The Summer Sun Setback

The Summer Sun Setback
Season №:	9
Season episode №:	17
Overall episode №:	213
Original airdate:	August 24, 2019       July 12, 2019[released early in China]
Written by:	Michael Vogel
Storyboard:	Sidne Marat, Grey White, and Chelsea Woolman
Featured characters:	Princess Celestia Princess Luna Legion of Doom       Grogar Queen Chrysalis Lord Tirek Cozy Glow
See also
credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation
Episode guide
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The Summer Sun Setback is the seventeenth episode of season nine of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the show's two hundred and thirteenth episode overall.^[1]

In this episode, Twilight is determined to make Celestia and Luna's last Summer Sun Celebration memorable, but things start going horribly wrong.

Production

This episode was released on Youku's on-demand service in China^[2] on July 12, 2019, forty-three days ahead of its scheduled premiere on Discovery Family.

Summary

Prologue

The episode begins at Grogar's lair, where Grogar explains to Cozy Glow that because she, Chrysalis, and Tirek failed to retrieve his Bewitching Bell from the top of Mt. Everhoof, they must seek out an alternate source of power to destroy Twilight Sparkle and her friends. As Grogar leaves, Cozy, Chrysalis, and Tirek try to figure out how to use the Bewitching Bell, which they secretly did succeed in retrieving, against him.

When they are unable to activate the Bell, Cozy Glow mentions the restricted area of the Canterlot Archives that Twilight once told her about and suggests looking there for information.

"Road trip!"

— Cozy Glow

The last Summer Sun Celebration

In Canterlot, Twilight is hard at work planning the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration, having learned from recent experiences to delegate her responsibilities and not get stressed out. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna enter and inform her that this might be the last Summer Sun Celebration to be held before they step down from the thrones and hand things over to Twilight and her friends.

When Twilight relays this information to her friends, they fear she will start stressing out like she always does, but she is surprisingly calm and wants to make this last Summer Sun Celebration special. With Discord's arrival, Twilight gives each of her friends one last task to take care of before the Celebration preparations are complete.

Meanwhile, Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek sneak into Canterlot under the cover of night and try to infiltrate the Archives. But they have difficulty doing so due to Shining Armor's new security measures around the castle as well as the presence of the Mane Six, Spike, and Discord. Luckily, Chrysalis comes up with an idea and explains it to her fellow villains.

Sowing seeds of distrust

Following Twilight's instructions, Applejack and Pinkie Pie oversee adjustments to the Celebration catering provided by Braeburn and the Earth ponies of Appleloosa. Tirek, hiding in the bushes nearby, absorbs the magic of a few ponies, causing them to become severely weak. Braeburn, whose magic is also drained, believes it to be the result of contaminated food and warns everyone not to eat any until they figure out what is going on. As the ponies evacuate the area, Tirek steals some of the food.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash meet with the Pegasi from Cloudsdale and their very high-strung coordinator Feather Flatterfly to request changes to the weather. Despite his uncontrollable panic, Flatterfly says he and his team will do their best to fulfill Twilight's wishes. When Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash leave, Cozy Glow approaches Flatterfly and offers to take care of the weather changes for him.

Lastly, Rarity and Spike meet with the unicorn team in charge of the ceremony's fireworks display, led by Fire Flare, to communicate Twilight's new vision for the fireworks show. When Rarity and Spike leave, Chrysalis disguises herself as a pony named Crackle Cosette and convinces the troupe that unicorns are superior to Earth ponies and Pegasi and that fireworks shows are a waste of their magical talent.

Anything that can go wrong...

Back in the castle, Twilight thanks her friends for their help in organizing the Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia and Luna, remembering that Twilight had difficulty raising the sun and moon once before, offer to help her practice using the amulet imbued with their magic. Just as Twilight leaves the room with Celestia and Luna, Braeburn appears to inform Twilight's friends that some of the catered food has gone missing and the Earth ponies are too weak to make more.

Then, a royal guard appears and alerts them about sudden hazardous weather patterns. Finally, Fire Flare and her unicorn troupe appear and quit the fireworks show, believing unicorns are too good for such trivial performances. As a result of Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis' schemes, the Summer Sun Celebration preparations devolve into complete chaos. In order to keep Twilight from getting stressed out, her friends decide to try and fix everything before the Celebration begins.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie tend to the weak Earth ponies, but they determine that the food is not the cause of their sudden sickness. Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts race to get the hazardous weather under control, and Rarity and Spike try to convince Fire Flare and her team to put on the fireworks show. Meanwhile, Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis take advantage of the chaos to incapacitate a royal guard, infiltrate the castle, sneak past the patrol of geese, and break into the Archives.

No more Twilight-ing

Despite her friends' efforts to keep it a secret from her, Twilight eventually discovers the chaotic state of the ceremony preparations. Much to her friends' surprise, Twilight remains perfectly calm and takes charge of the effort to fix everything, with the addition of Celestia and Luna's help. Together, they nurse the weak Earth ponies back to health, clear the sky of hazardous weather conditions, and convince the unicorns to perform.

In the end, the Summer Sun Celebration is a huge success. In recognition of how much Celestia and Luna have done for Equestria, Twilight announces a brand new holiday to replace the Summer Sun Celebration: the "Festival of the Two Sisters". Twilight's friends apologize for not telling her about the preparations going wrong, and they are proud of her for getting over her tendency to freak out.

Meanwhile, Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis steal a book from the Canterlot Archives. When they return to Grogar's lair, Grogar reveals that he has successfully found a new source of power to defeat Twilight and her friends with and plans to set out the next day to claim it. With the book they stole from the Archives, Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis resolve to unlock the power of the Bewitching Bell, and Cozy remarks how easy it was to get the Earth ponies, unicorns, and Pegasi at the Summer Sun Celebration to turn on each other.

"Now that is something to think about..."

— Queen Chrysalis

Quotes

For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.

Princess Celestia: Sorry to interrupt. We know you're busy planning the Summer Sun Celebration as we requested. But...

Princess Luna: Oh! Things seem, uh, calmer than we would've expected.

Spike: No complaints here.

Rarity: My goodness! How are you feeling about all this?

Pinkie Pie: Something like this could definitely send you into full freaky-outy mode!

Twilight Sparkle: I'm actually fine. But if this is gonna be the last Summer Sun Celebration, I want to make sure it's the best Celebration ever!

Rainbow Dash: [whispering] Please-don't-give-us-more-work... Please-don't-give-us-more-work... Please-don't-give-us-more-work...

Twilight Sparkle: So, even though everything was done, I thought of a few last-minute changes I could use your help with.

Rainbow Dash: [groans] I knew it!

Discord: If this is the last Summer Sun Situation, I simply can't miss it. Well, I see I've arrived just in time for the "Twilight gives her friends an impossibly long and overly detailed list" predicament.

Twilight Sparkle: I guess some draconequus isn't the know-it-all he thinks he is.

Rainbow Dash: This is it?

Twilight Sparkle: What?

Rainbow Dash: We were kinda with Discord on this one.

Twilight Sparkle: No more crazy lists. No more freaking out. With your help, I know we've got this.

Discord: [groans] Character growth is so boring.

Lord Tirek: Why are so many ponies up in the middle of the night?

Cozy Glow: It's that silly sun holiday.

Queen Chrysalis: How many holidays do you ponies have?

Applejack: Pinkie, you and I are givin' Braeburn and the Appleloosan ponies some adjustments to the menu.

Rainbow Dash: Fluttershy and I are meeting the Pegasi from Cloudsdale to give them changes to the weather.

Rarity: Spike, we're going to update the Flaming Sky Firework Unicorn Troupe with Twilight's new vision.

Discord: And I'm supposed to... "make sure Discord doesn't do anything 'Discord-y'"? Well, that's annoyingly specific!

Discord: I suppose I could fix everything. But isn't the real miracle here the miracle of teamwork and character growth?

Rainbow Dash: OH, COME ON!

Rarity: Nopony understands wanting to take pride in your work more than I do!

Unicorn 1: You could do more with your magic than make frilly dresses!

Rarity: Oh, pffft. Nopony makes frills anymore. This season's actually all about simplicity—

Spike: Not the point, Rarity!

Twilight Sparkle: Applejack, what is going on?

Applejack: I told y'all this was a bad idea! But nopony ever listens to me!

Twilight Sparkle: I know how I used to react, but I really have changed. Panicking won't solve anything. But we can handle whatever problems come our way as long as we handle them together!

Princess Celestia: Spoken like a true leader.

Twilight Sparkle: [amplified] This Celebration has always been a reminder not to fear the night, for there is always a new day to look forward to. But as we look towards Equestria's future, I am sad to say today will be the last Summer Sun Celebration.

[crowd gasps]

Twilight Sparkle: Because there is something even more important to celebrate. There are two ponies who have watched over us night and day for as long as we can remember. We will no longer commemorate their battle or their reunion. Instead, we will take this day to celebrate how much they mean to all of us. From this day forward, today will be known as the Festival of the Two Sisters!

Lord Tirek: Hmph!

Queen Chrysalis: Oh, stop pouting.

Cozy Glow: You knew you couldn't stay that buff. You had to return all the life force to those Earth ponies so Grogar doesn't suspect anything.

Lord Tirek: I don't have to like it.

Cozy Glow: Well, I don't like that we worked so hard to destroy their party and they still pulled it off. But you don't see me complaining!

Cozy Glow: You know, it really was super easy to get all those Earth ponies and Pegasi and unicorns to turn on each other.

Queen Chrysalis: It was, wasn't it? Now that is something to think about...

Gallery

The Summer Sun Setback image gallery

References

1. ↑ Jim Miller (2019-03-08). Not if you count BGE as an episode!. Twitter. Retrieved on 2019 March 8.
2. ↑ 小马宝莉:友谊的魔力 第九季 (Chinese). Youku. Retrieved on 2019 July 20.

v • e Episodes, films, and animated shorts

Season one
Episode 1 Friendship is Magic, part 1	Episode 2 Friendship is Magic, part 2	Episode 3 The Ticket Master	Episode 4 Applebuck Season
Episode 5 Griffon the Brush Off	Episode 6 Boast Busters	Episode 7 Dragonshy	Episode 8 Look Before You Sleep
Episode 9 Bridle Gossip	Episode 10 Swarm of the Century	Episode 11 Winter Wrap Up	Episode 12 Call of the Cutie
Episode 13 Fall Weather Friends	Episode 14 Suited For Success	Episode 15 Feeling Pinkie Keen	Episode 16 Sonic Rainboom
Episode 17 Stare Master	Episode 18 The Show Stoppers	Episode 19 A Dog and Pony Show	Episode 20 Green Isn't Your Color
Episode 21 Over a Barrel	Episode 22 A Bird in the Hoof	Episode 23 The Cutie Mark Chronicles	Episode 24 Owl's Well That Ends Well
	Episode 25 Party of One	Episode 26 The Best Night Ever

Season two
Episode 1 The Return of Harmony Part 1	Episode 2 The Return of Harmony Part 2	Episode 3 Lesson Zero	Episode 4 Luna Eclipsed
Episode 5 Sisterhooves Social	Episode 6 The Cutie Pox	Episode 7 May the Best Pet Win!	Episode 8 The Mysterious Mare Do Well
Episode 9 Sweet and Elite	Episode 10 Secret of My Excess	Episode 11 Hearth's Warming Eve	Episode 12 Family Appreciation Day
Episode 13 Baby Cakes	Episode 14 The Last Roundup	Episode 15 The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000	Episode 16 Read It and Weep
Episode 17 Hearts and Hooves Day	Episode 18 A Friend in Deed	Episode 19 Putting Your Hoof Down	Episode 20 It's About Time
Episode 21 Dragon Quest	Episode 22 Hurricane Fluttershy	Episode 23 Ponyville Confidential	Episode 24 MMMystery on the Friendship Express
	Episode 25 A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1	Episode 26 A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2

Season three
Episode 1 The Crystal Empire - Part 1	Episode 2 The Crystal Empire - Part 2	Episode 3 Too Many Pinkie Pies	Episode 4 One Bad Apple
Episode 5 Magic Duel	Episode 6 Sleepless in Ponyville	Episode 7 Wonderbolts Academy	Episode 8 Apple Family Reunion
Episode 9 Spike at Your Service	Episode 10 Keep Calm and Flutter On	Episode 11 Just for Sidekicks	Episode 12 Games Ponies Play
Episode 13 Magical Mystery Cure

Season four
Episode 1 Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1	Episode 2 Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2	Episode 3 Castle Mane-ia	Episode 4 Daring Don't
Episode 5 Flight to the Finish	Episode 6 Power Ponies	Episode 7 Bats!	Episode 8 Rarity Takes Manehattan
Episode 9 Pinkie Apple Pie	Episode 10 Rainbow Falls	Episode 11 Three's A Crowd	Episode 12 Pinkie Pride
Episode 13 Simple Ways	Episode 14 Filli Vanilli	Episode 15 Twilight Time	Episode 16 It Ain't Easy Being Breezies
Episode 17 Somepony to Watch Over Me	Episode 18 Maud Pie	Episode 19 For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils	Episode 20 Leap of Faith
Episode 21 Testing Testing 1, 2, 3	Episode 22 Trade Ya!	Episode 23 Inspiration Manifestation	Episode 24 Equestria Games
	Episode 25 Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1	Episode 26 Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2

Season five
Episode 1 The Cutie Map - Part 1	Episode 2 The Cutie Map - Part 2	Episode 3 Castle Sweet Castle	Episode 4 Bloom & Gloom
Episode 5 Tanks for the Memories	Episode 6 Appleoosa's Most Wanted	Episode 7 Make New Friends but Keep Discord	Episode 8 The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
Episode 9 Slice of Life	Episode 10 Princess Spike	Episode 11 Party Pooped	Episode 12 Amending Fences
Episode 13 Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?	Episode 14 Canterlot Boutique	Episode 15 Rarity Investigates!	Episode 16 Made in Manehattan
Episode 17 Brotherhooves Social	Episode 18 Crusaders of the Lost Mark	Episode 19 The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows	Episode 20 Hearthbreakers
Episode 21 Scare Master	Episode 22 What About Discord?	Episode 23 The Hooffields and McColts	Episode 24 The Mane Attraction
	Episode 25 The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1	Episode 26 The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2

Season six
Episode 1 The Crystalling - Part 1	Episode 2 The Crystalling - Part 2	Episode 3 The Gift of the Maud Pie	Episode 4 On Your Marks
Episode 5 Gauntlet of Fire	Episode 6 No Second Prances	Episode 7 Newbie Dash	Episode 8 A Hearth's Warming Tail
Episode 9 The Saddle Row Review	Episode 10 Applejack's "Day" Off	Episode 11 Flutter Brutter	Episode 12 Spice Up Your Life
Episode 13 Stranger Than Fan Fiction	Episode 14 The Cart Before the Ponies	Episode 15 28 Pranks Later	Episode 16 The Times They Are A Changeling
Episode 17 Dungeons & Discords	Episode 18 Buckball Season	Episode 19 The Fault in Our Cutie Marks	Episode 20 Viva Las Pegasus
Episode 21 Every Little Thing She Does	Episode 22 P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)	Episode 23 Where the Apple Lies	Episode 24 Top Bolt
	Episode 25 To Where and Back Again - Part 1	Episode 26 To Where and Back Again - Part 2

Season seven
Episode 1 Celestial Advice	Episode 2 All Bottled Up	Episode 3 A Flurry of Emotions	Episode 4 Rock Solid Friendship
Episode 5 Fluttershy Leans In	Episode 6 Forever Filly	Episode 7 Parental Glideance	Episode 8 Hard to Say Anything
Episode 9 Honest Apple	Episode 10 A Royal Problem	Episode 11 Not Asking for Trouble	Episode 12 Discordant Harmony
Episode 13 The Perfect Pear	Episode 14 Fame and Misfortune	Episode 15 Triple Threat	Episode 16 Campfire Tales
Episode 17 To Change a Changeling	Episode 18 Daring Done?	Episode 19 It Isn't the Mane Thing About You	Episode 20 A Health of Information
Episode 21 Marks and Recreation	Episode 22 Once Upon a Zeppelin	Episode 23 Secrets and Pies	Episode 24 Uncommon Bond
	Episode 25 Shadow Play - Part 1	Episode 26 Shadow Play - Part 2

Season eight
Episode 1 School Daze - Part 1	Episode 2 School Daze - Part 2	Episode 3 The Maud Couple	Episode 4 Fake It 'Til You Make It
Episode 5 Grannies Gone Wild	Episode 6 Surf and/or Turf	Episode 7 Horse Play	Episode 8 The Parent Map
Episode 9 Non-Compete Clause	Episode 10 The Break Up Break Down	Episode 11 Molt Down	Episode 12 Marks for Effort
Episode 13 The Mean 6	Episode 14 A Matter of Principals	Episode 15 The Hearth's Warming Club	Episode 16 Friendship University
Episode 17 The End in Friend	Episode 18 Yakity-Sax	Episode 19 Road to Friendship	Episode 20 The Washouts
Episode 21 A Rockhoof and a Hard Place	Episode 22 What Lies Beneath	Episode 23 Sounds of Silence	Episode 24 Father Knows Beast
	Episode 25 School Raze - Part 1	Episode 26 School Raze - Part 2

Season nine
Episode 1 The Beginning of the End - Part 1	Episode 2 The Beginning of the End - Part 2	Episode 3 Uprooted	Episode 4 Sparkle's Seven
Episode 5 The Point of No Return	Episode 6 Common Ground	Episode 7 She's All Yak	Episode 8 Frenemies
Episode 9 Sweet and Smoky	Episode 10 Going to Seed	Episode 11 Student Counsel	Episode 12 The Last Crusade
Episode 13 Between Dark and Dawn	Episode 14 The Last Laugh	Episode 15 2, 4, 6, Greaaat	Episode 16 A Trivial Pursuit
Episode 17 The Summer Sun Setback	Episode 18 She Talks to Angel	Episode 19 Dragon Dropped	Episode 20 A Horse Shoe-In
Episode 21 Daring Doubt	Episode 22 Growing Up is Hard to Do	Episode 23 The Big Mac Question	Episode 24 The Ending of the End - Part 1
	Episode 25 The Ending of the End - Part 2	Episode 26 The Last Problem

Feature films
Equestria Girls	Rainbow Rocks	Friendship Games	Legend of Everfree
My Little Pony The Movie

Specials
Dance Magic	Movie Magic	Mirror Magic	Forgotten Friendship
Rollercoaster of Friendship	Best Gift Ever	Spring Breakdown	Rainbow Roadtrip
	Sunset's Backstage Pass	Holidays Unwrapped

Animated shorts
Rainbow Rocks shorts	Friendship Games shorts	Summertime Shorts	Equestria Girls: Better Together (season 1)
Equestria Girls: Better Together (season 2)	Equestria Girls: Choose Your Own Ending (season 1)	Equestria Girls: Choose Your Own Ending (season 2)	Equestria Girls Minis
Baby Flurry Heart's Heartfelt Scrapbook	Rarity's Peek Behind the Boutique	Fundamentals of Magic	My Little Pony Established 1983
Friendship is Magic shorts