Stare Master

"All I needed to do is just show them who's in charge. Nothing's gonna get past Fluttershy. Good with animals... Good with kids..."

- Fluttershy

Stare Master is the seventeenth episode of the first season and first aired on February 25th 2011.

Writer: Chris Savino

Summary
Rarity was swamped with work. She was busy in her shop trying to complete a special order: make 20 robes for Trottingham tomorrow. It didn't help much that her sister, Sweetie Belle, was trying to help in an attempt to get her cutie mark, but ended up making a huge mess. Fluttershy arrived to drop off Rarity's cat, Opalescence, from her grooming appointment. The unicorn was surprised at how well behaved her cat was, seeing as she couldn't do it herself without getting scratched. She asked her friend if she used "The Stare" on the feline, but she denied it.

While she explained to Fluttershy of what she was up to, Sweetie's friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom, arrived for their sleepover at Rarity's house. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they called themselves as a group, planned on finding their hidden talents in order to get their mark. The little unicorn even created a uniform of sorts to represent the group, with a golden underlining to boot. Unfortunately, the gold was part of a silk cloth Rarity needed to finish her order. Realizing that it was going to take longer than before, she was forced to cancel her sister's sleepover. Seeing the young fillies disappointed, Fluttershy offered to take care of them, much to her friend's worry. Rarity warned her that they could be a handful, but the Pegasus insisted. The trio was excited of this new change of plans. Rarity, not so much.

Fluttershy ran into Twilight along the way, who was visiting Zecora in the Everfree Forest for some tea. Learning that her Pegasus friend was going to babysit the three fillies, she also wondered if she could handle it.

In Fluttershy's cottage, the winged pony was looking forward to a play-date of tail-braiding, coloring and tea parties.The kids wanted to go adventuring in the forest instead. As expected, their babysitter warned them of the dangers out there. They playfully pretended to be creature catchers, but their roughhousing resulted in breaking a nearby table. They then worked as carpenters to fix the table, but that didn't work out so well. Fluttershy decided to have them play a game of "Shh...", basically a game of who can be quiet the longest; she claimed to be a champion of it before starting the game. Of course, the Crusaders immediately ended it by losing on purpose. It was already getting dark, so the Pegasus decided to take them to bed, promising they can do more "crusading" in the morning.

The trio wasn't even sleepy yet, so Fluttershy tried to sing them to sleep a lullaby. Sweetie Belle recognized the song and asked if she could sing it. Her version of the lullaby, however, was loud enough to wake up a nearby chicken coop. They got out of the house to help rustle the flock back to the coop. In the end, Fluttershy was able to, but not in her usual gentle coaxing fashion. Instead, seeing the chickens stubbornly staying put, she gave them an intimidating look, causing them to re-enter the hen-house.

The Crusaders went back to bed, but were still wide awake. They still wanted to find their talent, and it wasn't going to happen if they were staying in the cottage for the rest of the night. They got up and noticed from outside the window, that one of the chickens had escaped to the Everfree Forest. They snuck past Fluttershy to get it back.

Fluttershy was glad that it was finally quiet... A little too quiet... She got up to check on the kids and discovered that they were gone. Looking into the hen-house, she also noticed that one of the chickens, whom she called "Elizabeak", was gone too. She put the pieces together and now she had to venture into the forest by her lonesome to bring them all back. As much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to regret her offer to take care of them.

Deeper into the forest, she was having a hard time maintaining her composure. She eventually found Twilight, only to learn that she was mysteriously turned to stone. Horrified of what had obviously caused this, she rushed further to find the fillies.

She eventually found them trying to find the lost chicken. The Pegasus warned them that a Cockatrice was near, a creature with the head of a chicken and a body of a snake. However, they laughed at the silly description before they finding the chicken pass them by. They noticed a second chicken hiding in the bushes, one with a long reptilian body. It was the Cocktrice, the very creature Fluttershy warned them about. Its deadly stare caused the chicken to turn to stone. Telling them to stand behind her, the Pegasus confronted the hybrid beast face-to-face, ignoring her own warning. Thanks to her stern voice and intimidating stare, she ordered the Cockatrice to change the chicken and her unicorn friend back to normal, just in time to prevent herself from becoming petrified. Impressed by their babysitter's ability, they dubbed her the "Stare Master". With Twilight and Elizabeak free from the monster's spell, they all returned home.

Back at the cottage the next morning, she explained to Twilight of the events that happened, inspiring her to write another report to Princess Celestia. Helping the Crusaders pack up so Rarity can take them home, Fluttershy learned that a good friend shouldn't bite off more than she can chew. In other words, one shouldn't do a task that is more than can be handled.

Major Events

 * Fluttershy's ability called "The Stare" is revealed in this episode
 * The episode reveals that Rarity is Sweetie Belle's older sister.
 * Sweetie Belle's hidden talent is revealed in this episode.

Quotes

 * Rarity: Now back to work. I lost a lot of time, and I can not have anymore interruptions. (Hears doorbell) *groan* WHAT NOW?!


 * Rarity: Did you use... "The Stare" on her?
 * Fluttershy: Oh no! I wouldn't. I couldn't. I-I don't really have any control when it happens. It just happens. Really. I'm just good with animals. It's my special gift, you know.


 * Scootaloo: We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!
 * Applebloom: And we wanna crusade for our cutie marks!
 * Sweetie Belle: And we um... Yeah what they said!

Scootaloo: We were making a table?! Apple Bloom: Somepony needs to put this thing out of its misery. Scootaloo: We are definitely not Cutie Mark Carpenters.
 * Sweetie Belle: Um ... that doesn't look like a table.


 * Fluttershy: Now that we've gotten that out of the way, How about a game?
 * Applebloom: A game?
 * Fluttershy: It's called "Shh".
 * Scootaloo: What's that?
 * Fluttershy: Well... It's a game about who can be quiet the longest. Sound fun? I'm the world champion. Bet you can't beat me. *Holds breath*


 * Scootaloo: ...I lose!
 * Sweetie Belle: Me too!
 * Applebloom: Me three!


 * Applebloom: How about "Cutie Mark Crusader Coal Miners"?
 * AB/SL/SB: YAY!
 * Fluttershy: NO!
 * AB/SL/SB: Aw...


 * Applebloom: Oh wait, now I know how to call a chicken... Scootaloo! Scoot-Scootaloo!
 * Scootaloo: (sarcastic) That's so funny I forgot to laugh!
 * Applebloom: ...You also forgot how to call a chicken.


 * Fluttershy (to Twilight's stone statue) Don't move! I'll be back for you!


 * Fluttershy (to the Cockatrice): YOU! Just who do you think you are, going around turning others into stone? You should be ashamed of yourself! I have half a mind to find your mother and tell her what you've been up to, young man! Now you go over there and turn Elizabeak and my friend Twilight back to normal. And don't ever let me catch you doing this again! Do you understand me?

Trivia

 * Despite the revelation that Sweetie Belle, like Apple Bloom, is the younger sister of a main character, Lauren Faust has said on DeviantArt that Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash are not siblings. There was no suggestion in the episode that the pegasus foal was related to Fluttershy. It's interesting to note that colors are related in the acknowledged sibling pairs.
 * This is the first episode in which Applejack does not appear, thus making Twilight Sparkle the only character to feature in every episode so far.
 * When the Cutie Mark Crusaders enter Fluttershy's house, one of them proceeds to yell: "Are those tickets?" which likely means that the Great Galloping Gala still hasn't happened yet.


 * This episode helps explain how Fluttershy, thanks to her stare, was able to convince the dragon in Dragonshy to leave Ponyville.
 * This is the second episode, after Sonic Rainboom, where Twilight isn't the one explaining the moral of the episode.
 * There are several production errors in the episode. Sweetie Belle's left ear is missing at 11:58 and Scootaloo is also missing her wings throughout most of the chicken herding sequence. Also, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle speak in each others voices for a couple of lines after they go back to bed.