Line #49 Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E2TheCrystallingPart2


1	!!Continued from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E1TheCrystallingPart1 The Crystalling – Part 1]]".
2
3	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/celestia_and_luna_zapping_storm_clouds_s6e2.png]]
4	[[caption-width-right:350:Shoot the HostileWeather with laser beams! That ought to fix things.]]
5
6	->''"The baby's an Alicorn and she accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart, so Twilight and Cadance are looking for a spell to put it back together and save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow."''
7	-->-- '''Pinkie Pie'''
8
9	->Written by: Josh Haber
10
11	The Crystal Heart is destroyed, and now nothing can stop the winter storms from burying the Crystal Empire. Princesses Celestia and Luna fly out to delay the weather as long as they can, while Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash attempt to herd the gathered citizens to the safety of their homes without inciting a panic. Everypony else flees to the castle library in search of a spell that will restore the Crystal Heart, trying to keep tabs on the newborn alicorn (who continues to fly around, teleport, and blast laser beams) all the while. Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer decides her old friendship with Sunburst cannot be rekindled and leaves dejectedly without revealing her past. Spike reassures Starlight that she still has their friendship, but she feels that she has failed her first lesson.
12
13	The library search turns up a spell of relic reconstitution in an old tome. Twilight scans it once and declares success -- just before an errant laser blast destroys most of the book. The princesses cannot buy them any more time, so Twilight attempts to reconstruct the spell from what she remembers. Starlight has the idea to fetch Sunburst, hoping his great magical power can help. Shining Armor and Cadance see that they will lose the battle with the storm and give orders to evacuate the Empire.
14
15	Starlight Glimmer appeals to her old friend for help, only to learn ''his'' secret: he's not an important wizard, or even a wizard at all. He knew everything ''about'' any spell in the book, but he seldom had the power to actually cast them. Shamed, he left Celestia's school for unicorns and settled in the Crystal Empire where no one knew him. Starlight too comes clean about her past: that she used her own magical power for dark purposes and nearly destroyed Equestria as a result. The two of them finally apologize to each other and begin to work out their differences.
16
17	Twilight's attempts to reconstruct the Crystal Heart go nowhere, since the spell by itself won't work on a relic so powerful, even with her and Cadance casting it together. Fortunately, Sunburst has arrived. With his knowledge of magic, he explains that only a certain combination of spells can restore an object like the Crystal Heart: the Crystalling itself, a second spell to calm the weather, and "Fledgling's Forbearance" to get the infant's incredible powers under control. Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Starlight turn their magic on the Heart as Shining Armor and Cadance complete the Crystalling ceremony with their new baby. Sunburst plays the pivotal role of the Crystaller, adding a key fragment of crystal to complete the Heart. When all is done, the Heart regains its power and quickly restores the barrier, shoving back the winter clouds.
18
19	As Twilight and Shining Armor's parents arrive at the train station, the baby appears to have her powers under control thanks to Sunburst's spells. Twilight Velvet finally asks what the baby's name is, with Shining Armor and Cadance saying that they've decided on "Flurry Heart." Sunburst and Starlight say their goodbyes, with Starlight saying that Sunburst is a better wizard than he gave himself credit for, and Sunburst promising to keep in touch. Once on the train, Twilight laments that her lesson failed, but Spike counters that everything ultimately worked out, and that the method of letting Starlight learn on her own was the same way that Celestia taught Twilight herself. Twilight is reassured by this, with Spike saying that Twilight is a better teacher than she gave herself credit for. As the train leaves the empire, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E17TheTimesTheyAreAChangeling a small black thing appears heading to the empire.]]
20
21	----
22	!!Tropes:
23
24	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Although it spins very quickly that makes it looks like it's 2D, The Crystal Heart is a 3D model, making this the first episode since "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E2PrincessTwilightSparklePart2 Princess Twilight Sparkle – Part 2]]" to use this effect.
25	* AllPartOfTheShow: Flurry Heart's horn blasts firing out of the castle are believed to be fireworks to celebrate the baby's Crystalling.
26	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: A comment by Sunburst implies that his knowledge but lack of ability led to him getting bullied at magic school. "Magic Kindergarden" might be a scary place, after all.
27	* ApatheticCitizens: Strange and sudden unnatural winter storm coming out of nowhere? Strange beams of magic blowing gaping holes in the castle? There just can't possibly be anything wrong! We're here to see the Crystalling!
28	* ArtEvolution:
29	** Cadance sports a mane-style and tail in her Crystal pony form that's much different from the one she gained in "The Crystal Empire – Part 2". Shining Armor's Crystal form also gets a new mane-style since his hair was unchanged the last time.
30	** While the Mane Six regain their Crystal pony appearances from "The Crystal Empire – Part 2" as well, this is the first time Celestia and Luna get to experience it as they had remained in Canterlot when it happened the first time in case King Sombra regained power. For them, it was just getting the crystal coating and matching eyes, not much else.
31	* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Cadance and Shining Armor go through heck trying to keep Flurry Heart under control.
32	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: When Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer reconcile:
33	-->'''Sunburst:''' I'm sorry we lost touch. Maybe if I had reached out you would've helped me at Magic School, and I would've helped you--\
34	'''Starlight:''' --Not become totally evil?
35	* BilingualBonus: At the end of the episode, Twilight Velvet refers to herself as "Grand Mare". This sounds exactly like how an English-speaking person would pronounce the French word "grand-mère", which means "grandmother".
36	* BrickJoke: When Starlight was dreading Sunburst learning about her past in Part 1, Spike tries to reassure her that if Sunburst really is a powerful wizard, he might actually be impressed by what she managed to do. When she does confess to him in Part 2, we get this exchange:
37	-->'''Sunburst:''' ''[after a moment of {{stunned silence}}]'' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Did you really travel through time?]]\
38	'''Spike:''' See? I told you he'd be impressed!
39	* TheBusCameBack: Twilight Velvet and Night Light reappear after being absent for Season 5.
40	* CallBack: Starlight's tremendous magic ability is again shown by being the only non-alicorn aiding in fixing the eternal winter, specifically by casting a spell designed to help clear it.
41	* ChekhovsGun: The Crystalling ceremony is combined with the relic repairing spell in order to fix the Crystal Heart, along with some spells Sunburst suggests beforehand to stop the blizzard and help control Flurry Heart's magic.
42	* CirclingBirdies: Pinkie Pie and Shining Armor get the star variant when they bump heads while chasing Flurry Heart in the library.
43	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Sunburst's first reaction to hearing Starlight admit to having brainwashed a town's worth of ponies and stolen their cutie marks, and having traveled through time to destroy Equestria.
44	-->'''Sunburst:''' Did you really travel through time?
45	* ContinuityNod:
46	** This marks the second time since "The Crystal Empire – Part 2" that the Crystal Heart's energy causes ponies not living in the Crystal Empire to temporarily turn into Crystal ponies. This time, it includes Celestia and Luna as they were not there last time it happened. However, similar to last time, once outside the Empire's borders, the effects wear off and the ponies return to normal.
47	** One Crystal mare says [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 "Best Crystalling Ever!"]]
48	** Applejack briefly mentions King Sombra when she wonders how the Crystal Empire wasn't covered in snow during his rule.
49	* DeflectorShields: Both Shining Armor and Starlight Glimmer use one to protect themselves against a random magic beam fired by Flurry Heart. Starlight's is of the usual dome shape, while Shining's looks like a real knight shield. Unfortunately, the beam ricochets off the shields and destroy a most important book.
50	* {{Denouement}}: Starlight Glimmer faces her fears, comes to grips with the mistakes of her past and rekindles her friendship with Sunburst, completing her first friendship lesson and effectively closing the chapter on her evil days for good.
51	* DiabolusExMachina: Twilight finds the one spell book with relic reconstitution magic in the Crystal Empire library, only for deflections of one of Flurry Heart's beams to destroy it. Later subverted when Sunburst reveals that the spell wasn't enough on its own, and it needs to be combined with others and with the Crystalling ritual.
52	* DisapprovingLook: Starlight gives Sunburst a narrow-eyed glare when he starts enumerating magical spells that can rekindle a lost friendship; he promptly gets the hint that it's a bad idea and stops.
53	* DismantledMacGuffin: [[AccidentallyBrokeTheMacGuffin Thanks to Flurry Heart]], The Crystal Heart has been shattered to pieces and the ponies have to fix it.
54	* EasilyForgiven: Sunburst takes it surprisingly well that Starlight stole ponies' cutie marks and attempted to destroy Equestria's history.
55	* EleventhHourRanger: Starlight Glimmer proves instrumental to saving the day by talking Sunburst out of his funk and using her magic with Twilight and the Princesses in fixing the Crystal Heart. Sunburst also proves instrumental by recognizing and finding the solution.
56	* EncyclopaedicKnowledge: Though Sunburst's own magic isn't any greater than the average unicorn's, his ''knowledge'' of magic is superior to that of any of the Princesses. He even recognizes at a glance Twilight's reconstruction of the Spell of Relic Reconstitution.
57	* EndlessWinter: If the shield doesn't go back up, the Crystal Empire will be buried under a permanent snowstorm and anyone living there will freeze to death.
58	* FacePalm: Rainbow Dash's reaction when her efforts to get the citizens to go home are stymied by magic blasts (via Flurry Heart) shooting out of the castle and being mistaken for fireworks, followed by a double variant.
59	* FascinatingEyebrow: Starlight raises one to Spike when he tells Sunburst that she's "more of a student than a protégé," getting him to duck out of shot.
60	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
61	** The fact that Cadance has no idea who Sunburst is serves as a quick hint that he's not quite the important wizard Starlight imagines. Also, Celestia's smile and knowledge of Sunburst as a former student of her School for Gifted Unicorns hints of his wizard potential.
62	** In dialogue when mentioning spells, Sunburst casually names four of the Pillars of Equestria that become prominent in Season 7, though names Flash Magnus as "Flash Prance".
63	* FreezeFrameBonus: The final shot of the Friendship Express leaving the Crystal Empire in the background has what appears to be a [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 changeling]] flying towards the empire in the distance. It's a {{foreshadowing}} for [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E17TheTimesTheyAreAChangeling a future episode of season 6]].
64	* FromBadToWorse: The Ponies scramble to find a restoration spell for the Crystal Heart, only for Flurry Heart to accidentally destroy the book seconds later.
65	* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
66	** When Starlight and Spike notice the snow, a Crystal Pony is watering her plant. A few seconds later, the water from her watering can freezes.
67	** When Sunburst starts to hint how to fix the Crystal Heart, Pinkie Pie actually [[HiddenDepths figures it out before Twilight]]. She also looks sad because he didn't give her the chance to answer.
68	* HoldTheLine: Celestia and Luna attempt this against the oncoming blizzard in order to buy extra time to repair the Crystal Heart.
69	-->'''Luna:''' ''[groaning]''\
70	'''Celestia:''' Push them back, my sister!
71	* HoldYourHippogriffs:
72	** "Come to your Grandmare." (Grandma. The actual term for horses is "granddam".)
73	** "We'll just get out of your mane." (hair)
74	* HopeSpot: Cadance and Twilight find a book that could possibly help restore the Crystal Heart, but a stray shot from one of Flurry Heart's magic blasts gets [[PinballProjectile ricocheted]] from the unicorns' shields and ends up blasting a hole straight through the book.
75	* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: Though obviously important for this story, the Crystalling and all that went into it will have long-term importance for the season. The large surge of love that is created as a result will eventually draw Thorax to the area, which will in turn set up his role in the two-part season finale.
76	* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Sunburst reveals that his time at Magic School was a rough going because of this. He was very smart, but he was only that. He couldn't actually ''do'' the magic spells he knew, [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer rendering him a misfit]].
77	* {{Irony}}:
78	** Sunburst was shipped off due to his apparent great magical talent, which caused Starlight's descent into villainy until she was talked out of it by Twilight. When Starlight finally meets up with him again, it turns out his level of magical power is average despite earning a cutie mark from it, further proving her old philosophy wrong.
79	** It also turns out that Sunburst's cutie mark wound up causing him almost as much strife as it did Starlight, due to him being unable to live up to what he thought was expected of him because of it.
80	* JawDrop: After Starlight tearfully confesses to her past sins, Sunburst's reaction is to stare in shock for a beat, his jaw hanging open.
81	* LastMinuteBabyNaming: ''Very'' last minute. Cadance and Shining Armor don't name Flurry Heart until her grandparents ask for a name, near the end of the episode.
82	* MagicAIsMagicA: So long as the Crystal Heart is present, the Crystal Empire is protected from the storms of the Frozen North. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 King]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E2TheCrystalEmpirePart2 Sombra's]] reign over the Crystal Empire remained snow-free because he had only kept it hidden from the Crystal Ponies, knowing full well what would happen if he destroyed it himself.
83	* MeaningfulName: Cadance decides to name her child "Flurry Heart" after the disaster she nearly caused, the destruction of the Crystal ''Heart'' and the ''flurry'' of snow that followed.
84	* MythologyGag: Somnambula's Weather Abjuration spell. Somnambula was the name of a G1 antagonist.
85	* NamingCeremony: {{Subverted}}. The titular Crystalling has all the pomp of a royal christening, but "the baby" (as {{lampshaded}} by her grandmare) isn't given a name until she meets her grandparents at the train station at the end of the episode.
86	* NeverSayDie: Rarity laments that the approaching snowstorm would "freeze" them all. Princess Cadance also comments that the snowstorm would "envelop the Crystal Empire" with Twilight finally adding "with us along with it!" This basically meant that if they could not restore the Crystal Heart and stop the storm, they'd have to evacuate the Crystal Empire, or risk Equestria becoming leaderless/defenseless without the Royal Family or the Elements of Harmony bearers to protect it.
87	* NoAntagonist: This is the first two-parter since "Princess Twilight Sparkle" to not have any BigBad driving the conflict, which is instead [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom unwittingly brought about]] by Flurry Heart's [[PowerIncontinence uncontrollable Alicorn magic]].
88	* NonProtagonistResolver:
89	** Since Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy are unable to get the ponies waiting for the Crystalling to leave without flat out telling them the Crystal Heart is shattered, Shining Armor is forced to confess the truth.
90	** Sunburst is the one to come up with the plan to reassemble the Crystal Heart, aided by the Princesses and Starlight.
91	* NoSell: The weather in the Crystal Empire is like that of the Everfree Forest (and real life), uncontrollable by Pegasus magic. Even Luna and Celestia's power can only delay the storm's progress, at the risk of them being lost alongside the rest of the Royal Family, the Mane Six (a.k.a. the bearers of the Elements of Harmony), and the Crystal Empire.
92	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Starlight and Sunburst were so ashamed of revealing their true selves that they were more than a little surprised when they finally dropped the facade and let their {{Old Shame}}s out in the open.
93	* OhCrap:
94	** When Flurry Heart's reflected beam destroys the book with the spell they need to restore the Crystal Heart, the looks on Starlight, Cadance, and Twilight's faces say it all. As for Pinkie...
95	--->'''Pinkie:''' Oops...
96	** Another is when Shining Armor announces the Crystal Heart's destruction to the empire. The Crystal ponies' reaction is this to say the least. It finally moves them out of their apathy.
97	* OldShame: InUniverse. It's hinted that the reason Sunburst never sought out Starlight to rekindle their friendship earlier was because he was ashamed that he wasn't as talented as Starlight believed. Similarly, Starlight regards her actions in the previous season as her OldShame and was ashamed to let Sunburst know about it. Both of them finally confessing about their problems is what allows them to rekindle their friendship and save the day.
98	* PhotographicMemory: Twilight reconstructs the Spell of Relic Reconstitution after ''glancing'' through it once, which is lampshaded by her friends when she doubts her ability to do so. Sunburst, who reads through Twilight's reconstruction, seems to concur that she was accurate. The only reason why it fails is because an ancient and powerful relic like the Crystal Heart, which has been around for millennia, including the early years of Equestria when Celestia and Luna took the throne, requires more than just another spell to fix it.
99	* PillarOfLight: The Crystalling Ceremony concludes with a multicolored pillar of light shooting from the castle's spire and chasing away the black clouds. Unlike many examples of this trope, it isn't temporary: the light is still seen flowing into the sky at the end of the episode.
100	* PowerLimiter: Sunburst gives Shining Armor and Cadance a spell called "Fledgling's Forbearance" to keep Flurry Heart's PowerIncontinence in check. It's shown to work at the end when she sneezes and nothing magical happens.
101	* ReflectingLaser: The magic blast that destroys the book containing the Spell of Relic Reconstitution gets ricocheted off of Rarity's mirror and Shining Armor and Starlight's shields.
102	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething:
103	** Celestia and Luna put their own lives at risk with trying to protect the Crystal Empire from the approaching Frozen North storm clouds. Their efforts to hold back the blizzard are in vain, as they can only do so much before they succumb to the sub-zero weather themselves, risking Equestria losing the entire Royal Family and Elements of Harmony bearers alongside the Crystal Empire if they are unable to evacuate in time.
104	** When attempting the spell to repair and restore the Crystal Heart after Twilight and Cadance's attempt fails, Twilight tries again, this time aided by Celestia and Luna, using several other spells Sunburst provided with Cadance and Shining Armor using one to restrain Flurry Heart's powers, while Starlight handles another regarding the blizzard. Together, they are able to hold the Crystal Heart together long enough for Sunburst to add the crystal from Flurry Heart's Crystalling to completely restore the Crystal Heart into one piece again, allowing it to save the Empire.
105	* RunOrDie: The Mane Five repeatedly tell the Crystal ponies to find shelter or leave. These warnings aren't heeded until Shining Armor spells out why the Crystal Empire is in peril:
106	-->'''Shining Armor:''' The Crystal Heart is '''shattered'''.\
107	'''Bystander:''' It's not safe here!\
108	'''Applejack:''' That's what we've been ''tryin[='=]'' to tell you!
109	* SignificantDoubleCasting: Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle are voiced by Twilight and Shining's voice actors.
110	* ShipTease: The two-parter is filled with a lot of Starlight×Sunburst ChildhoodFriendRomance moments.
111	* ShockAndSwitchEnding: The episode focuses on a baby with [[PowerIncontinence dangerous, uncontrollable magic]]. At the end of the episode, she's about to sneeze and everyone prepares for the worst... but when she sneezes, nothing happens.
112	* ShoutOut:
113	** An incompetent, red-haired magic user with a scruffy beard who knows how magic works, but not how to use it, had a hard time at magic school, and, even though he considers himself a failure, still wears the traditional wizard garb, gets roped into something he wants (at first) no part in, and ends up saving the day. Are we talking about Sunburst or [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Rincewind]]?
114	** A royal baby is held aloft by the court sorcerer while their subjects bow. [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 It's the Circle, The Circle of Life!]] What really drives it home is the camera angle, which is down-pat, and the crystal ponies bowing in the exact same fashion the giraffes do.
115	** Sunburst making a diving attempt to fix a large, broken crystal by stabbing it with a smaller one brings to mind the climax of ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', minus the dead girlfriend and angry vulture people.
116	* SneezeOfDoom: The first sign that the PowerLimiter spell worked is when Flurry's sneeze is ''not'' particularly strong, in contrast to the previous episode.
117	* StealthPun: One of the spectators for the Crystalling has a donkey as a cutie mark and refuses to move from her spot. She's ''stubborn as a mule.''
118	* StockSoundEffects: At the very end of the recap for the previous episode, a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5eaDhCVNJU stock crowd gasp]] can be heard.
119	* StunnedSilence: Starburst does this along with a slight JawDrop after Starlight finally reveals her OldShame. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint He's stunned by her time travel feat rather than all the evil she's done.]]
120	* SuddenlyVoiced: Twilight and Shining Armor's parents have their very first speaking roles in this episode.
121	* TeleportSpam: Flurry Heart starts teleporting all over the library when the gang is trying to find the spell to fix the Crystal Heart. This means cornering her and using butterflies nets are pointless.
122	* TemptingFate: Upon finding the reconstruction spell, Twilight is sure that they can fix things as long as nothing else goes wrong. Cue Flurry's magic beam going right through the book.
123	* TooDumbToLive: The crowd that came to see the Crystalling, which Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy are unable to convince to leave. Granted they had to do it without telling them the Crystal Heart was destroyed to keep them from panicking, but the unnaturally heavy snow and Flurry Heart destroying the castle with laser beams (which they initially mistake for fireworks) should have been enough to tell them that something is wrong. It took Shining Armor finally telling them that the Crystal Heart was shattered for them to start moving and attempt to evacuate the Empire before their stubbornness would've cost Equestria both the Royal Family and the Mane Six as well.
124	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
125	** A promo features Shining Armor and Cadance with Flurry Heart at her Crystalling at the end.
126	** Flurry Heart's name was already revealed in promotional material well before the two-parter aired. The audience knows the character's name before her own parents do.
127	* TwoLinesNoWaiting: As with the previous episode, we follow two storylines: The Mane Six and the Royal Family trying to find a way to repair the Crystal Heart to prevent eternal winter, then trying to pretty much evacuate and abandon the Crystal Empire. And Starlight, with Spike tagging along, trying to reconnect with Sunburst. The two plots eventually converge at the end.
128	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Flurry Heart is the indirect cause of all the episode's problems due to her ''severe'' PowerIncontinence.
129	* WeakButSkilled: Sunburst doesn't have much magic of his own, but he knows ''exactly'' which spell or combination of spells to use for any occasion.
130	-->'''Celestia:''' (''in her Crystal Alicorn appearance'') You may be more of a wizard than you think.
131	* WeatherManipulation: The Crystal Heart is revealed in this two-parter to be the one thing insuring that the Crystal Empire keeps a temperate climate. Without the artifact, neither pegasus cloud-manipulation or even alicorn magic can keep at bay the arctic temperatures and fierce blizzards of the Frozen North.
132	* WhamLine: Courtesy of Sunburst:
133	-->'''Sunburst:''' ''WELL YOU WERE WRONG, OKAY?!'' I'm ''not an important wizard!'' I'm not even a wizard at all!
134	* WorldHealingWave: When the Crystal Heart is fixed, it sends another wave of magic out, pushing back the storm and crystallizing everyone's coats again. However, it's the first time Celestia and Luna experience it since they were not there when it happened the first time back in "The Crystal Empire – Part 2" as they were in Canterlot at the time in case King Sombra did return to power.
135	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre:
136	** Spike manages to convince Starlight that she's not a failure and encourages her to keep trying to reconcile with Sunburst.
137	** Starlight manages to convince Sunburst he can still make a difference even if he's not an important wizard. In the end, he's the one that comes up with a plan to fix the Crystal Heart and re-powering the final piece to save the day.
138	** At the end Spike reassures Twilight that she's just like her own mentor, letting her students have some space to make their own mistakes and learn on their own.
139	* YouWereTryingTooHard: At the end of the episode, Twilight is kicking herself for thinking her step-by-step checklist would be suitable for a friendship lesson, thinking she's failed as a teacher for not being there for Starlight. Spike gives her some encouraging words, saying she should instead simply set her student on the right path and give her just enough space to sort things out on her own, much like Celestia did for her.

Context Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E2TheCrystallingPart2