Friendship is Magic, part 2

Friendship is Magic, part 2 is the second episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. In this episode, Nightmare Moon is freed from her imprisonment and begins to shroud the world in eternal night. Twilight Sparkle and her new friends must find the Elements of Harmony to stop Nightmare Moon. The episode is referred to as Elements of Harmony on Hasbro's viewing guide.

Introduction
The episode starts with a recap of the previous episode and picks up where it left off, with Nightmare Moon laughing maniacally. The Mayor commands the royal guards to seize Nightmare Moon, suspecting her of kidnapping Princess Celestia. She repels them with lightning before turning herself into mist and flies off into the night. Rainbow Dash attempts to pursue the mist, but it quickly disappears into the distance. Rainbow Dash sees Twilight running outside, and wonders aloud what she's up to.

At the library, Twilight puts Spike to bed and starts looking through the bookshelves for information about the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash flies in and confronts Twilight, accusing her of being a spy because she knows about Nightmare Moon. Applejack arrives and pulls Dash back, telling her to simmer down. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy join them, and they listen to Twilight's explanation: she admits that she doesn't know what the Elements are, where to find them, or what they do. Pinkie promptly finds a book about the Elements of Harmony on a shelf, much to Twilight's embarrassment. Twilight, reading from the book, names the five known Elements: kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. According to the book, the sixth Element is a mystery, and the Elements' last known location is the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters in the Everfree Forest. The six ponies are unaware that Nightmare Moon was eavesdropping the whole time.

The cliff: Element of Honesty
"What I'm telling you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."

- Applejack

Twilight Sparkle tries to convince the other ponies to let her go into the forest alone, but they resolve to go in with their "friend". As they walk through the forest, Applejack mentions the forest doesn't "work the same" as other places in Equestria. Meanwhile, a purple mist seeps into the cliffside under them. Rainbow Dash tries scaring the other ponies by telling them no pony who has entered the forest has ever come out. Suddenly, the cliff collapses, sending some of them tumbling down the mountain, and the purple mist whisks off.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash catch Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and Applejack catches Twilight before she goes over the edge of another steep cliff. Applejack briefly looks up before telling Twilight to let go. Twilight protests, but Applejack promises her she'll be safe. Reluctant, Twilight lets go, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy catch her mid-fall and carry her to safety while Applejack makes her way down the cliff on her own. The purple mist watches the ponies, then zooms off towards a monstrous silhouette, which roars.

The manticore: Element of Kindness
"Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness."

- Fluttershy

Rainbow Dash proudly recalls how she and Fluttershy saved Twilight when an angry manticore bars the path. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash fail to stop the beast. Fluttershy's quiet protests go unnoticed by her friends, but when they charge at the manticore, Fluttershy finally raises her voice and stops them. She gently approaches the manticore, who, after a moment of hesitation, shows her a purple thorn stuck in its paw. She removes it and wins the beast's affection, and the six ponies continue their journey, Twilight impressed by Fluttershy's kindness.

The forest: Element of Laughter
"HA! HA! HA!"

- Pinkie Pie

The thorn turns into purple mist and snakes between the ponies' hooves before seeping into some trees. The trees obscure the moon and darkness surrounds the ponies, who are now faced with monstrous-looking trees that seem to growl at them. They all scream in fear except for Pinkie Pie, who makes funny faces at the trees and laughs. Pinkie sings the Laughter Song and teaches her friends to conquer their fears through laughter. The other ponies overcome their fears and turn the trees back to normal, concluding the song by rolling on the ground and laughing.

The sea serpent: Element of Generosity
"I can not have this crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!"

- Rarity

The ponies come to a turbulent river, made turbulent by a purple sea serpent lamenting the loss of half of his mustache, which had been torn off by a "tacky little cloud of purple smoke". Applejack and Rainbow Dash are unsympathetic to his plight, but Rarity, complimentary of the serpent's looks, refuses to leave his mustache in its current state. She yanks off one of his scales, uses it cut the hair of her own tail, and magically attaches it to the torn part of his mustache. The sea serpent, extremely pleased and grateful, helps the ponies cross the river by coiling his own body to make stepping stones.

The Shadowbolts: Element of Loyalty
"See? I'd never leave my friends hanging."

- Rainbow Dash

The ponies finally reach the ruins of the castle, but are unable to approach because of a gorge and a collapsed rope bridge. Rainbow Dash flies down to raise the bridge and tie it to the other side of the gorge. When she lands, a faint voice calls her name, saying they've been expecting the best flyer in Equestria. Through the fog appear the Shadowbolts, similar in name and appearance to the Wonderbolts. They offer Rainbow Dash the position of the Shadowbolts' captain. She accepts and asks for a moment to tie the bridge's rope, but the Shadowbolts give her an ultimatum: "It's them or us." Twilight warns Dash not to listen to them, but the fog thickens and muffles her voice. Dash politely turns the Shadowbolts down and goes to tie the rope, prompting the Shadowbolts to turn into purple mist and slither away. Dash returns to her relieved friends, and they cross the bridge and continue towards the ruins together.

The attempt
The ponies enter the castle ruins and come to a group of stone orbs on a pedestal, which Twilight Sparkle assumes to be the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie notes that there are only five of them. Twilight explains that when the five are present, a spark would cause the sixth to appear. The rest of the ponies leave the room to give Twilight some quiet as she tries to use her magic on the orbs, but the purple mist appears and envelops them in a whirlwind. Twilight jumps in and disappears with the purple mist. The other ponies, wondering where Twilight vanished to, see glowing lights in another tower. Meanwhile, Twilight and Nightmare Moon reappear at opposite ends of a large hall, with the stone orbs placed around Nightmare Moon. Twilight stamps her hoof, and she and Nightmare Moon charge at each other.

Right before they collide, Twilight teleports and reappears next to the orbs. She tries to create a magic spark between the orbs, but Nightmare Moon materializes in front of her just as the orbs blast her away. For a moment the orbs sparkle, frightening Nightmare Moon, but they soon stop, allowing her to shatter them by stamping on the ground. With the orbs destroyed, Nightmare Moon declares victory.

The Elements of Harmony
"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

- Twilight Sparkle

Twilight hears her friends calling for her, and something sparks inside her. She confidently declares that the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here. The stone fragments of the Elements start to glow and float, and Twilight explains which Element each of her friends represents based on their actions during their journey. The fragments float up and start to circle the ponies to which the Elements belong.

Nightmare Moon protests, saying they don't have the sixth Element, but Twilight tells her a different kind of spark revealed the sixth Element: the spark that ignited within her when she realized the other five ponies were her friends. A sixth stone orb magically appears over Twilight, and she announces this sixth Element to be the Element of Magic.

The orb fragments circling the five friends come together to become jeweled necklaces while Twilight's orb takes the shape of a crown. The Elements glow and the ponies are lifted into the air. A double-helical rainbow explodes skyward and envelops a screaming Nightmare Moon. Twilight opens her eyes and floods the room with white light.

Once the light fades, the ponies discover that they all have necklaces with gems that resemble their cutie marks, and Applejack realizes the six of them "really do represent the elements of friendship."

Reconciliation
As the sun rises, Princess Celestia appears and explains that she knew Twilight had the magic to defeat Nightmare Moon but could only unleash it by letting true friendship into her heart. They see a smaller alicorn lying on the ground, with pieces of Nightmare Moon's armor around her. Recognizing this pony, Celestia approaches her, calling her Princess Luna and her little sister, to Twilight and her friends' surprise. Celestia offers her sister the friendship they were meant to have all along, which Luna openly accepts. Happy to see her sister again and forgiven for her misdeeds, Luna embraces the older sister she missed so dearly.

Twilight's new mission
Back in Ponyville, Pinkie throws a party to celebrate the reunion of the two Princesses. Everyone appears happy - except for Twilight. When Celestia asks why, Twilight says she's sad over having to leave her new friends and return home. Celestia then gives her a new mission: to study the magic of friendship in Ponyville and report her findings to her. Elated, Twilight promises to study harder than ever before.

Quotes

 * Twilight Sparkle: I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them... I don't even know what they do!
 * Pinkie Pie: The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.
 * Twilight Sparkle: How did you find that?
 * Pinkie Pie: [sing-song voice] It was under "E"!
 * Twilight Sparkle: Oh.


 * Applejack: We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple.
 * Pinkie Pie: Especially if there's candy apples in there. What? Those things are good!


 * Fluttershy : Oh, you poor, poor little baby...
 * Rainbow Dash: Little?!


 * Rarity: Urghh... my eyes need a rest from all this icky muck.
 * [trees blot out the moonlight, making it darker]
 * Rarity: I didn't mean it literally.


 * Fluttershy: Ahhh!
 * Applejack: What? It's just mud!


 * Rarity: Such lovely luminescent scales.
 * Sea Serpent: I know.
 * Rarity: Your expertly coiffed mane.
 * Sea Serpent: Oh, I know, I know!
 * Rarity: Your fabulous manicure.
 * Sea Serpent: It's so true!
 * Rarity: All ruined without your beautiful mustache.
 * Sea Serpent: It's true, I'm hideous!


 * Twilight Sparkle: Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail!
 * Rarity: Oh, it's fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides... it'll grow back.
 * Rainbow Dash: So would the mustache.


 * Rainbow Dash: What is it with you and falling off cliffs today?


 * Nightmare Moon: You're kidding. You're kidding, right?