History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E23InspirationManifestation

** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E7Bats Vampire fruit bats]] can be seen flying at the ruins of the original castle of the Two Royal SIsters.

For an extra layer of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, the power of the titular Tommyknockers was a [[FantasticDrug metaphor]] for Stephen King's cocaine addiction. Considering the look on Rarity's face in the page image, this subtext was not lost on the animation department.

\\ For an extra layer of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, the power of the titular Tommyknockers was a [[FantasticDrug metaphor]] for Stephen King's cocaine addiction. Considering the look on Rarity's face in the page image, this subtext was not lost on the animation department.

->'''Rarity:''' I'm so excited! ''I'm so excited!''
->'''Spike:''' I'm so scared.

!!Tropes present in this episode (YMMV tropes [[YMMV/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E23InspirationManifestation here]]):

* IronicEchoCut: Rarity tells Spike that the puppeteer will appreciate the work she did on the theater she designed. Then, it cuts to the puppeteer criticizing the work she did on the theater.

** The crystal armor Rarity gives Spike looks similar to the armor worn by the titular robot of the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' video games, or the Diamond Armor from {{Minecraft}}.

[[caption-width-right:350:Don't worry, ''[[NightmareFuel Rarity's going to make you look fabulous]]!'']]

* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: The Inspiration Manifestation spell is waaaaaay on the side of romanticism, turning anyone that casts it into a VisionaryVillain. It [[AwesomeButImpractical slurps up any practicality in the vicinity and and transforms it in favor of flashy style.]] Think of [[ThisIndexIsHighlyImprobable any trope with the word "Improbable" in its title,]] and you have anything this spell makes. [[RealityEnsues Except it's ACTUALLY improbable.]] [[FridgeBrilliance So, it actually makes sense]] [[WeaksauceWeakness that a single sentence of]] BrutalHonesty would [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight snap the caster out of it]], since [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids the most loftiest of ideals are more easily subjective to someone pointing out their obvious faults.]] [[{{Foreshadowing}} Foreshadowed]] by the opening, where Rarity makes a puppet stand and it's completely unusable by the very puppeteer it's made for. The following events are a series of that very formula [[SerialEscalation one-upping itself.]]

** The puppeteer, while voiced like WCFields, is dressed very much like Gene Wilder's [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory Willy Wonka]] down to the orange and purple color scheme.

The Ponyville Foal and Filly Fair is almost underway, and Rarity is making a puppet stand with Spike's help. However, her elaborate booth is unappreciated by the puppeteer, who needs a much more practical setup. Distraught, Rarity drowns her sorrows in ice cream. Seeking to help, Spike and Owlowiscious search the Castle of the Two Sisters for a spellbook that might be of use, eventually stumbling upon a hidden tome that claims to give an inspiration manifestation. Rarity recites the spell, and is granted the power to manifest her ideas, but with the warning that only true words can free her from its power. Rarity and Spike track down the puppeteer, showing him a much better version of a puppet theater, which he accepts. Spike attempts to return the book, but Rarity decides to keep it, citing its use for her talent.

* AddictiveMagic[=/=]GRatedDrug: The spellbook effectively serves as this for Rarity. Under its influence, she stops eating, grows increasingly manic in her behavior, and is only free of it when Spike finally stops enabling her and makes her realize how harmful it is.

** FantasticAesop: A few stand out too.
*** As Twilight said, [[SchmuckBait "Never, ever, ever, EVER take another book out of the library at the castle without asking!"]] (Or three Princesses might have to spend their entire day cleaning up your mistake. [[AndThatsTerrible Shame on you.]])
*** Gets funnier when you realize he ''ate'' the book [[WhateverHappenedToTheMouse and Twilight doesn't even think it worth mentioning.]]

* AwesomeButImpractical: The puppet stage Rarity initially made may have been aesthetically appealing and elaborate, but it was rejected by the puppet-master due to being difficult to move around and being too cramped on the inside for him and his puppets.

* EyeTwitch: As more of the tome's power takes hold, Rarity begins doing this.

* GenreBlind: Spike apparently hasn't learned from the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E6PowerPonies enchanted comic that was literally enchanted]] that something that ''sounds'' innocuous might be much more dangerous.
** [[FridgeLogic Also]], you would think that someone who has spent his whole life around a unicorn that specializes in magic and is an expert in spellbooks would know a tome of dark magic when he saw one.

* HonestAdvisor: Owlowiscious.
* IAteWhat: Averted. Spike ''swallows'' the evil tome and it doesn't do a thing to him. It doesn't cure Rarity either, though (see above).

* JerkassHasAPoint: While the puppeteer could have been nicer about his criticism towards the puppet theater Rarity built, ample stage space and mobility are far more important for a traveling puppeteer than how shiny it looks.

** RealityWarpingIsNotAToy: As Spike learns a bit too late, the desire to exercise this power takes hold of the pony, and they can't help but use it.
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: The Inspiration Manifestation spell is waaaaaay on the side of romanticism, turning anyone that casts it into a VisionaryVillain. It [[AwesomeButImpractical slurps up any practicality in the vicinity and and transforms it in favor of flashy style.]] Think of [[ThisIndexIsHighlyImprobable any trope with the word "Improbable" in its title,]] and you have anything this spell makes. [[RealityEnsues Except it's ACTUALLY improbable.]] [[FridgeBrilliance So, it actually makes sense]] [[WeaksauceWeakness that a single sentence of]] BrutalHonesty would [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight snap the caster out of it]], since [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids the most loftiest of ideals are more easily subjective to someone pointing out their obvious faults.]]
** [[{{Foreshadowing}} Foreshadowed]] by the opening, where Rarity makes a puppet stand and it's completely unusable by the very puppeteer it's made for. The following events are a series of that very formula [[SerialEscalation one-upping itself.]]

* SanitySlippage[=/=]WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The more Rarity uses the book's power, the more deranged she becomes.

** The crystal armor Rarity gives Spike looks similar to the armor worn by the titular robot of the ''Franchise/MegaMan'' video games.
*** Or the Diamond Armor from {{Minecraft}}.

** Let's see: something that increases your creativity, but at the same time increases your dependency (and involves a SicklyGreenGlow)? [[Litterature/TheTommyknockers Where have I heard that before?]]
*** For an extra layer of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, the power of the titular Tommyknockers was a [[FantasticDrug metaphor]] for Stephen King's cocaine addiction. Considering the look on Rarity's face in the page image, this subtext was not lost on the animation department.

*** Twilight, Cadence and Luna probably changed them back when they were undoing the effects of the spell

** Or would that be..."''[[IncrediblyLamePun Hoo's]]'' on First"?

* FeatherFingers:
%%** See {{Facepalm}} above.
** When Spike fails to tell Rarity how inappropriate the birdhouse makeover is, Owlowiscious folds his wings and feathers in a manner that resembles fists on his hips when giving Spike a [[DisapprovingLook disparaging glare]].

* [[EvilDetectingDog Evil Detecting Owl]]: Owlowiscious picks up that there's something wrong with the book right off the bat, and of course tries to dissuade Spike from taking it.

** See {{Facepalm}} above.

* [[MessyHair Messy Mane]]: Twilight gets his with this ''hard'' at the end of the episode after having to clean up after everything Rarity did to Ponyville while under the effects of the spell. She hasn't looked that disheveled since ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]]''.
* [[MrImagination Ms. Imagination]]: With the power of Inspiration Manifestation, Rarity has this, starting with what she did in Ponyville. Thankfully, the spell was removed before she could change all Equestria and the world with her creativity running amok.

* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Animal]]: Owlowiscious is this to Spike, since he's GenreSavvy enough to know not to use spells from a book hidden in a secret ominous cave.

*** For an extra layer of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, the power of the titular Tommyknockers was a [[FantasticDrug metaphor]] for Stephen King's cocaine addiction.

** Let's see: something that increases your creativity, but at the same time increases your dependency? [[Litterature/TheTommyknockers Where have I heard that before?]]

* DumbassHasAPoint: The spell book was left unguarded and defended only by a single lock, rather than, say, being moved to the secure archives in Canterlot, or at least having a barrier that needed more than some bolt cutters to get through. By then, one would expect the dangerous artifacts to have been moved to a secure location. Spike was correct in saying that the book was basically unguarded.

* ChewingTheScenery: You can almost imagine Tabitha St. Germain desperately trying to hold back the maniacal laughter in her rant at the end, especially with the [[ForDoomTheBellTolls omnious bells]] chiming in the background.

* YourMakeupIsRunning: Zig-Zagged. Much like in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E13SimpleWays Simple Ways]]'', Rarity's mascara runs when she cries though this [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished doesn't leave any lasting smudges]].

* {{Irony}}: Pinkie Pie gets a taste of her own medicine when the party she organizes gets hijacked by a well-meaning individual who nonetheless imposes her vision of what the party should be over the sensibilities of its intended attendants by making a kiddy party a high class shindig, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver as opposed to]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E9SweetAndElitethe other way around.]]

** Let's see: something that increases your creativity, but at the same time increases your dependency? [[Litterature/TheTommyknockers Where did I heard that before?]]

* CallBack:
** As in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited for Success]]'', Rarity's first attempt at fulfilling a client's needs doesn't meet with approval, but unlike the rest of the Mane Six and their gala dresses, Claude the puppeteer has legitimate objections to Rarity's work -- see JerkassHasAPoint.
** The plot can also be thought of as a [[SwappedRoles role reversal]] of ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]]'': this time, Rarity is the one who's gone mad with power and Spike has to stop her.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Exactly what ''did'' happen to the evil spell after it was driven out of Rarity, since the TomeOfEldritchLore was (presumably) destroyed? Assuming that breaking the spell didn't destroy it entirely, of course.