Just for Sidekicks

Just for Sidekicks
Season №:	3
Season episode №:	11
Overall episode №:	63
Original airdate:	January 26, 2013
Written by:	Corey Powell
Storyboard:	Raven Molisee and Jocelan Thiessen
Featured characters:	Mane Six's pets:       Angel Gummy Opalescence Owlowiscious Tank Winona
See also
credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation
Episode guide
Previous Keep Calm and Flutter On	Next Games Ponies Play

Just for Sidekicks is the eleventh episode of the third season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the sixty-third episode overall. In this episode, Spike convinces the Mane Six to let him care for their pets in exchange for gems while they travel to the Crystal Empire, though he quickly finds himself overwhelmed by the task. The title of the episode is a play on the phrase "just for kicks".

This episode and Games Ponies Play take place simultaneously; the former centers on Spike as he takes care of the main cast's pets, while the latter focuses on Twilight Sparkle and her friends welcoming the Equestria Games inspector to the Crystal Empire. At the very beginning of this episode, the camera pans by a series of photos showing that Peewee, the baby phoenix Spike saved in Dragon Quest, was returned to his parents.

Production and development

The episode is listed on the iTunes Store, Zap2it. and Netflix as the eighth episode of the third season. Storyboard artist Raven Molisee listed the episode as number 308 on DeviantArt, and show layout supervisor Tim Stuby wrote on Twitter that he'd "guess it is either 308 or 312" and that it's "not 312..."

The pictures featuring Peewee, absent from this episode's script, were added when the episode was storyboarded.

Summary

Making a jewel cake

We've all been there.

In the Golden Oak Library, Spike snacks from a cup of gems while preparing the batter of a jewel cake. He goes to empty the cup into the batter only for nothing to come out, and after falsely accusing Owlowiscious of taking the gems, Spike realizes that he inadvertently finished them off while snacking and cries out in dismay.

Fluttershy about to give Spike her jewel.

While Spike laments having no jewels for his cake, Fluttershy enters the library and asks if he can take care of Angel the following day while she and the rest of the Mane Six help welcome the Head of the Equestria Games in the Crystal Empire. Spike appears unenthusiastic about caring for Angel, though Fluttershy's offer to compensate his work with a large gem leads him to take the deal.

Seeing an opportunity, Spike manages to convince Twilight and the rest of her friends to give him gems in exchange for pet care while they're at the Crystal Empire. The ponies bring their pets to the library the next day before heading out to board the train, though as soon as Spike closes the door behind them, the six pets begin destroying the room.

A regular pet daycare

When Spike regains consciousness after Tank accidentally knocks him out, he finds the library in complete chaos: Winona is chasing Angel around in circles, Gummy is ruining Twilight's books, Opalescence is ripping up the curtains, and Tank inadvertently catapults Owlowiscious across the room. Spike attempts to enforce some order. He manages to get Winona, Tank, Owlowiscious, Opal, and Gummy in a row, but Angel has taken off outside the library.

With Winona's help, Spike soon tracks the rebellious rabbit to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse, where Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo fawn over him. Spike tries to get the Crusaders to look after Angel for him, but the Crusaders have plans to get their cutie marks in skydiving. Spike, the smooth talker he is, convinces them to try and get their cutie marks for bunny-sitting instead. He even gets them to take the rest of the pets off his hands too. But he ends up having to relinquish one of his jewels (the one Rarity gave him) so the Crusaders could buy food and toys for the pets.

That didn't work out so well.

When Spike passes by the clubhouse later that day with fresh baking ingredients, he finds the Cutie Mark Crusaders are having just as much trouble looking after the pets as he was. He's forced to assume responsibility for the pets again, but not before demanding the jewel he gave them. They say they don't have it anymore, as the gem was used to buy an industrial-sized pet hair dryer. The pets drag Spike all over Ponyville. He crosses paths with Zecora, who believes she has the solution for Spike's misfortune. But the help she offers involves donating one of his jewels to a nearby Filly Guide, explaining that there is "no worse mojo than dragon greed". Down another jewel and reaching his wit's end, Spike wraps the pets up in ribbon and rolls them across town, having to surrender yet another jewel to Granny Smith to buy her silence.

After freeing himself from Spike's clutches, Angel sneaks aboard the train. Spike attempts to retrieve the bunny, but the train conductor refuses to let all the pets on without a chaperone. Spike sees the Cutie Mark Crusaders on a nearby bridge; he snatches them up and has them act as the pets' chaperones, and the conductor lets them board (in exchange for another jewel). Spike finally catches Angel, but the train has pulled away from the station. Next stop: the Crystal Empire!

Trouble on the train

The Crusaders fail to contain their excitement about seeing the Empire. Once again, the hungry pets have gotten loose; they make a mess of Pony Joe's donut cart, and Spike is forced to relinquish one of his last two jewels to pay for it.

Can Spike stop Angel?

The train pulls into the station, and the Crusaders want to have a look around. Spike forbids them from leaving the train car, but after a bit of tickle torture with one of Scootaloo's feathers and some backup from Angel, they get past him. Spike chases after Angel and spots Twilight and her friends about to board the Ponyville-bound train. As the Crusaders admire some crystal snow globes in a shop window, Spike sees Angel running toward Fluttershy and gives chase again. Using his last remaining jewel (Fluttershy's large emerald), Spike obstructs Angel's path with a pile of luggage and catches him.

Spike, the Crusaders, and the pets board the train again, but so have Twilight and her friends, who are right in the adjacent train car. They hide under the seats as the ponies enter to sit down. Angel threatens to give Spike and the others away by kicking Applejack's seat from underneath. Spike admits defeat and tells Angel to do his worst, apologizing for ignoring him, trying to pawn him off on someone else, and not fluffing his tail as promised. He extends this apology to the rest of the pets and faults his own greed. The pets quickly forgive Spike, but his growling stomach almost gives them away. Angel dashes off the train, retrieves the emerald, and force-feeds half of it to Spike to satiate his hunger.

Epilogue

Poor Spike... again!

When the train pulls into Ponyville, Twilight and her friends get off from one end of the train, while Spike, the Crusaders, and the pets secretly get off from the other end, pretending to have come to meet them. Twilight and Fluttershy commend Spike on doing a good job of taking care of their animal friends. Sweetie Belle casually mentions Crystal Empire's snow globes, making Rarity suspicious and nearly blowing their cover, but she states that it was a lucky guess.

Returning to the library, Spike goes back to making his cake, using the half emerald as an ingredient. He inadvertently eats it. In an ironic parallel to how the episode began, he cries out in despair.

Quotes

For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.

Pinkie Pie: Mm? Mm-hm? Yeah? Why didn't you say so? I'll get you a bigger pond immediately.

Spike: I think what Gummy's trying to say is–

Pinkie Pie: He's always wanted a pair of riding pants? His toenails need a new coat of shellac? He wants to floss twice a day instead of just once?

Rainbow Dash: All I'm saying is you might wanna think about a helmet. You only want to get hit in the head by a flying turtle... once.

Pinkie Pie: [to Gummy] I love you more. No, I love you more! I LOVE YOU MORE!

Scootaloo: Has anyone seen Tank's head? Where's his head?

Spike: What have you done to the turtle?!

Scootaloo: Ohh. I totally forgot he could do that.

Spike: And this is just between you and me, right? No other pony has to hear a word about it?

Granny Smith: A word about what now?

Applejack: Whooee, my dogs are barkin'.

Winona: [barks]

Applejack: Did y'all hear that? They really are!

Sweetie Belle: So we could hear all about the Crystal Empire, and find out if you brought us one of the crystal snowglobes that they sell at the train station!

Rarity: How did you know about the snowglobes?

Sweetie Belle: Um... lucky guess?

Gallery

Just for Sidekicks image gallery

References

v • e Episodes, films, and animated shorts

Make Your Mark
Episode 1 Izzy Does It	Episode 2 Growing Pains	Episode 3 Portrait of a Princess	Episode 4 Ali-Conned
Episode 5 The Cutie Mark Mix-Up	Episode 6 The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over	Episode 7 Hoof Done It?	Episode 8 Have You Seen This Dragon?
Episode 9 Top Remodel	Episode 10 The Jinxie Games	Episode 11 Sunny Side Up	Episode 12 The Manesquerade Ball
Episode 13 A Little Horse	Episode 14 Missing the Mark	Episode 15 Cutie Blossom Bash	Episode 16 Family Trees Pt. 1
Episode 17 Family Trees Pt. 2	Episode 18 Father of the Bridlewood	Episode 19 Mane Smelody	Episode 20 Nightmare on Mane Street
Episode 21 The Isle of Scaly‎‎	Episode 22 Roots of All Evil Pt. 1‎	Episode 23 Roots of All Evil Pt. 2