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Usually not a fan of Angel, but I do like how he here is firm with Fluttershy to get her to go to the brunch with Princess Celestia, and we get the impression that this is something he’s used to having to do with Fluttershy. And of course the intro establishes the great lengths Fluttershy will go to in order to care for animals, here going so far as to give a mouse it’s own wheelchair, which will be important to the themes of the episode after the theme song. Rainbow Dash messing with the Royal Guards made me think of the Queen’s (now King’s, I suppose) Guard. I tried to discover the rationale for why exactly the Queen’s Guard are required to be so stoic so I could analyze why Celestia’s Royal Guard would be behaving similarly, but the best I could glean is that it’s basically meant to project a sense of discipline and power. Even when the Queen’s Guard faint they’re required to ‘faint to attention’, that is, in a stiff standing position, and they’re instructed to just urinate into their trousers rather than take bathroom breaks, so the strict discipline is a little nutty really and honestly I don’t understand it. It might be of note here that these two guards are Pegasi. I don’t feel like Celestia’s guards are as stuffy later on as we meet Shining Armor and the dreaded Flash Sentry. I guess these two as Pegasi would be her personal travelling bodyguard so, it would make sense for them to be a cut above the Palace guards. Celestia messing with the Cakes and tricking them into overfilling her teacup is wonderful, in general I really enjoy Celestia’s character in this episode. Guessing at what a 1000-year-old person would be like is difficult, but I’d like to imagine that a creature like Celestia could be the way that she is. It’s also nice to see that a Mayor has the right to request an audience with the Princess, even though at this stage Equestria may still be quite small – although we got our first glimpses at it being larger last episode, with Appleloosa out beyond the frontier. Also at this social function we see various ponies wearing this sort of skirts that just about cover the cutie mark and flank – unsure if it’s for fashion or some other reason. If it’s for fashion then Rarity’s quite overdressed compared to everyone else. Amethyst Star is wearing hers with a saddle and also a flower in her hair, so she’s the closest to being as dressed up as Rarity – she looks quite cute with the flower in her hair, actually. Also we see a pony carrying a teacup, but not using the handle – wouldn’t it be better to use the handle to place the teacup on your back and carry it that way? I don’t know. Maybe it’s so she can drink her tea while walking. A moment later we see another two carrying their teacups on saucers, that seems like it would be the most sensible. When Celestia leaves and the party wraps up, I’m glad Applejack got to take home some food after all. I wonder if the Cakes gave it to her, or Pinkie? It seems like Mr Cake just ignored Applejack’s eagerness to eat so he could wrap everything up quickly. Spike’s presence as a cook and Twilight’s eagerness to introduce Celestia to her friends as well as knowing who is and isn’t on the ‘list’ when she talks to the guards makes me think that perhaps the whole social gathering is something Twilight organized, perhaps paying for the use of the Cake’s premises and catering. I’ve been torn on slapstick, disliking it in Fall Weather Friends and with the pies in the previous episode, but liking it a lot elsewhere. I love all the gags with it in this episode, mainly involving Philomena. Her blank expressions are very amusing, it’s a great bit of character design really. And it gets even better with Twilight’s tough love treatment. There’s also something very funny about seeing Philomena run on her gangly, bendy legs.