"Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3"

...Is an episode I remember really enjoying, about Rainbow Dash trying various methods to study for a Wonderbolts Reserves entrance exam, because she just isn't good at studying. I don't think I have ADHD or anything like that, but I have still always despised standardized tests, so this episode really spoke to me when I first watched it as a teenager. So it'll be neat to see if this episode holds up and has an ending as heartwarming as I remember.

This episode also features Pinkie Pie rapping, by the way.

"Trade Ya!"

...Is an episode about barter going badly, and when I say "badly" I mean that Fluttershy almost becomes a stranger's indentured servant at the Rainbow Falls Traders' Exchange in this episode... Yup, this episode is the second and last major appearance of the town of Rainbow Falls, and literally the last memory we make in this town is about Fluttershy almost getting enslaved! Ain't that something!

More notable than that, though, is that this episode features the one-off character Stellar Eclipse — the wheelchair-bound ponysona of one Sylvain-Nicholas LeVasseur-Portelance, a then-teenager with type III spinal muscular atrophy. He got his character on the show through Make-A-Wish, and he even voices his own character in this episode — I believe I remember hearing that his lines were recorded through his phone.

Stellar Eclipse is the first of the four fan-made ponies to appear in MLP G4 through Make-A-Wish.

"Inspiration Manifestation"

...Is an episode in which Rarity is driven to madness by a special magical artifact which was Supposed to cure her creative slump. This episode is also I believe the only My Little Pony episode that sounds like it could've been a Big Bang Theory episode — I'm serious, TBBT had both an episode called "The Inspiration Deprivation" and another episode called "The Meteorite Manifestation", right? Stick those two titles in a particle accelerator and yeah. You get the picture.

(Do we want to semi-hatewatch TBBT some time? Hmmmh.....)

...But anyways, this episode also mentions but doesn't actually feature an event known as the Foal and Filly Fair. Which is a very strangely named event, it's like saying a Children and Girls' Fair, but whatever. Part of this event is evidently pony puppeteering, which I kinda wish we got to see more of, but that's how it goes. It won't be the last time we see puppets in this show.

"Equestria Games"

...Is the conclusion of the Equestria Games arc, and it is, of course, a Spike episode. Did you know Equestrian cities have their own anthems? You will certainly be aware of this fact by the end of this episode.

...I evidently don't have much to say about this one.

"Twilight's Kingdom"

...Concludes the "Chest of Harmony" arc. Remember the five episodes this season where one of the Mane Six got rainbow eyes while looking at some object related to that day's friendship lesson? Well, the relevance of that is gonna be revealed in this two-parter!

This two-parter also considerably changes MLP's status quo — it ruined a fanfic I was writing before I watched it! — though the exact extent of the status quo change in question won't be revealed until the season 5 premiere, which we'll watch next week. And of course, the status quo change in question, which I call "the other pony 9/11", was also derided by fans as another hastily-written attempt to sell toys. But such is life!

Many fans compared the fight scene between Twilight Sparkle and this two-parter's Bad Guy to DBZ I think, which I can only assume is accurate. And may those bees rest in peace, of course.

...You ever think about how the only difference between "bees" and "peace" is voicing? I hadn't thought about that until now.

But yeah, this is a fun two-parter.

• A character in melancholic self-loathing calls herself an ableist term ("Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3")
• A character nearly becomes an indentured servant ("Trade Ya!")
• Harassment of a child ("Trade Ya!")
• Emotional eating ("Inspiration Manifestation")
• A character loses her mind ("Inspiration Manifestation")
• A child fails to live up to unreasonably high expectations in front of a large crowd ("Equestria Games")
• Child and large crowd in peril ("Equestria Games")
• A character's home is destroyed ("Twilight's Kingdom")