and worries over whether or not the Mare in the Moon will really return. Before she has time to fret any further, she's beckoned to the town hall to watch the sun rise.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: We get one of these for each of the main characters: we can quickly see Twilight Sparkle is a bookworm too busy to make friends, Spike is her put-upon assistant, Applejack is neighborly and very close to her family, Rainbow Dash is lazy and a jokester but also loyal to her friends and neighbors, Rarity is very giving but also a bit obsessed with fashion and glamour, Fluttershy loves animals but is [[NotGoodWithPeople not good with ponies]], and Pinkie Pie is fun-loving and [[CloudCuckoolander ...well, weird.]]

* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: When Spike offers to top off telling his whole life story to Fluttershy with recollecting the events of that very day, Twilight quickly cuts him and the peaceful music off before any of them can continue.

* EarlyBirdCameo: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are briefly seen cowering under a table although this is supposed to have taken place before the three of them met (at this point the viewer has only met Apple Bloom). They could have coincidentally just all hid beneath the same table though. There's also Nightmare Moon at the beginning; see Foreshadowing below.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we first meet Twilight Sparkle, she's studying with her friend/assistant Spike who's trying to get her to relax. After being sent to Ponyville, she meets the rest of the main cast through a series of these. Pinkie Pie jumps in the air and promptly runs away. Applejack invites her to brunch with her large family. Rainbow Dash crashes into Twilight and sends her into a mud puddle, tries and fails to clean her up, proudly declares her ambition to join an elite aerial team and clears the sky in ten seconds flat. Rarity is decorating for the Summer Sun festival and gives Twilight a makeover. Fluttershy is helping small animals and is painfully shy. And Pinkie Pie wasn't scared of Twilight; she just left to throw her a party. Yes; ''the second they met''.
-->'''[[MotorMouth Pinkie Pie]]:''' You see...I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, Hello and I was all, ''[{{GASP}}]'', remember? You see I never saw you before and if I never saw you before that means you're new 'cause I know everypony and I mean ''every pony'' in Ponyville and if you're new, it means you haven't met anyone yet and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends and if you don't have any friends, you must be lonely and that made me so sad and I had an idea and that's why I went ''[{{GASP}}]'', I'll just throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville. See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!

* RealityIsUnrealistic: At first glance, one might think that [[SomewhereAnOrnithologistIsCrying Somewhere An Ornithologist Was Crying]] over the bird that looked like a cardinal but was red on top and brown on the bottom; males are red above and below and females are brown above and below. The pyrrhuloxia is pied but is gray below. However according to ThatOtherWiki, they do hybridize.

* TheoryBeforePhenomenon: Naturally Twilight's investigations into ancient folklore have immediate dire ramifications. That's how things usually work when ''I'' investigate ancient folklore.

Next on the list is [[TheFashionista Rarity]] who's in charge of the decorations. Spike is [[PrecociousCrush smitten instantly]] while Rarity is shocked and appalled by Twilight's messy mane. Insisting that she fix it up, she runs Twilight through a number of costumes (and gushes over her dreams of moving to Twilight's hometown of Canterlot) before Twilight drags Spike from the boutique and out to the edge of the woods where [[FriendToAllLivingThings Fluttershy]] is leading a choir of songbirds in rehearsal. Unfortunately Twilight appears at a bad time and startles both the birds and poor Fluttershy. Despite her best efforts, Twilight just can't get [[ShrinkingViolet Fluttershy]] to talk to her...that is, [[CutenessProximity until she sees Spike.]] After Spike literally tells Fluttershy his life story, Twilight heads into the library and hoping to finally get some time to herself, turns on the light.

Oh look. [[BrickJoke It's that pink pony from earlier.]] [[GenkiGirl And she won't stay still.]] [[MotorMouth And she won't shut up either.]] She introduces herself as Pinkie Pie and while she's explaining at a mile a minute that the reason she dashed off was to set up a surprise welcoming party, Twilight unwittingly [[INeedAFreakingDrink pours herself a drink]] of hot sauce, [[ExtremeOmnivore which Pinkie then eats on a cupcake without a second thought.]] Running to her room, Twilight ponders the idea that these new ponies are her friends and worries over whether or not the Mare in the Moon will really return. Before she has time to fret any further, she's beckoned to the town hall to watch the sun rise.

* ApocalypseHow: Eternal night would eventually result in a Planetary-Wide Species Extinction.

* ApocalypseHow: Eternal night is also an eventual Class 5 or even Class 6.

Celestia tasks Twilight with supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in the small town of Ponyville and gives her a secondary task of finding and making some friends. Firmly believing that the fate of the world does not rest on her making friends, Twilight arrives in Ponyville to fulfill her royal duty. Spike asks Twilight to attempt socializing with others, directing her to a pink earth pony but when Twilight greets the stranger, the pink pony gasps and runs away. Now certain that she's the only sane pony in the village, Twilight grudgingly does her job.

* CostumeTestMontage: Courtesy of Rarity, naturally.

* EarlyBirdCameo: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are briefly seen cowering under a table although this is supposed to have taken place before the three of them met (at this point the viewer has only met Applebloom). They could have coincidentally just all hid beneath the same table though. There's also Nightmare Moon at the beginning; see Foreshadowing below.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we first meet Twilight Sparkle, she's studying with her friend/assistant Spike who's trying to get her to relax. After being sent to Ponyville, she meets the rest of the main cast through a series of these. Pinkie Pie jumps in the air and promptly runs away. Applejack invites her to brunch with her large family. Rainbow Dash crashes into Twilight and sends her into a mud puddle, tries and fails to clean her up, proudly declares her ambition to join an elite aerial team, and clears the sky in ten seconds flat. Rarity is decorating for the Summer Sun festival and gives Twilight a makeover. Fluttershy is helping small animals and is painfully shy. And Pinkie Pie wasn't scared of Twilight; she just left to throw her a party. Yes; ''the second they met''.

Twilight Sparkle sits alone by a tree, reading up on the history of Equestria, and the tale of Nightmare Moon. Long ago, two sisters ruled the land; the elder raised the sun at dawn, while the younger raised the moon at dusk. One day, however, the younger sister grew resentful of the fact that the ponies played in the day, yet slept through her wonderful night. She became bitter, and one night refused to lower the moon. The elder sister was forced to use the power of the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon. After some further research, Twilight Sparkle is convinced that soon the Mare in the Moon will return for her revenge "on the longest day of the thousandth year"... which happens to be the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. She gets her baby dragon assistant, Spike, to send a letter to Princess Celestia, current ruler of Equestria, on the matter, and she doesn't like the response:

->'''Spike:''' Ahem... "My dearest and most faithful student Twilight: You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely... but you simply ''must'' stop reading those dusty old books!"

Celestia tasks Twilight with supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in the small town of Ponyville, and gives her a secondary task of finding and making some friends. Firmly believing that the fate of the world does not rest on her making friends, Twilight arrives in Ponyville to fulfill her royal duty. Spike asks Twilight to attempt socializing with others, directing her to a pink earth pony, but when Twilight greets the stranger, the pink pony gasps and runs away. Now certain that she's the only sane pony in the village, Twilight grudgingly does her job.

First, she visits [[CountryMouse Applejack]], hoping to quickly check on the food preparations and be on her way. Instead, she's introduced to Applejack's [[LongList huge]] [[TheClan extended family]] and plied with all manner of apple-based foods. Shortly after leaving with a full stomach, she's [[CrashIntoHello swept off her feet]] by [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rainbow Dash]], and knocked into a puddle of mud. After a number of futile attempts to clean her up, Twilight is left with a fluffed-up mane, and Spike and Rainbow are left in tears of laughter. After they regain their composure, Rainbow reveals what she's doing for the festivities: taking care of the weather. She's the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville, and she proves it by clearing the sky of clouds in [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Ten. Seconds. FLAT.]]

Next on the list is [[TheFashionista Rarity]], who's in charge of the decorations. Spike is [[PrecociousCrush smitten instantly]], while Rarity is shocked and appalled by Twilight's messy mane. Insisting that she fix it up, she runs Twilight through a number of costumes (and gushes over her dreams of moving to Twilight's hometown of Canterlot) before Twilight drags Spike from the boutique and out to the edge of the woods, where [[FriendToAllLivingThings Fluttershy]] is leading a choir of songbirds in rehearsal. Unfortunately, Twilight appears at a bad time and startles both the birds and poor Fluttershy. Despite her best efforts, Twilight just can't get [[ShrinkingViolet Fluttershy]] to talk to her... that is, [[CutenessProximity until she sees Spike.]] After Spike literally tells Fluttershy his life story, Twilight heads into the library and, hoping to finally get some time to herself, turns on the light.

Oh look. [[BrickJoke It's that pink pony from earlier.]] [[GenkiGirl And she won't stay still.]] [[MotorMouth And she won't shut up either.]] She introduces herself as Pinkie Pie, and wihle she's explaining at a mile a minute that the reason she dashed off was to set up a surprise welcoming party, Twilight unwittingly [[INeedAFreakingDrink pours herself a drink]] of hot sauce, [[ExtremeOmnivore which Pinkie then eats on a cupcake without a second thought.]] Running to her room, Twilight ponders the idea that these new ponies are her friends, and worries over whether or not the Mare in the Moon will really return. Before she has time to fret any further, she's beckoned to the town hall to watch the sun rise.

Once there, the mayor of Ponyville introduces, to much fanfare, Princess Celestia! ...or not. She's gone. Not a trace. However, a certain somepony takes her place... the Mare in the Moon. [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Nightmare Moon.]] And she's going to take her revenge by [[TheNightThatNeverEnds plunging Equestria into eternal night]].

->'''Nightmare Moon:''' Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night... will last... ''forever!''

--> Aw, wook at that. He's so sweepy he can't keep his wittle bawance.

* CutenessProximity: Fluttershy, after seeing Spike.
* EarlyBirdCameo: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are briefly seen cowering under a table, although this is supposed to have taken place before the three of them met (at this point the viewer has only met Applebloom). They could have coincidentally just all hid beneath the same table though. There's also Nightmare Moon at the beginning, see Foreshadowing below.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we first meet Twilight Sparkle, she's studying with her friend/assistant Spike, who's trying to get her to relax. After being sent to Ponyville, she meets the rest of the main cast through a series of these. Pinkie Pie jumps in the air and promptly runs away. Applejack invites her to brunch with her large family. Rainbow Dash crashes into Twilight and sends her into a mud puddle, tries and fails to clean her up, proudly declares her ambition to join an elite aerial team, and clears the sky in ten seconds flat. Rarity is decorating for the Summer Sun festival and gives Twilight a makeover. Fluttershy is helping small animals and is painfully shy. And Pinkie Pie wasn't scared of Twilight; she just left to throw her a party. Yes, ''the second they met''.
-->'''[[MotorMouth Pinkie Pie]]:''' You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, Hello, and I was all, ''[{{GASP}}]'', remember? You see I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know every pony, and I mean ''every pony'' in Ponyville, and if you're new, it means you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, and I had an idea, and that's why I went ''[{{GASP}}]'', I'll just throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville. See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!

-->Well, it all started when I was a cute little purple and green egg...\\

** When Twilight is looking at the moon shortly before the celebration, the four stars around it are approaching it at a steady rate, fast enough that they'd reach the moon in just a few seconds if the camera remained there. They only actually reach the moon once the camera gets back to them, which is at the height of the celebration.
* MoodWhiplash: Right after Nightmare Moon appears and plunges the world into TheNightThatNeverEnds... it cuts to the cheery and happy closing theme.

* OhCrap: The entire town's reaction to Nightmare Moon appearing. Twilight's reaction starts earlier since she's the only one who knows its coming.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: At first glance, one might think that [[SomewhereAnOrnithologistIsCrying Somewhere An Ornithologist Was Crying]] over the bird that looked like a cardinal but was red on top and brown on the bottom; males are red above and below, and females are brown above and below. The pyrrhuloxia is pied, but is gray below. However, according to ThatOtherWiki, they do hybridize.

* TurnInYourBadge: When Twilight Sparkle reports her findings about the return of Nightmare Moon to Princess Celestia, the response is that she should stop reading those dusty old books -- essentially taking her off the case. [[spoiler:This is in fact a BatmanGambit meant to ensure that Twilight defeats Nightmare Moon, a trick [[GenreSavvy Princess Celestia]] may have learned from [[{{Characters/Discworld}} Lord Vetinari]].]]

--> ''Aw, wook at that. He's so sweepy he can't keep his wittle bawance.''

* CutenessProximity: Fluttershy, [[Characters/HarryPotter after seeing Spike]].

First, she visits [[CountryMouse Applejack]], hoping to quickly check on the food preparations and be on her way. Instead, she's introduced to Applejack's [[LongList huge]] [[TheClan extended family]] and plied with all manner of apple-based foods. Shortly after leaving with a full stomach, she's [[CrashIntoHello swept off her feet]] by [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rainbow Dash]], and knocked into a puddle of mud. After a number of futile attempts to clean her up, Twilight is left with a fluffed-up mane, and Spike and Rainbow are left in tears of laughter. After they regain their composure, Rainbow reveals what she's doing for the festivities: taking care of the weather. She's the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville, and she proves it by clearing the sky of clouds in [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Ten.]] [[MomentOfAwesome Seconds.]] ''[[MemeticMutation FLAT.]]''

Next on the list is [[TheFashionista Rarity]], who's in charge of the decorations. Spike is [[PrecociousCrush smitten instantly]], while Rarity is shocked and appalled by Twilight's messy mane. Insisting that she fix it up, she runs Twilight through a number of costumes (and gushes over her dreams of moving to Twilight's hometown of Canterlot) before Twilight drags Spike from the boutique and out to the edge of the woods, where [[MoeMoe Fluttershy]] is leading a choir of songbirds in rehearsal. Unfortunately, Twilight appears at a bad time and startles both the birds and poor Fluttershy. Despite her best efforts, Twilight just can't get [[ShrinkingViolet Fluttershy]] to talk to her... that is, [[CutenessProximity until she sees Spike.]] After Spike literally tells Fluttershy his life story, Twilight heads into the library and, hoping to finally get some time to herself, turns on the light.

* FridgeBrilliance: At first glance, one might think that [[SomewhereAnOrnithologistIsCrying Somewhere An Ornithologist Was Crying]] over the bird that looked like a cardinal but was red on top and brown on the bottom; males are red above and below, and females are brown above and below. The pyrrhuloxia is pied, but is gray below. However, according to ThatOtherWiki, they do hybridize.

* FridgeBrilliance: This troper thought that [[SomewhereAnOrnithologistIsCrying Somewhere An Ornithologist Was Crying]] over the bird that looked like a cardinal but was red on top and brown on the bottom; males are red above and below, and females are brown above and below. The pyrrhuloxia is pied, but is gray below. However, according to ThatOtherWiki, they do hybridize.

* TurnInYourBadge: When Twilight Sparkle reports her findings about the return of Nightmare Moon to Princess Celestia, the response is that she should stop reading those dusty old books -- essentially taking her off the case. [[spoiler:This is in fact a BatmanGambit meant to ensure that Twilight defeats Nightmare Moon, a trick [[GenreSavvy Princess Celestia]] may have learnt from [[{{Characters/Discworld}} Lord Vetinari]].]]

* BalloonBelly: Twilight Sparkle gains one after meeting Applejack's family and being persuaded to stay for brunch. Interestingly, it's not as temporary as some other examples.

* KnightOfCerebus: Things are pretty happy and funny...and then Nightmare Moon shows up...

Twilight Sparkle sits alone by a tree, reading up on the history of Equestria, and the tale of Nightmare Moon. Long ago, two sisters ruled the land; the elder raised the sun at dawn, while the younger raised the moon at dusk. One day, however, the younger sister grew resentful of the fact that the ponies played in the day, yet slept through her wonderful night. She became bitter, and one night refused to lower the moon. The elder sister used the power of the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon. After some further research, Twilight Sparkle is convinced that soon the Mare in the Moon will return for her revenge "on the longest day of the thousandth year"... which happens to be the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. She gets her baby dragon assistant, Spike, to send a letter to Princess Celestia, current ruler of Equestria, on the matter, and she doesn't like the response:

->'''Spike:''' (reading from a letter) ''My dearest and most faithful student Twilight: You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely... but you simply ''must'' stop reading those dusty old books!''

First, she visits [[CountryMouse Applejack]] to check on the food preparations. Instead, she's introduced to Applejack's [[LongList huge]] [[TheClan extended family]] and plied with all manner of apple-based foods. Shortly after leaving with a full stomach, she's [[CrashIntoHello swept off her feet]] by [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rainbow Dash]], and knocked into a puddle of mud. After a number of futile attempts to clean her up, Twilight is left with a fluffed-up mane, and Spike and Rainbow are left in tears of laughter. After they regain their composure, Rainbow reveals what she's doing for the festivities: taking care of the weather. She's the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville and she proves it by clearing the sky of clouds in [[ThisIsSparta Ten.]] [[MomentOfAwesome Seconds.]] ''[[MemeticMutation FLAT.]]''

Oh look. [[BrickJoke It's that pink pony from earlier.]] [[GenkiGirl And she won't stay still.]] [[MotorMouth And she won't shut up either.]] While she's explaining at a mile a minute that she's Pinkie Pie and the reason she dashed off was to set up a surprise welcoming party, Twilight unwittingly [[INeedAFreakingDrink pours herself a drink]] of hot sauce, [[ExtremeOmnivore which Pinkie then eats on a cupcake without a second thought.]] Running to her room, Twilight ponders the idea that these new ponies are her friends, and worries over whether or not the Mare in the Moon will really return. Before she has time to fret any further, she's beckoned to the town hall to watch the sun rise.

->'''Nightmare Moon:''' ''Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night... will last... '''forever!'''''

Twilight Sparkle sits alone by a tree, reading up on the history of Equestria, and the tale of Nightmare Moon.Long ago, two sisters ruled the land; the eldest raised the sun at dawn, while the youngest raised the moon at dusk. One day, however, the younger sister grew resentful of the fact that the ponies played in the day, yet slept through her wonderful night. She became bitter, and one night refused to lower the moon. The elder sister used the power of the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon. After some further research, Twilight Sparkle is convinced that soon the Mare in the Moon will return for her revenge "on the longest day of the thousandth year"... which happens to be the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. She gets her baby dragon assistant, Spike, to send a letter to Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, on this matter, and she doesn't like the response:

Celestia tasks Twilight with supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in the small town of Ponyville, and gives her a secondary task of finding and making some friends. Firmly believing that the fate of the world doesn't rest on her making friends, Twilight arrives in Ponyville to fulfill her royal duty. Spike asks Twilight to attempt socializing with the others, directing her to a pink earth pony, but when Twilight greets the stranger, she gasps and runs away. Now certain that she's the only sane pony in the village, she grudgingly does her job.

First, she visits [[CountryMouse Applejack]] to check on the food. Instead, she's introduced to Applejack's [[LongList huge]] [[TheClan extended family]] and plied with all manner of apple-based foods. Shortly after leaving with a full stomach, she's [[CrashIntoHello swept off her feet]] by [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Rainbow Dash]], and knocked into a puddle of mud. After a number of futile attempts to clean her up, Twilight is left with a fluffed-up mane, and Spike and Rainbow are left in tears of laughter. After they regain their composure, Rainbow reveals what she's doing for the festivities: taking care of the weather. She's the fastest pegasus in Ponyville and she proves it by clearing the sky of clouds in [[ThisIsSparta Ten.]] [[MomentOfAwesome Seconds.]] ''[[MemeticMutation FLAT.]]''

Next on the list is [[TheFashionista Rarity]], who's in charge of the decorations. Spike is [[PrecociousCrush smitten instantly]], while Rarity is shocked and appalled by Twilight's messy mane. Insisting that she fix it up, she runs Twilight through a number of costumes (and gushes over her dreams of moving to Twilight's hometown of Canterlot) before Twilight drags Spike from the boutique and out to the woods, where [[MoeMoe Fluttershy]] is leading a choir of songbirds in rehersal. Unfortunately, Twilight appears at a bad time and startles both the birds and poor Fluttershy. Despite her best efforts, Twilight just can't get [[ShrinkingViolet Fluttershy]] to talk to her... that is, [[CutenessProximity until she sees Spike.]] After Spike literally tells Fluttershy his life story, Twilight heads into the library and, hoping to finally get some time to herself, turns on the light.

Oh look. [[BrickJoke It's that pink pony from earlier.]] [[GenkiGirl And she won't stay still.]] [[MotorMouth And she won't shut up either.]] While she's explaining at a mile a minute that she's Pinkie Pie and the reason she dashed off was to set up a surprise welcoming party, Twilight unwittingly pours herself a drink of hot sauce, [[ExtremeOmnivore which Pinkie then eats on a cupcake without a second thought.]] Running to her room, Twilight ponders the idea that these new ponies are her friends, and worries over whether or not the Mare in the Moon will really return. Before she has time to fret any further, she's beckoned to the town hall to watch the sun rise.

* EarlyBirdCameo: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are briefly seen cowering under a table, although this is supposed to have taken place before the three of them met. They could have coincidentally just all hid beneath the same table though. There's also Nightmare Moon at the beginning, see Foreshadowing below.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we first meet Twilight, she's studying with her friend/assistant Spike, who's trying to get her to relax. After being sent to Ponyville, she meets the rest of the main cast through a series of these. Pinkie Pie jumps in the air and promptly runs away. Applejack invites her to brunch with her large family. Rainbow Dash crashes into Twilight and sends her into a mud puddle, tries and fails to clean her up, proudly declares her ambition to join an elite aerial team, and clears the sky in ten seconds flat. Rarity is decorating for the Summer Sun festival and gives Twilight a makeover. Fluttershy is helping small animals and is painfully shy. And Pinkie Pie wasn't scared of Twilight; she just left to throw her a party. Yes, ''the second they met''.
-->'''[[MotorMouth Pinkie Pie]]:''' You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, hello, and I was all, ''[{{GASP}}]'', remember? You see I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know every pony, and I mean ''every pony'' in Ponyville, and if you're new, it means you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, and I had an idea, and that's why I went ''[{{GASP}}]'', I'll just throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville. See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!

... and that's the story of my entire life. Well, up until today.

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] when Twilight Sparkle meets Rainbow Dash. She dares her to clear the sky in ten seconds. And it takes ''exactly'' ten seconds of screen time.
** When Twilight is looking at the moon shortly before the celebration, the four stars around it are approaching it at a steady rate, fast enough that they'd reach the moon in just a few seconds if the camera remained there. The only reach the moon once the camera gets back to them, which is at the height of the celebration.

'''Also known as "Friendship Is Magic, Part 1."'''

!!Continued in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Elements of Harmony]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Welcome to Ponyville! ''[[BigGasp GAAAAASP!!]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:Welcome to Ponyville! ''EEEEK!'']]