History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E13TheMean6

Meanwhile, the Mane Six and Starlight are working towards where Twilight has planned their camping experience, near the Tree of Harmony. Pinkie runs off ahead while Fluttershy falls back to help a chick fallen from its nest, resulting in the group getting separated from each other. The various Mane Six and Mean Six ponies find each other in various incidents, but neither recognize the differences from their counterparts, leading to several conflicts: Mean Rarity has horded all the supplies being carried by Applejack and Rainbow Dash; Mean Applejack criticizes Starlight's appearance, making her think she gave her the camping equipment for the sake of making fun of her; Mean Twilight causes Mane Fluttershy to break down in tears after she faces the wrath of the forest creatures terrorized by Mean Fluttershy, Mane Twilight starts thinking her friends don't like the trip when Mean Pinkie claims it to be "a boring, lame, no-fun retreat", and so forth. Importantly, Mane Pinkie tells Mean Twilight the history of their friendship and reveals the location of the Tree of Harmony to her.

* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: When Mean Twilight insists that Pinkie should keep going when she stops to attain to Fluttershy, Pinkie shouts at her in anger that it can wait and they must make sure that Fluttershy is okay.

* OutOfFocus: The real Mane Six don't get as much screentime as their dopplegangers.

** The behavior of the "Mean Six" minus Twilight (Applejack being a compulsive liar, Rarity being greedy, etc.) is reminiscent of the "Discorded" versions of the Mane Six from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 The Return]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 of Harmony]]", with the exception of Twilight, who's more of a jerk rather than being depressed all the time. Their color schemes are also virtually identical to when the Mane Six were "Cutie Unmarked" in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E1TheCutieMapPart1 The Cutie]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E2TheCutieMapPart2 Map]]".

* TokenGoodTeammate: Mean Rainbow is the least mean of the clones. While the others are big jerks by heart, she only goes along with them by will, playing no truly jerky part whatsoever. She's also the only one not to spend an extended time with the real Mane 6 or mess with them either way, and the only one who does not partake in attacking the Tree of Harmony.

* WhatTheHellHero: Pinkie's reaction to Mean Twilight (thinking she's the real Twilight) when she shows no remorse for Fluttershy when she finds her alone in the forest.

* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The two plots are the Mane Six going on a camping trip, and Queen Chrysalis creating the Mean Six to find the Elements of Harmony. The two plotlines intersect when the Mane Six and Mean Six mistake one counterpart for the other, but the Mane Six never even learn that Chrysalis was involved or that they had evil counterparts.

* TheUnreveal: Even though Chrysalis disguises herself as the Equestrian History Society photographer in the opening scene as part of her revenge plan, we never get to see what happened to the actual photographer, and it's likely the Mane Six won't be documented.

* BreakTheCutie: Fluttershy breaks down when the forest animals, including the bird she helped, turn against her as a result of what her clone did.

* {{Revenge}}: Chrysalis intends to make good on her threat of vengeance against Starlight by using the Mean Six, powered by the Elements, to [[RevengeByProxy destroy the Mane Six]], making Starlight watch as she takes her friends away -- then destroy her, too.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Spike and Derpy are completely absent from the episode, given the serious nature. Spike is also the only main character the disguised Chrysalis does not take a photo of.

** Fluttershy also cries when the forest animals lash out at her, believing she hates them.

* AnimationBump: Chrysalis' cloning ritual is much more luminous and detailed than past seasons, as well as the scene where the Mean Six are killed by the Tree of Harmony. Some of the clones' expressions are also more exaggerated than before, such as Mean Rarity and Mean Fluttershy's {{Slasher Smile}}s, and Mean Twilight gritting her teeth as the real Pinkie annoys the heck out of her.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: While recounting the Castle's appearance to Mean Twilight, Pinkie brings up "singing a song about rainbows".

* BerserkButton:
** The clones happen to push Chrysalis' multiple times, as she grows offended over their behavior.
** Pinkie is completely livid when Mean Twilight shows NoSympathy toward Fluttershy.

She tells the Mean Six that she has heard about an artifact of great power related to the Elements of Harmony somewhere in the forest that she wants to use to create a new army of changelings, but that they need to find it. Mean Twilight realizes that Chrysalis could have attacked the Mane Six while she was in their midst, and considers her weak, and starts secretly planning with the other Mean Six to overpower Chrysalis when they find the article and keep the Elements' power all to themselves. As Chrysalis leads them on the search, Mean Twilight tells the others they should split up to find it faster, and leave Chrysalis alone.

Meanwhile, the Mane Six and Starlight are working towards where Twilight has planned their camping experience, near the Tree of Harmony. Pinkie runs off ahead while Fluttershy falls back to help a chick fallen from its nest, resulting in the group getting separated from each other. The various Mane Six and Mean Six ponies find each other in various incidents, but neither recognize the differences from their counterparts, leading to several conflicts: Mean Rarity has horded all the supplies being carried by Applejack and Rainbow Dash; Mean Applejack criticizes Starlight's appearance; Mean Twilight causes Mane Fluttershy to break down in tears after she faces the wrath of the forest creatures terrorized by Mean Fluttershy, Mane Twilight starts thinking her friends don't like the trip when Mean Pinkie claims it to be "a boring, lame, no-fun retreat", and so forth. Importantly, Mane Pinkie tells Mean Twilight the history of their friendship and reveals the location of the Tree of Harmony to her.

Ultimately the Mean Six regroup under Chrysalis's watch and Mean Twilight directs her to the Tree, stopping only to ravage the campsite that Mane Twilight had already set up. At the Tree, she tells the others to prepare to use the Tree's power to overtake Chrysalis, who hears this; at the same time, the Elements begin to react to the doppelgängers' presence. Chrysalis and Mean Twilight end up in a magic battle while the others attack the Tree. The Tree reacts by grabbing all of the Mean Six and reversing the spell, reducing them to dead wood. Chrysalis realizes her plan has failed, then once again swears revenge on Starlight and flees. Meanwhile, the Mane Six have also finally regrouped, but their various encounters with the Mean Six have left them bitter at each other. Twilight reminds them all they are friends and friends sometimes get upset over their various quirks, but they know how to overcome them. The seven quickly rebond and continue onto the campsite, surprised to find it in ruins. They laugh it off and set about to fix it up as to enjoy the rest of the camping trip as Chrysalis flies off into the night sky.

** Pinkie Pie recaps some of the events from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2]]" to Mean Twilight (thinking she's the real Twilight), such as the Rainbow Power, Twilight's castle emerging from the ground, and the song, "Let the Rainbow Remind You", the last of these LeaningOnTheFourthWall.

She tells the Mean Six that she has heard about an artifact of great power related to the Elements of Harmony somewhere in the forest that she wants to use to create a new army of changelings, but that they need to find it. Mean Twilight realizes that Chrysalis could have attacked the Mane Six while she was in their midst, and considers her weak, and starts secretly planning with the other Mean Six to overpower Chrysalis when they find the article. As Chrysalis leads them on the search, Mean Twilight tells the others they should split up to find it faster, and leave Chrysalis alone.

Ultimately the Mean Six regroup under Chrysalis's watch and Twilight directs her to the Tree, stopping only to ravage the campsite that Mane Twilight had already set up. At the Tree, she tells the others to prepare to use the Tree's power to overtake Chrysalis, who hears this. She and Mean Twilight end up in a magic battle while the others attack the Tree. The Tree reacts by grabbing all of the Mean Six and reversing the spell, reducing them to dead wood. Chrysalis realizes her plan has failed and flees. Meanwhile, the Mane Six have also finally regrouped, but their various encounters with the Mean Six have left them bitter at each other. Twilight reminds them all they are friends and friends sometimes get upset over their various quirks, but they know how to overcome them. The seven quickly rebond and continue onto the campsite, surprised to find it in ruins. They laugh it off and set about to fix it up as to enjoy the rest of the camping trip as Chrysalis flies into the night sky.

* AnimationBump: Chrysalis' cloning ritual is much more luminous and detailed than past seasons, as well as the scene where the Mean Six are killed by the Tree of Harmony. Some of the clones' expressions are also more exaggerated than before, such as Mean Rarity and Fluttershy's {{Slasher Smile}}s, and Mean Twilight gritting her teeth as the real Pinkie annoys the heck out of her.

** Mean Fluttershy treats a baby bird like dirt, demoralizing its attempt to get back to her nest, leaving it to resent the real Fluttershy making her think the animals hate her.

** Mean Pinkie unintentionally tricking Twilight into thinking this is a "boring, lame, no-fun retreat" causing her to think her friends don't like the trip, and Mean Twilight showing NoSympathy for Fluttershy which upsets Pinkie to the point she thinks Twilight doesn't care if her friends are upset, which causes a heated argument between the real Twilight and Pinkie.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Being the former ruler of a ''very'' far away EvilEmpire, Chrysalis has no knowledge of how much things have changed regarding the Elements.

* MoodLighting: Scenes with the real Mane Six have brightly colored backgrounds while scenes with their fake doubles and Chrysalis have darker-colored ones. When both groups intertwine, the background becomes a mixture of half-bright, half-dark, and when Twilight and Pinkie begin to fight, the background stays dark to represent their strife. Then when all the ponies regroup and Twilight helps them reconcile, the background slowly fades to a brightly colored sunset.

** The behavior of the "Mean Six" (Applejack being a compulsive liar, Rarity being greedy, etc.) is reminiscent of the "Discorded" versions of the Mane Six from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 The Return]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 of Harmony]]", with the exception of Twilight, who's more of a jerk rather than being depressed all the time. Their color schemes are also virtually identical to when the Mane Six were "Cutie Unmarked" in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E1TheCutieMapPart1 The Cutie]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E2TheCutieMapPart2 Map]]".

* DespairGambit: Chrysalis plans to break Starlight's spirit by making her think her friends have turned against her. It fails spectacularly; while some of the Mane Six are disturbed by their friends' doppelgangers actions, Starlight only gets mildly confused.

* FailedASpotCheck: ''None'' of the Mane Six (or Starlight) catch on to the Mean Six's physical oddities -- muted colors, disheveled manes, flat eye colors, altered cutie marks, etc. -- and don't really question their out-of-character behavior, except to get angry with them. It's downplayed with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who discuss whether (Mean) Rarity has been exposed to poison joke or a curse, and with Rarity, who notices that (Mean) Applejack looks "peaky", though they never suspect that she is a different pony entirely. Notably, the Mean Six likewise confuse members of the Mane Six for their own "team", despite being well-aware that they are copies of already-existing ponies.

** The behavior of the "Mean Six" (Applejack being a compulsive lair, Rarity being greedy, etc.) is reminiscent of the "Discorded" versions of the Mane Six from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 The Return]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 of Harmony]]", with the exception of Twilight, who's more of a jerk rather than being depressed all the time. Their color schemes are also virtually identical to when the Mane Six were "Cutie Unmarked" in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E1TheCutieMapPart1 The Cutie]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E2TheCutieMapPart2 Map]]".

** The behavior of the "Mean Six" (Applejack being a compulsive lair, Rarity being greedy, etc.) is reminiscent of the "Discorded" versions of the Mane Six from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 The Return]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 of Harmony]]", with the exception of Twilight, who's more of a jerk rather than being depressed all the time.

* FingerTenting: Mean Twilight presses the feathers of her wings together like fingers when she realizes Pinkie can lead her to the Elements. Doubles as FeatherFingers.

** Mean Fluttershy treats a baby bird like dirt, demoralizing its attempt to get back to her nest.

** Mean Pinkie unintentionally tricking Twilight into thinking this is a "boring, lame, no-fun retreat", and Mean Twilight showing NoSympathy for Fluttershy, which causes a heated argument between the real Twilight and Pinkie.

* MistakenIdentity: The Mane Six mistake the members of the Mean Six for their actual friends and eventually get into a heated argument with the real deal once they return. Likewise, the Mean Six mistake the real Mane Six for members of their own group as well.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: After the Mane Six are separated, Mean Twilight says she and the Mean Six should split up to find the source of the Elements, as she claims they'll find it faster that way. This causes the clones to interfere with the real Mane Six with a series of misunderstandings, making them hate each other for the episode.

* VillainOpeningScene: The episode begins with Chrysalis infiltrating the school of friendship in disguise to take pictures of the Mane 6 and steal pits of their manes to make their mean clones.

Twilight and her friends wait for a photographer from the Equestrian History Society before they can set out for a long-overdue camping trip to spend time for themselves. The photographer arrives, and rushes to primp up the group, secretly pulling a strand of hair from each, before snapping their picture. Pinkie points out the photographer missed Starlight Glimmer, and she reluctantly takes her photo too before leaving. Outside the school, the photographer turns out to be a disguised ex Queen Chrysalis, who has a spell that, by using the photographs, the strands of hair, and a representation of the pony's cutie mark, is able to create a clone of that pony, which she does to create evil copies of the Mane Six from trees from the Everfree Forest. The Mean Six turn out to show opposite qualities of their counterparts -- Mean Applejack lies, Mean Rarity is a hoarder, and so forth.

** Twilight is reduced to tears when Mean Pinkie calls their camping trip a "boring, lame, no fun retreat" and the real Pinkie calls her out for believing she insulted Fluttershy, making her believe her friends don't like what she planned for them.

* TranquilFury: Mean Twilight progressively gets more and more annoyed as Pinkie lists off the events of the fourth season, recounting the MythArc with the six-locked chest and Twilight's castle emerging in the finale.

Meanwhile, the Mane Six and Starlight are working towards where Twilight has planned their camping experience, near the Tree of Harmony. Pinkie runs off ahead while Fluttershy falls back to help a chick fallen from its nest, resulting in the group getting separated from each other. The various Mane Six and Mean Six ponies find each other in various incidents, but neither recognize the differences from their counterparts, leading to several conflicts: Mean Rarity has horded all the supplies being carried by Applejack and Rainbow Dash; Mean Applejack criticizes Starlight's appearance; Mean Twilight causes Mane Fluttershy to break down in tears after she faces the wrath of the forest creatures terrorized by Mean Fluttershy, and so forth. Importantly, Mane Pinkie tells Mean Twilight the history of their friendship and reveals the location of the Tree of Harmony to her.

-->'''Pinkie Pie:''' You know what, Twilight? Maybe if you weren't so worried about schedules and being a neurotic perfectionist, you'd realize you're the one ruining the retreat for your friends!\\

-->'''Rarity:''' I'm going to make sure that she doesn't break a hoof out there, and then you and I are going to have a serious talk.

* YouFool: Mean Twilight has a tendency to call the other Mean Six members "fools." Mostly when she's out of earshot of anypony else. Her last words to them starts with "Imbeciles!"
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Twilight’s reaction when the Mane Six and Starlight see their campsite destroyed.

* FreudianSlip: When Mean Twilight escapes the real Pinkie, she mumbles to herself out loud the others won't get in the way of "her" plan. Chrysalis overhears her saying "''Your'' plan" and shows up, leading her to quickly hide her scheming by saying she meant "''the'' plan".

* OhCrap: Chrysalis when the Tree of Harmony is destroying the Mean Six, and the Twilight when the real ponies see their campsite ruined.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Both Twilight and Pinkie call each other out for the former's scheduling and the latter's anger issues when they meet up, unaware the conflicts were really caused by their mean counterparts in different locations.

* KarmaHoudini: Chrysalis receives no punishments for unintentionally ruining the real ponies' camping trip and almost ending their friendship.

[[caption-width-right:350:Chrysalis is back with a vengeance! But finding good minions is hard...]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cd5022d4_088e_497e_9f2d_14ee0a428071.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Meanwhile, [[MistakenIdentity a camping trip]] [[FeudEpisode goes horribly]] [[HorribleCampingTrip wrong.]]]]

* KickTheDog:

* {{Irony}}: Chrysalis's plan is to get the Mean Six to use the Elements of Harmony to destroy the Mane Six and Starlight, yet when they find them, it's the ''Mean Six'' that get destroyed.