Friendship Is Magic S02EP05 - "Sisterhooves Social"

[Motion Paradox]

Wow, their parents are really....wow....at least now we can officially banish the "Sweetie Belle is Rarity's daughter" theory to the moon, Sweetie Belle is more similar to their parents than Rarity is (sorry to anypony who liked that theory, I just find it a bit....)

But is it bad that the first half when Sweetie Belle was ruining everything made me grateful to be an only child?

(I don't care what they say "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" isn't the Golden Rule, that award goes to "Don't touch the clutter")

But I suppose Dinky and the Dolphin Unicorn (Sea Breeze?) could just be step sisters or half sisters to have Dinky be both Derpy's Daughter & Sea Breeze's Sister (hmm....you could even still have Dinky's Father be Doctor Hooves which would make the Pink Unicorn....Jenny Hooves!). Saying that, it seems Ruby Pinch is actually Berry Punch's Sister, not Daughter

Also I really love the little classic movie references they sometimes use with Rarity. And if you look really closely at the end you can actually see the blue eyes

And Rarity's horn appearing from under the hat

[Dessa]

Ruby Pinch's status is still up in the air. She wasn't in this episode. That "Piña Colada / Paradise / Apple Core." Crisis averted.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

And for this episode, Rarity had ligitimate complaints but they were completely ignored. Personally, I would have gone mental with some of the things Sweetie did but she was very mature and held herself back. I understand that Rarity needs to lighten up but I think there also needs to be boundaries. And the lesson about "compromise" isn't very effective when the writers decide that only one person needs to make a change.

Here's the thing. Rarity probably had the chance to say no to her parents about watching Sweetie Belle, or could have tried to pawn her off on somepony else. But she didn't, so it was her responsibility to entertain Sweetie Belle. I don't mean all day 24/7, but you can't just leave a kid alone and not give them anything to play with or do.

I have babysat kids before, and when you volunteer or get asked to do that, you make a commitment. You can bring your homework or a book or whatever for when the kid is napping or something, but when that child is awake, you need to do activities with them. Kids can play alone for a certain amount of time, but they get bored. When you're watching a kid, they, and their parents, expect you to spend some time with them. It's what you do because that's your responsibility when you commit to that.

Like I said, at the very least, you need to give them something to do if you're busy. You can't just let them sit around, or they make art projects from your special jewels. Sweetie Belle seems capable of taking care of herself, but there aren't any toys at Rarity's house. She resorted to arts and crafts, but got in trouble--all because the babysitter failed to provide necessary playthings.

I mean ya, she shouldn't have touched Rarity's stuff--but she's not old enough to understand things that are "rare" and "valuable". Also, Rarity never specified what Sweetie Belle could and couldn't touch--although that would probably be EVERYTHING. I would say that yes, Rarity had legitimate complaints... but you have to realize that they were probably her fault. Rarity never set any boundaries for Sweetie Belle to follow, so technically she didn't break any rules.

I think that Rarity realizes this, which is why it takes her anger awhile to build up. She knows that Sweetie Belle is young and doesn't know any better--but Rarity also doesn't try to correct the situation, she just sends Sweetie Belle somewhere else. In doing so, Sweetie Belle seems to get into more trouble--but again, it's not really her fault.

[Manestream]

hehe, loved the episode x'3 it was really cute.

[teygrim]

Here's the thing. Rarity probably had the chance to say no to her parents about watching Sweetie Belle, or could have tried to pawn her off on somepony else. But she didn't, so it was her responsibility to entertain Sweetie Belle. I don't mean all day 24/7, but you can't just leave a kid alone and not give them anything to play with or do.

I have babysat kids before, and when you volunteer or get asked to do that, you make a commitment. You can bring your homework or a book or whatever for when the kid is napping or something, but when that child is awake, you need to do activities with them. Kids can play alone for a certain amount of time, but they get bored. When you're watching a kid, they, and their parents, expect you to spend some time with them. It's what you do because that's your responsibility when you commit to that.

Like I said, at the very least, you need to give them something to do if you're busy. You can't just let them sit around, or they make art projects from your special jewels. Sweetie Belle seems capable of taking care of herself, but there aren't any toys at Rarity's house. She resorted to arts and crafts, but got in trouble--all because the babysitter failed to provide necessary playthings.

I mean ya, she shouldn't have touched Rarity's stuff--but she's not old enough to understand things that are "rare" and "valuable". Also, Rarity never specified what Sweetie Belle could and couldn't touch--although that would probably be EVERYTHING. I would say that yes, Rarity had legitimate complaints... but you have to realize that they were probably her fault. Rarity never set any boundaries for Sweetie Belle to follow, so technically she didn't break any rules.

I think that Rarity realizes this, which is why it takes her anger awhile to build up. She knows that Sweetie Belle is young and doesn't know any better--but Rarity also doesn't try to correct the situation, she just sends Sweetie Belle somewhere else. In doing so, Sweetie Belle seems to get into more trouble--but again, it's not really her fault.

I agree with you 100% and I think that this episode should have been about responsibility but instead they tried to make it about compromise. Just look at Apple Jack's little speach. She says that sisterhood is about "give and take" and that Rarity was taking much more than she was giving. This isn't really evident in the episode, because Rarity wasn't "taking" what Sweetie was trying to offer, she was just ignoring her and trying to keep her out of the way. I just don't feel that the lesson matched the conflict. I think that they should have either made the lesson about responsibility or, if they wanted to keep the lesson, then have the episode resolve with a compromise between both ponies not just a change in Rarity.

[Bright Glow]

It's a very intresting episode I was surprised when I saw that Raity and Sweetie Belle's mother doesn't have any cutie mark . I imagined that Rarity was coming from a higher sociated family because her manner but it seems it comes from her element I guess. The epsode didn't gave me any answer why we could never see her and Sweetie Belle's pearants when they are living with them.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

The epsode didn't gave me any answer why we could never see her and Sweetie Belle's pearants when they are living with them.

Rarity's parents don't live with her. They live... somewhere else, the show doesn't tell us. Sweetie Belle lives with them, although why we haven't seen them with her sooner is another matter. They were just stopping by Rarity's house to drop off Sweetie Belle before their trip. That was why Sweetie Belle had all those suitcases.

[FrankT]

It was a lovely episode, I'll say that!

[BaconofChaos]

(I don't care what they say "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" isn't the Golden Rule, that award goes to "Don't touch the clutter")

Amen! I may not have a sister but I have a mother who likes to spontaneously tidy, so I know the feeling.

It's a very intresting episode I was surprised when I saw that Raity and Sweetie Belle's mother doesn't have any cutie mark .

She was wearing pants, you wouldn't see her cutie mark.

You know, watching that scene again... her mother has a much longer horn than Rarity. Length of horn indicates age? I guess that would make Blueblood much older than Rarity too. Or maybe horn lengths just vary. Who knows?

[Bright Glow]

Socks are now canon, apparently.

Maybe they're for Lyra Heartstrings.

Ponies With socks!YAY! It's good to see how many type of of clothes are hiding in the ponies' wardrobe even if we can't see them using tose clothes. I guess if they have those clothes than I can belive they might have swimsuit/bathingsuit for those time when they go to swim to a swimming pool, too bad we couldn't see the CMC wear bathingsuit I guess they would look cute that way. I can't help but I like to imagince ponies in differenc clothes since we know they have got different clothes.

[Bramble Rose]

But on another note, has anyone else been disappointed with the resolutions of the past two episodes. I mean, last episode, Luna only wanted to be accepted but, in the end, she just had to accept that she was feared and ostracised because it amused the Ponyville folk (ie the episode ended in the same place it started). And for this episode, Rarity had ligitimate complaints but they were completely ignored. Personally, I would have gone mental with some of the things Sweetie did but she was very mature and held herself back. I understand that Rarity needs to lighten up but I think there also needs to be boundaries. And the lesson about "compromise" isn't very effective when the writers decide that only one person needs to make a change.

I actually really *like* the result. There's often a place for recognizing that the world WILL NOT change for your convenience... and instead of needing to change everything, one needs to accept and understand better, to look at the positives instead of the negatives. That's what Luna was doing. And that was the BIGGEST lesson Luna needed, because refusing to look at the positive and trying to change everything was the mistake she made 1000 years ago.

One of the most annoying problems I see in this world are people going "I want everyone to accept me in exactly the way I want to be accepted" and refusing to accept anything else.

As for Rarity's 'legitimate complaints' ...

Here's the thing. Rarity probably had the chance to say no to her parents about watching Sweetie Belle, or could have tried to pawn her off on somepony else. But she didn't, so it was her responsibility to entertain Sweetie Belle. I don't mean all day 24/7, but you can't just leave a kid alone and not give them anything to play with or do.

I have babysat kids before, and when you volunteer or get asked to do that, you make a commitment. You can bring your homework or a book or whatever for when the kid is napping or something, but when that child is awake, you need to do activities with them. Kids can play alone for a certain amount of time, but they get bored. When you're watching a kid, they, and their parents, expect you to spend some time with them. It's what you do because that's your responsibility when you commit to that.

Like I said, at the very least, you need to give them something to do if you're busy. You can't just let them sit around, or they make art projects from your special jewels. Sweetie Belle seems capable of taking care of herself, but there aren't any toys at Rarity's house. She resorted to arts and crafts, but got in trouble--all because the babysitter failed to provide necessary playthings.

I mean ya, she shouldn't have touched Rarity's stuff--but she's not old enough to understand things that are "rare" and "valuable". Also, Rarity never specified what Sweetie Belle could and couldn't touch--although that would probably be EVERYTHING. I would say that yes, Rarity had legitimate complaints... but you have to realize that they were probably her fault. Rarity never set any boundaries for Sweetie Belle to follow, so technically she didn't break any rules.

I think that Rarity realizes this, which is why it takes her anger awhile to build up. She knows that Sweetie Belle is young and doesn't know any better--but Rarity also doesn't try to correct the situation, she just sends Sweetie Belle somewhere else. In doing so, Sweetie Belle seems to get into more trouble--but again, it's not really her fault.

Mostly this.

But also - you rarely have 'legitimate complaints' against little kids. They can be wrong and you punish them - to teach them what's wrong. You can be active with them and show them how to do things right - to teach them what's right. But just yelling at them or telling them something is wrong rarely gets through. The fault usually falls upon the caregiver, not the kid.

The degree of how good the kid learns is up to how well you provide punishment, reward, and instruction. You need to be very active with them - which is what Rarity was learning. Rarity is good at giving to ponies - but kids respond poorly to having things given to them. They become spoiled, they become demanding, they reject it, they don't value it, but rarely does it work as expected. What they need most is instruction, activity, and interaction.

Rarity wanted to either have Sweetie do it, or do it herself. Doing it *together* was the problem.

I am, however, surprised that she understood AJ's apple pie example.

[teygrim]

I actually really *like* the result. There's often a place for recognizing that the world WILL NOT change for your convenience... and instead of needing to change everything, one needs to accept and understand better, to look at the positives instead of the negatives. That's what Luna was doing. And that was the BIGGEST lesson Luna needed, because refusing to look at the positive and trying to change everything was the mistake she made 1000 years ago.

One of the most annoying problems I see in this world are people going "I want everyone to accept me in exactly the way I want to be accepted" and refusing to accept anything else.

I strongly disagree. The whole episode revolved around Twilight helping Luna change her ways so that she may be more socially acceptable in modern times but the writers just gave up and pretended that there was no problem in the first place. I'm just not satisfied that, in a show about friendship, the resolution is that Luna just needs to get over being singled out and ostracised because everyone else is enjoying themselves.

But also - you rarely have 'legitimate complaints' against little kids. They can be wrong and you punish them - to teach them what's wrong. You can be active with them and show them how to do things right - to teach them what's right. But just yelling at them or telling them something is wrong rarely gets through. The fault usually falls upon the caregiver, not the kid.

The degree of how good the kid learns is up to how well you provide punishment, reward, and instruction. You need to be very active with them - which is what Rarity was learning. Rarity is good at giving to ponies - but kids respond poorly to having things given to them. They become spoiled, they become demanding, they reject it, they don't value it, but rarely does it work as expected. What they need most is instruction, activity, and interaction.

Rarity wanted to either have Sweetie do it, or do it herself. Doing it *together* was the problem.

I am, however, surprised that she understood AJ's apple pie example.

Again, I don't disagree. It's not the morals that I have an issue with; it's the storytelling. If this was about taking responsibility, then the episode should have focused on Rarity but, instead, Sweetie got more screen time. A responsibility moral would have worked much better in this episode, but I felt that the writers were trying too hard to push a compromise message that just didn't exist in the actual episode.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

In regards to the message of compromise. It might have fallen flat in the first half of the episode when Sweetie Belle was doing everything she could to make her sister happy, but in the latter half of the episode, she was uncompromisingly opposed to having anything to do with Rarity. Thats where Sweetie Belle's need for compromise comes in. She needed to accept that her sister made a mistake and let her back in.

((As for Luna: Her first order of business was to try to take away a cherished institution that everypony loved without realizing the consequences. She's a Princess. To paraphrase a wise cartoon character, "there's more to being a Princess than getting your way all the time. Twilight helped her see just how special she was.))

[BlindJester]

After watching it again I realize that 'Applejack's' eyes were blue since she got out of the mud pit. Oh the details.

[BaconofChaos]

Discuss

[Acynder]

Discuss

*Has heart attack*

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Magnum works for me, though I wonder about the football cutie mark. The big question that's burning on my mind though is if he's an Earth Pony or a Unicorn.

[BaconofChaos]

hi hi

Magnum works for me, though I wonder about the football cutie mark. The big question that's burning on my mind though is if he's an Earth Pony or a Unicorn.

I don't know anything about the character but apparantly he used to be a football player.

I suppose it is possible that he's an Earth Pony, but it's more likely that the hat is hiding his horn (Much like Trixie's hat, it must be bigger on the inside. Unicorns can do that).

He has the same cutie mark as that pegasus from Cloudsdale... Rarity's long lost brother?

[JCtheBrony]

I'm calling him Magnum Pigskin from now on. I reckon it's redneck enough.

[Dutchmouse]

This is hands down my favorite episode of season 2, and mostly because of the discussion concerning the definition of the word uncouth between AJ and AB. Those two are awesome and adorable sisters:

"But what's uncouth?"

"It means uncivilized, bad manners."

"BURRRRRRRP!!"

"EX-actly!"

Awesome.

[HopeFox]

I'd also like to praise this episode for being harder hitting than I would have expected from a children's show, even this one. What happened between Rarity and Sweetie Belle was more than just a typical flare-up in a sisterly relationship. Rarity really did have cause to fear that Sweetie Belle was never going to speak to her again. To have one's relationship with an important family member break forever is a very serious fear for a lot of adults.

[Northern Lights]

In regards to the message of compromise. It might have fallen flat in the first half of the episode when Sweetie Belle was doing everything she could to make her sister happy, but in the latter half of the episode, she was uncompromisingly opposed to having anything to do with Rarity. Thats where Sweetie Belle's need for compromise comes in. She needed to accept that her sister made a mistake and let her back in.

I also saw by the end she was doing stuff Rarity liked as well (I imagine dress-up is NOT Sweetie Belle's idea of the best thing ever, but Rarity loves it). I think the show did a good job of showing that you can enjoy yourself while compromising, and even if it's not the most fun, it's nice to let others do things that are fun for them as well.

I really like that the show doesn't show everything from the perspective of the smaller child, as is typical for these shows. Rarity had her unreasonable moments but it was pretty obvious Sweetie Belle was doing things she shouldn't as well, rather than just turn it into "Arg adults are so unreasonable!" (or on the other hand "Arg, little sisters are such a pain and always mess things up" which would also have been a poor message). And I liked that it implied from Applejack's talk that even she does things that might be more fun for her sister than her, that she's not the fun sister simply because she likes cool fun stuff, but that it takes work to be seen as that.

I can't say this was my favorite show of the season, but I think as a show I'd show kids it's way up there. The lessons are good, and it was nice to see the first fully non-Twilight letter. Rarity has shown she has great inner strength before, what she LIKES and what she'll do when she needs to are two different things. She's a fancy refined pony, but I wasn't surprised to see she'd get muddy if it meant keeping from loosing her sister's respect and love.

On a final note, as a big sister, I gotta say, I felt for Rarity a lot

[teygrim]

In regards to the message of compromise. It might have fallen flat in the first half of the episode when Sweetie Belle was doing everything she could to make her sister happy, but in the latter half of the episode, she was uncompromisingly opposed to having anything to do with Rarity. Thats where Sweetie Belle's need for compromise comes in. She needed to accept that her sister made a mistake and let her back in.

I don't know about that. It's not much of a compromise is Sweetie has to be tricked into working with her sister.

((As for Luna: Her first order of business was to try to take away a cherished institution that everypony loved without realizing the consequences. She's a Princess. To paraphrase a wise cartoon character, "there's more to being a Princess than getting your way all the time. Twilight helped her see just how special she was.))

That's just it isn't it. They made the episode about "the true meaning of halloween" instead of about friendship. The more I think about it the more I feel sorry for Luna. She comes to Ponyville looking for acceptance and leaves learning that being feared is a good thing. Not a great start for her.

[Northern Lights]

Apropos to nothing:

[Xiee]

Love Rarity's "Wet hair" look.