Original air date: August 21st, 1992
Clover's father is at the junkyard, digging through the trash for something. Clover comes to see what he's up to, and he explains that he doesn't yet know, but it's for an art project, him being a sculptor. He finds a misshaped bike wheel, and Clover shows him a teapot she found. He suggests making a sculpture of her own, but Clover instead takes it back to the girls' clubhouse to use as a symbol for their club.
Patch brings up the story of Aladdin, who found a magic lamp, and Bright Eyes adds that he rubbed it and got three wishes. Starlight suggests Clover make a wish, and she wishes for a jillion jangles. It starts raining outside, and Sweetheart at first thinks the wish came true, but when water starts leaking through the roof, it becomes apparent that it's just normal rain without a jangle in sight. They go outside to repair the roof, and Clover wishes for the roof to fix itself. Unfortunately, all that happens is that Bon Bon drops a bucket of glue onto Clover.
That evening, Clover is in the bath, washing the glue off her. She sings a song bemoaning her bad luck, but is so busy doing so that she realizes too late that she's flooded the house. Her mother comes in, and angrily orders her to clean up the mess and then go to her room. Later, in bed, Clover is angry with the teapot for supposedly being unlucky, and throws it away in the bin outside.
The next day, a garbage pony sees the teapot and gives it back to Clover's mother, thinking she couldn't have meant to throw it away since it looks so nice. When Clover returns from school later, she is horrified to see the teapot again. Her mother can't understand why she threw it away. Clover shows her a note from Miss Hackney, saying Clover didn't do her homework. Clover says she couldn't concentrate because of the teapot, but her mother doesn't consider this a reasonable excuse, and grounds her for the rest of the day.
Clover later sneaks out through her bedroom window then goes to Paradise Lake where she disposes of the teapot, which is witnessed by a fisher pony. Shortly after Clover's father returns home, the fisher pony from earlier rings the doorbell and gives Clover's father the teapot his daughter tossed away. Angry with Clover for littering, her father sends her to her room. They talk later, and he explains that the teapot has nothing to do with her luck. Since she doesn't want it, he decides to incorporate it into his latest sculpture.
The sculpture is later for sale at an art show, where a pony takes a liking to it, and takes Clover's father aside to discuss a price. Clover decides that maybe the teapot brought good luck after all, but her mother suggests that the sculpture sold because it was good, not because the teapot was lucky.
"Out of Luck" provides examples of:
- An Aesop: Luck is not always to blame for your misfortunes. Oftentimes, you could put more effort in yourself.
- Bad Luck Charm: Ever since Clover gets the teapot, bad things seem to keep happening to her, and she blames it for said string of incidents.
- Bottomless Magazines: The device that shoots cucumber slices fires many more than one would get from just one cucumber.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': When Clover throws the teapot into the river, she's seen by a fisher pony who brings it back to her father, who punishes her for littering.
- Clingy Macguffin: The unlucky teapot. Clover just can't seem to get rid of it, no matter what she does...
- Covered in Gunge: Clover gets a bucket of glue all over her courtesy of Bon Bon.
- Down in the Dumps: The episode opens with Clover and her father at the junkyard, the latter searching for items to incorporate into one of his art pieces.
- Dumpster Dive: Clover's father searches through the junkyard for items to retrieve that he can put to good use as inclusions in his various art pieces.
- Edible Ammunition: Clover loses control of the device she's using to slice cucumber, and ends up shooting cucumber slices everywhere.
- Faux Horrific: "Psycho" Strings are played on two occasions when Clover sees the teapot.
- Foreshadowing:
- Clover's father chastises her for throwing the 'cursed' teapot into a lake and littering. The Season Finale focuses on the fact the townsponies being careless with their trash and throwing it away recklessly clogs up the river and floods the town, with several ponies doing that exact thing during the episode.
- A judge at the art show commends Clover's father for "illustrating the wastefulness of our society" through his sculpture.
- Go to Your Room!: Clover's mother orders her to clean up the mess she made of the bathroom and then go to her room, then later, her father sends her to her room when he comes home with the teapot she threw into the lake.
- Interrupted Bath: While Clover is taking a bath, her mother walks into the bathroom to chastise her about the mess.
- I Was Just Joking: Happens between Patch and Clover:Patch: Hey Clove, why don't you make another wish so we can all go home?Clover: Okay. Maybe it'll work this time!Patch: (to herself) I was only joking...
- Make a Wish:
- At the other girl's suggestion, Clover rubs the teapot and wishes for it to rain a jillion jangles. It only rains normal rain.
Melody: I thought we were gonna be rich, not wet.- While they're repairing the clubhouse roof, Clover wishes for said roof to fix itself. All that happens is that Bon Bon drops a bucket of glue over her.
- Man-Made House Flood: Clover has a bath and ends up flooding the house.
- Never My Fault: Clover blames getting distracted and flooding the house and not doing her homework on the "cursed" teapot.
- Poor Communication Kills: Clover responds to her father pointing out that they have to protect their environment by saying, "Right now, I have to protect me!" He interprets this as general self-centeredness and not her being afraid of the teapot, and chastises her for her unacceptable attitude.
- "Psycho" Strings: These are used when Clover returns home and spots the teapot she believes is making her unlucky. They resurface later when the teapot is returned to the house again.
- Sarcasm-Blind: After Clover's wish for it to rain a jillion jangles is only followed by normal rain, which leaks through the clubhouse roof which the girls have to repair, Patch jokingly suggests Clover wishes for the roof to fix itself. Clover does so (only to get glue all over her).
- Shout-Out: Patch mentions the story of Aladdin and Bright Eyes goes on that the titular character rubbed the lamp and received three wishes note .
- Sneaking Out at Night: It isn't nighttime when Clover does this, but she has to sneak out through her bedroom window because she's grounded.
- Superstition Episode: Clover thinks the teapot is responsible for the bad things that keep happening to her, never mind her own tendency for her mind to wander.
- You Are Grounded!: Clover's mom grounds her for the rest of the day for not doing her homework.
