Bridle Gossip

Bridle Gossip is the ninth episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, season one. In this episode, Twilight Sparkle and her friends encounter Zecora, a mysterious zebra who lives in The Everfree Forest. The title is a pun on "idle gossip" as well as a reference to a "gossip's bridle" or "scold's bridle", a medieval punishment and mild torture device, used on women who were nagging excessively or were otherwise verbally abusive or unpleasant.

Hiding from Zecora
Twilight Sparkle and Spike arrive in Ponyville's town square to find the town completely deserted. While they speculate about where everyone could be, Pinkie Pie fervently calls to them from Sugarcube Corner, telling them to get inside before "she" gets them. Inside, they find the other ponies, who nervously explain that they are hiding from a strange hooded creature named Zecora. According to the other ponies, no one in Ponyville knows what Zecora's reasons for visiting the town are except that she does so monthly. They also know that she lives in The Everfree Forest, a self-preserving environment of which is almost alien to Ponyville. After closer examination, Twilight concludes that Zecora is a zebra and not an "odd-looking pony". Her strange mane of grey and white are really her natural colors. According to the books Twilight has read Zecora's species is from "a far away land". Pinkie Pie shares a song with the others profiling Zecora as an "Evil Enchantress."

Following Zecora
"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

While the ponies are busy disputing Zecora's nature, Apple Bloom decides to approach Zecora herself and slips out of the bakery. She follows Zecora to the Everfree Forest. Upon noticing Apple Bloom's disappearance the ponies, realizing the danger, decide to leave the house in seach of her safety.

They find Apple Bloom when she is just behind Zecora, walking past and around many mysterious blue flowers. The zebra retreats to the forest, giving them a brief warning: "Beware, beware you ponyfolk! Those 'leaves of blue' are not a joke!" Applejack scoops up Apple Bloom off the ground, as all of the ponies rudely insult the zebra. On their way back, Twilight tries to differentiate her magic with the so-called "curses" that they think the zebra is using. She believes that these are just an old pony's tale. Applejack warns her that some pony tales are true. Before they leave the forest, they unintentionally trot through the blue flowers: everyone that is, except Apple Bloom, out of reach on AJ's back.

The Ponies' Ailments
During the night, Twilight dreams about Zecora and her friends' warnings of her evil. The next morning, Twilight wakes up, after recalling everything her friends said about the strange zebra. As she brushes her hair, she is shocked to find her horn soft, rubbery, and covered in blue spots. She frantically searches for a book containing a way to fix her problem, or at least provide information on it, but cannot find anything useful. Spike finds a book called "Supernaturals" that she may have overlooked, but she insists that there's no need to even open it because it involves superstitions or other useless information. Her friends arrive at the library, each with an ailment of their own. Pinkie Pie's now blue-spotted tongue is swollen to the point of hanging out of her mouth, and she can't speak intelligibly or without spitting. Rainbow Dash's wings have been inverted from her back to her lower sides, preventing her from flying properly and causing her to crash into things constantly. Rarity's mane and tail are messy and her coat has grown so long to the point that she cannot see or walk properly; her coat and mane resemble the fur of a Komondor or a Puli, two Hungarian breeds of dog with matted locks of fur. Applejack has drastically shrunken to the size of a toy and had to ride on Apple Bloom just to get to the library. Fluttershy has a deep male voice, which is provided by actor Blu Mankuma. Spike laughs himself silly at the ponies and, in making fun of their misfortune, he makes up nicknames for each pony, which are:


 * "Hairity" (Rarity)
 * "Rainbow Crash" (Rainbow Dash)
 * "Spittie Pie" (Pinkie Pie)
 * "Appleteeny" (Applejack)
 * "Flutterguy" (Fluttershy)

As for Twilight, Spike can't immediately think of a proper name for her rubbery horn. The derogatory nickname "Rainbow Crash" is used in later episodes Sonic Rainboom and The Cutie Mark Chronicles by bullies from her former flight school. The nickname Spike gives to Applejack, "Appleteeny" or "appletini", is the name of an alcoholic drink, much like her original name.

The ponies, with the exception of Twilight, conclude that Zecora has "cursed" or "hexed" them, and they resolve to confront her in the forest in hopes of finding a cure. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom, the only one who traveled into the forest and was not "cursed," believes that she herself is to blame for the ponies' problems, and ventures ahead to find the zebra herself. As Apple Bloom is leaving, Applejack wonders aloud where she is going and jumps into her tail. When the others notice AJ missing, they first worriedly check to see if they've stepped or sat on her. Upon realizing that Apple Bloom is also gone, the ponies realize she must have gone after Zecora and set out in search of her. As the ponies leave, Fluttershy asks Spike if he coming along, but he makes an alibi to stay here to look for a cure, which in fact Spike manages to think up a joke-like nickname for Twilight Sparkle: Twilight Flopple.

On her way through the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom is surprised when Applejack reveals herself in her mane and orders her to turn around. Realizing that her diminutive older sister can't stop her, Apple Bloom places her on a branch she can't get down from and continues on her way. When the others enter the forest later, Rainbow crashes into the tree AJ was left in, accidentally catching the tiny pony in her mouth. Applejack pulls herself out and quickly fashions a bit and reins from leaves, a stick and some vine. She throws it on Rainbow Dash and, climbing on her chest, helps to steer her in the right direction.

Confronting Zecora
When the others finally reach Zecora's hut, they watch through her window as she mixes a strange concoction in her cauldron, chanting something somewhat similar to Pinkie's song. Twilight insists that there is more to this occurrence, until she overhears the zebra mentioning Apple Bloom. They conclude that Zecora is preparing a soup to eat the younger pony and scream in horror. Rainbow Dash and Applejack barge in and the other ponies follow suit in a rescue attempt, upsetting the cauldron and spilling its contents all over the floor, and Rainbow accidentally trashing the place in general with her uncoordinated flying. As the ponies loudly confront Zecora about her "curse," Apple Bloom arrives from behind them with packed saddle bags and tells them she is assisting Zecora by gathering ingredients. They both reveal that the brew Zecora had been making is a remedy for poison joke, a poison ivy-like plant that causes "laughable" results to anyone who touches it. They had never been cursed, but had been affected by the blue plants, and were too stubborn to heed Zecora's warning the previous day when they saw her. The cure is from one of Zecora's books, a copy of what Spike found in the library, but Twilight admits she didn't bother looking past its weird title. It turns out that the "Supernaturals" in the book's title meant, after opening it, "natural cures that are simply... 'super'." After apologizing on behalf of everyone to her for the terrible misunderstanding, Twilight asks if Zecora could make another batch of the remedy. Zecora is happy to do so, but she tells Twilight they need a herb from Ponyville, which she could not obtain because the shops are always mysteriously closed.

Epilogue
The ponies escort Zecora back to town, where the ponies are still afraid of Zecora. One of them delivers the line, "The horror, the horror..." for the second time in the series. The line originates from the 1979 war movie Apocalypse Now and the book it's based on, Heart of Darkness. Twilight talks to the concerned ponies and the scene cuts to the ponies having a bath at the spa, with Twilight giving her friendship report in a voiceover. One of the spa ponies asks Zecora for the recipe of her "luxurious" herbal bath, and the episode ends with all the ponies cured of their poison joke afflictions, after briefly panicking over not finding Applejack. When the ponies panic, a distinctive gasp sound is played among the cries, which is same gasp that is used by Pinkie Pie in Friendship is Magic, part 1 as a reaction to meeting Twilight Sparkle for the first time. The same gasp sound was used again later in A Bird in the Hoof.

Quotes

 * Twilight Sparkle: What? Where is everypony?
 * Spike: Is it some sort of pony holiday?
 * Twilight Sparkle: Not that I know of.
 * Spike: Does my breath stink? [belch]
 * 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/Rainbow Dash: All on their own!
 * Rarity: [faints]


 * Pinkie Pie: And that wicked Enchantress, Zecora, lives there doing her evil... stuff! She's so evil, I even wrote a song about her!
 * Rainbow Dash: Here we go...


 * Twilight Sparkle: Wow... catchy.
 * Pinkie Pie: It's a work in progress.


 * Apple Bloom: I am a big pony...


 * Pinkie Pie: Well, I think Zecora eats... hay.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Pinkie! I eat hay! You eat hay!
 * Pinkie Pie: Yeah... But I heard it's like the evil way she eats hay...


 * Zecora: Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!


 * Applejack: Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!
 * Fluttershy: [deep male voice] I don't want to talk about it.


 * Spike: This is hilarious! Look at all of you. We got "Hair"-ity, Rainbow "Crash", "Spittie" Pie, Apple-"teeny", "Flutterguy", and... I got nothin'. "Twilight Sparkle"... I mean, seriously. I can't even work with that.
 * Twilight Sparkle: This is no joke Spike!


 * Spike: I've got it! Twilight "Wobble"!


 * Rainbow Dash: I'll bet we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place.
 * Twilight Sparkle: It's not a curse!
 * Applejack: I agree with Dash. We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex.
 * Twilight Sparkle: It's not a hex, either!


 * Rainbow Dash: It's time to 'pony up', and confront Zecora!


 * Rarity: Oh! OH! Pinkie, what are you doing? Ah, really. Aah! You ever hear of personal space?
 * Pinkie Pie: Nopth.


 * Zecora: How dare you?! You destroyed my home, destroyed my work, then rudely accused me of being a jerk?!


 * Apple Bloom: Did those silly fillies get into your head? You know there's no such thing as a curse.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Apple Bloom, sweetie. You can't just stand there and tell me that this isn't a curse.
 * Apple Bloom: This isn't a curse.


 * Twilight Sparkle: [reading aloud] "Supernaturals: Natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply... super".


 * Zecora: Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book.


 * Pinkie Pie: Oh my gosh! I never realized how horrible it is not to be able to talk! I love talking so much that I couldn't talk anymore and my tongue was all AAAAAAA! It was the worst! Don't you agree, Fluttershy?
 * Fluttershy: ...yes.

Gallery

 * Bridle Gossip image gallery