Hearts and Hooves Day
The Cutie Mark Crusaders meddle with a love potion on Hearts and Hooves Day.
"Hearts and Hooves Day" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, written by Meghan McCarthy and directed by James Wootton. It first aired on The Hub on February 11, 2012, and became the second-highest rated program ever to air on that network. The episode follows the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they attempt to create a romantic relationship between their teacher Cheerilee and Apple Bloom's brother Big McIntosh using a love potion.
Quick Facts
- Series
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
- Writer
- Meghan McCarthy
- Director
- James Wootton
- Editor
- Mark Kuehnel; Rob Renzetti (story)
- Air date
- 11 February 2012
- Length
- 22 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The Cutie Mark Crusaders—Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle—learn that their teacher Cheerilee has no special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day. They decide to find her a partner and settle on Apple Bloom's older brother, Big McIntosh. Their initial attempt to set up a romantic meeting using false pretenses fails. The trio then encounters Twilight Sparkle reading a book about Hearts and Hooves Day that includes a recipe for a love potion. Borrowing the book, the Crusaders brew the potion and lure Cheerilee and Big McIntosh to a romantic setting, where both drink it and instantly fall obsessively in love, ignoring everything else. Consulting the book again, the Crusaders discover the potion is actually a poison that once caused chaos in Equestria when a prince and princess became too lovestruck to rule. The remedy requires keeping the two ponies apart for one hour. The Crusaders convince Cheerilee to look for a wedding dress and Big McIntosh to select a wedding jewel, separating them. Sweetie Belle barricades Cheerilee inside Carousel Boutique, but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo lose track of Big McIntosh at the jewelry store. As he races back, Apple Bloom fails to slow him down. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo dig a pit, but when Big McIntosh falls in, his cries alert Cheerilee, who bursts out and jumps into the pit. With seconds left before the hour ends, the spell wears off. The Crusaders apologize for their selfish meddling, and Cheerilee and Big McIntosh accept the apology but assign them to do Big McIntosh's chores at Sweet Apple Acres for the day. The two older ponies walk off together, leaving their actual relationship ambiguous.
Broadcast and reception
The episode aired on February 11, 2012, and was watched by an estimated 316,000 children aged 2 to 11. It became the second-highest rated program ever broadcast by The Hub at the time. Before the premiere, the network ran a My Little Pony Fan Favorites Mare-A-Thon that significantly boosted ratings, with gains among kids aged 6–11 of over 165%, kids aged 2–11 of over 160%, women aged 18–49 of over 233%, adults aged 18–49 of over 168%, and households of over 178%. An encore presentation on February 14 was viewed by over 11,000 kids aged 6–11 and in over 61,000 households. Critical reception was largely positive. Sherilyn Connelly, author of Ponyville Confidential, gave the episode a B rating. Raymond Gallant of Freakin Awesome Network rated it 8.5 out of 10, calling it another quality episode of a quality season and praising the Cutie Mark Crusaders as entertaining and hilarious, though he noted Twilight Sparkle's naivety felt out of place. A review from Republibot commented that romantic episodes of non-romantic shows are difficult, especially for a children's show, but the episode succeeded by emphasizing responsibility and not interfering with others' relationships, and praised the animation.
More in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Episodes
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced