| Spike at Your Service | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season №: | 3 |
| Season episode №: | 9 |
| Overall episode №: | 61 |
| Original airdate: | December 29, 2012 |
| Story by: | Dave Polsky |
| Written by: | Merriwether Williams |
| Storyboard: | Mike West and Emmett Hall[1][2] |
| See also | |
| credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation | |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Apple Family Reunion |
Next Keep Calm and Flutter On |
Spike at Your Service is the ninth episode of the third season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the sixty-first episode overall. In this episode, Spike insists on serving Applejack for life after she rescues him from timberwolves, but Applejack has no interest in the arrangement.
Production, development, and release[]
The episode is listed on both the iTunes Store and Zap2it as the tenth episode of the third season,[3][4] and the keywords of Hasbro's YouTube upload of a clip from the episode include "Ep 310".[5] Show layout supervisor Tim Stuby wrote on Twitter "Apple Fam Reunion is 309" in response to an Equestria Daily post[6] that, at the time, listed Apple Family Reunion and Spike at Your Service as the respective eighth and ninth episodes of the third season, show storyboard artist Sabrina Alberghetti wrote on deviantArt that Apple Family Reunion was slotted as 9 when she "did it, but stuff like that changes all the time",[7] and show storyboard artist Raven Molisee listed the episode as number 310 on DeviantArt.[1]
A clip was released by Entertainment Weekly a day before the episode's scheduled airing.[8] The episode was released on the iTunes Store hours before the scheduled airing.
The timberwolves, except for the big one, were modeled and animated with 3D cel-shaded graphics[9] (instead of Adobe Flash) by John Cantlie[10] in Autodesk Maya.[11]
When asked about the Dragon Code, Dave Polsky admitted that Dragon Quest had shown Spike knew little about being a dragon but "[I] felt it credible he'd taken initiative to learn about his dragon heritage since".[12]
In the episode's early stages, it was a Rarity and Spike episode. However, it was re-written because Rarity was too mean to Spike in the original script. The final version uses Applejack instead.[13]
Summary[]
Applejack to the rescue[]
At the Golden Oak Library, Twilight Sparkle gives Spike a day off from assisting her as she sits down to read a pile of books assigned by Princess Celestia. Spike heads outside to complete a list of things he'd been meaning to do but ends up finishing far sooner than he expected.
No need to fear! Applejack is here!
Bored, Spike wanders around Ponyville and comes across a booth for hot air balloon rides. He accidentally untethers the balloon while approaching the booth and rushes after it, grabbing on to the mooring rope just as it floats down into the Everfree Forest. Soon after landing, Spike encounters three timberwolves that chase and eventually corner him, though as they close in, Applejack appears and manages to disperse them with a series of agile maneuvers. Having entered the forest to investigate the runaway balloon, Applejack secures the mooring rope to her tail and heads back to Sweet Apple Acres accompanied by a grateful Spike.
The dragon code[]
Spike trying to get eggs for Granny Smith.
The pair arrive at Sweet Apple Acres, and after handing the balloon back to an awaiting Cherry Berry, Applejack excuses herself to take care of some chores only for Spike to ask that he complete them instead. After some hesitation, Applejack tells Spike to help Apple Bloom wash one of their pigs. Spike finishes the task and insists on continuing to help, leading Applejack to let him participate in making pies.
Spike's efforts in the kitchen end up causing a mess, but when Applejack assures him that no further help is needed, he explains that his "dragon code" requires that he serve Applejack for life since she rescued him. When Granny Smith suggests that Twilight still needs him, Spike returns to the library to break the news, though Twilight's intense focus on her reading assignment leads her to absentmindedly consent. Back at the farm, Spike relays the approval to Granny and Applejack and proceeds to create another accidental mess in the kitchen.
A not-so-number-one assistant[]
Not helping, Rarity.
After baking a poorly-made pie, Spike counters Applejack's protest against his servitude by asserting it's part of being a "noble dragon". He suggests they take the pie to Rarity, who learns about the situation from Applejack once Spike leaves the dining room at Carousel Boutique to wash her plate. Rainbow Dash stops by and, upon hearing the news, suggests that Applejack obligate Spike to build a tower of rocks for Rainbow to smash through in the hopes that he will quickly give up.
Spike surprises the group by building the requested rock tower, though when Rainbow nearly hurts herself trying to smash through it, Applejack follows advice offered by Fluttershy and declares that she has no need for any more help. Worried that this will stop him from being a noble dragon, Spike suggests that Applejack may not realize what she wants and begins offering services on his own, though she insists on making the decisions when he tries to help her breathe.
Applejack heads to the Golden Oak Library and mentions the ordeal to Twilight, who only then realizes what Spike approached her about earlier. Following Twilight's suggestion, Applejack convenes the rest of the Mane Six at Sweet Apple Acres and briefs them on a plan to have Spike "rescue" Applejack from a timberwolf attack.
The timberwolf attack[]
The fake timberwolf.
The ponies put their plan into action, using props and artificial sounds to simulate a timberwolf approaching from the Everfree Forest and menacing Applejack as she feigns being pinned by a rock. Spike soon picks up on the plot and begins calling out its shortcomings, pointing out the lack of realistic smell just as it begins wafting in from the forest. The rest of the Mane Six flee in terror as three real timberwolves suddenly appear and begin chasing Applejack and Spike. Applejack manages to crush the wolves with a boulder from Rainbow Dash's rock pile but ends up getting her leg caught under a falling stone.
As Applejack struggles to free her leg, the remnants of the crushed timberwolves begin to magically gather together in the form of a single large timberwolf. Spike assumes Applejack is still pretending to be stuck and urges her to run, but when the large timberwolf finishes forming and begins advancing toward the pair, Spike throws a nearby pebble in its mouth and causes it to choke. Taking advantage of the distraction to free Applejack's leg, the two run off to rejoin the others moments before the timberwolf collapses for good onto the rock pile.
"That's what friends do"[]
Oh Spike!
Applejack and Spike catch up with the rest of the Mane Six and recount how they dealt with the timberwolves. When Spike asks about the initial false setup, Applejack makes it clear that she appreciates his personal code of ethics but wishes that acts of kindness between them be considered "what friends do" and nothing more. Spike agrees, and the two make amends.
That evening, after bringing Twilight a lamp to help her read in the dark, Spike expresses how happy he is to be in her service.
Quotes[]
- For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.
- Spike: "Touch nose with tongue." Eeeng... done! "Play bongos on my belly." Done! "Smell my dirty feet." [sniffs] [sigh] Done!
- Spike: It's... been an honor... being your faithful assistant.
- Twilight Sparkle: [distracted] Sounds good.
- Rainbow Dash: What are you having him do? Wash your laundry? Clean your room? Help you with your unfinished novel? Mine's about this awesome Pegasus who's the best flyer ever, and becomes the captain of the Wonderbolts!
- Rarity: However did you come up with that ingeniously woven intricate plotline?
- Rainbow Dash: Just came to me.
- Spike: See? There are plenty of things I can help you with, and you don't even have to trouble yourself with thinking of them!
- Applejack: No, I'll think of 'em. Lemme think of 'em.
- Applejack: Alright, y'all, here's the deal. Spike needs to save my life.
- Pinkie Pie: And you want us to shoot you out of a cannon towards a hornet's nest and give Spike a butterfly net so he can catch you mere seconds before you hit the nest and are stung by a thousand angry hornets! I'll wear this mustache.
- Applejack: ...No. I am gonna be attacked by a timberwolf!
- [gasps]
- Pinkie Pie: Can I still wear the mustache?
- Spike: Oh, by the way, there are exactly twenty-four million, five hundred and sixty-seven thousand, eight hundred and thirty seven blades of grass at Sweet Apple Acres.
- Applejack: I can't believe you counted every single one of 'em...
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Raven Molisee (2013-01-01). MLP #s 305 306 307 308. DeviantArt. Retrieved on 2013 January 1.
- ↑ Jim Miller announcing the storyboard artist (2012-12-29). Retrieved on 2012 December 29.
- ↑ My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Vol. 5. Retrieved on 2013 February 6.
- ↑ My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S03E10. Zap2it. Retrieved on 2012 December 20.
- ↑ My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - "Spike at Your Service" (TV Clip) (2013-01-09). Retrieved on 2013 January 9.
- ↑ Tim Stuby on Twitter (2012-11-17). Retrieved on 2012 November 18.
- ↑ Sabrina Alberghetti on deviantArt (2012-12-18). Retrieved on 2012 December 20.
- ↑ Clip. Entertainment Weekly clip. Retrieved on 2012 December 28.
- ↑ http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=91229&st=20&p=2215211&#entry2215211 Archived locally.
- ↑ Jayson Thiessen (2012-12-31). One of our layout supervisors, John Cantlie, modelled and animated them himself. saved doing it in flash.. Retrieved on 2012 December 31.
- ↑ Jayson's second answer on Twitter.
- ↑ Polsky's Twitter, 31st December 2012
- ↑ Unicon 2013; Writer's Room.
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