History NightmareFuel / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSeason2

** Thinking about all of this from Twilight's perspective: she and her friends are seperated, and when she finds them, her friends are suddenly not acting like themselves. Their most powerful weapon of good is missing, and Equestria's most powerful and dangerous foe is behind it. Celestia is once again of no real help. Luna is nowhere to be found. She now feels quite alone. And finally, one of her friends abandons her, meaning they've lost the challenge and essentially, [[TheBadGuysWin Discord has won.]]

** Thinking about all of this from Twilight's perspective: she and her friends are seperated, and when she finds them, her friends are suddenly not acting like themselves. Their most powerful weapon of good is missing, and Equestria's most powerful and dangerous foe is behind it. Celestia is once again of no real help. Luna is nowhere to be found. She now feels quite alone. And finally, one of her friends abandons her, meaning they've lost the challenge and essentially, [[TheBadGuysWin Discord has won]]

* Once again, the MoodWhiplash of the theme song following the episode recap is a bit disturbing

** [[spoiler: We find out in the season 4 premiere]]
** If you look closely at the mutated rabbits as they stampede past during the final confrontation with Discord, ''they don't appear to have eyes''
* Last episode we got to see the Mane 6 get brainwashed by Discord. But in this episode we get to see the ''results''
** After fighting with her friends and failing to use the Elements against Discord, Twilight is ''broken''. She turns grey like the others, and gives up on friendship entirely
** Worse, it's not something Discord directly effects. It implies his power can spread like an infection
** And worst of all, we see the progression. Last episode, she was exasperated with her friends. In this one, she goes from exasperation, to annoyance, to frustration, to anger, to disappointment, to ''absolute despair''. Twilight is the best of them and the strongest- and now she's given up
* When Discord is defeated using the Elements of Harmony, he writhes in pain and horror while slowly being [[TakenForGranite transformed to stone.]] Then the statue falls over, and the camera shows a close up of his terrified expression

* Spike's claw cramp looks [[{{Squick}} just... wrong.]] And the pulsing sound effects don't help
* The main thing with this episode is Twilight's huge SanitySlippage
** We saw a glimpse of it in previous episodes (the biggest perhaps being ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury Swarm of the Century]]'', where she ordered the citizens to ''rebuild Ponyville'' off to the side, with only seconds before the Princess arrives), yet here it is the entire purpose to the episode

*** Speaking of that episode, Twilight's SlasherSmile surpasses Pinky's. Hell, it makes that one look ''tame''

** She starts hallucinating at one point. She looks at three fillies jumping rope and sees them as shadows laughing at her, with a hellish landscape behind them. It's also the main MLP Nightmare Fuel page image

* Special mention must go to the plot towards the end, where Twilight tries to ''create a problem''
** Her [[http://i.imgur.com/WxwFS.jpg crazy faces]] reach the level of [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren Hoek]]. At one point, she wears a bird nest on her head

*** She teleports into their beach ball. And since no two objects can occupy the same space, it explodes outward
*** '''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "Hi, Guuuuurls!"]]''' *ear twitches* Bonus points if you've seen Film/FullMetalJacket
** Then she casts the spell on Smarty Pants. It causes [[EyeScream the eyes of those effected to slowly roll back into their heads.]] And as shown with Rainbow, this effect is the real source of the obsession
*** That spell affects almost all of Ponyville. With one spell, Twilight almost destroys a whole town. Without even trying
*** Of note, Twilight says that the spell "Works every time". [[FridgeHorror Implying she's used it before]]

'''[[folder:Sisterhooves Social]]'''
* Rarity telling Sweetie Belle she no longer wishes to be sisters with her, to which Sweetie Belle angrily obliges and leaves. After a while, Rarity finds Sweetie Belle's picture, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone takes back the horrible things she said]] and [[AdultFear looks all over town]] so she can apologize. When she finds Sweetie Belle, she doesn't accept her apology and wishes to be Applejack's sister instead. To have a younger sibling or even a child turn on you like that can be unsettling.

[[folder:The Cutie Pox]]

* Zecora telling the fillies about Nightmare Moon. She blows some green dust and illusions of Nightmare Moon appear, looking very vicious.
* Princess Luna's actual entrance. She flies in with two grim looking ponies, with lightning flashing in the background, making her look pretty intimidating.
** This is part of the conflict for the episode--as it turns out, one thousand years ago, the standard royal etiquette was to ''be'' intimidating.
* After Pinkie Pie's third misunderstanding with Luna, the princess brings all the fake spiders to life! Which immediately overwhelm one of the ponies, knock her down, and crawl all over her. To anyone who has arachnophobia (or just doesn't like spiders), this is the creepiest part of the episode.
* Luna finally gets furious after spending the whole episode being treated like a monster, complete with GlowingEyesOfDoom and summoning an ominous storm out of nowhere! A good lesson on why ticking off a {{Physical God}}dess is a very bad idea!

[[folder:Sisterhooves Social]]

*** Fluttershy's is the most immediately disturbing, since it is the most [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape-like event.]] Discord tries to convince her to turn willingly... but when she doesn't, he forces her to change. Seeing a pony who is normally gentler than a summer breeze go out of her way to emotionally hurt her friendsis unsettling. Perhaps the worst part is that it shows Discord doesn't have to play his games with the Mane 6. He's just doing it because [[ForTheEvulz he thinks it's funny.]]

* Spike's claw cramp looks [[{Squick} just... wrong.]] And the pulsing sound effects don't help

* Rarity telling Sweetie Belle she no longer wishes to be sisters with her, to which Sweetie Belle angrily obliges and leaves. After a while, Rarity finds Sweetie Belle's picture, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone takes back the horrible things she said]] and [[AdultFear looks all over town]] so she can apologize. When she finds Sweetie Belle, she doesn't accept her apology and wishes to be Applejack's sister instead. To have a younger sibling or even a child turn on you like that can be unsettling to see.

* It can be unsettling to see how dangerous Ponyville is in this episode. Among the hazards are hilly roads that can cause a baby carriage to veer out of control, a hydroelectric dam that one point was ready to burst, a balcony that can't withstand the weight of a few elderly ponies and a construction site with NoOSHACompliance. [[FridgeHorror One can only wonder how the town functions without Rainbow Dash on guard]].

* It can be unsettling to see how dangerous Ponyville is in this episode. Hilly roads that can cause a baby carriage to veer out of control, a hydroelectric dam that one point was ready to burst and a construction site with NoOSHACompliance. [[FridgeHorror One can only wonder how the town functions without Rainbow Dash on guard]].
* After saving a baby from a runaway carriage, Rainbow Dash tosses the child to her mother. She is understandably not pleased by such carelessness.

[[folder:MMMystery on the Friendship Express]]

[[AC:Luna Eclipsed]]

[[AC:The Cutie Pox]]

[[AC:May The Best Pet Win!]]

[[AC:Sweet and Elite]]

[[AC:The Secret of My Excess]]

[[AC:Hearth's Warming Eve]]

[[AC:Family Appreciation Day]]

[[AC:Baby Cakes]]

[[AC:The Last Roundup]]

[[AC:Read It And Weep]]

[[AC:Hearts and Hooves Day]]

[[AC:A Friend in Deed]]

[[AC: Putting Your Hoof Down]]

[[AC:It's About Time]]

[[AC:Dragon Quest]]

[[AC:Hurricane Fluttershy]]

[[AC:Ponyville Confidential]]

[[AC:A Canterlot Wedding Part 1]]

[[AC:A Canterlot Wedding Part 2]]

[[AC:Lesson Zero]]
* What made ''Lesson Zero'' so effective was how much it played with our expectations after [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 The Return of Harmony.]] For instance, who would've expected any of this?
** On the inverse, some people found it scarier because it came after "The Return Of Harmony" and it made it seem like Twilight was psychologically damaged by Discord.
* For starters, quite a few people found Twilight's mental breakdown to be more than a little unsettling. Also, she seemed to have the power to brainwash ponies. She literally managed to cause all of Ponyville to descend into chaos just with one spell.
** The spell also seems to make ponies eyes roll back into their skull rather slowly.
** Twilight also notes that the spell she uses "Works every time." [[FridgeHorror Implying that she has used it before.]]
* Twilight's bouts of PowerIncontinence in general are pretty freaking creepy. Especially that she uses TeleportSpam to yell at people without giving it a second thought.
** And the SlasherSmile during said breakdown. It makes Pinkie's infamous smile at from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]" look downright sedate by comparison.
* Twilight's [[http://i.imgur.com/WxwFS.jpg crazy faces]] bloody well reached [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren Hoek]]-level.
** The way she approached the Cutie Mark Crusaders with those looks on her face can be rather unsettling.
** '''"HI, GIRRRRLS!"''' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iv09RirHU *ear twitch*]]. Bonus points if you'd happened to have seen ''Film/FullMetalJacket''.
** Also, {{TeleFrag}}ging their beachball.
** "[[SanitySlippage Clock is ticking, Twilight.]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Clock. Is. TICKING!]]"
* Fluttershy apparently [[NeckSnap breaking a bear's neck.]] It turned out she was only doing something chiropractic on it, but it looks horrific at first.
* Spike's claw cramp. It looks like he has a grotesquely broken wrist, and the [[{{Squick}} sound effect]] doesn't help.
* The short moment where Twilight notices a few fillies playing jumprope, then she imagines them laughing at her, in an almost literally hellish background (see the page image).
** There is an extended version out there. Sweet dreams, little girls!
* The concept of of an insane Twilight. Mental damage [[HeWhoFightsMonsters after defeating Discord]] and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not sending as many Friendship Lessons as usual]] causes her to break. She causes everypony to go after a single doll, and she [[spoiler: becomes a Alicorn]] in a later season. [[MaskOfSanity Just how long until she snaps again?]]

[[AC:The Return of Harmony: Part 2]]
* The way Discord is defeated. [[spoiler: He writhes in pain as he is turned to stone. Afterwards, the statue falls to the ground, the camera showing a close up of his horrified face.]]
* Discord's WorldOfChaos was getting progressively worse by the minute, and he only ruled Equestria for a few days max. With what was implied the previous episode (Ponies being held by puppet strings over a pit of fire along with pained, horrified screaming), it's a very good thing they stopped him when they did.
--> '''Discord''': And these are only my first changes!
* The "slender bunnies" are freaky enough, but if you look closely when they stampede across screen before the final confrontation with Discord, it looks as if they [[EyeScream don't have eyes]].
* It's clear in both the old confrontation with the Princesses, and the new one with the Mane 6, that Discord is one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, and would rule unchecked without the Elements of Harmony to oppose him. Not to mention being savvy enough to immediately try to break up the Mane 6. It's also clear in both cases that the only reason he can be defeated is his own arrogance preventing him from understanding the true power of the elements. A bit more savvy, and he would be effectively unstoppable.

** Thinking about all of this from Twilight's perspective: she and her friends are seperated, and when she finds them, her friends are suddenly not acting like themselves. Their most powerful weapon of good is missing, and Equestria's most powerful and dangerous foe is behind it. Celestia is once again of no real help. Luna is nowhere to be found. She now feels quite alone. And finally, one of her friends abandons her, meaning they've lost the challenge and essentially, [[EvilWins Discord has won]]

** He first is shown as a statue... with a beating heart of '''black light.''' Then he gives the most chilling evil laugh possible

*** Later, he gives Rainbow her own version of Pandora's box. Inside it, he claims, are her wings. We never see in the box, but one can imagine a pair of disembodied wings just sitting inside on a cushion. No blood, no damage. Just sitting there as though fake, waiting...

> pinky pie is next, and her balloon garden provides a particularly horrifying example of uncanney valley, with her friends' faces plastered onto balloons. plus discord decapitating himself to put his own face on a balloon. it's also yet another example of bullying, as a crowd this time, very reminiscient of real life.
> rarity's takes a different approach: it shows us that discord can create long-lasting illusions in ponies' minds that have nothing to with their personality change. what if he had convinced rarity that one of her friends was a dangerous beast that needed to be killed?
> fluttershy's is the most immediately disturbing, since it is the most rape-like event. discord tries to convince her to turn willingly... but when she doesn't, he forces her to change. seeing a pony who is normally gentler than a summer breeze go out of her way to emotionally hurt her friendsis unsettling. perhaps the worst part is that it shows discord doesn't have to play his games with the Mane 6. he's just doing it because he thinks it's funny.
> rainbow's gives us more insight into discord himself- he has no morals. no qualms about cheating or bending the rules HE established. combine body horror, an illusion of rainbow's home, and good old manipulation to turn the most loyal pony into a traitor.
- thinking about all of this from twilight's perspective: she and her friends are seperated, and when she finds them, her friends are suddenly not acting like themselves. their most powerful weapon of good is missing, and equestria's most powerful and dangerous foe is behind it. celestia is once again of no real help. luna is nowhere to be found. she now feels quite alone. and finally, one of her friends abandons her, meaning they've lost the challenge and essentially, discord has won.

* "The Return of Harmony", part 1: When Discord first begins to awaken, we see his heart beating inside of his stone-cold prison, with a black aura pulsating in and out of visibility each time the heart beats.
** Followed directly by the statue cracking and him giving a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGn1TlBLm0w seriously creepy]] EvilLaugh. [[MoodWhiplash And then the happy theme music]].
* Discord gets up to some pretty disturbing antics. Robbing unicorns of their horns and pegasi of their wings, brainwashing Twilight's friends into becoming the opposite of their true nature, tricking Rainbow Dash into abandoning the game with a vision of Cloudsdale being destroyed.
** Although it's not dwelled upon, the taking of the wings and horns has some BodyHorror implications. Imagine having a couple of your limbs vanish.
** Rainbow Dash's encounter with Discord gets even creepier when he produces a box that he claims contains her wings. Granted, we don't see Dash open it, but the idea that her [[BodyHorror unattached wings]] could be just sitting there inside a sparkly, neatly wrapped gift box adds new levels of unsettling to Discord's antics.
** Worse still, they obviously aren't bloody and hacked off, since they were removed via magic. So we have two detached wings, in a box, just lying there as if fake.
* Pinkie Pie's MindRape is probably the creepiest of all, with demonic balloons laughing at her and circling her while she begs them to cease.
** Even worse when Discord removes his head so his talking face is on the balloon. The faces of Pinkie's friends showing up on the balloons too is unsettling at the very least.
** Fluttershy's forced MindRape was probably the worst of all, it looked painful.
*** The others suffering from MindRape is rather unnerving as well, not only did Discord reverse their personalities but [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil metaphorically raping]] them as well.
* The animals with the long spidery legs at the beginning. They just look wrong.
* The worst part of it all is Discord's FauxAffablyEvil personality. It's just so disturbing. He loves what he's doing to them. He loves performing MindRape on the mane cast and he didn't even need to do the mundane version; as he showed with Fluttershy, he could've skipped straight to the instant supernatural kind. He did it because he [[ForTheEvulz wanted to]]. No wonder Celestia and Luna [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned him in]] [[TakenForGranite stone for eternity!]]
** Not only that, this shows that he's not even trying, and yet he still won! Who knows what he's capable of when he starts getting serious?
** And to think that he ruled Equestria before Celestia and Luna came along and turned him to stone with the Elements of Harmony.
* Another bit worth noting is part of the stained-glass window with the puppetmaster Discord. Him controlling the strings of the obviously-in-pain ponies is creepy enough, but then you notice he is dangling the ponies above a pit of fire. Do we even want to know what happened there?
** If you take a close listen as Celestia describes how horrible life was during Discord's reign, you can hear the tortured screaming of suffering ponies.
** Those who study Tarot would definitely see the resemblance between this image and the Devil card from most major decks; the ponies being "chained" by the puppet strings, Discord's somewhat goat-like face, even the pit of fire bit can be found in the standard variants of this arcanum.

[[AC:The Return of Harmony: Part 1]]

* It's clear in both the old confrontation with the Princesses, and the new one with the Mane 6, that Discord is one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, and would rule unchecked without the Elements of Harmony to oppose him. Not to mention being GenreSavvy enough to immediately try to break up the Mane 6. It's also clear in both cases that the only reason he can be defeated is his own arrogance preventing him from understanding the true power of the elements. A bit more GenreSavvy, and he would be effectively unstoppable.

* Twilight's [[http://i.imgur.com/WxwFS.jpg crazy faces]] bloody well reached [[TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren Hoek]]-level.

* The entire Daring Do story is quite shockingly violent for this show. The worst is definitely when she's tied to a slab in a room filling with sand and spiked walls closing in, while spiders and cobras crawl over her.

** which says nothing about his real life origin: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahuizotl_(creature)]]

* To top all this off, Equestria is a land where ThePowerOfFriendship and ThePowerOfLove are very literal, very powerful things. Now another enemy can take that power from our heroes and use it against them. YouCanPanicNow.

* The concept of of an insane Twilight. Mental damage [[HeWhoFightsMonsters after defeating Discord]] and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not sending as many Friendship Lessons as usual]] causes her to break. She causes everypony to go after a single doll, and she becomes a Alicorn later on. [[MaskOfSanity Just how long until she snaps again?]]

* Spike kidnapping Rarity. Since he has reached his maximum size, Rarity only has enough time to scream as he reaches inside to grab her. We see his incoming claws from her perspective and they black out the camera.

* While grown up dragons in the show have a generally cool appearance, Spike's grown up form looks more menacing than the ones in "Dragonshy" and "Owls Well that Ends Well".

* The Windigos. Ghostly horses that feed off of negative feelings and distrust. The blizzard they caused further fueled the emotions that fed them. Close to the end of the episode, their cold became so intense that it froze the leaders of the three tribes alive, right where they stood. And apparently, they're still around, meaning that if you ever let your negative feelings get the better of you, they'll be waiting.

** '''"HI, GIRRRRLS!"''' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iv09RirHU *ear twitch*]]. Bonus points if you'd happened to have seen ''FullMetalJacket''.

* To top all this off, Equestria is a land where ThePowerOfFriendship and ThePowerOfLove are very literal, very powerful things. Not another enemy can take that power from our heroes and use it against them. YouCanPanicNow.