Games Ponies Play
Twilight and friends try to impress an inspector for the Equestria Games.
In the third season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, the 64th episode overall is "Games Ponies Play," which aired on The Hub on February 9, 2013. James Wootton directed it, and Dave Polsky wrote it. This episode runs concurrently with the prior one, "Just for Sidekicks." The story follows Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack as they try to persuade a visiting inspector to choose the Crystal Empire as the site for the Equestria Games.
Quick Facts
- Series
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Director
- James Wootton
- Writer
- Dave Polsky
- Air date
- 9 February 2013
- Length
- 22 minutes
- Guests
- Patricia Drake as Ms. Peachbottom; Veena Sood as Ms. Harshwhinny
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Twilight Sparkle and her friends travel to the Crystal Empire, which is being considered to host the Equestria Games, the largest sporting event in Equestria. They leave their pets behind with Spike. Upon arrival, they meet Princess Cadance at a spa. While enjoying the spa's amenities, a messenger informs Princess Cadance that the games inspector, Ms. Harshwhinny, will arrive in fifteen minutes, earlier than expected. The ponies panic, but Twilight calms them and sends Rarity to prepare Cadance's headdress while the others go to the train station. When a yellow pony with a floral-print suitcase steps off the train, they assume she is Ms. Harshwhinny and welcome her. The friends show the supposed inspector the castle; she appears to have claustrophobia and altocelarophobia, so she is eager to go outside. Before exiting, they perform a cheer, and the pony seems surprised that Cadance knows her. They then take her to the newly-built stadium, where she runs across the track, delighted to be on vacation. The friends realize they have mistaken her for Ms. Peachbottom. They rush back to the train station, but Ms. Harshwhinny, who also has a floral-print bag, has already arrived and is getting a hooficure at the spa. She complains to Cadance that no one welcomed her, prompting Rainbow Dash to confess their error. After hearing about Ms. Peachbottom, the inspector announces the Crystal Empire as the next host. The Crystal Ponies' enthusiasm supercharges the Crystal Heart, sending a beam of light into the sky. As the friends board the train home, Applejack hears growling; Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the six pets are hiding under the seats, depicting the climax of "Just for Sidekicks".
Reception
Sherilyn Connelly, author of Ponyville Confidential, gave the episode an "A" rating and described it, along with "Just for Sidekicks", as the highest point of the season, calling the two-parter an "interesting experiment in story structure." Ethan Lewis of Den of Geek called the episode both "highly unusual" and "wonderful," praising how it managed to sneak in a couple lessons. Daniel Alvarez of Unleash the Fanboy gave "Games Ponies Play" 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a "pretty solid" and "really great episode," and remarked it as one of the best season 3 episodes, complimenting the story, character moments, and appearances of Princess Cadance.
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