Fade In
It's noon at the Equestria Daily Headquarters. The entire staff sits around a dark table that would make Dr. Strangelove jealous. Someone who is technically a man speaks.
SETHISTO
Our quarterly reports are in. Since I am busy working on Equestria Daily, Cereal is writing the new RariJack spinoff season, we need someone to do this week's followup.
Someone who is technically a blogpony raises his hand.
VICODIN
Me.
SETHISTO
Anyone?
VICODIN
Oh please me.
SETHISTO
Anyone at all? I'll take Phoe or Ferret or the dog.
THE ILLUSTRIOUS Q
I'll take it.
VICODIN
Q I will literally make your life worse than the Fall of the Crystal Empire.
THE ILLUSTRIOUS Q
That is impossible. Also you haven't read it.
VICODIN
This is a Pinkie and Maud Pie episode. If I don't get this, wars will be fought.
SETHISTO
If I give you this followup, will you stop writing this intro?
VICODIN
Maybe. Gift of the Maud Pie followup after the break.
We have reached a point where Pinkie is more terrifying than the TV ratings bar. Also we have a stallion with marmite on his flank. Or vegemite. Or nutella. I'm American, I don't know the difference.
Here is a reference to the "movies that make me feel like I'm less of a person for not seeing them" list: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Silver Quill probably hates me now.
I really like Rarity's dialogue in this episode. Frankly the entire episode is excellent with this type of banter but Rarity's little ostentatious mood seems like her. These new writers look like they're going to aim for visual humor and banter. So far it's working.
/r/ meirl when I see a best pony episode.
It's a little weird that she's freaking out over a city that she visited many times over but I'll dig it.
I was going to put a joke here, but Maud wanted me to tell you all a rock fact instead. A lot of metamorphic rocks are used for building materials, such as sandstone and granite. That's as good as a joke, right?
Pretty sure "M-A-U-D" spells "best secondary character" but they might speak a different language or something.
Now that I see that coffee in the background (which I'm totally living off of to make this followup), I wonder how Maud would act on a cup of coffee? Probably the same.
Those aren't names I recognize. We got some newbies on the block, boys. Time to give them a warm welcome. That pixel on the bottom right is out of center. This episode is garbage.
Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills. That's the Element of Laughter you're frowning at. You're lucky Pinkie is busy or we'd have 22 minutes devoted to making you smile.
I'm having trouble rating Boulder on his sentience. Can you guys help me out?
Sentience Level: Tom > Boulder > Kristin Stewart
I laughed at this more than I should. Rarity is extra funny this episode. Tabitha, stop being amazing and talented. No, Cereal, get away.
I'm pretty sure that most of those pouches are fake. Look at that top one. Those colors and that tie? Real pouches don't need all that glam. REAL POUCHES HAVE CURVES.
I like how Rarity always looks like she's ready to run when Pinkie freaks out. Rarity might have Pinkie Traumatic Stress Disorder. Actually the whole cast probably has it.
Wow we sure are seeing that cannon a lot. That would be a shame if something happens to it.
Who is the pony Statue of Liberty? Yes, that's my question. Not "Who are Celestia's parents" or "Who is Starswirl" or "Where do babies come from?" That's my main focus here. Also I'm being told that the Statue has changed. Shows how much I pay attention when best ponies are in the episode.
I realized why Maud is an easy character to write for. Her tone lets her set up anti-jokes with ease while also playing off of the energetic non-sequiturs that Pinkie spouts like chocolate rain. Oh god I just realized. Chocolate Rain was in season 2. I'm so old. Someone hold me.
I was going to make a joke about rent in New York, but Meghan McCarthy beat me to it. Also Fimfiction featured box, I'm watching you. I don't even have to say it.
Pinkie... Pinkie never changes... Obligatory other joke: Oh hey look, a frosted marshmallow.
Her graceful and elegant pose is possible due to the limiting factors that gravity puts on someone when they jump in the air and spin around. I could do this all day.
Poor dude, he's just trying to eat and Pinkie's crayon invades the bowl like college students at Chipotle.
"If I tell you that I read your fanfic, will you leave me alone?"
I stand by my estimation that all the budget for an episode is put towards the faces. Can you imagine all the faces they have to animate for Maud?
If this guy really wants to, he can use the DNA from that crayon to make a new Pinkie that doesn't throw crayons into bowls. Also this dude is taking ten million years to analyze this crayon. It's like he never saw one before. YouTuber confirmed.
"This one time, at band camp... I saw this rock across the pond." (NSFW link).
It's not about getting the pouch. It's about sending a message. Actually... it is about getting the pouch. But forget you, I'm having a theme here.
/r/ meirl when I forget that Andrea Libman has a restraining order against me and I want an autograph.
Glad to see that he figured out to take the crayon out of his bowl. What a problem solver. We need people like him on our side.
HOLY MOTHER OF DIABETES BATMAN! My teeth hurt from just looking at that.
To be fair she yelled "Surprise" before she jumped at them. "Surprise" is legally binding and holds up in the court of law.
And here we have Rarity dressed up as Tiffany from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." I think. Rumor has it that those rocks are part of EQD. Elitists...
Welcome back to "MayMay Little Pony: References are Dank".
Oh hey it's the shark from "Slice of Life" too. Are they just admitting that we've peaked as a fandom and we can all go home now? Thanks M.A. Larson.
Can Maud talk to other rocks? I don't think she has. If she can, that seems a little weird since she explains all of them. I'd be backpedaling and dialing the cops if someone walked up to me and said "That's ABagOVicodin. He pretends to be funny on the internet."
Let's see. Gold tooth, check. That smirk? Check. Bits for a cutie mark? Check. Congratulations, Pouch Pony. You have evolved into a stereotype! Or a Manhatten resident. Take your pick.
You know Pinkie, you could just fire the cannon and get the pouch for free right now. Pretty sure Season 6 is as good a season as any to teach children that murder is okay if you benefit from it. No? Just me? I'm a psychopath? Well that's rude.
It was at this moment that Pinkie realized that the Taco Bell kicked in.
This is how I interact with my fans. I don't.
This impression is spot on. You got the Season 1 smile and leap, the fast tone, and a woeful ignorance of Pinkie's current sadness. It's like I'm back in the old days.
Now this is an interesting portrayal by Rarity. The Element of Generosity is drawing her line while Pinkie believes that there's a different line when it comes to her family's happiness. Rarity couldn't have been a better candidate for Pinkie's duo in this episode. I'm ashamed that I really didn't notice until this part.
Wow those five seconds just prove that this show is marketed to little girls to sell toys. My immersion is broken. I'm leaving the fandom. My 2 season long fanfic script with a Transformers crossover and The Dark Knight tone is ruined.
Milk went through my nose at this. RIP my keyboard. This just makes me want a song with Maud more. Also that looks like time-traveling Apple Bloom in the background. Season 6 is a Starlight Glimmer AU confirmed.
That's... actually a pretty impressive gift. Even I wouldn't have thought of that, and I'd like to imagine I'm pretty smart with gift giving. Shut up.
Oh god. Code Red. Code Red. The Rock smells what Rarity is cooking. I repeat...
Oh god Rarity, you fold like a cheap suit. Like Spades. The suit of death, which Maud looks like she's about to enact. RIP that shady guy. F.
Are we going to get a "Cupcakes"-esque spinoff where Maud feeds other ponies to Boulder? Pretty sure at this point we agreed that the Pie family are murderers in their spare time.
Maud Sense sounds like something the EQD staff would have when someone says something mean and unnecessary in the comments.
So Maud can break the fourth wall a little bit too. Does it come in the family? From the Sense? There's a video for you, analysts. I expect a royalty check in the mail.
Oh, hey Suri Polomare! I see you in the background right there! Thank god you're right there, so I don't have to look at Maud's terrifying stare. I swear she blinked. Two blinks means death. One means "I'm thinking about death."
Maud explaining the lesson helps in two areas. 1: it's told simply for the target demographic and 2: this type of lesson has needed to be taught to Pinkie for a while. The idea of moderation both with emotion and her excitement can sometimes go overboard, and Maud as one of the most unemotional characters in the show can help Pinkie learn. Not only that, but since Rarity was caught up in the gift giving, this lesson didn't occur to her, which is a neat intricacy. This is FIM 101 at its finest.
Oh my god that smile. Stop being best secondary character. Why is the Pie Family literally full of best ponies? Why is everyone who thinks otherwise objectively wrong? Take your hands off the keyboard, you're getting straw everywhere.
Yeah I don't know about that, Rarity. You might just crack under the pressure from trying to get a gift. Prepare for Lesson Zero v1.2, the patch update.
And here we have the other important focus of the episode. Is it just me, or did Rarity expand to Manehatten a little too quickly? What's that? It doesn't matter because Rarity's attendance in the episode is reliant on the plot? Well... your face.
If one blink is "I'm thinking about death", one wink must mean "I do agree that the military industrial complex has too much of a hand in foreign affairs." Well said, Maud. Well said.
And finally we have the return of the thing that would drive parents crazy if children actually had it: The Party Cannon! Did Pinkie already go through that cupcake confetti? She has more of that than I do jokes. Oh how convenient, followup over.
And that's it for this episode! While the first act's dialogue was mainly exposition, Maud's shenanigans practically made it unnoticeable and the rest of the episode put a modern spin on "The Gift of the Magi" with an apt friendship lesson that we can all enjoy. I had a blast with this episode and I hope you all did as well. I can't wait to see another episode by the Fox Brothers. Make sure to tweet at the writers to thank them for all their hard work! Or you can tweet at me for some reason. Thanks for reading my followup and I'll see you guys soon.
