Mane Smelody

Mane Smelody
Season №:	1
Season episode №:	19
Overall episode №:	19
Original airdate:	September 18, 2023
Written by:	Dave Horwitz
Storyboard:	Click "Expand" to view       Alison Jensen Tsui Brian Wong Dionne Trinh Franky Leger Gemma Lemon Irene Huang Jun Kumagai Megan Willis Rachel Colucci Shawn Pedralba Virginia Findlay
Featured characters:	Jazz Hooves
See also
credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation
Episode guide
Previous Father of the Bridlewood	Next Nightmare on Mane Street

Mane Smelody is the nineteenth episode of My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, the fifth episode of the series' Chapter 5, and the nineteenth episode overall.

In this episode, Pipp Petals discovers a strange plant that can instantly shine a pony's hooves for a luxury, all-natural treatment, but it has an extremely foul odor.

Summary

The smell of success

While foraging for flowers in Bridlewood to use in her beauty products, Pipp Petals trips over a breed of flowers called inkthistles. The flowers polish Pipp's hooves to be very shiny, but they give off a horrible smell; Pipp's hooves also stink as a result. Despite this, she decides to use the flower in her product line.

Back at Mane Melody in Maretime Bay, Pipp shares her flower discovery with Jazz Hooves. Jazz also thinks the flowers smell horrible but believes they could bring a well-needed boost to the salon's dwindling business. After testing it on Sunny Starscout, Pipp immediately starts promoting her new products on social media, and Jazz keeps silent about the products' unbearable stench.

(Putrid) Potions by Pipp

Pipp's new "Potions by Pipp" beauty products and hooficure treatments draw a lot of business to Mane Melody, much to her great delight. However, part of the reason they reach so many customers is their horrible smell, which has kicked off a viral social media trend called the "Mane Smelody Challenge": ponies challenge themselves to see how long they can endure the awful odor of Pipp's new products.

Jazz fears this trend will cause Mane Melody to be seen as nothing more than a laughingstock; ponies even start laughing behind Pipp's back as she basks in what she perceives as the immense success her new products and treatments have brought to her salon. Jazz tries to keep the Mane Smelody Challenge's existence a secret from Pipp in order to spare her feelings.

When Izzy Moonbow finds out that inkthistles are an ingredient in Pipp's new products, she warns Jazz that the flowers are actually called "stinkthistles" – the smelliest plant in Bridlewood – and that if ponies are exposed to it for long enough, they can become so accustomed to its smell that they no longer notice it. Jazz recognizes that Pipp's new products are now a considerable public health hazard, but she is afraid to tell Pipp the truth because of how proud she is of herself.

A map to the unknown

In the episode's B-plot, Zipp Storm is hard at work trying to uncover more information about Opaline, but she has exhausted all of her leads, including the book about Alicorns she acquired in The Manesquerade Ball. With Sunny's help, she looks through Sunny's dad Argyle Starshine's old belongings, and they find a very old and faded map with the word "scale" on it.

To get further information, Sunny and Zipp seek out the Breezies in Bridlewood's Night Market. There, they ask around about the map, but every Breezie they ask either does not know anything or is drawn away by Sunny's smelly hooficure. One Breezie, however, gives them a locket with a heart-shaped ruby, saying it has been waiting to come into the possession of a "special pony" and believing Sunny to be that pony.

Sunny and Zipp return to Maretime Bay and share their findings with Hitch Trailblazer at the sheriff station. They show him the map and locket, and he offers to look through the station archives to see if any of the maps in there resemble Sunny and Zipp's map. As Sunny and Zipp leave, Hitch notices Sparky Sparkeroni's scales mysteriously glowing, unaware it is due to being in close proximity to the map.

The sweet scent of truth

Toward the end of Mane Melody's business hours, Jazz finally confesses the truth to Pipp about her smelly "Potions by Pipp" line and how they inspired the "Mane Smelody Challenge". While Pipp is not thrilled at being the subject of a widespread joke, she takes it in stride and thanks Jazz for being honest with her in the end. Izzy Moonbow returns with a bundle of pleasant-smelling pinkthistle flowers to neutralize the horrible smell of stinkthistle while retaining its hoof-polishing qualities, thus salvaging the rest of Pipp's products.

Meanwhile, at Opaline's castle, Opaline shares with Misty the next phase of her evil scheme. She explains that the dragons have been in deep hibernation ever since magic disappeared from Equestria, but now that magic has returned, the dragons have awakened, leaving them open for Opaline to invade their land, enslave them, and steal their power for her own purposes. Misty, as the Mane 5's double agent, quickly excuses herself to share what she has learned with her friends at the Brighthouse.

Quotes

For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.

Pipp Petals: That inkthistle shined my hooves so bright, I can see my own reflection!

Jazz Hooves: Our sales have been dropping ever since our last failed promotion.

Pipp Petals: Zipp! It's your lucky day! You are the recipient of a free luxury hooficure treatment! Oh! We can't wait to know what you think of this great shiny find I came across – inkthistle!

Zipp Storm: Bleh! [sighs] That stuff stinks!

Sunny Starscout: Good luck with the launch. And, um, maybe crack a window?

Sunny Starscout: My dad always used to say, "The past is something we'll never stop discovering."

Jazz Hooves: Good thing ponies can't smell through the phone.

Zipp Storm: What do you suppose it is?

Sunny Starscout: A piece of a map?

Zipp Storm: Hmmm... All I can see is the word... "scale"?

Pipp Petals: This is turning into Mane Melody's biggest success! What are we going to do with all of this success?!

Jazz Hooves: Yeah, the sweet... ugh... smell of success!

Jazz Hooves: If you don't like the hooficure treatment, why are you all filming it with your phones?

Posey Bloom: Oh, that's just the "Mane Smelody Challenge".

Jazz Hooves: The what now?

Posey Bloom: It's, like, the latest viral endurance test. If you can get through it without your eyes watering from the smell, you tag a friend and they have to do it!

Jazz Hooves: So, our newest hoof treatment is now a joke online?!

Opaline: I haven't seen you all day. What wing of the lair were you in?

Misty: The entertainment, uh, quarters?

Opaline: Wait just one second. You said you were in the entertainment quarters?

Misty: Yes...?

Opaline: The east entertainment quarters or the west entertainment quarters?

Misty: East?

Opaline: That makes sense.

Shutter Snap: What's up, trendwatchers! I'm Shutter Snap! Today in trends, everypony in Maretime Bay is lining up at our very own Princess Pipp's salon to do the "Mane Smelody Challenge"! Can you stand the stink?

Hitch Trailblazer: Why even put the cones down, Hitch, you silly safety stickler? Hey! You're just in time to see Sparky fail his safety drill with flying colors!

Zipp Storm: Yeah, why even put down the cones?

Hitch Trailblazer: That's what I said.

Misty: I just remembered I have to get more intel for you! Lots of good info to be shared! I mean, had!

Opaline: Well, don't be long! There's evil hoofnotes and pie charts to go over!

Jazz Hooves: This stuff Pipp foraged shines hooves like you wouldn't believe, but the smell is—

Izzy Moonbow: Stinky! That's why it's called "stinkthistle"!

Jazz Hooves: [clears throat] You foraged the worst-smelling plant in the entire forest and made it into an only slightly less smelly lotion.

Pipp Petals: It certainly doesn't feel good to be the butt of an entire town's joke. But you know what does feel good? A friend you can be honest with. Friends should always feel safe and comfortable to tell each other the truth. Even when it stinks.

Gallery

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