History Headscratchers / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason2Episodes1To13

*** She definitely knew ''something'' was wrong, and that it was Discord's fault, but she pegged all her hopes on being able to befriend the crap out of him with the Element Cannon. When that failed, she just gave up until Celestia spammed her with her own letters. To more directly answer the opening 'scratcher, for all of Discord's MindRape, he was taking a trait that already existed and turning it [[UpToEleven up to about fifteen]]. As one WMG on the Mane Characters page put it, each of them (except possibly Rainbow Dash) had already acted against their Element at least once - all Discord did was let that part out to play for more than a CMFIS (Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome, in case you aren't in the know)-induced breakdown (OK, Applejack's lies were mainly to keep a surprise party secret). Meaning that yes, they ''were'' lead into those corruptions from their own flaws, just aggravated by Discord.

*** It would make sense indeed, but remember that Rainbow Dash's ''true'' freak outs over losing her wings (or even just one) have mainly occurred in fanfiction, and you may be letting that influence your opinion. It's even considered cliche, right up there with "Celestia turns, or ''turns out to be'', evil." Yes, fanfiction has no place in a canon discussion, but it's fair to point this out because Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}} did a similar thing to Pinkie Pie.

* Why do people keep making out that Discord is so much worse than a CardCarryingVillain, presumably one with a similar scale of power since otherwise it would be an unfair comparison? I would much rather prefer to have Discord around than a sadist or glutton for control with similar powers, and that's even after accounting for [[AdultFear one of my worst phobias]] being to lose myself. He would ''eventually'' get around to doing mean things t you, but odds are that he would also do a few nice things, and plenty of entertaining (not necessarily for you) but relatively neutral things. I'm quite sure he wouldn't outright kill anyone who didn't go out of their way to prove that they're less interesting and more annoying alive than dead, although even if he did decide to go on a killing spree, it would '''probably''' be almost completely unexpected and statistically less than the average childrens' show villain would do without media content restrictions. Is this an empathy thing, or possibly something to do with my upbringing or philosophies that I'm too close to see (and, I will admit, something others might not notice from a simple paragraph like this)? I'm not saying Discord is ''nice'' (A [[DracoInLeatherPants Draconequus in Leather Pants]], [[IncrediblyLamePun one might say]]), just that it seems incredibly common to consider Discord ''worse'' because of his BlueAndOrangeMorality, and I ''really'' don't understand why.

*** Maybe she was afraid to, she loves Spike like a son or younger brother, and [[AdultFear she didn't want to think of him having to leave her, or fear him turning into a monster.]]

* So assuming they really couldn't at least try to befriend him because the ponies like the much more important element of acceptance, answer me this: Why couldn't Discord and Celestia have learned long ago to rule side by side? After all, she's "Harmony" and he is Chaos, and you really need chaos to create true harmony. Is the show trying to [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop teach kids to judge others and not be friends with people who aren't at all like you?]]

* Was it just me, or was there a serious BrokenAesop at the end of "Baby Cakes"? Pinkie wrote a letter to Princess Celestia about babysitting isn't just about playing with children, and that a babysitter has to be responsible. But Pinkie was responsible! Her problem was that the babies she was caring for suddenly manifested extremely powerful and unpredictable magical and avionic abilities, and she was one earth pony handling them by herself. If she made a mistake, maybe it was not accepting Twilight's help, regardless of how condescendingly it was offered. It seems to me that a better {{Aesop}} would have been that sometimes you need to swallow your pride, or even your proper self-respect, and accept help you need even if it is offered condescendingly and insultingly. That might be something of a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop for a kids' show, though.

** I have family members that I really love and care about, but that doesn't make me any less lousy a gift-giver.

* Sure, it was a lesson Rainbow Dash needed to learn. The problem is, it's hard to see how the Mare Do Well was supposed to be teaching it. Its appearances weren't making Dash any more humble or any more effective, so it's a little hard to see what the endgame was supposed to be.

* In Winter Wrap Up, Twilight Sparkle says that Ponyville was founded by earth ponies and they've been doing winter wrap up for hundreds of years without magic. So does that mean Granny Smith is [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld several hundred years old?]] The line in Winter Wrap Up is this btw: "No Spike, Ponyville was started by Earth ponies, so for hundreds of years they've never used magic to clean up winter."

** Likely not. It's more likely that Earth Ponies had been doing Winter Wrap up without magic for hundreds of years beforehand, and when Ponyville was established the founders (who were Earth Ponies) simply continued with their traditional methods.
*** Either that or there have at least one previous Ponyville, destroyed and abandoned, allowing the Everfree Forest to reclaim the land before a new batch of settlers set up camp over the destroyed remains.
** Maybe she meant that Ponyville was founded by earth ponies and that earth ponies have been doing Winter Wrap up without magic for that long. I can't look up the dialogue right now but as far as I remember she didn't say Ponyville ponies in particular were doing it.

** She is the Element of Generosity, after all. It would make sense she wouldn't brag.

*** Here's a much simpler explanation: Twilight and Pinkie Pie are socially unaware, AJ and RD do not know how there supposed to act in high society events, and Fluttershy has spent lots of time alone or with animals. This is probably why they were all described as rustic.

* Why didn't Rarity bring up any of her or her friends' genuine accomplishments? Twilight Sparkle is Celestia's personal student and prize pupil -- there's very few other ponies in the series who are even ''possibly'' closer to the Princess than her -- and she's defeated an Ursa Minor. Rainbow Dash is a likely candidate for the Wonderbolts -- as seen in "Sonic Rainboom" and "The Best Night Ever", they distinctly have their eye on her and are impressed with her abilities. Although the Apple family isn't upper-class, it surely has '''some''' influence (not to mention their famous zap apple jam). Fluttershy single-handedly stopped a dragon and is a former famous model thanks to Photo Finish. Pinkie Pie stopped the first major Parasprite infestation in so long that even Princess Celestia didn't seem to know what they were. Rarity herself has had Hoity Toity and Sapphire Shores as clients. All of them have saved Equestria '''twice'''. And that's just going into the accomplishments the upper-class ponies may have heard of or care about. They may not know their names, but it's hard to believe they don't at least know their reputations.
** If nothing else, several of those ponies were at the Grand Galloping Gala, and were in the receiving line to pay their obeisances to Princess Celestia, where they shook hooves with Twilight Sparkle. Wouldn't the fact that Twilight was standing at Princess Celestia's side throughout the premier social event of Equestrian society, while Celestia was receiving her subjects' homage, have already marked Twilight Sparkle as "a pony everypony should know?"

** There's one pony that may have known, but played it close to the vest... Fancy Pants. I don't care how [[CoolOldDude Cool Old Rich Guy]] he is, you don't see a bunch of teenagers (potentially inebriated on mass amounts of hard cider) gatecrash your party and make every single guest HIGHLY uncomfortable and then take up for them that quickly unless their some kind of national treasure.

** I think you just answered your own question. If RD was that known for the Sonic Rainboom, then everyone familliar with the achievement will probably know the one performing it was from Ponyville. Rarity was lucky (well so she thought at least) that nobody present (except maybe Fancypants) recognized the name. Going into the details might have jogged everyone's memories, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

* Also, why was Rarity so desperate to go to ''every'' high-society event she was invited to? Anyone who's ever tried to make it in high society knows that if you just go to everything, you cease to be seen as being in any way exclusive or desirable as a guest. You want to be a catch. You want to always have something more important, and more exclusive, to be going to. Why didn't Rarity just say, 'Oh, you know, I would love to, but Princess Celestia's personal apprentice is having her birthday party--it's very exclusive, only five ponies got invitations--and I simply have to put in an appearance. You know how it is.'?

*** one word fellow troper: cider.

*** For Blueblood...this may be fanart, but I'm willing to accept it. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Blueblood-has-a-312758587
* One explanation for a good half the FridgeLogic here is that the show has an anachronic order and the Gala simply hasn't happened yet. It's even said that the Gala was still coming up, and the mane cast probably wouldn't be that excited to go after what happened last time.
** Unfortunately, the fact that the pillars in the Ballroom are quite clearly cracked means that this story takes place after "The Best Night Ever", so most of the fridge logic still stands.
** It's not FridgeLogic, it's easily explainable: there talking about the next Gala. It's said to be an annual event. Twilight also wasn't' so much excited for the next one as she figured that Rarity was making connections so she could get clients for it, and the garden party being the second most important event next to the gala was a logical place to do so, even if Twilight didn't realize Rarity planned to abandon her party for the garden party. As for why any of them would be excited, they ended up having a good time with Celestia and this time would have realistic expectations for it and at the very list get to hang out with the princess and each other and have a good time again.

** Seems reasonable, but if the mower were a grass combine, I'd expect it to have a bagger/catcher to collect the clippings.

** This whole show has a problem with characters' popularity. Both seasons start with the Mane 6 ''saving the world'', but they're not treated as celebrities in the other episodes. Fluttershy became briefly famous as a model, and afterwards no one ever refers to her modeling career, etc.. It's like a special form of NegativeContinuity.

** I think you're completely correct in your initial assessment. That scene, and to a lesser extent the Grand Galloping Gala, really bugged me. My first thought on watching that scene was, "Holy s***, were every one of the Mane cast raised by wolves?" Pinkie Pie actually started redecorating. Step back from the show for a second and think about how assholish you'd have to be to go to somebody else's party and start changing the decorations. That's beyond mere obliviousness, and bordering on needing to get some professional help. Can you imagine rolling into your hypothetical college fratboy movie night, redecorating, and ''changing the music''? You probably wouldn't admit to knowing them, not because you'd feel like shriveling up, but because you'd be afraid of getting your bum kicked. Every one of them displayed a complete lack of etiquette, and (in Dennis Miller's words) I don't mean the kind of psychotic Emily Post lunacy where they don't know how to use the 85 Goddarn forks arrayed around their dinner plate. I mean like basic courtesy, and acknowledging the existance of others as separate beings with their own desires.

** There's also a case of severe Values Dissonance here. We are all partially products of our times and the countries in which we grew up, unless we really take the time to notice that. Well, the problem in this case is that most of the people who watch this show are American...and mainstream American culture in our day and age teaches that bragging and flaunting your talents ''is'' acceptable. Look how much we admire Donald Trump because of how rich and "successful" he is, despite the way he tends to treat people. And we eagerly follow the exploits of sports players who have so little control over their emotions (not to mention so little maturity) that they'll lose their tempers and start fights, or angrily quit the team if they don't get a bigger salary. Here's the real problem: the lesson that The Mysterious Mare Do Well tried to get across is an entirely valid one, but as modern Americans, the lesson clashes horribly with what our culture has told us is an acceptable way to act. This episode is trying to teach us an ethical lesson that sometimes contradicts how Americans are "expected" to act. It's this contradiction that's getting fans so upset at this episode: Rainbow Dash's behavior is unacceptable because it causes her to be inconsiderate to other people, to put them in danger, and to demand praise she has not fairly earned...but to modern Americans, Mare Do Well's behavior is inconsiderate because it interferes with Rainbow Dash's God-given right to "get ahead" and become a famous celebrity.
*** Donald Trump? Admired? Are you kidding me? Anyways, I think the real problem is that Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie also bragged about their accomplishments as the Mare Do Well yet are not treated as in the wrong.
** I don't find that to be the cause of the dislike for this episode, or at least not the main cause. Most of the criticism seems to center around the Mane 6 gushing over Mare Do Well in front of Rainbow Dash (bragging about themselves, thus making them hypocrites) or the Mane 6 apparently laughing at Dash despite her being visibly upset. Then there are complaints that the whole plan was unnecessary and devious, that talking to her would've worked just as well. All I've heard people do with Donald Trump is make fun of him, and immature athletes are looked down upon quite a bit from what I've seen. At least, as many people seem to hate celebrities as fawn over them.
*** The mane six bragged about themselves, true, but Rainbow Dash actually put people in danger. Thus, it's not really equivalent; Rainbow Dash's behavior was objectively worse because she almost caused physical harm to others, while all the mane six did was bruise her ego. Furthermore, even if their sins ''had'' been equivalent, that still doesn't make Rainbow Dash's behavior acceptable. Let me make an analogy: In this Troper's childhood, this Troper had problems with controlling his temper, and would frequently blow up at people over little things. How did his father decide to correct it? By yelling at him over it. So, this Troper correctly pointed out that this Troper's father was ignoring his own advice. His father ackFrannowledged his hypocrisy, but also pointed out that whether he was being hypocritical about it or ''not,'' it's still wrong to lose your temper at people over little things!

** I don't think that assessment of American values, or Donald Trump (who's an actor more than anything, and most of what he does is faked for cameras) or athletes (which frankly reads more like a stereotypical jock-joke than reality). But even if it all '''were true''' it does not make that any more right. Punishing her for feeling "arrogant" about skills she spent her ''entire life'' to build up, skills she probably put a huge amount of time in, as much or more as Twilight puts into magic and learning, is simply not fair. And in fact, it's bullying, plain and simple. It's one of the reasons why the stereotypical portrayal of jocks in media is so lopsided: yeah, the star quarterback is arrogant about his skills...skills he trains constantly to maintain and took years to build up and even then he had to be born with most of the speed and hand-eye coordination to do well with. See the problem? By that very logic, smart people should be ashamed of being smart, or attractive people ashamed of their appearance. NO ONE lives up to standards of "humility" that are that self-righteous, American values or no American values.
** There's no excuse for being arrogant. Ever. Not good genes, not hard work, not ''anything''. There's also an enormous gap between that and being outright ashamed of one's abilities.
** Of course there is. The only reason it's seen as "bad" is because, to be blunt, it makes people who can't keep up feel insecure. And we do it all the time. It's one of the reasons why people who are scientists or intellectuals are so maligned. And yes, it's ''bullying''. Of course a genius (for example) should feel superior to someone who isn't...he '''is'''. It's of course more egalitarian to say otherwise, but "egalitarian" and "in concert with demonstrable fact" are in most cases mutually exclusive. For obvious reasons. Or put another way: it is, literally, ''not'' bragging if you can actually do it, it's a statement of fact. "I'm the fastest thing alive" you say, then you fly faster than the speed of sound. Arrogant? Yes. Demonstrably true? Also yes.
** Superior in terms of intellect? Yes. ''And that's it''. Nothing more, nothing less. Superiority in innate ability or skill does not necessarily equate to superiority in anything else. And even if it has basis in fact, arrogance is unjustifiably ''obnoxious'' and antisocial behavior. Nobody has completely equal potential or ability, but that doesn't mean those with lesser ablity should be put down; they should be made to put whatever abilities they do have to good use. Those with greater ability should care less about preening their feathers and more about applying their talents.
** Also, Arrogance and being proud of your accomplishments aren't the same, and it's more of an attitude. "I'm the fastest thing alive" depends heavily on the tone and circumstance is said: after performing good in a race, and with a happy voice? it's ok. Blurting it out of nowhere and with people who you know can't challenge you? Bragging, arrogant AND obnoxious.

** This discussion is growing redundant, even for a Headscratcher entry. Simply put; even if they fully knew what Rainbow Dash would go through, it was still necessary for them to do so. Pinkie Pie being 'locked' out of her element makes sense, Rainbow Dash being 'locked' out of her freakishly overblown ego does not, as it isn't a situation she's normally in, yet is troublesome for the rest of the cast. Heck, even if they acted out of malice (which is definitely not the case), their actions would still be justified as Rainbow Dash was clearly going way overboard. They even gave her a chance to realize how wrong she was, yet didn't get the hint. If anything, it makes sense for them to passively watch her afterwards to make sure she does not try something that would mirror Twilight in 'Lesson Zero'. Then, after allowing her to cool off a little, provoke retaliation with a public appearance. It was brilliantly done, how else could they get the message through?
*** Definite disagreement here. Basically, there are two ways to interpret the events of the episode. In the first, the Mane Five thought that showing up as a masked hero would get Rainbow Dash to reconsider her actions, realize other ponies can be heroes too, and tone down her bragging. It didn’t – it just made her freak out – but once they revealed themselves and explained what they were trying to do, she got the point anyway. That makes this a normal episode about five of the ponies trying to do something good for their friend and underestimating her capacity for freakouts. In the second, they anticipated all of her reactions correctly, and so apparently thought that the best way to teach Rainbow Dash to be humble was to get her to humiliate herself and then leave her alone and depressed. That’s ''not'' the sort of thing friends should ever do to each other and makes the Mane Five look like a bunch of [[{{Jerkass}} Jerkasses]].
*** ^ So let's just go with the first interpretation and move on, ok?
* RD's ego had grown to the point where she'd place herself in situations over her head and cause even greater disasters through sheer overconfidence. Look at the first four times "Mare Do Well" intervened: RD deliberately ignored a pony plummeting to almost certain death to sign autographs, RD attempted to stop a rolling carriage full of ponies far too heavy for her, RD managed to save one out of five construction ponies while wasting time with her motto, RD took her hoof off of a hole in the dam to literally ''pat herself on the back''. She had long since stopped taking the whole "hero" thing seriously and was putting ponies at unnecessary risk to feed her own self-esteem. She was ''going'' to get a reality check sooner or later. Being outdone is certainly better than what would come if somebody actually got hurt by her showboating.
** Sure, it was a lesson Rainbow Dash needed to learn. The problem is, it's hard to see how the Mare Do Well was supposed to be teaching it. Its appearances weren't making Dash any more humble or any more effective, so it's a little hard to see what the endgame was supposed to be.
*** The point of Mare Do Well was to show RD that one can be a beloved hero without being a braggart. Mare Do Well would save lives and leave right after, yet ponies still loved her because of what she did. Ponies loved Rainbow Dash until the fame went to her head and she put showboating over saving lives. She was not only getting obnoxious, but she would do her showboating while other ponies were in serious danger. The Mane Five used Mare Do Well to teach RD a lesson in humility: Mare Do Well was loved for her actions, but she didn't rub it in anyone's face.

* It doesn't occur with older unicorns because babies' magic happens ''at random''.

** About 95% of the above can pretty much be explained by the fact it's a play and thus some details of the actual events were likely left out for times sake. Everypony knows Celestia and Luna are the ruler, so that'd be a logical part to skip in the play if a part ''had'' to be skipped.