| Bridle Gossip | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season №: | 1 |
| Season episode №: | 9 |
| Overall episode №: | 9 |
| Original airdate: | December 10, 2010 |
| Written by: | Amy Keating Rogers |
| Storyboard: | Sherann Johnson & Sam To[1] |
| Featured characters: | Zecora |
| Song: | Evil Enchantress song |
| See also | |
| credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation | |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Look Before You Sleep |
Next Swarm of the Century |
Bridle Gossip is the ninth episode of the first season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. In this episode, Twilight Sparkle and her friends encounter Zecora, a mysterious zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest. The title of the episode is a play on the phrase "idle gossip".
Development[]
According to old notes by Amy Keating Rogers, Spike's nickname for Twilight Sparkle was originally "Droopi-horn".[2]
Summary[]
The hooded figure[]
The friends hide from the mysterious zebra.
Twilight Sparkle and Spike go for a walk in Ponyville's town square one day but find it completely deserted. As they look around for a cause, Pinkie Pie hurriedly calls them over to Sugarcube Corner, where they find Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Apple Bloom huddled in the dark. They explain that they're hiding from a hooded figure milling around town named Zecora, who Twilight recognizes as a zebra. The other ponies express their fear over Zecora's recurring visits from the Everfree Forest as Pinkie Pie sings a short song that profiles her as an "evil enchantress".
- "I am sure there's an explanation for everything Zecora does, and if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her, she would find out the truth."
- — Twilight Sparkle
"Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!"
As Twilight Sparkle challenges her friends' assumptions about Zecora, Apple Bloom slips out of the bakery and follows Zecora out of Ponyville. The ponies soon notice Apple Bloom's disappearance and leave the house to find where she went. They spot her a short way into the Everfree Forest just behind Zecora, who warns the ponies about "leaves of blue" before retreating deeper into the forest. Standing in the middle of a patch of blue flowers, Twilight's friends taunt Zecora and continue to speculate about her "lame curses" while Twilight dismisses it as myth. With Apple Bloom atop Applejack's head, the group leave the patch of flowers and return to Ponyville.
The ponies' ailments[]
The next morning, after a bout of nightmares about Zecora, Twilight wakes up to find her horn turned limp and covered in blue spots. As she searches the library books for a cure, Spike finds a book called Supernaturals that appears to identify her malady as a curse. Twilight rebuts the assessment, but her friends soon arrive with their own mysterious ailments: Pinkie Pie's tongue is spotted blue and swollen, Rainbow Dash's wings are upside-down, Rarity's coat and mane are matted and overgrown, Applejack is tiny, and Fluttershy speaks in a deep, male voice. Each of them blames Zecora's magic for their conditions.
The "cursed" ponies arguing over what to do next.
Apple Bloom, who remained unafflicted and carried Applejack to the library, blames herself for the ponies' ailments and ventures out to find Zecora, though not before Applejack jumps secretly into her tail. Upon realizing the two are missing, the group surmise they have gone after Zecora and head for the Everfree Forest to search for them.
Just as Apple Bloom enters the Everfree Forest, Applejack reveals herself in her mane and orders her to turn around. Apple Bloom refuses and places her sister on a tree branch before continuing on to find Zecora. Rainbow Dash crashes into the tree soon after, allowing Applejack to attach a makeshift harness to Rainbow and steer her as she flies further into the forest.
Confronting Zecora[]
The ponies finally meet Zecora.
Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity arrive at a hut and, looking inside through a window, see Zecora mixing liquid in a cauldron and speaking in an unknown language. After Pinkie gets Fluttershy to sing her song for her, the group overhear Zecora mention Apple Bloom aloud, leading Twilight to second-guess Zecora's intentions. Rainbow Dash and Applejack then crash through the door and fly haphazardly around the interior, wrecking the room and spilling the contents of the cauldron onto the floor.
Inside the hut, the ponies confront Zecora and accuse her of causing their ailments with a curse. As Zecora angrily condemns their intrusion, Apple Bloom appears at the doorway and chastises the ponies for jumping to conclusions. She and Zecora explain that they had been preparing a remedy for poison joke, a blue poison ivy-like plant that inflicts joke ailments on anyone it touches, including those of the ponies. When Twilight asks where to find the cure, Zecora shows her a copy of the book Spike found earlier, whose full title is Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls That Are Simply Super. Twilight apologizes to Zecora and asks if she could make another batch of the remedy. Zecora consents but says she needs an herb from Ponyville, which she hasn't been able to get because the shops are always closed.
A luxurious bath[]
The main characters relaxing and laughing.
The ponies escort Zecora back to town, where Twilight reassures the fearful townsfolk. Later, as the friends bathe in Zecora's herbal remedy at the spa, Twilight reflects how, as with a book, you should learn who someone is on the inside instead of judging from outward appearances. One of the spa ponies asks Zecora for the recipe of her "luxurious" herbal bath, and the ponies find themselves cured of their ailments.
Quotes[]
- For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.
- Twilight Sparkle: Where is everypony?
- Spike: Is it some sort of pony holiday?
- Twilight Sparkle: Not that I know of.
- Spike: Does my breath stink?
- Twilight Sparkle: Not more than usual.
- Spike: Is it... zombies?!
- Twilight Sparkle: Uh... not very likely.
- Spike: Not likely... but possible?
- Applejack: The Everfree Forest just ain't natural. The plants grow...
- Fluttershy: Animals care for themselves...
- Rainbow Dash: And the clouds move...
- Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash: All on their own!
- Rarity: [faints]
- Pinkie Pie: Well, I heard that Zecora eats hay.
- Twilight Sparkle: Pinkie, I eat hay; you eat hay!
- Pinkie Pie: Yeah, but I heard it's the evil way she eats hay.
- Twilight Sparkle: Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they're just an old pony tale.
- Applejack: Just you wait, Twilight. You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true.
- Spike: This is hilarious! Look at all of you. We got "Hairity", "Rainbow Crash", "Spitty Pie", "Apple Teeny", "Flutterguy", and... I got nothin'. "Twilight Sparkle." I mean, seriously. I can't even work with that.
- Twilight Sparkle: Everything is pointing to Zecora being... bad. Or... what if Zecora is just making soup?
- Zecora: Mmm! The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?
- Twilight Sparkle: Or... what if she's making Apple Bloom soup?!
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Raven Molisee's DeviantArt journal (2012-02-23). Retrieved on 2012 February 23.
- ↑ Amy Keating Rogers (2015-11-07). Cleaning up my house and found these "Bridle Gossip" notes in a bag. #mlpfim. Twitter. Retrieved on 2015 November 7.
| Episodes, films, and animated shorts |
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| Make Your Mark | |||
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| Episode 1 Izzy Does It |
Episode 2 Growing Pains |
Episode 3 Portrait of a Princess |
Episode 4 Ali-Conned |
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| 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? |
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| Episode 9 Top Remodel |
Episode 10 The Jinxie Games |
Episode 11 Sunny Side Up |
Episode 12 The Manesquerade Ball |
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| Episode 13 A Little Horse |
Episode 14 Missing the Mark |
Episode 15 Cutie Blossom Bash |
Episode 16 Family Trees Pt. 1 |
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| Episode 17 Family Trees Pt. 2 |
Episode 18 Father of the Bridlewood |
Episode 19 Mane Smelody |
Episode 20 Nightmare on Mane Street |
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| Episode 21 The Isle of Scaly |
Episode 22 Roots of All Evil Pt. 1 |
Episode 23 Roots of All Evil Pt. 2 |
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| Equestria Girls | Rainbow Rocks | Friendship Games | Legend of Everfree |
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| Rollercoaster of Friendship | Best Gift Ever | Spring Breakdown | Rainbow Roadtrip |
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| Sunset's Backstage Pass | Holidays Unwrapped | Make Your Mark | Winter Wishday |
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| Rainbow Rocks shorts | Friendship Games shorts | Summertime Shorts | Equestria Girls: Better Together (season 1) |
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| 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 |
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| Baby Flurry Heart's Heartfelt Scrapbook | Rarity's Peek Behind the Boutique | Fundamentals of Magic | My Little Pony Established 1983 |
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| Friendship is Magic shorts | Hello Pinkie Pie | Stop Motion Shorts | Tell Your Tale (season 1) |
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| Tell Your Tale (season 2) | |||