It's near Christmas time, right? It's October? Well they say the holidays start earlier every year! Anyways, let's take a look at Hearth's Warming Eve.
Plot:
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| Sorry but the Princess is in another castle. Try next door. |
The Mane 6 are on their way to Canterlot to act in the Hearth's Warming Eve play, which reenacts the founding of Equestria, with our heroes as the "mane" leads. During the play, it is shown how the three races/tribes of ponies used to fight and how during a particularly bad winter, the trouble came to a boil. The tribes agree to meet to see what can be done, but to no avail. Instead the three tribes leader try to go it alone and find a new land, which they succeed in. However they all find the same land. More fight resumes and the ice which creep onto the old land is now present. Forced into a cave, the leader still continue to bicker and fight over the meager contents of the cave, with the ice slowly creeping in. The leaders are frozen and it appears that all is lost, as the three assistants comfort each other and let go the divisions that separate the tribes. This friendship powers up a flaming heart and causes the ice to melt and all the tribes to work together in living off the new land, which they call Equestria.
What I liked:
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| AJ made the train sound so exciting! |
- The Lore
- The episode is the first real episode which delves into the history of the show, explaining how the state of Equestria was founded. Nice to see everything wasn't always so peachy keen back in the olden days. This episode has so many interesting facts about the pony tribes as well, like the unicorns being able to raise the sun and moon. It's also interesting to note that the Pegasuses are the most militant here and keep up this tradition in the present, although in a less militarist way. And that the Earth ponies are a democracy, given that the leader is a Chancellor.
- Spike
- Best narrator! I love the fact that his accent keeps slipping during the performance, and its nice for him to participate in a way appropriate for him
- The Team-ups
- The paring in this episode was great! I'm always a stickler for some Rainbow Dash-Fluttershy interactions, but the one that really got me was Applejack and Pinkie Pie. These two have such a good chemistry off of one another, with AJ being the only sane mare next to Pinkie Pie's crazyness! And we also get some Rarity Twilight interaction, which the show had been remarkably sparse with. It's also interesting to note both members of the same tribes are the opposite of one another, such as Twilight's practicality vs Rarity's vanity, or Rainbow's aggression against Fluttershy's passivity.
- The Windigoes.
- Interesting monster to have be the villains of the founders of Equestria, given that they feed off hatred, similar to how the Changelings feed off love. I wonder how many other creature in Equestria feed off of the emotions of others.
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| You taste nothing like Marshmallows! |
- It's Not Enough!
- There was so much lore here, but this is the only episode that goes into the history of Equestria with any depth. I want more history writers!
- The Amount of Ponies
- This one I could blame on the in story production costs, but I highly doubt that each tribe would only send two ponies in the search for new lands, especially the Peagueses. I highly doubt you can conquer any land with only two of you! (unless you give them small-pox blankets....well that got dark)
- Burn, Baby. Burn
- Did the founders kill the Windigoes? And wouldn't that be genocide since we don't see them in Equestria anymore? So much for a peaceful utopia!
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| Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operation Pinkie Pie! |
- Earth
- Odd to note that the Earth ponies call the new land the same as what we call our home. Could it just be a coincidence or something more? Probably the former.
- Star-Swirl
- Clover mentions him as her mentor. Given that this was the time before Celestia and Luna, how old was the guy? Was he middle-aged here and nearing old-age when he meet Celestia or is he just extremely long-lived?
Overall: Must See
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| Yin and Yang soon sued for copyright violations |
This episode give so much back story that is must be seen. The lore alone makes this one of the biggest world building episodes in the shows history. It's also got great chemistry between our cast without losing focus or singling any of them out. Celebrate the festive times with this kick ass episode!
