Fillies, gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Recap/Review. This week the spotlight of the show once again shines on our favorite little purple dragon. Eeyup, it’s another Spike episode. But after the last Spike-themed episode produced one of the season’s finest, is there a chance this episode could be better? Or was this “Dragon Quest” just a case of blowing hot air? Let’s take a look.
We open the episode as the ponies are preparing for the upcoming great dragon migration. Every pony is ready to see the dragons fly across Ponyville, except of course for Fluttershy, who despite being able to conquer her fear against one dragon, is still deathly afraid of large dragons. And despite the best intentions of her friends in trying to get her to conquer her fear, as well as a hold up her end of a deal with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy still manages to make a hasty, yet adorable retreat.
Only the manliest of dragons wear aprons
The rest of the mane six watch on as the dragon migration occurs, which has dragons of all shapes and sizes flying about. Well, all dragons except Spike of course. Spike begins to get angry as the other ponies comment on how he’s not like the other dragons, mainly because of how small and cute he is. That night, Spike is still going on about it, and begins to have worries about who he is, and how he belongs with other dragons. Twilight searches through her books for information, but winds up fruitless. since ponies know nothing about Dragons.
Spike decides that the only way he’ll ever truly find out about himself is if he embarks on a quest of his own. So, he decides to leave home to join the great dragon migration. However, Rarity and Rainbow Dash strongly object to it, and try to get him to change his mind. Twilight however lets Spike go off to discover the answers he seeks. Of course Twilight isn’t going to let Spike head off on his own to get hurt, so the three ponies plan to follow him without Spike knowing.
Spike battles the dangers of dragon peer pressure
Act two of the episode begins with a montage of Spike heading through the land, from grassy hills, to snowy mountains, and even crossing rivers, until he finally makes it to the volcano where the migrating dragons are. Tagging along behind him are Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, disguised as a dragon. Spike tries to hit it off with a group of teenage dragons, but he doesn’t exactly earn their respect so easily, and is quickly mocked by them for his ties with Ponyville, and even his allegiance with Princess Celestia. The dragons challenge him to competitions to see if he can hang with them and is a real dragon. The challenge include a belching contest, a tail wrestle, and a battle for king of the horde. The ponies manage to help Spike as best they can, and he barely manages to survive. But with the last challenge, a lava cannonball, he’s on his own, and delivers a rather painful looking face plant into the lava.
Spike's real family comes to the rescue
These tasks earn Spike the respect of the dragons, and they decide to let him into their game. Spike’s elation over this has him feeling that he has finally found the home he’s been searching for, and plans to stay there forever, much to the horror of Twilight and the gang. The dragons have enough faith in Spike that they take him out for their first dragon raid, which involves stealing phoenix eggs and smashing them. Spike isn’t too fond of the idea, but is taken against his will. The three ponies give follow. The raid goes off, and Spike is forced to lure the phoenix parents away from the eggs. But unfortunately for the other dragons, the eggs have already hatched.
Welcome to the pony club Peewee
The episode comes to an end with Spike writing this week’s letter to Princess Celestia. The moral being that what he is isn’t as important as who he is, and that he would much rather be with his real friends more than any dragons. After writing the letter, the baby phoenix hatches from his egg. Spike names his new pet Peewee, and says that he has a lot to teach him about being a pony.
We embarked on one heck of a “Dragon Quest” this week, but was that quest rewarding? Pros and cons time has come once more.
PRO
I loved the designs of the dragons in this episode. Every one of them had their own unique look, and each had their own gruff, and brutish personality, which made them great antagonists for this episode. Especially the red leader dragon, who made a great bully ringleader character. It’s always nice to see more creatures in this series, and even though we have seen dragons plenty of times, it’s always good to see how many different variations there are, and how they function.
Okay, it’s no shocker anymore that Rarity is my favorite pony. But with appearances like this one, it’s not hard to see why. Rarity was in top form, with some hilarious moments and lines in this episode. I continue to believe Rarity has been the pony of the mane six to get the best stuff from this season, and it shows no signs of stopping.
Speaking of Rarity, I liked that the admiration for Spike that she has since “Secret of my Excess” is still very much alive and well, and considering how much I personally enjoy this pairing, it made the episode all the more better for me.
Also, Peewee may just be the most adorable pet yet. Though if Philomina was any indication last season, that cuteness is gonna die awful quick.
CON
Again, the plot felt lacking in something major. It was far from lacking as last week’s was, and it did have its solid action and comedy elements, but at its core, something felt missing from the story to make it one of the more solid outings from this season.
Other than that, there really wasn’t much I can really complain about.
“Dragon Quest” was a better episode than last week’s, but not perfect either. It delivered in action, and a little bit in comedy, but still felt like it lacked the magic that episodes prior had. In the end, it’s not Spike’s finest outing, but certainly far from his worst.
RATING: 7.,5 out of 10
Next week, batten down the hatches, because “Hurricane Fluttershy” is coming through! The pegasi of Cloudsdale have to make a tornado of lake water for the rainy season, and every pegasus is lending a helping hoof… except for Fluttershy. Can Fluttershy overcome her fears and help her fellow ponies out? In seven days, we’ll have that answer.
See you next week bronies and pegasisters!