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The Pinkie episode! I love the singing party telegram (even though I would hate to actually have to receive one) and notably, Pinkie gets tired out from doing it, even with the Twinkling Balloon to help her get around. In a meta sense this is when Pinkie’s reality-bending powers are less a relied-upon cliché, making her efforts more real – but could this also be in-universe her being not yet as acquainted with her unawareness-dependent Earth pony magic as she will be later in the series, carrying on from my earlier theories about her abilities??… No, I think stretching it that far is silly, though I do still have my eyes peeping around for anything that confirms or indeed denies my pet theory on the subject. Having said all that, this episode is where I think things perhaps start to really take a turn for the worse with Pinkie Pie’s characterization: not in terms of within this episode specifically, as such, but for a potential precedent being set. I think within this episode the paranoia angle is really about playing out overthinking such a low-stakes problem as comedy, and Pinkie Pie’s repeated use of her reality-bending powers to a more extreme extent than usual also I think goes along with the overall comedic theme of the episode, but these both help establish two things that later become much more core parts of Pinkie’s character, namely her paranoia and her ‘powers’. Having said that, I think an alternative interpretation is also possible: namely, that perhaps this is sort of always what she was planned to be, and this is an early manifestation of that. Later in the show’s development, this becomes the staff’s answer on Magical Mystery Cure, so I have a feeling the same might be said by them about this episode and Pinkie Pie’s later characterisation. So I suppose it’s ultimately a matter of interpretation. Furthermore, this kind of paranoid thinking is the kind of thing I’m very used to doing, and it leads me to be more isolated and I was an introvert to begin with, so for Pinkie Pie to manifest it is unusual, perhaps comedic in juxtaposing it with her more normal nature (the way she interrogates Spike and the party she holds with the inanimate objects, for instance, show that even in her biggest breakdowns she can only think within quite innocent, Ponylike parameters, reinforcing the comedy of Pinkie of all people acting this way). Although of course, the extremes of her hyperactivity does also lend her character to that kind of interpretation even before this episode, as Cupcakes (which came out before this episode) demonstrates. I guess, frankly, I would have redone Pinkie’s character just slightly even for season 1 if I could have, because she’s already edging closer to flanderization already just with this episode and the show’s only in it’s first season. Though again, outside of the context of the wider show, I don’t think this episode breaks Pinkie’s character (just lays the foundation for it to be broken later) and the whole setup is very funny. I think if it weren’t for the comedy potential of having this situation happen to Pinkie, this would have been a Twilight episode.

Other highlights: the rest of the Mane 6’s refusals being set up as if they genuinely don’t want to attend by having Pinkie pull pranks on Applejack and Rainbow Dash (resulting in Gummy getting to essentially kiss Rainbow Dash – I wonder if Dashie waifufags get jealous during this scene), gross out Rarity, and knock down Twilight and Fluttershy; Spike taking Rarity’s bins out and being smitten even by her insulting description of his smell; and Pinkie Pie doing all the voices for her imaginary friends. I rate this episode 7.4, solidly enjoyable and funny.