Friendship is Magic, part 1

Friendship is Magic, part 1 (Mare in the Moon) is the first episode of season one. In this episode, Twilight Sparkle is tasked with going to Ponyville and making some friends. There, she meets fellow ponies Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

Notable story points

 * Princess Celestia tells Twilight Sparkle in a letter to go to Ponyville and make some friends.
 * Twilight Sparkle meets Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy for the first time.
 * Nightmare Moon is freed from her imprisonment on the moon.
 * Princess Celestia goes missing.

Notable events

 * Derpy Hooves is seen in her derpy state for the first time
 * The Cutie Mark Crusaders are seen together for the first time, although they are not addressed at all

Episode summary
The episode opens with a book that reads "Once upon a time", and a narration begins telling of two regal sisters ruling together over a magical land of Equestria, shown stylistically in a series of slightly animated drawings resembling medieval illustrations. The sisters are shown as two slender unicorn pegasus ponies, one pinkish white, and the other bluish violet. The narration continues that the eldest used her unicorn power to raise the sun, while the younger would bring out the moon at night. Time went on and the younger sister became resentful, for ponies of Equestria enjoyed the day but slept through the night. One night, she refused to lower the moon. This bitterness had transformed her into a "wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon", who vowed to shroud Equestria in eternal night, forcing her sister to use the magic of The Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon.

Studying in Canterlot
The narration switches to the voice of Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn pony, who is laying on a grassy patch in Canterlot reading the book. She finishes by narrating that the eldest sister has been responsible for both sun and moon, and maintained harmony in Equestria for generations since. Then tries to recall where she's read about the Elements of Harmony before, and the scene fades to the theme song.

As Twilight is walking along, three unicorn ponies stop her and invite her to a party for Moondancer. She politely refuses with the excuse of having to catch up on studying, and runs off, to which one of the ponies quips Twilight is more interested in books than friends. All the ponies encountered in Canterlot--Lemon Hearts, Lyra, Romana/Colgate, Sparkler, and Twinkle--eventually make an appearance in Ponyville later in the series. After a run through Canterlot and up an ivory-colored spire, she barges through the door and knocks over Spike, her dragon assistant, in the process. She instructs him to find the book "Predictions and Prophecies". When she knocked him back, the gift-wrapped teddy bear he was carrying got impaled on his tail. Spike explains it was meant for Moondancer, and Twilight replies they have no time for that, to which Spike protests, "but we're on a break".

Twilight uses her unicorn magic to search for the book, and angrily calls for Spike, who has already found it. She magically pulls the book, still held by Spike, and drops all the other books she was looking through, leaving them for Spike to pick up and shelve. She reads that "The Mare in the Moon", or Nightmare Moon, is to be freed from her imprisonment on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring "nighttime eternal". Spike falls off his ladder right on Twilight's back, and she instructs him to take a letter to Princess Celestia, warning her of the return of Nightmare Moon. While she's dictating the letter, Nightmare Moon's visage can be seen through a giant hourglass as Twilight passes it. When Twilight asks Spike to send the letter, he mentions that the princess is busy getting ready for the Summer Sun celebration "the day after tomorrow". Twilight replies it's the thousandth day of the Summer Sun celebration and the princess must be told right away. Spike takes a deep breath and breathes green fire on the letter, which disappears into twinkling smoke. After a brief conversation with Twilight where she asserts the princess trusts her completely, Spike belches green fire and a scroll materializes from it, which he reads to Twilight. The letter is addressed to "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight", and affirms that Celestia trusts Twilight completely, but then tells Twilight she must stop reading "those dusty old books".

Meeting ponies in Ponyville
Twilight and Spike are being carried in a flying chariot by two pegasus ponies in royal guard armor, heading to Ponyville. Spike continues reading the letter, in which Celestia tells Twilight that there's more to life than studying and gives her the task of supervising the preparations for the festival, set up this year in the town of Ponyville. The letter ends with one other task for the her to complete...

"Make some friends!"

- Spike, reading Princess Celestia's letter

Twilight groans at idea, and Spike tries to cheer her up by telling her she'd be staying in a library. She surmises she will check on the preparations as fast as she can, then head to the library to find proof of Nightmare Moon's return.

"I am her student and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends."

- Twilight

Shortly after landing, Spike talks Twilight into trying to make friends with another pony, believing that some of the residents may have something interesting to talk about. A pink pony walks up to the two, and when Twilight says "hello", she gasps, springs into the air, and zips out of frame.

"Well that was interesting alright."

- Twilight

Applejack
Twilight and Spike arrive at Sweet Apple Acres, where they see Applejack kicking a tree to harvest its apples. She vigorously shakes Twilight's hoof and, when she hears Twilight is there to supervise the preparations, offers her to sample some of the food. Applejack rigs a rusty triangle and summons her large family, which includes her brother Big Macintosh, sister Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Twilight is pleased to see the food situation is handled and politely says she'll be on her way. Twilight turns down Apple Bloom's invitation for brunch, but the sad disappoint of the entire Apple family cause her to begrudgingly change her mind.

Rainbow Dash
Spike walks down a path with Twilight following behind with her stomach swollen, groaning about having ate too much pie. Spike mentions a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash is supposed to be clearing the skies, but after a quick look Twilight quips that she's not doing a very good job. Dash accidentally crashes into Twilight, sending them both into a mud puddle. She giggles and apologizes, and brings over a cloud to rain-wash Twilight. The rain soaks Twilight, and Dash attempts to clean her up with a small twister which frizzles Twilight's mane. Dash and Spike fall down on the ground laughing at the sight. Twilight concludes that the pegasus pony is Rainbow Dash and introduces herself, saying she's here to check on the weather. Dash nonchalantly shrugs it off, and informs Twilight she'll get to it once she's done practicing for The Wonderbolts, an aerial acrobatic team. Twilight scoffs at the idea, prompting Dash to assert her aerial abilities and astound Twilight with her speed and agility. She chuckles and invites Twilight to hang out some more sometime, then flies away.

"HEY, I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat."

- Rainbow Dash

Rarity
The scene fades into the inside of the town square pavilion. Spike utters in awe "beautiful", and Twilight agrees the decor is coming along nicely. "Not the decor, her." Spike points to Rarity, and little pink hearts start bubbling out of his head. Twilight rolls her eyes and greets Rarity, who finishes some decorating and turns to her. Upon seeing Twilight's messy mane, she drags her off to give her a makeover. Once Rarity decides on Twilight's look, she asks Twilight where she's from. Twilight starts saying she's from Canterlot, and Rarity cuts her off, glamorizes Canterlot and cozies up to Twilight. When Rarity turns away to get a different jewel for the dress, Twilight makes her "escape".

"Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!"

- Twilight

Fluttershy
Spike is riding Twilight on the way for the next list item to inspect -- music, the last one. A choir of birds is heard from a short distance, and Spike and Twilight investigate from the bushes. A yellow pegasus with a pink mane is orchestrating the bird choir, quietly and politely telling one of the birds that he's a tiny bit off. Twilight introduces herself with a loud "hello" which makes the birds fly off. She apologizes for frightening the birds and compliments the pony on the music, however the yellow pony shyly stares at the ground and says nothing. Twilight tries to break the awkward silence, but the pony speaks too quietly and mumbles. After another awkward pause, Twilight hesitantly concludes everything's in order and turns to leave. The pony catches a glimpse of Spike, flies into the air and exclaims, "a baby dragon!" She knocks over Twilight and tells Spike she's never seen a baby dragon before. She fawns over Spike, but Twilight magically pulls him onto her back and starts walking off, with the pony following them and conversing with Spike. She introduces herself as Fluttershy, and keeps questioning Spike on the long way to the library, much to Twilight's dismay. By the time they reach the library, Spike finished talking about his entire life story up until their arrival to Ponyville. Twilight tries to brush off Fluttershy, claiming she needs to put Spike to bed. She rudely blocks her way inside and wishing her goodnight.

Inside the library it's pitch black, and only Twilight and Spike can be dimly seen, their eyes kept bright despite the darkness. Spike sarcastically complains about Twilight's rudeness, and Twilight apologizes and explains she needs to be alone to study about Nightmare Moon, without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. The light flicks on, dozens of ponies are standing all around, yelling "surprise!" Streamers and balloons drop everywhere, and a party whistle blows right in front of Twilight's face before the scene fades to black.

Pinkie Pie
The pink pony from earlier introduces herself as Pinkie Pie and says she threw the party in honor of Twilight. She's very talkative, barely letting Twilight get a word in, explaining she gasped when she saw Twilight because she got the idea to throw her a party when she saw her and realized she's new in town. Twilight pours herself a drink which turns out to be hot-sauce, and comically whisks out of the room with her mane on fire. Pinkie adds some of the sauce over a cupcake before eating it, causing the others to look at her awkwardly.

Twilight's Room
"All the ponies in this town are CRAZY!"

- Twilight

Twilight is lying in her bed, annoyed, checking the clock. Spike enters the room and invites her for a party game. She snaps at him, and he explains it's the eve of the Summer Sun celebration, and that "everypony" has to stay up or they'll miss the raising of the sun. He tries to sooth her and leaves. Twilight mockingly repeats his last sentence, and dramatically complains to herself about all the "ridiculous friend-making". She remembers the few words about the prophecy from the book: Nightmare Moon would return during the longest day of the thousandth year. Twilight assumes that she was sent to Ponyville because Princess Celestia would think the Mare in the Moon is just an "old pony tale". Just then, Spike barges in again and invites her to watch the sun rise.

The Return of Nightmare Moon
Pinkie Pie meets up with Spike and Twilight and goes on about how excited she is. Fluttershy's bird choir plays, and the mayor gives a short speech announcing the beginning of the Summer Sun celebration, Near the end of the speech, Twilight nervously watches the moon undergo a transformation. The mayor introduces Princess Celestia, who is mysteriously absent. Rarity announces the princess is gone, and the sound effect of Pinkie Pie's gasp from earlier in the episode is heard. Pinkie Pie screams when she spots an eerie glowing fog, and the crowd gasps. Twilight recognizes the pegasus unicorn pony that appears out of the fog as Nightmare Moon, making Spike faint. Nightmare Moon addresses the crowd of cowering ponies,

"Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

- Nightmare Moon

Pinkie Pie takes Nightmare Moon's question literally, and throws out several guesses in rapid succession, before getting an apple shoved in her mouth by Applejack, who is also holding back Rainbow Dash from attackig Nightmare Moon. Nightmare moon continues, confronting Fluttershy and Rarity with accusing questions, which prompt Twilight to answer her:

"You're "The Mare in the Moon", Nightmare Moon!"

- Twilight

The crowd gasps, and Nightmare Moon is impressed by Twilight's knowledge. She asks Twilight if she also knows why she's here, but Twilight is too scared to answer. The episode ends with Nightmare Moon proclaiming that this will be the ponies' last day, and that the night will last forever. She laughs maniacally with a lightning storm gathering around her, and Twilight realizes that things are about to become worse.

Trivia

 * The episode title is based on the sub title of the animated series.
 * This episode along with Friendship is Magic, part 2 are the only two-part episodes of season one.
 * The plot of the booklet bundled in the Friendship is Magic Giftset is similar to these two episodes.
 * At the beginning of the episode, Twilight Sparkle is shown to live in a white tower, which could be described as an "ivory tower". In modern usage, the expression "ivory tower" is used to describe "a world or atmosphere where intellectuals engage in pursuits that are disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life." This could relate to Twilight Sparkle's devoting her life to studying at the expense of getting out and making friends.
 * Rainbow Dash claims that she can clear the sky in "ten seconds flat." Exactly 10 seconds elapse between Twilight's "prove it" response and the last cloud being kicked away.
 * During the party scene, a grey pegasus pony with straw-colored hair is standing in the background. Initially her face is obscured, but after Twilight finishes pouring herself hot-sauce, the background pony's entire face is visible, and she's making an odd face with her nose scrunched and her eyes crossed. This pony was eventually popularized by fans and named Derpy Hooves.
 * One of the names Pinkie guesses to Nightmare Moon is "Hokey Smokes", a reference to Rocky the Flying Squirrel from Rocky & Bullwinkle.
 * Among the ponies in the scene of Nightmare Moon's return are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who later form the Cutie Mark Crusaders in Call of the Cutie.
 * At around 4:50 Nightmare Moon is seen in the hour glass when Twilight is passing it.
 * The elements of harmony are said to be the most powerful thing in Ponyville, but not Equestria, meaning that there may be something even more powerful.