| Castle Mane-ia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season №: | 4 |
| Season episode №: | 3 |
| Overall episode №: | 68 |
| Original airdate: | November 30, 2013 |
| Written by: | Josh Haber |
| Storyboard: | Emmett Hall and Tony Cliff[1] |
| See also | |
| credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation | |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2 |
Next Daring Don't |
Castle Mane-ia (titled as Castle-Mania by some sources[citation needed]) is the third episode of the fourth season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the sixty-eighth episode overall. In this episode, the Mane Six end up exploring the same old castle for different reasons and unwittingly scare each other in the process. The title of the episode is an allusion to the videogame series Castlevania by Konami.[2]
Production and release
Writer Josh Haber's inspiration for the episode was Scooby-Doo.[3]
On November 26 and 27, 2013, the episode was extracted from the website code of the Hub Network's website Hubworld.com and leaked on the internet at 360p.
Summary
The most daring pony
At the Golden Oak Library, while Twilight Sparkle laments her lack of progress in researching how to open the locked chest that sprouted from the Tree of Harmony, Princess Celestia sends her a letter suggesting that she search for answers in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Twilight and Spike travel to the castle and discover a large library still intact, and despite Spike's complaints about staying in the ruins, Twilight determines to study there late into the night.
At Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie Pie commentates as Rainbow Dash and Applejack compete for the title of "most daring pony" by staring at each other while covered in bees. When the beekeeper unexpectedly recalls his bees, however, Applejack challenges Rainbow to a different contest located the Everfree Forest while Pinkie leaves to test a new bell at the Ponyville Schoolhouse.
Inside the castle
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Angel follow Rarity to the Castle of the Two Sisters to help her gather old tapestries for restoration. They find a large wall hanging soon after they arrive, though as Fluttershy flies behind the hanging to dismount it, she ends up activating a mechanism that rotates the entire wall to the opposite side. When the wall rotates back moments later, Rarity decides that the hanging is too heavy and begins leading the group down a hallway, only for her and Fluttershy to immediately fall through a trapdoor. The sudden separation alarms Angel and causes him to run off in panic.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash arrive at the castle and eventually determine that whoever stays longer wins the "most daring pony" title. Applejack mentions how Granny Smith used to say that some of Nightmare Moon's dark magic remains at the castle and takes the form of the "Pony of Shadows" when night falls. Rainbow appears unimpressed with the legend, but when the wall hanging behind them appears to move on its own, the two ponies run away in fear.
In the castle library, as Twilight and Spike report making no progress in their research, Angel appears and accidentally leads Spike to reveal a small study hidden behind a bookshelf. Twilight finds a book inside titled "The Journal of the Two Sisters" and begins to read it, eventually finding reference to something called the "Organ to the Outside".
Rarity and Fluttershy find themselves in a small room beneath the trap door. Using magic light from her horn, Rarity finds a small opening in the wall and reaches her hoof through only to draw back in horror moments later when she feels something alive on the other side. Presuming this to be Angel, Fluttershy puts her own hoof through the hole and finds a lever that spins the wall around and places the pair in a dark corridor. While Fluttershy begins searches around for Angel, Rarity spots two large tapestries in an adjoining room and walks over to try dismounting them with her magic.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash descend a spiral staircase and find a hallway featuring torch wall-mounts shaped like pony legs. As they proceed down the hallway, a white hoof appears from a hole in the wall and wraps around Rainbow's head, causing the pair to panic and run off. They eventually reach a corridor lined with old armor sets and begin fretfully making their way across.
The Organ to the Outside
Elsewhere in the castle, a cloaked figure begins playing a large pipe organ that sets off various trap doors around the building as keys are pressed. This ends up separating Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, who become paranoid with fear such that they break into panicked hysteria after unknowingly bumping into each other at the same time. Twilight hears the commotion and investigates, eventually bringing calm to the group by magically freezing them in place. While the ponies are relieved to be reunited, they remain uneasy about the organ music and head out together to find its source.
The ponies eventually come across the cloaked figure playing the organ in a large room and cautiously approach. Initially supposing it to be the Pony of Shadows, Twilight magically tears off the cloak to reveal Pinkie Pie, who explains that she ended up ringing the school bell for only five minutes before heading into the Everfree Forest to gather bluebells, though upon seeing Fluttershy and Rarity entering the castle, she decided to follow them to join in on what she assumed was group party about scaring each other.
Back in the hidden study in the library, Twilight explains to her friends that reading the princesses' journal helped ease her fears:
- "Knowing something about the past made it easier to deal with my problems in the present, even the scary ones."
- — Twilight Sparkle
Twilight suggests that they keep their own collective journal so they can learn from each other, to which everyone agrees.
Quotes
- For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.
- Pinkie Pie: This is the most daring dare anypony ever dared dare another pony to dare!
- Rainbow Dash and Applejack: Huh?
- Applejack: When Nightmare Moon was banished, not every last bit of her dark magic went with her. Granny used to say, when night falls on the castle, that magic takes the form of... the Pony of Shadows!
- Rainbow Dash: You mean, like a ghost?
- Applejack: [spookily] Nopony knows!
- Rainbow Dash: Ugh.
- Rainbow Dash: W-what's the matter? It's just a dark hallway full of... disembodied pony legs.
- Applejack: Yeah. Nothin'... creepy about that.
- Rarity: Of all the castles in Equestria, this is by far the most ungrateful!
- Twilight Sparkle: What in the world is that?!
- Spike: Oh, you know. Probably just more strange sounds of this old castle falling apart!
- Twilight Sparkle: No one likes sarcasm, Spike.
- Twilight Sparkle: Have you all spent the whole night running around scaring each other?
- Applejack: Well, that depends.
- Twilight Sparkle: On what?
- Rainbow Dash: On whether or not you're the Pony of Shadows.
- Fluttershy: I can't believe I was so frightened. Guess I let my imagination get the best of me.
- Applejack: I think we all did.
- Pinkie Pie: I always let my imagination run away from me! Then it comes back... with cake!
Gallery
References
- ↑ Jim Miller (2013-11-30). @TheBiggestJim Today's #MLPSeason4 episode .... Twitter. Retrieved on 2013 November 30.
- ↑ Josh Haber (2013-11-12). Um... Of course!. Twitter. Retrieved on 2013 November 12.
- ↑ Josh Haber (2013-11-30). Twitter / joshhaber: 5. Honestly? Scooby Doo. I .... Retrieved on 2013 December 5.
| Episodes, films, and animated shorts |
|---|
| Pony Life | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make Your Mark | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| Episode 1 Izzy Does It |
Episode 2 Growing Pains |
Episode 3 Portrait of a Princess |
Episode 4 Ali-Conned |
|
|
|
|
|
| Episode 5 The Cutie Mark Mix-Up |
Episode 6 The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over |
Episode 7 Hoof Done It? |
Episode 8 Have You Seen This Dragon? |
|
|
|
|
|
| Episode 9 Top Remodel |
Episode 10 The Jinxie Games |
Episode 11 Sunny Side Up |
Episode 12 The Manesquerade Ball |
|
|
|
|
|
| Episode 13 A Little Horse |
Episode 14 Missing the Mark |
Episode 15 Cutie Blossom Bash |
Episode 16 Family Trees Pt. 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Episode 17 Family Trees Pt. 2 |
Episode 18 Father of the Bridlewood |
Episode 19 Mane Smelody |
Episode 20 Nightmare on Mane Street |
|
|
|
|
|
| Episode 21 The Isle of Scaly |
Episode 22 Roots of All Evil Pt. 1 |
Episode 23 Roots of All Evil Pt. 2 |
|
| Feature films | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| Equestria Girls | Rainbow Rocks | Friendship Games | Legend of Everfree |
|
|
||
| My Little Pony The Movie | A New Generation | ||
| Specials | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| Dance Magic | Movie Magic | Mirror Magic | Forgotten Friendship |
|
|
|
|
| Rollercoaster of Friendship | Best Gift Ever | Spring Breakdown | Rainbow Roadtrip |
|
|
|
|
| Sunset's Backstage Pass | Holidays Unwrapped | Make Your Mark | Winter Wishday |
|
|
||
| Bridlewoodstock | Secrets of Starlight | ||
| Animated shorts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rainbow Rocks shorts | Friendship Games shorts | Summertime Shorts | Equestria Girls: Better Together (season 1) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Equestria Girls: Better Together (season 2) | Equestria Girls: Choose Your Own Ending (season 1) | Equestria Girls: Choose Your Own Ending (season 2) | Equestria Girls Minis |
|
|
|
|
| Baby Flurry Heart's Heartfelt Scrapbook | Rarity's Peek Behind the Boutique | Fundamentals of Magic | My Little Pony Established 1983 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Friendship is Magic shorts | Hello Pinkie Pie | Stop Motion Shorts | Tell Your Tale (season 1) |
|
|
|||
| Tell Your Tale (season 2) | |||